by Laura Ryles
“I don’t think you guys get it,” Drew said, interrupting the romance of the moment. “This is incredible. You can hear each other’s thoughts! How far away do you think it works? Come on,” Drew grabbed Tala by the arm and dragged her several feet away. “Think something else,” he said.
“What?” Tala said smiling at Drew’s enthusiasm.
“Just think something. See if he can hear you if you’re further away.” Tala squinted and concentrated on thinking as hard as she could.
“Anything?” Drew yelled at Ander.
“Nothing,” Ander said, shaking his head and walking towards Tala to take her hand again.
“So, I guess you have to be really close to do it,” Drew said.
“Or maybe she has to be thinking about me,” Ander answered with a grin.
Drew walked ahead of them toward first period. Ander took Tala’s hand, kissing the back of it before letting their fingers dangle together in between them. Mr. Barnes was back in calculus with a broken leg. Everyone but Drew seemed happy to see him. The rest of the day consisted of Drew bombarding Ander with questions and Ander answering them without getting annoyed. In fact, he seemed to enjoy Drew taking an interest in him.
That afternoon after school, Tala invited Ander and Drew to come to her house. They all rode in Drew’s car since Ander had left his car in Canada.
Once inside the house, Drew threw his backpack down and turned to face the others.
“Okay, who’s ready?” said Drew.
“Ready for what?” Tala asked as she placed her bookbag down as well.
“Ready to experiment.” Drew scoffed at Tala as though he couldn’t believe that she had to ask. “We have to figure out what you guys can do.”
“Well, at least we know you’re cool with me being a wolf, even if it’s only so you can do your comic book research,” Tala said, smiling. Ander laughed.
“I have to tell you, Drew, there won’t be much that Tala can do yet. It takes a while to be able to shift at will, and she probably isn’t ready. It usually has to be scared out of you the first few times.”
“Lucky for you, since I could definitely kick your butt in a fight,” Tala laughed.
“You’re probably right. I’m not an Alpha,” Ander answered.
“You guys aren’t the least bit interested in finding out what you can do since you’re bonded, or mated, or whatever it’s called?” Drew asked, looking more and more disappointed by the second.
“Sure,” Ander said. “What would you like to try?” Drew’s eyes lit up as he dragged Ander into the back yard. Tala watched as her boyfriend humored her best friends' experiments, good naturedly. It was a good thing that they had a privacy fence and lived far enough away from other houses that they didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing Ander shift into a wolf over and over.
Tala went into the kitchen to find something for them to eat. She decided she would try to impress Ander with her somewhat fair cooking abilities. Occasionally, Drew would holler from outside. “Can you hear him?” or “Think something.”
After almost two hours, the boys finally came in. Tala sat their places at the table, and they all enjoyed the hearty lasagna that Tala had made.
“That was delicious.” Ander said when he was finished.
“It was really good. How come I never knew you could cook?” Drew asked. Tala shook her head at him.
“Because you like to eat too much. I’d be cooking all the time,” Tala laughed.
“It’s true,” Drew nodded. “I do like to eat.”
The three of them cleaned up the mess from dinner and made their way to the living room. Tala realized she had left her drink and went back to get it from the kitchen. When she returned to the living room, Drew had disappeared.
“Where’s Drew?” she asked Ander.
“He said something about the bathroom and then ran that way.” Ander pointed down the hall behind the sofa. Tala went and sat down on the sofa beside Ander. A few seconds later someone grabbed her shoulders from behind causing her to jerk and spill her drink all over herself and the couch.
“AARRGH,” Drew’s voice yelled in her ear.
“Drew! What is wrong with you?” Tala said as she jumped up and a puddle of drink fell from her lap to the floor.
“Man, it didn’t work,” said Drew, shaking his head.
“What? What didn’t work?”
“Well, Ander said that the wolf has to be scared out the first couple times.”
“So, you were trying to make me turn?”
“Maybe,” Drew said sheepishly. “Ander said he thought it might work.” Tala turned her anger toward Ander.
“Really? You put him up to it? I thought you said he was in the bathroom,”
“Yeah, I did say that, didn’t I.” Ander smiled at her and she couldn’t help but smile back.
“I’ve got to go change. I’ll be back.”
Not long after that Tala’s mom came home to find them all watching tv.
“Hi, Mom.” Tala yelled when Debra walked in.
“Hi guys.” Debra said back. “What smells so good?”
“I made lasagna.” Tala said.
“You cooked?”
“Yes. I can cook.” Tala gave Drew her ‘don’t say a word’ look.
After Debra finished eating, she came and joined the teenagers in the living room. Tala noticed that her mother seemed to be keeping a very close eye on the interaction between herself and Ander. She must not have seen anything that she didn’t like because eventually she turned her attention to the television. At around ten o’clock her mother said that it was time to call it a night. Drew was the first to leave. Then as Ander was headed toward the door himself, Debra stopped him.
“Where are you staying?” she asked Ander.
“I’ll probably stay nearby again.” Ander looked at Debra and then over at Tala.
“So, out in the woods again is what you mean?” Debra asked.
“Yes ma’am. That’s what I mean.” Ander held his head up as high as he could.
“You can sleep on the couch,” looking from Ander to Tala, and then back at Ander again. “If I catch either of you out of bed, it won’t happen again. Tala, I expect you to stay in your room and Ander, I expect you to stay on that couch.”
Tala didn’t know what to do other than nod. She watched as her mother walked out of the living room.
“You guys have ten minutes to get ready for bed, before lights out.” Debra yelled from somewhere out of sight.
Tala looked at Ander, the disbelief still showing on her face.
“Did my mom just say you could stay here?” Tala asked.
“I think that’s what she said, but we better not make her mad, so go to bed.”
Ander closed the space between them and kissed Tala on the head and then turned her in the direction of the stairs.
“Goodnight,” he whispered into her ear before gently nudging her into a step forward.
“Goodnight.”
Chapter 20
Again, Tala found herself on the patio. It was different this time though. There was only one wolf and it was sitting beside her, letting her pet it. She felt, rather than recognized this wolf to be Ander. Running her fingers through his thick white coat reminded her of dipping her fingers into a warm pool of water. Her fingers slid through his fur effortlessly. Tala felt content. She looked around at the beauty of the forest that surrounded them on the small patio. Her house was gone, and she and this wolf were the only souls here. I wish this could last forever. Then, the wolf stood up beside her. Reaching the same height as her head. He rested his jowls on her shoulder for a moment before looking away towards the woods. Tala looked towards the woods too. Suddenly there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn’t right. Something dark was creeping through the woods around them. Covering the trees in darkness. The wolf by her side looked up into her eyes. A deep voice echoed inside her own mind, “Run.”
“Tala, Tala, wake up!” Ander stood over her, sh
aking her by the shoulders.
“Ander,” Tala said, finally fully aware of her surroundings. The fact that she was lying in bed and that it had just been a nightmare brought her back to reality. She sat up and wrapped her arms around Ander’s neck.
“Shhh. It was just a bad dream,” Ander whispered as he stroked her hair.
“I’ve had them before, but this one scared me. I think you were there. You told me to run and there was this darkness that was covering everything around us and turning it all pitch black.”
“It was just a dream.”
“How did you know I was having a bad dream?” Tala asked, letting go of Ander’s neck and sitting up against the headboard of her bed.
“Well, I would love to tell you that I felt it. I’m sure that would impress Drew, but the truth is, you were yelling my name. It scared the hell out of me.”
“It’s true. You woke me up too,” said her mother from the doorway.
“Wow, I’m sorry, you guys. I didn’t mean to wake you both up.”
“You can’t help what you dream about,” Ander answered. Debra walked in and put her hand on Anders shoulder.
“Why don’t you go downstairs and try to sleep. You only have a couple more hours before you have to be up. Ander nodded and kissed Tala’s hand before leaving her alone in the room with her mother.
“Well, isn’t he just your knight in shining armor,” Debra said, wrapping the covers back around Tala in the bed.
“Is that sarcasm, Mom?” Tala asked.
“Maybe just a little, but I kind of meant it too.” Debra smiled down at her and kissed her on the cheek before walking back over to the door. “Will you be able to get back to sleep?”
“I hope so... Mom?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Why do you think I keep having these dreams?”
“I don’t know. I used to think that it was just a part of you trying to let the rest of you know that there was a wolf inside of you waiting to come out, but then they started changing. You got woken up by them more and more. I had even started wondering if they could be some kind of visions for the future but...”
“But what?”
“Well, I don’t know. It just seemed a little far-fetched, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know, maybe that’s what they are. After all, I did dream about a group of arctic wolves surrounding me just before Ander took me. And then I dreamed that one wolf would be close to me, and now he is.”
“Well, I guess that could be a good thing then. At least you’ll know when something is coming.”
“Right, but what if that something isn’t good?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Tala. We’re in uncharted territory here. This never happened to your dad. I guess the best piece of advice I can give you is to live in today. Don’t worry about tomorrow until it’s here. Make the most of your time now, make the most of your present. Plus, whatever was in that dream, I don’t think you will be facing it alone.” Tala’s mother looked back at where the stairs were, and down towards where Ander had returned to the sofa.
Tala smiled. It was at this moment that she knew her mother had accepted Ander. Tala and Ander’s bond was growing, and even her mother couldn’t deny that. Drew especially found them fascinating and over the next couple of weeks his experiments started paying off. Tala and Ander could now hear each other from a very short distance if they concentrated really hard and there weren’t any distractions.
It was more than just the magical, unexplainable side of their bond growing, though, as they became closer and more comfortable with one another. Their love for one another grew exponentially as well. Being in love with Ander made Tala realize how wrong she had been about love and about loss. The pain of losing her dad had been awful, but she didn’t regret any of the time that she did have with him, because there was so much more joy and laughter and love to remember instead. The pain was never greater than the love. It hurt so much because the love had been so deep. She knew what she felt for Ander went even deeper. Their identities were so intertwined that, even to the core of her being, he was a part of who she was. The love they shared was big, it was infinite, and she knew that it was more powerful than loss or pain.
The next couple of months were a blur of schoolwork and after school shenanigans with Drew. Graduation day finally came, and then, the sad day after. Tala had been dreading this day since they had decided that Ander would go back to Canada while she and Drew went in search of her family. They packed their bags into separate cars. Even with all the time she had had to prepare for this moment, she felt like a part of herself was being ripped away. Tala and her mother had already said their goodbyes, so it was just the three of them standing outside, Drew, Tala, and Ander.
Tala and Ander stood holding one another in the driveway, neither of them wanting to be the first to let go and drive away. Drew, who had deemed himself Tala’s chauffeur and protector, was standing on the side-lines, watching the couple sway to the rhythm of their own heartbeats.
“I’ll be with you again soon,” Tala said as tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m just going to find my pack, and tell them they have a new member, and then I’m going to make a bee-line straight for you.”
Ander smiled, “There’s no rush. Don’t push your pack too much, too fast. They probably don’t even know that your father had a kid, much less that they have a newly turned Alpha. They will have found a way to run things without your dad, and you’ll have to let them get used to the idea. Give them time. Give yourself time. I’ll be waiting for you in the north when you’re ready, my Little Wolf.”
They kissed a long, slow passionate kiss. Tala circled her arms around Ander’s waist and squeezed one more time before letting go and walking to the passenger side of Drew’s car.
“Oh, you guys done now?” asked Drew as he walked quickly to the driver’s side and jumped in beside her. Drew cranked the car, and as they pulled off, Tala turned around to watch Ander getting smaller and smaller through the back windshield.
In the passenger seat of Drew’s car, Tala’s face was flooded with tears. Drew looked over at her, “It’s going to be okay. You know that, right?”
“Of course, it is,” she said wiping the tears from her cheeks and eyes and clearing her throat. “I have my best friend with me, I’m going to meet my pack, and then Ander and I will be together. What could possibly go wrong?”
WOLF MATTERS
Chapter 1
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Drew asked Tala as they coasted to a stop in the middle of an unpaved road. Up ahead of them, there was a fork. Neither choice looked very appealing. One side of the dirt road looked like it led deeper and deeper into the woods, and the other led past a run-down shack with signage out front that said Red’s Tavern.
“I told you. Ander said head for Idaho and Montana. That was where he heard they were last. Now we just have to figure out where to start looking.”
“That doesn’t actually answer my question, does it?” Drew retorted.
“Fine. Let’s stop and get something to drink. Maybe someone inside can tell us exactly where we are.”
“Are you kidding me?” Drew screeched. “That looks like the kinda place where people lose body parts.”
“You’re such a baby.” Tala smashed his leg down on the gas pedal and pulled the wheel to the right toward the shabby looking bar. “Aren’t you glad you’ve got a friend like me to keep you going?” Tala laughed as Drew struggled to take back control of the wheel.
“Yeah, super glad. You’re probably gonna get me killed!” Drew turned into the parking lot and pulled up next to a beat-up, old, Ford truck. Tala got out of the car and stood up. She stretched her arms out high above her head and stood on the tips of her toes and then bent forward to stretch her back. They had been on the road for several days now and sitting in the car was starting to make her back ache. She yawned and looked over at Drew, who was still scowling at her for the attempted side-seat carja
cking. Tala couldn’t help but laugh at the face he was making.
She was extremely grateful that Drew had decided to come with her to help her find her long lost wolf pack. After she had become Alpha of a Canadian pack called the Tundras, her boyfriend Ander, who was a Tundra himself, had gone back up north to lead the Tundras in her stead. They had decided that she needed to search for her own pack, the pack that her father had belonged to. If Drew hadn’t chosen to come with her, she would be doing this all on her own. She got the feeling though that Drew, as a human, was enjoying this new shape-shifter wolf adventure even more than she was.
She finally stood back up and took a good look at the establishment they had just pulled up to. It had seen better days. Hopefully, they serve more than just beer, she thought.
“Shall we?” she asked.
“Let’s do it,” Drew responded in a comical voice. Tala giggled and they headed inside. When her eyes finally adjusted to the change in lighting, she looked around the bar. There was only one customer sitting at a table and one young woman working as bartender behind the counter.
“Whoa, she’s hot!” Drew said as they sat down at the bar.
“The bartender?” Tala asked as she put her elbows up on the bar, immediately regretting it when she felt something sticky under her arm.
“No, the guy at table three. Yeah, the bartender!” Drew said sarcastically. Tala pulled her arm off the bar and wiped it on her pants leg. The young bartender walked over to stand in front of them.
“What can I get you two?” the twenty-something-year-old girl asked.
“We’ll have two cokes if you’ve got them,” Drew said, staring longingly into the bartender's eyes. As the bartender turned away to go fix their drinks, she stopped mid-stride and turned around to look at Tala. She walked back over and leaned down towards Tala’s face and sniffed.
“What’d you say your name was?” She asked.
“Well, technically, I didn’t say, but it’s Tala, Tala Woods.”
“Woods? You wouldn’t be related to Clay Woods, by chance?” the bartender asked. Tala’s eyes grew wide and she reached out to grab Drew’s arm.
