by Cheree Alsop
Mom nodded. “You don’t have to be shy about it. Marek seems like a great guy.” Her eyebrows lifted a little, bringing out the laugh lines around her eyes. “He’s different than the other guys you’ve hung out with. There’s something about him that I can’t place my finger on, but I really like him.”
I almost laughed out loud at the irony. If my mother only knew how truly different Marek was, she probably wouldn’t be saying those things. In fact, she would probably call Dad on that emergency. “Yeah, he’s nice,” I forced out, twisting my finger in the frill of the couch pillow I held on my lap.
I was grateful when Mom switched subjects. “Did you research the list of colleges Dad gave you?”
I nodded. “I looked at some of them. I think I’m going to need more time to decide what to go into.”
Mom nodded. “There’s no rush. Dad appreciates your help at the clinic, and there’re always classes at the University until you decide.”
I nodded. Not thinking, I toyed with the necklace that had escaped from under my shirt.
It caught Mom’s attention and she leaned forward for a closer look. “That’s beautiful,” she exclaimed as she held it out so the tiny blue gem could catch the light.
“Marek gave it to me,” I said. Mom was being so nice and understanding, I really wanted her to know what a good guy Marek was.
“He has good taste. It really brings out the color in your eyes,” Mom replied. She smiled at me, her own green eyes twinkling. She rose and smoothed my hair. “Have a good night, okay?”
I nodded. “You, too, Mom.”
Mom turned off the kitchen light and left the room. I rose and made my way upstairs, one hand still clutching the necklace.
Chapter 28- Marek
Raven circled above my head, then left me to pad alone down the street where I used to live. He knew I valued my privacy, and I knew he still watched above, silent but protective. Neither of us spoke of my visits to the small yellow house with white shutters and the new wrap-around porch Dad had built last year. I knew I shouldn’t go there, but I was drawn back every few nights or so. I told myself it was just to check on things, but deep down I knew it was so much more.
I wanted to turn around and leave the place where I had been hurt worse than anything they did to me in the lab, but a need touched something deep within my soul and strung it so tight the only way to ease the tension was to make sure my family was safe. I had to see them, and even though it made the ache in my chest deepen, the tension that held me when I was away lessened to the point where it was bearable.
I jumped softly onto the dark porch, my paws quiet but for the click of my claws on the wood. I padded soundlessly to the living room window, but the lights were out. I followed the porch around to the back of the house where the wide kitchen windows overlooked the starlit yard. The leaves of the apple and cherry trees along the fence rustled gently in the night breeze that carried a promise of more rain.
My heart stilled at the scene through the kitchen window. Mom and Dad sat at the table, Mom with Dad’s reading glasses on and a pile of recipes in front of her that she copied onto index cards while Dad perused a golf magazine. The sight was so normal, the table lit by the lamp above while the rest of the kitchen relaxed in darkness. Condensation had formed a circle around Mom’s glass of iced tea, while Dad sipped a cup of hot chocolate that he claimed helped him sleep.
Neither spoke, having settled into the comfort of a relationship that required no words but merely the presence of the other for peace. A plate of half-eaten biscuits sat between them, a knife on the butter tray and a jar of raspberry preserves open next to it. The familiar scent of Mom’s vanilla candles and Dad’s mild cologne touched my sensitive nose.
I closed my eyes briefly and imagined that I was in there with them, perhaps studying for a Biology test or working on Science homework next to Shane who practiced his Math facts. Matthew would still be in bed, like he was now, worn out from a day of Kindergarten. The ache in my chest swelled until the pain was so real I wanted to curl up in a fetal position and cry.
I opened my eyes and forced the feeling away. I had long passed the hope that they would see me outside the window and beg me to come back, saying that they were sorry and they hoped I would forgive them. Dad saw me once about two years ago. He had stared at me in my wolf form, recognition intense in his gaze. He got up and left the kitchen and I waited nervously by the trees to see what his reaction would be.
When he stepped outside with a pistol, I jumped over the fence and didn’t return for two weeks. After that, I took care that they didn’t see me for fear they would move and I wouldn’t be able to find them. They didn’t need a Shifter in their lives, but the wolf DNA in my veins needed to take care of my family nonetheless. Instinct drew me back again and again and I gave in because it was worth it to see Matthew.
I followed the porch to where it met the garage, jumped quietly from a garbage can to the sloped roof over the garage, then to the porch roof. I trotted softly along the rough shingles to my brother’s window.
My heart rose when I saw that he wasn’t asleep. He played with several little green plastic soldiers by the light of his lamp. His pillows served as mountains under the green camouflage covers on his bed, and he stormed a group of unsuspecting brown soldiers in a valley. He made quiet gun sounds as he took out the troops.
Mom’s footsteps creaked on the wood outside his door. He quickly shut off the lamp and slid under the covers. She poked her head in and he closed his eyes tight, pretending to be asleep. She glanced my way and I ducked below the window. She waited for a moment, then left and shut the door behind her. Matthew hesitated a few more minutes, then turned on his light and began to play again.
One of my back feet slipped on a loose shingle. I stepped quickly to the side with no problem, but when I looked back up I stared straight into Matthew’s eager blue eyes. He opened the window and I froze, shocked beyond action.
“What are you doing up here?” he asked, delight in his voice. “I haven’t seen you for a long time.”
He held out a hand. I hesitated, then stepped forward and gave it a tentative lick. The taste of peanut butter and Mom’s homemade jelly tickled my taste buds.
“You should be careful,” he whispered, glancing back at the door. “Mom might call the police if she sees you.”
I stared at him in surprise, wondering how much he guessed. Most mothers would call the dog catcher if they found a stray animal, not the police. His little brows creased. “I don’t know why she doesn’t like you,” he continued, concern in his voice. “Everyone deserves a home.”
I swallowed the lump that rose in my throat and pushed my head through the window. He surprised me by wrapping his arms tightly around my neck and hugging me with all the might a six year old could muster. He let go and stepped back so I could come into his room.
I doubted it was a good idea, but the opportunity to go into Shane’s old room was too great to pass up. I leaped through the window and landed with a gentle thud on the blue carpeted floor. Mom’s scent mingled with Matthew’s, a fainter touch of Dad’s, and the almost indistinct, but still lingering little boy scent of Shane that made my heart give a strong throb of regret.
Matthew sat on the floor, his eyes never leaving my face. “I’ve seen the pictures she hides in her drawer,” he said quietly. “I hear them talking when they think I’m asleep.”
I sat beneath the window and watched him. He seemed older than I had been at his age, more aware of the world around him. I had been so oblivious of what lay outside my window, wrapped in the safety of my life with loving parents and a brother who looked up to my every action. I never imagined what people could do to children, and how quickly the innocence of youth could vanish. The thought that Mom still kept pictures of Shane and I made me wonder if she held the same regrets that tightened around my heart.
“I always wonder what it would be like to grow up with big brothers,” Matthew said. His eyes held no f
ear or worry, just the imagination and wonder of the young. He had no reason to be frightened of a big wolf in his room, and the trust in his eyes kept me there. I wished for a moment that I could shift and talk to him, to tell him what happened and ask what Mom and Dad said.
Footsteps sounded up the stairs again. I rose reluctantly and listened for the board to squeak. Matthew followed my gaze to the door. “You’d better go,” he whispered.
I jumped back through the window, but his voice stopped me. “Promise me you’ll come back?”
I turned to see his little hands on the window, waiting for my answer before he pulled it closed. His eyes held mine with all seriousness. I nodded and gave him a wolf grin, sticking my tongue out to the side. He giggled and pulled the window shut.
The door to his room opened and I dropped to my stomach on the cool shingles. “Matthew, what are you doing?” Mom asked. She crossed to the window and I heard her hand press against the frame as she looked out. I crouched as low as I could against the roof.
“I was looking for a soldier,” Matthew said.
“And you thought you left him on the roof?” Mom asked, turning away at the distraction. “I’m going to have to ask your father to put a lock on the window.”
“No,” Matthew said with a note of desperation in his voice. At Mom’s no doubt confused look, he hurriedly continued, “I won’t open it again, I promise.”
I listened to him climb in bed followed by a soft rustle as Mom tucked the blankets around him. “Now go to sleep. You’re going to be grumpy for school tomorrow.”
“Okay. Night, Mom.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
She turned off his lamp and paused at the doorway, then shut the door behind her.
The blankets moved and I stood and looked through the window to find Matthew staring back at me again. “Goodnight, Marek,” he said, touching the window with his hand.
Hearing my name said in his sweet, innocent voice sent a shard of fierce, almost painful love through me. My brother knew who I was, and he wanted me around. I pushed my nose to the cool glass on the other side and he grinned, showing an empty gap where one of his bottom teeth had fallen out a week ago. On a foolish whim, I licked the window, then regretted the action as the taste left a coating of dust and pollen on my tongue. On the other side of the window, Matthew giggled, then covered his mouth with his hands; laughter danced in his blue eyes.
I turned and jumped from the roof to land lightly on the grass. I felt his eyes on me as I trotted through the yard and leaped the back fence. Raven’s dark form glided above me and I wondered what he thought of the situation. My feet barely touched the ground at the thought of Matthew’s tight hug and his warm acceptance.
Chapter 29- Kyla
The plan was to leave for Vernon at seven; that way the others would be on their way back from taking Crissy home. Marek wanted to make sure Phoenix and Flint dropped her off safely before we left with May. I forced myself to go to school in the meantime, though the impending trip weighed on my mind. I sat at the senior assembly, my thoughts on other matters as the class president presented that year’s theme for the Senior Ball.
Clapping broke through my thoughts, drawing me back to the present. “Isn’t it wonderful?” Marissa exclaimed. The excitement on her face was reflected on many of the other senior girls’; the guys, however, looked a little less enthused.
“What?” I asked, suddenly curious.
“It’s going to be a real ball! Weren’t you listening?” Marissa demanded. She rushed on without waiting for me to answer. “We’re going to learn the dances, dress up all fancy, and have a true ball just like they did back in Jane Austen’s time!”
“Yeah, great,” Andrew, a Senior who sat behind me in Art class, grumbled. “We have to dress up in frillery, too.”
“I hear those men used to wear wigs and panty hose,” another complained.
“Oh, boo hoo,” Janise, a blonde-haired girl I knew from gym class shot back. “You poor boys are too manly for hose.”
“Don’t worry,” Marissa told them in consolation. “We don’t have to be one hundred percent accurate in our costumes, just as close as possible.”
“Yeah,” Janise agreed, suddenly thoughtful. “I don’t want my date to wear a powdered wig.”
“I doubt you’ll have to worry,” Andrew replied. “I can’t picture Marshal in a wig.”
We all laughed at the thought of the biggest jock on the football team wearing a white wig and hose.
The bell rang. Tamika, the Senior Vice President, was still taking a hurried vote for the theme song of the ball as everyone began to make their way to the exit. “Is that a hand, Thatcher? Very funny, Don, but I’m counting hands, not fingers,” I heard Tamika say before I left through the auditorium doors with the crowd.
Once home, I let Fellow out, then scratched a quick note to my parents to let them know I would be back late. I made sure Fellow had clean water, slipped my pocket knife into a pocket, then grabbed my keys and left.
I entered the Den just as Marek got off the phone. “Crissy’s safe with her uncle and the guys are on their way back.” He looked at Flint and Whisper. “You have everything under control?”
Flint nodded. Whisper glanced at the Lost who were left, and who were, for the moment, noisily involved in a game of red rover. “We’ve got it for now, but it won’t last long!” she stated with all the seriousness a five-year-old can muster.
“I think you can take care of it,” Marek told her with a wink. He knelt down to give her a hug, then turned to me, Raven, and the excited little May. “Let’s go.”
They piled into my Neon. I had volunteered my mom’s car because Phoenix was still working on the Land Rover from the bullet damage earlier that week. Marek drove and Raven sat in the back with May who clutched her teddy bear in barely contained excitement to return home. The little girl’s brown eyes sparkled as she told Raven about her home, her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders.
“How was school?” Marek asked.
I glanced at him, wondering if he was just making small talk, but he looked curious. “Okay, I guess,” I replied. “All the seniors are in a frenzy about the Senior Ball. They’re going to do it Old English style. Everyone seems excited.”
“And you’re not?”
I shook my head. “Not really, I guess. I just . . . I’m not really. . . .” I gave up trying to explain how I felt. It seemed petty now that I was here with the pack driving a Lost child home to her family.
“Just what?” Marek prompted. I wished he would let it drop, but his tone grew serious, concerned. “Kyla, do you trust me?”
“Yes,” I replied quietly, avoiding his gaze.
“Then tell me what’s bothering you.” He said it gently, as though to reassure me that he truly cared and wasn’t trying to force me out of my comfort zone.
I sighed, my cheeks growing red. “I’m fine with everything. The Ball . . . it’ll all be great.” I was suddenly angry with myself for letting it turn into such a big deal. I mumbled the last words in the hope that he wouldn’t hear. “I just don’t have a date.”
Embarrassed, I turned to look out the side window. I had been so busy with school and helping Dad that I hadn’t made too many friends with the boys in my classes outside of mere acquaintances. It only bothered me when things like dances were brought up. I would stick out like a sore thumb if I went by myself. Besides, I wasn’t a very good dancer. It would be better not to go.
My decision made, I barely heard Marek say, “I’ll take you.”
I turned and stared at him, wondering if I had heard him correctly. He met my frank gaze, his blue eyes a bit defiant in his discomfort.
“What did you say?” I asked, still certain I hadn’t heard him right.
He looked back at the road. “I said I’ll take you, if you’d like.” It was his turn to look embarrassed. “That is, if you don’t mind that I’m, well, what I am. I would understand, if you do.”
I re
alized I was still staring at him and dropped my gaze to my hands. I could feel the necklace where it hung under my shirt. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of dancing with him at a ball. Did he actually want to take me? It seemed too good to be true. “I would love to go with you,” I finally said.
This time, it was Marek’s turn to stare. “You would?” he replied in surprise.
I nodded, a smile coming to my lips at his obvious shock. I glanced back at Raven. Both he and May were watching us with matching grins on their faces. Raven gave me a thumbs-up.
“Wait a minute,” Marek said. My heart fell, but when I glanced at him, he was looking at May in the rearview mirror. “I wouldn’t have to wear a wig, would I?” May giggled. “Of course,” he continued, adjusting the mirror so he could see himself. He ran a hand through his wavy black hair. It fell stubbornly back in front of his eyes. “It might be an improvement.”
“I like your hair,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I turned red again.
“You do?” Marek glanced at me, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“If it gets more mushy in here, I’m going to hurl!” Raven whispered loudly to May. She giggled again.
I sat back in my seat with a smile on my face that refused to go away.
***
We had just passed a slow-moving U-haul when Marek sat up straight, immediately alert.
“What is it?” Raven asked from the back seat. The car was suddenly filled with thick tension.
Marek motioned ahead. Squinting, I let out a gasp. Four black cars sat on the right-hand side of the road, waiting. “This is a lonely road for a stake-out,” Marek said quietly. He reached for the handgun he had hidden under the seat before we left.
The cars pulled out slowly, waiting for us to catch up. Marek scanned the area, but there were no side roads, nowhere to run. This was a plain four-lane highway straight to Vernon with little to see but farmland.
We passed the first two cars and they promptly fell in close behind. I tried to peer through the windows, but the tint was so dark I couldn’t see the occupants. The other two cars drove on either side of the little Neon, taking up part of a lane for oncoming traffic. Luckily, few cars were out. The sun was fading behind a low plateau to the west.