by Kate Rudolph
Did Grandma Sylvie always sound like that? Or was it her cold? Her voice was almost ridiculously high pitched, like a comedic impersonation of an old woman. But why would someone be impersonating her grandmother? Red shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She was just all jumbled from the lack of sleep, the stress of her grandmother’s sickness and the increased workload that gave her, and the emotional turmoil from Wood’s rejection.
“Are you all right?” she called, getting closer to the room. The light was turned off, everything cast in a pale darkness, but even so Red could still see that the room was just as messy as outside. “You sound weird. Do you need more medicine?”
Her grandmother cleared her throat. “No, no, my dear. Everything is all right. Come a little closer. Let me see you.”
Red made it to the threshold and saw a giant pile of covers obscuring Grandma Sylvie from view. “Aren’t you a little warm?” Her grandma always complained about how hot it was; she must have been sick if she was covered by almost a meter of blankets.
“Oh no, it’s nice and toasty. Come closer, come closer.”
Red didn’t want to step any closer. Something was so wrong here, and some ancient instinct was beating at her to run away. She could almost hear it. Thump thump thump thump. But maybe that was just her heart. She stepped into the room slowly and glanced behind herself, as if she needed the reassurance that the door behind her would remain open.
“Do you want me to get a medic to come check you out?” she asked. “You don’t look so good.” Or at least, the pile of blankets she was under didn’t look so good. Red still couldn’t see her grandmother.
“I’m feeling better already,” Grandma Sylvie reassured her. “And once I have you by my side, I’ll be as good as can be.”
Thump thump thump thump, it was so loud in her head that Red was sure it was a real sound. She came around the side of the bed and caught sight of her grandmother. She didn’t look good, not at all. There was only a thin strip of skin that Red could make out, the rest covered by blankets, and now that she was close she could see they were all knotted up as if her grandmother had been tossing and turning for days.
Thump thump thump thump. Red jerked her head to the side and saw that her grandmother’s closet door was closed, and for some reason a chair had been stuffed in front of it, a chair that was vibrating as if someone was beating on the door behind it.
Red tried to take a step back, but whoever was laying in her grandmother’s bed shot out their hand and clamped it hard around her wrist. His skin was hot and dry and practically burned her where it made contact. When the covers flew off, she wasn’t entirely surprised to see Wolf spring up and advance on her, backing her up against the wall and crowding her space.
With his free hand, he traced a line down her cheek and tilted her head up to face his. “Your timing is almost perfect. Though I wanted a few more minutes to perfect my gift.”
Bile crawled up her throat and Red struggled against him, but his grip was tight enough to bruise and she couldn’t pull away. “What are you doing here? What did you do to my grandmother?”
“She’s fine,” he assured her. “And once you agree to be mine we can put all this behind us.”
“What?” Red coughed it out, not quite sure that she was hearing correctly. “Yours? Yeah, no, not happening. Let go of me right now. Leave us alone.” She struggled again, and Wolf tightened his grip, practically making her bones grind together. “Let me go. Your grip is too strong.”
“All the better to hold you with, my dear.” His eyes gleamed, an unhealthy light that told her exactly what he wanted to do with her. To her.
Red pushed the pain aside and intensified her struggle. She’d rather have a broken wrist than be stuck in Wolf’s embrace. She managed to get one hand free and lashed out, punching him along the jaw and clipping his nose. It was a glancing blow, not enough to do any damage, but he seemed stunned that she’d lashed out. A low growl began in his throat and rumbled across the room, terrifying and feral and enough to freeze Red in place.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” It came out garbled, as if there was something in Wolf’s mouth.
“Your teeth!” They were lengthening as she watched, canines growing to sharp points, his mouth elongating and transforming before her very eyes.
“If I can’t have you, I can eat you.” She barely understood what he said, but when the words registered she let out a piercing shriek right into his ear.
Wolf dropped her hand in shock and Red vaulted over the bed, kicking the chair outside the closet aside and opening the door to reveal her grandmother, sweat-soaked, her hair in knots, her face bruised, and hands bound, thumping her arms weakly against the ground.
Red looked back at Wolf as if she could question why the hell he’d put her grandmother in the closet, but standing where he’d been was a giant wolf, one large enough to leave those claw marks she’d seen a few days before outside the greenhouse. One more than large enough to eat her and her grandmother and still be hungry for more.
A crash from the other room caught both her and Wolf’s attention for a moment, and they were frozen in place as Wood barged into the room. For a moment, pure relief crashed through Red, lifting her up and making her feel like the entire situation would be okay. Wood was here, he had this under control. And when he looked at Wolf and let out an almost identical growl to what she’d heard Wolf make earlier, she didn’t understand. Not at first. And when his teeth started to grow almost too big for his mouth, until it, too, expanded, she couldn’t wrap her mind around it, certain that she’d snapped.
And in a blink, Wood was gone, and in his place was a huge red wolf, snarling at Wolf’s gray form. It wasn’t possible. She’d never heard of a man who could change into a wolf, let alone two, but the evidence was right in front of her, and they were snarling at each other, the tension heavy in the moment before Wolf turned away from Red and sprang at Wood. A warning lodged in Red’s throat, but between her fear and confusion, she didn’t know what she was saying. She didn’t want to take her eyes off the fight, terrified that they’d come for her and Grandma Sylvie, bloodlust whetted by the fight.
But her grandma needed help, and she couldn’t just leave her lying there bleeding. Red gingerly removed the rope around her wrists, trying to block out the noises of thick furred bodies crashing into furniture and making even more of a mess. “Ar-are you okay?” she managed to ask her grandma.
For once, Sylvie was struck silent. She massaged her newly freed wrists to get the blood flow back into them and simply nodded, staring wide eyed at the spectacle behind them. Something huge crashed and Red flinched. She turned around and she must have done it quickly, even though it felt like she was moving through molasses. The red wolf, Wood, stood over the whimpering form of Wolf and snarled down at him. A giant gash tore into Wolf’s side and blood pumped out of it, bright red even in the dim light.
Wood looked at her and Red was almost certain she could see the man who was somehow in there. Could it really be possible? Was he some kind of alien that could shift between man and beast? As he stood there, she noticed something strange along his back. His fur didn’t sit right there and when he moved, she spotted feathers.
“Wings?” She wasn’t asking him, not really, but the word escaped, and the crazy part of her that was dancing in celebration over her survival wanted to reach out and touch them.
Wood twitched and his wings spread out, wider than she was tall and strong enough to carry him high in the air where he could soar with the birds and planes. How?
He took a step towards her, and Red flinched. She didn’t know whether she meant to or not, her mind was still so confused. But Wood’s head drooped and he stepped back, pulling his wings in tight. He bowed his head and carefully gathered Wolf’s fur in his mouth and dragged him out, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
“Red, dear,” her grandma finally managed to ask once they were alone again, “what’s going on? Were those wolves?�
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Red thunked her head back against the wall and collapsed in on herself. She didn’t know what to think, didn’t know how to feel. Wolf was an actual wolf, and so was Wood. How the hell was that possible? And was that why Wood had pushed her away? Was she ever going to see him again? Or was he going to take Wolf and disappear?
She didn’t know what was going on, didn’t know how to answer her grandma, but one thing was for certain, she had to find Wood before he left the planet. Things weren’t done between them, not even close.
Chapter Seven
Grandma Sylvie was so shaken up by everything that had happened that she and Red were already entering the door of the medic station before she thought to protest. “I’m fine,” she turned to Red and said, trying to wave off the medic that was approaching them swiftly. “This is nothing that a little regen gel can’t take care of.”
But Red wasn’t taking any chances. She didn’t want to risk her grandmother’s health, especially with whatever Wolf had done to her on top of her already weakened body. Though, to be fair, except for a little redness around her nose, Grandma Sylvie didn’t look too sick. Red wanted to ask her what had happened, but she was incredibly conscious of the medics all around them and she didn’t know what she should say.
Who would believe her if she said that not one, but two, residents of Mandela Colony had turned into wolves and fought in her grandmother’s apartment. Sure they lived on Mars, sure aliens existed, but until a half hour ago Red had been convinced that both Wolf and Wood were human. She had never heard of aliens who looked completely human but could shift their shapes into those of animals with wings, and animals from Earth at that.
She got her grandmother situated on one of the beds in the medic station and it wasn’t long before one of the medics approached them, her scrubs bright blue and her smile concerned. “It looks like you’ve had quite a night.”
Red had to bite her lip to keep from sputtering, but her grandmother had no such compunction and a laugh burst out of her, loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room. “You could say that,” Grandma Sylvie said.
The medic—her name tag said Callie—brought a medbot close and started a scan. “So what happened?”
Red and her grandmother shared a look and quickly came to the unspoken agreement not to say anything about Wolf or Wood. “I’ve been fighting off a nasty cold for the past week,” Grandma Sylvie said. “It seems my balance wasn’t as good as I thought it was.” She looked pale and weak sitting on the bed and submitting to the medic and the robot that would find out if anything was wrong with her. Red wanted to hug her close, wanted to assure her that everything was fine now, that they were safe, but she was afraid that her grandma had unseen injuries, and she could not guarantee what would happen if Wolf or Wood came back.
Wood had to be coming back, right? Things weren’t done between them. And if she wasn’t busy seeing that her grandmother got the best treatment that the colony had to offer, she’d be searching every building for him, running him down before he could escape. But she couldn’t do that right now, and she had to hope that the delay didn’t mean the end for them.
She wasn’t sure what she wanted other than answers, but every time she thought that she might not see Wood again, her stomach clenched and dropped and worry bubbled up inside of her.
Grandma Sylvie reached up and patted her on the shoulder. “I’m fine here. I know there are things you need to do.” She’d always been able to read Red, to know what Red needed even when she was conflicted about what she should do.
“I’m right where I belong,” Red replied.
“You said you fell?” Callie broke into their conversation, reaching for Grandma Sylvie’s arm and straightening it. Bruises had blossomed around her wrists where Wolf’s rope had held her.
Grandma Sylvie’s eyes widened before she shot Callie a salacious grin. “My boyfriend and I like to spice things up. But I bruise a little easier than I used to. I meant to put some healing cream and that, but I’ve been a bit distracted lately.”
Callie stared at Sylvie for several beats before letting her hands drop. She didn’t mention how the bruises looked fresh or how Sylvie didn’t seem to be in any shape to be spicing up her love life at the moment. When the medbot beeped she pulled the readout and nodded to herself before typing a few things on the screen and turning back to Sylvie. “You’re a bit dehydrated, and these bruises are going to hurt if we don’t get some regen gel on them. But luckily nothing is broken. After we treat the bruises, I would suggest two days of rest, and lots of fluids, before you return to work. If you have anything beyond normal aches and pains, come back to the medic station and we can do a follow-up. And no… bedroom antics until your wounds are cleared up. If you’re bruising like that, it might be a sign of something more serious.”
Grandma Sylvie nodded along while Red’s cheeks flamed, even as she knew that her grandma had lied about where the bruises came from. She really didn’t want to know about her grandmother’s sex life, even a fictional one. But after preparing the prescription of extra strength regen gel and hydration packs, Callie sent Grandma Sylvie and Red on their way.
Instead of going back to Grandma Sylvie’s apartment, they detoured to Red’s place. Neither of them wanted to deal with the mess that had been left behind, not tonight, not when both of them were still raw from everything that had happened.
“I’ll go and tidy in the morning,” Red said as she tucked her grandma into her own bed. Grandma Sylvie must have been in some pain as she didn’t even put up the slightest protest, didn’t make the slightest move to say she should sleep on the couch.
“You know I’m not worried about that, my dear,” said Sylvie, reaching out a hand and patting Red’s palm. “Now tell me, did you know about Wood and Wolf?”
Red sank down onto the bed beside her grandmother and clutched her hand tight. “I didn’t know that was possible. Are you okay? What did he do to you? How long—”
Grandma Sylvie pulled her close until they were hugging each other tightly, assuring each other that they’d made it out of the terrifying situation. That they had survived. “I’m okay, I promise. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”
“Wolf is a wolf.” Was Red stupid for not figuring it out? The answer was right there in his name. But why would she ever think that? What sane person would?
“And so is your Wood.”
“I don’t know if he is mine. I don’t know if I want him to be.” He had saved their lives, of that Red was certain. But he had kept a huge secret from her, one that could have gotten her hurt. He knew what Wolf wanted from her, knew what all those oblique references to claiming meant. And he hadn’t told her everything, not in any way that would’ve helped.
“Is it because he lied? Are you scared? Is it because he isn’t human?” Grandma Sylvie’s questions were gentle as she encouraged Red to lie down beside her. The bed was big enough for the two of them to sleep comfortably.
Red let the questions roll around her mind for several moments before she tried to answer. “I was freaked out when he showed up. I thought for sure Wolf was going to kill him, and then he turned into a wolf and I didn’t know what to think. I mean, how? Have you ever heard of something like that?” Her grandmother shook her head but didn’t say anything. “But he protected us. Even when I was freaked out, I didn’t think he would hurt us. I don’t think I’m afraid of him, at least not because of the wolf thing. I don’t like that he lied, but… Well, I guess we haven’t known each other for that long. And it’s not exactly easy to tell someone something like that. I mean, I doubt I would have believed him. And whether he’s human or not, he’s still Wood. That’s all that matters.”
“We can figure it out in the morning, I promise,” said Grandma Sylvie, her eyelids growing heavy as the night caught up with them. “Let’s just stay together for now. Keep each other safe. Things will be better in the morning.” She drifted off quickly after that, and Red had some idea that she
would stay awake, stand guard over her grandmother, but in a matter of moments her own eyelids grew heavy and she was asleep in moments.
The next day was a blur of movement. Red got her grandmother’s apartment cleaned up, and the blood on the ground was a harsh reminder of what had happened. She had almost been willing to believe that the whole thing was a nightmare. If she hadn’t woken up beside her grandmother, whose face and wrists still bore the brunt of what had been done to her, Red would’ve believed that nothing was nearly as bad as she remembered. By midday Grandma Sylvie had climbed out of bed against the doctor’s orders and was in her apartment helping Red clean.
“Are you really going to stay here all day and do this?” her grandma asked. “Or are you going to go and find that man and get some answers for the both of us?”
Red didn’t know what to do. She was still stuck between confused anger and desire for Wood and if she saw him, she didn’t know what she was going to say. She’d had a conviction to go after him the night before, but in the harsh light of day, even the artificial light of the inside of the colony, it was hard to believe that he would give her any answers.
“Maybe I should just let him go.” She mumbled it into a trash bag where she was disposing of several dirtied cloths.
“Are you sure that we’re related?” Grandma Sylvie asked. “Are you sure that you’re the girl who fought so hard to earn her place here, despite the sacrifices you had to make to qualify? Since when do you let a little fear, a little doubt get in your way? Even if you don’t end up in bed with the man, and remember, I’ve seen him, it would be a shame if you let him go, but even if you don’t, we both want to know what happened. He owes you that.”
“He saved our lives. Does he really owe us anything?” Red was inclined to believe the debt went the other way.
Her grandma harrumphed. “If he knew what that Wolf wanted, what he was up to, then certainly yes, he owes you a damned explanation. So go find him. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”