The department secretary didn’t bother to confirm her identity. Instead, she skipped over greetings and dove straight into emoting. “Dr. Hart! The mask! Wow!”
She was barely understandable, but the problem wasn’t the connection. “Suzy. Back up,” I reined her in. “I thought you were at the hospital.”
“We were,” she agreed. A long exhale rattled out of the speaker as Suzy made an effort to steady herself. But her voice remained more high-pitched than usual when she continued. “After we saw the news, though, we had to fly out and join you. So this is why you needed to come to Yellowstone! An ancient copper mask showing up in the river, barely tarnished! Did you help date it? Will we be able to see it? Is that how you knew before it hit the news?”
So the mask in my dream had been genuine despite the modern trappings. It must have floated down the river and been found by someone who understood its value.
I’d guessed as much when I saw Sam’s ring. Still, for a split second, my archaeologist’s brain lit up with astonishment. I could be the expert on the spot who dated the artifact. I could invite myself to the party and....
Then the flame of excitement to splutter out as I realized what Suzy’s words meant.
“You brought the Madisons and Noah along with you?” I crossed my fingers, hoping against hope that there were only three students currently in danger due to proximity to werewolves. I could only hope that none of the others made the crazy leap of Changing the way Jacob had done. Even as humans, though, they were still in danger. Heaven forbid they dare frequent another McDonalds....
“All of the Madisons, Noah, and Theta,” Suzy agreed, sending my heart plummeting. “We’re on our way from the airport now. Patricia was such a sweetheart to greet us at the gate with Emily and Noah. We do miss you and Jacob, though. When will you be done with your meetings? Dr. Sanora left a message that she’s having trouble getting through to your phone.”
I opened my mouth to come up with a lie—tough when I didn’t even know which meetings I was supposed to be taking part in. My wolf self was still rampant, my head spinning. I wasn’t sure I could string enough words together to create a sentence at the present moment.
So I was glad when Harry snatched the phone out of my fingers. “Put Val on,” he demanded. Then, remembering he was speaking to a human, he dug deep and offered a reason for his curtness. “I miss her.”
And Val apparently missed him also. “Sweetie pie, how are you?” she started, voice syrupy. Then, without giving him time to answer, she continued: “I know, sweetie. We’re getting the van detailed then we’re going shopping, just like you suggested. Such a shame that the windows were left open and everybody’s spare clothes got soaked overnight.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that Val was two steps ahead of me. If the students were out running around in public, they couldn’t continue smelling of werewolf. A trip to the carwash and a change of clothes was definitely in order.
“Clever,” Harry answered. “In that case, can Theta rent a car and come out to meet us? Jacob isn’t ready to shift yet. It might help him remember his humanity if the rest of us stuck to two legs.”
“Sure. If...”
“No,” I interrupted, suddenly certain we couldn’t afford to waste any more time lollygagging. I grabbed the phone, spoke through the pack tethers tightening against my breastbone. “Val, you need to come too. And bring my milk crate of papers. We have to finish this before more students get hurt.”
I don’t hurt students. My wolf was annoyed that I could slander her in such a manner. She was powerful from our run, rethinking alternatives. Maybe we should....
You promised.
I want....
Attempting to wrest control out of her greedy paws, I fumbled. Our tenuous truce had splintered.
Off balance and at odds with myself, I tumbled once again into the past.
Chapter 25
Or maybe it had been the past calling me this time? Because a wolf’s howl rose as we descended. The circle of blue above our head narrowed as the earth enfolded us. The pup was intrigued by new scents and sensations, but the cave girl was hurrying, frantic.
She’d been found at last.
Her fingers slipped and we fell a foot before she caught herself. The young woman was climbing down into darkness with neither rope nor harness. How did she intend to get back out?
A second howl, closer than the first, explained her hurry. Her pack must have been following for months, sniffing out signs of her passing. Otherwise, they never would have been close enough to spook the new mother into this reckless descent.
Uninterested in distant hunters, the pup nudged at her mother’s breast. She was hungry, thirsty....
Wait, I begged the being who shared my body. But our fingers curled into claws anyway. The needle tips pricked the cave girl’s skin.
That was all it took to make our mother lose her tenuous footing. Air rushed past our nose, long hair slapped our eyeballs.
Together, the pup and I yelped out terror. An answering bark from outside was heady with arrogance. The cave girl’s body jolted as she struck the ground.
Somehow, she remained upright. Somehow, she had the presence of mind to leave the circle of light and stumble downhill away from the entrance. Her legs must have ached from impact. But she was a mother. She carried on.
I DRIFTED HALFWAY BETWEEN past and present for quite some time thereafter. Whenever I tried to wake, my wolf grabbed me. Tethers submerged me. Yet the darkness of the cave girl’s passage sent me spiraling back to the present time after time.
Then I was in the cave girl’s body rather than her daughter’s. The roar of a not-so-distant watercourse overwhelmed further signs of pursuing werewolves. The cave girl had to know her enemies were close, but she didn’t falter. Instead, she walked surefooted into the darkness. Something tugged her onward. I could almost see it. Like a pack bond, but one that resonated with a frequency ten times as low.
Back to the present, a shirt fell over my head then tugged down onto my torso. I needed to check on Jacob. Instead, my eyes stayed shut as I was lifted onto a pillow while new-car smell swirled around my nostrils.
I only realized the pillow was Claw when his arms came up around me. “We can’t divide our forces.” His rumble vibrated my body. “You said there’s room at the motel for all of us?”
“Yes,” Theta said simply.
“Then take us back there. We have nowhere else to go until Olivia wakes up.”
No, that wasn’t right. They were heading in the wrong direction, ignoring my request to hunt for the sacred place....
Then I was back in the cave pup’s body, settling more firmly in the past.
A SOUNDLESS THRUM PULSED through us. It grew louder. Turned deafening. The chamber we walked through was suddenly suffused with light.
I was vaguely aware that the cave girl had uncovered a stored ember. But that wasn’t where I focused. Instead, I watched in awe as we entered a chamber of wonders beyond my wildest dreams.
Niches had been carved into stone walls then filled with marvels. Statues, beaded clothing, the sort of artifacts an archaeologist would sell her eye teeth for.
Then the cave girl reached beneath her furs and pulled out a new object. Large as a dinner plate and glinting metallic. It was a mask, just like the one Suzy had told me about. Just like the one I’d seen in my dream.
We were here. We’d achieved our goal. The sacred place enfolded us.
We were ready to begin.
Chapter 26
I woke to the scent of the entire pack swirling around me. No, not just the pack. It seemed like everyone I knew was in attendance.
So was my wolf. Mine, mine, mine, mine. Let me out!
She yanked so hard at my skin that I was afraid to pry my eyes open for fear I’d turn furry. Instead, I lay there struggling for dominance while trying to figure out what had happened while I was lost in my trance.
“...room for everyone.” That was Suzy
, fluttering, flustered.
“This motel”—my not-quite-stepmom’s voice suggested she would have rather said “ramshackle rat housing”—“doesn’t allow pets.” By which she meant foul, flea-ridden beasts that really should have been put down.
What’s Justine doing here? I wondered muzzily. And where is here anyway?
My wolf batted aside the logistical questions, growling out a protest inside my belly. That pet is Jacob. He isn’t flea-ridden. He’s part of our pack.
So that explained the pets comment. It didn’t explain Justine’s presence. And—who made the executive decision that Jacob was sane enough to be around humans again?
The jolt of adrenaline made me risk rising, but my wolf fought me hard for control of our skin. Fur was sprouting. Teeth were growing....
The pack tethers didn’t help, emboldening her and restricting my movements. I clenched my jaw shut, renewing my focus on preventing my body from turning into a beast.
The next voice helped a little. “We paid extra.” Harry’s tone was easygoing...a sure sign that he would strangle Justine soon if she didn’t drop the issue.
His presence soothed me, but the next question nearly released my stranglehold on my lupine nature. “Where’s Jacob?” demanded Patricia. She must have been counting heads while everyone else was arguing, doing her job as teaching assistant a little too well.
“Drum circle in town,” Theta answered smoothly. “He didn’t want to miss it.” Now that was a believable lie.
“Oh, a drum circle!” It sounded like unicorn Madison’s hospital stay hadn’t harmed her any. Her presence, however, raised a growl from my wolf.
“This is all beside the point,” my father interrupted. “What I want to know is...”
What he wanted to know was irrelevant. Because my wolf was fighting hard now. She yanked at my skin, dragged her claws through my belly.
This was war. I was losing.
I refused to shift here in front of half a dozen college kids. Not to mention the way the ever-expanding pack tethers would later make it impossible to discard my lupine half....
I won’t be discarded like garbage.
The tethers surrounding my throat blocked the flow of oxygen. My wolf hugged them closer.
There was no reasoning with her. So I did what I’d promised not to.
Like the cave girl, I clutched at pack bonds willy nilly. Yanked them tight then twisted them into a granny knot.
Now the strangle point wasn’t around me but rather around the neck of my animal half. She screamed—silently, but I think every werewolf in attendance felt it. Cried out her pain and horror...and I felt every congested gasp of agony just as she did.
Still, I didn’t relent and loosen the knot. This would have had to happen eventually. Because after my students, transferring my wolf was my top priority. The growing pack tethers would soon make that task impossible....
Whimpers descended into my belly then faded into silence. The warm arms around me loosened, let me rise without restriction. I staggered only a little as I stepped out of the SUV.
The air was frigid now that I was outside Claw’s shadow. Which made no sense. It should have been warmer here in the sun.
“I know where”—my voice cracked as I remembered our wider audience—“to start digging test holes.”
THERE WOULD BE NO TEST holes. Just descent into an ancient cavern. The surgical removal of two wolves. Then a few more days of spring break committed to showing my students ordinary evidence of Yellowstone’s past.
Half of the assemblage understood what I was actually saying. The other half were equally riveted since they thought I was about to discover a prehistoric wonder like the one that had recently hit the national news.
“Where?” my father demanded. His scent was greedy and I really could have done without his presence. But I’d asked him for a favor, so I couldn’t send him away.
Instead, I settled my brain and took a moment to reorganize the data I’d compiled while riding within the cave girl and her offspring.
That ancient map had been familiar. The pattern of lines and symbols reminded me of other shapes I’d seen quite recently.
“We need to go back to the funeral site and look at the petroglyph...” I started, only to be interrupted by Benjie.
“Will this do it?” He held out his cell phone, sacred rock art captured on the digital display.
I frowned. “No photographs” had been Sam’s only mandate before folding us into his gathering. But I shook off the tremor of wrongness, accepting Benjie’s phone then drifting away from the assemblage without another word.
Because I had a puzzle to unravel and—finally—all of the tools to do it with. “Your papers are in your room,” Val told me, appearing at my elbow and guiding me two doors down from the one I’d stopped in front of. I guess whoever handed me the key had said mine was fifteen rather than eleven. Whatever. Minor errors were inconsequential when so many ideas were battering around inside my head.
To my annoyance, Val kept speaking as I unlocked the proper door this time. “When your dad showed up, Claw decided on a change of plans....”
“Mmm, right,” I answered not really listening. It was a relief how lack of pack bonds opened failed mental pathways. Like snorting up a big noseful of Vicks VapoRub in the midst of a head cold.
The solution was almost visible in my mind now. All I needed was a topo map and an aerial photo....
Thumbing through my milk crate, I yanked out another three maps that I thought might be useful then settled down on pilled carpet to compare modern images to the photo of the petroglyph.
I’d assumed the big, wiggly snake carved into the boulder represented a river. But if that was a smaller stream, there were several dozen possibilities....
Voices came and went. Most I ignored, but I glanced up when Justine invaded my personal space.
She crouched down before me, clearly unwilling to sink onto her butt on the moldy carpet the way I was doing. “I brought you something, darling,” she told me, pressing a package into my left hand.
“Thanks,” I said, moving it out of my way so I could get a closer look at the map before me.
“Olivia, dear. Look. It’s your artifacts.” She’d opened the box for me. Despite the dirt dappling her dress, she took the time to spread chipped stones and bones out across the floor.
How had I never noticed before that these items were filthy and childish? “That’s nice,” I said, meaning the exact opposite.
It was a relief when Justine packaged back up what she’d brought me, pursed her lips, then shook her head and left.
I GLANCED UP, BLINKING, as a sliver of rock struck my ankle. Benjie and Val had hunkered down beside me. The sun was lower. Considerable time had passed.
“You really think you can charge it?” Val asked, turning a rough-hewn wolf statue over and over between her fingers.
It was good someone was thinking ahead. Because we’d need two magic-infused statues in addition to the sacred place’s location. One for me in addition to the one we already had for Jacob.
After all, it now seemed irrelevant whether or not Claw would willingly let Jacob divorce his lupine spirit. Jacob was my student. The decision had already been made....
Faintly, the knot in the pack bond throbbed. My wolf whimpered. I rolled my eyes and got back to work.
“I don’t know.” Benjie’s voice cut into my planning a few seconds later. The gangly redhead was weak. Uncertain.
Once again, my wolf stirred in my belly. But I squeezed on the knotted tether with my spare hand and she subsided a second time.
“Charge the statue,” I demanded aloud.
Benjie and Val looked up together. His eyes were skittish. Hers appeared confused by my intensity.
“Now,” I added just as my wolf woke enough to understand what the statue represented.
Me, my wolf whispered. But I don’t want....
I slapped her down more out of instinct than necessity.
The knotted pack bond had weakened her so much that she couldn’t grab for the reins this time. But she was definitely getting in the way.
“Okay?” Benjie said, turning the statue over and over rather than obeying me.
I ignored the word’s up-tilted ending. Simply stared him down and handed over the cell phone with the photo of the petroglyph on it.
Eventually, he got the message and started to chant.
He wasn’t particularly good at it. His voice was artificially deep with impending stagecraft. He wiggled the statue in a way that was likely meant to appear magical, then he pressed it up against the cell-phone screen.
For a moment, nothing happened. The room stilled. None of us exhaled.
Then I gasped as something tugged at my belly. The statue glistened. Light sparked. The cell-phone screen darkened.
Benjie dropped the carved rock like a hot potato. It hit the carpet, bounced...and promptly exploded into flames.
No, the stone wasn’t on fire; the carpet was. Good thing the motel was old and rundown or we’d be faced with a hefty repair bill.
Luckily, the flames quashed easily. But I had to override my wolf when I reached out for the statue, her flinch making my fingers grasp the wrong spot the first time.
I can break this tether rather than just knot it, I warned, sliding my free hand over Claw’s mate bond. My wolf whimpered, retreated. I picked up the statue at last.
The stone was strangely cold despite the recent fire. This close, its scent was overpowering. Like sticking my nose inside a flower—powerful, unpleasant, and somehow deeply wrong.
My wolf hunkered down onto her belly. A hunter turned hunted.
Rolling my eyes, I ignored her drama. “I guess,” I said through the tendril of smoke rising from the frigid wolf statue, “we’re doing this tonight.”
Chapter 27
We browbeat a master key out of the clerk in the motel office. Locked the door of my father’s room from the outside so he couldn’t come out.
Moon Dancer Page 12
