by SJ Himes
He saw the human female come out of the bathroom, the knife left behind, and she stood with one hand buried in Luca’s hackles, gripping tightly. Luca looked up at him, that pleading expression back in place, asking him to go gently.
“I call him Luca because that is his name, human. He says your name is Cat?”
“Yes… wait, how did you know that? He told you? How? And weren’t you a wolf just a minute ago?” She fired off one question after another, obviously scared, yet very curious. He saw now how her name could be Cat, for she was full of curiosity.
“He speaks to me, as I am speaking to you now, just in our heads. He cannot speak to you, as you are human, and we are not.” Telling secrets to humans was a novel experience; he usually dealt with the ones who already knew, from long-standing covert association with their race.
Kane looked at the human male who was waking up, blinking groggily. He shook his head, saw Kane standing a few feet away, and awareness came back to his eyes. The human female went to his side, running her hands over his face, worried. He watched them together and saw how Luca could call them mates.
A solid warmth rested on Kane’s leg, and he looked down at the beautiful gray wolf leaning on him, staring up at him out of the most incredible silver eyes he’d ever seen. He ran his hand over Luca’s face and wondered again at the twists Fate and the Great Mother laid out before them, only to have their paths collide again, and in this strange, unforeseen way. He tugged affectionately on one of his ears, and Luca twisted his head, catching his wrist gently in his long teeth, growling. Kane grinned and rubbed Luca’s head, before pulling him tightly to his side, holding his long lost wolf, never happier in his life. His heart felt free, light, the long-carried weight of grief and guilt gone at last. Each breath of air, every beat of his heart was spreading the joy through his entire being, and it was with an effort, he focused past his rioting emotions to the situation at hand.
He looked for a place to sit down and grabbed the other chair, pulling it away from the table and sitting. Luca sat on the floor beside him, leaning his bulk on Kane’s side. He put his arm around Luca’s neck and held him. Luca wormed his silky head under his shoulder, and Kane indulged him, pulling him in even closer.
“So, we have some things to discuss. First of all, my name is Kane, and I must thank you both for the return of my wolf. We thought Luca lost forever these last fifteen years.”
The human male sat up straighter and held his mate’s hand. He gazed thoughtfully at Luca, and the way Kane was holding him. He met the human’s eyes, and they stared at each other for a long moment. He sensed strength and an unwavering dedication in the human male sitting across the table from him. He saw now how Luca could call him an alpha, for if he was wolfkin, he would be one for certain. This human loved his little wolf and it showed.
“Luca?” the human male asked, looking not at Kane, but the gray wolf he held. The little shaman nodded, as a human would, and Kane smiled, thinking it adorable, rubbing his ears. “We’ve called him Ghost, since he could disappear and reappear like one, never staying where we put him. He can get past any door or lock, almost as if he went through the walls. Just like a ghost.”
The human smiled at his little wolf, and Luca—Ghost, panted, showing white teeth, tongue lolling to the side. He was laughing, and he seemed proud. Kane looked back to the humans, and thought about what to do with them. The love and affection were obvious between the gray shaman and the humans and he would do nothing to harm Luca, so that meant he must carefully consider the best way to handle the humans. He could not send them away, as they knew too much, but he also could not kill them, which was be customary in this situation, when humans in non-government, not need-to-know positions found out about wolfkin. Very rarely were regular humans allowed to live once they knew the secret of the wolfkin society’s existence.
“Tell me how you came to have Luca,” Kane asked, trying to stay polite. Though if they stole his little wolf as a child or had anything to do with what happened that fateful day in Baxter, then he would risk his little wolf’s ire and kill the humans. He knew some of it from Luca’s thoughts, from the burst of rapid-fire memories that inundated him when Luca first let him in his mind. He wanted answers from the humans who kept his long-lost wolf for nearly fifteen years, and for their sake, he hoped they were good ones.
“We found him by the river here in Baxter, almost fifteen years ago, while researching claims that gray wolves had returned to central Maine,” Glen replied, and he sighed, staring at Luca, his face full of sorrow, and regret. “We thought him a lost pup, domesticated because he was not afraid of us and didn’t act like a wild thing. We run a wolf sanctuary up in New Brunswick and took him home with us. That’s where we raised him, and that was a unique experience, for certain. I didn’t know… we didn’t know that he could… you know… become a man.”
Glen pointed at Kane, referencing his transformation from wolf-form to human. That was an explanation for another time, he wanted to know why they were back now and not sooner. Nearly fifteen years in Canada, and then now, this winter, they’d decided to bring Luca home?
“What brought you here?” Kane asked, running his hand over Luca’s head, over and over, the lovely gray wolf humming happily, eyes closed, leaning into his touch.
“We didn’t know Ghost… ummm, Luca—was sentient, we thought he was a dire wolf, a type of wolf long thought extinct the last few thousand years.” The female, Cat, spoke up, excited, her green eyes dancing as she spoke, hands flying about. “I sent a DNA sample to another research lab to confirm my suspicions, and we had a meeting with the scientists a few days ago to discuss my theory.”
Cat’s eyes became haunted, and he smelled fear on her. She put a hand on her mate’s shoulder, as if seeking comfort.
“What happened?” Kane demanded, and Luca shivered at his side. He ran his hand over his head, reassuring his little wolf, and he settled down.
“Two men from the other lab came, and two conservation officers from the local outpost. We were discussing my theory… when…” She choked up, a hand over her mouth, tears running from her eyes.
“One of the men from the other lab killed the two officers, shot them in cold blood. Then they tried to kill us, but Ghost stopped them,” the human male said, and Kane felt his heart freeze. “They tried to get Ghost, drugged him in fact, but he got back up somehow and chased them off with that fire trick, the same one he used out front.”
He stilled, dread filling his heart at the thought that his enemies would have such a long reach, that they would travel over national boundaries and try to take a lone wolf, killing in the process. It was unlikely this was a different group than the one they were currently dealing with, as the Canadian government was firmly under control of the Greater Clans of North America, so it probably wasn’t an endorsed abduction attempt. It must be the traitors, and if it wasn’t, he was still going to take zero chances with his returned wolf’s safety.
He stood swiftly, startling the humans and Luca. He sent Luca a wordless apology through the link they shared, and went to the door. He’d get the rest of the details later, right now he had his little wolf and his human packmates to protect.
“Burke! Sophia!” His lieutenant and first beta got up from the snow where they were resting patiently with the others, and ran to the porch. “Sophia, I need you to help the humans pack up, then drive back with them in their truck to the park center. Burke, alert Andromeda that we’re bringing guests back, and have her set a cabin aside for the humans. I need Shaman River waiting for me back at Andromeda’s cabin.”
*Kane, who is the shaman? You know him, don’t you?* Burke asked him, gold eyes curious.
“We both know him, Burke. The shaman is Luca.” He smiled as Burke stepped back in shock, eyes wide. “Tell Andromeda we’re on our way back. Sophia, now please.” He waved to his beta, and she promptly Changed, becoming a naked woman kneeling in the snow. She r
aced up the steps, past Luca and into the cabin, and Kane grinned at the startled exclamations from the humans at having a naked woman suddenly in their midst.
Burke was in shock, sitting back on his haunches in the snow, and Kane walked down the steps, Luca following him. He put a reassuring hand on Burke’s head, and turned to Luca who was so close to his side there wasn’t space for air between them.
“Burke, this is Luca, whom the humans named Ghost. Luca, this is Burke, my best friend and lieutenant.” Luca reached out a timid nose, and Burke succeeded in recovering enough to politely sniff back. It was a quick greeting, as both wolves eyed each other with some trepidation, poor Burke utterly at a loss going by his rapidly flicking ears and wide eyes.
“I need the rest of you to help Sophia get the humans safely back to the park center. I want them and their belongings on the way in the next few minutes,” Kane addressed the other wolves, and they promptly got up and headed for the cabin, Changing as they reached the porch.
“Burke!” he snapped his fingers in the other alpha’s face, as his lieutenant couldn’t stop staring at Luca. Burke was obviously still shaken. The Speaker shook his head, ears flapping, and finally seemed to pull himself together. He saw Burke’s golden eyes go blank as he reached out with his mind, contacting Andromeda.
GHOST STARED up at Kane, as the alpha calmly and swiftly took over, and he felt like a great weight was lifted off his shoulders. He trusted Kane, he trusted him like he’d never trusted anyone before, and he knew that the alpha would keep him, and his humans, safe.
“You and I, my little wolf, will return to the park center now. Shaman River will be waiting.” He tilted his head in question, and Kane smiled at him, one of his large and powerful hands cupping his muzzle. “The shaman will show you the way back to your human form.”
Kane stripped off the borrowed pants and threw them up onto the porch, once again naked. Ghost watched eagerly as Kane knelt beside him, and the Change took the alpha. It wasn’t as fast as the first time, as if he sensed that Ghost wanted to watch the process.
Black fur sprouted in a wave from his back as his spine bowed, and his skull lengthened, a muzzle parting his lips, fangs filling his mouth, human molars disappearing. The rest of the transformation was a sickening blur of human flesh being swallowed by wolf limbs and claws, black fur covering every inch. It was unnerving and not pretty to watch, and he felt Kane’s gentle amusement at his reaction in the back of his head. If that was what it was like, he wasn’t too sure he wanted to find his human form again. That whole process looked very uncomfortable.
The big black alpha stood over him and licked his face, and he sighed happily, leaning into the sweet-smelling caresses. Kane rumbled at him and a huge paw went around his neck, and he found himself once again under the bigger wolf, Kane surrounding him, protecting him. He snuggled in deeper, the scent of warm fur and an undefinable smell that reminded him of safety and comfort filled his senses. The black wolf grumbled at him, and he wormed his way under Kane completely, the alpha so large he was surrounded totally by him, even his tail. It was a tight fit under the other wolf, but Kane immediately sent him a rush of approval, satisfied to have him where he was. He was happy to be there, and he looked past Kane’s front legs to see the alpha named Burke watching them out of the corner of one golden eye. He stared back, and Burke made him want to laugh as he acted like he hadn’t been watching, idly gazing at a random snowflake as it fell past his black nose.
Ghost turned his head back to the cabin when the female called Sophia walked out leading Glen and Cat, the other wolves, now in their human forms, carrying their gear and bags. The humans gaped at the scorched earth in a wide arc cut through the snow, but Sophia urged them on. The last wolf out turned off the power, and a burst of white smoke from the chimney said that the fire was out in the hearth. Sophia led the humans to Glen’s truck, and Ghost huffed in amusement as the naked, tiny woman held out her hands for the keys. Glen hesitated, but she arched a brow at him and snapped her fingers, and he handed them over. Sophia got behind the wheel, and the humans got in as well, their gear thrown in the back of the truck. A couple of the wolves regained their four-legged shapes and jumped in the back, as the female beta turned the truck around and drove off. The rest of the wolves followed the truck as it disappeared into the trees, and he whined, worried.
*Your humans are safer now than they have ever been. You’ll see them soon. We must go, my little wolf.* Kane’s words eased his fears, and Burke was up, heading back across the clearing in the direction of the park’s inner reaches. Kane waited until Burke was out of sight, then slowly stepped away, letting Ghost free. He felt adrift, cold and lonely without that great weight above him, and he whined.
Kane nudged him gently, and then turned away, and Ghost sat for a moment, confused.
*It’s time to go home, little wolf. Are you coming?*
He yipped in agreement, and chased after the midnight black wolf.
THE NIGHT WAS total and all-encompassing under the cover of the trees. Ghost called on his double-vision, and the red star that was Kane bloomed on his horizon, as brilliant as the sun every morning. He had to work hard to catch up, and every time he did, Kane would dip away, making a swift change in direction, and Ghost would try to match him, heart racing. He was playing!
Kane laughed softly in his head and sent him a teasing glance over his shoulder, the slim line of white around the outer edge of his eyes and the flash of his fangs the only relief in the inky black of his body. He flowed through the shadows as if he were one of them, and it was only the muffled crunch of the snow under his paws that told Ghost the alpha was real and not a dream. He remembered the dream he’d had as he and his humans traveled south, and he was overcome with an urge to say something, anything, to the wolf with whom he ran.
*I dreamt that you found me, the day I fell in the river. That you found me and kept me safe, instead of the humans.* He hadn’t meant to say that, exactly, and he flinched, thinking he sounded like a silly cub. Kane stopped and waited for him to catch up, panting in the harsh cold night air, their breath frosting as they exhaled.
*Forgive me, little wolf. I searched, but I could not find you. I failed you.* Kane dropped his forehead to Ghost’s, their panting breath joining, combining. They were in a deep shadow, a foot from a sharp and clean line of moonlight that cut through the pine boughs. Kane was as black as the shadow in which they stood, and if Ghost didn’t have his double-vision, he would be impossible to see.
He saw an image of Kane running along the river, exhausted, drenched, body aching, searching for him as a cub, the day the human pulled him off the rocks into the water. He felt the other wolf’s despair, his guilt at failing, and the steadfast belief that Ghost—Luca, wasn’t dead, even when everyone said he must be.
*I’m here now,* he told the alpha, who gave him that deep happy growl again, and it radiated out from his great chest, and up and through Ghost’s head where Kane was pressed to him.
*Yes, you are, my little wolf. And I will never lose you again.*
Kane slowly pulled away, and they ran now side by side. Kane kept his pace slower for the sake of his shorter strides, and he relaxed, finding it hard to believe he was really going home, that they’d found each other at last.
They took their time, and Ghost was able to see better in the darkness as they came upon a well-tended road that wove through the trees with the moon shining down from a cloudless sky. Their shadows were perfectly defined, and the air was so cold that every breath frosted, ice crystalizing on their noses and eye lashes. Sound echoed strangely, reaching far, yet the pressure of the extreme chill falling from the sky made his ears want to pop at every snap of ice under their paws. Kane led the way, trotting down the road, and in the brilliant moonlight, Ghost could see a multitude of tracks from wolves of varying sizes, their scents ranging from days to minutes old. The one named Burke was ahead of them somewhere,
his scent the strongest.
Eventually, they came to what Ghost assumed was the center of the park, and his nose was swamped by the scents of wolves. He saw none of them, and he was looking. They passed cabins, some of them occupied, lights on inside, the murmur of televisions and the char of fires burning away in hearths on the faint wind. He sensed eyes on them but saw no one at all. He speculated that it was the presence of the huge alpha running beside him that kept the other wolves away, and Ghost figured he would be intimidating. Ghost bumped the big wolf lightly with his shoulder, and Kane gave him a toothy grin. He wasn’t afraid of Kane and felt nothing but affection and joy from the alpha.
Kane took him on a path that wound up through the trees and trimmed open spaces, and he paused for a moment as they passed a large stone and wood building that rested on a small plateau on the side of the hill. A harsh jolt went through his nerves, recognizing the council house where his grandfather had told stories the night before the humans attacked. He jumped when a cold nose touched his, and he followed after Kane, as he continued up the hill.
The path was icy, but their claws dug in, and they made the top of the hill without mishap. At the top was a huge two story log cabin, every side covered in tall single-pane windows that overlooked the mountains and valley. Lights shined brightly from within, beckoning to them, revealing honey-colored wooden walls on the interior that made the lights seem brighter. There was a wraparound porch on the ground floor, and smaller wooden balconies were placed at even intervals on the second floor. It was taller than most two story buildings, and Ghost had the fleeting impression he’d seen this building before. He somehow knew the ground floor of the log cabin had high vaulted ceilings, and the second floor was a maze of rooms.
Kane paced towards the front door, and it opened. A slim figure dressed in a light gray slip of cloth stepped out on the porch, and Ghost stumbled to a halt in the front yard. His double-vision was still up, and he inhaled in wonder. She was magnificent, the star of light that burned in her core a true sun, gold and white, the flames burning as brightly as the real sun during a midsummer noon. Her eyes seemed to pierce his heart and see into every crevice of his soul. She gave him a smile that rivaled her star, and he dropped his head, suddenly shy, his bravery reduced by her power.