They sat parked on the side of the road. Erica smoked a cigarette to calm her nerves. Evie held her nose, scowling.
“Let’s just go to my house,” Erica finally said. “I’m too nervous now to go anywhere far from home.”
“Nervous about me?” Evie asked through a pinched nose.
Erica’s eyes nearly doubled in size; her mouth hung open. Evie sat looking back with a clueless “what?” expression.
“Are you kidding me?” Erica said. “Yes I’m nervous about you. Do you not realize what almost just happened?”
Evie let go of her nose. “I know I shouldn’t have chased it, but I feel normal again. Everything is fine, Air.”
“Fine?” Erica exploded. “You don’t get it, do you? We just missed a major freaking catastrophe by literally a hair. It’s not fine, you simple little twit, no matter how sweet you sound saying it. Use your brain, dumbass. You could’ve ruined everything for all of us if you’d gotten away.”
Evie’s jaw hung open. Never had her cousin looked so angry with her. Never had she spoken so viciously, and meant every word.
“Yeah, look sad,” Erica said and drew hard on the cigarette. “Do you have any idea what would’ve happened to me if you’d gotten away?” she exhaled. “To hell with hitting the moose. That’s Disney World compared to what grandpa would’ve done to me if I showed up and told him I’d lost his favorite little darling. Did you think of that, Red? Huh? No. Of course not. You don’t even care, do you?”
“I care,” Evie whispered, her voice unsteady.
“You could’ve been seen!” Erica shouted, her voice cracking. “Do you know what that means? You could’ve been shot for running moose. Dogs and coyotes get killed for that on the spot. You might be white and beautiful but you’re not bulletproof.
Evie tried to speak again. Erica ran right over her.
“No, listen. You need to hear it. Just imagine … you get excited and chase a moose. No harm, right? This place is the sticks. Wrong. Everyone up here has guns. If just one of them sees you, bang, no more Red and the secret is out. We’re on the news. ‘Huge wolves hiding up north.’ Trophy hunters pour into town. Our whole family gets hunted down.”
“Okay,” Evie murmured.
“When we’re not on family land, we’re not safe unless we have complete control. That’s why there are rules, and that’s why Grandpa is so strict with them. If you lose control and—”
“Okay,” Evie said louder; her eyes were damp. “I came to spend time with you, not cause trouble. I sure didn’t plan on chasing some stupid moose and getting the whole family killed. So stop acting like I did this on purpose.”
Erica tossed her cigarette and blew the smoke over her shoulder. “I’m just freaking,” she said softer. “I know it wasn’t on purpose.” Then she leaned over, pressing her forehead to Evie’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Red. I didn’t mean those things.”
“It’s okay,” Evie whispered.
“No. You’re my sister. If something happened to you, I …”
“Let’s just go now,” Evie said. Her eyes were scanning the surrounding woods. “I’m nervous here now, too.”
Erica sat up straight, wiping her eyes, and started the car. “My house is safe. We’ll go there and cool off. And then, whatever. If you go primal again, at least it’ll be on family land.”
-8-
During the short ride they were quiet.
Pulling up before her parents’ house, Erica raised the top and cut the engine, then looked over at her cousin. Evie stared out the side window with her arms crossed.
“Here we are,” Erica said.
Evie said nothing.
“I said I was sorry, Red.”
“And I heard you,” Evie mumbled.
“I meant it. So give me a break.”
Evie turned her head sharply. “Fine, but you give me one, too. I know next to nothing about what’s happening to me, and I feel like I’m losing my mind here. The last thing I need is my best friend in the world screaming at me because I’m lost in this crazy … thing. I’m not trying to compete with you, Air. Seriously.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you acting like I am? None of this is my fault.”
“I know that.”
“And on top of it all,” Evie grumbled, “I’m so hungry I feel ill. I can’t even think straight.”
“Okay,” Erica said. “First we’ll eat, and then we’ll talk this thing out. I’ll spill everything I know about the family. Absolutely everything. But understand that it’s not easy for me either. I’m stuck at the worst possible age for our kind. I know all about it, I feel the desire to join the pack, but I can’t. No matter what I do, I’m stuck.”
“That’s fair,” Evie said. “And I’m sorry for that. Let’s just agree to help each other instead of fighting. Okay?”
“Fine,” Erica said with a small smile, mimicking her cousin’s drawl. “Let’s go in and eat so you can think straight.”
“I can think straight enough,” Evie said as they stood from the car, “to know you saved the day back there. Thank you for stopping me.”
“You would’ve done the same.”
“I’d like to think so,” Evie said. “But you really did think fast.”
Erica smiled. “What can I say? Talent runs in the family.”
Inside they found a pizza in the freezer; Evie’s eyes widened at the sight of peperoni’s. Erica started the oven and found the pizza tray while Evie stood by the open fridge eating roast beef slices. She was eating like it was her first meal in weeks.
“You know,” Erica said, “Matthew eats that stuff by the pound. If he comes home and catches you, you might have to fight him for it.”
“I’ll take it and run,” Evie said between bites. “He’s too heavy to keep up with me human, never mind as the wolf.”
Erica opened the pizza wrapper and dropped the frozen block onto a cookie sheet. Standing straight after sliding it into the oven, she motioned Evie to follow her up the stairs to her room, saying, “I have something you’ll be interested to see.”
“Okay,” Evie mumbled with a full mouth. She took one more slice of roast beef, closed the fridge, and hurried to catch up. Her cousin was suddenly in a good mood about something, and Evie was thankful, whatever it was.
In her room Erica produced a three ring binder from her desk. “These are the little booklets Aunt June makes up for the teenagers,” she said, dropping the binder onto her bed.
Evie sat on the bed and opened the binder, still chewing. As she skimmed the first few pages, Erica paced the floor.
“We’re instructed never to take them from our homes once we’ve received them,” she said. “And, obviously, we’re forbidden to discuss any of it beyond the family. You have no idea how hard it is keeping your mouth closed all the time.”
“Snow,” Evie thought aloud, remembering Eli’s comment. She raised her eyes to Erica. “Who is James Snow?”
“Grandpa’s father.”
“Snow is Papa’s real last name?”
“That’s what it says, isn’t it?”
“But he’s so proud of the Ludlow name.”
Erica scoffed. “It’s a cover story, Red. And the name’s just the tip of the ice burg. Like I said last night, there’s a lot to our grandfather we didn’t know as kids.”
“This man,” Evie said, reading from the binder again, “James Snow was born in Scotland in the sixteen hundreds. How can he only be our great grandfather?”
“Grandpa’s not seventy,” Erica said, her eyes dancing as she tried to hold back a smile. “Da-da-da-da.”
Evie sat silently staring.
“And Grandpa wasn’t born in New Hampshire,” Erica continued, “like some people assume. People in Ludlow might think he’s always been here, but actually he was born in a little Maine logging camp over a hundred years ago. Only blood relatives and other families of wolves made up that little village.”
Evie sighed. “Papa told me the impo
rtant things were all true.”
“He means the sentimental side,” Erica said, pacing faster. Clearly she loved the mystery of it more than her cousin did.
Evie flipped to another page and skimmed. “Papa moved here permanently after his father passed away.”
“Yeah but there’s more that’s not written there. He didn’t just move here for the hell of it; he came here permanently then because that’s when he collected his inheritance. He could afford to start all over; build that huge house, and start his businesses. That’s how it works; one Snow dies, a younger Snow takes over leadership of the pack, and control of the family fortune.”
Evie looked up. “Fortune?”
“Now do you see what I mean? It’s a big deal. Not just the actual wolf part but the purpose for the wolf. Everything to do with this family is secretive.”
“Let me guess,” Evie said closing the binder. “The best parts aren’t written down.”
Erica laughed. “Hell no. That’s just the proverbial bone they toss to the teenagers.”
“So …”
“Stay with me. Here’s where we’re lucky,” Erica said, sitting at her desk and opening her laptop. “We’ve got resources our parents didn’t have.”
Evie set down the binder, stood, and moved over behind her cousin to watch over her shoulder.
“Great grandfather Snow came to the American colonies from Nova Scotia,” Erica said, “back when it was a mix of French and Scottish settlers. And By the way, here’s a fun little fact. In the eighteen hundreds, after most of our relatives were gone from the area, a small town up there actually adopted the name of Wolfville.”
Evie smirked. “Really?”
“Yeah but it’s not the point. The facts are that the Snows were in that area. They had money, and they were very good at keeping secrets. Any guesses?”
“No,” Evie said. “Smelling that pizza is driving me crazy.”
“You’re pathetic,” Erica muttered. “Think big. Think money. Think mystery.”
“Just show me; I’m not in the mood to guess.”
“Have you heard of The Money Pit?”
Evie’s face brightened. “Yes! That silly movie with the Forrest Gump guy.”
“No,” Erica said in disgust. “I would seriously like to slap you right now.” She stood up. “Here, sit. See for yourself. Maybe then you’ll take it seriously.”
Evie ignored the slap comment, thinking, try it, honey, (her head still ached from the hair pulling) and sat to examine the web page on the screen. Erica paced the room behind her and began narrating, far too impatient to wait for Evie to piece anything together for herself.
“The pit is on Oak Island, a little bump in the Atlantic off the coast of Nova Scotia. Some teenage boys found it in the late seventeen hundreds. They dug and found layers of oak logs every so many feet. Eventually a whole crew of men took over, and long story short, way down in the pit they found a rare stone supposedly native to Egypt with strange markings on it.”
“This is real,” Evie blurted, looking up in surprise from the laptop. “Actual buried treasure.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”
“Calm down,” Evie said, though she was feeling the excitement herself now. “I don’t see the name Snow on here. How is our family involved?”
“Officially, we’re not. But if you read you’ll see that the old legend mentions packs of wild dogs with fiery eyes guarding the island. I found that out by searching for wolf legends of the north east. It’s what led me to Oak Island in the first place.”
“Keepers of secrets,” Evie muttered, her eyes widening. “Papa said those exact words to me yesterday.”
“Uh-huh,” Erica nodded with a raise of her eyebrows. “He wasn’t joking. Keep reading while I get the pizza.”
Evie looked back to the computer screen. Without an overexcited narrator she could actually focus. There were pictures of the island, the treasure pit, and the workers who had labored there over the years, always unsuccessfully. Men had died in various accidents, and for their efforts no money had been discovered. Franklin Roosevelt had been involved at one point. So had several movie stars. Millions had been spent to exhume the treasure, but not a dime had ever been recovered. The pit, designed centuries ago, was too sophisticated for even modern technology to conquer. No water pump on earth could contend with the Atlantic Ocean. Oak Island did hold a significant secret—a secret it refused to give up.
When Erica returned with the pizza, Evie ate ravenously. She had been hungry to start with, but as she’d read the account of the mysterious island, she’d felt a nervous energy growing within her—the uncertainty of her family history nagging at her—and the nerves had set her stomach to grumbling fiercely.
“Crazy stuff, right?” Erica said.
“It is,” Evie said between bites. “But I still don’t see a clear connection.”
“It’s not scrolled across the page in bold letters. You have to connect the dots.”
“Fine. What’s your theory?”
“The Snows are old, the pit is old, and I think the Snows, or whatever they were called before Snow, were definitely involved right from the start. Either they were the owners of whatever was buried there, or at least the guardians appointed by the owners. I mean, look at how elaborate the design of that pit is. Who goes to all that trouble for something not priceless? And if you’ve got something priceless to hide, who better to protect it than a pack of wolves? They never tire. People are naturally afraid of them. And who but an army would dare mess with them?”
“Good point,” Evie said, remembering the short speech her grandfather had given her. Guardians and Watchers flashed in her head.
“There are lots of theories as to what the treasure could be. But, whatever it is, I don’t think it’s necessarily on the island. Not anymore. Maybe it never was. Maybe the pit that floods with sea water and that strange stone are just distractions to keep people from the real treasure.”
“Maybe,” Evie said thoughtfully.
“No maybes, Red. Here’s what I do know for sure. Grandpa’s relatives have definite ties to that area. From there they moved to Maine, before it was even called Maine, where to this day Grandpa still owns all of that property. Most of those areas are still unofficial, unincorporated towns. Off the map. Off the radar. Nothing happening. That was the appeal for Grandpa’s father when he moved there from Acadia when the revolutionary war was heating up and port towns were at risk. And even though times have changed and Grandpa is based firmly here in Ludlow now, he still seems to give Maine a lot of attention.
“The logging,” Evie said.
“Yes,” Erica admitted. “There’s no denying that; most of his lumber comes from there. But the Snows have always seemed to have way more than logging money. And Grandpa’s brother, the great uncle we never see and barely hear about, still lives way out in one of those old logger villages. Supposedly he’s an even bigger wolf than Grandpa. ‘Scary as hell,’ is how Matthew put it.”
“All right,” Evie said, rubbing her forehead. “So you think they brought the treasure with them and hid it in the back woods of Maine?”
Erica nodded. “I think so.”
“And the scary brother still guards it?”
“It’s perfect!” Erica blurted. “Don’t you see? It was far away from the island and all the turmoil of the times. Hundreds of years later, there’s still no one around the area but moose and squirrels. It’s perfectly safe. And in the off chance someone did snoop around, they’d run into the Maine branch of the pack. No one’s getting that treasure.”
“I don’t know” Evie said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. “Maybe we shouldn’t guess at this stuff. We should just ask Papa what the heck is going on.”
Erica’s eyes widened to the size of golf balls. “You’re kidding me!”
“No.”
“We can’t just ask. That’s not how family secrets work. That’s not how any secrets work.”
“Since when am I an expert on family secrets?”
“You know you’re a wolf now. That’s beyond question, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, the family secret goes beyond the wolf itself, I can promise you that.”
Evie said nothing. She knew Erica was probably right—or at least somewhat on the right trail.
“If we want to find out the truth, we can either wait around for fifty years to be let fully in on the secret … if ever. Or, we can try our best to figure it out. I don’t see the harm in it.”
Evie leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She’d never been the Nancy Drew type; she didn’t feel like starting now. “Yes, I am curious,” she said. “But two days ago I thought I was normal, and I was okay with it. This is a lot at once, Air. And I still have tons of other questions besides. You’re telling me Papa’s over a hundred years old?”
Erica gave no answer. She paced the room muttering under her breath. “You’ve been the wolf,” she finally said, stopping before Evie. “I haven’t. For almost two years now I’ve had the door slammed in my face on all but the barest details. Every night the others go out running and patrolling, and here I sit, waiting around like a kid, working at that damn diner like the happy little waitress I’m supposed to be. Grandpa wants us to appear as a quaint, dull little town. Well, that’s great for them, but it’s not enough for me. The only thing that’s kept me from going crazy is trying to figure this thing out. The wolf is the outer layer. I want to know where we came from, and why.”
“Okay,” Evie said, opening her eyes and facing her cousin. “I understand all that. But we can only handle so much at once. For now, why don’t we set the mystery aside and focus our energy on helping you change? Like you said, I’ve been the wolf. Trust me; there is nothing to compare it to.”
“Sure,” Erica admitted. “That would satisfy me … I think. But we can’t force it, if that’s what you mean.”
“Maybe we can,” Evie said brightly.
Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1) Page 8
