The Tempering (The Mackenzie Duncan Series) (12 page)

~*~

“So, are we it? I mean are there other people who turn into other animals besides wolves?” Mackenzie really was curious. She had read at one point that there were just as many shifters as there were animals. Some could even pick and choose what they turned into.

“You mean like people who can turn into dogs or cats or other people?” His voice gave off hints of humor, as if he wanted to laugh but didn’t want to offend her in any way.

“Well, go ahead. Laugh it up. Until a few months ago, I thought Werewolves were a thing of make believe, too. Who’s to say all the stories don’t have meaning somewhere.”

“Sorry, sorry. As far as I know, we are the only lycanthropes. There is no such thing as shifters, just Werewolves. We have been given many names over the course of humanity. We have been around just as long as they have. But the stories about people turning into anything other than a wolf? Well, those are just fairy tales.”

“So, no vampires? Pixies? Angels? Demons?”

“Angels and demons are not my forte. As far as I know, the accounts of angels and demons come from humans doing amazingly good or amazingly evil things, with the help of a little magic they may or may not have figured out they can tap into. Some call them witches. All human, just with the ability to control the flow of magic that surrounds everything in this world. Vampires,” he shuddered when the word escaped his lips, “they are very real, and we do not, under any circumstances, have anything to do with them. The idea of natural born enemies is very real. Mostly because their venom can kill us, and our saliva can kill them. It is the only real weapon to use against either Were or vamp, besides decapitation or stopping our hearts.”

Mackenzie had stopped cleaning and just stared at him. She hadn’t known any of that. She was kind of hoping that he would deny the existence of all other supernatural creatures she had read about, even if that hope wasn’t well founded.

“Wow. So all this time, humans thought these creatures were just stories told to scare us, were real?”

“One, we are not creatures. Not like you are thinking. We, you and I and the rest of our pack, of our kind, are Werewolves. You need to try and accept that you’re one of us, not a creature, not a monster, and definitely not a human. Two, many of the stories written are either made up or about one of the few who went off the deep end. We keep control of our own and if someone messes up so badly the humans begin talking about them, they are dealt with. Little red riding hood’s big bad wolf? That was Michelangelo, and no, not the artist, he was banished from his pack. The humans hunted him down, just like in the original story. We have our own storybooks, if you are interested. The real stories behind the humanized fairy tales.”

“Thanks.”

They finished cleaning the room up together without talking. When the last bits of broken trinkets had been swept up, Mackenzie brought out the vacuum. She figured she might as well finish her chores since her temper tantrum had already woke up the entire house. Geoff returned to sitting on the couch and when she approached with the machine, he diligently lifted his feet in the air to allow her to clean under his feet.

“Mackenzie?” Her name being called from the doorway startled her. When she flipped the switch to turn the vacuum off, she realized that it was Margret. Geoff had mentioned her earlier, but it wasn’t until then that she realized she must have returned from getting Analise settled in California.

“Welcome back!” Mackenzie called with a big smile. She was grateful to Margret for finding her and helping her. She even coached her on what to say to her mother when she finally roused the nerve to call. She still had to do that.

“Thank you, dear. Would you mind if I had a word with Geoff?” Shaking her head, she quickly wrapped the cord around the machine and pushed it through the door, while Margret slipped into the room.

Mackenzie put the vacuum away in the closet around the corner and passing the just barely open door to the living room on her way to the stairs, she overheard her name.

“I see you and Mackenzie are spending more time together.”

“That’s what you wanted, you asked us all to befriend her and be there for her. The tempering is a hard time, and she has so many questions.”

“Be careful, Geoff. You know how emotional pups are. I can count on you to be there for her without being with her, can’t I? You know how important she is.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

~*~

Racing up the stairs, Mackenzie didn’t know if she wanted to be grateful for overhearing that conversation, or cry because now she knew Geoff was off limits. Throwing the door open, she didn’t even care if she woke Teresa up. The girl could deal with it.

From the resonating crack shook the wall from the doorknob slamming into the little table that stood next to the door for their keys and other necessary items when leaving the house, woke Teresa up. She sat up, without saying a word, and just stared at  Mackenzie. The glare Mackenzie sent Teresa’s way told her she was not in the mood to hear anything about the noise.

“You okay?” Teresa could be really cool when she wanted to be. In the two weeks that Mackenzie had been in the house, she spent most of her time with Teresa or Natalie. She tried befriending the others, but she just felt out of place. Teresa had a temper, but honestly, who in the house didn’t? She liked to say the reason she had less control of hers than the others was because she was a redhead. Genetically speaking, she was just a firecracker. Mackenzie couldn’t help but laugh at that, and then wondered what her own problem was because her hair was plain old brown.

“No. Every time I start to think that I can handle this new life I was thrust into, something jumps in to bite me in the ass. I mean, first I turn into a massive wolf, and that hurts a fucking lot. I don’t even want to think about the next cycle. When I do change, I am a monster that rips animals to shreds. I lost the life I had planned. I am terrified to talk to my mother, let alone see her. I find out I am going to live for hundreds of years, that I won’t be able to have kids, vampires are real and hate me just because I drool once a month, and apparently, my chances with Geoff are null and void because Margret doesn’t want him to get involved! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LIFE?”

Throughout her tirade, Mackenzie paced the floor in front of the window, ignoring the spectacular view. Her brain was on overdrive with everything she had learned. She could heal from just about anything—except vampire bites, beheading, and having her heart stopped. She had a group of people surrounding her that accepted her for who she was and wanted to help her. It sounded like it would be a great life. If only she could focus on those things, and forget the rest.

The creaking sound that came from the springs compressing and releasing broke the silence in the room. Teresa padded across the room and put her arms around Mackenzie, resting her forehead in the center of her back, hugging her tightly. Mackenzie relished the comfort of another person for just a moment before pulling away.

She gave Teresa a small smile and took a drink of water that she kept in a bottle on her nightstand. “Sorry. I know I need to grow the fuck up and deal with this, but damn it, I never answered the question: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up’ with the word Werewolf.”

“Don’t be sorry. There are a lot of us who were changed and left to figure it out on our own. We all have been through exactly what you are going through now. It’s a lot to take in. Just be glad that Margret found you, like she found us. She is amazing, taking in all the new pups that have nowhere to go. Once you have been here a while, she will even get you started on the training, to make you a better fighter, both in human form and wolf form.”

“What do we need to know how to fight for?”

“Well, as young as we are, we won’t be fighting for a long time. She tries to keep the pups safe. But we are a large pack and sometimes other packs want to control ours. If they take Margret out, our pack belongs to them. After you have been in a pack for a year, you take the oath. Once you take the oath, the magic that makes us who we are, binds us to our pack leader. Not like a slave or anything, more like a strong urge to be loyal to them. The strongest can deny the pull, but with Margret? Why would you want to? She is amazing.”

“So what happens when they attack and they don’t kill her?”

“She kills them. It isn’t pretty, and she doesn’t like it. She often mourns their lives in her office for days on end after, but when a wolf starts a fight, the only way to stop it is by death.”

“So, the whole pack either dies or becomes loyal to Margret?”

“Yeah, basically. That’s how we got the Alaska land. A pack traveled down here, to take our place. Margret is very old and so is this pack. Just about everyone knows about us, and they know that we have ideal land and that Margret’s funds cover all the necessities. Not every pack lives like we do. Hell, most don’t. Most just meet up wherever they can. They are a pack, not a family, and they are jealous of us.”

“Wow.” Mackenzie couldn’t help it but she was completely in shock over the information, but knew she shouldn’t have been. That is one thing that the books got right, in order to take over a pack, the pack leader had to die. It was in everything she had ever read—both in her textbooks and in all paranormal novels. Why did she think that Margret’s pack would be all sunshine and rainbows, and that everything would be as happy as can be?

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t happen often. It hasn’t even happened since I have been here. I was just told about it when they started my training. I still can’t turn on command, so I’m not learning how to fight as a wolf yet, but I can remember the training I do know, at least. It’s not always a good thing.”

Teresa’s voice lowered and her eyes glistened over, staring out the window. Mackenzie realized that she wasn’t as tough as she wanted everyone else to think. Even after four years, she still struggled with her wolf.

“How long until you can control the wolf? Not just remember what it does?”

“I have no idea. For some, it happens in a few years. For others, it takes a hell of a lot longer.”

“Have you ever...” Mackenzie didn’t know how to finish her question. No one in the house except for Geoff and Margret knew that she had killed someone. If she asked Teresa about it, she would know.

“Ever what?” Teresa moved to sit next to her and took Mackenzie’s hand in her own. Taking a deep breath, she decided to trust that Teresa wouldn’t look at her differently. They were just talking about how neither could control their wolves. If she wanted to make the most of this new life, she had to let other people in.

“Ever killed someone?” It was a faint whisper, Mackenzie knew that Teresa would hear her, but she wasn’t ready to share with anyone who might be walking by.

“Yes, and turned someone. Natalie. I turned Natalie.”

Chapter 13

Bundled up in a winter coat, even though she was boiling underneath, Mackenzie and Geoff walked along the snow-covered streets in town. After almost a full month, Mackenzie was growing bored in the house and had finally convinced Margret to let her get a job. The woman’s answer was yes, but only if Geoff agreed to work with her.

The conversation hadn’t been easy. Margret couldn’t understand why, with everything they had available in the house, that Mackenzie could get bored enough for a job. She had no need for money, there was plenty of socialization in the house, and if she wanted a movie or a game or a book, Margret would provide it. It wasn’t until Mackenzie explained that she needed to get out of the house, to do something that would make her feel normal. She needed this to be happy and Margret was all about keeping her happy.

“Mack, seriously? Can’t we just pretend to be normal by going on road trips or throwing parties? A job?” Geoff had begun to shorten Mackenzie’s name to Mack the previous week. She usually hated nicknames, but because Geoff had given it to her, she decided it wasn’t so bad.

“Yes, a job. Think about it, you will have money that you don’t need to ask to use. What if you wanted some porn?” The shocked look on his face made Mackenzie burst into a fit of giggles. “Well, you are a guy, after all! I mean, come on. Are you really going to ask Margret for something with the title of ‘Bleach Blonde Busty Babes’?”

“Blondes? Nah, my collection is all brunettes. And the guys in the house have a list. We don’t ask, we write it down, and it shows up. That simple. No embarrassment required.” The fact that he mentioned her hair color made her grin like a fool. It shouldn’t. They were discussing his choice of porn after all, but at least he preferred her hair color. Even if according to Margret, she was off limits.

“Look, a help wanted sign!” Mackenzie wanted to change the subject before she further embarrassed herself and the white sign posted in the window of the local coffee shop saved the day. Geoff stepped forward and held the door open for her, and she realized that with him growing up in an era where being a gentleman was not only expected, but also demanded, it certainly had its perks.

The small shop had a few tables that were all full and a line that ran along the sidewall, wrapped around the back, and stopped just short of the door. The powerful, and rather delicious, scent of coffee filled the air. Grabbing a hold of Geoff’s elbow, she tugged him toward the line.

“But aren’t we just getting applications?”

“Don’t you want some coffee? I do.” Then she did something she had never even attempted to do before. She gave him the puppy dog eyes that she had seen so many girls do in the past to get their way.

“All right, fine. Would you look how long this line is, though?”

“Well, that just means they need a lot more help! This is a good thing. Now stop complaining and enjoy my company.” She was still attempting to flirt, hoping that being away from the house would make Geoff forget about Margret’s request that he keep the relationship completely platonic.