Shifter's Moon (Paranormal Shifter Romance) (14 page)

             
“I’m good.  One of the other girls has taught me to how to spin, I’m just taking a break,” she said, “and after that, she says she wants to teach me about astrology.  I don’t believe in all that, that stars can control your destiny or whatever.  But I really like her, she’s really funny.”

             
“I see you’re making friends,” Lorelei grinned. 

             
Lia frowned and lifted her chin proudly.  “Maybe,” she confessed, “I’m going to help Jamie, he’s the big guy with the beard right?  He said they could use someone with a mechanic’s skills, all their equipment here is sort of on its last legs.  I should be able to fix most of it up.”

             
The old woman nodded and smiled again as she walked toward a hand-made bench that overlooked the ocean and sat down with a huff.  Lia joined her and put her cane across her lap.  They were quiet for a long while, and finally Lorelei spoke.

             
“What about Jake?”

             
Lia paused.  “He’s an amazing hunter,” she said, “according to what I’ve heard.  He leads or at least accompanies almost every hunt.  Who’d of thought?”

“I hear he’s working on another book.”

Lia nodded.  “He has to write under a pseudonym, but he’s really proud of it.  It’s a ‘fictional’ history of shifters in North America.  He already has an editor lined up that’s really interested.”

“I can’t wait to read it.”

“Considering you were one of the main sources of information for it, I hope so.” Lia winked.

“Well, an old woman like me, it’s a nice thought to think I’ll see my words in print,” she said, “who says the old don’t have some vanity?”

“I think sometimes he’s sad though, that he misses his old life.  I don’t think this is ever where he expected to end up.  But then… when he sees me, his face changes.”

             
Lorelei turned and saw Lia’s puzzled expression and started to laugh to herself until her granddaughter turned a flummoxed eye at her.  “You are the sweetest girl, but sometimes you can be so daft,” Lorelei chuckled. “Jake loves you, more than you realize, I think.  He was willing to do anything to protect you, even if that meant giving up his own life.  People like that are rare.”

             
Lia lowered her head and crossed her arms.  Ever since that fateful night, she had felt an indescribable attachment to Jake.  In the last moments he had done the only thing he could think of to fight off the executioner wolf – he had
become
one of them.  It was both a curse and a gift, and her heart ached to know that she was the cause of both.  But Lorelei was right.  Every time he came back from a hunt, or looked up from working in the garden, every time they had a spare moment together or when he looked down on her before they slept, there was something in his eyes that went beyond all that.  She had never known love as real as his, and it filled her with an ecstatic joy each time she pictured his face.  They had both decided to walk a path together, and she realized she could think of no one else she would rather have walked it with. 

             
She caught her grandmother giving her another cunning look out of the corner of her eye and stuck her tongue out at her.  “You don’t need to tell
me
,” she teased, and held her chin aloft with faux pretension so that Lorelei let out another laugh.

             
Just then they heard a familiar call come from the hills to the north and both women turned.  It was a wolf’s howl, and in moments it was joined by other howls from members of the commune as they turned and let out their greetings.  The small girl from the kitchen even came out and lifted her hands to her mouth to let out a high pitched yowl.  It was tradition – every time the hunters came back they let out a howl which was then greeted by the rest of the community who welcomed them back.

             
Lorelei and Lia looked at each other with a smile and both let out similar howls, until they joined the others in a rising chorus of voices. 

             
“What are you still doing here?!” Lorelei chided at Lia, “I think he’s waiting for you.”

             
Lia’s face nearly burst with a smile as she kissed Lorelei on the cheek and stood up.  She turned once as she hobbled on her cane toward the returning hunters and gave her grandmother a look that was filled with gratitude. 

             
Lorelei let out a long contented sigh and sat back down on the bench.  The medley of waves fingered between the rocks of the shore in a continuous gesture.  There were some constants in life that she had become accustomed to.  The cycle of seasons, the oxbow of life and death, these were common and well-known, yes.  There were other things though, other certainties, like the need to accepted and welcomed.  But also that the bravery of love was strong enough to stand against anything that sought to overwhelm it.

             
She sniffed the air and let out another chuckle to herself.  “I think those pancakes are finally ready,” she said, and meandered with slow meaningful steps back to the kitchen.  The laughter of children, the embraces of loved ones, and the cheerful chatter of her people followed her. 

THE END

***

Copyright 2013 Riva Blackstone

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