by Alisha Paige
“Hey, look at me, man.”
Sean forced his eyes to focus and for the first time, Coming Wind felt sorry for the guy. The pain in his eyes was enormous.
“You’ll get through it.”
Sean nodded again.
“Maybe you should go out with some other girls. Half the women in the tribe are already in love with you.”
Sean’s shoulders sagged.
“Okay, okay. I won’t push you. It’ll get easier. She won’t even matter to you one day.”
It happened so fast that Coming Wind didn’t see it coming. Sean grabbed him by his thin, leather vest, pulling him into his face and off the ground. Sean looked down upon him, his eyes ablaze with anger and despair. Spit flew out of his mouth and hot air blasted Coming Wind’s nostrils and eyebrows.
“She will always matter to me! Don’t ever say that again! Do you understand?”
Coming Wind’s face flashed with anger. The man was clearly losing it. He nodded quickly and Sean dropped him on the porch, his boots stomping loudly when he landed. The alpha male had begun his reign and put a lesser wolf in his place.
****
Earl Wellington was released to fly home. It was time. Meg and Frank needed to be alone with their new baby and he was anxious to get in touch with Joe Steeler. The next day they all said goodbye at the airport and promised to see each other at Thanksgiving. Meg thought her dad seemed restless and somewhat excited to be leaving.
“Was it that bad at our house?” she asked as he kissed the baby goodbye.
“What are you talking about, sugar?”
“You seem so happy to be leaving.”
Earl laughed at her. She had always been the intuitive one. She got it from him. “I have a lot to do at home. You know how I am. I’m a homebody. I need to get back to my cave with all my stuff. I need to sit on my throne.”
“Yeah, so you can worship the clicker and surf channels all day.”
“Oh, come on. I don’t watch that much television.”
Meg gave him a get serious look. Her mother was kneeling down to her other granddaughter saying goodbye.
“I have some research to do.”
“Oh, Big Foot. I almost forgot. Dad, you’re crazy. How could someone so straight laced as yourself, a former stock broker, go traipsing about in the woods looking for a gorilla?”
“It’s not a gorilla, dear.”
“Oh, forgive me. A cave man. Come on, Dad! Honestly.”
Earl wanted so badly to shock her just so he could see the look on her face. Why, no dear, actually, I just want to see if I can find out anything about your sister’s werewolf fiancé. Oh, well, he’d have to wait. He kissed her soundly on her cheek and shook Frank’s hand.
“They’re boarding, honey.”
Earl grabbed their carry-ons and they handed the flight attendant their tickets. Meg’s mom waved as she watched her dad place a hand on her back, guiding her forward. She knew her dad. He had something up his sleeve. She recognized that twinkle in his eye. He looked as though he were about to burst. He never could keep a secret. She and Paige always knew what they were getting for Christmas by the time it rolled around. He had usually dropped half a million hints. Whatever it was, she knew he wanted to scream it from the top of the nearest mountain. Maybe he had something on one of his hundreds of forest surveillance cameras. Maybe he caught Big Foot on film. Nah, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his big mouth shut.
She carried the baby as Frank held their other daughter’s hand. They passed a McDonald’s and stopped to get coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Frank found a secluded booth in the back corner so Meg could breastfeed under a blanket. He fed his wife as she fed the baby.
“What’s on your mind, honey? You look far away. Is it Paige?” he asked.
“No, my Dad.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“You thought he acted strange?”
“Very.”
“He seemed happy to be leaving. He’s never acted like that before.”
“I don’t know if happy is the right word,” Frank replied. “He was fidgety, almost excited.”
“Anxious.”
“Very much so.”
“I was wondering if he got Big Foot on film.”
Frank laughed so loud that the baby startled, her little hand shook outside of the blanket. “I don’t think that’s it. He would have already been filming a special for the Discovery Channel.”
“What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. He has some sort of plan and I think he really wanted to tell me about it last night when we were barbecuing outside.”
“What did he say?”
“You won’t like it.”
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Franklin Cutter!”
“You promise not to tell your sister?”
“No.”
“Then forget it.”
He tried to give her another bite of the sandwich and she turned her head. “I don’t want anymore.”
“I don’t care. Eat it. You’re breastfeeding. You need the extra calories. Breastfeeding burns 500 calories a day.”
“Yes, I know. Thank you, Dr. Frank.”
She took another bite.
“I promise I won’t tell.”
“Honest?”
“Girl scout’s honor.”
“You were never a girl scout.”
“Come on, Frank. I won’t tell.” She glanced at Dianna who sat happily chatting in her high chair, playing with her Happy Meal toy.
“Okay. He said that he thought their break up was a good thing.”
“They aren’t broken up.”
“They aren’t?”
“No, they’re just fighting.”
“Yeah, right. And for some weird reason, Sean’s gone off his rocker and moved to Arizona. To the bottom of the Grand Canyon for God’s sake. Get a grip, Meg. He sold his cabin. Paige won’t even breathe his name.”
“I guess you’re right. What do you think happened?”
“I have no idea.”
“You think Dad knows?”
“Yep.”
“Strange.”
“Yep.”
“Why would he say that unless he knew something bad about Sean?”
“Yep.”
“He’s an Olympic hero. He was an only child. His only relative is his great aunt who has a fabulous bed and breakfast. Both of them are well respected around here.”
“I know.”
“Maybe he has a dark past.”
“Maybe. That’s the only thing I can think of.”
“I bet he has a criminal record.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to find out.”
They finished their breakfast and drove home. Meg laid the baby in her crib and put a Sesame Street video on for Dianna. She switched the computer on and immediately clicked the internet icon. Within seconds she was in a criminal background web site that promised free background checks. She clicked away for half an hour, typing Sean’s name into half a dozen different sites, coming up with nothing. He hadn’t even had a parking ticket. Sean Wilson was clean. Maybe he had an alias.
“Do you think he goes by a different name?”
“How could I know? Just forget about it. If your dad knows something, I’m sure it will come out in good time. You know how he can’t keep a secret.”
“You’re right.” She turned the computer off and headed into the kitchen.
She began unloading the dishwasher when Frank came behind her, kissing her neck.
“Let’s go to the bedroom.”
“You know it’s too soon.”
“It’s been three weeks.”
“The doctor said to wait at least six.”
“We didn’t listen to him last time, so why should we now?”
Meg smiled at him and shut the dishwasher. He led her into the bedroom as Dianna laughed at Elmo squeaking out a song.
****
The moon shone vivid and
stark white above the rim as the wolf led the pack deeper into the canyon. The man that lurked beneath the wolf’s soul already felt more at ease. Out here he could forget her for a while. Fifty wolves trailed behind him as he wound up a high, shadowed cliff. A light breeze carrying a tantalizing scent had whet his animal appetite. His blue eyes reflected ruby red in the moonlight when he turned to check on his pack. The younger wolves were following in the center, while some of the stronger and more experienced were at the tail end. He locked eyes with the black wolf at the very rear. He barked a low command to him and the dark wolf responded by sitting back on his haunches and howling deeply. The wolves stopped and began howling one by one, in order of rank until all of them were howling simultaneously into the night. The younger wolves added an eerie siren like quality to the low, deep throated howls of their fathers and uncles. The leader of the pack returned to all fours and one by one the howling stopped as he climbed higher up the cliff.
A mother mountain lion across the canyon stood guard over her cubs, sleeping soundly in a soft pile of fur. She watched the procession closely. She noted each tail as it swished in the moonlight and disappeared behind a bend of tall cacti. Never had she seen so many wolves together. She eyed them cautiously, though she knew she was safe enough, nearly a mile away, separated by a river beneath her. Even she knew that she would be no match to that many. She had reservations about leaving her young to hunt, but she knew she must. She paced the entry way of her lair, glancing at her cubs now and then before raising her eyes once again to the endless trail of wolves climbing the red rocks across the rushing river below. With one last nuzzle at her sleeping babies; she leapt on the jagged rocks beneath her cave to fetch a warm breakfast. She would stay close to the den and find a quick and easy kill.
The pack leader sensed his dinner was within reach. The scent was intoxicating. He licked his salivating chops as he crouched lower, his knees bent as he sniffed the red earth. The other wolves followed suit, walking on padded, dusty feet. He stopped the procession and laid his white belly on the sandy earth. A snake slithered near his right paw. He ignored it. It was only a rattler and more scared of him at the moment. His round eyes glowed neon at the beautiful sight. An entire herd of bighorn sheep rested beneath a tall gambel oak. There were more than enough to feed the entire pack. Yes, tonight they would feast heartily.
The white tip of his tail twitched excitedly, signaling to the others. He moved forward slowly. One by one, they inched closer, their chins skimming the cracked ground, their muscles moving fluidly beneath them as they followed their leader toward a magnificent feast. He was a mere six feet away when he lunged toward the center of the sleeping herd, taking the largest ram by surprise. His terrified bleat was silenced quickly with one swift bite to his smooth neck. The wolf stood proudly on the bighorn’s large curling horn as chaos erupted among the herd. His white chest was stained red and dripping with blood. Taking one deep breath, he howled deep into the canyon.
The mountain lion’s ears pricked up as the echo tossed by the wind met her in the midst of a kill. She automatically looked toward her lair. No, the howl was too far away, but too close to home. She would have to move her young soon. The rams were brought down by the larger wolves, while the ewes and young were taken on by the younger members of the pack. The task was completed within a single minute before the feasting began. Most of the wolves began at the delicious, white rump, where the juiciest meat lay. Satisfied grunts and growls mingled with the soft tearing of tan flesh and heated muscle. The delicious aroma of fresh blood and the musky scent of the bighorn clung to the air like a blanket of sweet death.
The wolf felt no remorse, not even in the corner of his man brain. The bighorn were born to keep him alive. Their lives had been complete, even their young. They weren’t meant to live. They were meant to die and the wolf deeply respected the herd. The ram had given his life to the wolf so the wolf might live. With a full belly, he stood again on the curling horn, now splattered with blood. He looked down upon his prey and thanked him with a funerary howl fit for a king. The pack followed, each standing beside their fallen prey, sprawled out within death’s door.
A family lay massacred and sacrificed under the full moon as the mountain lion collected her bloodied rabbit in her jaws and bounded back to her cave with plans to feed her babes and run with the first light of day.
The mountain lion was not the lone witness of an enormous pack of wolves climbing the shadowed canyon wall beneath a hot desert moon. A man sat half a mile away from the sleeping cubs, high on a red cliff, near the rim of the canyon. He counted the wolves one by one. He knew that typical wolves did not roam in packs of fifty. That was simply unheard of. He captured what he could on video, but he knew it would turn out badly in the dark, considering the distance. He watched them with his binoculars until they were gone. He began rewinding the video, hoping that he caught something. Anything at all. Just a sliver of their tails or the tips of their silver ears as they rounded a corner. Just something to prove the incredible number of wolves together, in one pack. A chill ran down spine when he heard the first howl. Then another and another, until the entire pack could be heard far off in the distance. Suddenly, they grew silent and he nodded his head. They had had a good night. He knew they were eating at that very moment and he knew that it must have been a grand kill to silence such a large number of carnivores.
Chapter 10
Sean had been gone three months now. To Paige it seemed like he’d been gone for years. Sean’s leaving had actually been more painful than Rob’s death, but she felt guilty for even thinking such a thought. From time to time she had to remind herself that he had asked her to go with him, even though she felt abandoned. The nightmares had finally slowed down. Aunt Bette had ripped through her dreams with fangs and claws outstretched at least a dozen times. Paige was always alone in her cabin when Aunt Bette would burst through the front door, walking on her hind legs. Paige couldn’t tell how she knew it was her, but she knew it wasn’t Sean. She was also clueless as to why she walked through the door on her hind legs, because Aunt Bette didn’t look like a made for Hollywood monster once she changed. Actually, she looked like a large wolf and could even pass as a dog, albeit a wild one.
Paige knew she was losing it when she began telling herself that Sean could have worse traits. Really, how much worse could it be? Her fiancé killed and ate little forest animals whenever a full moon rose in the sky and the last time Paige had checked, that natural event was guaranteed to occur once a month. She wracked her brain night after night trying to come up with a solution to his ugly little secret. Maybe he could spend the night somewhere else during the full moon. But for the rest of their married lives together? And what if he decided to change into the wolf at will? He had already told her that he could, but rarely did. What if he was hungry and she looked like a tasty girl steak? One never knew about these things.
Sean had sent her a letter every week and left her long messages on her home voice recorder until she had her number changed. It was funny how she came home from work on the day she had her number changed and there was no flashing red light on her machine. There were no messages from him and the cabin seemed so lonely. She had come to look forward to his messages and wanted to hear what was new in Havasu Canyon. He only spoke of the people as members of the Havasupai and never mentioned the members of the tribe who were infected with the canis lupus nubilus chromosome. She knew Coming Wind was traveling more and more and taking Blue Flower with him. Sean mentioned that his home was nearly finished and Paige couldn’t help but wonder if he had built it with her in mind. Now she was cut off from his voice and from his world. She had walked directly to the mailbox, hoping to find a letter. The mailbox was bare and she had slammed it shut. Suddenly she was mad. Why had he left her? Couldn’t he have tried to hide it from her? Aunt Bette hadn’t known about Charles for years. It was strange. Now it seemed insignificant. Who cared if he was half wolf? She did. What would she tell her parents? She
guessed that her dad had suppressed the wolf memory. He had never mentioned anything to her, and Paige was surprised that he was so understanding about her break up with Sean. He never questioned her about him and even encouraged her to date again. Her mother and Meg felt sorry for her and felt sad for Sean too. They never understood what had happened and were at a loss for words, avoiding the subject entirely.
Paige was determined to get on with her life and decided to take her dad’s advice. Ben Wheeler had asked her out on a date again and she finally said yes. She had run out of excuses and thought it might be fun. She had an awful lot in common with Ben and had always found him to be quite hilarious. Ben worked as an art history teacher at the local community college. Each semester he had a brand new class of fresh faced students, eager to see early Mesopotamian art from their first lessons. Ben walked his classes through the museum, pointing out examples of the Renaissance period art through the modern art of this century.
Ben had noticed something different about Paige last semester. His class was eating lunch in the courtyard outside when he decided to pay her a visit. She was just as polite as always, but she somehow seemed sadder and a little lost. He had noticed that she no longer wore her engagement ring and figured it hadn’t worked out between her and the ski champ. Her ring now lay in a crystal dish on her dresser. She held it everyday, watching it sparkle in the sunlight that filtered through her lonely, quiet room.
This was good news to Ben. He’d always liked Paige and if he played his cards right, she might get over Mr. Wonderful. He waited two months before asking her out, but she had refused. He wasn’t surprised. He just told himself to be patient. Sooner or later she would come around and he’d get his opportunity. When she finally said yes, he felt like he’d struck gold. He would make their first date so wonderful, she’d never forget it. Everything had to be perfect. Every woman remembered the first date with their future husband. He just knew one day they’d be married. He wouldn’t be foolish and wait too long. He knew that Sean had broken her heart. What if he tried to waltz right back into her life and take her away again? Ben had plans for sure. Big plans for the both of them.