Howl for Me
Page 18
“Nonsense,” Poko said, sharply, and whacked Damon on the leg with his stick. “I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’m going to be more able to watch you than ever before. Unfettered with this old, broken body, I’ll be with you – by your side – whenever you ask. One of you saw my last transformation, and now, I must join the others.”
“Your last transformation?” Damon was confused. “But… when? What are you talking about?”
“Ask your mate,” Poko said, with a smile. “She knows. But don’t ask her now. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Don’t make me wait any more. Come with me. I want to see the night, one last time, with my human eyes.”
Slowly, we all made our way out of the cave, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Devin was already lying on a pyre that Wilton had built. He’d also been anointed with all the proper incenses and oils, and whatever else was involved in the elaborate ritual.
Poko, aided by Damon on one side, and Hunter on the other, sat down, and then lay back.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked no one, in particular. “The moon… She calls me.”
He closed his eyes and took a breath – a long one, a deep one – and let it out slowly.
“Ah!” he said. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”
We all looked around, but of course couldn’t see anyone. Damon seemed to perk up a little though.
“Yes, yes, that’s right,” Poko said. “This is… no these, I mean, they’re our sons, Ala. They’re… what did you say?”
He turned his head back and forth, eyes still closed.
“No, no. This one. The one behind me.” Poko tilted his head toward where Damon stood. “You’ve seen him before. Yes, he’s very big, and the other, who I suspect has already joined you, made amends. Though he wasn’t… yes, yes of course you can talk to him. He hears you, you know.”
I looked over at Damon when he clenched my hand.
“Mom?” he asked. “Is that you?”
A look of utter serenity passed over Poko’s face, his smile evened out, and Damon shuddered.
“Are you taking him?” Damon asked.
“Yes,” Poko whispered. “Yes, I’m ready. I’ve been ready for what seems like a thousand years. Take me home, Ala.”
I crouched down beside Poko, and grabbed his hand.
“I’ll miss you,” I whispered.
That brought another smile to his face.
“No, you won’t,” Poko said in a voice so low, it was barely audible. “You won’t have to.”
He gave me one last squeeze, and then his fingers relaxed.
“The elder is gone,” Wilton said, in a hushed whisper. “Well, his body is anyway.”
A howl from the ridge, past the little ring of forest that hid Poko’s cave, drew everyone’s attention. Damon gripped my hand and wrapped his arm around me. His fingers curled against my belly.
Moments later, a second howl joined the first.
“He’s found her,” Wilton said. “They’re together.”
A tear rolled down Wilton’s cheek as a third howl joined the others. It was a little smaller, a little younger. Wilton smiled again.
“They’re all together,” he said softly. “Everything is as it should be.”
I heard Damon swallow hard. He stroked my stomach with his thumb.
Wilton turned toward us. “Now, alpha,” he said. “The elder’s body is ready.”
Damon knelt, collected Poko’s tiny body, and placed it atop the pyre.
“Goodbye,” he said, crossing Poko’s frail arms over his chest, and kissing his forehead.
“Oh, no,” Wilton said. “Not goodbye. He’s with you, still, don’t you hear? Like the elder said. Now, he just runs free. He hurts no more.”
Grandpa Joe shook with a sob and squeezed my shoulder.
“Howling or not, I’m gonna miss that old fool,” he said, with a fond smile.
“Now?” Damon asked, handing torches to each of us.
Wilton had begun to dance, to sing, and to sprinkle fragrant herbs over the flames. Each one leapt up as if they were following commands.
“Now,” Wilton answered. “Now, we send their bodies to the stars.”
One by one, we touched our torches to the tinder packed in the middle of the pyre. The fire licked the wood, and Poko and Devin drifted into the heavens. Damon grabbed my hand, and held tight.
I looked at him, at his clenched jaw, and the tattoos he’d received.
The three wolves howled again, and tears rolled down everyone’s face, but we all smiled.
“Sing now,” Wilton said. “Just match my voice.”
As our song, and our memories, reached the sky, I thought I saw something flicker, way up above. A light blinked, and then steadied, like a star was coming to life.
The fire climbed higher, blazing fiercely in the dusk. Damon’s palm warmed my back, and I looked at him again, to find him looking back at me. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to.
We watched the flames climb, and listened to the three new voices howl in the distance. We watched the fire cool, smoke, and die.
Damon pulled me close. I was his anchor. He was my safety.
A word rolled around in my head for a second.
Home.
We were home. This was our future. Whatever we made it, whatever happened, we had each other.
Forever.
*
As we made our way home, I distracted myself by thinking about the story I was going to write. When we got there, I sat down with a pen, and drew a swirly thing on the top while I tried to think of a title.
When it hit me, it hit hard.
I drew a line across the paper, the way I always do to write the title of the story before I get going.
On that line, I wrote six letters, scribbling a little doodle on the first one. Then I sat back, settled into the crook of Damon’s arm, and smiled.
It was right. It was perfect.
The End.
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Did you love Howl For Me (Alpha Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance)? Then you should read To Catch a Wolf (BBW Werewolf Shifter Romance) by Lynn Red!
Sometimes a wolf’s gotta fight and growl and bite. But Erik? He just needs a mate.
Erik Danniken is the alpha of Jamesburg, a small town, hidden from the world, and full of shifters of all stripes. But underneath it all, he’s just a muscled-up, rough-shod bad boy of a werewolf with a tattoo that goes all the way up his chest and sticks out the collar of his shirt. He’s down to his last nerve, but he’s willing to fight one last time… for the woman he loves.
Sometimes a girl needs romance and wine and sweet kisses. But Izzy? She just needs a job.
Isabel Taylor was more than a little frustrated when she answered a very vague job ad to be the personal assistant of a mayor in a town she didn’t know existed. That was two years ago. Curvy, tough and with more than a little bit of a naughty streak, Izzy has long since gotten used to the weirdness of everyday life in Jamesburg… but she’s fallen hard for Erik’s rough charm.
Erik wants to claim her forever, marking Izzy as his honest-to-goodness mate. Izzy wants him to quit being such a coward and just come out and do it, but will a good old-fashioned small town scandal make them keep their love a secret, and in the process, kill it before it can grow?
Note: The Jamesburg Shifters is a series of standalone books. Each installment has its own hero and heroine, and the stories never cross over. Each novel or novella is a complete story, complete with happy-ever-after ending. Enjoy!
Read more at Lynn Red’s site.
Also by Lynn Red
The Alpha’s Kiss
Change For Me (Werewolf Romance)
Howl For Me (Alpha Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance)
The Jamesburg Shifters
To Ca
tch a Wolf (BBW Werewolf Shifter Romance)
Watch for more at Lynn Red’s site.
About the Author
Lynn loves reading romances — especially ones with a full moon, alpha werewolves, and a whole bunch of wild action… but only if they have strong, engaging women and heroes that melt her heart.
Read more at Lynn Red’s site.