Psyche Shield (23 page)

I should be able to cover it all, so long as you don’t go
too far.
Jason studiously ignored our mental exchange.

We waited. Matthew and his team arrived towards sundown. Two
attacks and an injured packmate in less than a week had their hackles up.
Graham’s tactics grated on them largely because they worked. They hadn’t faced
a better opponent in as long as anyone could remember. Graham didn’t have a
stronger fighting force. Yet he’d successfully staged two attacks against us,
and twice we’d barely escaped without losing someone.

They wanted someone to fight instead of this cat-and-mouse
game. Running would help, and they eagerly waited for the sun to set.

Deliberately placed trees and fences protected the backyard
from onlookers and neighbors. Inside the city, it was no guarantee. I raised an
illusion around the house so they could begin shifting into wolf form. Darkness
fell, and Jason addressed his Wolves. “The Montana Pack attacked us today for
the second time. We will defend ourselves, but we will not take part in a
senseless Pack War. Do not retaliate. Do not break my promise.”

Billie looked at every Wolf. “I’ve heard you grumbling and
growling, wanting to put them in their place for trespassing and threatening
our packmates. I want the same thing. But a Pack War threatens our packmates
more than these skirmishes.”

Jason continued, eager to be wolf for a while. “Tonight we
run. No singing and stay together. If we’re needed here, Billie and Sadie will
do their mindspeech crap. We’ll come right home.”

Billie’s face glowed as she shimmered into a grey wolf.
Jason towered over her even on four legs. He gave me a look, and I extended the
illusion to the foothills beyond. “No one can see you. You’re clear until
you’re out of sight of the houses,” I told my four-legged packmates. They raced
out of my backyard and into the night. After the last Wolf disappeared from
view, I dropped the illusion entirely.

Glenn stood beside me, a look of longing on his face as his
packmates ran without him. I barely knew more than his name. Billie had
welcomed every packmate since long before I came into her life. It was our home
now, and the open-door policy hadn’t changed. I didn’t want it to. Weary from
the long day, I needed sleep. But I’d promised to watch over everyone and had
to stay awake to do it. I could sleep when they returned from the run. “I want
coffee. How about you?”

Glenn accepted the offer and followed me into the house. Amy
chose to stay with Nathan, and they slept upstairs. He’d lost enough blood to
kill a Human, and it would take a couple of days to regain his strength. Sierra
and Kathryn dozed in the living room, Kato awake by their side, all three in
wolf form.

I didn’t have the energy to play host, and Glenn didn’t
expect it. Obviously comfortable in my home, he pulled out some potato chips
and started making coffee. Kato, chin resting on Sierra’s good leg, distracted
me.
How is she doing?
I asked him.

She sleeps.
Kato never stated the obvious, but it
took me a moment to catch his meaning.

You’re soothing her dreams?
He had done that once for
me when distressed.

Yes. She must be as strong and courageous as possible for
the days to come. As must you.
He looked at me with solemn eyes.

What did you see, Muso?
I asked him. Glenn watched me
closely, still unused to mental conversations. He seemed uneasy and only
slightly guarded as he followed my every move.
What’s going to happen?

I saw little of the current conflict, and some of its
outcome. Much is unclear and what once was clear is no longer. What will come
with my granddaughter’s Pack is near. From its wake we will have either enemy
or ally with the larger war between Wolves and Mages. To win that war, we must
have trust and alliance with other Wolves.

The burden weighed on me. Everything I did had long-term
implications in the Mage-Wolf War. Lives depended on me: Pack and family, loved
ones, and strangers. How could anyone in their right mind think I’d accomplish
the impossible? Somehow I had to.
How do we gain their trust?
We’d asked
that question many times, and we still didn’t have a solid answer. How do you
trust someone who can make you believe or think anything on a whim? How could I
ever expect others to trust me?

Be Pack. Wisdom must win against anger and trust must
override fear. You are both subject and object in this.

I think I understand
, I told him thoughtfully.

You have been alone your entire life until now. You
understand, but it is not an easy task for you or for your packmates. It is not
in your nature to live as Pack, and it is not in the Wolf’s nature to accept
you as Pack. Yet it is happening. You are the bridge.

How do I earn Jason’s trust when I’m keeping things from
him? He knows it, and he called me out on it earlier.

Our Alpha does not trust easily and seeks reasons to
distrust a Mage. Even one who has proven her loyalty and resolve.

There has to be something I can do
, I asked my
mentor.

Be Pack. Learn what that means from your packmates. Be
true to your own nature while respecting theirs.

Be a Mage among Wolves, not a Mage in Wolf’s clothing?
I translated, ensuring I understood.

Yes. My brother said you would do what others would not
and accomplish what others could not. You are capable for what is coming. Trust
yourself. Others will come.

Three others. Who are they?

He blinked and stretched his neck before replying.
The Three
are obscured from me. They will come. Of this I am sure. I am one of many Sages
who seek to fulfill the prophecy. Another will find and bring the three who
will aid you. Your packmate wants to believe you are not like others of your
race. Go, be with him.
I nodded and turned.

Glenn stared at me from where he leaned against the wall in
a very Matthew-like manner. I could smell coffee brewing, and he pulled out two
mugs. “What did you and Kato talk about?” he asked as he handed one to me.

“Oh, you know. Wolves and Mages. How not to get killed or
get anyone else killed in this insane life I’ve jumped into. The usual,” I
replied, grinning briefly before it faded. “That seems to be the only topic
anymore.”

“It’s not always like this,” he assured me, dispelling the
Matthew reference with his easy personality.

“Only since I arrived?” I asked, filling my mug with the
fresh brew.

“You know how to make an impression,” he told me.

His statement reminded me of Phil’s. I gripped my coffee mug
with a sudden realization. I’d sensed him before I ever met him. “That’s why
you’re familiar. You helped clean up that first night.”

He nodded, adding cream to his coffee before meeting my
eyes. “That was a nightmare.”

I thought back to that night with a shudder and repeated
what I’d said many times since. “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”

“I have a hard time calling nine bodies an accident.”

“Ever wished someone would drop dead?” I asked him dryly.

“Many times.” He sipped the hot brew and eyed me closely.

“Did it ever happen? Did they just keel over and die because
you thought it?” He got my point. “I didn’t know it was possible before I did
it. Now I know.”

“I disagreed with Jason’s decision to let you live. Loudly,”
he admitted and waited for my reaction.

Chills ran down my arms. “What about now?”

“Now I don’t know what to think about you.” He sipped his
coffee.

“That sounds like an improvement. What changed?” I asked
him.

“My son was in the hunting party. What he told me made me
question my stance about you. The Alpha would never ask you to stand guard over
our young and injured if he had any reservations about you.”

I hadn’t thought about it quite that way. “I’m glad. I’m
still not used to all of this, and I don’t want to get used to some of it.”

“It heats up sometimes, but it always settles down.”

“Promise? I would really enjoy some nice normal days. You
know, a double date hiking trip with Amy and Nathan. Lots of food, a nice
creek, and sunshine. They can run while I ...” I stopped mid-sentence as I listened
to myself. “It’s pretty amazing what’s become normal in a few weeks. People
transforming into wolves didn’t even enter my mind until recently.”

“I wonder what the next few weeks are going to bring.” His
lip curled up slightly at the edges and his eyes twinkled, his sense of humor
coming out.

I pointed a finger at him threateningly. “Oh, my God, don’t
you dare. If any more weirdness becomes normal in my life, I might implode.”

He held his hands up and nodded at my finger with mock wide
eyes. “I surrender. You can put that away. You’re right, though. Having you
here is pretty weird. It’s thrown all of us for a loop.”

I looked at the loaded finger and holstered it with a sigh.
“It’s crazy all around. And I’m exhausted, which isn’t helping my attitude. I could
use some of this Wolf stamina.” I waved my hand at the room and stopped it
midair. Every Wolf in the house except one had fallen asleep.

Glenn saw my expression and suggested, “Why don’t you catch
some Z’s too?”

“I can’t. I have to be awake to keep watch like I said I
would.”

“I thought that’s why I stayed behind.” He’d rather run and
didn’t like wasting the opportunity.

“It is. If they come, I won’t fight them. But I can give you
a heads up and inform Billie.” He looked intensely thoughtful for a moment, and
I wondered what I’d said. We sat at the dining room table, and he searched the
horizon. “They’re a few miles out,” I told him.

“How does your perimeter alarm work?” he asked curiously,
and I chuckled. “What?”

“That didn’t take long. I just agreed to train you and the
rest of the team to fight Mages.”

“It’s going to be a long night. We may as well make the most
of it. Let’s begin.”

“Well, the first thing you should know is Jason’s lifting
the kill-on-scent order.” His eyebrows hit his hairline. “I’m not unique. I’m
the only Mage living with Wolves, but I’m not the only one that isn’t out to
conquer the universe. Not all Mages are dangerous, and if anyone comes into our
territory, I’ll check them out myself. If they’re dangerous, we’ll deal with
them accordingly. If not, we’ll boot them out of town.”

“Jason agreed to this?” Glenn asked, shocked.

“Yes. He said not to take any chances. If I can’t take care
of it for any reason, they’re all yours. I’ll figure out what they’re up to and
whether or not they’re a threat. We’re not all bad.” I asserted my point once
again, hoping it would save an innocent life.

He looked like he’d swallowed a chicken bone. “I’ve seen too
much carnage at the hands of Mages to like it.”

“I heard about your mate,” I confessed shyly.

He didn’t respond to my admission at first. “Mages took two
of the most important people in my life.”

“And you don’t want to risk more. I won’t let what happened
to your mate happen again,” I promised him, thinking of Nathan and the Mages
I’d recently met.

“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep,” he warned.

“I can promise to free anyone who gets collared. Without
that looming over your heads, you can lighten up on Mages in general.”

He shook his head, the entire idea bewildering. “I’ve never
heard of such a thing before. Here or anywhere. You should take a Wolf with you
as backup any time you confront a Mage.”

I’d come to the same conclusion. “I should anyway since it’s
Wolf territory.”

He listened intently as I explained my race’s abilities.
He’d seen Mages in action even before I came around, but I gave him a much
better understanding of my people’s mental powers.

After a while, he rose to fill our coffee cups and asked
almost offhandedly. “I heard you’re unemployed. How do you feel about security
work?”

“It’s never been a career goal,” I admitted and thought
about it. “A job would be nice. What would I be doing?”

“Just the lighter stuff: mind reading, perimeter alarm,
illusion. Most of the employees are Human. We have to keep our Wolf talents
under the table, but we use the advantage. It would be the same for you. I have
to clear a new hire with Jason, of course, but I think he’ll go for it. Will
you do it? After we’ve ended this Pack War. We’re all on PTO until then.”

I needed the job, and working alongside the Wolves would
help us train. The decision came quickly. “If I can draw the line about what
I’m not willing to do, then yes, I’m in.” We talked until the wee hours of the
morning when I finally sensed Billie and the others heading home.

Good run?

Is there any other kind? How was your night?
she
sounded energized.

Productive. I got a job. Maybe.

Really? Congratulations! We’re almost at the crest of the
hill
, she informed me, and I raised an illusion for the Wolves to run
behind without leaving my seat.

Glenn didn’t mention the mental conversation, his
questioning look saying it all. “They’re almost home.” Soon Wolves filled the
living room, some still wearing fur and others looking for their clothes. The
commotion woke those sleeping on the first floor.

Billie came directly to my side, her bright blue eyes
sparkling. They’d even brought some game home for the injured Wolves,
depositing it in the dining room where the floor would clean easily. Sierra
hopped to the meal on three legs and dug in, gratefully filling her belly with
fresh meat.

Matthew joined us at the table. His nearness made me
nervous, and I did my best to squash it. “How did it go here?”

“Quiet. We discussed Mages and magepower. I want to hire
her. She’d be an asset on any job and working with her will help us train,”
Glenn informed Matthew and met his Alpha’s gaze across the room. Jason lounged
in one of the recliners, his sizeable wolf body filling it completely. He gave
his approval.