Black Wolf (27 page)

Ravenous,
she'd have liked to get back to the waiting deer, but she curled
herself around her little brother to wait for him to get past it,
licking his ear reassuringly.

Finally, he
struggled to his feet and shook himself, then licked in disgust at
the acid-tasting demon blood that matted his fur. Aindry
sympathized, she wanted very badly to get it out of her own coat.
She shifted to human, scraped at the caked blood with her nails,
then called Jaisan over while she dug in her pack for the brush
they'd stolen from a pet store. She brushed out as much dried blood
as she could, checking at the same time that none of the wounds
he'd taken were too serious; she decided they'd have to go slower
for the next few days, but what difference did it make? It wasn't
like they were going anywhere.

Once she
finished, they traded forms and places and Jaisan returned the
favour. More than once Aindry growled at him when he got rough;
he'd been oddly distracted for the last few days, though generally
in a more bright and high-spirited mood than she'd seen in much too
long. Each time she complained, he apologized and was gentler for
the next few strokes, then drifted off mentally again.

At least it
got rid of the worst of the mess. She twitched away, and shifted
back to human long enough to return the brush to her pack.

"Come on,
let's go see if anything stole the rest of that deer. I'm
starving."

Jaisan nodded,
shifted to wolf and seized the straps of his backpack between his
teeth. He tossed it so it rested across his shoulders, waited for
her, then together they made their way back to their kill.

A few ravens
were feeding happily; they paused long enough to give the wolves
wary looks, but when neither wolf attempted to chase them off they
went back to their meal, all eating contentedly. Aindry wished the
ravens would stay; she remembered a family of ravens that had lived
near their house, remembered playing with them. But any creature
that came with them was likely to die, and she cared too much for
these feathered friends to want to see that happen.

Once full,
they curled up to nap a bit and let that digest. Aindry thought
they could get another meal from it before they moved on, even
sharing with the ravens and anything else brave enough to
approach.

The ravens
squabbled over the meat, then perched in the trees around them.
Aindry couldn't help but think they were offering to stand guard
over the sleeping wolves in return for the meal...

21

Light spilled
out the window above them; he heard someone moving inside, heard
the door open, heard a voice say Bane's name questioningly.

The alpha wolf
raised his head, whined an answer, and the screen door opened as
well. The scent was familiar, though stronger and richer now, but
he couldn't immediately place either it or the voice that laughed
softly. "Wolf-cub's home, hm?"

The alpha wolf
untangled himself, stretched lazily, and shifted. "After an
adventure or twenty, I'd say," he said, amused.

"Looks it. He
doesn't even look black, there's so much mud."

"Go back to
sleep, Jess. I have to go to class."

He shrugged to
himself, rearranged himself more comfortably. Whatever; sleep was
what he wanted to do anyway.

He heard the
van pull out, but registered it as a harmless sound and paid no
attention.

When he next
woke, everything was quiet, and the sun was far enough to the west
to be creeping under the porch roof.

He got to his
feet, shook himself heavily. It made sense to change to human and
go inside, but somehow that felt so final, like he was making the
choice of houses over woods. He had a drink from the fountain, went
out of the yard to relieve himself, and prowled restlessly around.
What should he do?

The other
wolves had been so happy when he'd called to them, when he'd joined
them... wasn't this where he belonged?

He looked
longingly towards the north gate that led out to freedom and
wildness, but sighed and shifted to human, and opened the unlocked
door. That made him smile: it was certainly safe to leave the door
open: who was stupid enough to venture it with a big black wolf
lying there?

The kitchen
was warm, welcoming; he got a glass of juice, noted impersonally
that his hands were a mess, his nails cracked and dirty, small cuts
decorating them. Come to think of it, the rest of him was a mess,
too. Not at all good for his vanity. He finished the juice, set the
glass in the sink, and made his way through the house to his and
Kevin's bathroom.

His reflection
in the mirror made him wince. He'd definitely gone wild, although
at least Liam's trick for stopping hair growth meant it wasn't as
alarming as it could have been. He could think about things after
he was clean.

The hot shower
felt wonderful, washing away the mud and grime; his hair was more
of a problem. It took considerable amounts of shampoo to get it
clean, then even more conditioner and a lot of muttered curses to
comb the tangles and the burrs out.

Still naked
but feeling much better, he went to his room, crossed the floor to
the mirror. A decided improvement, although his left ear was torn,
the silver moon earring Flynn had given him missing. Probably lost
beyond all finding out in the forest somewhere. Yet the silver ring
Gisela had given him remained on his right hand, and the chain
around his neck; where had they been while he was a wolf? Lost in
the depths of his fur? His skin was mottled all over with bruises
and scratches and small cuts, none of them more than superficial,
but they made him look like...

Like I've been
living in the forest for... how long, anyway?

Back in
civilization, the balance was shifting, away from his wolf
instincts and the inclination to live entirely in the present.

I can change
into a wolf. I just spent god-knows how long mostly as a wolf. I
really did.

Whatever I am,
Bane is too, and they knew, they never told me...

Whoa, cool it,
Jess. How exactly did you expect them to tell you? "Hey, Jess, by
the way, you're a werewolf"?

Jesus. I'm a
werewolf. I'm a fucking werewolf.

Funny, the
movies never mention how much fun it is. I guess they weren't made
by anyone who would know.

Well, I don't
feel any different, really, other than sort of stunned, which I
guess makes sense. How are you supposed to feel when you find out
you're a werewolf? I know I don't feel particularly evil, and I
didn't get any overpowering urges to kill anybody, so werewolves
are probably about as evil as witches and gays.

Wonderful. All
in one house, a witch and an elf and a dryad and two
werewolves.

Full moons
obviously aren't necessary. Silver isn't bothering me any. Hm, if
Bane and Bryan are both werewolves, and I know very well they both
are although I don't know how I recognized Bryan, does that mean
it's hereditary? One of my unknown parents was a werewolf? And it
isn't the usual half-man, half-wolf thing, it's all the way into a
wolf. The same as a normal wolf? What do I know about wolves?

Please,
please, somebody come home so I can get some answers!

He glanced at
the clock: over an hour before they'd finish classes.

Okay, I guess
I'm going to have to see what I can figure out by myself, now that
I'm thinking. That was really weird, I was still me, but I was
thinking such a different way. If that's always going to happen,
I'm not sure I like that. I'd rather be able to think the same
always.

Only one way
to find out.

He sat down in
front of the mirror, took a deep breath.

Come on, Jess,
you've done this a hundred times in the last few days. You can
always change back. Do it!

He closed his
eyes, concentrated on the feeling of four feet and fur.

This time, he
was more conscious of the sensation, of pain and pleasure twining
together into a single feeling, neither one as powerful as the
first time. He'd felt something like that, sometime before
venturing out of the house in the moonlight; when?

He chickened
out of looking, kept his eyes closed until he was completely
wolf.

Cool, I'm a
black wolf.

It really does
feel neat, kinda strange but neat. Having a tail is really weird.
I'm not going to think rude jokes right now.

Hey, I'm not
thinking different this time.

He
contemplated his own reflection. Very shaggy fur, and it looked
heavier yet around his neck and shoulders, something like a lion's
mane. That would make it awfully hard for anything to hurt him
there. Not absolute black, though, there were lighter markings,
mainly on his face. His eyes looked strangely gold, was that just
because his colour sight worked differently? It faded, slowly, even
as he watched. Maybe not.

He stretched,
watching himself, and decided he made a very attractive wolf,
midnight fur shining in the sunlight now that it was clean. Right
now, though, he had some thinking to do. He shifted back to human,
got up—he'd have to puzzle out position equivalents later—and went
to the closet. His jeans and a T-shirt made him feel a little more
normal. He curled up in one corner of the loveseat, trying very
hard to track down the elusive memories of that sensation. So
strong he'd thought he'd be torn apart... a glimpse of a woman with
red hair and a mocking smile... it had to be during his missing
days, the time immediately before waking up with Kevin there,
because he didn't think it came from his missing early years.

He was still
worrying at that when he heard the van pull in—not that he'd ever
been able to hear it before, but then, his senses were still almost
as keen as they were when he was a wolf.

Not long
after, Bane knocked on the open door. "Can I come talk?"

"
Please
."

The alpha wolf
perched on the window-seat nearer to Jess.

"I'm guessing
the first thing you want to know is if anyone knew and if so why no
one told you."

"I think I
figured out part of the story, but that piece I'm missing. I have a
hunch it has something to do with the redhead with the attitude,
and that it's connected somehow with the fact that someone broke an
addiction for me that I couldn't make myself shake alone, and to
something Gisela said once about sometimes healing someone like she
did me leaves side-effects. I don't think she meant fixing my hand.
I think there's something in my missing couple of days that you've
all known all along and not told me."

Bane smiled,
and Jesse picked up a scent that the back of his mind translated as
approval and affection, though he was too on-edge to really respond
to it. "You do a good job, for a puzzle with missing pieces. And
you're right."

"Why?"

"Slow down,
let me explain. We were truly trying to do what was best for you,
Jess. I'm not sure we didn't make a mistake, but we had good
intentions."

"The road to
hell..."

"I'm aware of
that. Well. Being a wolf has nothing to do with being bitten, in a
literal sense."

"I think if
you're being bitten by a wolf you've got worse things to worry
about."

Bane chuckled
at that. "True. Wolves are another race, like elves and dryads.
However, wolf blood can be passed on latent, asleep, indefinitely.
What wakes it is power-sharing with a fully active wolf."

"And this
thing the redhead wanted me to do, sitting in a circle with her and
some other people, that was like the circles you do every week.
Power-sharing. And someone there was a wolf."

"I suppose
technically it's much the same," Bane said distastefully. "Although
it might be better to say it's the difference between rape and
love. The redhead is Rebecca, she's a wolf, and the elvenmage and
the witch from her coven were there too. Rebecca has a
long-standing grudge against Sundark, the reason isn't currently
relevant but she seriously hates us. When a latent wolf's wolf side
is awakened, it creates incredible amounts of power for a short
time. Rebecca used that to attack Kev and Dia and I while we were
alone."

"I don't think
I like her. What happened?"

"Flynn warned
Kev in time for him to shield us. Kev lost his temper, which he
fortunately rarely does these days, and hit back with everything he
had. Rebecca threw you in the middle, which protected her and her
coven but damned near killed you."

"I would
imagine so, I've seen what he can do when he's just messing around.
This is where Gisela comes in."

"Yes. We
weren't about to leave you to die. We tracked you down, and Kev
gated Gisela and Flynn there fast. Gisela lost you briefly, I
figured that was it, but that fool mage jumped in, in the middle of
the night after already mostly draining himself, and somehow the
two of them managed to drag you back. That is what left you linked,
all three of you. Not the way a coven is linked, it's pretty faint
and pretty deep, but I rather doubt it's going to break."