He practically shouted, “You let an outsider judge you!”
I looked to Dare a few seconds and tried to send calming waves down our bond. I could handle this as long as he didn’t go ballistic.
I spoke Cherokee back to my uncle, but I remained calm and lowered my voice so he’d have to be still and listen. “I’m not just a snake, Uncle. I’m a wolf as well, and the Lugat who gave me his blood also needed to test me, as he was responsible for me since his blood possibly helped me avoid death. Viper tested the snake part of me, but others had to test my wolf, and had to see if I’m a vampire.” I’d had to use the English words for Lugat and vampire, so at least Dare had an idea of what I said to my uncle.
When we’d told the story of how I became snake and wolf, we’d totally skipped the three days I was dead before rising. I hadn’t lied, I’d just gone from Viper biting me, to me not knowing who I was until the music reminded me.
Now that I’d brought up the Lugat influence again, my Uncle asked in Cherokee, “Are you a dead thing?”
There isn’t a Cherokee word for vampire, and this helped me because I could honestly tell him I wasn’t a dead thing — I’m not sure my scent would’ve been okay if he’d asked the question directly in English. We’d worked on it, of course, but my control had been shaky with that specific question.
“I’m not a dead thing, Uncle. I eat food, and I can go outside in the daytime. Perhaps if you see our other forms? We brought steaks and put them in the refrigerator. Let’s put them on the grill and get them started, so we’ll have something to eat when we come back to our human forms.”
Instead of answering, my uncle reached for his cellphone. He spoke in Cherokee again, and only said, “You all need to come now, please.”
I switched to English. “Who did you just ask to come?”
He answered in Cherokee. “The Elders who will decide your fate.”
“Which Elders will decide our fate?” I asked in English.
“Oh, for goodness sakes!” my mom exclaimed. “Stick to English so Dare can understand, James. Now you’re just being rude.”
Still speaking in Cherokee, he looked to my mother and said, “The ex-wife of my brother would do well to watch her tone. I’m stepping in to manage the trouble you and my brother have created.”
I kept my voice low, but I stuck to Cherokee because I didn’t want Dare’s wolf to get all protective of me. “You think I’m trouble? I have to be managed?”
“What good have you brought to your people? What have you done to better us? You can’t even better yourself. We gave you tuition and you dropped out!”
I switched back to English, but still kept my voice low, purposefully forcing him to have to be silent and still to hear me. “I needed time to get my wolf and snake under control. The money’s been returned. What had you done at twenty-two to bring honor and respect to our people? Give me time, Uncle.”
“I’d like to know who’s coming,” Dare said beside me.
“You’ll meet them when they arrive.”
James’ tone was dismissive, but Dare merely nodded and pulled his cellphone from his pocket. I watched as he typed:
Possible hostiles arriving. I’d like four people in the house with us, and the property surrounded. Everyone use manners until I say the word.
I looked to my mom and told her in English, “I love you. I hope I’m not forced to choose between my original family and my new one.”
“Daughter of mine, I want you to be happy. Do what you must.”
She spoke in English, but I thanked her in Cherokee. Dare understood that much Cherokee, so I hadn’t excluded him.
I went to the front door with my mother when the doorbell rang. I smelled the wolves and hoped she’d welcome them in if I told her they were with us.
My mom opened the door and I said, “Duke, Bash, Dozer, Bubbles. Thanks for coming.”
“Welcome to my home,” my mom told them. “A friend of my daughter is a friend of mine.”
They were all wearing their cuts, and Duke tossed Dare’s at him as they stepped in. Dare put his on, and the five men were quite intimidating.
Uncle James sighed. “You’re telling us this is your tribe?” His voice was still confrontational, but it was no longer raised.
“It’s my people,” Dare answered conversationally. “Hailey will never be caged again, and neither will I. We’ve paid our dues and learned control. We don’t mind proving our control if it keeps peace and allows Hailey contact with her mom, but we’re doing it as a courtesy.”
Dare introduced each of the men to James and my mom, and Duke said, “We’re just here to support our brother. The wolf and the snake get along inside of Ghost and Hailey, surely we can get along in this room.”
My mom asked Dare and I to bring kitchen chairs in so everyone would have a place to sit, and she gave everyone a glass of ice water. As we all sat in uncomfortable silence, I looked around her living room again. The tables were what we’d had in the house Darnell bought us, but she’d bought a new sofa and recliner. The kitchen table and chairs were also what Darnell had bought, and I wondered what she’d done with the dining room furniture, but I didn’t ask. This little house looked like it probably had a living room, kitchen, two small bedrooms, and likely a single bathroom. It was still ten times larger than the tiny trailer we’d lived in, and plenty big enough for my mom.
“I like your house,” I told her. “The energy’s great. Dare lives beside a National Park, too, and we can run out his back door and into the woods.”
Conversation was stilted for a few moments, but before long everyone except Uncle James relaxed and had a nice discussion of how our animals can relax knowing the forest is just outside the door.
The room grew tense again as we heard three vehicles pull into the driveway. I let my mom go to the door without me this time, though I stood with Dare when the group walked in.
Viper was with them, and was in his cut. He might be standing with them, but I’d learned enough about the club to know he was letting our people know where his loyalties would lie if he was forced to choose. Three men and two women accompanied him, and I knew both women and one man. I greeted them by name, but didn’t say it was good to see them.
Viper introduced the other two, his arm around his aged great-grandfather.
“May I call you grandfather?” I asked.
He nodded, and I said, “Jordan’s important to me and Dare, and to the other men with us. He’s family in ways I’m not sure I can explain.”
“I can see this. I understand you call him Viper?”
I smiled. “Dare is known as Ghost because he can walk unseen. Duke gets his name because he has a tendency to use his fists. I’m told Bash is bashful, but I don’t see it and I have a feeling his fists might play into his nickname, too. Dozer is… well, that’s self-explanatory. I have no idea how Bubbles got his name, though.”
“I’m afraid that’s my wife’s fault,” Bash said with a smile. “He was called Bubba, but when Angelica was little she mispronounced it. I wasn’t around, but I’m told her name for him stuck.”
“And the wolves surrounding your mother’s property?”
“They’re here at my request,” Dare told him. “We hope to resolve this peacefully, but we have control of our animals and won’t be caged simply because we may not fit into your mold. We’ve been tested by the Concilio. We’re safe in public and we don’t mind showing you, but we don’t need your approval. Hailey’s given her family the long version, but she has a shorter version she can give you of how we came to be both snake and wolf.”
He shook his head. “My great-grandson has explained the how of it. Let us step outside so I can see your animals.”
* * *
Ghost
I stopped and hugged Aggie on the way out. She hadn’t been wrong about raising me once she’d moved in. I hadn’t made it easy for her to love me, but she’d had endless patience with me.
My mom had all but abandoned
me, and my dad could’ve chosen to leave the military, but he didn’t. As an adult, I understand this was his career and not simply a job, but as a child — it felt as if both parents had discarded me.
“Thanks for all you did for me, Aggie. I was a know-it-all teen before so I don’t think I ever told you how much I appreciate the time and care you gave me. I understand now, you were being paid to take care of me, but I don’t believe you saw it that way. You saw a hurt boy with a wild wolf inside him, and you showed me love when I didn’t deserve it from you.”
“I’m proud to call you son, or son-in-law. Now go show the Elders who you are so they’ll respect you, too.”
One of the things I’d learned from my time with Aggie is you have to show respect to earn it. She was coaching me, and I kissed her forehead. “Still taking care of me. Thanks.”
They tested us one at a time, and my snake pulled strength and control from Hailey. I’m not sure I could’ve passed their tests without her help, and she tells me she nearly lost control of her wolf a few times, but drew on my wolf for help. I think they thought testing us in the middle of the night when we were exhausted after a day of traveling would add stress to the ordeal, but Hailey thrives at night, as does my wolf.
Neither of us had problems staying human during the tests to be sure we could control ourselves during extreme stress —my wolf wanted to tear the men apart as they tested Hailey, but I kept control.
It was clear James wanted us to fail, but I wasn’t sure of his motives so I treated him as I did the others during the testing phases.
When Viper’s great-grandfather declared us both to be Twisters under the Long Hair clan, James walked into the woods away from us. I looked to Hailey, and she looked to Viper’s great-grandfather.
“You were wise to invite him, Suli. He was here to witness the testing so his only argument against Ghost’s inclusion are those of blood quantum. It’s the Europeans who cared about race. The Cherokee never have.”
Hailey looked to me and explained. “James is around seventy-five percent Cherokee, and you know my dad’s a little over half. They all feel as if they’re more Cherokee than the rest of us. Their family is kind of like the Cherokee version of the White Power groups. We don’t approve, but our condemnation just gives them more fuel for why they’re better. He’s pissed because Grandfather — who speaks for the Elders tonight — named a black man a Cherokee.”
“Thanks for explaining.” I looked to Viper’s grandfather. “Thank you for the honor, may I call you Grandfather?” Hailey had asked, so I followed her lead.
“You may. And now I’d like to walk with you on two legs through the forest so I can see for myself why you’re called Ghost.”
This doesn’t work with most people, because they’re so loud we can’t walk quietly. Something told me this old man might give me a run for my money in stealth skills, though.
Sure enough, forty yards into the woods and I decided perhaps the two of us should sneak up on Dawg. He’s always fun to startle.
I walked with Grandfather until we were well upwind of Dawg, and the two of us made our way to him. It worked out we came up to his face, and he jumped and pointed a gun at us as we stepped out of the shadows.
“Damn it, Ghost.” He put his weapon back in the holster with a smile. “Sounds like ya’ll passed. Hailey’s back inside. Bash texted things seem better with James gone.”
The old man hadn’t been introduced to me by name, and I wasn’t sure how to introduce him to Dawg. I looked to him and said, “Grandfather, this is my friend Dawg. He gets his name because he has a way with women. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell him to call you.”
“Your energy tells me you consider him a brother. Any brother of yours can call me Grandfather.”
“Indeed, he’s my brother,” Dawg told him. “I’m happy to meet you, Grandfather.”
Horse stepped to us from the shadows and Grandfather sniffed. “Your brothers aren’t all wolves.”
Chapter 30
Hailey
We didn’t get back to the campground until nearly six in the morning, and I was beyond exhausted. Our steaks had been cold by the time we’d eaten them in my mom’s kitchen, but the men waiting for us at the campground had more food ready for us when we arrived. I must’ve eaten for an hour before I was full, and Dare was right there with me.
I’d met Gino earlier when we set up, and apparently he’d made friends with our guys and had been hanging out with them. He lives in his RV full time and drives from place to place. I recognized his smell as reptile right away, but he had to tell me he was a turtle shifter before I could place the scent.
When our guys had booked this section of the campground, they’d known there were two people camping here already. They’d intended to offer money to both campers to convince them to move elsewhere, but Dawg knew Gino and had told Duke it was cool if he stayed.
As we all sat to eat, I asked Gino how he knew Dawg.
He looked to Dawg as if making sure it was okay to share, and Dawg grinned. “Go ahead. It’s kind of a crazy story.”
“So I’m camping on the beach in the middle of nowhere, minding my own business.”
“Dude,” said Dawg.
Gino laughed. “Okay, so I’d worked a deal to live there for the summer in exchange for guarding the property. The owner had texted me a few days before to let me know someone had rented the spot for the day, and they were fine with me staying as long as I’d help keep unwelcome visitors away.”
He looked to Dawg and back to us. “They didn’t tell me who was coming, so imagine my surprise when two trucks, a car, and a fancy RV pulls up, and no sooner do they stop than several beautiful women in skimpy assed bathing suits come out of the RV.”
“I was dating a supermodel at the time, and she brought me to the photoshoot as her bodyguard,” Dawg explained. “The magazine had their own security, but they sucked. Gino and I ended up taking care of two problems together. Trust me, you want this guy on your side.”
“What do you do for a living?” I asked, wondering how he could just move around the country like life was one big vacation.
“I’m primarily a graphic artist, though I also create sculptures and I’m beginning to be well known enough, people are commissioning them. I also sell pictures on the various stock photo sites.” He shrugged. “Most turtles go into the protection industry. A Fed who travels a lot, or military, or even the private sector. I was raised like my brothers and sisters, and I have the qualifications to act as a guard if I can get a sweet deal to stay somewhere for free, but my art fuels my soul.”
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?” Angelica asked with a smile.
He shrugged. “My great-uncles are Don, Rafe, and Mike, and my grandfather is Leo. I’m sure you can guess their given names. The Concilio got involved when the comic first came out, and I’m not privy to exactly what happened, but the story seems to have stayed in the realm of comic books without word of actual turtle shifters getting out. Officially, it was supposed to have been written as some sort of comic book parody.”
“I hear heads rolled when Spiderman first became popular,” Brain said. “Bits and pieces of us have made it into fiction for years. I wandered around a little before finding a home with the MC. It was okay for a while but then I felt lost. I needed to put down roots.”
“Turtles make friends easily, and I have a thing for names and faces. The world is my home.” He looked to Dawg and back to Brain. “I spent a few days with Dawg years ago, and he feels like an old friend. I’ve been here five days but it didn’t take long to feel like home.”
When I’d finally had my fill of food, I excused myself to our tent. Alex had told me where to buy a sun-proof tent made for vampires, and I trusted Dare’s brothers to keep us safe while we slept.
I awakened several hours later with the storm raging around us. I wasn’t sure why I was awake, and I sat up to see if I could hear anything besides the wind, rain, and thunder.
&nb
sp; “What is it?” Dare asked without sitting up.
“Possibly just the storm. I don’t hear or smell anything, but I’m not sure I would in this weather.”
“Does your dad have the same opinions as the rest of his family? He must’ve accepted your mom at some point, right?”
I shrugged and snuggled back into him. “My dad’s a drunk who got someone his family saw as barely Cherokee pregnant. He isn’t sober long enough to form his own opinions. It’s ironic, because mom observes the traditions more than my dad, and yet they think he’s more…” I sighed. “It’s racist bullshit and both sides are never going to come to an agreement. The purists say they’re in the minority now so of course the diluted majority says blood quantum doesn’t matter. They refuse to acknowledge the United States Government enacted the blood quantum laws against the wishes of our people. It’s never mattered.”
“Are you okay with coming back to do sweat lodges and ceremonies? Or are you going to fight them and say we can do them at home?”
“I think we should do one a year with them, maybe two if it works out. Full ceremony requires a large group, but Viper built a sweat lodge on his land and we’ll get the energy we need with three people.”
“Exactly how long’s it been since you saw your dad? You told me it’d been years?”
“Christmas four or five years ago. He was drunk and I told him I didn’t want to see him again.”
“And now? Your uncle said your dad’s been clean over a year.”
I shrugged. “If he comes to me, I’ll talk to him. I’m not interested in going to him.”
“Maybe you should tell someone? Let him know he’s welcome?”
I didn’t want to deal with my dad, but I wasn’t sure this was really about him. “When’s the last time you talked to your dad?”
Ghost: The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, Book 8 Page 20
