by Geonn Cannon
Dale reached past Ari and clicked on the link. A new page opened with a new video showing the same room, but now Marin was alone. A radio sitting in the corner was playing music.
“That’s so people can confirm it’s live,” Dale said with a quiet, shaky voice. “It’s KNOC. It’s real. I checked. So far everyone online seems pretty sure it’s a prank, but I don’t know how long that will last. But Ari, that’s not all.”
Ari closed her eyes and braced herself. “God, what else could go wrong?”
“I tried calling Val. To ask her about the drug, if Milo could have been dosed with it. Her phone number was disconnected. I called the jail to see if I could get a message to her, but they said she’s no longer an employee there.”
Ari turned to look up at Dale. “Don’t tell me.”
Dale’s eyes were full of tears. “She’s missing. No one has seen her for months.”
Chapter Five
“Talk to me, Ariadne.”
Ari continued staring at the screen. Dale put her hand on the back of the chair and spun it so she had no choice but to look away.
“I full-named you, puppy. You can’t ignore that.”
“I know.” Ari’s voice was strained. “But she’s...” She twisted to look at the computer again.
Dale hooked her finger under Ari’s chin, turning her back around. “I told you everyone online thinks this is a hoax. The cops will probably get involved before too long, but there’s one person who knows it’s a hundred percent real and who has been hired to find that girl.” She poked her finger into Ari’s chest. “You, puppy. You’re the only person for the job right now, and I know it’s been a heavy day, and I know it’s weighing on you, but you need to push past the horror and fear you’re feeling right now. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to hurt. You’re going to crash eventually. But I want you to know that when that happens, I’m going to be waiting to catch you and take care of you and get you back into fighting shape. Because that’s my job. This...” She nodded at the computer screen. “This is yours.”
Ari cupped Dale’s face in her hands. “You’re my pack, Dale.”
Dale smiled, though her eyes were still pained. “And you’re mine.” She turned her head and kissed the inside of Ari’s wrist. “Do what you have to do, even if it hurts. I’ll be here to patch you up. I swear.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
They kissed again. Ari stroked Dale’s hair when they parted, and she turned to look at the screen. “There’s no way this actually goes the full four weeks. I mean, come on. They’re live-streaming a hostage situation and giving proof they’re in Seattle.”
“They also made another mistake,” Dale said. “A big one.”
“What?”
“Come on, Ari. I know you’ll see it.”
Ari examined the room on-screen. She saw Marin, her head hanging down. She looked back at Dale, who nodded encouragingly. Ari looked at the screen and focused. It was like trying to solve one of those “Find Six Differences” pictures but there was only one thing in the room now that the Presidents had left. That’s when it clicked.
“They explained their plan while she was in the room,” she said.
Dale squeezed her shoulder. “There you go.”
“So she knows exactly what they’re planning to do. She won’t transform until she has absolutely no choice.”
“Right. And you’ve told me that you can push it if you absolutely have to. She’s going to hold out as long as she can.” She moved her hand to the back of Ari’s neck. “But she won’t have to. You’re going to find her, puppy. I know you will.”
Ari pushed away from the desk and went to her office. “Might as well get started. Can you put the names of the missing women on the board? I have to make a phone call.”
“Eva?” Dale guessed.
Ari sighed and sat down. “Yeah. Not looking forward to it.”
“Have her come down, hear it in person. This isn’t the sort of thing you tell anyone over the phone, let alone a family member.”
“Right.” Ari dialed and watched Dale pinning notecards to the bulletin board. The phone buzzed twice before Eva answered. “Eva? This is Ariadne Willow. I’m--”
“I know.” Eva sounded as if she’d been crying. “Is it real?”
Ari sighed. “We think so. We don’t know anything specific yet. But the good news here is that they have to keep her safe if they want to follow through on the threat. We have a chance to get her back safe and sound, just a little banged up.”
“Our parents always warned us about hunters.” She sniffled. “I thought they were just made up. I thought they were just stories.”
“Yeah,” Ari said. “They’ve been pretty quiet for a while. Hopefully we’re going to make them rethink making all this noise.”
“Are you sure I can’t pay you?”
“Absolutely sure,” Ari said. “This is personal for us, too. We’re going to keep you in the loop as much as possible. If you hear anything, or if anyone reaches out to you, call us. Let us know.”
“I will. Thank you, Miss Willow.”
“Don’t thank me until this mess is all over. We’ll talk again soon.”
When she hung up, she stood and went over to look at the progress Dale made on the board.
The first card: GWYNETH WILLOW, MISSING SIX MONTHS.
The second card: VALERIE BYRNE, MISSING APPROX SIX MONTHS.
The third card: MARIN CARDOSO, MISSING ONE DAY.
She was adding a new card under Gwen’s name with the information they knew about her disappearance. Taken with Milo, most likely from Germany, brought back to the States, kept somewhere presumably within Seattle city limits.
“Why here?” Ari said. “Why would they bring Mom and Milo all the way back here?”
Dale didn’t stop writing. “Because you’re here, puppy. If Isaac Hayden is involved, he has reason to be especially pissed off with you. This is also where wolf manoth almost happened last time.” She straightened and tucked her hair behind her ears. “And it seems like Seattle has a pretty healthy wolf population. Has anyone ever actually done a census?”
“Kind of hard to pull one of those off,” Ari said.
“Right.” She moved to Val and brought up the pen, then stopped. “Fuck. I can’t believe she’s been missing all this time and we didn’t even realize. I feel like shit.”
Ari rubbed Dale’s back. “We’ll make it up to her by finding her.”
“As terrible as it sounds,” Dale said, “Val being taken is another silver lining.”
“How so?”
“She’s a doctor. Specifically, a doctor who knows about canidae anatomy. It means Gwen and Marin have access to medical care.”
Ari considered that. “Yes. Or they took her because she’s the daughter of a hunter.” Her mind settled on that fact, rolled it around as she went back to her desk. “Which is probably how they found her.”
Dale watched Ari bend over the keyboard and rapidly start typing. “What are you thinking?”
“They wouldn’t just randomly grab a doctor who happened to be related to a hunter, even if they were estranged. They had to target Val specifically. I doubt they knew she had experience treating canidae, unless they had someone working at the prison. Which... now that I think about it, isn’t impossible. But right now, I’m running with my theory.”
“Which is?”
“I think Val’s father put a target on her back. I’d like to have a conversation with him and find out for sure.” She grunted, frustrated. “I don’t think I’m going to get very far online, though.”
Dale came over and waved Ari out of the chair. “You don’t think she has him in her Facebook friends?”
Ari let Dale take over the computer. “Considering the man was a racist hunter who tried to raise her to be a carbon copy of himself, no. I don’t think so.” She dropped down onto the couch and took out her phone so she could text Diana, to see if there had been
any updates on Hayden or the men from that morning. “I honestly don’t even know if Byrne is his last name. She might have taken her mother’s maiden name or a name she just came up with because she liked how it sounded.”
“That’s why you keep me around.”
“Well, that and the fact you don’t mind driving more than your fair share.”
“Wow! I’m good for two things?”
Ari said, “I’ll try to think of a third.”
Dale winked at her. “Really rack your brain, puppy.”
Ari watched her work. Her eyes darted over the screen, she typed and then chewed her lip as she scrolled through the results.
“Still enjoying your birthday?”
“Immensely.” She glanced over. “I wish I’d gotten to spend a little more time with you, but we’re ending the day together. That’s enough for me. This is why I don’t like putting much weight on the day.”
Ari said, “I like putting weight on it. It’s the day you were born. It should feel special.”
Dale smiled. “Aw, puppy.”
“Milo told me that she and Mom didn’t actually decide to start telling people they were married. It just sort of happened, and they started going with it, and they were both surprised by how right it felt.”
“I’m sure it did,” Dale said.
Ari leaned forward. “What if from now on, we don’t remember today because it’s the day you were born? What if it’s because today’s the day we finally stopped saying ‘one of these days’?”
Dale’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. Her head slowly turned to look at Ari. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me. I’m tired of stumbling over what to call you. Wife is easy. We don’t have to do a whole thing, ceremony and name-change and all that. But I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and it’s stupid not to make it official.”
“We can’t just run out and get married. Your mom would kill us if we do it without her. And we need a license, and there’s a three-day wedding period... w-waiting period.” She rubbed her temple. “We’d need to find an officiant...”
“How do you know that about the waiting period?”
“I’ve looked into it.”
Ari smiled. “Yeah?”
Dale looked at her and sighed. “Yeah, Ari, of course I have.”
“Did you come up with any details?”
Dale started to speak, then looked at the computer screen. “We... we should focus on the case.”
“Are you close to finding Val’s dad? Or any information that can help us find her?”
“No. Not really.”
“You and Dr. Frost both told me to take the night off. Rest and relax. So if you want me to step back, this is what I want to do.”
“Get married.”
Ari nodded. “Whatever that looks like for us. I’m tired of putting it off.”
Dale sighed, looked longingly at the computer, and then pushed the keyboard away. She stood and faced Ari.
“There is one idea I kept coming back to.”
Ari grinned.
***
A generous person might have described it as an alleyway. The space between buildings was wide enough for a car to pass through, barely, and it was relatively devoid of trash. It was almost sunset, and the buildings on either side had bright security lights shining down over their delivery entrances.
Dale led the way, turning to make sure Ari and Milo were following her. Ari looked up at the buildings and then turned to look back out at the street where they’d parked.
“I know I said it didn’t have to be romantic,” she said, “but I think we can come up with something a little better than this.”
Dale stopped next to a loading dock and held her arms out. “Here it is.”
Milo looked at the almost-invisible logo on the wall. “Dennis Laurens and Associates?”
“What?” Dale looked at the faded paint. “Oh. No, I don’t know what that is. This...” She pointed at the ground. “This is where a girl who was planning to drop out of college found a bunch of teenage pricks abusing what she thought was a stray dog. This is where she sacrificed the last cheeseburger she could afford to gain the dog’s trust so she could take it home where it could be safe.”
Ari looked around the alley with more reverence now. “This is where we met? I thought that was... I don’t remember it being an alley...”
“I don’t think this building was here. Or at least... the whole place was under construction. Either way, this is it. This is where I rescued you. I know it’s not the most romantic or the most picturesque, but I’ve thought long and hard about it and I couldn’t imagine marrying you anywhere else. If you have another idea, I’m willing--”
“This is perfect.” Ari walked forward and took Dale’s hands in both of hers. “This is right for us.”
Milo came closer. “So, if everyone’s ready?”
Ari nodded. They’d picked up Milo to act as their witness, even though they acknowledged nothing about the wedding would be official. Milo agreed to come with them before she even knew what the plan was, but her expression changed on the drive as Dale explained what they were doing. When she finished, Milo said, “Why don’t you just do a canidae ceremony? We don’t need all that license bullshit.”
“This is a bit late to break it to you,” Dale said, “but I’m not canidae.”
“Bollocks,” Milo said. “You’re more wolf than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Ari had twisted in the seat. “Do you know the ceremony?”
Milo had shrugged. “Well enough for whatever unofficial thing you two are doing, sure.”
Now she took out the items she’d retrieved from the trunk of Dale’s car. “Normally, we’d be doing this in the woods somewhere. But I guess the middle of a major city is close enough. And you’d both be naked, but that’s just to make transforming at the end easier. I think we can skip that part. We ready?”
Dale’s hands were shaking, so Ari brought them to her lips to kiss the fingers. “We’re ready.”
Dale nodded. “Yeah.”
Milo smiled. “Okay, then. Now forgive me, this isn’t going to be the most accurate thing in the world, but I’m going to do my best. And there are a lot of references to the pack, since this is really a ceremony to bring someone from one pack into another, but we can just consider that, um, symbolic. Okay, let’s get this started.”
Ari and Dale faced each other.
“Ariadne Willow, daughter of Gwyneth and none, member of no pack. Dale Frye, daughter of none, member of no pack...” She regarded them for a moment, then smiled. “This is actually better than most canidae unions. There’s no history, no weight, no expectations of twenty other wolves to worry about. This is just about two women who found each other and decided... yeah, this is who I want. This is the family I want. I’ve seen packs with dozens of wolves, and they’re not as strong as the bond I see when the two of you look at each other. What you have found here is truly a new family, a bond that connects you beyond your histories or species. You are human, you are canidae, and now you are one.
“Dale, now you swear to her.”
“Ariadne,” Dale said, “I swear to be faithful to you, to support you, and to be the pack you never had. My heart is yours, and I will stand with you forever.”
Ari blinked back tears. She moved her hand up to Dale’s wrist, to the bracelet she’d been wearing for years. It was threads of Ari’s hair intertwined with fur from the wolf, symbolic of both sides of Ari and Dale’s acceptance of her as a whole person, not just the human side of her.
“Dale,” she said, when she trusted her voice again. “You’ve always been the only pack I ever needed. As long as you stand with me, I’ll earn the right to have your faith. I love you.”
“Shit,” Dale said, “I love you, too. I can’t believe I didn’t say that.”
Ari laughed.
Milo said, “I think we can ignore the slip-up. Ariadne Willow and Dale Frye, members of no pack, by
the power vested in me by... no one, really, I pronounce you mates.”
Dale said, “Do we--” and was cut off by Ari kissing her. Milo laughed and took a step back. Ari cupped the back of Dale’s head and pressed close to her.
After an appropriate amount of time, Milo cleared her throat, looking past them at one end of the alley and then twisting to look back at the other end.
“Ladies, I understand getting swept up in the romance, but we are technically in public right now.”
Ari smiled and ended the kiss, but brushed her hand through Dale’s hair. “Now what?”
“Now,” Milo said, “we trade keys and I stay at your place while you and Dale have a little honeymoon at ours.”
Dale said, “You just got back. We can’t kick you out of your home.”
Milo was still smiling, but her eyes became pained. “I can’t stay there without Gwen. Maybe tomorrow or in a couple of days, but...”
“We’ll be happy to let you housesit for us,” Dale said.
“Thanks.” Milo cleared her throat. “So, um, we should probably go before anyone asks what we’re doing here.” She stepped between Ari and Dale and put her arms around their shoulders to guide them back to the car. “And let me be the first to congratulate the happy couple.”
***
Despite the ceremony, Ari didn’t plan on having sex that night. She didn’t think Dale did, either. But the temperature plummeted as soon as the sun went down, and there was a fireplace in the living room. Ari figured out how to start a fire, then watched as Dale did it safely, and they stretched out on the floor in front of the hearth with all the lights out. Cuddling turned to kissing, and clothes started to come off amid the kissing. Ari knew they’d reached the point of no return when Dale was on top of her, alternating between nipping at her earlobe and kissing her neck.
“So...” Ari kept her eyes closed and licked her lips as Dale kissed her chest. “We need to work out some details.”
“Okay.” Dale nuzzled Ari’s stomach. “Shoot.”