“If that’s all, please relax. All of those things will sort themselves out. We have plenty of supplies, and this cabin is quite close to the town. When the storm has passed, if necessary, we will be—what is the word? Rescued. For now, go back to sleep. All is well, Winter Fox.”
This speech, and the comfort of Reeta’s arms, seems enough for Naomi, at least for now. She snuggles into their makeshift bed and drifts off to sleep. But in the half-aware moment before unconsciousness, Naomi hears the distinctive far-off sound of a wolf’s howl.
Chapter 10: Secrets Revealed
Two days and nights pass, and the two do indeed find themselves snowed in, with a huge solid snow bank covering both the front door and the back. Reeta had been right that they had plenty of food and drink. In fact, the first day is quite festive, almost like an impromptu picnic. The power had gone out, but Reeta seems prepared for anything, expertly roasting sweet potatoes and a pork loin over the fire.
The battery-powered radio informs them that snow clearing will begin as soon as possible and municipal workers will have the power back within forty-eight hours at the latest. Knowing that she told both Lianna and Marcel about her planned trip with Reeta, Naomi relaxes a bit about being out of touch. They’ll hear it on the news in Hameenkyro, where the storm was much lighter.
As they sit on the couch eating their fire-roasted meal and drinking wine, Reeta teases Naomi, “Now will you stop worrying? We are fine, the storm will soon be over, and we are here together. Let’s enjoy the evening.”
Naomi takes a big bite of sweet potato and grins at her companion, nodding her head. Reeta smiles.
That evening, their fourth in the cabin, they run out of firewood. Before Naomi can voice her panic, Reeta is on it. She finds an axe in the kitchen pantry and climbs out the window into the now subsiding snow. Watching her, Naomi thinks that surely, they will be able to get out and go home tomorrow. If the car starts, that is…
“Please, be careful!” Naomi calls out to Reeta’s retreating figure. In answer, Reeta waves over her shoulder, without looking back.
While Reeta is gone, Naomi gets more and more anxious by the minute. For some reason, those distant howls creep into her imagination.
Soon Reeta comes trudging back, her arms full of firewood and a grim look on her face.
“What is it?” Naomi asks as she helps dust the snow from Reeta’s hair.
“Bears. Just over the hill. Three of them—strange, because they shouldn’t even be out this time of year.”
“What should we do?”
Reeta piles some wood on the fire and starts working on the faintly glowing embers. “Nothing. They will most likely stay away. They know not to get involved with…humans.”
Naomi doesn’t like the sound of this at all. Well, at least let’s make sure we’re closed in securely.” And she goes to the window Reeta has just used to close and lock it.”
* * * *
That night, the two snuggle into their now familiar bed, but Naomi is too spooked by the snow and the bears to feel sexual. Yet she loves the feeling of the length of Reeta’s warm, naked body next to hers. No doubt, I will miss the presence of this woman in my life.
The next thing Naomi is aware of, she is wide awake in the dark, cold cabin and Reeta is nowhere to be found. Thinking of the bears spotted earlier, she goes to the window and looks out into the dark, white-covered landscape. And what she sees astonishes her.
There are two large brown bears about twenty feet from the cabin, just behind where Reeta’s car is parked. But more surprising than that is the presence of three huge gray wolves, circling the bears, ready to attack.
Naomi gasps, then turns back into the cabin, calling frantically for her companion. No answer, and no sign of Reeta. Yet the clothes she had discarded when they got in the pile of blankets together remain next to Naomi’s on the sofa.
Naomi calls out into the night, “Reeta! Where are you?”
No answer. Naomi has a momentary image of one of the wolves turning its heavy head toward the sound of her voice. But before she can think about this, the attack is in full swing. The wolves are shorter than the bears, but equally fierce, and have the larger creatures outnumbered. As Naomi watches, the wolves also seem to have an advantage of communication. They look almost like a ball team, understanding signals and moving deliberately around their opponents. To Naomi’s horror, the five creatures are soon tangled in a mass of snarling jowls and swinging claws. The largest wolf, and the lightest in color, has one bear down on the ground, tearing a huge gash in the animal’s throat. As the wolf bounds away, the bear howls in pain, and begins dragging its bleeding body away from the clearing. As the three canines gather in approach of the second bear, it seems to have second thoughts about another round. It runs toward its injured companion, roaring all the while.
At this point, Naomi is glued to the window in fascination. The bears are gone, but there are still three wolves right outside the cabin, and no Reeta in sight. She has a weird impulse to drink down the full glass of wine she had left on the table earlier in the night. She stumbles back to the sofa, sits, and gulps the wine, hoping it will calm her shattered nerves.
Suddenly, she hears something at the window. Before she can turn to look, there is Reeta standing inside, breathing heavily and with a large scrape down one arm. And she is completely naked.
The two women stare at each other for what seems to Naomi like hours. She can find no words to even begin asking questions. Instead, she says, “You’re hurt. We should clean that wound on your arm…”
This normal-sounding statement shakes Reeta into speech, “Oh, Naomi. I did not want you to find out this way. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? You’re hurt. You were trying to protect us.” Then Naomi realizes that this explanation does not begin to cover what just happened. She didn’t see this woman outside fighting, only two bears and three wolves. And no sane person would be outside fighting naked in the snow with no weapon.
Naomi feels confused and exhausted. She sits in silence while Reeta retrieves her clothes, goes into the kitchen, and returns with a rag tied around her bleeding arm.
“Naomi, my beautiful Winter Fox. There is something—something dreadful—that you now must know. I had hoped you would return to America with only pleasant memories of me, without knowing this—this thing.”
Naomi holds up one hand to stop Reeta, then goes to the kitchen to get another bottle of wine. After drinking a long drink straight from the bottle, she once again sits ready to listen.
“You see, it is part of my family heritage. I was born to this nature. I and most of my family are those called kveldulf, or evening wolf.”
“But what does that mean? And what does it have to do with what I just saw outside?”
“You have probably heard the same nature described as werewolf—have you not?” Now it’s Reeta’s turn to take a swig of wine from the bottle on the side table.
Naomi stands and moves away from the sofa where her lover sits. It’s an instinctual move to get away from something dangerous. And just hours ago I was lying comfortably in her arms…
“You have nothing to fear, Naomi. Pure werewolves, those who inherit the trait, know how to control it. You are not in danger with me. My two companions in this area, the people who own this cabin, I have known since childhood. They summoned me to fight the bears with them. Brown bears out in winter are extremely dangerous to humans—and other animals.”
Reeta goes to where Naomi stands and touches her hand gently. “All you have experienced with me—the lovemaking, the tenderness, the laughter—that, too, is part of my nature. I have learned to tame the wildness—unless it is needed.”
Naomi, feeling the touch of Reeta’s warm hand, is torn. She had felt totally safe with this woman, she even had some feelings for her. But…a werewolf! That had no part of Naomi’s idea of a ‘normal’ relationship.
“Again, I am sorry you had to know. At least, you are going away soon. You have n
o worry about this strange woman with an animal side. Go home to your tame Cat.”
Reeta sounds almost angry, and Naomi feels guilty. What is normal anyway? Reeta had been such a lovely holiday companion and lover, and never done anything to harm her “Winter Fox.” Naomi relaxes just a hair. Enough to sit back down on the sofa, anyway.
Reeta smiles. “Can we go back to sleep now, Naomi? I have a positive feeling that we will be able to get out and down the road tomorrow. Just tolerate my presence one more night—please.”
For answer, Naomi climbs into the pile of blankets and closes her weary eyes.
Chapter 11: Going Home
Reeta had been right, the snowplows cleared enough of the roads for them to leave the following afternoon. Naomi is determined not to let what she now knows destroy the beautiful memories she has about her time with Reeta Hellgren. What does it matter whether or not she really is a werewolf? Maybe she just thinks she is. Or maybe there’s something really wrong with her. But I’m going home in three days.
Back at the center, Naomi tries to be serious about wrapping up her work. She also tries to be enthusiastic on the phone with Cat. Reeta called her my “tame Cat.”
Cat’s voice readily reveals that she can’t wait to see Naomi and have their lives return to normal. There was that word again: normal. But Naomi, too, likes calm and order—the very definition of her life with Cat. She pokes around on the internet looking for a good place to stay in Asheville for a holiday with her partner.
And then she sees the marks on her neck. She’s getting out of the shower the night before her trip back to Helsinki, and two nights before her flight home. As she dries her curly mop of hair with a towel, she spots three reddish scratches on the white skin of her neck. While she looks in the tiny mirror pondering the marks, she is reminded of one of Reeta’s lovemaking habits: gentle scratching down her neck and shoulders. Naomi loved the feel of it, responding passionately every time.
But, knowing about Reeta’s nature, is this more than just a sensual behavior? Telling herself she’s being silly, Naomi can’t keep herself from getting online and searching “werewolf bites.”
Safely locked in her room, she searches. One sight seems designed for people who are into “lycanthropy,” thinking that they’re werewolves. This isn’t exactly the most helpful or reliable. Finally, she locates a thing called The Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology. Apparently, this is the study of creatures with questionable validity, but long history of sightings and information via folklore. Perfect!
Naomi finds the info on werewolves and reads intently. From what Reeta had told her, the part about pure werewolves rings true. Naomi also learns that pure, inherited kveldulf nature is more controllable, and these people often blend into human society with little hassle.
Now for the important part: injuries to non-werewolves. Bites and scratches inflicted during sexual encounters or accidentally are usually harmless. The intention to turn a human into a werewolf is the strongest factor.
Naomi flops on her back on the floor in relief. Not that this website is the ultimate authority, but it feels like good news. After finding similar pronouncements on two other websites, she begins to relax. The wounds will heal—probably before she even gets home. And the time with Reeta can remain a lovely memory.
* * * *
Two days later, waiting in the Helsinki airport, Naomi makes an impulsive decision to call Reeta.
“Hey”
“Hey, Reeta—how are you?”
“Winter Fox! I am so pleased to hear from you.”
“Well, I’m in the airport, headed home to West Virginia. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed our…connection.”
Reeta laughs, a sparkling sound that reminds Naomi how charming this woman is.
“I did as well. You are a beautiful, talented woman, Naomi. I feel privileged to have met you. And, again, I am sorry about the…surprising information.”
“No worries. It doesn’t matter now. Well, I just wanted to say good-bye. Take care of yourself.”
“You, also, Winter Fox. And be kind to wolves.”
THE END
ABOUT GINNA WILKERSON
Ginna Wilkerson has been writing almost since she could read, and often teaches writing as an adjunct professor. She has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and discovered a love of travel later in life. She has long been fascinated by the supernatural as it appears in ordinary life. Ginna has two adult children and one grandson, and lives with her partner and their cats.
Find out more online at ginnawilkerson.weebly.com.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!
Naomi and Reeta Page 5
