When Chrissie got home, her father was seen to be making a conscientious effort to be a good father, but it didn’t do much for Chrissie. One day he approached her while she was watching television in the den.
“So, how does it feel to be back?” he asked, forcing a smile.
She looked up at him with a lack of interest. “You do not have to do this. I am old enough now> I don’t need a father as much.”
“Maybe it is I that need a daughter,” he said.
She looked at him with a bland expression and returned her attention to the movie she had been watching before.
“So, how is your, um, how do I say, relationship?”
Maybe if she answered all he wanted to hear then he might go away. “It is going fine. Is there anything else?” she asked.
He could tell it was a bad time, or perhaps it would always be, but he had to make an effort. She had all the information he needed to take them down.
“How did they treat you?” he persisted.
“Dad, they treated me fine, or I wouldn’t have stayed there. I told them I had no relatives that could take me in. Obviously that wasn’t true because my aunt lives up state. I wanted to go there.”
“Do you feel so closely to them? Even more than you did your own mother? How can you be so loyal to them?”
“It isn’t about loyalty. It is about right and wrong. You kidnapped Luke just so you could torture him for the sheer fun of it.”
“No, it was not for the sheer fun of it. There are much more of them out there and they may be dangerous. I needed him to show me the way to where the rest of them are located. Have you listened to the news lately? The so called bear attacks? Have you ever known of bears in these parts?”
She now turned her head in his direction. “What are you talking about?”
“The attacks lately where three men have been killed and they suspect some form of animal. We don’t have any animal of that size in this neighborhood. None except for overgrown wolves.”
“What are you saying-that Luke and his people did this?”
“No, not Luke, but there are others who will. That’s what I have been trying to tell you. While Wes and Luke may be the good ones, they are not all good, and as soon as I can find where the others are and destroy them, then the sooner we can get on with our lives.”
She thought about that for a second. “That may be true, but what will your life be not chasing wolves?” she asked and got up from the chair.
“Chrissie, just think about it. If you could get Luke to...”
“Oh so that’s the plan. I am to use Luke for information so that you can feed your petty obsession?” she now folded her arms across her chest, throwing darts at him with her eyes.
“What you call petty obsession is what I call justice for your mother. You should remember that these dogs you so boldly protect are the reasons you have no mother today.” He got up and walked out of the room before his anger could get the better of him. He knew that he had he cornered so he had to do something bold for her to come to his side.
The very next day Derek made sure Chrissie was aware of the news when another animal attack was reported. “See what I mean? They won’t stop until they have eaten every last one of us. And if you notice, Wes and Luke are doing nothing about this. They are staunchly defending their kind. You need to choose a side kiddo, and choose well.”
“I don’t believe they are doing this,” she said defiantly.
“It really doesn’t matter what you believe. There is a war going on and you and I have been caught in it. Dead center.”
Chrissie refused to believe that the wolves were as dangerous as her father kept saying. He had grown relentless in trying to have her see his way. But with all these attacks, how can she deny the evidence. They weren’t all going to be good, so she may as well see things for what they are. Wes and Luke may be decent and good, just as much as her father is a bad human, but this is about humans versus werewolves. She fought long and hard over her decision, and in the end, it was just as hard to make as it was in the beginning.
She approached her father one day while he was poring over some paper work in his study. “So, can you promise that no harm will come to Luke or even Wes?” she asked.
He jumped up instantly, ecstatic that she was finally seeing things his way. “I promise. I just want to get to the location of where all the others can be found.”
She sighed and paced the floor some more, wearing a hole in the carpeting. “So what is the plan? I have never been there, and he has never been keen on telling me anything about the place. He has always been meeting me down at the entrance, and whenever we felt like it, I would take him here to the den.”
“Well you can’t make it appear as if you are desperately trying to find out about the location. Just sweet talk him into saying something, or even showing you.”
“He will wonder about the sudden interest I am showing. I have always tried to respect his privacy and not pry into what is not only his secret to keep. It was only by chance that I had found out any way.”
“Just get close enough to get him to say something. If he mentions asking his brother about it, talk him out of it. His brother would never allow him to do something like that.”
“Got that right. He doesn’t trust me at all, especially after finding the pouch you gave me of all those werewolf weapons.”
“Yeah, didn’t mean for that, but all the more reason to keep him out of it. All you have to do is get him to talk, and then tell me when he plans to take you there.”
“Well what if he happens to take me there on an impulse? I can’t be showing that much interest only to shy away when he does decide to take me; and telling him that I don’t have boots won’t do much good either.”
“I can’t plan all the details for you. Just wing it. I would only like to be given notice or it would all be for naught.”
“Not necessarily. If he takes me there I am sure I could find my way back.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. I have combed the city for miles and have not found a trace of them. They may not be that close for you to be able to, especially undetected. They are animals after all and they can sniff out a scent from a mile away.”
There was no easy way to get the wolves, but at least he was that much closer to it than before. If his plan worked, then he would be rid of them soon. He was a bit torn that he had to be getting his teenage daughter in the middle of this, but if it meant getting rid of the enemies, then so be it.
Chrissie on the other hand was a bag of nerves all over. She was not sure how to deceive someone who had shown her nothing but kindness. But with all the recent attacks, she was not entirely convinced they weren’t the work of wolves, and if there were wolves out there doing that, then they deserved to face her father’s obsession.
CHAPTER NINE
Wes could hardly contain himself when he sat watching the news, only to hear of another mauling. Derek was at it again. He wondered as to the motive behind this one, but it really didn’t matter. The more he created, the more clean up that had to be done and the more questions that were going to be asked. He punched the wall and almost broke his wrist in the process, which was just as well; it wouldn’t have stayed broken.
Lucy walked up behind him and held him around the waist. “Never mind darling. We will find a way through this.”
“I am just tired of his crap. We do nothing to him, but he keeps harassing us and implicating us in all kinds of murders. If the humans were ever going to accept us, they wouldn’t now, and that is what is getting to me more than anything else. This has got to stop, and I swear, the next time he provokes a battle, I will make sure there is nothing to find any more.”
Lucy felt his muscles tighten, and she backed away when he attempted to move. She knew what he was feeling, and it was a terrible thing to be constantly persecuted just because you exist. She never could do anything to make him feel better when he got this way; how could kisses wash away the pain
he felt; how could her warmth drown the growing fear girding his loins; how could tender whispers echo as sweet when his mind was closed to loving. When he got this way, only instinct remained and she had learned enough to know to stay out of his way in times like these.
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and grabbed his coat from the rack. “I need some air” was all he said, and she knew what that meant too. He was more at peace in his true form, and he sometimes went to the solitude of his clan for emotional healing. Maybe this time he would head further away, where the air was colder and threatened to freeze the evil intentions that had begun to take root in his mind. She just hoped that when he did come back, he would be less intoxicated with wrath and had a mind that would lend itself to the fertility of reason. She had no reason to think it would, but she would hope anyway.
*****
She walked over to him and held him in a warm embrace. Ever since she went back home she had not had much chance to do that. They had decided to meet at the river close to her father’s property. She knew her father would not object to Luke being there, but she didn’t want him to realize that he didn’t mind; that would probably unearth suspicion she would rather remain buried.
“How are you doing?” he asked her.
She pulled some loose blades of grass from the soil and twirled them around between her index finger and her thumb. “It is pretty much the same. There is always something between us: first it was the death of my mom, now it is your people. He just always seems to have an excuse for not being a good father.”
“Well your mother did a stellar job before she died because you didn’t turn out to be anything like him.”
Chrissie felt guilty when she heard him say that, because for all she could tell, she was very much her father’s daughter. Right now she was on the war path, determined to take out his entire people. What would be the point of sparing just him and his brother? And what guarantee did she have that he wouldn’t come after them still? She hesitated to do as her father had asked, but every time that she did, she kept visualizing the victims of the attack.
“Have you seen the news lately?” she asked, now trying to determine what he might know.
“Not really. What did I miss?”
“There was another mauling and they suspect another animal attack,” she said, eyes now focuses on him.
Luke seemed totally unconcerned. “I think I heard about that but not on the news. They suspect it is the work of some bear or the other, but I don’t know of any bears in these parts.”
“Exactly. So what could it be?” She was careful not to mention his kind and hoped that his mind would lead him there. Just when she was about to lose all hope, his eyes bulged and he turned to her.
“Hold on, you aren’t implying that was the work of my people, are you?” She didn’t reply but casually shrugged. “The Kaio is a peaceful set of people who are interested only in living in unity with the humans. It is people like your father that will not allow that to happen. Are you aware that his obsession runs so deep that he had gone to great lengths to implicate my people in human murders? He has a device that is able to simulate werewolf bite marks, and it is this that he uses to commit these murders just to frame us and lure us out in the open. So far he had been unsuccessful, but it has not been for lack of trying.”
Chrissie now sat looking at Luke stupefied. “Are you serious? I cannot believe that my father could be that cruel, to be committing murders against humans just to implicate your people.”
“Well believe it or not, that is what it is. We have never just attacked anyone just for the sport of it. Our elders always tried to instil peace in us; we are only allowed to fight in defense as much as some of us have wanted to launch an attack on Derek so many times, no offense.”
“None taken. But this is the first time I have heard you mention your people. Would you mind telling me about them?”
“Well there isn’t much I am at liberty to say, further that what I already have. We have existed for generations and have to keep relocating as soon as we started becoming obvious.”
“What do you mean become obvious? How did you start attracting attention?”
“We don’t age as rapidly as humans, and we have the capacity to self heal. Just imagine the younger ones in school, especially the ones who didn’t understand why they had to behave differently. When it was time to graduate, we were still as we had started, so we had to keep leaving. Either that or we did not associate with the humans as much. Now we do most of our schooling on the reservation and only the older Kaio, like Wes, would dare launch out and dare to be different, but it is beginning to get to him now, all these attacks. He doesn’t want to leave, but at this rate, we will have to.”
Chrissie had not thought about it from that angle. It seemed that they had enough troubles just being themselves. They did not appear at all like her father had suggested. “Is it possible for me to go there one day?” she asked.
“No, that cannot happen. That is totally forbidden. That is the only place we are sure we are safe and if we keep letting in outsiders, then soon we might be over run. No I don’t think that would be a wise idea.”
She did not push him any further now. She could sense that it was a touchy subject and she didn’t want to irritate him. Furthermore, she was not so sure she wanted to be a part of her father’s plan any more. Her gut had told her that they were harmless beasts and she was not wrong about that. As soon as she stepped into the mansion, she headed straight for his study. “What is this I hear about simulated werewolf attacks? Here I was thinking that you have been the victim in all of this, but now I hear that you have orchestrated these murders to implicate the wolves? How sick is that? You ought to go to prison for that.”
“Don’t come in here acting all righteous. It is obvious that they have corrupted you. You do what you must, but there is no way I am letting it go that those beasts killed my wife and your mother. I will do whatever it takes to take them all down.” His eyes had grown red with anger, and she was not sure she had ever seen her father look that way before.
She walked out of the study. She would not have any part in his madness. Sure she had lost her mother, but that was a long time ago and way too long to be holding a grudge. His last attack had left him totally incapacitated for a month, and as soon as he could breathe on his own again, he was already decked out in his war costume. She didn’t mean to go running to the wolves, because up until now, she had been very much a part of his madness.
She spent the rest of her days in Luke’s company-the only place where she felt some sort of appreciation and comfort. He began to feel more comfortable with her; maybe that had to do with the fact that she had all but surrendered herself to him. They were sitting by the river one day when suddenly he perked up. She sat up right away and caught his eyes as he turned them upon her.
“Would you like to see me in my Kaio form?”
She had never thought to ask, but now that he offered, she couldn’t resist.
“I have been dying to ask you, but I wasn’t sure you would let me,” she said most eagerly.
“Hold on,” said Luke, as he bounded behind some bushes. He emerged as a brown wolf, which stood taller than her even when he was comfortably on all four legs. She circled him and stroked his fur, totally mesmerized by his size and the fact that he was really what he claimed to be. He stood perfectly still, his head pointed directly in front, allowing her to bask in his shape and grace. She sat back on the grass and he lowered his head to nuzzle against her neck. She reached out and touched his nose, now cold, and she could swear she could make out a smile. He relaxed on his haunches and after a few seconds, bounded behind the bushes and re-emerges as Luke once more.
“So, what do you think?” he asked her.
“I am blown away. You really are magnificent and such a beauty, in both forms.” She reached over for him and as their lips joined, so too seemed their souls. They began to feel things for the other they never had any
idea existed, and as they were transported into each other’s world, their minds connected and they became one. It was as if seeing a wolf in its true form has a powerful effect on the person who witnessed it. They released each other and lay on the grass, his arm around her and her mind totally content for the first time in almost ten years.
“I have been thinking about what you had asked of me? To see where I am from,” he said, breaking the silence.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that. I respect your space and the ways of your people and why they have tried to remain hidden for so long.”
“It is for that very reason why you deserve to go. My brother made the same leap when he took Lucy to introduce her to the clan. Needless to say, not everyone was thrilled about that, but it was a bold statement that he made. If he hadn’t done that, I would not have had the courage to come see you that often. It’s like it gave me freedom, and maybe it will give courage to some others who have not been so bold.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Nonsense, it is no bother.”
She had wanted to go to the reservation so badly, and now that he was offering, suddenly she was afraid. She was not sure what to expect when she did go there, and the thought of it made her nervous.
“Don’t be nervous Chrissie. It will be alright.”
He seemed intent upon taking her there, but after what he had just shown her, she was intrigued. “Okay, so when do you want to go?” she asked.
“How about now? I think this is as good a time as any.”
He waited for her by the side of the road until she had gone back to the house to get her ride. He could have run the entire distance, but it would have been uncomfortable for her to ride on his back. Soon he heard, or smelled her rather, approaching him and he went down to the side of the road. She scooted over and he took the wheels, and gunned the car down the long strip of road. They drove for hours, through winding turns and dense overgrowth until they came upon a turning to the left. He pulled off the dirt track and made his way to the shack where other cars were bound to be parked. He saw Wes’ car and suddenly he became nervous.
The White Werewolf's Love (Interracial Shifter Romance BWWM Paranormal) Page 5
