by SJ Himes
He was no match for six wolves, not in a fair fight—but he was more than just a wolfkin, more than the simple betas and the lone alpha who bore down on him. The will of an alpha only had sway over him if he let it, and he had no intention of submitting.
He willed his rage, his fear, his uncertainty all into the wall of fire that erupted at the feet of the other wolves. They yelped, scrambling back, as the snow melted in a burst of steam, scorching hot. The ground in a semi-circle in front of him burned, the swiftly revealed wet grass flaring to black ash in the extreme temperatures. Through the steam and fire and the building smoke, he saw fear and surprise on their lupine faces, and he pushed out, widening the arc of the spirit-fire. He forced them back, and he stepped with the wall of expanding heat, flaring it again, making them run backwards and trip over each other in fear.
He stopped the wall’s advance and held it, now several wolf-lengths between him and the big male. They were no longer growling, their heads up, looking at each other in shock, and he caught the subtle buzz of their thoughts as they spoke to each other. The female sniffed the air and took a step closer, and he sent a thin whip of fire at her nose, keeping her back. She dodged the flame with a shocked yip and went to the alpha, hiding behind him, where she glared back at Ghost.
They watched him, now sitting or standing, no longer growling. If anything, they looked confused and very upset, but there was no anger. The big brown wolf stared at him, his golden eyes thoughtful, and Ghost thought he felt something as he met the alpha’s eyes through the wavering wall of intense heat. There was a brush of cool air over the surface of his mind, and he dropped his head again, growling, wondering what the alpha was doing.
*Peace, Shaman. Forgive us, we thought you someone else. Peace.* Ghost jumped at the first touch of another’s mind to his in years, but he crouched down again with a snarl. He knew it was the alpha speaking to him, those golden eyes glowing as he spoke. There was another brush of that cool sensation, and Ghost snarled again, pushing back at it, not trusting this strange wolf. They recognized him as a shaman, but that meant nothing to Ghost, since they’d come into this clearing intent on violence, and his humans were still in danger.
*We won’t hurt you, or the humans you guard. Please, shaman, drop the spirit-fire,* the alpha said as he lowered himself to the ground, and the others followed suit, every action they were taking non-threatening and calm. It was a rapid and extreme change from their behavior just moments earlier, and Ghost did not trust it, or them.
*You came here with violence in your hearts, threatening my packmates. I don’t believe you. Leave, now, or I’ll scorch you all to ash.* His first attempt at speaking mind to mind was stilted and left him feeling raw, exposed. They all jerked as one, and he realized that instead of just responding to the alpha, he’d broadcast his thoughts to them all. He sensed more surprise, and he thought it was because he called the humans his packmates. The alpha confirmed this when he looked past Ghost to the cabin, where he figured Glen was watching through the window.
*Packmates?* the alpha was confused, and it came across in his thoughts.
*Yes, my family! Now leave! I won’t let you hurt them!* Ghost cried, and he pushed more power into the spirit-fire, though he didn’t advance it.
He sensed the alpha was about to answer, but he stood instead and turned his great head towards the forest. A shadow ran from the trees, larger than anything Ghost had ever seen, a beast twice the size of the brown alpha. He trembled with fear and awe as a midnight black wolf flowed across the clearing, charging through the deep drifts with perfect ease. He was a relic of ages past, when teeth and jaws were meant to tear into wooly hides and bring down towering prey, in the dark days of humanity’s birth…
He was so beautiful he made Ghost quake with alarm. Something so wondrous couldn’t possibly be real, and each movement of his large paws, every glitter of white teeth against the unbroken black of his muzzle, all of it made Ghost stare, cold air rushing through his throat, feet tingling, muscles quivering.
The great beast was bigger than even the brown alpha, towering over the other wolves. He did not doubt that this was the greater alpha these six answered to, and he poured power into the wall of spirit-fire, though he feared that even his magic could not stop this beautiful monster if he wanted to kill them all.
*KANE, WE WERE wrong, hurry!*
*What do you mean?*
*He’s a shaman!* A shaman? The trespasser was a shaman?
If the young wolf was a shaman, then he was not one of the traitors, as a shaman would never abuse his power by killing and abducting their people. This was not a foolish belief—the shamans answered to the Great Mother, and She would not tolerate such an abuse of power, nor could any shaman be coerced into betraying the wolves in their care. Whatever this shaman was doing here, he was not a threat.
He was seconds from the cabin, the glow from lamps and the scent of fire filling his nose. There was a strange aroma on the wind, and it drew him in, pulling him through the trees in an unerring path. He felt that breathless anticipation again, the one that came and went, so strong now it had his heart racing faster than his headlong gallop through the trees warranted. Something was about to happen, and he spurred himself to greater speeds.
He entered the clearing, and saw the reason for Burke’s cry for him to hurry. The shaman stood in front of the cabin, head down, teeth bared, and there was a towering wall of spirit-fire between him and Burke’s team. The young shaman was obscured from view by the wavering wall of heat, the warping of the air keeping him from getting a proper look.
He ran to Burke’s side as the other wolves scrambled away, and Kane got his first clear view of the magic holding them away from the cabin. A wall of spirit-fire as tall as the cabin, in a wide half-circle curved in front of the shaman, making the air snap and burn, ozone wafting on the breeze. It was impressive, that one who was clearly in the first blush of adulthood would have the mastery, the power, to summon and maintain such a feat of magic. Spirit-fire was not a skill for a novice, and whoever this young wolf was, he was clearly a master.
Kane peered through the waves of heat, and sent a thought through the spirit-fire, hoping to calm the young shaman.
*Forgive my wolves, Shaman. I am Kane, Heir of Black Pine, and these are my wolves. I promise I will not hurt you, nor will they.*
For a second he thought he said something wrong, as the young wolf looked back at him in astonishment. He was about to speak again, when he heard a voice he thought he knew, as if reuniting with a long-parted friend after decades, and the sound of his voice was different than he recalled.
*...Kane?*
The wall of fire dropped abruptly, and Kane felt like he was struck by lightning, every strand of fur on his body rising, the vision of absolute perfection in front of him extraordinary and sublime. A supernova of white and silver light consumed his thoughts, and he was drowning in liquid silver eyes as they eclipsed his whole world.
*KANE?* Ghost replied, and he looked up, into the dark eyes of the alpha. What he saw there was an answering shock to his own, and he had no idea what to do.
He felt something in his chest, his heart, a wrench and twist, and he dropped the spirit-fire, head coming up, with his ears pricking forward. He wanted to whine and cry and howl, but he could do nothing but breathe, and barely that, his heart pounding as if it would burst. His legs felt like he’d run for days, yet he was alive with energy, and his thoughts swirled and his double-vision flared, almost blinding him.
The red star of the black alpha, of Kane, burned like the sun in the sky, and tendrils of light reached out from him, scarlet and crimson, and his own silver-white star sent out questing lines of light in return. The tendrils flared as they touched, and suddenly he was not alone in his head anymore.
He saw into the mind of the other wolf and knew the alpha peered into his in return, and he felt Kane’s astonishment, his
confusion, and there… under the shock, Ghost sensed an incredulous joy. He saw Kane drift through his memories, his thoughts, and he felt it when Kane made the connection to who he was, under the years of playing at being a wild animal. Kane reeled, and Ghost pushed at his thoughts, pulling the light that was Kane’s mind back to his, wrapping every ray and beam of his own starlight around the alpha’s mind, so he had no room to doubt that he was once Luca.
His whole being sang with a tremendous joy, a wellspring of happiness that would have made him dance over the snow if he could only find his paws to tell them to move.
He was home.
*You died! The river took you!* Kane whispered in his head, disbelief and a profound shock filling each word.
*I’m alive, I’m here.* Ghost trembled again, whining deep in his throat.
*Kane!* he let his joy go, flooding every part of his body and heart and mind—and the alpha responded. Suddenly his nose was buried in silky black fur, the big alpha rubbing and nudging at him, and he licked back at Kane, kissing his muzzle, and his paws were finally dancing.
Kane circled him, sniffing and rubbing that great big head of his over Ghost’s head and shoulders, making rumbling noises in his throat, almost like a cat would purr, but deeper. Ghost whimpered as he danced, and he wove his body under Kane’s front legs, tripping the bigger wolf, and they fell in a pile of limbs and fur in the snow. Kane put a big paw on his neck, holding him still, and licked his face, thoughts sweet and happy.
*Luca, my Luca,* Ghost heard his old name, whispered gently, and he was never happier. He burrowed into the warmth of the alpha’s big body, his soul humming with joy, and a sense of utter rightness and completion filled him up.
BURKE WAS AT a loss for what was happening. One second his alpha was attempting to calm the strange shaman so he didn’t burn them all to death, and the next, Kane and the stranger were all over each other, tangled together in the snow, kissing each other as if they were long lost lovers. Burke sat down, totally confused, and looked at Sophia, who had much the same expression on her face as he must have.
He’d never, ever, seen Kane act like this, and he cocked his head to the side, watching as his alpha licked the face of the gorgeous gray wolf, who squirmed his way into Kane’s side like he wanted the alpha to swallow him up. Kane threw his big body over the young shaman and pressed their heads together, rumbling in happiness.
*So I think Kane knows the shaman, wouldn’t you say?* Sophia whispered to him, amusement lacing her words. He flicked an ear at her and snorted.
*It would seem so, but I don’t know him. I’ve never met him before. Though he looks familiar, like someone we all once knew,* Burke sighed and shifted on the cold snow, and he flicked an ear towards the cabin, hearing the humans inside whispering to each other.
*What do you mean?* Sophia asked, tilting her black head at him curiously.
*He looks like Gray Shadow,* Burke replied, softly, hesitant in his recollection. Sophia froze beside him, her attention returning to the young shaman who was damn near surrounded by the Heir’s bigger body, both wolves whining with happiness.
*Whoever he is, there’s going to be trouble,* Sophia said to him alone, and she leaned into his shoulder, and he looked down at her, confused. *A lot of trouble.*
*What do you mean?* he asked, but before she could answer, the cabin door creaked open.
A human male, robust and tall, in his early fifties, took a step over the threshold onto the porch. He stared down at the shaman and alpha, who were both still enamored with each other, not paying attention. Burke was about to alert Kane, when the odor of gunpowder and stress crept down the stairs, and that’s when Kane finally looked up and saw the gun.
Kane stood and put himself over the gray wolf, growling at the human on the stairs, fangs flashing white in the light from the rising moon.
Homecoming
GHOST TRIED to shove Kane off him, but the alpha put a paw on his back, pushing him under his big body, blocking his view of Glen standing hesitantly on the porch.
“Ghost? Care to introduce us to your friends? I’m assuming they’re your friends, you seem to be getting along okay now,” Glen asked nervously, but his scent held no fear.
Ghost wiggled, and finally got free of Kane and looked up at his human alpha. He yipped, tail wagging, and he pushed his shoulder on Kane’s leg, trying to get the wolfkin alpha’s attention. Kane was growling softly at Glen, and Ghost figured out why when he saw the gun held casually in his human’s hand at his side.
*He’s not a threat, I promise. We had some trouble a couple of days ago, he’s just being cautious,* Ghost whispered hurriedly, trying to protect them both.
*He called you Ghost, Luca.* Both statement and confused question in one, it took Ghost a moment to figure out how to explain. He leaned on the black alpha and sighed.
*He calls me Ghost because he doesn’t know my real name. He and his mate raised me, please be nice.* Kane startled, and looked down at him, and he felt the alpha’s confusion. He nodded, like a human would, and wordlessly pleaded with him to not hurt his humans.
*Be careful, my little wolf, those puppy eyes of yours are dangerous.* Kane said, and then he relaxed, the tension flowing out of his huge body. Ghost sighed, relieved, and stayed leaning on the black wolf, no urge to move. He was home. *What do you mean he doesn’t know your real name? Did you not want to tell him?*
*I…. I cannot.* He lowered his head, ashamed, and tried to find the words to tell Kane he was broken. These wolves were raised normally, and must transform with ease between their two forms, while he had never done so, not even once, falling into his wolf-form as a cub and never finding his was back.
*Luca? What is wrong….?* Kane shifted, sensing his distress, and suddenly the alpha was back in his mind, and saw what Ghost could not share. That he hadn’t been able to return to his human form, that he could not remember how, and Kane shifted through his thoughts, seeing the distance Ghost felt to his humanity, his thoughts long-set in the ways of a wolf. Every thought he exchanged with first the brown alpha, and now Kane, made his thoughts flow easier, and he was thinking again in a greater variety of words, but it was hard, as if he were constantly being pulled back and forth, between wolf and man.
*Little wolf, you are not broken. You are not the first wolf to lose himself in the Change. We can call you back, help you. I will help you, I promise. You are not broken, you are glorious.*
*You can? I’m not?* He looked back up, not daring to hope, and Kane seemed to sense the difficulty he was experiencing, and the red glow of the alpha’s starlight came to rest in the back of his mind, giving him strength. He felt like he was waking up, and suddenly his mind was clearer, freer, and he was filled by an intense wave of energy.
*Glorious, my little wolf. Just glorious,* Kane whispered to him, and tipped down his great head, giving him a quick lick across the nose. He squirmed, embarrassed and cheerful, and he looked back up to the porch when Glen coughed into his hand. *I shall introduce myself to your humans, and then we shall see about fixing your little problem. What are their names?*
*The human alpha is Glen, and Cat is his mate. She is shy, don’t scare her.*
*I’ll behave as long as he does. And the gun needs to go.*
Kane stepped away from him, and began to walk up the stairs. There were only four steps, and Ghost felt the Change roll over Kane before he saw it. When Kane gained the porch, he was a man, the wolf gone. Ghost exalted in seeing the Change and wanted to ask Kane to do it again so he could see how he did it, the alpha making it seem effortless, even as the wolf melted away in a jumble of fur and skin, so fast he almost couldn’t see the moment Kane became a man.
A naked, tall, and very muscular man, who was luckily close enough to catch the very startled human alpha as he gaped. Glen’s eyes rolled back in his head and he fell over.
The gun clattered to the porch,
and Kane propped Glen up, looking back over at the wolfkin gathered in the front yard.
“I guess he wasn’t expecting that to happen, huh?”
KANE PICKED up the human male and carried him effortlessly over the threshold, dropping him carefully in a chair at the lone table in the cabin. He heard a startled squeak, and looked up to see a redheaded human female staring at him in shock from the bathroom, a kitchen knife in one of her hands. He rolled his eyes and stepped back from the unconscious human, looking around for something to put on. It was very apparent that while they may have raised Luca, they weren’t fully aware of what, exactly, they had raised.
“Luca? Come on in here, calm her down so I don’t have to disarm her please,” Kane called out as he pulled on a pair of the human male’s sweatpants, which thankfully fit him well enough. The little gray wolf pranced inside, tail high, and he sniffed curiously at the male he called Glen before sweeping gracefully into the bathroom.
Kane bit back an appreciative grin, realizing the little shaman would not thank him for thinking him pretty. He’d never seen a wolf more spectacular than Luca—than Ghost, as he apparently went by now. A coat in every shade of gray, in unbelievable patterns, and Kane realized with a jolt that he looked just like his grandfather Gray Shadow, just smaller. His heart hurt a little at that reminder, but he couldn’t be sad, it was impossible. Luca was home. He was alive, and home. And he was glorious.
“You called him Luca,” a female voice stated, full of curiosity, with a nervous edge.