Unknown Touch

by Gina Marie Long

  "Yes," Daniel admitted, and I could feel his love for me deep within his soul, "If she requests that I convert her into a werewolf, yes, Dominic, I will do it."

  Daniel grabbed some sodas from the fridge and returned to the lounge. As he handed me a drink, I said, "I was able to hear everything through you. I had a feeling Dom would confront you."

  "Not a big deal at all," Daniel casually said. "But he sure looked so defeated and sad. Kinda like a kid dropping his ice cream on the floor."

  "Hey!" I joked, "That was my exact thought you so conveniently plucked out of my head!"

  Chapter 26

  Departure

  The remainder of that morning was spent relaxing, watching TV and sleeping. Most of us stayed right there in the lounge area, even though we had a cabin close by. If there were guests at the resort mingling about, I imagine we would have chosen to chill out in the cabin then. Every single one of us felt it was a treat to have the opportunity to take a nap. It very much felt like family togetherness to me. I loved every individual in that room and by the next morning, four of them would be leaving: Eli, Zac, Tessa, and my recently acquired best friend, Dominic.

  At noon, Dom fixed us a light lunch. We figured we would continue our reign of laziness and hanging out together for the rest of the afternoon. The snow was still lightly falling, exceptionally damp, clinging to everything it touched. Trees appeared pure white, almost no bark showed through. The temperature was in the forties, no real breeze to speak of. Only animals were out and about, as most people were probably hibernating inside their houses. The sun peeped out from the clouds every now and then, which made the snow glitter with such intensity it was blinding. But beautiful. As I looked out the sliding glass door, I wished I had my camera to take some pictures.

  I walked over to the couch I had taken possession of during my morning laying around session and discovered Daniel reclined in a horizontal position. Right in my spot. Well, he looked at me with a sideways grin, fully knowing he stole my couch. That would not do. I wanted to lay down there. I would just have to get him up.

  "Try me," he teased, obviously having read my mind and my intentions. He sucked himself up tight to the back of the couch, and indicated that I could lie alongside him. Hmm...that would work and he provided great body heat, too. I snuggled up against him, with his arm draped over me. Dom glanced up from his recliner to see what we were doing and shook his head.

  I quietly talked to Daniel, so as not to disturb anyone else in the room. I mentioned how it was so pretty outside with the snow covering everything. It was good packing snow for snowballs and building snowmen. I wasn't even one to like winter, cold weather or snow much, but I still couldn't help myself from appreciating the beauty and wonder of it all. I told Daniel how I had seen a few rabbits bounding about and a pair of foxes frolicking through the snow. Perhaps those were the same foxes we had seen the other week down by the boat dock.

  All of a sudden, he sat up on the couch, about knocking me off of it. He grabbed me around my waist to keep me from hitting the floor. He looked excited. He had an idea. I was about to access his mind, when he exclaimed, "I know what we can do this afternoon. Instead of lying around here like bums, we're going outside to play. I need to make a few phone calls. I'll be back."

  And just like that he took off for his office. The Liaison members were mystified as to what Daniel had planned for us. Whatever it was, he was in a playful mood about it. I decided to not push into his mind, and let him surprise us with his idea when he returned. It was early afternoon and we still had several hours of daylight to "play" as he called it.

  Daniel returned about five minutes later ready to fill us in on his plans. He had just invited several of the other werewolves over for a romp in the snow. Winter was a difficult time of the year for them, since the businesses they ran were mostly busy during the nice weather months. During the winter, the resorts and campgrounds were mostly deserted. The werewolves got bored very easily during those times, and Daniel had thought to get a group of them together for entertainment. Theirs and ours. Not only that, but Stephen was invited to come over, too. This would be another perfect chance for Stephen to wrestle around, release some pent up energy while practicing control over his emotions, and renew bonds with some of the wolves.

  I inquired, "I'm inclined to think you won't be wrestling around in the snow in human form. Right?"

  "We could," Daniel explained, "But, a wolf, just like the dogs you've witnessed in your past, like to play in the snow and toss it around. I thought this would be interesting for you humans to see us, as wolves in a pack, enjoying ourselves in nature. Not as humans, not as beasts, just as wolves. I can guess what everyone's thinking. Kara, I actually do know what you're thinking. I realize, we don't look completely like normal wolves when we take that form. You'll be observing larger, super powerful, faster wolves with greater agility and more intelligence than the norm. Eli, in particular, will probably be so excited viewing us that way; he won't be able to write notes fast enough in his binder!"

  Everyone scattered about to find the right clothes, coats, gloves, boots, scarves, hats to prepare for the outdoor weather. I was so bundled up I looked like I was going to the North Pole. Daniel, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to take a summer-time stroll. Not fair. We headed out the back door of the resort into the enormous yard. Luckily, there were picnic tables that we could sit down on after we brushed off the snow. The Liaison members, including myself, were anticipating, and were somewhat apprehensive, about what we would soon witness. So many werewolves all transformed into wolves at the same time, wrestling around, which was just a step down from fighting, left a human feeling twinges of fear. What if they turned on us?

  The werewolves arrived, looking ever so dashing and elated that Daniel had thought of this idea. Even some of the women showed up. They had been getting a bit restless with not much to do lately. I was aware of this, but felt all of them were in control of their emotions. Just normal boredom like humans have. Everyone was mingling about, chatting with each other, a regular party atmosphere. The werewolves in attendance, besides Daniel, were: Isaac, Stephen, Abigail, David, Rachel, Simon, Rebecca and Samuel. That wasn't all the werewolves, as some were actually busy doing other projects, but this was a large number.

  Zac reached down and patted together a rather nice, large, hard snowball. I was keeping my eye on him since I really didn't want snow down the back of my coat. With a gleeful smile, he zipped the snowball at Dominic. It stopped short of hitting Dom in the arm by about two inches and burst into a million pieces, falling to the ground. Dom, of course, had used his telekinesis to stop it in midair. Now that ticked Zac off. He wasn't going to give up. He quickly rounded up about three snowballs and tried again to pop one at Dom. Nope, it wasn't going to work. Dom was one step ahead of him, easily protecting himself from Zac's onslaught, and even yawned for effect. Everyone was having a good laugh.

  Daniel walked over to me and said, "I think I'll round up my troops and we'll give you guys a good show." I must have had a look of trepidation jumping off my face, as he next said, "What's wrong? Are you scared of the big, bad wolves?"

  "That's not funny," I warned him. "After everything we've all been through, I surely hope there aren't any bad werewolves in the bunch. You can be big, but not bad, okay?"

  "Kara, I can guarantee your safety above anyone else here. As I've said before, I have been told by all the wolves how much they adore you and look highly upon you. None would turn on you. And as far as the rest of the humans, I have complete faith that they are safe, too. The Liaison has been good to us. Helped us. We have no need or desire to hurt any of you. So, quit freaking out. Sit here and watch us have fun doing our animal thing. Get it? Normally it would be a guy thing, but I changed it to an animal thing?"

  "Ohhh...," I rolled my eyes and groaned at his joke.

  We humans, sat very still on the picnic table. Dom and I sat on the table top while Zac, Tessa and Eli sat on the benc
h. I knew for a fact that Zac and Tessa had concealed on themselves guns and knives, for self defense, in case something went terribly wrong during this freak show. That really wasn't the right phrase, and I didn't mean it in a negative way, but this was going to be something incredibly wild that most humans never, ever saw in their lives.

  I quickly asked Daniel through our mental link as he walked away with the other werewolves, How am I going to know which one you are? Do you all look exactly alike?

  You will know me, and no, we don't all look identical. There are differences, Daniel left it at that.

  I scooted closer to Dominic, and I knew he recognized my nervousness with this whole situation. Mentally he pushed into my mind, Kara, if something goes wrong, I can protect us with my psychic skills. I can shield us from any danger. This really should be interesting, though, so chill.

  Thanks, Dom. You're right about your mad skills and how you could use them if need be. I sometimes forget about your telekinesis. You don't use it very often. I know you can't go around moving objects all the time, as that really would scare everyone. You have made me relax some, I thanked him.

  All the werewolves had gone behind a thick bunching of trees. We knew they were undressing and transforming into wolves, ready to make their grand entrance. Our anticipation was well worth the wait.

  Two wolves trotted out from the trees. They were in the lead, followed by the rest of the wolves. Two Alpha males. Side by side. Daniel and Stephen. It brought tears to my eyes. I recognized Daniel almost immediately. One thing about werewolves, they maintained their human eyes with any transformations. And I knew in my heart those were Daniel's eyes looking back at me. I had seen him several times before as a wolf, but I was worried I wouldn't be able to identify him among so many other wolves. But, I could sense it, feel it deep within my soul, see it in my mind, exactly which one was Daniel. I knew the pack was showing off for our benefit, making a regal, majestic, very formal entrance into the yard. All padded through the snow towards us, holding their heads high, as we sat stunned by the sheer control each one displayed, none breaking their stride or formation. Their ears were up, tails down and relaxed, mouths slightly open. Absolutely awesome.

  They stopped, and mentally I felt a push at my mind. It was Daniel, Look over by the wood pile. Throw us some sticks. We're ready to play!

  Oh my God! This was too weird. I told the team, "He wants us to throw sticks at them to fetch. Can you believe this?"

  Zac said, "Let's do as he says. We want them to be happy."

  All, but Eli, as he was too busy taking down notes, got off the picnic table, walked over to the wood pile, found several sticks, and excitedly threw them at the wolves. Every one of the wolves went berserk, running in all directions, chasing after those crazy sticks. We made sure to throw as many sticks as there were wolves, so each wolf had the chance to find one stick. It was invigorating and adorable to see them cut loose from all inhibitions and to let their animal side be free.

  I encouraged Dom to help me do very quick mental scans to see if we could detect any strong aggressive behavior. Obviously, there would be some aggressiveness from playing around, but we were checking for true rage or violent emotions that could be developing. Nothing. Excellent. As we stood there, we realized, what do dogs do when they chase after sticks? Bring them back to you to throw again. Well, there the wolves were racing towards us, bounding through the snow, with sticks in their mouths. It was a terrifying sight, seeing nine wolves charging right at us. I prayed they would stop in time and not knock us over. They all came to a fairly abrupt stop about two feet in front us, which made snow come flying up from the ground in all directions.

  We were surrounded by wolves. Initially, I thought I would become frantic in a situation like that. Instead, I now felt their love, their playfulness and their craving for our attention. I read it in their minds and saw it in their actions. I looked at Dom, Zac and Tessa and we smiled. I think I even saw tears in Zac's eyes. This was truly an amazing thing we were experiencing.

  Daniel, especially, was rubbing up against my legs, but all the wolves were behaving the same way. We reached down to pet them, to rub them behind their ears, to run our hands through their beautiful, soft fur. Some were bowing to us, with their front legs extended and their rear and tail up in the air. They were definitely in play mode. We offered to take the sticks from their mouths, as they gently released them into our hands. They were very careful with their teeth, not letting them come into contact with our skin. Once the sticks were in our possession, they were zigzagging back and forth, barking, prancing, tails wagging, waiting for us to toss the sticks way out into the yard again. We must have tossed sticks out to them ten times before Daniel signaled, barked, at them to let us sit down for a while.

  Now, they were playing games with each other. Again, I thought Dom and I should keep an eye on this wrestling around, as one could get a little too rough with another, and some unprovoked aggression could emerge. I had a feeling the werewolves were honestly on their best behavior, as they knew we were monitoring them. It seemed that even when I did simple, light psychic links with them, and only for a second or two to check on their emotions, they became aware of my presence, and as Daniel had already told me, enjoyed the contact. You'd think they would get sick and tired of my nosing around in their business, but it was the opposite. I guess it gave them some peace of mind.

  It was hilarious watching them. They would play-bow often to each other, indicating this was an invitation to play and was all for fun. Suddenly one would dash off and then come charging back at the other, running in circles. Some were playing keep away with the sticks; as one would approach another wolf, he would drop the stick on the ground, enticing the other to try to go for it. The moment the other made an attempt to grab the stick, the first one picked it up again, and took off running with the other in hot pursuit. When one of the wolves caught up with another, wrestling ensued with massive amounts of growling and yelping. Those wrestling matches were definitely being monitored by Dom and me. At one point, Stephen was wrestling around with another werewolf, we weren't sure which one, and I touched at his mind to assure him I was watching and to praise him on his joyful, playful behavior. He acknowledged my contact, but wasn't about to lose his focus on that particular wrestling match. I think it was against David. Just by looking at them, I only knew about half from their wolf appearance alone. If I accessed their mind, immediately I knew who I was in contact with.

  Dominic sat next to me on the picnic table as we continued to watch this display in awe. I sensed something was boiling up in Dom, and he opened the flood gates with, "Kara, I'm giving this another try. Please come back to Illinois with us. We can make trips back down here every so often to visit the wolves. But I think it's best for you to leave here and go back home to your parents. We can end their worry and confusion by telling them you've experienced life on your own out in California and made the decision to come back home. We'll cook up a story that you've found this wonderful job, working for Eli, as his assistant in research or his secretary or something. And that the job has travel requirements occasionally, but that you'll return back home after the job has been completed."

  "I see you've put a lot of thought into this, Dom," I responded, somewhat irritated. He had mapped out an entire scenario of what I could do next with my life. I had been through all of this with him before, and he had tried to convince Daniel to let me go, too. Dom was not giving me up without a fight. I was irritated with his persistent persuasion on this issue, and yet, I felt grateful that he cared so much for me. In his mind, he was only looking out for my best interest, or what he, personally, thought was best for me.

  He continued, "As a matter of fact, I have thought about this a great deal. Kara, as you are well aware, The Liaison is leaving tomorrow and we would really love it if you would come with us. It seems like I'm the only one who has the nerve and is willing to speak up about it. How many times do I have to remind you that you are human an
d these are werewolves. Staying with Daniel will get more difficult as time goes on. This is not the way things work."

  Suddenly, Daniel, still in wolf form, ominously loomed before us. He had noticed the deep conversation Dom and I were involved in, and sensed my distress over it. In fact, he had either read my mind as Dom and I talked or with his heightened hearing actually listened to our discussion. His emotions were that of jealousy over Dom's closeness with me. He felt possession, almost territorial, of me. And his aggression was growing. A soft, low-pitched growl emitted from Daniel's throat. He stared directly at Dominic. His stance was that of dominance, confidence, very stiff-legged with the fur raised on his shoulders. His nose was wrinkled up, ears forward, tail up and bristled, teeth exposed. This was not good. All the werewolves had stopped playing and the humans didn't move a muscle. Daniel was supposed to be the good guy, the one that set an example for the rest of the wolves, and here he was showing aggression. The standoff continued, with no one moving and barely breathing. It reminded me of two gunslingers, both waiting for the other to draw their weapon first.

  I entered Daniel's mind, What are you doing? Everyone, and I mean every single being here, is staring at you. At us. I love you, Daniel. Dom is just trying one last time to sway my decision to stay here. Even you said to me, you couldn't blame him for trying. I am staying here. It's okay. Set a good example, please. Show how you can turn this situation around. Don't do anything you'll regret. Immediately, I flooded his mind with soothing, calming thoughts and images. I surrounded him mentally with my love for him.

  Daniel answered me, Kara, I knew you were upset and my instincts forced me to respond to your need, come to your rescue. He visibly relaxed as he talked to me telepathically. I am fine. I'm sorry for scaring everyone. My actions were more of a threat, I was not going to attack. I wanted Dominic to quit harassing you. Please explain to everyone.