Wolf

by D. M. Turner

“I don’t want you put in a position where you’re—” Her gaze dropped, and that blush appeared again. “Um… frustrated.”

  He chuckled. “I’m an adult. I can handle it. I’m more concerned about you. If I can help you heal, I want to. Not for me. I want you to heal so you don’t have this weighing you down anymore. You deserve to be happy and free of this kind of fear.”

  Tanya’s blue gaze locked with his. Indecision flashed across her face then vanished under determination. “How soon can we get married?”

  “Um, I think today if we wanted to. Well, no, not today. It’s Saturday. The clerk’s office won’t be open until Monday. I don’t think Arizona has a waiting period, but we’d have to check. I’m pretty sure all we need are picture IDs and birth certificates.”

  “Oh.” She frowned.

  “What?”

  “My birth certificate. It’s at my parents’ house.”

  “Can Chris get it for you?”

  “Probably not right away.” The frown deepened, and then she sighed. “I need the rest of my things anyway. We might as well go get everything and get it over with.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I want to get married, so I need that birth certificate. We can go Monday morning. Daddy’ll be at work. Mom’ll be home. She can let us in. You and I can pack everything, and it’ll be done.”

  “What about school?”

  “I’ll borrow notes from someone to find out what I missed.”

  “If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.” He tugged her into his arms again and pulled the blanket higher over them. “In the meantime, what are we gonna do today?” He kissed the top of her head. “After you get some sleep anyway.”

  “I don’t care.” She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Can I sleep right here?” The words slowed and slurred.

  Colin smiled. “Absolutely.” He’d stay there all day if it meant holding and protecting her.

  Peace filled the air. The sun eventually crept over the horizon.

  The door slid with a faint hush. “Colin, son, is everything alright?”

  He turned his head to look at his father, careful not to stir far enough to disturb Tanya. “Perfect. She wants to get married on Monday.”

  Dad’s brows shot up. “Monday? Really? I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “Well, this simplifies things somewhat.”

  Confused, Colin frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “The super moon.”

  “What about it?”

  “I probably need to discuss that with you, Tanya, and Donna. And Graham, if I’m gauging things right.”

  “Why? Graham and I have been through super moons before.”

  “It’ll be different this time.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’ll talk to all of you when you’re together next time. No use going over it more than once and probably answering the same questions repeatedly.”

  “Okay.” Colin shook his head. Why was Dad being so mysterious about the whole thing? Strange. “Anyway, we’re going Monday to get the rest of Tanya’s things from her parents’ house. She’ll need her birth certificate for the marriage license, and that’s where it is. She wants to just pick up everything.”

  “What everything, exactly? Small possessions and clothes? Furniture?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll find out between now and then.”

  “If you need the SUV, you can use it. You’ll fit more in that than one of the cars.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m going to start breakfast. Is it safe to assume you’ll eat out here?” Dad grinned.

  “Yep. She didn’t sleep all night, so I don’t want to disturb her.”

  “Good boy.”

  * * *

  Sunday, September 6, 2015

  Chuckles filled the room as Tommy entertained the adults by telling some of the worst jokes Colin had ever heard. Dad leaned against the fireplace mantle. Brett and Graham sat in the leather-upholstered chairs with Colin, Tanya, and Donna on the couch. When he was sitting, which was rarely, Tommy squeezed between the women. Apparently he couldn’t tell a joke without using his entire body.

  Tanya shifted, leaning closer to Colin’s side, distracting him from the antics of their pint-sized entertainer. Since they’d talked the morning before, she’d been freer about physical contact even in human form. She’d relaxed more with him, which sent his blood pressure up at the same time it made his heart swell. She trusted him. No gift could possibly be more precious than that.

  “Oh, I heard one the other day that was reeally funny!”

  Colin checked back into the conversation as Tommy’s excitement level ramped up again.

  “What did the cherry say to the blueberry?”

  The adults exchanged looks that covered the gamut from amusement to resignation before they dutifully shrugged and shook their heads.

  “Breathe, idiot! Breathe!” His grin encompassed his whole face. “Get it? Blueberry?”

  Colin dropped his head forward until his chin almost met his chest.

  Tanya groaned and banged her forehead against Colin’s shoulder.

  Donna laughed.

  Dad and Brett chuckled.

  Brett. Chuckled. Not something Colin had seen or heard much over the years. He lifted his head at the same moment his father and Brett shared a sober, intense look that passed almost before it happened.

  The pack second pushed out of the chair and put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Why don’t you come with me, pup? I’ve got something to show you in the office.”

  “Pup?” Tommy puffed out his bony chest. “I’m not a pup. I’m a big, bad wolf.”

  Brett snorted. “Not yet, you aren’t.”

  “Get used to it, Tommy.” Colin half-grinned. “I’m well past grown up, and Brett still calls me a pup. He can’t help it. He’s an old man.”

  A soft growl from Brett followed, but Colin didn’t look at him, biting back the urge to grin fully.

  “Old?” Tommy glanced up at the tall man looming over him. “He’s not old. I’ve seen old. That woman who lived next door to us, right, Donna.”

  “Yes, she was definitely old.”

  “She looked like an apple I left on the porch for a month one summer.”

  “Tommy!”

  “Well, she did.”

  “Come on, pup, before you get yourself into even more trouble.” Brett nudged the boy from the room, herding him toward Dad’s office at the far end of the house.

  Tommy regaled Brett with more jokes, his voice gradually disappearing down the hall.

  “Thank heavens!” Dad shook his head. “Doesn’t that boy know any good jokes?”

  “I’ve never heard him tell one.” Donna shrugged.

  Silence settled over the room. Not an easy one either. Something was wrong.

  “What’s up, Dad?”

  He straightened away from the mantle. “I asked Brett to keep Tommy occupied for a while, so I could speak to the four of you.”

  “Is something wrong?” Graham’s brow furrowed.

  “Not yet.”

  Oh, that doesn’t sound good.

  Dad sighed. “This month’s full moon will be coupled with perigee.”

  “So…?” Colin shrugged. “We’ve been through super moons before. They’re not a huge deal.” He motioned around Tanya to Donna. “And, Tanya already explained the mate thing to Donna. She knows she needs to make a choice before the full moon.”

  “Yeah, well, that need may come sooner than you think.”

  Donna’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  “Perigee complicates things.”

  “What is that?” Tanya asked.

  “The moon travels in an elliptical orbit around Earth, not a circular one. When it’s closest, it’s called perigee. When it’s furthest away, it’s referred to as apogee. Those are constants. The moon is always moving, just as the Earth is always moving around the sun. When perigee is combined w
ith a full moon, it tends to… intensify the effects of the full moon itself.”

  “Meaning, more aggression, possibly more fighting than normal?” Tanya tilted her head and frowned.

  “Exactly.” He leaned back against the mantle and crossed his arms over his chest. “This month things are far more complicated than they normally would be.”

  “In what way, Dad? Graham and I have gone through super moons before. What makes this one different?”

  “I have a mated pair who has not physically mated yet.” He motioned to Colin and Tanya with a jut of his chin. Then his gaze shifted to Donna. “Plus an unmated female and a whole pack of suitors, of which”—his gaze narrowed on Graham—“I suspect you are the most serious candidate.”

  Donna blushed and lowered her gaze to the throw pillow in her lap.

  “Perigee full moons also enhance sexual urges.”

  Oh. “Why haven’t I heard about this before?”

  “You never needed to know. The only members of the pack who’ve ever dealt with it are married or, on the rare occasion we’ve had them in the pack, mated pairs who’ve already consummated their relationship. They know to watch for signs and take suitable precautions.”

  “Precautions? Like what?” Horror crept into Tanya’s voice.

  “More sexual contact around that time.”

  Her breath caught. “Oh.”

  Oh, was right. Tanya wasn’t ready. “But, what if we’re not ready for that… step?”

  “We can expect more aggression. What we saw that first full moon after Tanya joined the pack will be nothing compared to what happens during a perigee full moon.”

  “Can you lock us up for the night?” Graham’s horror matched Tanya’s. Probably recalling how bad things had been the last time. The fact he’d nearly killed Tanya weighed on him, Colin suspected.

  “It won’t be just one night. Because of where this falls, we can expect it to start three nights before and continue for three days after. It’ll grow in intensity until the night of the full moon, then slack off, but that whole time will be dangerous.”

  “But members of the pack are married. How does the rest of the pack handle the human females being around?”

  “Those females are mated with long-standing relationships. Males won’t fight over them.”

  “Just me and Donna.” The words came out so softly, Colin was amazed any of them heard.

  Dad nodded. “Unless you have completed matings by the afternoon of the twenty-fourth, we could have a bloody mess on our hands, and I mean that in the most literal sense.” He scowled. “As Tanya knows, females don’t always come out of fights between males unscathed. I saw a female killed by her suitors a few decades ago.”

  Tanya shivered against Colin. He changed position to put an arm around her shoulders and drew her against his chest.

  A few seconds later, she craned her neck to look at him. “I guess it’s a good thing we’re getting married this week, huh?”

  He smiled. “We’ll find a way, if we have to. Don’t worry.”

  She nodded, but doubt flashed across her face. Then she glanced over her shoulder at Donna.

  The other woman stared hard at the pillow in her lap. “Tommy and I need this pack. I don’t want to cause a problem. If I must take a mate, then I choose Graham. If he’ll have me.” Her gaze rose to meet that of the man in question.

  A slow smile curved his mouth. He slipped out of the chair and dropped to one knee in front of her, covering her hands with his. “I would be honored to call you my wife and share life with you.”

  Despite the circumstances, some of the tension in Donna’s body melted away.

  Who knew Graham could be such a silver-tongued devil?

  “I hate to push like this.” Dad pushed away from the mantle and took a couple of steps closer to the couch. “If it wasn’t such a dangerous situation, I wouldn’t do so. You ladies need time to heal that we can’t afford to give you. I’m sorry. I truly am.”

  Donna and Tanya shared a look Colin couldn’t interpret.

  Then Tanya smiled at Dad. “It’s not your fault. God’ll see us through it. I… trust that.”

  Lord, please see all of us through this.

  * * *

  Flagstaff, Arizona

  Monday, September 7, 2015

  Hand raised to knock on the door, Tanya hesitated. What was she doing there? The car was missing, so her father was at work, as expected, but Mom would be home. She hadn’t had contact with them in three months. Three solid months. Not so much as a phone call. If she had no need of the paperwork in the box in her closet, she wouldn’t be there at that moment. A breach with her parents wouldn’t prevent her from marrying Colin though.

  “We don’t have to do this.” Colin’s hand gently touched her lower back. “If necessary, we can order a new copy of your birth certificate.”

  “And that’ll take how long? Days, weeks?” She shook her head. “No. I need to get the rest of my things, as well as important papers. Let’s get this over with.” Steeling herself, she knocked on the front door then stepped closer to Colin.

  The door opened moments later. Mom’s eyes widened. “Tanya?”

  “We’re here to pick up the rest of my things.”

  “Oh, okay.” She stepped back and opened the door further.

  Colin nodded to her as he eased through the opening with the stack of collapsed boxes he carried under one arm.

  Tanya accepted the boxes from him and didn’t wait for anything more to be said. She headed for her bedroom, trusting him to follow after he’d retrieved the bubble wrap and newspapers from the front porch.

  In the bedroom, Colin assembled and taped boxes while Tanya retrieved the metal document box from the upper shelf in the closet. “My birth certificate and other documents are in here. We need to make sure we don’t pack it.” She set it on the bed to grab on the way out.

  They worked through the room in silence. Tanya layered books in the bottoms of boxes then tossed clothes from the closet on top of them. Colin packed separate boxes with knick knacks and framed photographs from her walls and shelves, taking the time to wrap each one in either bubble wrap or newspaper.

  When the last box was taped shut, Tanya stood beside the foot of the bed and looked around the room she’d lived in since birth. If her parents didn’t allow her back into their lives, she’d never see it again. Her brother Chris had talked to them, multiple times, over the past three months. Nothing. No give. They didn’t want her anymore.

  Tears pricked her eyes.

  “Hey.” Colin laid a gentle hand against her cheek and stepped close enough for his scent to wrap around her. “It’ll be okay. Somehow, eventually, it’ll be okay.”

  “I wish I could believe that.” She shook her head. “They won’t stop hating me for what I’ve become. Like I had a choice.” She nudged the cedar chest that sat flush against the foot of the bed and sniffled. “The only thing that goes with us other than the boxes is the cedar chest. It contains things I don’t want to leave behind.”

  “Not a problem.” He smiled, kissed her forehead, and reached for it. “Why don’t we carry it down first? Once it’s situated in Dad’s SUV, the boxes should fit around it.”

  She nodded and grabbed the other end. To and out the front door, load the chest in the vehicle, back through the house, and repeated until only unused packing supplies and the document file remained. Mom hadn’t shown her face since they’d knocked on the door.

  Tanya grabbed the small metal box off the bed.

  Colin picked up the remaining packing supplies and followed her to the front door.

  Mom stood in the archway between the living room and entry.

  Tanya hesitated then took a step toward her mother.

  Mom backed up a half-step.

  Forcing down tears so she wouldn’t fall apart, Tanya turned and went out the front door, leaving it wide open. Get in the car. Don’t look back.

  * * *

  Anger rolled throug
h Colin as he watched Tanya’s stiff, determined walk toward Dad’s SUV. He turned to the woman watching from the other side of the foyer. “Tanya and I are getting married, probably later today, possibly tomorrow, depending. I think she’d like you to be there.”

  Tears filled Mrs. Sikes’ eyes, and she shook her head. “I can’t.”

  He snorted. “You won’t, you mean. Your daughter was kidnapped, stripped naked, locked in a concrete cell, brutalized, raped, and left to die. Don’t you care, or do you wish she’d died alone in that horrible place?”

  The woman’s eyes widened, and tears filled them.

  Okay, maybe he could’ve been a little less… honest about the extent of what Tanya had endured, and probably left off the implied accusation. He shook his head. No. Her family needed to know what she’d gone through and how their behavior appeared to others. “For a Christian family, you people are very unloving. You have no idea what your daughter has been through emotionally, physically, and mentally, or how you and your husband have nearly cost her her life. We’re still not sure she’s going to survive. She doesn’t deserve the way you’ve treated her.”

  Her gaze dropped to the floor.

  “If you ever decide you actually love your daughter, Chris knows how to reach her.”

  He ignored the way she flinched and followed in Tanya’s wake.

  She waited for him in the front passenger seat, the document box on her lap. Her knuckles were white from the grip she had on the edge of the metal box.

  He deposited his load on the backseat, climbed behind the wheel, and soon had the vehicle moving.

  A few blocks away, he pulled into the parking lot of a park and shut off the ignition. Without a word, he unbuckled his seatbelt, freed Tanya from hers, and wrapped his arms around her.

  She dissolved on contact. Sobs wrenched her too-thin frame. They needed to get some weight on her, but grief kept coming and suppressed her appetite. Dad kept saying there was nothing they could do but hope and pray she’d finally let go of the grief, before it killed her.

  Colin hated the helplessness. Isn’t there anything I can do, Lord? These hits keep coming. When will she reach her limit and give up as Dad fears? How much can one person take?

  After a while, Tanya straightened and wiped her hands across her eyes.