B0079G5GMK EBOK

by Jennifer Loiske

  “You're all lunatics, if you think for a second the humans will accept you! You are not human, remember that! You are so much more and if you let Sofia fool you into thinking otherwise, you're all doomed!”

  Joshua turned to face Jonas and spat on his feet.

  “A human girl! What can she give you? Nothing! Who will warm you, when your woman is nothing but a bunch of fragile bones and leaves you alone? What then? Will you find another one to warm your bed?” Joshua croaked mockingly.

  Jonas was quiet. I saw how sad his eyes were. Joshua, his best friend, had managed to wound him deeply with his words. For a while, I thought Jonas was going to hit Joshua, but he settled for pushing him towards the woods. Just before Joshua managed to disappear, Adam grabbed his arm. He pressed his mouth right next to Joshua's ear and grunted quietly.

  “You know as well as I do, you can never hide from me,” Adam whispered hoarsely.

  Joshua's eyes widened with horror and he tried to struggle free from Adam. Adam laughed roughly and tightened his grip by grabbing Joshua's throat with his other hand. Joshua's knees fell and Jonas stepped instinctively closer to him. I grabbed his arm fast and stopped him.

  “No,” I hissed and Jonas backed away.

  “If you ever come to Europe, I will hunt you down without mercy, and I will kick the bloody mess that's left of you to the elders of Senja,” Adam threatened quietly. Joshua whined silently and Adam sneered.

  “Did you forget who the leaders of the elders are? How stupid are you? What do you think they will think when they hear what you have done to their granddaughter!” Adam thundered and pressed Joshua's throat mercilessly.

  “Adam,” I said quietly.

  Adam closed his eyes before he pushed Joshua to the ground.

  Joshua staggered to the woods, horrified. There was no doubt as to which one of them was a better hunter or killer. I closed my eyes and forced myself to stay still. Joshua had earned all this and even worse, but my heart was crying for that sweet young man I used to know. That man had joined our pack in the autumn and he had been a part of our family. Joshua had destroyed himself when he attacked Clarissa. And the day he understood that, he would regret and mourn for his destiny forever. He had no chance of getting back what he had lost. No shape shifter pack would ever take him in. The word would spread and very soon everyone would know that he was nothing more than an outcast who lived only because of the mercy I had shown him. He would have to share his life with the mortal wolves and that would be his curse. He would be alone forever. His pack would die and he'd have to live. Joshua stopped before disappearing to the woods and looked hesitantly at Jonas.

  “Jonas?”

  Jonas shook his head and didn't take a step to get closer to his friend.

  “Just a quick goodbye?” Joshua begged him.

  Jonas sighed and looked at me for permission. I nodded and he went to Joshua carefully, ready to turn back if Joshua tried anything stupid. He didn't even try. He just stood there and waited for Jonas to get there. When the distance was only about two meters, Joshua strode to Jonas and hugged him tightly. Jonas instinctively put his arms around him and then he pushed Joshua away.

  “What do you want from me?” Jonas asked coldly. “I think you said it all, right? Or is there more you'd like to share with me?”

  “Come with me,” Joshua said and grinned. “We could hunt together and find another pack we can lead side by side, like brothers.”

  Jonas couldn't believe his eyes. He stared disbelievingly at Joshua. A minute ago, Joshua had said he was stupid because he loved Stella. And now he honestly believed Jonas would go with him. Jonas shook his head and lifted his hands up when Joshua tried to approach him again.

  “I have made my choice and my place is here, with this pack and with Stella.”

  “A mortal one!” Joshua spat the word out of his mouth like it had been poisoned.

  “What kind of a life can she offer you? A moment? And in the end, it will be you, changing diapers for your woman and burying her to be food for the worms. Didn't you hear a word I said? It's stupid to get involved with human girls! It gives you nothing! Brother, come to your senses!”

  “I love her, and I don't care if she's a mortal. A moment with her is better than an eternity with someone else.”

  Joshua came next to Jonas as fast as lightning and shook him roughly.

  “You're insane! Ask Daniel what it feels like to spend a moment with a mortal woman! Bury her and your children. How it feels when you're the only one that's left, and you're the one that cries after them!” Joshua yelled.

  Jonas glanced at Daniel, who stared at his hands. Everyone else stared at him, too. Finally Tiamhaidh stepped next to Jonas and thundered. “I think you've said enough. Go now and keep at least some self respect or we will force you to leave. And believe me, you don't want that.”

  Joshua threw one poisonous look at our pack and sneaked into the woods. We watched as the branches of the trees swayed and then it was quiet again.

  David came next to me and stringed his fingers through mine. He kissed my hair lightly and I smiled.

  “That's it then,” I said, and as the tears fogged my eyes, I turned and went back inside.

  The others followed us silently and mumbled whatever excuses they could think of to disappear to their own rooms. In the end, we had all loved Joshua and we would all miss him.

  CHAPTER 25

  Clarissa

  Clarissa stared at the chair where Adam sat. How weird, she thought, yesterday that chair had belonged to Joshua. And yesterday she had feverishly tried to think of a way to tell Joshua about Adam. Now, all seemed to be the way it was meant to be. She had wished, though, that Joshua could've stayed in the pack, but maybe this was the best solution. Adam was sitting, or rather lounging, on the chair with his black hair a mess and his lips curving into a pleased smile that lightened his face. Clarissa stared at his leather jacket. She wondered when Dad would have enough and order Adam to take it off.

  The breakfast, however, went by peacefully as everyone seemed to be thinking about what had happened last night. It seemed really weird just to forget what Joshua had done and pretend that nothing had happened. To forget they even knew Joshua. Jonas looked defeated and Clarissa was happy she had asked Stella to drop by. She glanced at her watch. An hour and Jonas's sad mood would be Stella's problem. Stella, however, wouldn't settle for watching the sulking, sad Jonas. She would make his socks rock. Clarissa's eyes looked at her dad, who was staring at Adam. Here it comes, she thought. The explosion she had waited for since Adam had crashed to the chair. Dad got up and coughed.

  “I think Adam should move to our guest house,” David said.

  Sofia looked at him questioningly, but he didn't even glance at her.

  “I know this comes fast, but if I have understood right, Clarissa has chosen Adam as her partner, and no one can separate them anymore,” David said and looked at the members of the pack.

  The others nodded tamely and didn't bother to deny that.

  “Fine. I just want Clarissa to be happy and I also want to know what Adam is up to,” David retorted.

  Clarissa lifted her eyebrows. What was the catch? Mom said nothing, but went to Dad and put her arms around him.

  “Well then,” Sofia said calmly, and with her eyes challenged the others to argue with her. They said nothing. Clarissa grinned excitedly.

  “And you can help me clean the guest house,” Sofia said and wiped the grin away from Clarissa's face. Clarissa complained, but just a little, and left, half-dancing, towards the cleaning closet.

  By that evening, Adam had moved his limited things to the guest house. However, he didn't want to disturb our family, so he stayed on his own the whole evening. Clarissa tried her best to lure him to join the pack, but he just kept grunting that it was not appropriate. Eventually, Clarissa gave in and left him alone, no matter how annoying she thought he was.

  Sofia

  For nearly three weeks Adam succeeded
in avoiding our company. Clarissa smuggled food to him and kept him company in his small lonely house. I decided to stay out of that. I trusted that sooner or later Adam would get bored of his loneliness and join us of his own will. In the end, it was David who marched into Adam's house and dragged him to our dinner table.

  “You're a part of our family now! That means you'll have to take part in the boring everyday things we're doing, just as the others do!” David thundered and made Adam look really embarrassed.

  It was still hard for Adam to understand the world of humans. He couldn't get that someone actually wanted his company. He was so sure we had opened our home to him out of pity and his pride had kept him away from us. David, however, didn't let him back away now, but mumbled angrily to himself, “He thinks he's living in a hotel. That darn scamp.”

  I glanced curiously at David and he winked at me. I smiled and decided to play along with him. After dinner I forced Adam to help me with the dishes and participate in our nightly play session. For three hours, Adam played Scrabble nicely with us. Then he politely thanked us for the lovely evening and receded to the peace of his own house. I warned the others not to laugh with my eyes and only a few asphyxiated bursts of laughter slipped from Clarissa's mouth. I was almost sure Adam didn't hear them.

  The morning was cold and clear. However, the sun, shining from the bright blue sky, promised it was going to be a warm day. I knew that after a few hours the frost would lose its fight and the icicles hanging from the eaves would slowly drop the water on our terrace, bringing the promise of a warm spring. Clarissa was sitting in front of the window in our living room. Marie lounged next to her feet and Clarissa gently brushed Marie's hair. She stared out of the window, hypnotized. I glanced out and laughed. Adam and Tiamhaidh were standing outside, with only their training trousers and shoes on, their bare upper bodies steaming from sweat. Both of them were ready to attack and it seemed they were having quite a tight fight for lordship of our yard. Marie lifted her eyes to me and smiled sweetly.

  “Cold,” she said, childishly, and pointed outside.

  “Cold,” I said gently, and touched her cheek.

  Obviously pleased at her own perception, Marie turned her eyes back to the men and sighed. Clarissa tried to wipe the tears away from her eyes, and leaned over to kiss Marie's hair.

  “How do they feel up to doing that every single day? Don't they get bored?” asked Clarissa, frustrated.

  “They're not fighting for real,” I said and Clarissa nodded.

  “I know that. But still. That's not normal.”

  I burst out laughing and Clarissa joined me. Marie looked at us perplexed and shrugged.

  “What's normal anymore?” I asked with my mouth full of toast. “I don't think there has ever been a pack with three strong alphas in it without them trying to kill each other. They're just easing the pressure, that's all.”

  Clarissa puckered up her mouth and reached out to grab a piece of toast from my hand. I slapped her hand away and she howled as if it hurt.

  “Let them train and enjoy the view,” I said and lifted my brows.

  Clarissa snorted and grinned. Even I wasn't immune to the view that these gorgeous half naked men in our yard were offering. The smash that we heard from the yard got us all to press our noses to the cold window glass.

  “And there goes the garden table,” Clarissa exclaimed and turned as she got up to go and help Adam, who was lying down next to the broken garden table.

  The blood was spouting from his nose. I grabbed Clarissa's arm quickly, and stopped her. “Look.”

  In that very second, Adam kicked Tiamhaidh's legs and soon they were both lying on the ground, floating in blood and heaving with exhaustion.

  “Why are they doing that!” Clarissa yelled in pain and held her head.

  “Because they're the fighters,” I said gently, and she looked at me, wondering.

  “Some of us have the ability to do extraordinary things,” I continued and noticed that Marie was also paying attention.

  “Adam and Tiamhaidh have a phenomenal gift for fighting. I don't think I know anyone who could beat them.”

  “Meh,” Clarissa sniffed. “Every male person knows how to fight.”

  “You're wrong,” I whispered.

  “Look at them. And watch closely. Can you see how they control every movement they make? How effortlessly they move, even when the snow bank falls under them. And how energetically they attack each other,” I said, mesmerized.

  Clarissa stared at the fighting men with her forehead wrinkled. Marie fondled her arm and smiled. When Clarissa really started to see the men and understand their abilities, her lips curved up. The look in her eyes softened and she met the smiling eyes of Marie.

  “What if they kill each other?” Clarissa asked, a little bit concerned.

  I looked at her with my head sloping, and said nothing. Even Marie giggled and Clarissa grinned.

  “Oh, I forgot, that's not possible,” Clarissa said, embarrassed.

  “What is my gift?” Clarissa asked as she realized she could have some extra cool abilities.

  My eyes went serious.

  “I don't know,” I said truthfully. “Not all shape shifters have gifts.”

  I sighed and Clarissa looked at me, disappointed.

  “But if you do, then I should have one too,” she sighed after a while, with hope glowing from her eyes.

  I rubbed my neck and hoped there was a way to get out of this. Both of my daughters looked at me, waiting. I closed my eyes, but when I opened them again, their waiting eyes were still there. Looking at me even more eagerly, if possible.

  “That's not how it goes, sweetie,” I said and backed up as I saw the disappointment in Clarissa's eyes. “But I'm not saying it's not possible.”

  Clarissa jumped up and almost ran around me.

  “Calm down. We can't know if you have a gift or not, before you have accomplished your full ability to shift shapes.”

  “What about me?” Marie asked from the floor with a tiny voice.

  I knelt down in front of her and took her face between my hands.

  “We'll see about that, when we know if you, too, are a shape shifter,” I whispered softly, and kissed her nose.

  The men scuffled in, bloody and pushing each other. I didn't have to say a word. They understood by my look that they needed to wash up before joining us at our breakfast table. They disappeared to the bathroom, laughing. I shook my head and started to make breakfast, or actually brunch as it was so late in the morning.

  The clanking of the bowls woke the rest of the dormice and soon I noticed I was in the middle of an endless egg frying. Clarissa was loading the coffee machine for what I guessed was the third time. Marie sighed happily and made me turn my eyes from the frying-pan. My heart jumped with joy. Marie seemed so small in the arms of the nearly two meters tall, muscular Tiamhaidh. Tiamhaidh had put his arms protectively around Marie, and she was sniffing his wet chest that was covered with tattoos.

  “Shirts,” I coughed, and looked at the two clean t-shirts on the chair.

  Tiamhaidh lifted his eyes from Marie's hair and caught the shirt Adam threw him.

  “Hide yourself, brathair, the women can't take that much,” Adam laughed and pulled his own t-shirt on.

  After breakfast, most of our pack disappeared to their own activities. David tended to the fire and put on some music that sounded Brazilian. Marie climbed onto Adam's lap, and Tiamhaidh looked at him murderously. For some reason, Marie and Adam seemed to have a strong bond, and not even Tiamhaidh's presence made Marie change laps. The black haired devil with a tiny fallen fairy from the woods, I thought and shook my head, in secret. I lifted the tea cup to my lips and faced Clarissa's eyes. Clarissa was not jealous of Marie. On the contrary, she was grateful that Adam loved her sister and understood her. Marie loved Adam like he was her big brother. She didn't compete with Clarissa. She just loved Adam unconditionally.

  Marie had put her fingers on the dark t
ops of Adam's hair. She giggled, at times, like a little child. Adam sniffed her neck and made her giggle even more. Tiamhaidh couldn't take his eyes off them.

  Clarissa sat next to Tiam and threw her legs on him, relaxed. Tiamhaidh instinctively took her toes and started to massage them slowly. Clarissa sighed, pleased, and closed her eyes. I thought she was completely relaxed, but she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Tiamhaidh, who suspected no evil.

  “So, if your gift is to be supreme fighter, what is my mom's gift?” Clarissa asked quickly.

  “Sofia is a mind shaper,” Tiamhaidh answered without hesitation, and Clarissa turned her surprised eyes on me.

  “And what does the mind shaper do?” she demanded.

  I opened my mouth to stop this issue right there, but David stopped me.

  “I'd like to hear it, too.”

  Tiamhaidh looked apologetically at me and I nodded. I had lost the game already, so it was better to tell the truth.

  “Sofia can shape the mind of any living thing,” Tiamhaidh said carefully.

  Clarissa laughed. “That's not a gift. Even I can search the minds of others, if I wanted to. Each of us can.”

  I warned Tiamhaidh with my eyes, but he refused to meet mine.

  “It's not the same. Not at all, á phiuthar. Your mom can shape the minds of others as she likes. Not just hear and talk to them without a word.”

  Clarissa stared at him, like she didn't understand what he had just said. David stared at me, stunned. I hadn't actually lied about my gift. I just hadn't said anything about it. Adam sighed, and lifted Marie off his lap. He came to Clarissa and looked strictly into her eyes.

  “Imagine, someone can tell your mind to sleep at any time. Or that someone can make your mind believe you see things that are not real. Or that someone can make any living plant do what she wants, like growing in the middle of winter,” Adam said steadily.

  “Magic,” Clarissa whispered.