“What do they hear when you talk to them? Is it just like you’re standing right there beside them, or is it like a cosmic intercom? Or do they just feel like a crazy person?”
Talley blew on a forkful of food, which was a smart thing to do. I was going to miss the top layer of skin on my tongue. “Don’t you remember?”
I thought about the voice I heard the night before. It was sophisticated and authoritative, nothing like the chipper chatter coming from the girl in the chair across from me.
“You talked to me last night?”
“I asked who you were like three times before you pushed me out of your head.” She stopped eating to look at me, her fork posed in mid-air. “How did you shut me out like that, by the way? I’ve only known one other Shifter who could do that.”
I pushed her out? Huh. Maybe the head shake thing worked. “I don’t know. I just didn’t want someone talking in my head, and then they weren’t.” I scrapped the last bite off of my plate. “Who was the other Shifter?”
Talley shoved the rest of her food over to me before knotting her fingers into her hair. After her rather dramatic pause she practically whispered, “Liam Cole.”
Of course Alex’s brother could shut out a Seer. If a Shifter could do it, Liam could. He even managed a few things that were supposed to be impossible, like Shifting back human during a full moon. He was a super-werewolf, as dominant as Dominants came.
“But not Alex? You could talk to him?”
“Only when he would stop talking long enough for me to get a word in.” She smiled at the memory. “It was mostly all ‘Scout this’ and ‘Scout that’.” Her smile was small and sad. “He was so in love with you.”
I felt a familiar knot in my throat. “I loved him, too.” I scraped up a rogue bit of cheese off the plate. “Tal, has anyone ever, I don’t know, stayed a wolf? Like they got stuck in their animal form?”
Talley looked confused by the sudden change in topic. “I don’t think so. Most Shifters can’t manage to be in animal form more than a couple of hours a month, no matter how hard they try to Change. I can’t imagine anyone being able to maintain their animal form permanently.”
“But what if there was an accident? Something that made it impossible for them to survive in their human form?”
A frown tugged on the corners of Talley’s mouth as she realized what I was asking. “I told you, Scout. That wasn’t Alex you saw at the cemetery.”
“That’s not —”
“He’s dead, Scout. You know that, right?” Her bright blue eyes bore into mine. “Tell me that you understand that Alex is gone and never coming back.”
“I was there when he died. I watched them put his coffin into the ground.”
“And you still believed you saw him at his own funeral. Now, tell me you know that he’s dead.”
I thought again about the wolf in the woods, the one I saw on the day of the funeral. “Alex is dead,” I said. “He’s gone and never coming back.”
Chapter 7
The remainder of my afternoon passed fairly peacefully. I spent most of my time with Angel, who wasn’t quite sold on the “I took a special pill and it made me all better” story. She felt a full physical was in order. It turns out that a seven-year old’s version of a physical is a lot of finger poking and trying to pull your scars open. I was fairly certain my entire body would be covered with tiny, finger-tip sized bruises the next day.
When I wasn’t being poked and prodded, I reread Dr. Smith’s book on Shifters. I had the thing practically memorized, but I held onto a sliver of hope it would explain how a non-Shifter girl was able to Change. Sadly, no new chapters magically appeared to offer up some answers.
I drove my new car down to the Base that night. I was fully prepared to hate it because of where it came from, but it was just too cool. After an hour of being on the road together we had completely bonded, and I was more than a little in love. I named him George and promised to take care of him - keep the gas tank full, have the oil changed, check the air pressure in the tires monthly and to never, ever let Jase leave his sweaty gym clothes in the back seat for a month during the hottest part of the summer. I knew from experience that a car would never be the same again after facing such abuse.
The entire Pack was already at Gramma’s when I arrived. They milled around the back yard where Grampa had constructed a fire pit decades ago. I always thought it was a rather elaborate set up for a place to roast marshmallows and hotdogs. The pit was surrounded by beautifully handcrafted benches made from entire halves of oak trees, each large enough to sit four adults comfortably. They were arranged into three rows of five that semi-circled the pit. Fifteen benches for a small family was excessive, but it suited the needs of a large Pack of Shifters nicely.
I made my way towards the fire pit where some of the younger Shifters roasted hotdogs while the older ones manned the three grills loaded down with hamburgers, chicken, and pork chops. I had stopped by McDonald’s for a super-sized Big Mac meal on the way down, but my stomach growled at the smell wafting through the air. I hoped my new Shifter metabolism was doing its thing, because otherwise I was going to weigh three hundred pounds by the end of the week.
“You came.” Makya stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “You do have brass ones, don’t you?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t have any at all, Makya. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a girl. Now, for the second time today, could you please get out of my way?”
Makya’s eyes took their time traveling up and down my body, finally affixing his leer on my chest. I felt more naked in my jeans and the faded Journey T-Shirt I stole from Dad’s closet than I had in Talley’s swimsuit cover-up. “I think you’ve moved well beyond girl, Scout.” He reached out and grabbed a strand of my hair, brushing his thumb over the tips.
“If you don’t take your hands off me I’m going to break every single one of your fingers.”
“Oh, you like it rough, do you?”
Shifters are not preternaturally strong or fast. Instead, their muscles are simply in the best condition possible. Could I bench-press a Humvee or run so quickly human eye couldn’t detect me? No. Could I pin Makya’s hand behind his back so quickly ninja would be jealous? Damn straight I could.
“That’s it, baby. Hurt me good.”
Was he serious? How was I suppose to deal with an idiot who wanted me to hurt him?
“You do understand I can and will break your arm, right?”
He laughed. “I’m getting turned on just thinking about it.”
Ewwww.
“Dude, I think she’s just not that into you.” Jase ambled up, a plate stacked high with food balanced on his hand.
“Hey, man. I was just getting to know your sweet little sister better. She is fine. I bet you’re glad you’re not really related so you can tap that.” I moved my head out of the way just in time. As it was, Makya clipped my ear when his head collided with Jase’s fist. I gave his arm an extra twist and muttered, “And I’m not his little sister,” before tossing him face-first on the ground.
“I fixed you a plate,” Jase said, ignoring the litany of curses coming from his blood-splattered cousin on the ground and the gawking stares surrounding us.
I met Jase’s eyes, my stomach giving a now familiar lurch. Everything else became nothing more than background noise as he soundlessly offered me the food. I might not have been on top of Shifter customs, but in my heart I knew accepting it meant something. The question was, was it something I was willing to give him? If it was forgiveness, then no. I wasn’t ready, and very well may never be. But was I willing to begin considering the possibility? To start rebuilding what was once the most important relationship in my life? Could I do that without betraying Alex or myself?
As I weighed the possible implications of taking him up on his offer, Jase’s face began to slowly crumble, making my decision for me. “Thank you,” I said, taking the food from him. He was my brother. I had to at least give
us a chance to fix what was broken between us.
I stepped over Makya’s prostrate form and made my way to the place where Talley was looking from me to the beaten coyote on the ground and back again. I had already devoured a hotdog and half a cheeseburger by the time I made the twelve steps it took me to get there.
“Let me guess. That wasn’t proper Shifter etiquette.” I wiped some mustard off the corner of my mouth and contemplated whether I wanted ribs or a pork chop next.
“Etiquette-wise you were fine. It’s the besting Makya part that has people a little shocked.”
“Why? Makya is a loser. I could have taken him without the lycan advantage.”
“Scout, Makya is one of the highest ranked juvenile Shifters in the Pack. There are only five people above him.”
Makya was suppose to be strong and dominant? That was just sad. “Who are the five?”
Talley raised her eyebrows as if I was missing something obvious. “Toby, Jase, Charles, Charlie, and Robby.”
I choked on a bite of ribs and desperately wished Jase had thought to grab me a Mello Yello. “Jase and Charlie? Seriously? Like Jase Jase and Charlie Charlie?”
“How many other Jases and Charlies do you see around here?”
The dynamic duo in question were standing off to the side of the crowd with Toby and a few men I didn’t recognize. Jase and Charlie flanked Toby, and I noticed none of the other men would meet their eyes as they talked to them. “Jase and Charlie are Dominant?”
“Their grandfather was made Pack Leader at the unprecedented age of eighteen. Jason took his place when he turned twenty-two. After Jason’s death there was a bit of unrest, some of the cousins felt they were more capable of taking over than Charles was. He had to take on a lot of challenges, but he managed to keep the top spot until Toby was ready to take over.” Charlie’s dad, I noticed, was keeping to himself. He was also on his second case of beer for the evening by the glassy look in his eyes. “No one has ever challenged Toby because there is no need, he was obviously the most dominant.”
“Was?”
Talley looked around to see if anyone seemed interested in our conversation. There were several eyes glancing in our direction on a regular basis, but most everyone seemed more interested in talking about me than finding out what I was saying. “I don’t think anyone is paying attention to us,” I said.
Talley nodded towards the edge of the yard where Gramma’s ancient a/c hummed loudly. Catching on quickly, I walked over close enough that our voices would be drowned out without being too obvious to our intent.
“So, who is the up and comer? And please don’t say Makya, because that would be a very sad commentary on the strength of this Pack.”
“I already told you, Makya isn’t in the top five.”
“You think Robby can take Toby?” The Hagan in question sat on one of the benches, engaged in a lively exchange with a guy whose name might have been Mason. While Toby was lean and cut, Robby was built more like a linebacker. I could see where the fight would be close, but my money was still on Toby.
“Robby? Not a chance.” When she didn’t automatically continue I prompted her with an impatient wave of my hand. “It’s Jase. I think if he wanted, he could take over the Pack.”
“Delusional Talley says what?”
With the chaos my life was becoming, it was somehow comforting to hear Talley sigh at me in that exasperated way of hers. “You can’t see it because you’re too close.”
“Don’t see what?” From where I was standing all I could see was the brother who couldn’t remember to put the toilet seat down and had lost three different sets of keys in the past year. “Doesn’t leading a Pack require a responsibility prerequisite?”
“Responsibility can be learned, but what Jase has…” A couple of the younger Shifters wandered close to where we were talking. Talley stepped closer, linked her arm with mine, and rested her head on my shoulder. It was a familiar pose, one we assumed many times after some jerk trampled all over Talley’s feelings. This time, though, she wasn’t seeking comfort so much as way to get close enough we could lower our voices. “Haven’t you ever noticed the way other people react to him? The way people can’t help but be aware of him when he’s in a room? The way people always seem so eager to try to please him, to do something to make him proud?”
As she talked, it was almost as if I could see him through Talley’s eyes. Jase standing in the middle of a crowd, everyone focused on him; walking down a crowded hall, the masses shifting so so he had an easy passage to wherever he was going.
“And he’s a strong Shifter. Even as a newbie he could Change more quickly than Toby, and he takes lead on any hunt he goes on.”
“But it’s Jase…”
“He’s going to be our next Pack Leader.”
“If you say so…”
“I do.” Her blue eyes twinkled in the firelight. “And you know how often I’m wrong.”
“Rarely.” I jumped at the sound of Toby’s voice. Sneaking up on a Shifter was not easy. “Which is rather unfortunate,” I thought I heard him quietly complain. Surely he hand’t overheard us. Talley spoke so softly I barely heard her, and my ear was approximately four inches from her mouth. “Scout, we’re ready to start. Would you mind accompanying me up front?”
“No problem, Boss Man. You lead, and I’ll follow.” I gave a salute, not realizing I was copying Jase’s earlier action until it was too late.
“And they wonder why I think she’s going to be a problem,” Toby said to no one in particular.
Toby sat me on one of the front benches, and then went to sit on the edge of the stone wall surrounding the fire pit. Embers popped out of the fire and danced around him, but he seemed unconcerned, even when one burned a hole in the arm of his shirt.
“I’m not going to waste everyone’s time and talk about why we’re here. Everyone knows what happened last night and has already offered their opinion on what we should do. Someone was even considerate enough to make up little ballots so that everyone could have a vote as to what the wolf’s fate should be.
“Guess what? This isn’t a democracy.” Toby stood up and the mood of the entire group shifted. This wasn’t a family conversation around the fire, this was a Pack Leader addressing his Pack. “This is my decision and mine alone. Anyone who has a problem with it is more than welcome to challenge me.” Despite being a coyote, Toby managed a wicked wolfish grin. “I look forward to it actually.”
I had sparred with Toby enough times to know it was going to take more than strength, ambition, and anger to take him down. Like Talley, I was certain no one here was up to the challenge just yet.
“You’ve come to a decision?” Mrs. Matthews stood to the right of the fire pit. In the Pack social structure she was ranked just below Toby.
“I wouldn’t have ask you all to come out here if I hadn’t.” He moved into a pool of light created by the nearly full moon like an actor stepping into the beam of a spotlight. “The fact of the white wolf’s existence will be kept secret by all members of this Pack, including the Seers.” Mrs. Matthews let out an audible gasp. “Unless specifically questioned by the Alpha Pack, anyone caught divulging information about the white wolf will face the most severe of punishments.”
I wasn’t a hundred precent sure, but I strongly suspected that the most severe punishment was equal to capital punishment. I also wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about that. However, I was fairly certain I wasn’t totally loving being referred to as “the white wolf”. It reminded me too much of Narnia.
“Miss Donovan?” He indicated I should stand up, so I did.
“Mr. Hagan?”
“I’m giving you the land enclosed within the border of Lake County. Please know that if you cross the boundary you will be dealt with as if you were any other lone Shifter facing a second trespass on Pack territory.”
Toby looked at me, waiting for a reaction, and I waited for the words he said to make sense. “Sorry, but you’re going to have t
o run that by me one more time in non-Shifter speak.”
Jase coughed into his hand to cover up his laughter.
“I giving you your own territory - Lake County. If you don’t stay there, you’re going to be punished.”
“Severely?”
Toby’s face was hard. “Severely.”
I took a moment to think about what he said. “So, you’re kicking me out?”
“You don’t belong with us,” he said. “I’m being very generous here, Miss Donovan.”
The Pack was abandoning me and leaving me on my own. “Thank you?” I was at a complete loss. “So, what? I leave now and never come back? Is that it?”
Toby nodded. “And you should also know that if you do anything that puts my Pack at risk, I will be forced to remove the threat of exposure.”
I was going to have to write down all the different things that would cause Toby to kill me.
A bit of movement caught my eye, and I turned to find Charlie standing behind me. Realizing he finally had my attention, he dropped down on one knee, his head bowed.
“I pledge myself to you, Scout Donovan. I devote my life to being of your Pack.”
What the Hades was happening now?
Jase seemed to magically appear by my side and dropped down next to Charlie. “I pledge myself to you, Scout Donovan. I devote my life to being of your Pack.”
You know those dreams when you’re on a stage in front of a packed house and you don’t know any of your lines? It was kinda like that, but worse because it wasn’t a dream, and I worried that saying the wrong lines would end up with me getting that severe punishment Toby was so keen on. I looked to Talley for help, and thought she was coming to my rescue until she dropped down on her knee and repeated the now familiar refrain, “I pledge myself to you, Scout Donovan. I devote my life to being of your Pack.”
Cheater. I would be able to do my lines if I heard two other people already deliver them, too.
Time Mends Page 5
