“You’re right, dear. I need to be here for you. Now, when, and how did he become one of those nasty werewolves?”
I open my mouth to tell her, when I stop and start sniffing the air. “Grandma, do you smell that?”
“Quickly, child. Get behind me. That is the scent of a werewolf.”
I nod, eyes wide.
She frowns and shakes her head. “Never mind. Right now, get behind me.”
Then she pulls Woodcutter out of her coat pocket and points it toward the door.
“I am ready for you, wolf. Come in slowly with your hands up, or I will shoot you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” comes a muffled answer as the door opens slowly and the creepy stalker guy comes in carefully. He shuts the door behind him and then slowly gets down on his knees, hands still raised. “Honored Wolf Tracker, I come in peace to talk to you. Will you allow me to sit with you?”
I look at Grandma and she is just staring at him, brow furrowed in confusion and Woodcutter settling into her lap. “Grandma?”
“What child? Who is this man? Why is he on the floor?”
Oh no! She’s lost it again.
“Stay where you are!” I tell the wolf. I gently pull Woodcutter from Grandma’s hands and put it into my coat pocket. “Grandma, let’s sit down on the bed over here, so the man and I can talk.”
I lead her over to the bed and help her in before pulling the curtain closed. All the while, I’m keeping an eye on the man and refuse to turn my back on him. He remains unflinching, on his knees.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Who are you?
“My name is Scott. I was Viktor’s second. He was our pack leader.” His eyes look wide and innocent.
The cold steel of Woodcutter in my pocket gives me comfort. I keep my hand in my pocket while watching the wolf. “Was? Does that mean Grandma killed him?”
He shook his head, and his expression is unchanged. “No, he was wounded but would have healed. I killed him.”
Revulsion rises within me and I frown. “Explain why you would do that.”
“I killed him so we could live in peace; he was bent on revenge for something that happened between him and your grandmother in the past. He has been trying to get her for years. I realized that this is not the way most of the pack wishes to live. The only way out was to kill him and take over the pack.”
I study him. Through the whole conversation, Scott’s eyes were wide and honest. He told me things he didn’t have to. My blood told me he was telling the truth. I glance over at Grandma who is fighting sleep while she lays against the pillows. What should I do?
I point to a chair that is far away from Grandma. “You may get up and sit over here.”
“Thank you, future Wolf Tracker.” Scott walks over slowly and gingerly sits down.
Nothing the wolf has done so far seems malicious or deceptive. But I wonder if the rest of his kind truly feel the same way he does. What if he’s wrong and more of the wolves believed as the old pack leader did?
I stay close to Grandma but keep myself between her and the wolf. “What do you propose?”
“I want the werewolves to live in peace with you. We will not create any other werewolves. We will not kill. If there are any issues we will discuss them with you first before taking any action. Essentially, I am leader of the pack, but we understand that you are our Judge. I will ask you before we do anything that might jeopardize this agreement. We want peace and to live with others. We miss our families. Will you work with us?”
I silently watch him for a few minutes, though my gypsy blood had already distinguished that he spoke the truth. “And you speak for all the wolves?”
“I am pack leader. No one has challenged my right. I believe this is in the best interest of the pack, and that nearly all will agree. Anyone who disagrees will follow or will deal with me however you see fit.”
Grandmother’s life had been hard. She hunted through the city anytime the papers or the news had shown a random animal attack on any human throughout the city. She had always believed that leaving the wolves alone when they did no harm was best. This covenant that Scott offered did honor to my grandmother’s legacy.
“Then as the future Wolf Tracker, I accept your proposal. I do, however, want to meet with all your wolves and have each of them tell me this is what they want also. Is that possible?” My blood would help me root out any deception, so I could determine if this pact was for real or not.
“Yes, ma’am. We can arrange it when you are ready. Thank you. Will you shake a wolf’s hand?”
“Yes.” I reach out with my hand, and we shake on it. “Peter is still in surgery. Would you like to wait with us here?”
Scott looks surprised but readily agrees. “Yes, I would. I’m very worried about him. I tried to talk Viktor out of what we did, but he wouldn’t listen. I never wanted Peter to get hurt either.”
We sit in silence. Scott remains where he is, and I stay by Grandma’s bedside. The television’s sound remains low, but flashes pictures of the news as we sit and gives our eyes something to fix on. It helps keep things from becoming awkward. Sleep had overtaken my grandma. She snores softly, and I pulled the blanket up higher, making sure she neither felt cold or feverish.
“Red!” The door slams open and Dr. Smith hurries in, stopping in his tracks when he spots Scott. “I know you… you’re a wolf! Red, get away from him!”
I shake my head and rise to my feet. “Doc, it’s okay. He and I have an agreement. What’s wrong? Is it Peter?”
The doctor frowns, shakes his head, then refocuses on me. “The surgery was a success. Peter is in recovery until he comes out from anesthesia, but that isn’t the miraculous part!”
Suddenly, Grandma gasps several hard, quick breaths from the bed and then all is silent. The doctor hurries over and takes her pulse. He looks at me and shakes his head, “She’s gone. Your grandmother signed a DNR a couple of months ago, but if you want me to override it, we can, as it’s arguable whether she was fully in her right mind.”
“No, she wouldn’t want that.” I shake my head and sob. Scott keeps his distance but leans in and hands me a tissue from the dispenser nearby.
The doctor gently closes her eyes and pulls the sheet over her head. “I’m sorry, Red.”
“I knew it was going to happen soon, but it’s still hard.” I wipe my eyes with the tissue. And the doctor wraps his arms around me for a moment. I just accept his warmth and comfort while sobs rack my body for a few minutes. When I finally calm down, I pull away and try to wipe the spot where my tears have wet the doctor’s shoulder.
He shakes his head and pushes my hands away. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
I nod and blink at Dr. Smith. “Now what about Peter? You said that something miraculous happened?”
“Yes, he was given your blood during the transfusion. It’s not often we treat werewolves in the hospital, so I took this opportunity to experiment. My theory was correct. Your blood not only helps humans build a resistance to the Lycan virus, but it is also the cure. They need to be given a lot of it, but it works. Do you know what this means?”
“Peter is okay and isn’t a werewolf anymore?” The blood drains from my face and I feel a little woozy.
The doctor catches me and helps me to sit in the chair immediately next to my grandmother’s bed. “You’ve been through a lot today. But you’re right. Peter is no longer a werewolf. This is an amazing discovery.
Scott grabs him by the shoulder. The doctor flinches but then he relaxes. “So, do you mean that the wolves in our pack who would prefer to be human again can be cured?”
Dr. Smith’s smile is contagious. “Right now, we are in the experimental stages. Peter has not been a werewolf long and had lost a lot of blood. We’re not sure if it would work on someone who has been a wolf for a great deal of time, and we’re not sure exactly how much blood it will take to get it done. But if the wolves in your pack would like to give it a try, I’d be happy to experiment with th
e blood we have. Of course, Red would also need to continue her regular donations.”
“Of course.” I say, but my eyes have returned to the sheet on the bed covering the body of my grandmother. I know she’s not there anymore, and that it’s just a shell like she always used to say. Still, I hate that she’s lying there. Scott and the doctor are still in the middle of their conversation when I stand. Both turn toward me.
“Doc, will you make arrangements for Grandma please? And Scott, do you mind? I need some time alone to process everything.”
“Of course, Red,” the doctor says with his brow furrowing again. “When Peter comes out of recovery, I’ll have him brought here. The orderlies who bring him will take Ruby, so you can be alone with her until then.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
Scott rub his hands together and bows slightly toward me. “Wolf Tracker, I am sorry for your loss. Peter has my number. Please let me know when you are ready to continue our conversation.”
“Thank you. I will.”
Peter
Pain greets me before I even open my eyes. It hurts to breathe, and even lying down, I feel the aches and pains throughout my body. I’m irked by the restriction of the bed sheet over my body and resist it a bit before the pain overwhelms me. I whimper and open my eyes.
“Hey you.” Red’s face is framed by her dark hair and her smile lights up the room. My chest constricts in a new kind of way as my heart picks up speed.
“Hey… ow.” I try to be strong, but I keep whimpering like a baby. I want to be strong and tough for Red’s sake, knowing all that she’s going through, and the danger she is still in, but my injuries are keeping me humble.
“Don’t talk. You were shot in the lower chest. Grandma barely missed your lung. The bullet went clean through, so they were able to save you. No problem.” Her eyes light up.
“Thank God,” I whisper.
She nods. “But there’s more.”
I frown, not sure where she’s going since more than one emotion seems to be warring in her molasses-colored eyes. “Bad news first. Grandma is gone.”
The moment the words are out, the light in her eyes fades. Her face contorts with pain and tears flow. I reach to touch her face, but the pain is so great, I barely graze my fingers against her cheek. My arm sinks back to the hospital bed. Tears well in my own eyes. The pain of losing Grandma twists my gut, but it hurts that I can’t comfort Red the way I want to.
She takes a deep breath and swipes her eyes, already recomposing herself. Then she smiles. “Good news, now. The doctor ran an experiment on you, using my blood. All this time, Grandma and I were giving blood because we are universal donors, but also because we have wolfsbane in our blood. It helps the population build a resistance to the Lycan virus. But Dr. Smith used my blood on you to see what would happen. Apparently, my blood cells attacked the virus in your blood, and destroyed it.”
I blink, furrowing my brow. “For real?”
She nods, smiling wider. “I swear.”
My heart races harder and I swallow down the elation. “I’m no longer a wolf?”
She shakes her head. “No.” The light is back.
We smile at each other for a moment.
Then she shakes herself. “I need to tell you something else. Scott came by.”
My heart sinks, and my hands fist in the sheets. I don’t even know that I’m trying to sit until Red puts her hands on my shoulders and pushes me back. Her eyes have gone wide. “You need to rest. You just got out of surgery.”
“What did he want?”
She sighs and leans back in the chair next to my bed. “The wolves want a truce. Viktor, the old Alpha, is dead. Scott is the new alpha, and he wants to work together to bring peace between the pack and the Wolf Tracker… which is me now.” Emotions flit across her face.
I blink. She is the Wolf Tracker, now that Grandma is gone. My mind races through all the scenarios this could mean. I’m no longer a wolf, but I still need to protect her and to do that, I need to get stronger. She’s everything I have in the world, and at least now, I’m no longer her mortal enemy.
“Some of the wolves in your pack may decide to try to become human again using my blood.”
I frown. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
She smiles, shakes her head, and grabs my hand in both of hers. “I’ll just be donating it regularly, like I always have, silly. It’s not like they are going to be taking it themselves.”
I take a deep breath and squeeze her hand. The warmth of her fingers in mine gives me an anchor and makes thinking clearer. “What are you going to do now? Are you going to stay at the apartment? I know you’re still a month away from being seventeen. Is social services getting involved?”
Red takes a deep breath and shakes her head. “Dr. Smith told me that the Guardians at Wonderland Academy want me to enroll full time, now that I’m Wolf Tracker. They want me to stay at the boarding school until I’m eighteen.”
“Oh.” I blink.
She squeezes my hand. “I’ll be coming over all the time, though. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.”
I smile and pull her hand to my lips and kiss it.
She blinks at me with a furrowed brow, because I’ve never done that before. It took me becoming a wolf and avoiding Red for the last few months to realize how much I love her and never want to lose her. And now I’m human, I don’t want to let another day pass with those words unsaid. “Red, I love you. I’ve always loved you. When I’m better, can we talk about becoming something more than just friends?”
Blood rushes to her cheeks, and she pulls her hand away. She stands quickly and turns her back on me. My heart sinks to the floor. It never occurred to me that she might not love me the same way I love her. What if I’d just made the worst mistake of my life? The constricting in my chest worsens, and the pain at the thought that I might have just lost her makes me want to take the words back. What have I done?
She turns to me, still standing at a distance, but tears fill her eyes. Then she rushes forward with a laugh and says, “Yes!”
Her arms wrap around me in a hug, and I wince, but smile. My heart soars in my chest. The pain from a moment before is completely forgotten, replaced with lightness. I wrap my arms around her and bury my hands in her hair. I don’t care how much pain I’m in, I’ll never let her go.
The End
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About the Author
Pauline Creeden is an award-winning, USA Today Bestselling Author of contemporary fantasy, apocalyptic thrillers, and steampunk. She tries to keep her stories bright and inspirational, but reflective of the dark world surrounding us. Red the Wolf Tracker is the first in her urban fantasy fairy tales – The Wonderland Guardian Academy.
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