The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1)

by Camilla Ochlan

  The license plate read EL GALLO.

  Chapter 19

  If you have reason to believe your Hound is ill or injured, you must stay calm. A sick Hound may not exhibit outward signs but may mask or hide symptoms. Loss of focus, excessive pacing and lethargy could be clues to underlying issues. Monitor your Hound's intake of fluids and output of waste. A sick Hound may have trouble controlling normal bowel movements, even if usually house-trained. There is always a reason for behavioral changes in your Hound. Hounds are creatures of routine and habit. If a Hound starts acting different than usual, you must investigate.

  If your Hound has been injured, caution is imperative. A hurt Hound may have difficulty controlling the bite instinct. Approach your injured Hound with caution and call your doctor immediately.

  On that note, it is crucial you establish a rapport with a trusted physician before a time of crisis. Many health insurance companies offer lists of health care providers qualified to treat Hounds. Your vet is not the right choice for your Hound!

  Please be aware that as of this printing, health insurance companies do not recognize your Hound as a dependent. You must purchase separate Hound health care. Please note: FERALS are automatically disqualified from any insurance plan. Be sure to get Hound certification when signing up for any Hound health insurance.

  For certification rates, please visit our website www.werewolfwhisperer.com

  -excerpt from Hounds, and Ferals, and Werebeasts! Oh, My! by Lucy Lowell "The Werewolf Whisperer"

  Sunrise was still nearly an hour away when Lucy drove El Gallo through the quiet, shadowed town of Empyrean. The rain had let up, and Lucy briefly felt at peace. She'd been gone for almost two years, but Empyrean hadn't changed. The old General Store was still nestled between the Empyrean Library and the hardware store. Molly's friendly diner still sat at the corner of Main and Maple. And the high school still dominated the west side.

  The pride of the family-friendly town, Empyrean High sat at the center of well-kept grounds stretching into football and baseball fields as well as large areas dedicated to farming and animal husbandry programs.

  As Lucy put El Gallo on the winding mountain road toward the ranch, she glanced at Xochitl curled up under Lefty's military jacket. She wondered what Xochitl would think of her idyllic hometown.

  After having been gone for so long, even Lucy looked at Empyrean through different eyes.

  Returning home with a trunk full of guns, an illegal Chinese Hound — if that's what Kai is — and a catalog of questionable, though arguably necessary, accomplishments, she felt dirty and out of place.

  Am I so fucked up I don't even belong here anymore?

  Empyrean was something out of a storybook, Lucy realized. The small town nestled at the foot of the Tehachapi Mountains had been virtually untouched by the troubles of the outside world — until now.

  El Gallo managed the first sharp turn up the mountain with little difficulty, though the unpaved road to the ranch was still muddy from the late night rain shower.

  "A lack of road, keeps solicitors away," Mama had always said. "If someone really wants to come see us, they won't mind the rugged climb." Lucy suspected her mama preferred spending her money on rescue dogs instead of "wasting" it on road improvement.

  As they slowly snaked upward, the breathtaking skyline views were still hidden by darkness, and Lucy chose to let Xochitl and Kai stay comatose just a little while longer.

  All the running around, followed by the rumbling freeway miles flying by, had been an effective lullaby for their new companion. As for Xochitl, the last thirty-six hours had netted a boatload of sweat, pain, and aggravation, but no sleep. Lucy had been relieved when her friend finally gave in and turned the wheel over after they'd stopped for fast food tacos. Lucy was even more relieved that their destination was only minutes away. She was starting to feel the effects of the infection that was undoubtedly spreading through the leg Travis had slashed. She'd have to have it looked at when she got home.

  Home.

  A fleeting touch of amorphous pain smashed around the inside of her head, temporarily blotting out the sharp physical pain radiating from her leg. The other cuts, scratches and bruises clamored for attention as well. She tried to ignore them.

  Lucy's eyelids drifted closed again from the stupefying fatigue, and she cracked the window to let the brisk pre-dawn air revive her. Struggling hard against the advancing daze, she inhaled deeply. The wood and earth fragrance from the outside briefly overpowered and then infused El Gallo's smell of old leather and muscle car exhaust.

  Home.

  A sudden fever rushed through Lucy's body; sweat trickled from her pores and alternated with a clammy chill that made her teeth chatter and her jaw hurt. She hoped she could make the last mile without any problems.

  Pulling over to pass out on the driveway would be totally lame.

  Lucy's consciousness raced and connected memory and emotion in abrupt bursts. Detached from linear thought, she grasped that El Gallo's unique scent and the purr of his powerful engine oddly signified her freedom. Even as their car rushed ever closer to Hanna's, Lucy understood that she was letting go of the ranch as her home. As much as Lucy loved Hanna, Hanna couldn't replace Mama. And Mama was gone.

  Traveling the road to help folks adjust to the disaster of the Were plague was how Lucy had survived after Mama. This car, Xochitl, and possibly this peculiar rescue were what she recognized as the contents of her heart. As her head nodded in silent acknowledgement of the thought, she felt the strong urge to turn the car around and drive far, far away.

  The AM classic country station had cycled back to Johnny Cash while Lucy was caught up in her reverie.

  "I will let you down," Lucy quietly repeated the lyrics and peered past the beacon El Gallo's headlights projected on the road. She watched as the ranch's grey shingled roof and white gabled dormers came into view. The structure had more mass than Lucy remembered.

  "What have I become?" The song's words seemed to indict Lucy. "What have I become?" she repeated and switched off the music.

  The memory of the man forcing her to the ground flashed through Lucy. The encounter with the Vigi Boys had been more than just a fight, she thought with disgust. She had never seen such fanatical hatred toward Hounds, such vehemence against her personally, and such casual, cold-blooded evil. She'd seen horrible things, working for the LAPD, but The Vigi Boys had taught her a final, terrible lesson about people and about herself. But, if she was honest with herself here alone in the darkness, she had to admit that she had been feeling something malevolent rushing toward them for some time.

  She promised herself to explore "Kyon Knows," to follow up on Bob's stolen lab results and to thoroughly investigate Kai's astonishing talents.

  As she pulled El Gallo onto the gravel driveway, Lucy could see Hanna standing on the lit up porch.

  Lucy would have recognized Hanna anywhere, no matter how much time had passed. Hanna's strong, thin stature now clad in jeans and a pale fisherman's sweater hadn't changed since Lucy was a child. Hanna had wrapped a brown and red saddle blanket around her shoulders and was coaxing her long, jet-black curls into a thick braid.

  Gerri and Ronna, still the most punctual of ranch hands, were walking toward the kennels, which looked much larger and built-out than Lucy remembered. Both women waved but didn't turn back. Lucy guessed they thought El Gallo had brought boarders. Had they known it was her, Gerri and Ronna would have come running.

  Lucy parked El Gallo in the little lot by the weeping willow. She paused a moment before turning off the ignition. She felt nauseated and dizzy but couldn't delay her homecoming any longer.

  "We're home," Lucy said, waking Xochitl and Kai. "Take the key." She handed the rooster key chain back to Xochitl, who grabbed at it in slow motion. The black eye Xochi had given herself in the container yard was reaching down the side of her face like a blue Celtic knot tattoo gone wrong.

  Lucy opened her car door, holding Kai — who was clim
bing up the seat and nearly over her shoulder — back with one arm.

  "Stay," she told the boy. He let out an annoyed whine and flung himself back into his seat. "Just a minute," Lucy said, trying to appease him. "Let's give Hanna a chance to say hello before you run around the property like a wild banshee."

  "Bed. Sleep." Xochitl stumbled out of the passenger side door and held on to El Gallo to keep from losing her balance. She rested her head on her hands and peeked at the house through half closed eyes. "Hi, Hanna."

  "Lucy!" Hanna came flying down the driveway, followed closely by a pack of seven dogs. The giant Bernese mountain dog Chasselas, little Poppy, the German shepherd Bonn, and Ellie's chocolate labs Brisco and Maggie were all familiar to Lucy. The gorgeous Rhodesian ridgeback puppies were new.

  Lucy took a few steps toward them. Without hesitation, Hanna threw her arms around Lucy and held her in the tightest grip imaginable. Lucy's vision blurred, and she felt her balance slipping away. Lucy hugged Hanna a second longer than necessary, fighting to stay upright without giving herself away. The dogs circled around them with tremendous energy, yipping and bumping into Lucy.

  "Lucy. Lucy. Lucy." Hanna kissed Lucy's cheeks and then wiped away her own tears. Overwhelmed, Lucy stepped back and ran her hands over her face and through her hair.

  "You're finally home," Hanna said and reached out to gently tuck a stray strand of Lucy's red hair behind her ear. "You must be dead tired and starving. Let's get you taken care of."

  "Yeah," Lucy said. "The last couple of days have been tough on Xochi and me. And now we have this Hound or something."

  "What Hound?" Hanna's head turned to Xochitl. Xochitl gave her a little wave with her fingers.

  "Kai!" Lucy called the boy.

  Hearing his name, Kai nearly flew out of the car, a flood of animated Chinese words escaping his lips, and briefly bounced to a halt next to Hanna, who staggered back.

  The pack of dogs brayed in astonishment, and Kai joined in with a keyed-up howl. The giant Chasselas put his two enormous paws on Kai's shoulders and licked his face.

  Kai laughed out loud, and the chase was on. Before Lucy or Hanna could stop them, the dogs and Kai circled the car at breakneck speeds, howling and barking with excitement. Lucy couldn't tell if the pack was chasing Kai or if Kai was chasing the pack.

  "What in the green hells is going on?" Hanna transitioned abruptly from the kind smile to a livid grimace. Hanna had never liked surprises. "I just wanted a nice reunion. You!" She pointed at Xochitl impatiently. "You brought chaos to this house! Get your Hound under control."

  Xochitl snickered.

  "Kai. Side." Lucy spoke gently and pointed to the ground beside her. As if pulled by a rope, Kai settled himself beside Lucy and grinned over at Hanna who was having trouble gathering her dogs.

  "Hey, Hanna, looks like you have everything completely under control." Xochitl scoffed and leaned against the hood of the car.

  "Gerri and Ronna," Hanna called over to her helpers. "Say 'hi' to Lucy and then put the puppies in the kennel." Hanna tried to collect her dignity while the thin dog Poppy snuffled at Lucy's hurt leg, bumping her and whining softly.

  "Rhodesian ridgeback pups," Hanna explained. "Boy and girl. They are going to be huge."

  "Sweet." Lucy picked up the wiggling girl puppy and kissed the top of her head. The effort gave Lucy a head rush, and she quickly had to set the little animal back on the ground.

  Having already dashed over from the kennels to help, Gerri and Ronna gave Lucy hurried hugs, promised to catch up, waved to Xochitl and — on Hanna's insistence — carried the two large puppies back to the house. Dark puppy eyes looked longingly back at the pack, but Hanna would not lift their banishment.

  "Bye, perritos!" Xochitl watched the two helpers lug the pups up the stairs. "Must be nice, having all that help around here. Of course, you are really good at getting other people to do your dirty work, Hanna."

  Lucy understood Xochitl's good-natured teasing, but she had the feeling Hanna would detect only an edge. Not wanting any part of the unavoidable confrontation, Lucy bent down, put her arm around Kai, raked her fingers through Bonn's thick coat and then petted Poppy's snout.

  Hanna tugged on her braid and looked down at Lucy and Kai. After a moment she raised her eyes to Xochitl as if studying her. "You think you know everything, don't you?" She delivered the question to Xochitl aggressively, even taking a quick step toward Lucy's friend.

  "You two rocket scientists had quite the night actually," Hanna said bitterly. Worried, Lucy stood up too fast, and her head started swimming.

  "We just got here, bruja." Xochitl jumped in indifferently before Lucy could speak. "What are you all up in our shit for?"

  "Listen, manita," Hanna said and glared at Xochitl. "Your little stunt with the horse trailer has gotten over a million hits since eleven o'clock last night. You're a web sensation. Congratulations!" Hanna folded her arms in front of her.

  Lucy was taken aback. "Did that Todd boy post a video of us subduing Travis at the gas station? That would be bad." Lucy's eyes slowly drifted to Xochitl who looked like she was about to charge Hanna.

  "Bad. Yeah, real bad." Xochitl wasn't done. "You know what else is bad?" She waited for Lucy to respond.

  "I don't know. What else is bad?" Lucy wasn't sure where this was going, and her head pounded. The dizziness returned even stronger, and she rested her hand on Chasselas' strong shoulder. The labs Brisco and Maggie flanked her, pushing Kai slightly back.

  "Let's see." Xochitl seemed to consider. "I define two guys with bats, a jackass with a lead pipe and a twisted motherfucker with a machete trying to kill us as bad."

  "Yeah. That was bad," Lucy agreed, wobbly.

  Hanna stood still and stayed silent.

  "In the last thirty-six hours, we did a lot of running," Xochitl continued, her words sounding far away and vaguely underwater to Lucy. "We chased a couple of teenage Werebeasts through a canyon in the dark. I fell into a patch of poison oak. Lucy got her leg clawed open. I shot a Feral girl who was dying of mange. We took a helicopter ride with two pissed off mercs. We spent three hours crawling a fuckton of miles around never-ending construction. We dealt with a rampaging Beast in a horse trailer at a truck stop and a broken axle on said trailer. We were cradled between two eighteen wheelers avoiding Smokey Bear. We crated my friend's son, loaded him onto a boat named Charon and sent him off to become Lord of the Werebeasts or die. And for the privilege we paid a Tolstoy Mofo crusty ship captain an ass and a half of dough." Xochitl took a breath, but Lucy didn't interrupt. She could tell Xochi was just getting started.

  "Then we had to listen to a security guard as old as dirt advise us to leave our guns in the car while we go Hound hunting because guns are dangerous...You know what I find dangerous, Lucy?"

  "Hmm..." Lucy felt a sway start in her shoulders, and her knees had a distinct gushy pudding quality to them. "I don't know," Lucy said, unsure of what Xochitl was talking about. "What do you find dangerous, Xochitl?" Lucy was distracted by the birdsong from the trees. She smiled thinking about how many types of birds there were in the world.

  "I find running into a crazy ass team of Catchers dangerous. Running into them not once, but twice in one night, I find double-dog dare dangerous."

  "Uh huh," Lucy said. "Blue jays are blue, you know."

  "And not only that." Xochitl ignored her and took a step toward Hanna. "My night wasn't complete until I ran down a heck-a-fast Super Hound, smashed my face into a steel storage container, got rained on and last but not least was nearly massacred by a cabal of pinche Were-murdering vigilantes."

  "Hmm," Lucy said empathetically.

  "I fought my admirers off with only one knife! One knife." Xochitl sounded self-satisfied. "Couldn't use the other one because some stupid Highlander wanna-be got in a lucky shot. Hurts like a mother. Pissed me off to no end."

  Lucy turned to puzzle out Hanna's reaction from the look on her face because the words coming out of Hanna's mouth in
response to Xochi's tirade sounded like the cacophonous sounds of a rusty trombone.

  But something went wrong. Instead getting a better look at Hanna, Lucy got a better look at the gravel. She saw a large dog tongue coming at her. She meant to say, "It's okay, Poppy." But the words jumbled in her mouth, and then there was darkness.

  *

  Kai howled and ran circles around the three women. Out of the corner of her eye, Xochitl saw Lucy sway, then hit the ground with a thud.

  "Lucy!" Xochitl rushed to Lucy's side and turned her on her back.

  "Quiet." Hanna growled.

  Kai ignored her and continued his keening.

  Lucy's eyes were rolled in the back of her head, and her skin appeared sallow. She felt warm to the touch. Blood and pus seeped through her sweatpants where Travis had clawed her.

  Kai crouched next to Xochitl and sniffed Lucy's leg. As if he'd smelled rancid meat, he reeled away and bellowed in alarm.

  "She's burning up." Xochi wiped away the sweat beading on Lucy's forehead with her sleeve.

  Hanna had started to kneel across from Xochitl when Kai jumped atop Lucy, straddling her protectively. He growled low, threatening Hanna.

  Hanna took a step back.

  "Kai?" Xochitl placed a cautious hand on Kai's arm. "It's okay, boy." She pointed up to Hanna. "Lucy's family."

  Kai looked at Lucy, then at Xochitl and whimpered.

  "That's right." Xochi, trying to emulate Lucy, used her best calming voice.

  Kai moved off Lucy and squatted next to Xochitl.

  "Good boy." She patted Kai on the back. "Nice job."

  Kai smiled and nudged her with his shoulder.

  "Impressive." Hanna, still keeping an eye on Kai, knelt slowly next to Lucy.

  "Just doing what Lucy would have done." Xochitl waved off the compliment, though she felt a small sense of pride in receiving a sign of respect from the woman Lucy regarded as a second mother.

  "Not sure I'm comfortable with a Feral running loose on the property though." Hanna reached down and touched Lucy's thigh, feeling for broken bones.