B0079G5GMK EBOK

  This was new. I realized I could destroy our small city in a few minutes. I could easily control the human minds and could turn them into marionettes for my wolf pack. I touched the minds of the humans lightly. How small and limited they seemed. A few, focused thoughts and my pack could walk on the streets as wolves, and no one would ever question us. I whined quietly. David was there and so were all our relatives and human friends. I saw Marie's fragile figure being walked by Tiamhaidh in my mind, and was startled. I couldn't let them destroy Marie! I would do everything I could to stop them. Even if it cost me all my human friends. I was pretty sure I could separate the minds of my loved ones. And at this point, I didn't care who else I would destroy. Anyone would do.

  My eyes darkened from the anger. I stood in the rain like a virago from the ancient times and cursed in Gaelic. At once, an image of David holding Marie in his arms flashed in my mind. David's mom watching over Marie, while she was sleeping. Emma, Marie's best friend, crying on our sofa, her hands tightly wrapped around Flow's soft fur. I screamed with pain.

  A gentle touch wiped my mind. “Sofia, stop,” Mom's soft voice ordered me. I didn't bother to answer. Who did she think she was? What right did she have to interfere with our lives? She had kept the distance for almost two hundred years now, so why should I listen to her? “Sofia, you are not allowed to harm them,” she reminded me. I could almost smell the fresh mountain air and I knew she was sitting, magnificent as always, on the top of Mountain Breitinden, watching over her valley as a wolf. I snorted and turned my back, even though I knew she couldn't see me. “Sofia! Listen to me! Wolves can never attack humans, and you of all should know that!” Mom's voice echoed in my mind demandingly.

  “But humans are allowed to attack wolves,” I mumbled to myself, pissed.

  I lifted my face to the grey rain clouds and prayed quietly. The storm raged inside of me and my eyes were almost black with anger. My child was suffering and there was nothing I could do to help her. I felt Marie slipping further and further away from me. She was slowly drowning in her own world, and she didn't let any of us enter. “Sofia, you have always had your gift, but you have no idea how to use it. So keep yourself together and let me help you!” Mom yelled at me, frustrated. Yes, it was true, I didn't know what I could do. Mainly because I had always wanted to keep a low profile, and didn't even bother to find out about it. However, I didn't think that even my gift would be enough to save Marie. I knew, deep inside of me, that destroying the minds of the humans wouldn't help anybody, but I wanted to destroy something. Mom sniffed in my head. “You can start by destroying that tree in front of you.”

  I looked wonderingly at the small cracky pine in front of me. I couldn't destroy anything or could I? Now that the rage had passed, I felt quite unsure of my powers. I climbed down from the stone carefully and touched the pine tree. “No hands!” Mom ordered. “Use your mind!” I mumbled, annoyed, but took my hands away from the tree. I walked around the tree and couldn't figure out any way to destroy it without touching it. I sat on the wet ground and concentrated. I let myself feel the warm cover of the tree and the life that slept under it. The tree was waiting passionately for the spring and the warm sun. I touched its spirit and I was surprised at how easily it obeyed my will. That small tree was ready to die, just to make me feel better. Unbelievable!

  I got up quickly and touched the tree. I pressed my hands against its cold trunk and let it absorb some warmth from me. I begged for its forgiveness and it forgave me. I could never destroy an innocent life. Not in any form. I knew that now, so there had to be another way. Mom laughed warmly in my mind. “You see, my child, you learned something today. If you want to help Marie, listen to Adam. He's wiser than you think.” I could feel how she receded from my mind and even as I tried to reach her, she was gone. Obviously, she knew how to shield her mind better than I did, because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't break her shield or connect my mind with hers.

  Mom's words echoed in my mind as I trailed back home. Adam. I had to figure out what she had meant. Marie and Adam were bound somehow, but I couldn't see how he could help me save Marie. But I sure was going to find that out.

  CHAPTER 31

  The morning mist had almost faded, but the cover of the baffling ice steamed lightly as the sunbeams warmed it softly. I sat on the mooring wrapped in a thick down jacket and stared between the islands that loomed ahead with eyes that saw nothing. Adam came to sit next to me. I glanced at him and tried to smile. If I couldn't make up something soon, we would lose Marie to the cold institution that sounded like prison to me. I knew she would shrivel up in there and finally she would die. She hated closed places as much as I did. Mom's words echoed in my mind and I focused on Adam.

  All the impertinence and arrogance were gone from his dark eyes as he knew they would give me no comfort now and it was useless to hide behind them. Adam took my hands in his and lifted them to his lips. He pressed his warm lips onto my fingers and let his cheek rest on my palms for a while. I closed my eyes. A diver screeched somewhere and a seagull answered it. Winter was about to give way to spring and the wind that caressed my hair promised that summer would be here soon. It was a time to make nests, I thought, sadly. Marie should be planning her future with Tiamhaidh, not lying half unconscious in a wheelchair. Marie seemed to crash more everyday and slipping away from those who loved her. She had seizures daily, sometimes more in one day, and we couldn't contact her anymore. Tiamhaidh's presence seemed to ease her, but at times I couldn't be sure if she recognized the rest of us or even knew where she was.

  Adam coughed. “Sofia.”

  I looked at him through my teary eyes. So handsome, so young and so full of life. Clarissa would get a magnificent eternity with him. Adam coughed again and I opened my mouth to express how nettled I was. Adam, however, lifted his finger to my lips.

  “Sofia, I have a theory.”

  My gaze focused on him and he continued carefully.

  “I've been watching Marie since Christmas and I'm convinced her seizures are somehow connected to the shape shifting.”

  “Go on,” I prompted as he waited for my reaction.

  “Well, you can see the change in her eyes. If you look as closely as I have, I'm sure you'll see the same.”

  I yelled and pressed my hand to my mouth. A hope twinkled in my eyes and I grabbed his hands so tight, he grunted.

  “Please, tell me all, ma´s e do thoil e!” I begged him.

  “That's it. I thought you’d know what it means,” Adam said and shrugged.

  “Tiamhaidh!” I shouted, as I had seen him watching us from the shelter of the woods.

  “Tell him what you told me,” I ordered and pushed Adam towards the man who approached us.

  “I'm pretty sure Marie's seizures are a result of change,” Adam said and dodged the fist that tried to hit him.

  I gasped, terrified, but Adam stayed calm and stopped the next punch with his own fist by putting his fingers around Tiamhaidh's.

  “I'm just telling you what I saw,” Adam said steadily.

  I put my shaking arms around Tiamhaidh and Adam let go of him. Tiamhaidh was about to crash. He hadn't even dreamt in his wildest dreams that Marie could recover, and now Adam was here smashing the truth onto his face. Tiamhaidh fell down to the bench and Adam started all over.

  “The first time I saw it, was at Christmas, and I was stunned as none of you reacted to that.”

  Tiamhaidh stared at the planks in the mooring, his head buried in his hands. I fondled his short, dark hair and nodded to Adam.

  “A fraction before she gets the seizure her eyes change to a wolf's. It's not much, I admit, and it's really shorter than a breath, but still.”

  I was speechless. How could we not have noticed? Adam was wrong. We would've noticed something so important. At least some of us would have, right? Tiamhaidh moaned quietly. Adam stared at me in the eyes and he was stunned.

  “Are you telling me none of you have noticed that? Not a single one o
f you?”

  I shook my head slowly, and Adam got up. He leaped there and back on the mooring, growling silently. Finally, he stopped in front of me with a wild look in his eyes.

  “I'm sure about this. Sofia, you have to believe me!”

  “I do,” I said quietly. “I just can't believe we didn't notice that.”

  “Tiamhaidh,” Adam growled.

  Tiamhaidh said nothing.

  “Tiamhaidh!” Adam thundered, forcing him to lift his eyes.

  The anger against Adam's words and a hope that they had caused flickered in his face. A self-abuse and doubt had filled his eyes and when he stood up, I was sure he would attack Adam. Adam, however, didn't back away at all. He held his eyes on Tiamhaidh and for once, I saw compassion in his eyes.

  “Has Marie had any seizures today?” Adam asked calmly.

  Tiamhaidh shook his head.

  “We can solve this. Come on,” Adam said and left the angry Tiamhaidh behind him.

  “What are we waiting for!” I yelled and started to push him towards the house.

  Tiamhaidh was like a rock. And my pushing didn't move him much. Frustrated, I pushed him as hard as I could. He still didn't move.

  “Very well. Keep on sulking. I'll go and see what's on his mind,” I said and left Tiamhaidh alone on the edge of the mooring.

  A mild voice behind me told that he had decided to follow me, after all. I laughed, but so silently that he had no chance of hearing it. I couldn't risk him turning back, so I tried to silence the joy that seemed to drip out of me. Marie could survive!

  I found Adam in the living room. David had brought Marie in front of the fireplace and Adam had pulled a chair next to her. Adam's hands were holding a book. Disney’s Treasure Planet, I guessed, and even though Marie wasn't looking at the pictures, she was smiling slightly. Adam read about the handsome adventurer, Jim Hawkins, and his low voice painted the text so vividly that Marie heard nothing but him. I quietly whispered to David everything that Adam had told us and he pulled a chair in front of Marie. We put more chairs next to his, and soon our living room looked like a small theater. Marie was playing the main role and we were her audience. Marie didn't mind, though. She was mesmerized by Adam's voice and the exciting story.

  Tiamhaidh sat grunting next to me, and I told him to look into Marie's mind. In that way we would know at once if she was about to have a seizure. The others came into the living room as well. We all stared at Marie. The story ended, but Clarissa gave Adam another book. Halfway through the third book, Tiamhaidh hissed.

  “Now!”

  We stared closely at Marie's eyes and just before she started to convulse her gaze sharpened for a moment. Her eyes went narrow and a soft honey gold flashed in her eyes. Adam laughed triumphantly. We stared at the convulsing Marie, shocked. Adam was the only one who could move, so he grabbed her in his arms and carried her to the sofa. He medicated Marie and took care that her limbs didn't hit anything hard that would hurt her. We, the others, were frozen.

  “Unbelievable!” Clarissa sighed.

  Tiamhaidh moaned in Gaelic and I hugged David and jumped around my stunned pack. Tiamhaidh quieted down and went to Adam. He knelt down humbly and absentmindedly wiped drool from the corner of Marie's mouth. Marie was already recovering and the convulsion had stopped.

  “I owe you my life,” Tiamhaidh said and looked deep into the depths of Adam's eyes.

  Adam whisked his hand awkwardly but Tiamhaidh grabbed his shoulders tightly.

  “Anything, whenever you want, brathair, gu bráth,” Tiamhaidh said seriously, and Adam nodded, confused.

  The second my grateful mind reached Adam's, I knew what we had to do. The color ran from my face. I lurched and David was there. I swallowed and looked at him.

  “We'll have to take her to Senja.”

  David stared at me, disbelieving. He knew, as well as I did, what awaited us in Senja. We, however, didn't have any other choice. David nodded and sighed.

  “Adam, could you tell my parents and Gunward that we're coming there as soon as possible,” I said and kept my eyes on David.

  Well, now I said it and the earth didn't quake. Gunward. I had to find a way to harden myself against him. Easy peasy, right? I shivered from fear and excitement.

  CHAPTER 32

  I sat at the kitchen table and stared at the numbers on the microwave clock. Half past four. A couple of hours and the kitchen would be full of awakening people. I couldn't sleep, so I had decided to count the minutes alone in the dim kitchen. I could've stayed in David's warm arms, but I was afraid. I didn't know how I could go back to Senja. The last time I was there, Gunward was my lover. I wasn't sure I was strong enough to face him and still stay away from him. Even the thought of him made my cheeks blush and my heart beat faster.

  The decision we had made last night, though, was the only right thing we could do. We needed to take Marie to Senja. Everything humanly possible had been done and there still was no cure or hope for her. I knew this was right. I just didn't know if I could do it. After we had made the decision, Gunward had filled my mind completely. Even if I didn't want to, I couldn't help myself. Images of Gunward and I together kept flashing in my mind, and the longing I felt seemed to crush my heart. I pulled the soft blanket on me and sighed.

  A pair of warm hands touched my shoulders. I lifted my eyes and met David's asking ones. I took his hand and tried to smile.

  “Worried about Marie?” David asked and exhaustion came through his voice. He couldn't sleep either though his reasons were much more innocent than mine.

  I sniffed lightly, and nodded dishonestly. I shut my eyes as I couldn't meet his eyes when a lie burned in my tongue.

  “Don't be, Fia. I'm sure your parents know the cure and can help Marie. I've already called my office and told them I'm on vacation, so I'll be here for you as long as you need,” David calmed me down and gave me a cup of steaming, nice smelling tea.

  I nodded to thank him and opened my mouth. I closed it quickly though. How could I explain to David that I couldn't come to Senja with him? Could he ever understand what a great temptation he would lead me to, when he took me back to Gunward? I lifted my gaze and faced David's asking eyes. I had to tell him, before it was too late.

  “David,” I started, carefully, but stopped as I noticed the warning glimpse in his eyes.

  I heard someone walking upstairs. But whoever it was went to the toilet and I decided to continue, before we would have company.

  “I'm not going to Senja,” I blurted.

  David stared at me, stunned.

  “I'm sorry, but you'll have to do this without me,” I whispered.

  David stared at me, disbelieving. I got up to shuffle to the nearest lounger, but David grabbed my hand tight.

  “Gunward,” David pointed out angrily.

  I shook my hand off and buried myself in the lounger, pulling my legs under me and hiding myself under the soft woolen blanket.

  “Exactly,” my voice said somewhere from the depths of the lounger.

  David stood up and took the blanket away. He stood in front of me, burning with hate. Jealousy blurred his eyes.

  “This is your child we're talking about, Sofia! Your child! Not Gunward!” David shouted.

  I couldn't face his eyes, but stared cowardly at the floor.

  “Do you hear me! This is about Marie! And you're going to Senja with her, because she needs you. You, not me! You can help her in a way I can't, so you are coming! End of discussion,” David thundered.

  “You don't understand, Dad. Mom can't go to Senja. And if she does, she may never come back,” Clarissa said quietly from the doorway and came to sit on the armrest of my lounger.

  I looked at her thankfully. She understood and I knew the rest of the pack would. Even Marie. I just needed to get David to understand it. David let his gaze wander from me to Clarissa and back to me. Clarissa stood up and went to him. She put her arms around him and led him to the sofa. Clarissa touched David's cheek gently.


  “The bond between Mom and Gunward is too strong. She can't resist him again,” Clarissa said quietly.

  “Every second she's away from Gunward will burn her soul like hell. The thought of being separated is unbearable. Gunward is a part of her and Mom is a part of him,” Clarissa said and looked at David's sad broken eyes. “I know, because when I can't see Adam for an hour, it burns my soul, and I can't stand that. And if it's like that for me, I can just imagine how it must feel for Mom and Gunward.”

  The anger vanished from David's eyes and all I could see in his deep blue eyes was enormous pain. He understood all right. He just couldn't accept it.

  “She's right,” I said and moved to sit next to David. I pressed my head on his shoulder and breathed his familiar scent. “I don't think I can face Gunward now. Not when my mind is confused about Marie. I'm sorry, David. That doesn't mean I don't love you. I do. I just can't deal with him now.”

  David sat still between us. I could feel how he struggled as the jealousy tried to overpower his mind. His pride didn't let him admit I was never only his. He would have to share me with a man who owned my soul in a way he could never do. He let his head fall down to his chest.

  “Do you even want to resist him?” David asked silently.

  My eyes met Clarissa's and I nodded secretly. I couldn't lie and the truth was, I really wanted to resist Gunward, but I knew that the moment I saw him, I would be his. My will would be second. He was my soul mate and now as Adam and Clarissa had joined their lives together, Clarissa knew exactly how I felt. Before I had a chance to answer David, I saw Adam slip into the room. He grinned at me.

  “She doesn't have to resist Gunward's charm,” Adam said and smiled his familiar, arrogant smile.

  I stared at him and a wolfish grin flashed on his face. He leaned on the wall and crossed his strong hands on his chest.