“You will cooperate with me, Mr. Woodman, or your level of comfort will decrease quickly and dramatically,” Fenris said. “Do you understand what I am telling you?”
“Torture?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t know where Shara is and I would never tell you, even if I did. You plan to kill my wife and son. I’m not going to tell you anything.”
“I can be a cruel son of a bitch when I am provoked, Mr. Woodman. Think about that. I will give you a few hours to decide how much pain you think you can endure, then we will talk again.”
Chris remained seated on the floor beside Jenny’s mattress as Fenris stood and returned to the stairs leading out of the basement. He watched the man climb to the top and disappear into the light, then the door closed.
“Shara … ” Chris hung his head and wept.
Ulrik
“Is there a problem here?” Ulrik asked, stepping into Kiona’s bedroom, pretending he had heard nothing of the conversation. He also pretended to ignore the startled expression on Kiona’s face as she quickly covered Joey’s shoulders and arms with a blanket, hiding his transformed arm.
“No, nothing is wrong,” Kiona answered.
“I thought I heard Joey calling for help,” Ulrik said.
“No. He just wanted to show me something.”
“Oh? And what was it?” Ulrik watched Kiona’s eyes dart quickly around the room and light on a piece of paper. She snatched it up, keeping Joey close to her. The child’s face was tense, as if he was in pain.
“This picture he colored,” she said, holding up the paper to show a rendering Joey had made of his home in Montana.
“Indeed?” Ulrik stepped closer and took the picture. He gave it a quick glance, then put it aside. “Come, Joey. We must talk.”
“I think the boy wishes to stay with his aunt,” John Redleaf said. The Indian man stepped closer, his arms crossed over his chest, his black eyes fixed on Ulrik.
“The boy will come with me,” Ulrik answered. He ripped the blanket away from Joey. A small spray of fine, light-colored wolf hairs floated toward the floor. Joey’s arm had returned to its human form. Ulrik dropped the blanket to the floor with the hairs. Joey wrapped both arms around Kiona’s waist.
“You’re scaring him,” Kiona said.
“And you are coddling him in your attempt to usurp me in this. And in my own home,” Ulrik answered, his voice rising. “The boy will come with me.”
“He will stay,” John said.
“I want to stay with Aunt Kiona!” Joey shouted, his head pressed to the woman’s stomach, his face turned away from Ulrik.
Ulrik looked from Joey’s blond head to Kiona’s dark, defiant eyes to John Redleaf standing ready to fight. He wondered if Kiona would dare join her lover in a battle against her mentor. The thought made him angrier. He pointed a finger at Kiona’s nose. “Do not do this,” he said. “You play a dangerous game, thinking me a weakened old man. My will is law here.”
He turned and left the room, slamming the door closed behind him. Ulrik went downstairs and out the front door, not stopping until he stood on his front porch. He breathed deeply, trying to force the anger out with his expelled breath. “I cannot wait for Shara,” he said, scanning the horizon. He had summoned only twenty-one of his closest allies so far, not wanting to gather more of the Pack until Joey was able to at least transform himself into a wolf. He could hardly spare taking anyone off sentry duty, but now he felt it had to be done.
Ulrik stripped off his clothes and called the wolf. When his transformation was complete he set off to arrange for his sentries to add a shift inside the house, watching Kiona and her bear friend.
Shara
Shara stood with Thomas, who was still in his wolf form, on the porch of the house and watched Douglas Summers get out of his car and approach them. The man’s long coat flapped against his legs as he walked. Beneath the coat he wore gray slacks and a black dress shirt. His salt-and-pepper hair was combed away from his face. He had high cheekbones and blue eyes and was clean-shaven. He paused at the steps to the porch and looked up at Shara.
“We meet at last,” he said.
“You’re one of Ulrik’s spies?” Shara asked. Her right hand strayed to Thomas and rested on his shoulders. She felt the tension in his body.
“Spies? I suppose you could call it that, yes,” Summers answered. “I have taken my turns watching you in Montana. I followed the false transactions on this property and, when the police raided your Montana home and it become obvious you could not return there, I suspected you would come here. As did Ulrik.”
“Who else knows about this place?”
“You’re asking about Fenris?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe he knows. Not yet, anyway. Shall we go inside?”
Shara looked from the man to Thomas, but the wolf only watched the newcomer. Finally, Shara looked back to Douglas Summers and nodded. “Yes. Let’s go inside.”
Shara waved him toward the open front door. Douglas Summers passed her and Shara heard Thomas snuffle loudly as he did. She looked down at the wolf, but Thomas’s expression told her nothing, which she guessed meant he didn’t detect anything overtly dangerous about their visitor. She followed Summers into the house, Thomas right behind her, and closed the door.
“Sit down,” Shara offered, waving vaguely toward the living room furniture. “Do you want something to drink? Or eat?”
“Coffee? Or hot tea?” he asked.
“Okay. I hadn’t made any yet. I’m not a coffee drinker, myself. Thomas is,” she said, nodding at the wolf. “But not in his current condition.”
“No,” Summers said, smiling. “Burns the tongue when you have to lap it up.”
Shara couldn’t help but smile a little. She went to the kitchen, leaving Thomas in the living room with their visitor. She started the coffeemaker and took a can of Dr Pepper from the refrigerator. “I like my caffeine cold,” she said when she returned to the living room. She sat down, popped the tab, and added, “The coffee will be just a few minutes. Do you want anything with it? Sugar or cream?”
“No, just black.”
Shara nodded and sipped her soda. “You said you have a message from Ulrik. What has that bastard done with my son?”
“Joey is safe,” Summers said. “He is with Ulrik and Ulrik is working to teach the boy about his heritage and his abilities. There is an unanticipated problem, however, and that is why Ulrik has asked me to contact you. His plan was to leave you out of Joey’s training since you have rejected the wolf.”
Shara stared at the man, unable to answer. Thomas came to sit beside her chair, both of them facing the sofa where Summers sat. Finally, Shara asked, “Why? Why is he doing this to us?”
“Ulrik has waited centuries to find you. And your son.”
“My son. Mine. Not his.”
“Ulrik feels Joey belongs to the Pack.”
“He doesn’t. I want him back.”
“Would you like to hear Ulrik’s message?”
Shara pursed her lips and looked away for a moment. “Yes.”
“He wants you to join him. To come to him. I am to take you there, if you are agreeable to his terms.”
“His terms? What terms?”
“Basically, that you do not interfere with Joey’s training. He is to be Alpha of the Pack. Ulrik will not let you get in the way of that.”
Shara tried to answer and couldn’t. She dropped her gaze to the floor and felt a tear roll down each cheek. Her hand slipped off the arm of her chair and found Thomas’s neck.
“Your friend may accompany you,” Summers said. “So long as he agrees to the same terms.”
Shara thought for a moment. “Ulrik wants me there? But I can’t interfere with his plans. Why does he want me there?”
“You wouldn’t grant him access to your son when you had him. But, now that Joey is with him, Ulrik believes you may be more willing to see things his way.”
&n
bsp; Thomas immediately began growling. Shara saw that the wolf had bared his fangs and was glaring at the man. She looked up in time to see an angry look cross Summers’ face. “Thomas seems to think there may be more to it than that,” Shara said. “You mentioned earlier that there was some sort of problem. What is it?”
“Yes,” Summer said, his attention still more on the wolf than the woman. “As Mr. McGrath there likely suspects, the problem is Kiona Brokentooth.”
Thomas stopped growling at the mention of the Indian woman’s name.
“What about her?” Shara asked.
“She has the boy calling her Aunt Kiona. She has positioned herself between Joey and Ulrik. You know her history?”
“Thomas has told me some of it.”
“She would make herself Joey’s surrogate mother, undermining Ulrik’s authority. She is having some success. Ulrik believes that, if you were present, Kiona’s hold would be broken.”
“I see. Where are they?”
Now Summers smiled a genuine smile. “I am not so easily fooled,” he said. “If you agree to Ulrik’s terms, then I will take you to him and your son. If not, I will leave.”
“But continue to watch me.”
Summers offered an apologetic smile and a shrug of his heavy eyebrows. “Yes. Of course.”
“So, Joey is safe. Ulrik is trying to teach him how to use his curse and this Kiona woman is … what is she doing? Telling Joey not to do it?”
“No, it isn’t that. She, too, is urging Joey to use the Gift. But she wants to be the one to guide Joey. She would be the dominant figure in his life. She would replace you.”
“Hmm. But again, she is protecting him. Joey is in no danger?”
“No more than he ever was. Perhaps less. Ulrik has summoned friends to guard him where he is. Kiona, too, has brought a powerful friend.”
“To protect Joey?”
Summers seemed to squirm for a moment before answering with another lie. “Yes.”
“This friend of Kiona’s is a man?”
“Yes.”
“A powerful man. Ulrik wouldn’t like that. She has a powerful man with her and is trying to win Joey’s affection.” Shara smiled. “It sounds like Ulrik really needs me more than I need him.”
“Perhaps,” Summer said dryly. “But he does have your son.”
“Yes, but Joey is safe and apparently doing just what I would want him to do. It sounds to me like he is resisting Ulrik’s attempts to get him to use the curse.”
Summers sighed. “Then you will not go?”
“I want a few days to think about it. To talk to Thomas when he is able.”
Summers looked to the wolf again. “Where is your husband, Mrs. Woodman? What would he say about your decision.”
Shara swallowed hard and pulled her hand away from Thomas’s neck, feeling a sudden twinge of guilt. She lifted the hand to the gold band on the chain around her neck. “Chris is dead,” she said. “Fenris killed him.”
“I see,” Summers said. “Well. That is unexpected and sad news. Truly, I am sorry. Ulrik strictly charged all of us who watched over you to keep you safe. All of you, including your husband. Events just unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. Please, accept my condolences.”
Shara nodded, believing he was sincere. “Thank you. Thomas was there and tried to help Joey when Kiona took him.”
“Yes, I know. Kiona believes she killed him.”
Thomas snorted loudly. Shara and Summers both grinned.
“As you know, Ulrik’s cycle is nearly upon him. He would like for you to join him before that happens. He would not want me to divulge so much information, but I will tell you this in hopes it will hasten your decision in the affirmative. The friend of Kiona’s is John Redleaf, a Cherokee Indian with the Gift of transforming into a bear. His cycle coincides with Ulrik’s, but is one day longer. Ulrik planned to take Joey with him during his cycle, but so far the boy has not mastered the transformation. Ulrik is very concerned about leaving Joey alone with Kiona while he is unable to communicate in a way the boy can understand.”
Shara nodded slowly. “Is there a number where I can reach you?” she asked.
Summers produced a white business card from an inside pocket and held it out to her. “My cell phone number is here. I will not be far away.”
“No, I’m sure you won’t,” Shara said, but she smiled as she said it. “Let me talk to Thomas privately, then I’ll call you.”
“Very well. Please, do not delay your decision. If you choose to go to your son, we will have a long journey ahead of us.”
“I understand,” Shara said. She stood as Summers rose from his chair and walked him to the front door. She closed the door after him and watched as he turned his car around and drove away. At the gate, he stopped and Shara pushed the remote control to open the gate and let him out.
How far will he go? Where will he be watching us from?
She supposed it really didn’t matter.
She turned away from the window and faced the black wolf sitting in her living room. “What are we going to do now?” she asked.
Ulrik
…rrrrrING
Ulrik snatched up the telephone on the first ring. He held the ornate receiver to his ear and barked, “Hello?”
Douglas Summers said, “I have delivered your message. She has asked for time to think about your offer. She is a smart girl. She figured out how badly you need her.”
“Yes,” Ulrik answered, smiling despite himself. “Shara is very bright when she bothers to open her eyes. How much time?”
“I can’t say. McGrath is with her. It is his time, so he’s in wolf form. If it’s true she can’t transform, their communications will be limited, but she is consulting with him.”
“What of her husband?”
“She said he’s dead. Apparently Fenris contacted her and gave her a gift of her husband’s wedding ring.”
Ulrik sighed deeply. “That is too bad. Shara will be more determined than ever to win Joey back now that she has lost her husband.”
“Perhaps,” Summers said. “She feels confident that Joey is safe in your hands, though she doesn’t agree with your plans for him, of course. And … ”
“Yes? What is it, man?”
“I could be mistaken, but it seemed she and McGrath were quite close. She kept a hand on him most of the time we spoke, except when I asked about her husband. Then she jerked her hand away and blushed.”
Ulrik was silent for a long moment. “That is quite interesting,” he said at last. “You say he was a wolf the entire time you were there?”
“Yes.”
“It could be she saw him as a pet. A protector.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t think so,” Summers said. “She didn’t speak to him or about him as a pet.”
“I see.” Ulrik thought about it for a moment, but decided whatever implications were there would have to wait for another time. “It is imperative that she come here,” he said. “The situation has worsened. We need her. And I need you here, too. I cannot afford to be without my closest allies at this time.”
“She has openly challenged you, then?”
“Yes. I have had to bring Andreas into the house to help watch over the boy. The atmosphere is very tense and not at all conducive to what needs to be done. We must get Joey away from Kiona.”
“I understand.”
“Give Shara a few hours, then contact her again. Offer to call me on your cellular telephone and I will let her speak to Joey if she needs such encouragement. She is a mother and will surely feel jealous that another woman has replaced her.”
“If she comes, can she handle Kiona alone?” Summers asked.
“As a werewolf, no. If Shara refuses to accept her Gift again, she will be no match for Kiona. However, her role here is to win Joey’s affection back from Kiona. You, Andreas and McGrath will protect them from Kiona while I and John Redleaf are in our cycles.”
“Will you track Redleaf?”
Ulrik sighed again. “I suspect he anticipated that. He spoke of leaving here for the duration of his cycle. He likely will take his airplane and go to the mountains.”
“Bear or not, you, me and one or two others could take care of him,” Summers suggested.
“We would have to find him, first. And doing so would incite Kiona.”
“You are too soft on her. You always have been too soft with her, my friend.”
“I am coming to believe you are right,” Ulrik admitted.
“I will contact Shara again in the early afternoon. If necessary, I will call your cell phone.”
“Very good,” Ulrik said.
“Josef … be careful.”
“Yes.”
Ulrik replaced the receiver and stared at the telephone for a moment. He pushed his chair away from his desk and looked out a window. Kiona and Joey were playing hide and seek in the yard. Theoretically, she was teaching him to be aware of his surroundings and to stalk as a human, but Ulrik suspected the boy was not absorbing that element of the game.
John Redleaf’s feet were just visible where he sat on the back porch, watching the game. Andreas Bratsk, a thick-chested Siberian, leaned against a tree, also watching the game.
“Once again I find my own house divided,” Ulrik muttered. “Is it any wonder I chose to live alone for so many decades?”
He had not had so many people living under his roof since the antebellum period prior to America’s Civil War. Ulrik lifted a hand to rub his forehead, remembering how that experiment had ended.
* * *
“You are not a slave in my eyes,” Ulrik said to the black man sitting on the other side of the desk in his study. The man was nervous. His eyes darted around the room, always coming back to Ulrik. “You are an indentured servant. Do you know what that means?”
“No, suh,” the man answered.
“That means I do not own you, George. You will work for me until you have paid off the debt I incurred on your behalf.”
The man shook his head again. George Jackson had been sold into the Deep South slave market after having been born and raised in Virginia. His previous owner had drunk away most of his wealth and sold his slaves to pay his mounting debts. Ulrik glanced from George to his white business manager, Raymond Macomb; the business manager had grown increasingly vocal in his opposition to Ulrik’s method of freeing slaves. But his knowledge of the cotton industry made him invaluable, so Ulrik put off the inevitable task of replacing Macomb.
Ulrik Page 14
