Wolf-Way (Wolf of my Heart)

by Linda Palmer

  "Whose?" asked Rhyan.

  "The Corteggio's."

  I gasped. Rhyan got very still...for two whole seconds.

  "What the hell is this?" My boyfriend looked ready for a fight. I touched his shoulder as if I could actually stop one.

  "Lucas Norris is currently representing a group of Weres that once worked for Titus Leopold."

  "Slaved for him, you mean."

  Levi nodded. "Yeah. That is what I mean. We know all about what happened, Rhyan. Everything. That must've been hell."

  "You got that right."

  "I know you're still a wolf, too."

  "How do you know that? I mean, you're not one, are you? Tehya never mentioned it."

  "I'm not a wolf, no. I know about them because of the wolf-way. I know you're one because the Corteggio does. They're keeping tabs on every former gang Were who hasn't taken the cure. They don't trust any of you, dude. Lucas has been in meetings with them for months, fighting for Were rights. I've been at most of them, too, and when I heard that one of the Weres on their watch list now lived with John Rainbolt in Colorado, I volunteered to come here and find out your agenda."

  "I already told them I'm doing what I have to do to get cured. It's just taking longer than I expected."

  I looked at Rhyan in shock. "You did?"

  He nodded.

  "You never mentioned that."

  He wouldn't meet my gaze. "Just happened."

  I instantly thought of the guy who'd asked for directions while I peed in the coffee shop. The one Rhyan couldn't help, yet didn't ask to hang around until I came back outside. "When, exactly?"

  "Thursday morning. Remember that guy on the street...? His name is Ben DeLuca. He's representing the Corteggio."

  "You lied to me."

  "I'm trying to keep you out of this, okay? You're already having nightmares, and I--"

  "Nightmares. What nightmares?" Levi frowned at me.

  Rhyan didn't let me answer. "That son of a bitch Cam Halter tried to rape her."

  Even in the dark, I could see Levi's flush of anger. "I'll kill him."

  My boyfriend laughed without humor. "You're third in line."

  Levi looked back at me. "Did you press charges?" Trust a law student to ask that.

  I shook my head. "But Chief thinks I should."

  "Then why haven't you?"

  "No point. Cam's MIA." I deliberately redirected the conversation. "What's the Corteggio doing to wolves who aren't cured?"

  "Just keeping an eye on them for now. Lucas insists that Weres should have the same rights as everyone else, which means they should be able to choose how they want to live their lives, even if it's having Weres around. Those Palatines really did a number on everyone for a very long time, so Weres are considered the criminal element of the paranormal realm. Some of the members of the Corteggio go so far back that it's been hard to convince them that what they've believed for centuries simply isn't true. That's why they have spies everywhere."

  No wonder Rhyan felt watched. He actually was. "How come Quantauks aren't involved in this?"

  "Native American wolves are a different breed altogether, and exempt from Corteggio jurisdiction. The fact that Andee Rivera's cure doesn't work on them is proof of that."

  "Rhyan has Quantauk blood."

  "Not enough, apparently, to get him off the hook."

  I didn't like the sound of that.

  "If there's no truce, what will happen to us?" Rhyan asked.

  Levi hesitated before answering. "It won't be good."

  "You mean they could--" Gulp. "--execute them?"

  "Yeah. Or imprison them for life, and human law couldn't stop them."

  I pictured a damp, dark dungeon as old as members of that stupid Corteggio apparently were. It gave me the shivers. "Can you get them off Rhyan's back?"

  "I think I can," said Levi. "But you've got to finish this, Knox."

  "Believe me, I will."

  Saturday morning I held my aerobics class, as usual. Rhyan insisted on accompanying me to the community center and then watching us. Though I expected the little old ladies who attended to be shy around him, they actually shook their senior booties extra hard. As a result, we had a lively time, with each and every one making it through the entire session instead of dropping out to breathe as they usually did.

  "How long have the two of you been dating?" asked Lucy Belle Evans after the music died and we gathered around the table to eat someone's homemade brownies. No, that didn't make a bit of sense; yes, we always ate them anyway.

  "We're not actually dating," I said around a gooey mouthful of chocolate heaven. "I mean there hasn't been a chance yet. He's here on, um, other business."

  Rosita gave us a sweet smile. "Oh, we know all about that."

  I didn't doubt it one bit, though I did doubt they had all the facts straight.

  "And we know you two obviously love each other."

  Embarrassed for Rhyan, I winced and tried to think of a neutral reply.

  "We sure do," he said, beating me to the punch.

  All my ladies beamed at him.

  "You'd better treat her right," said one of my ladies.

  "We've got our eye on you," said another.

  "Will we be hearing wedding bells anytime soon?" asked a third.

  Oh. My. Freakin'. Gosh. I opened my full mouth to set everyone straight, but never got the chance.

  "Hmph!" We all looked towards the door, where Cam Halter's mother, Sophia, now stood, glaring at us. "I think everyone here knows the truth about Tehya and her mother."

  What!

  I rounded on her. "Which is?"

  "Unless there's a baby on the way, there'll be no wedding."

  My jaw dropped.

  "Who the hell is that?" asked Rhyan, not bothering to lower his voice.

  I didn't answer.

  "Everyone thinks your mother's such a saint, but I know the truth. That man would never have married her if she hadn't been pregnant. And then he made her promise to adopt his two little boys before he'd sign on the dotted line. He needed a live-in babysitter and a cheap whore. She filled the bill."

  "That's not true!" I started toward her.

  Rhyan caught me from behind. "Tehya, no."

  "Cam's lucky to be rid of you. Don't think he hasn't told us what really goes on in that wolf school of yours. Why, you're nothing but a whore, too, slipping around behind your grandpa's back to spread your legs for any boy who'll ask. Thank goodness Cam knew better."

  "I don't know who you are, lady, but you've said enough." Now I held Rhyan back. Not that he'd have hurt her. I knew he wouldn't. But he'd definitely have said more than he needed to say, and all my little old ladies had already heard an earful.

  I grabbed his hand. "We're leaving." As good as dragging him past Sophia, I headed out the door, which slammed shut behind me. We made it all the way to the car before I started boo-hooing. Blind fury always did that to me, and yeah, she'd hurt my stupid feelings.

  Rhyan hugged me. "Cam's mom, I guess."

  I nodded.

  "What a bitch."

  Somehow, I squashed my turbulent emotions into a tiny ball and shoved it far away. "Well, you did say he was the son of one..."

  Rhyan leaned back a little so he could see my face. I gave him a watery smile.

  He shook his head in disbelief. "You're one tough chick, you know that?"

  "No, I'm not, but thanks for saying it."

  "Wait'll Chief and Levi hear about this."

  "If you say one word, I'll pull out every hair on your head."

  "You're not going to tell them?"

  "What's the point?"

  "Chief should know the shit you go through, especially since some of it's his fault."

  I tipped my head back. "Don't say that. I mean, I know that's what I've been thinking, and I know you've been in my brain, but maybe I've been wrong. Maybe he's just doing what he has to do."

  Rhyan shook his head, but didn't say anything else.

&
nbsp; Levi returned to Washington DC Sunday morning. Once he left the house, I gave his connection to Lucas Norris more thought and realized they made a perfect working pair. Lucas obviously cared about the underwolf. Levi, a human with paranormal experience, understood them.

  When Rhyan and I ran after a light breakfast, I deliberately chose a path that would take us past the obstacle course again.

  "Why are we here?" Rhyan asked when we topped a small rise and came to it from a new direction.

  I stopped and pretended to tie my shoe, surreptitiously eyeing him to assess his breathing. He definitely panted, and the rise and fall of his chest told me he still struggled with the thin mountain air.

  "I thought we might make a trial run. In fact, we should practice this a couple of times a day until you feel confident enough to test."

  "We?"

  "You."

  "I like 'we' better."

  "I'm not the one who has to do this, Rhyan. You are."

  "You said you'd be my coach."

  "Yeah. The kind that stands on the sideline with a whistle and a stopwatch, yelling run, slow poke, run!"

  He laughed. "I need the other kind. The coach who'll face it with me to demonstrate how easy everything is."

  "As if."

  Rhyan dropped to his knees in the snow, hands clasped in front of his face. "Please, Tehya. Please, please, please."

  "Oh my God. Would you get up? One of my senior citizens might see you and think you're proposing or something. We've caused enough rumors."

  He threw his arms around my knees. "Please?"

  Rhyan looked so pitiful I started laughing. "Okay. All right. I'll do it."

  But in the end, I didn't. Oh, I started out all right, making it through the crawl-under barrier, across the horizontal ladder, and even through the tires. I totally ignored the vault and the rope, but managed the balance beam easily, thanks to existing skills. As for the ten-foot wall, I considered myself too short for that, and simply skirted around it. Rhyan completed everything except the rope and the horizontal ladder, begging off because of his injuries that hadn't quite healed. Neither of us bothered with the sprint. Me, because I didn't see the point. Rhyan, because he literally gasped for oxygen by then.

  "You could probably complete this entire course right this minute," I told him.

  "And fall down dead at the finish line, victim of the mountain air."

  "Hm. Maybe another week or two of training is a good idea."

  "You bet--" Rhyan seemed to forget what he intended to say, going very still and inhaling deeply.

  "What do you smell?" I asked, anxiously clutching his arm. "Cam?"

  "No one from that pack."

  That pack? "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "I'm losing it."

  "Why do you say that? What's going on?"

  "You're not the only one with nightmares, Tehya. I dream about my old wolf gang every single night."

  "Are you telling me that you smell your old gang?"

  "Yeah."

  "Holy crap!" I spun around, my eyes on the surrounding hills and trees. "What do we do?"

  "Nothing. If it is them, they can't trick me now. And I'm probably just having a flashback anyway. Wouldn't be the first time."

  "But what if you're not? Maybe they can't trick you, but they can scare you, force you to do things to protect others."

  "My parents?"

  "Exactly."

  "Maybe it's time to call and tell them the situation."

  "Maybe it is."

  "They're probably home."

  I could tell he tried to work up the courage. "Chief wouldn't mind your using our phone."

  "No. A payphone would be more anonymous."

  "Okay. There's one at the grocery store. Got any money?"

  "Enough for that, though I'll need change."

  "I've got tons of quarters in a jar at home. We'll get it and you can drive us to the store. Unless you'd rather go alone...?"

  "No way. I need you with me."

  I liked the sound of that.

  We wound up eating lunch before he made the call. Rhyan told Chief his plans. Chief offered the use of our phone, as predicted, but Rhyan refused. He then drove us to the same parking lot Levi had used for his big reveal. With my hand full of quarters, I stood watching while my guy punched in his parents' number.

  I knew the exact moment that someone answered. Rhyan startled so badly, he bobbled the phone and nearly dropped it. "Er, Lizzy? It's Rhyan. Can I speak to Dad?"

  Though Rhyan hadn't tipped the receiver in my direction, I still heard an answering squeal and excited babbling. His eyes filled right up; tears splashed on his cheeks. As if embarrassed, he turned his back on me. I slipped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek on his back. Rhyan's heart thundered in my ear.

  "Hey, Dad." Pause. "Yeah. It's really me." Pause. "Hi, Mom." He began to cry silently. I hugged him a little harder. "I know...but I'm okay now. Safe. I just--" Very long pause. Audible gulp. "Yeah. It's very weird. Something you won't believe if I don't tell you in person." Pause. I could tell he'd gained a little control over his emotions. "How'd you know about that?" Longer pause. "I need quarters, Tehya." I opened my hand. He took several and inserted them into the slots. "Dad? Still there?" Pause. "Sister who called you?" Pause. "Well, she was right about everything. I've been involved in some crazy shit, er, sorry Mom, but I'm almost out of it now, and I'm calling to tell you I'll come home just as soon as I can. Bringing someone with me, too. A girl." Pause. "She's more than special. She's a miracle. Um, Dad? Have you still got your gun?" Pause. "Keep it close, okay? At least until I know how this is going down. And if anyone calls to tell you I'm in trouble, well, they're lying. I'm perfectly safe." Pause. "Yeah. Love you guys, too."

  Rhyan hung up the phone. For a good minute, he just stood there, his hands resting on the metal awning that protected the phone from the elements. Then he turned in my arms and hugged me really hard, crying in earnest.

  And though I knew guys had a right to show their feelings, too, it killed me to see Rhyan's tears. So of course, I began to sob, too, and clung to him, dropping all the quarters in the process. I think forever passed before we got a grip on things enough to pick up the scattered money. We got into his car. Rhyan reached for his key, but didn't start the engine.

  He looked at me but didn't say anything for the longest time.

  "What?" I asked in response to his unreadable expression.

  "My dad said a psychic named Sister Sapphire called him out of the blue to tell him my story. She said her son had been turned, too, but was cured now. I'm trying to figure out who the hell that could be."

  "Does it matter?"

  "Guess not." He sighed. "I've never done anything in my life that really counts. I mean, nothing, especially compared to this Sister Sapphire woman, not to mention you. It was always about me, me, me before Titus. And after that, well, you know..."

  "What are you saying?"

  "I'm saying that I don't know why such amazing people have come into my life. Definitely not because I deserved them."

  I had no answer.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The moment Chief left for his Monday morning gossip with the guys, Rhyan found me in the kitchen.

  I saw right away he hadn't dressed for our usual run and wore jeans and an Oklahoma State tee-shirt instead. "You're not ready."

  "There's something I want us to do first."

  I perked right up. "Sex? Chief'll be gone for a while. We can use my bed...or yours. Heck, we can do it right here." I pointed to the table, which I'd just cleared. Though I half teased, I would've taken yes for an answer.

  Rhyan groaned. "No, no, no."

  I stuck out my tongue at him. "Then what?"

  "I want to see those wolf books of Chief's."

  "Why?"

  "Tell you in a minute. Would you get them, please?"

  Reveling in our new closeness, the byproduct of his call to his parents, I took his hand and led him to C
hief's desk, sitting in a corner of his bedroom. Rhyan watched as I dug the books out of their hiding place. We sat, bodies touching, on the edge of Chief's bed to examine them.

  "What are we looking for?"

  "I'll know when I see it."

  "Fine."

  While I watched, Rhyan hogged the books and flipped pages. When he found what he wanted, he began reading aloud: "Dyani, Mapiya, Wachiwi, Bena..." He caught my eye. "What kind of names are those?"

  "Quantauk, of course."

  "I mean gender."

  "Oh, um, female, why?"

  Rhyan grinned. "I knew it! There were female wolves."

  "What?" I grabbed the book, easily spotting the names he'd read, plus the conversion dates: 1895, 1903, 1954, 1972. Chief's father--my very own great grandfather--had turned a girl into a wolf that recently. "I don't understand."