by Sonja Bair
I knew the skeleton of Viktor’s story—I had been taught about the conflict when learning Alva history, but the scope of violence and division had been downplayed significantly. In fact, I hadn’t thought the conflict was anything but a policy dispute and never was there any mention of my great-grandfather’s role. My confusion at the difference in narratives must have shown, because Viktor answered my unasked question.
“That period of time is not a proud moment for the Flock. Many of your teachers, especially the older ones, would have diminished the extent of the conflict or skipped it entirely, as it was too painful and fresh to remember. Such avoidance happens all too often in the telling of history. And as for your great-grandfather… Valter was a modest man, more likely to turn his story into an amusing anecdote with a punchline than to get the honor he deserved. It is shameful that his name has not been preserved as it should have been in our history. But that is a problem for another day. Today our problem is Loki and what trouble he may be up to now.”
“Loki?” scoffed Alrik. “The trickster god of Norse mythology has showed up in San Luis Obispo?”
“Bah, Alrik, you are too closed-minded,” Viktor scoffed back. “You can fly like a hawk but can’t believe there is something outside your definition of normal? And I am not saying this man is the Loki of our lore, but the idea of the trickster is well embedded into cultures around the globe. From the beginning of time, there have been stories of a creature stirring up trouble and strife merely for the fun of it.”
“And these myths are created around Nick Smith?” I asked.
“Or perhaps Nick Smith created himself around these trickster myths. Who is to know? But here he is and he’s well on his way to creating the chaos he loves.”
“He mentioned that the Flock is very unstable right now, that it could collapse into chaos without much of a push. And because we are one of the most dominant groups, the whole supernatural world would feel the shockwaves. It’s odd; you and I discussed this same situation while you were lying in a hospital bed and I was visiting. Now, as the situation is reversed, I ask you again, is the division among the Elders so great that the Flock is in danger of collapsing into disorder?”
“No, of course not,” Alrik answered quickly.
I looked to Viktor for his agreement, but he did not meet my gaze.
“There have been events set in motion while I have been in the hospital.” Viktor said. “Tilde has made more moves forward with her agenda. My response to her actions, therefore, must also move forward. The part of the plan which required your action has been satisfied, yes?”
“Wellllll… yes and no,” I thought. But I was too tired to get into that discussion now, so I smiled briefly and then let my eyes sink closed.
The plastic chair squeaked again as Viktor rose. “Good. Let us worry about Alva problems and you focus on healing. Judging by your injuries, you won’t be ready to leave the hospital for two to three days. And in the meantime, we will have to formulate some explanation as to why you are miraculously better when a normal person would be laid up for weeks.” There was a beat of silence. “You are in luck though, because I have invented some good excuses for rapidly healing bones from my many youthful escapades.” Opening my eyes, I saw an understanding and compassionate smile flash across his face. Viktor seemed like an Elder who was truly working hard and with the best intentions. And yet Tilde was following through on her best intentions as well, though they were starkly different than Viktor’s. My resolve of what to do with the binder grew, but I would have to move on the next step very soon. Maybe I would do it when I could keep my eyes open for more than ten minutes at a time.
Chapter 32
I figured that all the stress of dealing with the Alva problems along with werewolf problems would cause my mind to race endlessly, but almost the moment the door closed behind Viktor and Alrik, my eyes drooped shut again and I was asleep. Occasionally I awoke to observe nurses and techs checking in, replacing IVs and taking vitals, but my supernatural healing required deep and sustained sleep. The next time I awoke fully, I found David sitting on my bed with a ridiculously large and realistic-looking plush octopus on his lap.
“Hello, Sleeping Beauty.”
“What, were they all out of cute teddy bears in the gift shop?” I rolled slightly to glare at him better.
“Teddy bears? No, you aren’t a teddy bear type of girl. You are a Giant Pacific Octopus type of a girl.”
I pondered his words, then answered, “Thanks… I guess?”
“Definitely a compliment. How are you feeling?”
I took inventory of my aches and pains. Shoulder? Still hurt. Ribs? Still hurt. Leg? Still hurt. “I’ve felt better.”
“Vegas lists the odds in favor of the Chevy truck for future fights, but you put up a surprisingly good effort the other day.”
“I don’t plan on fighting any more trucks. They don’t fight fair.”
“Now, I believe if the roles were reversed right now and I was lying busted up in bed, you would quote Newton’s third law to me—saying that by definition, I had put an equal and opposite force on the truck. And I don’t hear the truck complaining.”
“Go away. Only sympathetic, nice people who don’t quote physics laws are allowed to sit on my hospital bed.”
“Ahhh, I’m sorry. How about if I say that you are the bravest, kindest, most selfless person I have ever met? Will I be allowed to stay then?”
“No. Sarcastic people aren’t allowed either.”
David gently placed my Giant Pacific Octopus on the other side of the bed, kicked off his shoes, and laid down shoulder to shoulder with me. “But I wasn’t being sarcastic. You are the bravest, kindest, most selfless person I have ever met. You knew the likely consequences, yet you threw yourself in front of that truck to save Philip and Pedro.”
“I saw you. You were going to do the same thing, but you were too slow.”
He chuckled softly. “Okay, we’re both the bravest, kindest, most selfless people we have ever known.”
I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder. “I’m almost too afraid to ask, but what have Gina and Rex been up to since I’ve been chillin’ here?”
There was silence for a moment, then he leaned his cheek down on top of my head. “Trouble. Part of me wants to hide it from you and pretend everything is fine until you are better, but that isn’t fair. So, here’s the Gina update… With her declaration, she officially left our pack. Rex did the same with his own pack. They took off while Pedro, Philip, and I were looking after you. They met back up with the other Alphas, declared they were the founders of a new empire, Alphas among Alphas, in fact. Surprisingly, or at least surprising to me, a few Alphas actually joined their new pack—maybe Gina used her newfound sense of compulsion on them, I don’t know. But the majority of the Alphas told them to take a long walk off a short pier. From there, they disappeared. In your Eagle, I’m afraid to say.”
I groaned loudly and David sympathetically patted my non-broken leg. “Yeah, sorry about that. I thought about calling the cops to report grand theft auto, but figured that police attention would only make things worse at this point. They and their new pack temporarily relocated somewhere close, but not in San Luis Obispo, as far as I can tell. Now they are promoting their new philosophy and pack to all the other American packs over, get this, social media. Technology and the supernatural are now buddies.”
“And have they been getting responses?”
“Again, from what I can tell, yes. Keep in mind that their solution, as gruesome as it is, is the first actual, tangible plan that has been offered to the werewolves. People are desperate to keep their friends, family, and themselves safe and sane.”
“I believe it. Although I still don’t support the idea, I understand that desperation will make someone grasp at straws. So after they file for company status under World Domination, Inc, what’s their plan?”
“From their online communication, I believe the next part will be t
o pick a location for all their new recruits to converge and initiate the new pack. There hasn’t been a decision yet and it appears Rex and Gina have different opinions on the matter.”
“And what about the other packs. How have they been reacting?”
“With caution. There hasn’t been open confrontation from either side, but tension is lurking right under the surface. The pull of action and the idea of our natural role as a superpredator is tempting to any werewolf. If the remaining Alphas push back too hard, they risk losing pack members who are on the fence.”
“What about our little pack?”
David chuckled. “I don’t know if you could find four werewolves less likely to join Gina’s pack. First of all, Pedro and Philip would lay down their life for you after your little antic of saving them from being roadkill. Second, we have seen Gina and Rex as they really are: a pair of manipulative, immature teenagers. Third, all of us have felt the sometimes literal lash of oppressive leadership. We aren’t signing up for more of the same.”
“Have Gina and Rex started with oppressive leadership already?”
“No, but the signs are there—very similar to the pretty talk of tyrants before they show their true colors.”
“What do we do now?”
“What you do now is rest and heal up. The werewolves need you to help sort out this mess, but you need to be back to a fair fighting weight.”
Chewing on my cuticles, I pondered the situation. I couldn’t do much right now besides worry, and that was as effective as juggling knives at a safety meeting.
“Okay, I’ll focus on healing fast and busting out of this joint. One more thing: could you bring me a Philips screwdriver sometime soon?”
David opened his mouth to ask, then shut it. And then opened it again. “I sense you aren’t going to tell me why in the world you would need a screwdriver right now. But when and if you can, I would love to hear all about your scheme.”
One chaste kiss on the forehead later, David left, reminding me to stay out of trouble and get some sleep, but this time, sleep was hard to come by. After a few minutes, I scooted up in bed and turned to the only one left in the room.
“Well, Snowball, it’s just you and me now,” I told my new octopus friend. “But this bed is small and you’re big. So watch where you put those tentacles.” Snowball didn’t reply. “You know, I probably would have bought myself a cute teddy bear, but David was right. You’re a much better fit. Strange how he knew… but don’t tell him I said that. It’ll go to his already sizable head.” I squeezed my adorable new cephalopod tight against my chest and tucked its sizable mantle under my chin. “So there’s lots of stuff going on right now and I’m stuck in bed. This stinks.”
I allowed myself a minute more of self-pity, then tried to shut my eyes and aim for sleep again. My thoughts had arrived at the fun, drifty stage of falling asleep right as the squeak of sensible shoes paraded into my room.
“Sorry to wake you, love, but I need to take a peek at your dressings and change your IV bag.” The nurse wasted no motion as she lifted the sheet, stripped off the bandage, and took a look at the massive wound running down my arm.
“Huh…” I knew what her noise of disbelief indicated, but feigned innocence.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. This is healing way faster than I would expect.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Oh yeah, it’s good, but I’ve never seen something heal that fast before.” There was a pause, then she shrugged. “But believe me, I’ve seen some crazy, crazy things in my twenty years of nursing, and not too many of them are the good kind of crazy, so I won’t complain about a miracle.” She turned and left the room, but was back within seconds with a much smaller bandage.
“So your visitors have been the talk of the nurses’ station.” Her hands moved in a blur of efficiency as she performed all her necessary tasks. “Mmmm, all sorts of tasty have been wandering in this room. Most of the ladies have been arguing whether they’d pick the hottie with the European accent or the tall drink of water with the panty-dropping smile. Even Michael, who’s as straight as an arrow, got in on the debate. Now, me, I like a more mature man myself. That silver fox who strolled in like he owned both the hospital and all the sky above it made me pause in my tracks. Talk is that he himself was in the hospital recently too. I know, that’s probably some HIPAA violation, but gossip that hot isn’t going to be stopped by some governmental abbreviations.” She finished all her jobs, snapped off her gloves, and put her hands on her hips. “Well, there. I’ve given you the opinion of your medical team, but there’s only one opinion that matters in the end. Which one’s your choice? ‘Cause the other one’s gonna to get a whole handful of numbers if he visits again.”
“I’m glad my visitors could provide some entertainment.” I could feel a big smile crinkling my eyes. “Sorry, but the silver fox is happily married, although he refuses to wear a ring, so I understand your confusion. I don’t know about the other two. I love them both, in different ways. It’s complicated...”
She studied me for a full minute.
“My kids, all grown up as they are, still complain that I stick my nose in their business too much, but here’s my two cents. Take it or leave it, I don’t much care. I was on shift for both beaus’ visits. The one, the blondy, when he came, there was serious talk coming out of this room. Now, there’s nothing wrong with serious talk, especially with you being in the hospital and all, but I peeked in after he left and your face was drawn and pale. More so than when he came into the room. But when tall, dark, and handsome was here, I could hear laughter coming out of the room and the air seems lighter now. Your face has more color. So one of your gentleman suitors takes energy and the other one gives energy. Seems an obvious choice to me. But,” she held up her hands in surrender and turned to the door. “I’m just your nurse.” And she walked briskly out of the room.
My jaw dropped and my hands shook. She was right: it was that simple. I took a deep breath and felt the truth of the realization settle in. My gut had known it, but only now was my brain backing it up. Alrik and I didn’t fit. We sucked energy out of each other. I would always love Alrik, but not in the way he wanted. He was a friend and my steadfast ally in the Flock. He probably knew me better than anyone outside my family and would always have my back, as I would always have his. Maybe we saw in each other aspects that we ourselves were lacking. I admired Alrik’s steadfast and unwavering devotion to the Flock and his people. He probably wished for some of my playfulness and levity. But in our case, opposites frustrated each other. Neither of us would benefit from the constant edginess that the other caused.
David, on the other hand—well, the mere thought of David made me smile. We were opposites in so many ways as well: Alva versus werewolf, strong family connections versus banishment from his first pack, born Alpha versus reluctant Alpha. But we fit our differences together to make a stronger team. We challenged each other but built each other up at the same time. He made me laugh, even when things were bleak. And, yes, I had more energy and life when he was by my side. I didn’t know if he was my life partner and I wasn’t going to make any big proclamations, but… I checked my stomach. Yup, there were butterflies there. I was interested in seeing where a relationship with David would go.
“Okay, Snowball. I guess it took a Chevy truck, a blunt nurse, and a stuffed Giant Pacific Octopus, but I’ll stop being blind now. David makes me happy, he makes me a better person, and my stomach gets flip-floppy thinking of him visiting again. ”
Snowball didn’t say anything but I swear one of the tentacles flipped over in a remarkable imitation of a thumbs-up.
Chapter 33
The next morning, both an angry Viktor and a furious Tilde showed up in my hospital room at the same time—but I was prepared. In fact, I had invited them both, though they hadn’t realized the other would be there. I hated being in the passive position of sitting in a hospital bed, but I didn’t have a choice; m
y injuries, though miraculous compared to a natural, hadn’t allowed me to leave the bed for more than a minute or two.
“What is the meaning of this little gathering you arranged?” Tilde spit. “I have important things to do and yet you drag me here like a spoiled little child needing her parents to hold her hand.”
“And why,” Viktor added with better concealed irritation, “did you not tell me that Tilde was to be part of this get-together?”
“Thank you both for coming,” I said in a smooth voice, ignoring their rudeness—I needed to be level-headed for this tightrope walk. “Tilde, I want to apologize for misjudging you. You and I don’t agree on much. Given a serious conflict with forces outside the Flock, my first response is to try to find common ground and empathize with all sides of the conflict. From what I have gathered, you would prefer an authoritative response—to deal with the confrontation swiftly. I have realized that a quick reaction like this can convince others not to make the same mistake and also to not push you further. In fact, I think I may have you to thank for saving my mother’s life. And although your method is not mine, I have recognized that it is a legitimate and, at times, better reaction.”
“Thank you for your acknowledgement of the obvious.” said Tilde, “This is a waste of my time…”
“No, please,” I interrupted, “let me continue. I think you will find meaning in what I have to say.” With a much put-on sigh and an eye roll worthy of Gina, she motioned me to continue.
