Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1)

by Shawn Underhill

  “You know, I swear the animals mind me better too,” Eli remarked. “As me, I mean.”

  “Really? They can tell you’re … more than human?”

  “They can tell something.”

  “Maybe it’s because you practically live out here with them,” Evie smiled.

  Eli laughed to himself. “That’s true.” Then he became serious again. “You’re still, what … sixteen?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Man. I was twenty before I first changed; almost twenty one before I had full control.” He shook his head. “It’s remarkable, Evie. No one since Grandpa Joe has had his coloring. And yes, females do mature quicker, but I’m pressed to remember anyone changing at only sixteen. I don’t think anyone has.”

  “Was I his exact color last night?” Evie asked, sidestepping the prodigy aspect.

  “You couldn’t tell?”

  “Even if I could, I can’t remember now. Everything’s all jumbled in my head.”

  “Well, you’re not as white as Grandpa, but you’re damn close. You’ve got silver in your scruff and along the top of your back. The rest is pure white.”

  “You were gray, I think,” Evie said thoughtfully. “Your saddle was dark, and your eyes were amber brown, weren’t they?”

  “Sounds right,” Eli said. “It sounds like it’s all in there; you just need to get it sorted out.”

  “So talking helps with memories?”

  “It can’t hurt. In the early stages, it’s all about focus. If talking gets you to focus, then yeah, it’s a help.”

  “Keep going,” Evie said.

  Eli laughed. “Well, let’s see … I look just like my old man (Paul); thick and dark gray. But you … you’re built for speed, just like you are now. You never even stumbled last night. Never hesitated. You just made the change and boom, you were gone. Fast.”

  Evie was quiet. Eli’s words had stirred memories to life. Standing there in broad daylight she could see the prior night playing out in blurred images. White forelegs and wide white feet flashed within her view as she ran. The sounds of the pack surrounded her on three sides. Ahead was the shadowed trail, worn smooth by many feet. Passing the fork to the place of the old cabins, she raced northeast until the trail opened up to the smooth stone cap of Oak Hill. There the race ended. Wolves caught up with her. Crowded her. Their sounds grew. A song began …

  “Don’t obsess over it,” Eli finally said, and once more Evie was back in the barn in the light of day, watching her cousin brushing Chappy the horse.

  “I see those wheels spinning in your head,” he said.

  “What does Snow mean?” she asked.

  “You’ve been talking to Grandpa, hey?”

  “A little.”

  “Grandpa’s a Snow. It means white wolf. You’re a Snow.”

  “Does it mean anything else? I mean, as far as expectations.”

  “You mean because everyone’s making such a fuss?”

  “Yeah ...”

  “Eventually it could mean something. Hell, I suppose you could run the whole show someday. But mostly it’s a point of pride for the old family.”

  Evie said nothing. There was a lot to process.

  “Hey, it’s nothing to worry about now,” he assured her. “You’re sixteen, Red. Grandpa will be in charge for years to come.”

  “I hope so,” Evie said, and handed Chappy another carrot. “While we’re at it … do you think there’s a chance I’ll be allowed to go home anytime soon?”

  Eli shook his head. “I don’t know about that. Not unless Aunt Jane convinces Grandpa it’s a good idea. Living away turned out okay for her, I guess. But that was different.”

  Evie was quiet again. Her face hardened with thought.

  “Don’t blame her,” Eli said. “No one knew what would happen. Not even Grandpa. The wolf does as he pleases; he goes where he pleases, when he pleases.”

  “Still, a little warning from the family would’ve been nice.”

  “I see your angle,” he conceded.

  “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”

  “Not after last night,” he smiled. “Can I ask you something, Red?”

  Evie shrugged. “I’ve asked my fair share of questions.”

  “Where did you meet Ruach?”

  “Who?”

  “The spirit wolf.”

  “Is that his name?”

  “It’s what we refer to him as.”

  “I dreamed of the old cabins,” Evie answered. “He was there waiting for me. It felt like … I had to go there. So I went. And there he was.”

  Eli grinned, muttering, “Grandpa’s cabin.” After a pause he asked, “Did he speak to you?”

  “You know Grandpa asked me the same thing. No, I don’t think so. I can’t remember if he did.”

  “I met him in my dad’s barn,” Eli said sheepishly. “He didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not. I stepped around a corner; he was there one second, gone the next. Scared the hell out of me.”

  Evie smirked. Eli wasn’t typically the frightful type.

  “We all meet him at some point,” he went on. “He sort of seals the wolf deal, so to speak. We never know where or when he’ll show. It just happens. On his terms.”

  Eli set down the brush now and let Chappy exit the barn to the pasture. “I need to bring Old Tom in for a brushing. Walk with me?”

  Evie followed him out the pasture door.

  “Were you scared when you saw him?” Eli asked, outside now.

  “Honestly, no,” Evie said. “As I remember it, I think I was amazed by him more than anything. But it was a dream. It had that …unreal feeling, so I don’t know for sure.”

  “Get over here, Tom,” Eli shouted. “Evie’s got a carrot for you, buddy.”

  Evie shook the carrot bag. Old Tom made his way over, his head bobbing, neighing low and happily. His wide nostrils worked hard when he neared the carrots.

  “Why did you ask about the dream wolf?” Evie asked, feeding Tom the carrot.

  “I don’t know,” Eli said, taking the horse by the halter. “Curious, I guess. Wondering what it’s like.”

  “Didn’t you say we all meet him?”

  “We do, we do. It’s just … my little cousin’s a prodigy, it seems. I’m wondering what that’s like. Who knows, maybe I’m a little jealous.”

  “Oh no,” Evie sighed.

  “Not that jealous,” he laughed. “Mostly I’m impressed as all hell with you, Red.”

  “Not you,” Evie said. “You just reminded me … I’m supposed to meet Erica down at The Kitchen.”

  Eli checked his watch. “She should be there another hour or so. But I’ll level with you, Evie; you’ve got your work cut out for you there. That girl’s mad jealous of you now. Uncle Earl even told me he’s worried about her.”

  “Don’t remind me,” she muttered. “I should get going, try to keep the peace.” She hugged her cousin quickly. “Thanks for talking. And for being cool.”

  “You got it,” he said. “I’ll be out tonight, if you’re up for another run.”

  “I’ll be there,” Evie smiled, and leaving the carrots with Eli, she gave Old Tom a quick pat on his big shoulder and started jogging for the house.

  With Papa Joe still busy in his study, Evie felt brazen enough to hop into his shiny new truck and drive it to town. The keys were tucked up under the sun visor, as always. And he’d let her drive trucks in years past, even before she’d had her license. If she’d asked, he would have said yes anyway. It was pointless to bother him while working. By her reasoning, she was saving them both a little time.

  Evie parked the big four-door before Grandma’s Kitchen, next to her grandmother’s car, and went inside. Erica was behind the counter. Her mother and grandmother were in a booth, surrounded by a group of the aunts, uncles and kiddie cousins taking up several of the adjoining booths and tables. Only a handful of customers were not relatives. After waving to the others, Evie walked to the counter and took
a seat across from Erica.

  “He let you take the truck, huh?”

  “Sort of,” Evie smiled.

  “Brave.”

  “How much longer are you here?”

  “Celia will be in by one thirtyish; I’d say I can fly around two. I was thinking of going down to Cold Springs for some lunch, if you wanna go.”

  “I’m starving,” Evie said. “It’s a plan.”

  Erica stepped away to refill an older man’s coffee down the counter. Evie watched her, noticing the way the light from the wide windows lightened her brown eyes and shined on her black hair. Other than her light skin and the large whites of her eyes, all else about Erica seemed … darkish. Her pleasantries were forced. Even her voice seemed smokier.

  Evie got up and walked to a free chair at one of the kiddie tables. The younger cousins were of course excited to talk with her. Probably, she figured, the same she had always been fascinated with her older cousins at their age. For that reason she made sure to pay each child as much attention as she could. She wanted them to have that same feeling she had always had growing up—that feelings of connectedness and importance. Of course, with everyone talking at once, it wasn’t easy to carry on a conversation with any one relative.

  At two Evie and Erica stepped outside together. The air was cool but the afternoon sun was warm—the perfect sort of day. Evie’s mother was taking the truck home, Erica was out of work, and they were both full of that energizing promise of an afternoon of freedom.

  Around in back of The Kitchen they slid into Erica’s little red MX-5. Erica dropped the top after starting the engine. Turning out from The Kitchen she burned a little patch. Both girls laughed. Erica turned up the stereo, and they were off—down the windy southbound road to Cold Springs.

  For the first few minutes they spoke of nothing serious. Erica was riding a high after finishing work, and Evie hoped that the darkness in her demeanor had passed. It hadn’t, of course—within a mile or two south of Ludlow Erica looked just as flustered as she’d been at work. She took a pack of Marlboro’s from her purse, fumbling with the pack as she shifted the car on the windy road.

  “No,” Evie thought aloud before she could stop herself.

  “Don’t give me that pious crap,” Erica answered with a sidelong scowl.

  “I can’t believe my eyes. You people are one surprise after another.”

  “Relax. I only smoke a few here and there.”

  “When did this start?”

  “Try after I started spending all my weekends at The Kitchen.”

  “Is smoking a prerequisite?”

  “Funny. You try waiting on all of them, all smiley and bubbly for pocket change tips. ‘Would you like your coffee topped off?’ Ugh. Besides, once I change it won’t matter. I’ll have super lungs like the rest of the family.”

  “What?”

  “Do you have eyes, Red? Look at our family and think about it. Do any of them look their age? Has anyone over the age of twenty even had a cold that you can remember?”

  Evie gave no reply at first. She couldn’t focus on Erica’s voice because she was watching her steer the car with her knees, cupping the lighter close to the cigarette’s end, and losing the battle with the wind. “Want me to steer?” she finally offered.

  “I know how to drive,” Erica snapped, her brown eyes blackening at her cousin.

  “I was trying to help.”

  “I didn’t ask for it. Keep your hands off my wheel.”

  Evie faced forward again with a flash of hurt anger warming her cheeks. As the road came back into focus, her anger vanished as quickly as it had come, expelled from her mind by the last sight anyone in a small, fast-moving convertible hopes to see from the helplessness of the passenger seat—a tall dark figure looming in the road ahead. She opened her mouth to scream, just as Erica lifted her eyes to the road.

  -7-

  Miatas and moose never mix well.

  In the few seconds that followed her sighting of the moose, Erica made some of the most important decisions in her life, without the benefit of a second thought. Dropping both cigarette and lighter the instant she sighted the threat, her fingers had barely closed around the wheel when she cranked it hard left, stomping the brake pedal to the floor so hard that if felt her right foot would go through the Miata’s floor. The car veered into the opposing lane, missing the hind legs of the lumbering moose by inches, and came to a skidding stop on the opposite shoulder of the road. In the next instant, lifting her right hand from the parking brake lever, Erica reached out in time to catch a handful of her cousin’s shirt, just before she could break away.

  For Evie the same few seconds had been vastly different. She did not hear the sound of screeching tires or her cousin’s scream. For her, the world around her seemed to go away upon first sight of the favored prey of her ancestors. In her head there came a strong, earthy scent, and through flashing predator eyes, her vision became a fixed tunnel narrowed on the fleeing moose. She was hungry; the moose was no longer an obstacle, he was a meal on tall legs.

  When the car skidded to a stop, muscle memory kicked in. Evie was free of her seatbelt and dragging Erica from the driver’s seat into the road. Across both lanes they battled frantically, Evie never once turning back, Erica never letting go. When they reached the opposing shoulder, Erica got a firm handle on a large swath of Evie’s hair. Knowing that she could not hold her back much longer, she took her chance, released Evie’s shirt, clasped more hair, planted her feet, and with both arms pulled back with all her strength.

  There was a terrible shriek. Evie went down in a spinning motion onto her back, and took Erica with her. Erica flew over her, still holding her hair. Together they tumbled and rolled down the embankment, landing in the leafy bottom of a dry ditch. Erica won the luck of the fall, landing on top. When her wits returned after the fall, she pinned her cousin to the ground.

  “Evie,” she gasped, staring into wild green eyes. “Listen to me! You can’t chase it! You can’t change here!”

  From Evie there was no response. During the fight she’d lost all awareness of herself and the world around her. The sudden full-minded, full-bodied desire for prey had instantly overridden anger with her cousin, her fear of a collision, and lastly her rationale. Acting on pure instinct, she’d known only that there was food near, that something hindered her from giving chase, and had fought not personally but as an animal trying to escape that hindrance.

  As the moose crashed away through the trees, Evie felt herself slowly returning to a state of conscious control. Its strong scent faded along with its crashes, and her urge to chase and kill gradually shrank away into absurdity. Her heartbeat calmed, her vision cleared, and her cousin’s face appeared close to her own. Erica’s voice was distressed, her brown eyes shining. Lastly, severe discomfort became overly apparent.

  “Evie!”

  “What?” Evie groaned.

  “Are you, you again?”

  “Ugh, yes. You’re hurting me.”

  “If you try to run again I’ll—”

  “I won’t,” Evie said. “Let me up.”

  “Not a chance,” Erica panted. “Not until I’m sure. What—what movie did we used to watch obsessively … as kids?”

  “Snowy River,” Evie answered with a groan. “Jess and the horses. Now let me up.”

  Erica relaxed, only then realizing that one of her hands still gripped her cousin’s hair. She released it, shaking off the loose hairs, then rolled off to one side and sat up against the bank. Evie rose slower, running her hand up over her hot-aching head. Both were breathing hard from the battle.

  “Sorry about the hair,” Erica said. “I had to stop you. It was the easiest thing to grab.”

  “Did you yank half of it out?”

  “Not half. Most of it is still there.”

  Evie’s scowl relaxed slightly. “Very funny. Was that a moose?”

  “Yeah. Close call.”

  “I saw it there. I tried to warn you. I tried
to scream. But everything just …”

  “Went wolf,” Erica finished. “I know. It happens. It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I didn’t see it in time.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. You?”

  “Fine if you don’t count the headache,” Evie grimaced. “Something tells me we’d better keep this to ourselves.”

  “Definitely. I won’t tell if you won’t,” Erica said, her head turning, her eyes scanning in every direction. “Let’s get out of here before another one shows up. This stretch of road is moose ally.”

  The two girls stood together, brushing leaves and dirt from their clothing. Then they climbed the bank to the road. As they crossed to the car, a pickup truck came into view, rounding the bend in the distance.

  “Crap,” Erica grumbled. “Walk casual. Play tourist if they stop.”

  The truck slowed as it neared, its side window lowering. The girls were just getting into the car, as casually as possible. They only looked over when they heard a voice.

  “You ladies all set?”

  At first glance Evie recognized his profile. He was the older man who’d sat a few seats down from her at The Kitchen’s counter.

  “Yes, thanks, Ed,” Erica called. “We jumped a moose and got out to try and get a picture.” She flashed her phone. “It was a big bull. You should have seen him. Huge rack!”

  “About scared me half to death,” Evie chimed, laying her accent on thick. “I was fixin’ to die when I saw that big thing standing out there.”

  The old timer didn’t buy it. “That’s quite a strip of rubber you left in the road, young Miss Ludlow.”

  “I know,” Erica said, biting her lip. Then her face brightened with an idea. “If you forget about it, lunch is on me next weekend. Both days.”

  The old man grinned thinly now. “Slow down on this road, Erica; you know better. And I’ll see you for lunch Saturday.”

  “Thanks,” Erica smiled, big and fake.

  Evie gave him a guilty smile and a small wave.

  Old Ed Harkin tipped his cap and pulled away.