by M. H. Bonham
Kira snarled and the wolf backed off. Leave me alone! Go away! When was she going to wake up? Not only was this a wolf, but he was a rude pest as well. Kira wanted to wake up and find herself in her own bed. Maybe if she tried thinking about something else the dream would go that direction.
The wolf flashed a smiled and lowered his head. As you wish.
Kira trotted deeper into the alleyway that separated 15th and 16th Streets. She noticed that her newfound acquaintance was following her, but she ignored him. As she walked down the alleyway, she found that she could see well even though it was night. The acrid smells of oil, garbage, and dirt filled her nostrils as she strode through the alley. Popping out on 15th Street, she noted it was nearly deserted and started toward Blake Street. The strange wolf dogged her every move.
This is not real, she reminded herself. There is no wolf. I’m safe in bed. Maybe this dream needed her to confront it.
Kira turned around snarling. I said, go away!
The strange wolf lowered his head beneath hers and cocked it slightly to the side, exposing a small portion of his neck. His tongue darted between his teeth, licking her lower jaw and he raised his paw as if in supplication. Kira snarled and swatted him in the head. Instead of fighting, he allowed her to flip him over and continued to lick her chin.
Kira was disgusted. The fawning, the lip licking, the apparent lack of pride was revolting and she snarled louder and bit into his neck. He whimpered but licked her muzzle.
Is he bothering you?
Kira looked up to see a large male black wolf standing a few feet away. She caught her breath. Never before had she seen such a magnificent animal. He was nearly twice her size and his sleek, black coat glistened in the moonlight. His golden eyes seemed to penetrate her very being. He was powerful. Even with the thick coat, she could see the muscle ripple underneath.
Even in her fear, Kira would appreciate the wolf. As terrified as she ought to be, the black wolf was strangely enticing. She could sense the unbridled power the black wolf held and yet, as she looked on him, found she was no longer afraid.
The other male wolf lay at her feet, whimpering and forgotten. Kira had released him in her surprise. When she remembered to breathe, Kira looked down at him in disgust. He’s a pest; nothing more.
The black wolf nodded. Come with me.
Kira stepped over the prone wolf without looking. The black wolf grinned and took off. Kira hesitated and for a moment looked back at the wolf lying on the ground, still looking up at her in adoration.
Come on! she heard the black wolf say.
Kira ran north, following the black wolf toward Commons Park. At first, it felt strange to run on all fours, and yet, as she ran, she found herself stretching out into a full lope. She hardly touched the sidewalks beneath her as she followed the black wolf to the park. Once her feet touched the grass, she howled in delight. The black wolf stopped. She could see by the light of the moon the impish grin on his face. He nipped at her neck and took off with her following.
Kira laughed as she chased him around the park; her laugher came out as throaty growls and yips of delight. He was faster than she could imagine, but he was just as quick to let her catch him and soon she was it in a merry game of tag. When at last they were both out of breath, she lay down and he flopped down beside her. Kira nipped at his legs and he rolled over and let her wrestle with him a while. Soon, their energy was spent and Kira lay beside him as they both panted.
Now that she had a chance to look around, she saw other wolves in the park. Most were lying in the grass, but a few were playing or investigating something on the ground. There were small makeshift shacks down near the Platte River where some homeless men camped. Kira noted that the wolves didn’t approach them.
The black wolf nuzzled her affectionately and then sniffed the air. The lights of the city drowned out the starry sky, but Kira could see the pale glow in the east. The moon was beginning its trek across the western sky toward the Rocky Mountains.
It’ll soon be light, he said. You’d better go back.
Go back? Kira asked. You mean that I’ll wake up?
The black wolf considered her. This is your first time—as a wolf, I mean, he added when he caught her sharp look.
This is my first dream of being a wolf, she replied.
A gleam shone in the black wolf’s eyes as he appeared to consider something. Kira cocked her ear toward him, but he made a very human-like gesture, shaking his head as though discounting the thought. Go home, Kira, he said. I will see you again soon, I believe.
Go home? she repeated.
The black wolf snuffed the air. You don’t have much time—not until you learn to control it. Go home.
Kira stood up and for a moment was about to argue. Then, she got up and trotted off without a word. Dreams were like that, she decided. She followed 15th Street back to Wazee. Turning onto Wazee, she saw the first glimmer of the sun’s rays as it crested the eastern horizon, turning the buildings a rosy pink with its light. She passed a group of street workers preparing to work on a small patch of Wazee.
Kira looked at the doors to her apartment complex, wondering how she was going to open them. It was at that moment that she started to shiver from the early morning cool breeze.
“Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo!” one of the road workers shouted. “Nice ass!”
“Let’s see your tits!”
Kira turned to see the road workers gawking and whistling at her. She looked down at her arm and saw pink skin prickled with goose bumps. She was no longer the wolf in her dream, but human. Kira was standing at the door to her apartment complex—completely naked.
CHAPTER 6
Alaric paused as he watched the sun crest the lower buildings of downtown, changing the skyline to a pinkish-orange. It was time to return to human form, and yet, at the moment, he had no desire to. His mind was on the gray wolf he had spent the evening with.
Besotted, came a voice.
Alaric turned to see a small gray wolf standing not far from him. Isn’t that a bit archaic, Megan?
Megan laughed—the laughter coming out as a series of yips. Perhaps, but I haven’t seen you so taken with a bitch—she paused—ever. The term suits you well, Alaric.
She’s the girl who just got bit, isn’t she?
Yes, Megan said.
Find her, he said. I want to meet her in human form.
Megan nodded. I think she’s one of Trevor’s tenants. It’d be his job to talk to her.
Trevor? He hesitated. Can he handle it?
Maybe, but I doubt it. She might hit him—I know I would. I’ll go bring her in. She turned to leave.
Oh, and Megan? he asked.
The wolf bitch paused. Yes?
Be discreet.
K
“Shit!” Kira yanked open the main door. The men had dropped their tools and were whistling and shouting at her. She slammed the heavy door. Even it couldn’t silence the catcalls.
“Heya, Hot mama! You want some?”
“Come on, baby! I’ll show you a good time!”
Trevor. Trevor, Kira thought. Yes, that was the name of her creepy landlord. She stared at the buttons but her eyes wouldn’t focus. “Damn! Damn! Damn!” she shouted at them. There was no Trevor listed. Of course, he wouldn’t be listed under his first name, but his last. What in the hell was it? She glanced out of the side panel windows and saw that men were approaching. The main door had no lock, allowing anyone entry into the airlock.
Kira punched a button. The name said Smith. “Answer!” she whispered in panic as she glanced outside. The men were almost at the door. She looked down and saw a wedge—used to prop open the door—and shoved it between the door and the weatherstrip. She prayed that it would hold.
One of the workmen pushed on the door. It cracked open, but the wedge held. He was a big man with a potbelly and had scraggy, unshaven black stubble. The undershirt he was wearing beneath the flannel shirt was gray from sweat. He smiled at her with broken teeth s
tained yellow from too much chewing tobacco as he got a good view. “Heya sweetie!” he grinned.
Kira smacked the door and slammed it shut.
“Hello?” came a sleepy voice from the intercom.
“I lost my keys. This is Kira Walker in apartment two-twelve. Can you let me in?”
“You need to talk to Trevor about that.”
The intercom went dead.
“Fuck!” Kira shouted. Now there were several men trying to push open the door. She shoved hard against the door, not expecting to hold them back, but the wedge bit in and held. Kira punched the button again. “Trevor, who?” she shouted.
She heard no reply. “Asshole.” Then, suddenly she saw a button on the panel that said Manager. She hit the button.
Nothing. The door inched open and Yellow Teeth got a meaty paw through. Kira screamed and threw herself against the door. The door slammed forward and Kira heard a sickening snap. Yellow Teeth screamed as his arm went limp and flopped at a bizarre angle.
“Gawddamn bitch!” the man bellowed.
“Hello?” said the intercom.
“Trevor, it’s Kira Walker,” Kira shrieked. “Let me in! Let me in! I left my keys!”
“Hold on,” Trevor’s voice said. “I’ll meet you at your apartment.”
The door buzzed.
Kira leapt to the second door and sprinted through, slamming it behind her. She didn’t care what the workmen were doing now. She leapt up the stairs two at a time. When she got to her apartment door, she found her clothes on the floor. “Thank God,” she whispered and shimmied into them.
“Hey Kira!”
Kira turned and saw Trevor as he walked up the stairs. Creepy, she thought immediately. He had gold eyes and spiked gold hair. He had dyed the ends fuchsia and had multiple earrings in both ears, and a nose ring. His torn sweatshirt and sweatpants sported the logo of The Grey Wolf Bar. She hardly expected someone pushing forty to look like this. He was still barefoot, as if just getting up.
“You know what that’s all about?” he asked, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder back toward the front door. “Some road workers are saying some naked bitch broke this guy’s arm.”
Kira found herself shaking. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sounded steadier than she felt.
Trevor considered her with those inscrutable yellow eyes as if pondering something. He shook his head. “I told ‘em to get lost before I called the cops.” He stepped up to the door and sorted through the multiple keys on his ring before pulling the right one out and inserting it in the lock. “So, out for a moonlit stroll, eh?” he asked. His eyes glinted with amusement.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kira demanded. Did he know what happened? Did he see her naked?
Trevor smirked. “Hey, no growling. Since you’re new at this, you might want to take a look in the mirror sometime. Let me know if you figure it out.”
Kira stared at him for a moment. “Thanks,” she muttered and slid into her apartment.
“Hey, if you want, I’ll leave a spare...” Trevor began.
Kira slammed the door.
“Or not,” she heard Trevor mutter as he left.
CHAPTER 7
Kira stared at her apartment. It was much as she had left it last night before going to bed. The pizza boxes were still on the coffee table; the newspapers were still on the couch. The piles of sysadmin books were still next to the computer magazines. Her computer’s screen saver—various pictures of the mountains and extreme sports—was still cycling. Only the dead Chinese food had changed, and was stinking up the apartment even more.
Kira shivered and closed her eyes. What had happened was weird—too weird. She had heard about people sleepwalking, but she had never done it. What was really creepy was that she had dreamt she was a wolf. A wolf! How strange was that? What would Freud say? What would any shrink say?
The next door neighbors’ TV was blaring and broke her from her reverie—it sounded like cartoons. Funny; the neighbors were normally quiet. Kira walked over to her computer and moved the mouse to check the time—it was six-thirty. She frowned. Christ, didn’t these people know how early it was? Kira decided that she’d have to complain to Trevor.
Trevor—there was a creep. It wasn’t just his hair or nose ring or multiple earrings. Hell, she wouldn’t give a second glance to tattoos, either. It was those stare-straight-through-you gold eyes. She had seen those eyes before, but she couldn’t place them.
What in the hell was Trevor’s last name? Something simple. Like Smith or Brown. It was then Kira noticed the icon flashing on her computer saying that she had email and one voicemail.
She clicked on the voicemail icon and turned up the volume on her speakers.
“Hi Kira!” came her mother’s voice. “Your dad and I are calling from Peru—sorry we missed you. The Egyptian grant fell through, so we’re excavating some Inca ruins instead. I’ll contact you later this month. Love you!”
Kira smiled at the voice. “You don’t even know, do you?” she said to the voice. It was probably best. The last thing she needed right now was her parents flying back from Macchu Piccu or wherever they were to wring their hands over her. That was one small blessing, having parents who were archaeologists and who also eschewed cell phones (and most technology, like email). At the same time, if the wolf had killed her, it probably would have been a month or more before her parents had found out.
How odd was it that their daughter was technologically savvy when they were practically Luddites? Kira grinned at that. She listened to the phone message again; this time hearing the background nuances. She could pick up a low rumble of chatter and occasional roar from traffic. A payphone? she wondered. Maybe in a market.
Kira sat in the chair and double clicked the message to listen to it again and again. She closed her eyes as she listened to her mom’s voice and realized how tired and lonely she was. Without a job and without Susan, Denver was just another fucking dot-com bust town.
Maybe I should get a pet, Kira thought. Or maybe she should just move out. But where to? Susan had wanted to go back to So-Cal, but the jobs just weren’t there for those who amounted to white-collar migrant workers. She had some savings—all good contractors did—but the cost of LoDo wasn’t exactly cheap. Maybe it was time to go through her PDA’s address book and pull in some favors. If anyone could help her right now. The high-tech market was shit.
She stared at the houseplant in the corner with its thick bulbous leaves and stem. It was Susan’s. Susan’s family had claimed most everything of hers, leaving the second bedroom empty, but had left the plant in the corner. What the hell was it? Something Jade. Kira was surprised Susan had bought it, but she had felt the apartment needed brightening up. It was ugly and Kira would have gotten rid of it, except that it had been Susan’s. Kira felt as though she’d be disrespecting the dead if she threw it out now.
Kira stood up, stretched, and walked into the kitchen. There wasn’t anything edible in the fridge, so she opened the cupboard and pulled out the box of double fudge Poptarts. She shook the empty box and opened it to find a single empty silver wrapper, and sighed. The coffee can was empty, too. She’d have to go to the local coffee shop for breakfast.
Instead, Kira went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Her feet were black from asphalt. As she scrubbed herself down, she tried to remember the wolf dream again. Why would she dream that she was a wolf? And why would she sleepwalk? She guessed that maybe that officer’s questions brought it on. After all, Detective Walking Bear hadn’t been very pleasant, even if he was kind of cute.
Kira leaned against the shower wall and carefully scrubbed one foot and then the other. She was amazed how much she stank of city—the oil, grime, dirt, and exhaust. She relaxed a bit under the hot water and then washed her hair. Odd, she’d never noticed how much she smelled of the city before. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself. As the bathroom fan took away the steam, she stared at her body in the mirror
.
Kira had been working out, but she hadn’t really noticed how muscular she had become. Her biceps and triceps were well defined and her muscles rippled along her legs. Funny, she didn’t remember being this cut from the workouts. She admitted ruefully that she had given the road workers quite an eyeful today.
As more of the steam dissipated, she stared at her face. Her blue eyes were now gold.
CHAPTER 8
Brass eyes. Wolf eyes.
“Shit,” Kira said. She stared at them. They were a light gold color, almost amber. And definitely not human. She tried to laugh it off. Maybe she needed to see an optometrist or something.
Since you’re new at this, you might want to take a look in the mirror sometime, that creep Trevor had said. He had gold eyes just like hers. Did he know something about this that she didn’t? A chill ran up her spine and she shuddered.
Maybe this was some bizarre thing that altitude did to you, she wondered. After all, she was a mile high in elevation. She had heard of altitude sickness even this low. She sure had felt the altitude when she moved here. Even now, she was still trying to get used to it. Maybe it changed your eye color or something.
There had to be a logical explanation.
Kira dried her hair and threw on jeans and a sweatshirt. She tied her wet hair back and spent a few minutes looking for her apartment keys, finally finding them buried under a stack of printouts, and slid her wallet in her back pocket. She’d talk with Trevor before getting a coffee and a scone, she decided.
Kira left her apartment and walked down to the first floor. If she remembered correctly, Trevor lived in the first apartment on the right past the door. Kira frowned as she approached it. In her panic, she’d forgotten he was there—she could’ve just looked him up under his apartment number.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered and knocked on the door. She was doing a lot of stupid things lately. Walking through dark alleys, sleepwalking naked, living in LoDo without a job, to name a few.
