by Alisha Paige
As hard as he tried, he couldn’t put her out of his mind. The tribe needed him badly. Coming Wind was leaving in two days for a world tour and the tribe needed a new chief. Coming Wind and Blue Flower would meet him at the bottom of the canyon. He would be staying at their home until his was finished. He had hoped that it would be a lovely canyon dwelling that he and Paige would design together. Now he didn’t care how it looked. He told Coming Wind that he just needed something basic. Work on it was already underway, but it wouldn’t be basic like Sean had requested. The leader of the pack would have a beautiful home, built into the canyon wall for utmost comfort and cooling.
Coming Wind wasn’t so sure about White Feather’s premonition about Paige either. Though he had never known the aging shaman to be wrong, he couldn’t imagine Paige coming to live there after Sean told him about her father. Paige was also a very desirable woman with an amazing career. She could have anyone she wanted and Coming Wind suspected that the thought had also crossed Sean’s mind. Why would she move to the canyon floor when she loved living on the mountain with a successful career as a curator at one of the country’s most innovative museums? Coming Wind was already thinking of women he could invite over for dinner in the hopes of matching one with the new chief. The tribe needed their leader to have a wife. It was important to the harmony of the Havasupai. He had several women in mind, but he thought Night Jasmine would make an excellent wife for the new alpha male.
Sean was lost in thought as the mule trudged forward. He declined the use of a guide. He knew the way and he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. His mind flitted through images of Paige and their time together in Havasu Canyon, at the lodge and at the falls where they had made love in the hot sunshine and again in the cool moonlight.
Tonight he would take the pack out for the second time. He knew the thrill of the hunt would help take his mind off of Paige and he couldn’t wait to change into the wolf. He only wished he could exist with four legs for weeks on end, but he doubted any wildlife would be left for the rest of the pack. He’d kill everything in sight. He needed to take his aggressions out.
His sadness was quickly turning to anger. Why hadn’t Paige come with him? She had promised to love him. Didn’t their time together mean anything to her? Apparently not. Maybe when her father was better and released from the hospital, she would feel differently. Who was he kidding? She wouldn’t even talk to him. She looked disgusted when he’d shown up at her office and he had to run past her secretary to say goodbye. He wondered what she had told her parents and her sister about their engagement. He thought back to the day at the hospital and embarrassment flooded him. She didn’t want him there. She had told him she didn’t need him there and that he was in the way.
God, why did her dad have to show up so damn early? What was he doing there anyway? It was a work day for Paige and the wolf was just checking on her like always. He never suspected he would be staring down into the barrel of a rifle. He had rerun the memory in his head a million times. No, he was sure there was no other way. He had had no choice but to change into a man again. The look on his future father-in-law’s face made his stomach turn. The color had drained from his face in seconds. He remembered how Earl Wellington had staggered to the back door in shock. His face looked as though he were in stark terror and being chased by a monster. He had never thought of himself as a monster or a true freak of nature until that moment. It brought home to him how odd the change really was to a mere human.
Maybe her father remembered him as a wolf, but Sean knew that he probably blocked it out or thought it a bad dream after his heart attack. Maybe he would understand one day. After all, he was a researcher of the Sasquatch. Even Sean believed they existed, though he had never seen one himself. They were just an undiscovered species, like himself. Paige’s voice echoed in his ears when he had mentioned the fact to her. She had said that though she believed that they did indeed exist, she didn’t want to marry a Bigfoot. Why would she? She was a normal human being who wanted normal human babies. She was one hundred percent homo sapien and for the first time in Sean’s life, he wished he was too.
****
Paige threw herself into the Ramses II exhibit. She gave up her lunch to conduct meetings and began staying late into the evenings, sometimes twelve or thirteen hours a day. She visited her family only on the weekends and all of them by now were worried sick about her. The topic of Sean was off limits. Meg tried to ask Paige about him and she abruptly left, saying she had more work to finish before going to bed, even though it was eight o’clock on a Saturday night. Her mother broached the subject over the phone and Paige said she needed to get off to do laundry. She came up with a myriad of excuses and finally they decided they would just rather see her than not see her.
Her father, on the other hand, was getting better every day and had plans of his own. He never questioned Paige about Sean’s whereabouts. Why should he? He already knew where he was and why. If he hadn’t seen it for himself, he would have laughed in the face of anyone who claimed to have witnessed his dramatic metamorphosis.
He had always doubted his colleague and friend, Joe Steeler. Joe had taken Earl’s jabs light hearted enough for sure, but he knew one day that he would be able to prove the existence of an extinct wolf gene that had somehow leaked into the genetic make up of humans. Joe had laughed right back at him. Anyone who camped for days on end in the middle of nowhere boonies looking for seven-foot-tall ape men that emitted a hideous body odor had no business laughing at his research.
Earl Wellington couldn’t even tell his wife what he had seen. He didn’t want her to have a stroke. Hell, he had nearly had a heart attack, but then again, there was a blocked artery involved. It wasn’t totally Sean’s fault, but the shock didn’t help any. Besides, his wife wouldn’t believe him. He knew all about Joe’s research and it was hard for him to believe. He hadn’t even decided when or how he would tell Joe or even if Joe would believe him. Sometimes Joe had doubts, but there was proof out there. Though it seemed as though they were looking for a needle in a haystack, Joe knew it only took one person carrying the gene to prove it. No one could dispute the DNA evidence.
Earl felt bad for his daughter. He wasn’t sure how much his heart attack had to do with Sean’s departure, but he thought it hadn’t helped much. Meg had said that Paige had seemed different for days, so he suspected that they had problems shortly after their engagement. Maybe Paige didn’t want to move to the canyon. Earl figured that Sean would be joining the wolf pack that Joe was searching for.
It was strange when Paige had called to say she would be taking a trip to Havasu Canyon. He had driven Joe to the airport a week prior to her call. He was on his way to the bottom of the canyon as well. He had received an anonymous call at his field office. Joe received odd ball calls all the time. Most of them were half crazy people wanting to stir up a bit of mystery and get their names in the papers. Most of them made Joe really angry, because he took his work seriously. Genetics was a respected field of science and important to the future of human beings as well as the animal kingdom. Amazing discoveries had been made over the past fifty years and he wanted to leave his mark.
He had come across the strange gene when his buddy in forensics called him over to the morgue ten years before. A John Doe had been found face down in a heavily wooded creek bed. His fingerprints didn’t match anything in any of the databases and he wasn’t on any missing person’s list. They took a sample of blood for future identification, hoping his family would come forward. His DNA contained an extra chromosome and he suddenly become very mysterious. No one in forensics knew what they had found, but they knew he wasn’t completely human. They had found something else very strange. One of his hands seemed horribly deformed, resembling something more akin to a paw, rather than a hand. Coarse, gray hair sprouted from the disfiguration. Joe had never seen so many forensic experts and scientists scratching their heads collectively. Information about the dead man or whatever he happened to be was ne
ver released to the public. Somehow the government had found out about it and now John Doe with the extra chromosome was on ice in a secret location. Joe had been driven by the FBI to extract more samples from the creature, but he had been blindfolded the whole way. Even Joe had no idea where he was kept and the whole thing reminded him of Area 51.
Something in the voice of the anonymous caller caught Joe’s attention. First of all, it was a young woman and she sounded scared to death. She said she had read about Joe’s work in a science magazine. Apparently her father was a science buff and had made jokes about the article one night over dinner. Joe had made headlines when he mentioned at a genetics conference that he had begun research on a new chromosome nicknamed the “werewolf gene.” He had been the laughing stock of the science community and of course he couldn’t disclose the information about John Doe as much as he disagreed with the government’s tight lipped agenda.
The young woman on the phone had been hiking with a friend in Havasu Canyon. They decided to camp near Mooney Falls for the night. She said it had been a full moon and she was certain of what she’d seen. Her friend was sleeping when she got up in the middle of the night to relieve herself behind a bush. She witnessed an entire pack of wolves turn into men before her very eyes. She watched as they took a swim beneath the falls. She never told her friend or anyone else. No one else, but Joe. Joe wanted to meet with her and interview her further, but she was too afraid. She and her friend didn’t even have permission to camp on the Indian Reservation that night, but they were too tired to make the hike back up to the rim of the canyon. She thought she would be in trouble with the Havasupai and besides, they’re wolves, she had told him. A chill went down Joe’s spine and the girl said she had to go. Joe was on the next flight to Arizona.
Earl knew Paige was sad about Sean, but he thought it was for the best. He couldn’t see himself bouncing little furry puppies on his lap and claiming them as his own grandchildren. Maybe Paige had found out about Sean’s heritage the day he had collapsed, but Earl wasn’t sure. More than likely, he had asked her to move to Havasu Canyon and she had refused. Paige loved living in Colorado and she had a fantastic job. She wouldn’t want to move too far from Meg either. When Paige’s mother had asked what he had been referring to so cryptically in the hospital, he tried to act casual.
“Oh, darling, I don’t know. Maybe they had a lover’s spat. Things will probably work out in the end.”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“You acted as though you knew some kind of secret about Sean.”
“I did? Oh, honey, I didn’t know what I was saying. They had me doped up on all those pain meds in the hospital.” After he had time to think, he decided it best not to say anything to anyone, including Paige. Well, except for Joe.
He didn’t even know how to reach Joe. He had already left several messages on his cell phone, but he had a sneaking suspicion that his cell wasn’t able to receive or make calls from the canyon floor. He didn’t want to mail a letter and even though the lodge in Havasu had internet connections, he wouldn’t even consider sending an email. He’d just have to wait until the end of the month. Two more weeks and he’d pick Joe up himself at the airport. Knowing Joe, after he told him, he’d fly right back to Arizona. But maybe he wouldn’t have to. Maybe he’d see the wolf pack for himself.
The discovery gave him new hope of discovering the Sasquatch and he felt a little guilty. His daughter was practically in mourning and he felt as though he should climb the highest mountain to announce a new species. But then again, he still couldn’t imagine the faces of his furry grandkids. He had mixed emotions.
****
Sean shielded his eyes with a tanned hand. He could make out Coming Wind and Blue Flower in the distance. They were standing under a tree. Blue Flower was leaning against its broad trunk, wearing a flowing white peasant skirt and amber blouse. Coming Wind had his head thrown back, laughing at something she had said. His hand was planted firmly over her head. Sean watched as he leaned in for a quick kiss before laughing even harder. The look on Blue Flower’s face stabbed at his gut and he swallowed hard. She adored the man. Sean could see her white teeth and her pink tongue as she spoke to him with excited animation. She must be telling him a funny story. It was a side of Blue Flower he had never seen. Usually she seemed so reserved and shy, almost reverent of her husband, as if he were her God.
They didn’t see him coming yet. He enjoyed their intimacy for a moment. He missed Paige and this wasn’t helping. Just a week ago, he had had that same power over Paige. Her face lit up just like Blue Flower’s. Now she was asking her secretary to keep him out. He tried again to force her out of his mind. His heart clung to White Feather’s promise. It was his only hope. One day he and Paige would be together again. But how long would it take? In the mean time, he had a lot to do. Hopefully the tribe would keep him busy enough to push her to the edge of his mind.
Coming Wind’s head snapped up when he saw a swirl of dust coming their way. Lefty slowly plodded forward, his head bobbing up and down. Good ole Lefty. The oldest pack mule in the canyon was delivering their new chief. Coming Wind waved. Blue Flower lifted her back from the tree, standing fully at attention, her expression suddenly sweet and solemn. Gone was the flirtatious, exciting woman that she only let her husband see.
“Hey there,” Coming Wind shouted as he made his way toward him.
Sean dismounted the mule and led him by the reins. He shook Coming Wind’s hand and nodded at Blue Flower. She answered him with a tiny tilt of her head and a fraction of a smile. Blue Flower studied him for a moment. He looked different than before. She had never seen him wear a bandana on his head. This was their new chief? He also hadn’t shaved in days. He looked like he could be riding a Harley rather than a mule. She couldn’t see his eyes because he wore reflective sunglasses. She could however make out Coming Wind and herself in them. His lips were drawn tight and peeling a bit. The man needed some lip balm. The charming and polite Sean Wilson had been replaced by a more hardened version. He hadn’t even smiled yet and she suddenly felt uncomfortable. She wished Paige were there. When was she coming? Coming Wind had only told her that she would come much later according to White Feather, whatever that meant. She knew better than to question her husband. He only told her what he wanted her to know and she had learned to play the submissive role rather well. They only fought when she questioned his authority. She learned early on not to. He was in charge and she had better listen. It wasn’t so bad she had decided. He was a very loving husband, as long as she did what he wanted.
The sun was blazing hot, adding to Sean’s irritation. Sean guessed it to be around 120 degrees on the canyon floor.
“Let’s get you settled. We’ll have dinner in a couple of hours. I’ve scheduled a meeting of the council tonight.”
Sean nodded as sweat slid into his sideburns. His bandana was soaked and not absorbing much of anything anymore. Even his breathing felt labored as if he were sucking into a balloon filled with hot air.
“Good. I’m anxious to get started.”
Coming Wind slapped him hard on the back as a lizard skittered across their path. Lefty nearly stepped on it, but he didn’t flinch. He continued on in his slow, meandering way. He could walk the trail into the canyon in his sleep. Sean stopped at the creek to give Lefty a drink. He grabbed his canteen and took a quick swig. It tasted warm and metallic. At least it wet his dry throat. Coming Wind seemed elated and it irked Sean. How could he be so damn happy? Selfish bastard. All he cared about was his art career. He had outgrown the tribe and possibly the pack. No, he knew that wasn’t fair. Coming Wind was doing what he thought was best for everyone. Sean was just angry and hurt.
The three of them walked in silence to the house. Sean couldn’t help but notice that the heat didn’t affect his companions in the same way. He didn’t see a drop of sweat on Coming Wind’s face and Blue Flower looked as fresh as a morning blossom. If only his body could acclimate like theirs had. He didn
’t remember the heat bothering him a few weeks before, but now everything seemed to set him on edge.
Everything reminded him of Paige. Even the heat. It made him miss the cool Colorado air and both of their cabins. Even in the summertime, a soft breeze blew on the mountain. He’d give his right arm to be lying on a blanket at that very moment with Paige underneath him. Maybe a soft breeze tickling his neck as he dipped down for a sunny kiss. He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head at the memory.
“Stop it, damn it!”
Coming Wind turned and looked at him like he was a crazy man. One black eyebrow hung over his piercing eye.
“Stop what?”
“Oh, nothing. Damned horse fly. I nearly ate it.”
They reached the house and Sean tied Lefty underneath the shade of a tree. He stepped over a patch of cacti to take a short cut to the front door. Blue Flower was already inside. Coming Wind kicked the dust off his boots at the door.
“Everything okay?” Coming Wind asked as Sean removed his sunglasses.
Sean stared back at him with dull, tired eyes.
“Why don’t you go inside and get cleaned up before dinner. You look like crap. There’s a razor in your bathroom if you didn’t bring one.”
Sean just nodded. This would be harder than he imagined. All he wanted to do was ride Lefty back to the rim and hop on the next flight to Colorado. He didn’t even care about his damned pride anymore. He would gladly drop to his knees and beg her back if he knew it would work. He knew it wouldn’t.
“She’ll come in her own time,” Coming Wind said.
“I don’t care.”
“You’re a bad liar, Sean. She’s written all over your face. You look like a shell of your former self.”
“I’ll just go unpack and try to make myself look more presentable.”