Dad made a sound I’d never heard him make before. Mom patted his thigh, and they shared another look.
“After Gale died, Daddy was really sad. And I was really sad about being mated to Patrick, so we talked to the Alpha and he let us get mated. And then we had you two, and we made our family.”
“That’s so romantic,” Thyme cooed.
I wasn’t so sure. Mom looked so sad to tell him no. Like it hurt her. And the sound of his howl as he ran away, that wasn’t the sound of a wolf who didn’t want his mate. He wanted to fight for her. He wanted to join our family.
“Your Daddy and I love you girls so much, and we love each other. Okay? Nothing is going to change that.”
“So, I don’t need a Moon Blessed Mate to find love,” Thyme said.
“Yes, baby girl,” Mom said, reaching back to pat Thyme on the thigh, “If the Goddess blesses you with a wolf who can’t get you what you want, you can find love with someone else.”
“Did Patrick find love with someone else?”
Mom got quiet and shook her head, “If he wants to, he will. But he’s not going to find it with me.”
“But he came here for you.”
“Rosemary, there are things you can’t understand until you have a wolf, and this is one of them.”
***
Rosemary
Spatsizi pack lands
6 years ago
Today. Today would be the day. I could feel it. The energy in the pack was like nothing I’d felt before. My inner wolf, while not revealed yet, could sense it. Someone shifted last night. And I bet it was Duncan.
“Please don’t make me go,” Thyme whined.
Dad was having none of Thyme’s shenanigans today, “Why aren’t you dressed? Rosemary’s been up for hours. That’s what a pack leader looks like. Don’t you want to be a leader, Thyme?”
My sister shook her head, “No.”
Dad huffed an exasperated sigh, “I’m not dealing with this today. Your mom can put up with your teenage hormones. Rosemary, come along.”
I smirked at my sister and bounced out of the room.
“Someone shifted last night, didn’t they?” I asked as soon as we got out of the house. Dad only got this stressed when a new wolf joined the pack. A strong wolf. As a pack Sentinel his position was pretty solid, but there was always the chance a young wolf could usurp his role. And if someone was going to do it, he wanted it to be either me or my future mate.
“Duncan shifted. I need you to stay in the car while I get the supplies from the Alpha House,” he said.
My giddiness knew no bounds. I’d had a crush on Duncan since I could remember. He was the Alpha’s son and grew to be quite handsome. I bet his wolf only intensified his appeal.
I couldn’t believe Duncan finally shifted. Which meant the ceremony tonight was for Duncan.
I did a mental calculation; Duncan was the last eligible male for at least a year. If he wasn’t my mate, I’d get to go on a mating tour this summer.
Butterflies filled my stomach. Out of excitement or fear, I couldn’t be sure. Fear that Duncan wasn’t my mate? Excitement he could be? Fear of traveling the world? Excitement to finally leave Spatsizi? Any could be true.
Dad returned with an armload of supplies for the ceremony. We spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the circle. Dad and I made an efficient team. He told me what to do, and I did it without question or concern.
When we returned to the house Mom rushed out. Shocks of white hair stood against her grey and black mane. Her shirt was askew, and she was out of breath, “You said you’d have her back in time for me to get her ready.”
Dad shrugged, “It’s not like the whelps don’t know what Rosemary looks like.” He patted my shoulder, “Go let your mother get you gussied up.”
Mom’s lips formed a thin line, and she hurried me inside, “I don’t have a lot of time,” she muttered under her breath, passing me the ceremonial garb, “Put this on and get in the chair.”
I fidgeted with my shift dress. The dress was identical to the one every unmated female in the pack would wear tonight. I’d worn it so many times in the past month and hadn’t gotten a chance to wash it properly. Unlike my twin sister.
Thyme’s shift was perfectly pressed. I did not understand where she found the time. There was always something to be doing around the house. With mom and dad constantly on patrol, it was doubly so.
We needed to spend our summers splitting wood to keep the hearth warm in the winters. We needed to tend the garden. Harvest, jar, and can what produce the deer didn’t eat. If there wasn’t chopping or gardening, there were always things to clean. With wolves in and out of the house, dust and dander was a constant issue. In addition to chores, we had assignments for online school that could only be done the fleeting moments the internet functioned properly.
Somehow Thyme found time to add extra laundering chores to the massive list.
“Stop fiddling with your hem,” Mom said, coming up behind me to fix my hair. She looked at me in the mirror and smiled, “Trust me, child. No wolf cares a howl what his Moon Blessed mate looks like. He just wants her.”
I smiled at her, “What was it like? When you met your Moon Blessing?” I asked.
Mom’s eyes got the distant look in them as they did when she remembered the mate before dad, “He was.... young and foolish. We were both so young. I am fortunate to have known him, but I never could have loved him as I love your father.”
I smiled at her, “And Dad’s mate?” I asked.
Mom’s smile turned impish, “Your father’s mate was more foolish than my own. It was her downfall. She was more eager to impress the other males than her own mate. And he is not so easily impressed. And you know how that ended for her. Then your dad asked me to be his Chosen mate.”
“I think I’ll be easily impressed,” I mused, tugging on my hem again, “I think being Blessed would be amazing. One wolf just for me. I hope it’s Duncan.”
Mom ran her fingers through my hair as she prepared to weave it out of my face, “My beautiful herb,” she said, using the nickname she’d always given to me and my sister, “I foresee your seeds belong in a garden far from here. Do not get your hopes up that you’ll be planted to grow in Spatsizi.”
I was saddened at the thought, “I don’t want to leave you or Dad or Thyme.”
“Little wolf, please,” Mom said, “You’re too old to worry about leaving. You know your family will always love you. Thyme will always be your twin. Nothing can stop you two from being together. And I need you to remind her of that. You know how scared she is of this. As nervous as you are, she is triply so.”
“Thyme needs to be protected” we said in unison. It had been my job since birth to protect my twin.
“Do you think Duncan is Thyme’s Blessing?” I asked.
Mom met my eyes in the mirror, “I know it would just kill you to see your sister with Duncan. But if that’s what the Goddess intends, you need to support her.”
“But you and Dad got together-”
Mom sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, “That’s different, you know. What if Duncan isn’t my mate either?” I asked.
“Then you get to take your sister on a grand adventure across the globe in search of your happiness.”
I nodded and gave her a hug. She finished braiding my hair and my mirror image bounded into the room. Thyme had done her own hair in elaborate braids. My twin was the more polished version of me.
Despite our brown hair being the same length, mine had split ends while hers shone in the light. Despite being the exact same height as me, my twin seemed to stand taller. Despite being given the same education, she received better marks. But none of that mattered. We were Rosemary and Thyme. Named by our mother for her favorite song and herbs.
Mom gave me a hug and did the same to my sister. She wished us luck. It had been a long time since she made the walk my sister and I would make tonight, but no doubt remembered the excitement of it. The bubble of
nerves and what ifs from deep in the gut. The hope and fear of what the future held up the plateau.
My sister clung to my arm. Terrified.
“I don’t like Duncan,” she whispered, “What happens if he picks me?”
“He wouldn’t pick you,” I reminded her, “The Goddess picks. And she’s not about to give you anyone you can’t handle.”
Her anxiety was dampening my mood. I was excited. As I’d been excited for each of these ceremonies. I wanted so badly to find my mate and if it was Duncan? All the better. We’d start a life in the pack together.
The other pack daughters stand in line waiting for the elders to lead us to the sacred circle.
We’re all nervous, but nerves aren’t what we should focus on. This was a time for celebration. And as the leader of the family, it was my job to get the pack’s head on straight, “Ok, what do you think, ladies? Who shifted?” I asked excitedly when we reached the rest of the girls.
I already knew who it was, but my question brought conversation to the nervous bunch. We as a unit practically vibrated with energy as all the unmated pack females walked up the path to the Pack circle.
The other girls started giggling and placing bets. There had been a spate of Spring births fifteen years ago and now it seemed we were making this long walk every other night. Don’t get me wrong, it was exciting. During our nightly prayers to the Moon Goddess, every unshifted female hoped to be Blessed during the next shifting ceremony. I know Thyme and I did especially.
“Well, I heard that Duncan shifted,” one of the older females said. She was nearly eighteen and got her own wolf three years ago.
“If Duncan isn’t her mate, she’s going to have to leave the pack,” Thyme whispered to me. The way my sister shook it was a fate worse than death to her.
I patted her hand, “But she could end up at a pack in Ontario, or Alaska. Or America, or Russia. Can you imagine how much fun that’d be?”
Thyme’s eyes widened. She clearly hadn’t paid attention in pack geography classes. I regretted reminding her of that possibility as soon as the words left my mouth.
“But it could be you,” I reminded her, “Duncan could be your mate and you’ll never have to leave.”
Finally, the gaggle of females made it to the valley protected by some of the tallest Mountains in territory. All around me, the wind howled the song of our ancestors. All the proud Spatsizi shewolves who came before and discovered their mates in this sacred place wished us good luck. The swell of the cool mountain breeze raised small bumps on my arms.
“Come on-” my sister said, wrapping her arm through mine. She dragged me into the middle of the unmated females, “One of us could meet our mate tonight.”
The word sends shivers down my spine. I was equal parts excited and terrified at the prospect. I wanted what the Moon Goddess promised her faithful. The eternal bond, human and wolf, to another was what everyone craved. At the same time, I was terrified. All my life, it was just my sister and me. Mom and Dad did their best, but there was a bond between sisters they could not understand. It was my sister and I against the world. What happened to us if we couldn’t be together anymore?
Alpha LaFleur stood in the West with the setting sun at his back. He was a massive shadow. The pack males stood behind him; a mountain range of wolves silhouetted in the sky.
“Honored Daughters, you come in search of your Blessing.” His voice bounced off the trees. Energy vibrated as the magic called to us. The Moon Goddess was here. Ready to bestow a Blessing tonight. I closed my eyes and let her magic flow through me.
“May the Goddess Bless me tonight,” we called in response. Each pack daughter prayed that the Goddess would Bless her. I know I did.
I couldn’t see her, but I could feel her. The brush of fur, the tingle of energy, the scent of pine on the breeze. Tonight. It was tonight.
“Duncan LaFleur, your wolf has arrived and seeks his mate.”
“May the Goddess Bless me tonight,” Duncan said, stepping into the circle.
“Which one is it, son?” Alpha LaFleur asked.
Duncan’s eyes flitted between me and my sister, then he pointed at her.
“M... me?” she asked. Her arm started shaking. From where our hands were joined, I could feel her heart racing. It was nothing compared to how my heart raced at the thought of having to go on a mating tour without my best friend. If she stayed in Spatsizi and I didn’t, I might never see her again.
Duncan shook his head. His eyes were beyond my sister, at Peyton, and they glittered in the light. His face watched her like a starving man looking at a feast. His hands flexed, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other as if waiting for a race to start. Of course, he was antsy, Peyton hadn’t moved. Pack rules prevented him from stepping out of the presentation circle. His mate had to go to him.
Finally, the younger pup took a careful step forward, then another, then she started running. Duncan’s desperate, hungry expression changed, and he smiled. His arms were wide when Peyton reached him and she leapt into his arms, pressing her lips to his.
“Duncan was the last of age male to shift in the pack for at least another year,” I said, nudging Thyme’s shoulder, “This means we’re going on tour!”
Eyes wide, staring straight ahead, my sister was about to panic. The other pack daughters were looking much the same. This wasn’t the end of the world. This was the possibility to see the world.
“Who’s ready to travel!!!” I cheered, throwing my arms into the air. More girls joined in with my cheer until we became a gaggle of excited single ladies ready to take on the globe in search of love.
The tide of pack bodies started back down the plateau. My sister’s giggle rose above the murmur of the crowd. I was swept with the flow down the path we’d just walked up. I wasn’t alone, but I felt the absence of my twin as she gossiped with the other girls of the pack about where we’d be going this summer.
Mom and Dad were waiting on the porch when I arrived back home, my sister curled between them. Thyme somehow beat me back. I had no idea how. Maybe Thyme could find deer runs to her destinations. They don’t call her the shortcut queen for nothing.
Dad stood and wrapped me in his arms, “Thyme told us. Sorry about Duncan, kiddo.” I basked in my father’s comforting embrace.
“Your time will come, hon,” Mom promised, “Thyme’s nervous about going away, but we’ve assured her you’ll be with.”
“I sure will,” I promised, “We’re going to meet so many cool people and see interesting places. And maybe we’ll even get our wolves while we’re gone.”
Dad grumbled under his breath, “You could wait a few years.”
“Don’t ruin the girl’s fun, Jesse. She wants her mate just like we all did at her age.”
Thyme whimpered, “I don’t want to leave.”
“I know baby,” Mom said, brushing a strand of hair away from Thyme’s forehead, “But it’s a part of growing up. And when you two get your wolves, I bet you’ll be excited. Your wolf wants to meet her mate. There’s nothing quite like feeling your Moon Blessing in your chest.”
My parents looked at each other with wistful smiles. Dad kissed the top of Mom’s greying hair. I ducked away from the tender moment between them, tugging Thyme inside with me.
There were things adults could explain, and there were things they could try to explain. Then there were moments like these, private moments between chosen mates.
“We’re going to go to bed,” I told them.
“Sleep well, honey.”
“Good night sweet girl.”
Chapter Two
The Wolf
A forest in the wet 4 years ago
The mud sinks between my toes. The pads of my paws feel the hint of the chill from the last vestiges of the ice and snow. Somewhere in the distance the whir of a highway clashes with the peace of the forest.
Must keep going.
The stars would be out soon. It was safest under the stars.
Cars dominate the landscape. Nowhere is safe from them.
If not cars, the humans who drive them were everywhere. Any non-natural structure was filled with their noise and odor.
Nowhere that hides the sky is safe for long.
Stars. Stars were safest. Stars meant darkness. Darkness means shadows. I can keep the pup safe in the shadows.
Crack
I jump.
Something is nearby, something big.
I crouch low to the ground and find a soft underbrush to hide under. Hiding was my only option with no pack to protect me.
Crunch. Crack
Whatever it was, it was coming closer.
Snap
It didn’t care about predators. A moose maybe?
No, possibly not. It had been days since I last smelled moose. It was too big to be a white-tailed deer.
Maybe a horse had escaped from one of the farms nearby. Or a cow.
Cow drool pools in my jaws at just the thought of beef.
I stumbled on a dead cow in a pasture so many seasons before I’d lost count. I’d gorged on the feast until I was stopped by a human. I often wonder if my shoulder would continue to ache in the winters from the buckshot.
I try to catch the scent of the encroaching behemoth. My hackles raise as soon as I smell it.
It isn’t possible.
I left the grizzly country weeks ago.
I inhale again.
Not just bear. Human and wolf.
No.
I start to shake. Not just any bear, a grizzly.
A bear would be the end of me for sure. I look around, hoping to find a better place to hide. A creek, a river, or something that could hide my tracks. But nothing. I was hiding in plain sight.
But it isn’t being seen by the grizzly I fear.
Their sense of smell already dooms me.
Crunch
Crunch
Crack
Growl
Ginger and Thyme (Kootenai Pack Book 4) Page 2