by Kat Zaccard
Diego smiled. “Well, there ya go,” he said, and followed suit. Olaf gave Jack one last look of appeal, then begrudgingly shifted to join us.
The three of us patrolled the border for the rest of the day. I enjoyed running through the snow-covered woods and across the east mountain ridge. The air was crisp and clear. Winter was different up here, serene. I learned a lot, too. Wolf communication was more intricate than I had realized. I had practiced in class, but was impressed by Olaf and Diego’s ability to communicate as wolves. They could move in sync, almost as if on command, like when I used my alpha power during Capture the Flag. There was a grace and beauty to it that gave me a new found appreciation for the Slivers’ skills.
We headed back to the main patrol building as the sun went down. The days were lengthening, but it was still only four thirty by the time we’d shifted back into human form and dressed. Olaf gave me a genuine, “Well done,” then reminded us both to report back at six a.m., sharp. I wasn’t thrilled with the early Saturday patrol, especially hours before sunrise, but at least I had something to do. Adam and Shea had a romantic day planned together, so I was available.
Running patrols was excellent training. Jack cautioned me to shield my alpha telepathy and really practice wolf communication. I was happy to do so, though it was a challenge not to listen to Olaf’s thoughts. He was a loud broadcaster. I knew he was fiercely loyal to the Luna Clan, which was uncomfortable but sweet. I suspected his blind trust was one reason I could hear his commands so clearly. It was hard to tune him out and try to watch for the subtle tail twitches and nose flicks that conveyed wolfish communication. Unfortunately, I could also easily hear Olaf’s disappointment or annoyance when I didn’t pick up a subtle cue quickly enough. Regardless, I was determined to try my best, and Diego was encouraging.
Diego had a rock-solid shield, though I suspected he wasn’t even trying. I could pick up his brain signature, and I already knew I could project thoughts to him, but I couldn’t read him that well. I could tell when he felt a strong emotion, but rarely did I pick out a word from his mind. We weren’t trying to develop that skill, so I didn’t feel like I should mention it.
After patrol, Diego invited me to his mom’s café for lunch. I had already promised to meet Hayley, Sara, and Lola there, so it was an easy yes.
We walked along companionably, not saying much. I listened to our boots crunch in the snow. A flash of red flitted across the corner of my eye.
“Oh, look! A cardinal.” I pointed to the bird perched on the bare maple tree branch.
“He must have a nest nearby,” replied Diego. We continued down the path, pointing out a few birds along the way.
When we arrived at the café, I was happy to see Shea and Adam had joined our party. We greeted everyone, and I introduced Diego to Adam, Hayley, Sara, and Lola. Shea raised her eyebrows at me, but I shook my head slightly to discourage any awkward or teasing questions. Shea, a true-blue friend, took the hint and zipped her lips. We deposited our winter coats and went to the counter to order food. Diego’s mother, Luciana, was behind the counter, and she beamed at us as we approached.
“Hola, mijo. ¿Quién és?” she inquired in Spanish. Diego replied and Luciana eyes grew wide, “La Princesa.” I blushed, but was pleased my high school Spanish hadn’t failed me.
“Mucho gusto, Sen͂ora Galvan,” I said politely.
“Encantada.” She smiled and began rattling off a long string of words I couldn’t quite catch. I smiled and blushed, hoping she wasn’t offended. Diego noticed my dilemma and interceded. After a moment, she tried again in English.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Royal Highness,” Luciana said in perfect English. I had overheard her respond to customers in French before, as well, and was impressed she’d mastered at least three languages.
“Please, call me Alice,” I replied.
We chatted for a moment about me joining patrols. Luciana assured me I was in good hands with her Diego watching out for me. It was Diego’s turn to blush. Eventually, we placed our orders and made our way back to my friends.
I figured I’d assuage everyone’s curiosity and tell them about patrols. Hayley high-fived me with a “Yeah, girl!” and Sara looked stunned but impressed. We chatted easily after that. I was happy to note how easily Diego got along with my friends. After lunch, Diego said he was staying behind to help his mom. I waved goodbye and walked back with my friends. The girl code prevented them from peppering me with questions while Adam was with us, for which I was grateful. It had been a perfect day.
Chapter 19
February arrived and brought more snow and cold, bright mornings. The full moon brought Valentine’s Day. Shea had plans to run with Adam, and Sara with Lola, so I made plans to run with Hayley that evening after patrols. I had secretly hoped Logan would have at least apologized by now, but Logan hadn’t spoken to me in weeks. I doubted there would be any romance for me today. I didn’t care. I was hurt by the way he’d treated me since getting back from the Winter Palace. Hmm, maybe I was kidding myself? I couldn’t be hurt and not care at the same time. I was determined, at least, not to let him see I was hurt.
It was the girls’ turn to head into the forest first, and we excitedly undressed in the locker room. Jillian and her friends were particularly nasty, commenting on Lola’s winter weight and speculating that Shea’s hair didn’t seem to match everywhere. Shea turned as pink as her curls, but refused to engage. We shifted into wolves and trotted out into the cold, winter night, gaining speed and loping though the orchard before breaking into a full run when we hit the plain. The snow-covered plain felt more open and we ran with abandon, skirting the shrubs crystallized with ice. Avoiding Dryden, we headed for our favorite spot by the waterfalls, only recently accessible after a few warm February days had melted the steep path that lead to the falls. Shea met up with Adam, and they ran off together while we changed into humans, the better to whistle and tease as they ran off. It was too cold to stay human long so we quickly shifted back to run. The sky was clear and the moon hung low and bright, giving the snow-covered trees a sparkling beauty.
Hayley and I were getting pretty good at our wolfish communication. I could also project my thoughts to her, but tried to only rely on external communication methods. I wanted to master the traditional wolf communication skills that Slivers employed on patrols. Hayley was a clear broadcaster when she wanted to be, which made tuning her out difficult. After several months of training together, we were starting to run like a unit. I had to tell her about my alpha telepathy since it was too easy to communicate with her, and at first she had been startled, but then I saw the gears turning.
“It all makes sense now,” she had said when I told her. “I knew you were supposed to get the flag, but I heard your voice telling me to get it.” She shook her head, then punched my arm. “That’s for not telling me in the first place.” She waved away my apology. “I get it. But you should know I’d never judge you for being different. In fact, it’s pretty cool.”
I’d been so relieved she took it so well. We’ve been closer friends ever since. I felt a little guilty about not telling her I was already a Sliver, but I figured one secret at a time. In the meantime, it was nice to hang out whenever our other friends were coupled up.
We pretended to run patrols and attack snow-covered shrubs. Hayley and I chased and played for a few hours, then headed back toward the arena when the bell rang out signaling the end of the evening.
As we neared the orchard, we caught site of two humanoid figures entwined. Assuming it was Shea and Adam, we sneaked up on them. They were tightly embraced and kissing noisily. It was pretty gross and I couldn’t wait to tease Shea, but I didn’t want to embarrass her, either…. Oh, wait. Yes I did!
Hayley paused and looked to me. What do you think? I heard her in my mind.
I think we get ’em! I returned with a malicious grin.
She smiled back wickedly at me, but any wolf smile would look wicked.
They we
re hidden in the shadows under a tree, oblivious to our sneak attack. We snuck up carefully, ready to pounce.
We jumped out at them and howled. They screamed and jumped apart.
Then my smile turned into a snarl when I saw them. It wasn’t Shea and Adam. It was Jillian and Logan. Startled at first and nervous, they soon realized who had caught them. Regaining her composure, Jillian laughed. Logan looked at me, bored, and shrugged.
He turned to Jillian and purred, “Let’s go somewhere warmer.”
“Oh, you’re keeping me plenty warm,” she simpered, then she took his hand and led him away from me. They shifted into their wolves and ran off.
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I knew I couldn’t trust either of them, but I hadn’t expected this. Maybe I was too naïve. Blinking back tears, I turned toward the arena, confused and angry. I knew Logan and I weren’t really right for each other, and I didn’t want to marry him, for crying out loud. But we were still technically engaged, and I still felt betrayed. I was angry at myself, too. I had ignored Logan as much as he had ignored me, so why was I so upset? Hayley followed, but the joy from our run had leaked out of us.
Hayley filled in Sara and Lola in the locker room. We dressed and headed back to the dorm, the girls abusing Jillian and Logan with every breath. We decided to head to my room for a late night snack and found Shea waiting for us. She was beaming and dying to tell us all about her night with Adam. Hayley looked askance at me, and I shook my head. I didn’t want to spoil her good night with my drama. So we all went in and teased Shea as she shared her night with us. At least one of us had had a magical moonlight night run on Valentine’s Day. My news could wait until tomorrow.
Over the next couple of weeks, I settled into my routine of keeping busy and avoiding Logan. It was pretty easy since I had plenty of schoolwork to do, and given that most of my class spoke fluent French, I always had that to practice.
Shea had been busier than ever with school and Adam that she had less time for me lately, too. I didn’t mind too much, remembering how I’d been worse when I’d first gotten involved with Logan last fall. I clenched my teeth. I was still angry at him, but part of me was relieved, too. Aside from the embarrassment and who knows what will happen with the betrothal … aside from all of that, I was relieved to feel free of the emotional obligation to like him. I didn’t have to try anymore. And hell, if I was to be queen, I’m sure I could weasel out of the betrothal. I crossed my fingers. Luckily, Jillian was too embroiled in her new relationship with Logan to pay me much attention lately other than drive-by insults when we passed each other in the hallway.
I still met with Jack and Kulani for training and was pleased to discover my quest to become a warrior princess had the unplanned benefit of Jack taking our training to the next level. He never let up on me, pushing me harder to run faster, track quieter, and scent unerringly. He also started training me in more elaborate hand-to-hand combat, although he wiped the floor with me again and again. I was pleased for the exertion, the training and the wiry muscles that were developing through my back and limbs. I was determined to be a warrior. Afterwards, Kulani always had a new dessert to share. I loved spending time in their cabin, eating pie, going over strategies, and enjoying the homeyness of their love nest.
With classes, patrols, and training, I had plenty to keep me distracted from Logan’s betrayal. I knew I didn’t have romantic feelings for him anymore, but did he have to pick Jillian? I scoured the library for any references to annul betrothals, though I wasn’t having much luck. To shift my attention, I also checked out every book on upyr that I could find, from children’s nursery rhymes to werewolf romance novels, written by werewolf authors, of course. I had to learn more about this potential threat to the pack.
I had given up talking to Shea about the upyr; she said I was obsessing. She painstakingly repeated that we knew more about their mythology than their biology, and anyway, she reminded me that the council said there weren’t any in North America so they weren’t an immediate threat.
Shea was way more interested in talking about Adam. I wanted to tease her and remind her of last fall when I only wanted to talk about Logan. But she was happy, and I liked Adam. They were good together. She wasn’t ditching me, not really. Shea only had so much free time and needed to spend some of it with him. We fell into a routine of seeing each other in class and for dinner. Shea spent her lunches with Adam, while I hung out with Hayley and the girls.
Chapter 20
By March, though, I was missing my best friend and feeling more than a little lonely. One Friday night, Shea came up and suggested we have a girls’ day, go to the spa in town for mani-pedis, and have lunch at Luciana’s Café. I told her that sounded like a great plan for Sunday.
“I have patrol tomorrow,” I explained.
“Again? Don’t you know you’re a princess and a student, so you don’t have to work here, too!” She laughed to show she was only joking. “I’m sorry. I miss you, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, who’s fault is that?” I’d said it without thinking, and Shea looked hurt. “No, look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. But this patrol thing is really important to me. I have to be able to track and defend myself.”
Shea’s face brightened. “And spending time with Diego isn’t too bad, either?”
I blushed. “It’s not like that! I don’t have time for boys, especially when my alleged betrothed is making out with my nemesis every other day.”
Shea’s smile withered. “Oh, I’m sorry, Alice. I can’t imagine what that’s like.”
I sighed. “It’d be easier if there wasn’t this weird legal contract hanging over our heads.”
“I’m sure there’s something you can do. You need a good lawyer.”
I looked at Shea. “You’re brilliant!”
“I am?”
“Yes! A lawyer is exactly what I need! I have to go find Nadia.” And I dashed off to track her down. If anyone knew a good lawyer, it’d be Nadia.
The next morning, I showed up for patrol happier than I could remember being in a long time. I’d cornered Nadia and she promised to get me in touch with her lawyers. She lectured me a little about my place in society and made me promise to meet her for tea the next day. It would cut into our girls’ day a bit, but I figured Shea would be okay with it, given the circumstance.
Diego arrived, and I realized we were the only ones there. We’d had little chance to speak privately, given that other scouts were usually around.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked brightly.
He smiled. “You’re in a good mood today.”
“What? Can’t I be in a good mood?” I quipped.
He chuckled. “Of course. I prefer it. It just hasn’t happened in a while.” I didn’t know what to say to that. He’d noticed my foul mood? Well, I guess it’s hard to hide a bad temper. I wasn’t about to spoil my hard-won chipper attitude by bringing up Logan, so I pitched an easy change of subject.
“It’s going to be muddy out there today after all the rain we’ve had.”
“Yeah. Not much snow left after last week. We’ll still have a few more snowfalls before May, that’s a given.”
I sighed. “And I thought winter in Wisconsin was long.”
“At least you have a nice fur coat now.”
“True.” I grinned. “But I can only take it out five nights a month.”
His jovial attitude turned serious. “It’s safer that way, Princess. You will be able to reveal your talent when you’re older, but for now, keep your secret close.”
It was the first time he’d mentioned my alpha powers that I had almost had forgotten he knew. I wanted to ask something, but before I could figure out what my questions really was, Olaf arrived and we set off on patrol.
It was not quite dawn, and I loved the play of shadows through the trees. It was beautiful, but also made patrolling more difficult. The indistinct light lengthened shadows and outlined monsters in the underbrush that turne
d into brambles and logs as we neared. I tried to rely on my training and use my nose over my eyes, scenting the air and tasting for abnormal odors on the wind. I was practicing this technique, when the whiff of something dead seared my nostrils. I stopped in my tracks and turned my head side to side, locating the source. Olaf had kept going as I fell back from the group.
I stepped off the trail and through some snow-covered brush, shivering as the wet leaves brushed my hide. The scent was getting stronger—fresh blood, maybe deer and something else, something that smelled like it had died a while ago.
I nosed through the brambles and caught movement in a small clearing under a huge pine tree. A shape was hunched over a fallen deer. I peered closer and took a small step. The figure was bent down, smelling—no, biting at the animal. I jerked back in surprise, causing the bush to rain on me. The figure rose, turned, and stared in my direction, blood dripping down its white face. I took in its shape—humanoid, but somehow not human. Red eyes glared at me, and it reared up, hissing like a snake. Then it came at me.
I was so surprised, I just watched it run toward me. It should have taken longer to reach me, but it moved preternaturally fast. I watched, motionless, as it leaped from five feet away, up and over, coming down upon me.
A blur of fur attacked it from the side just as its claws raked my snout. I yipped in pain, but at least the blow had shaken me out of my stunned daze. The two figures were rolling, snarling, hissing, clawing, biting, growling. There was blood all over the muddy snow.
Diego had saved me, but he was losing the fight. I had to help, so I was watched for an opening while the two wrestled. Diego lunged for its throat, but it reared back, swiping his snout as it had mine and rolling away from the howling wolf. I took my chance and pounced on its back. I dug my teeth into its throat and clamped down as if my life depended on it. I was pretty sure it did.
The beast reared back and tried to throw me off of its back. I clung on and bit harder. Its yowl gurgled in its throat as blood poured out through its mouth, teeth still gnashing as if trying to curse me. The blood tasted wrong, old and tainted, and I willed myself not to gag. Its claws reached back and raked at my body. I ignored the pain and tried to shake my head back and forth to quicken the end. I had never killed anything before, but by all accounts the creature should have been dead. Panic that the creature was still kicking overrode my nausea as I fought for my life. Diego had risen and, limping slightly, he came in to finish the creature off. He slashed at its hands and arms to prevent them from clawing me.
