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Author's Note: I planned on writing Ch.17 before I published this one but I got a bit lazy the last few days. I hope to have 17 written sometime tomorrow. I decided to post this one now :). This is a talking chapter but its a good talking chapter because a couple of questions finally get answered...including the one that quite a few of you wanted to know :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone else for loving my universe so much.

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Ch.16

The first thing I heard when I woke was the crackling of a fire. I opened my eyes and blinked, the world around me slowly started to blur back into focus. I blinked a few times, trying to get all the blurriness away before I took a look at my surroundings. I couldn’t see the fire but I could hear it and smell the smoke. It’s something that you definitely don’t want to wake up to especially in a strange place like this. Besides the fire, I couldn’t help but feel I was in some place rustic and small. The walls were wood, logs possibly and I could smell the outdoors as if it was seeping through the cracks. I sat up, feeling slight pain as a thin wool blanket slid off me.

I was surprised at the room. It was small. Directly across from me was the fireplace, hanging over which was a pot. There was freshly killed rabbit and squirrel dangling from the wall and I thought I smelt venison. Whoever lived here clearly did a lot of hunting for a living. Looking to the floor, I saw a black bear skin, like the ones you see in those old movies. On wall above the fireplace was a mounted deer’s head. Absent from the room was any sign of a weapon, save for a Bowie knife on the little corner table. So the Hunter either killed these things with that knife or he was a lot more skilled than I thought.

I searched the rest of the room, hoping to find whoever it was that might own this place but I couldn’t see anyone. The only light came from the fire and it didn’t reach the far corners. I’m not sure I liked that, being here in a place where anyone could be hiding and waiting. For all I knew I could be in the cabin of those bastard cougars or worse, that terrible wolf. As soon as that last thought came into my mind, I started to remember what happened before I woke up here. I was in the woods, being chased. Then the cougars tried to kill me, they probably would have too, but something happened. Something---no someone---saved me.

I could only remember one clear thing about the rescue. My savior grabbed that cougar in his jaws and tossed him aside like a rag doll. Here I was terrified, about to be ripped limb from limb and he flung that jackass aside like nothing. Something else came back to me in that moment, something I knew I shouldn’t have forgotten and for a moment, I had---but only for a moment. My rescuer, the mighty cougar throwing wolf was none other than the very same black and grey wolf that I was hoping to never run into.

That thought alone threw me from the bed. I flung the blanket aside and nearly collapsed to the floor. I was wearing nothing but a large flannel shirt; it went well past my hips. I ignored that and looked at my legs. My right one was wrapped in bandages and now bleeding. I groaned as I saw the red trying to push its way through the white. I vaguely remembered them trying to tear me apart. I looked at my arms; my left forearm was bandaged, too. So first, he kills those people, frames my father then rescues me and bandages me? It didn’t make any sense but none of it made much sense. I thought for sure the wolf had been working with the cougars but why would he rescue me from them. Unless of course he was planning on killing me himself?

I pushed up with that thought. I half crawled, half pulled myself over to that little table. I used the leg to pull me up but not all the way. Instead, I grabbed the big knife, clutched it to my chest and crawled into one of the dark corners. He might not be here now but when he came back, I wasn’t going to let him tear me apart like all the rest.

“That was quite impressive,” said a husky voice from the darkness. “Injuries like that, I half expected you to be out for the rest of the day at least.”

My heart skipped a bit. I quickly darted my head around the room, looking for the owner of the voice. I found it a moment later when he struck a match and lit a pipe. The momentary light from the match lit up one of the dark corners and I saw a face. It was old and craggy, much older than I expected. It had a scar down the left side, across the eye, which was milky white from blindness. The other side of his face was ok though, if a bit worn with age. He had an unkempt beard and a mop of silver hair. A man well beyond his years. There was no way that he could be my evil wolf.

“What am I doing here?” I snapped.

He puffed; the pipe lit his face as he did so. “You were pretty banged up, you’re lucky those skinny little bastards didn’t kill you actually.”

I looked at my leg and arm. “You did this?” I asked.

“Even with your advanced healing, you’re going to want to keep those wrapped for a few days. The bite marks will probably never fully go away but you’ll have some nice scars like me.” He laughed. “You’re really something though. I ain’t ever seen anyone hold out that long against two of them like that. A lesser wolf would have passed out from blood loss.”

A lesser wolf? “You know what I am then?”

He laughed. “Of course I do sweetie, that same blood flows through my veins too, you know.”

He took another puff on his pipe. His face was lit again and this time I saw something familiar in those features. I knew that face though I’d only seen it once and briefly. There were a lot of familiarities in it: my father, my uncles but more of my grandfather than anything. That was to be expected though, seeing as this man and he were brothers.

“You’re Frank aren’t you?”

He laughed and nodded. “Smart too. The last time I saw you, you were quite a bit smaller and not quite so curvy.”

I blushed at that. I couldn’t help it. I should have lowered the knife but there was a reason my father didn’t trust this man. He tried to take the Alpha position from both him and my grandfather. As far as I was concerned, Frank was not a friend.

“Good girl” he said, as I tightened the grip on the knife. “You keep a hold of that. I wouldn’t trust me either. You’re a lot like your father in that respect. I suppose he told you all about me?”

I nodded. “He told me enough.”

“It’s all true. I was a bit of a jackass in my youth. I thought my brother was running things the wrong way; your father wasn’t much different as far as I was concerned. I won’t say what I tried to do was wrong either; I still believe it was the right thing. We weren’t aggressive enough toward those damn yellow coats and now look what’s happened. Four of them tried to kill the Alpha’s daughter. I told your fool of a father this would happen if he left them alive.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest, wincing as I did so. I kept a real tight hold on the knife. I kept my eyes on him, too. Uncle Frank was in a lot of my father’s stories and there was nothing ever good said about him. I thought Dad had cast him out of Ravencrest but apparently, he exiled him much like he did Terry---though that was the only similarity this man had to my brother. It was almost as if I could feel the distrust coming off him, made worse by the fact that he clearly had a connection to the grey and black wolf.

“So if you hate my father so much, why did you bring me here?”

He scoffed. “I didn’t. It was my damn fool of a son that dragged you here actually. Said he couldn’t leave you out there bleeding like that. So he scooped you up and carried you back here after you passed out. Surprised me good to see him carrying your naked form through my front door.”

His son? Did he mean Mason?

“I have to say,” he continued. “I am quite glad to see you. Never in my long years did I think I was going to live to see another Locke matron.”

“Matron?”

He groaned. “How much have they told you about your great great grandmother?”

I shook my head. “Trev said she was the last female werewolf in our family.”

Frank laughed. “She was a lot more than that. She was the Matron of our clan, the true Alpha.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

He groaned. “What does that mean?” He laughed. “It means that before my great grandmother, no male wolves ruled the Locke clan.”

That floored the hell out of me.

He laughed at my shock. “You got that right little missy. My Great Grandmother was the last of the Matrons. She was a wonderful woman, strong and brave and pig headed---I suppose a bit like you. She would have stood her ground against those cougars, too. She was that kind of a woman though, stood her ground right to her last breath.”

“What happened to her?”

He sighed. “The same thing that happened to the rest of the Wolf females, the Order got her.”

“What’s that?”

“The Order of the Divine Heart. They call themselves monster hunters. About three hundred years ago, they came in a horde to our woods, smoked us out of hiding. They were on a mission to eradicate our kind from the world and did so by dragging every last woman and girl they could find into a clearing. It was there that they tied them all together and set fire to them. Every last one of them, well save for one small infant---my great grandmother. A young servant managed to make off with her during the commotion, spirited her away from her home. She raised her away from it all and when great grand was old enough she spent her life seeking those who had wronged her kin. After slaughtering those responsible and their kin, she settled down. She had a lot of children but sadly no girls. No one’s really sure why maybe she was cursed.

“My father was a small boy when the Hunters showed up once again. They’re rebuilt their numbers and wanted vengeance. Great grand was old and feeble by then, barely able to stand but she went out and faced them. She stood her ground valiantly, turned into a wolf one last time before they ran her through with their swords and their spears. The men rallied after that and slaughtered them all, tore them limb from limb so my Dad used to say. Never was another female wolf born after her though, our blood started to diltue being mixed with humans. I suppose we’d pretty much given up hope until it seems the Lady had finally decided to bless us with you.”

I had a few questions after that. Like was the Order still around? Who was the Lady? Did that mean that I was the new Matron? They racked my brain, dancing about like little fairies. I opened my mouth to ask my first one when I heard the door creak open. I lost all questions when I turned toward the door. I held my breath and watched as two wolves walked into the room. The one in the lead was large; his grey hair had a bit of a silver shine to it. I didn’t recognize him though, wondering if he was another one of distant relatives of mine. The wolf that walked in behind him though, I knew him well. I looked from its gray fur to its cold dark eyes and over to the black fur that seemed to wind around the left side of his body.

The silver wolf padded off into the darkness toward Frank. The grey and black one stood his ground for a moment. He turned and looked at me. His cold eyes drilled into mine. I gripped the knife, ready to strike. I waited for it to strike but it didn’t. Instead, he stood still like a statue and in that moment, the wolf was gone, transforming just like I’d seen so many of my family do before. Like my father and uncles, the man who appeared was fully clothed. He was wearing greenish fatigues. I looked up the length of his body, over his left side to see the black barbed wire tattoo and up to his shaved head. I gasped.

It was Mason. The grey and black wolf was Mason.

Mason stared at me for a moment before he looked into the darkness and groaned. “Why are you sitting in the dark, old man?”

He walked over to the table where I got the knife. He grabbed an electric lantern I didn’t see before and flipped it on. The glow from the lantern lit most of the small cabin, shedding light into my great uncle’s secret corner. I saw the old man in all of his glory now, surprised at how old he really was. He was probably once a great man, strong and powerful but all of that was gone in age. What remained was a half-blind feeble thing that had a cane and looked like he could barely stand. A small part of me felt a bit sad then I remembered that this man tried to kill both my grandfather and father. That sadness soon evaporated.

“I was just having a nice chat with your little friend here,” he said, waving a hand at me.

Mason turned to me. “Are you all right?”

I was surprised at the kindness in his voice. Was this the same cold man I saw in the Lodge all those weeks ago?

All I could do was nod numbly. Mason smiled and when he did, I saw a bit of youth there. Before I could have sworn he was as old as Uncle Tim but now I could see him as only as little bit older than Terry. How was that even possible? Had I been so blind to it before or had I just not noticed. Mason held out a hand to me and I found myself grabbing it. He pulled me gently to my feet, taking the knife from my fingers without protest and leading me back over to the bed. He made sure I sat and I let him. Why wasn’t I fighting him? Did wolves have a form of the Gaze too? Was he somehow manipulating me to do these things?

“He didn’t try anything stupid did he?” he asked, using that gentle tone once again.

I shook my head. I couldn’t speak. Why couldn’t I speak? This man was a savage murderer. He killed at least four people and yet I couldn’t say a thing to him.

“We’re fine,” said Frank "we had a nice chat about the female Wolves. Did you know those damn fool nephews of mine didn’t tell her a single thing about her heritage. Great grand is probably turning over in her grave right about now.” He scoffed. “She doesn’t even know about the Lady.”

Mason ignored him. “Don’t listen to him, Frank can be a bit of a blowhard” Then he turned to address the old man. “They’ve been a bit preoccupied with things. There’s a lot going on in the town, which you’d know about if you ever gave a damn.”

Frank scoffed. “The only thing I want to know is if you got those damn Yellow Coats?”

Mason sighed. “I killed the one when I threw it against the tree; the impact broke its back. The other fled into the forest back where they first tried to take her. It met up with the other and the two of them ran back to the town. I tracked them to the ER where one of them had their broken wrist taken care of” He smiled and nodded at me. “From the ER I followed them to a little motel where I watched them pack their bags, get into a beat up pickup and high tail it out of here.”

“You let them live?” Frank rose slightly in his old chair. “They’re the enemy. Those yellow bastards are probably on their way to recruit more. We’re going to have a whole army of them on us within the fortnight, mark my words.”

“They were young and stupid. Distant cousins of Damien’s, probably brought here with a lot of money. After I killed the one, I think the other two just wanted to get the hell out of here. I didn’t see them as a threat.”

“That’s you now huh, the loyal bitch of the Alpha?”

Mason flinched as if being stung. When he did so I caught sight of something, I didn’t notice before. He was wearing a necklace too; it was hanging on the outside of his tank top, the Greek letter omega dangling from it. I read up a little on wolf packs in my spare time. Dad was the Alpha, the leader of the pack and the Omega was the guy on the bottom. That meant that Mason was the Omega of the Locke clan. I wonder how everyone forgot to mention that little tidbit to me.

“I strike a nerve; did I hurt the Errand boy’s feelings?”

Bitch? Errand Boy?

“Better than being the washed up nobody and an Outcast.”

Frank grumbled a bit, stroking the head of the silver wolf. I looked for a moment at the wolf, surprised that it didn’t turn back before. It was then that I realized that it must have been a real wolf all along. I couldn’t help but feel a little cool about that. Having Boomer, as a companion was one thing but a real wolf was totally awesome. I looked at the wolf, sending my thoughts into its head. I tried talking to it, in hopes that it might have something say. The wolf turned its head to me and stared. I looked its strange bluish colored eyes. There was something off putting about those eyes. I managed to look away after only a few moments.

I looked at Mason. Looking at him now, a thousand questions were jumping around in my head. The first on the top of the list of course was the most obvious one. It was the first one that came out of my mouth too. “Why did you save me?”

It took him a minute or two to respond but when he did, what came out of his mouth was the most shocking thing yet. “It’s my job.”

Bam, just like that.

I wanted to press him for more but Frank interrupted.

“Now that you’re back from your useless endeavor, you can take the girl home. It sickens me to have her in here any longer. Take her back to her father so you can kiss his glorious ass some more.”

Mason scoffed. “She probably doesn’t want to be here any longer any way.”

I could only nod to that.

Mason patted his thigh. “C’mon Silver; let’s take Tracy back home to her father.”

It was the way he said those words and the look he gave me afterwards that let me know that I was about to be in really big trouble.

All I could do was gulp.

We sat is his truck in silence. I thought about half a dozen ways to start a conversation but they always seemed to fall flat. That served me fine because I didn’t really know what to talk about. I was as confused as all hell. Here was this guy---this possible murderer---and yet he wasn’t acting at all like I thought. He wasn’t even acting like the man I met on my birthday, the cold standoffish bastard who I thought didn’t care about anything. Looking at the man driving the truck I couldn’t help but think here was a guy who all his stuff together, one that just risked his life to save me and I implemented him in several murders. Why wasn’t he angry? Why wasn’t he yelling and screaming at me?

I decided to kill the time by trying to get Silver to speak to me. The wolf was sitting in the back, like a statue. I turned and once again tried to speak to him with my thoughts. However, I got nothing in return. The wolf did turn his head to look at me though as if he was sizing me up. Once again, I looked into those unsettling and unnatural blue eyes. Staring at them, I couldn’t help but think there was something uncharacteristically human about them.

“What’s your deal?” I asked into his head. He didn’t respond. “I know you can hear me. I’ve talked to at least two other dogs, so I know that you understand me. Are you a snob or do you just not like me?”

The wolf turned his head.

“Fine be that way,” I said, turning away myself.

The silence returned. I think it was finally too much for Mason because he let out a slight groan. “Are you all right?”

Twenty minutes of silence and he speaks first. Imagine that.

“Do I look all right?” I asked.

He slowed the truck then stopped it completely. We were traveling down this little dirt road in the middle of the woods. I’m not sure how far we were in but it was farther than I thought. It was so far in that I didn’t even know this road existed so I guess that was saying something.

He sighed. “I’m sorry for before. I should have gotten there faster but in my defense, you kind of took off without warning.”

What the hell was he talking about?

“You think I’m upset because you didn’t save me fast enough?” He didn’t say anything so I decided to enlighten him. “Up until twenty minutes ago, I thought you were some cold blooded murderer!”

He looked at me strangely. Then I think he started to piece some things together. “You’re talking about the night you saw me at the Thompson’s?” I nodded. “I didn’t kill them. They were already dead when I got there. I knew something was wrong the night before when all the dogs were barking outside you house, when Boomer bit you then I knew for sure something bad had happened.”

“Wait, what?”

He smiled. “How much has your uncle told you about me?”

“Nothing.”

He laughed. “Now I know why you thought I was a killer, showing up in all those places. I probably looked pretty damn guilty. Hell I would have thought the same thing too.” He laughed some more.

I liked his laugh. It was nothing like I thought it would be. It was kind of nice.

“You chased my friend up a tree?”

“He ran up there all by himself. He took one look at me and bolted.”

I couldn’t help but smile. That did sound a bit like Greg after all.

I couldn’t be fooled by the charm. When he wasn’t scowling, Mason was handsome. There I said it and when he smiled, I got lost. It was hard not to. But I needed to stay focused. “That still doesn’t explain why you were skulking around like that?”

“It’s my job.”

There he goes with that job thing. I didn’t think anyone in the family had specific jobs. But he’d said that twice now already.

“What’s your job?”

“Protecting the Locke family.”

I wasn’t expecting that. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m sure Carson has told you some pretty screwed up things about me, I’m crazy, I’m a military wash out blah blah blah” All I could do was nod. He smiled again---damn I wish he wouldn’t do that. “I’m neither crazy nor a wash out. But I served my time and came home, end of story.”

“Are you really Special Forces?”

He nodded. “But not like you think. Would it surprise you to know that the US government has a special unit composed fully of Weres?”

“You’re kidding?”

He laughed. “I joined when I was eighteen, straight out of high school. They trained me for about a year and then well, I can’t really say much more than that. I served my time with them, the mandatory four years and came home. No crazy, no dishonorable discharge. Just an Omega who learned how to protect his family better than before.”

“And by protect us, you mean?”

He smiled. “I was there the night Boomer bit you, I was there when you went to the house the next night. I followed you from the party and watched as you helped your friend from the tree. I’ve gone with you every day to school, went with you to the movies that time, was there when your brother saved you from those cougars at the bistro. I’ve been your shadow for every waking moment of your life since that night you got bite and beyond.”

Ok now that was totally scary. It was creepy too and suspicious. “I thought you said you protected my family? It sounds to me like you’re just watching me?”

He smiled. “The first female werewolf born in over three hundred years. Of course, I’m watching you because you are the family, the future of everything that this family holds true and dear in fact. It’s my job to make sure that no harm ever befalls you.”

Wow. My own private bodyguard. I guess that makes sense. I also now knew why Carson was so lax on his supposed bodyguard job too. The bastard knew Mason was tailing me the whole time. I’m not sure how much I liked the idea of him having been with me all the time. I also couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Here I was thinking the worse about this guy and here he was following me the whole time. I thought he was some bloodthirsty killer and in truth, he was far from it. But it still didn’t explain some things though.

“Why were you at the Thompson’s in the first place though? You didn’t follow me there?” He opened his mouth to respond but I cut him off. “And when the real estate agent died. You scared the hell out of my little brother.”

He nodded. “I was there investigating. I’ve been on the trail of the murderers for some time now actually. When the lawyer was killed, your father thought it might have been an isolated incident but he couldn’t be sure so he asked me to look into it. We weren’t certain until the Thompsons were killed that someone might be targeting your family specifically. Things were confirmed when I found the dead real estate agent. Three crimes all connected to your family. Your father and I contacted the Coven after that. We both had our suspicions but couldn’t confirm it until the hearing.”

I groaned. “The hearing? Was any of that real?”

He shook his head. “Sorry about that but it wasn’t my intention to use you like that. When I told the Inquisitor that you’d seen me at the Thompsons and then Tommy telling you he saw me at the car scene I knew we could use it. So she played it up when she interviewed you.”

My anger flared, I couldn’t help it. The bastards made me think that I’d sent my father away for murder. I struck out with a fist, catching him in the face. He didn’t even turn his head, taking the full force of it. As soon as it was over, I felt better. “You son of a bitch” I snapped as I started to calm down. “You let me think my father was involved in murder.”

He rubbed his face with a smile. “I deserved that.”

I was seething. I crossed my arms. “Damn straight you did.”

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. I couldn’t believe them. They used me. They let me think the worse and then they let me tell the Inquisitor what I thought. Then to find out it was all an act, a way to draw out the real bad guys. That pissed me off more than anything. I’d been caring around the guilt of screwing my father over for days and it was all for nothing. A ruse that my father was behind, another one of his stupid mind games he liked to play. This time I was a blunt instrument. I knew I hated that man; but to use me like that. I groaned loudly. Now that my part in it was all but done, now he was going to send me away. I’d served my purpose, done what he wanted and now it was off to somewhere where he never had to look upon me again.

What kind of bastard does that to his own child?

“You ok?”

I shook my head. “Stupid question.”

He sighed. “We didn’t set out to get you involved with all of this actually. The idea to use you didn’t actually come until after you and Carson ran into Damien that night during your Hunt. It was actually Damien himself who put you in all of this, his reaction to you” Mason sighed. “What we did was wrong and I’m truly sorry but you would have been involved in this regardless of what we did.”

I felt tears starting to sting my eyes. “Was it Damien then? Did he do all of this?”

Mason didn’t say anything for a moment or two. Then he reached over and turned the key, starting the ignition. The truck roared to life. I was shocked to say the least.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“No. Your part in this is over. I promised your father that I wouldn’t get you involved anymore and I keep my promises.”

“I can help you,” I pleaded, tears freely flowing. “You owe me that much. You pulled me into this and now you’re pushing me out.”

“Using you was a mistake. Damien and his friends nearly killed you tonight. It was stupid of us to even thinkof using you. So no, you’re not helping anymore. I’m taking you back home, you’re going to apologize to your father and tomorrow I’m going to take you to the airport so you can get on that plane and go to New York.”

He gunned the truck, taking off a little faster than usual down the little dirt road. All I could do was sit there and go along for the ride. I was so pissed off with him and my father and all of this crap. First, they pushed me into all of this, used me because it was convenient and now that I’m no longer needed, I was done. They couldn’t see how useful I might be to them. I could investigate along with them, be their silent third partner. But neither of them could see that apparently. All they wanted to do was ship me away, lock me up somewhere far away and make sure I wasn’t a bother to them again.

I bit my lip. I just couldn’t let them happen.

“Maybe you should call Constance, tell her I’m on my way. I’m sure she’s really worried.”

Mason nodded. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, slowing down a bit to dial. I heard it ring then I heard the muffled voice of my stepmother. “”She’s ok. I’m sorry I didn’t call before but everything is all right now. I’m bringing her home right now.”

I could hear Constance ripping him a new one on the other end. I couldn’t help but smile. I couldn’t help but silently thank her for the distraction too. I closed my eyes and concentrated as I slowly unbuttoned the large flannel. I let it slide off my body and as soon as it was off, I transformed. When I opened my eyes, Mason turned slightly and saw me, looking a bit perplexed.

“What the hell are you…?” Then he figured it out. “Don’t even think about it?”

I didn’t think. Instead, I turned and jumped out of the window. Yeah not my brightest plan but there was no way in hell I was going to let them get rid of me.
I tried to hit the ground at a run but it still hurt like hell. I rolled on impact, tumbled a bit before stopping. I was a bit dazed but surprisingly not as banged up as I thought. When I turned and looked, the truck slammed on its brakes about twenty feet in front of me. I half expected to see Mason’s grey and black wolf form jump out of the cab but instead Silver jumped out of my window. I cursed and staggered to my feet. I was still a little bit sore from nearly being torn apart by the lions but I didn’t care. Letting either Silver or Mason catch me was out of the question. So I did the only thing I could think of, I ran toward the truck, bolting past it as fast as my feet could carry me.

I heard Mason shout. But I was already too far to hear what he said.

Instead I ran. It wasn’t long before I realized that Silver was right with me, only a few feet behind actually. I could smell him and hear his feet as he pounded as hard as he could to keep up. He was persistent; I’ll give him that but there was just no way, I could let him get me. I put on more speed which hurt like hell but I didn’t care. They got me involved in all of this, put my life at risk and now they were going to ship me off because I was no longer needed. They were bastards, all of them. I thought I could at least trust Mason but it turns out he was just like my father. He used me and when he was done, he thought he could throw me away too.

To think that I thought he was cute, too.

No, there was only one person I could trust right now. The only person I could ever trust. He’d listen to me, he’d let me help. If there was one person in the world that I trusted more than myself, it was him.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, young lady?”

The voice nearly caught me by surprise. For a moment I had no idea who it was then I realized that the snob finally decided to get off his high horse.

“Leave me alone” I shot back.

“Turn around right now” snapped Silver, his voice filled with unwanted authority.

I ignored him. I put on more speed, feeling it painfully in my legs. The wounds still weren’t healed fully and were absolutely killing me now. I tried not to think about that though as I ran as hard as I could. Silver---though older---was keeping a good pace. I could hear him panting away behind me though, so it was only a matter of time before I lost him. Unfortunately, for me, we ran out of woods. I was a bit surprised to find myself running into the back lot of one of the local gas stations. I came to a complete stop, Silver nearly barreled over the top of me.

I didn’t realize the woods went right up to the back of the town like this.

“End of the line” said Silver.

I scoffed. “I’m not going back home. You’re going to have to drag me there if you think you can.”

The large silver wolf jumped in front of me, baring its fangs. That bit surprised me actually. “Enough of this. You’re just like your damn father, so arrogant and full of yourself. He would have done something stupid like this too.”

“How do you know my father?” I asked, surprised.

“That’s not important. What’s important is that you do as you’re told. This is dangerous wandering around like this. If the humans see us, we’re dead for sure. Now come back to the woods, go with me back to the truck and we can talk things through. I’ll talk to your father, he’ll listen to me.”

“You’re right” I said, I could almost see him smile. Then I dropped the bomb on him. “If the humans see us, they’ll certainly freak.”

I closed my eyes and concentrated. A second later, I was back to my old self. I turned back to the large silver wolf sitting there and smirked. He looked up at me, clearly not amused.

“What, can’t you change?”

“Definitely like your father” said his voice, as articulate as it was when I was in wolf form.

How in the hell was that possible?

“I’m not like other wolves,” he said as if that explained everything.

It would have to do for the moment. I left him standing there and went to the back of the station. I found a disgusting looking towel but it was all there was so I groaned through wrapping it around my body. Then I put on a smile, took a deep breath and walked around the front of the little building. I walked inside like everything was completely normal. The teenager at the counter nearly pissed himself.

I smiled sweetly. “I seem to have misplaced my purse, is there any way I can grab some clothes for free and pay you back later?”

He didn’t say a thing, just nodded.

I patted him on the cheek, grabbed a t-shirt, a package of underwear and a pair of sweats from the dismal rack of clothing the tiny convenience store had to offer. I gave him a smile and a wink as I went into the bathroom to change. I dressed quickly. The shirt said I LOVE NEW YORK and the back of the sweat pants had JUICY on them but they were good enough for now. When I left the bathroom, I waved to him and walked out the door.

Silver was there waiting for me. “Ok, you’re dressed, now I’m taking you home.”

“No” I said as I started walking down the street. “I’m not going home.”

I heard him groan as he followed me. He complained the whole way as I walked. Everyone we passed gave me and my strange “dog” odd looks. I ignored them all. Instead I walked as confidently as I could---which was hard because I was pretty screwed up---right toward The Guardian. I didn’t go to the front because I knew there was no way that I’d be able to get in. Instead, I went around to the back. There was a door there marked employees. I knocked as hard as I could and waited. It didn’t take long before it opened and luckily, for me, Terry was standing there.

He was surprised for a moment. “Ummm” he looked at his watch. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

I lost it right then and there.

“They’re sending me away,” I said, bawling.

I threw myself into his arms, sobbing on his shoulder. Terry was stunned for a moment then wrapped his strong arms around me. I held me as I cried. Then he scooped me up in those big arms of his and carried me into the bar. Silver followed us, I think, I could hear his feet padding on the hard wood floor. We went up the back stairs to his apartment, where he set me on the couch and let me finish crying. Between sobs I told him what happened, I think most of it was intelligible.

When I was done, Terry sighed. “Never a dull moment with you is it?”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

Picture Credit: Actress Jane Levy

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