Howl (9 page)

His left hand, slightly concealed by the
placement of his body, opened enough for my hand to brush over it
wrist first, down to the burning tips of each finger. The very air
around us exploded with static so violent and pure I could almost
make out tiny arcs of electricity between our palms. And then it
was gone again. Our energies which fought so vigorously to unite
returned, conquered, to their prospective homes inside our skins.
Connection broken, I silently let Tristan guide me through the
corridors out of the building and to my car in the parking lot.

“Did you see the way that nurse looked at
your stitches?” Tristan began as we pulled out of the parking lot.
“I really thought she was going to have a conniption!” Between
trembling barks of laughter he said, “Humans. If only they
knew.”

I managed a weak smile and turned my face to
the window. Disquiet settled in my belly, heavy as if I’d swallowed
rocks. I spent the rest of the ride home preoccupied by thoughts of
Jaime. He would be sure to see my wound and the scar that would
follow. How would I explain this? I debated between a rogue tree
branch while out hiking and an actual cougar attack. But to admit
that I'd been attacked by a cougar would clearly lead to the
rangers sweeping and bringing in the cougar which meant more
rangers in the woods where we hunt. However, a tree branch was weak
at best. The conditions would have to be absolutely perfect for a
tree branch to tear my flesh through at least two layers of
clothing. It doesn't even make sense. I thought. As the rocks
tumbled as harshly as my thoughts, my gash burned even more.

~Daniel~

He was sitting at our table with a plateful
of spaghetti when Tristan and I came home. I could tell he was
super tall before he even stood up. Several inches over six feet.
He was pale with really dark, curly hair tied in a ponytail. His
warm light grey eyes greeted us before his voice did.

“Hi, I’m Daniel.” His silky soft voice didn’t
quite match his rugged appearance. The man Daniel wore a flannel
grey and black shirt over jeans with fraying holes in more places
that I could count. Heavy black biker boots finished off the
carefree look.

Tristan took his outstretched hand and shook
it, a quizzical look to his face. “Hi, I’m Tristan and this is
Sophie.”

I know it’s rude to stare but I couldn’t take
my eyes of this guy. He seemed awfully at ease sitting at our table
eating our food. We rarely had visitors. The very few werewolves
who would pass through didn’t stay more than a day or two and they
certainly weren’t so relaxed. At least they didn’t seem to be. The
handful I met had been polite and helped out around the house in
exchange for a place to stay before moving on. But this guy was
different. Like he knew he should be here. I could read it on his
face and I could smell it in the air. Perfectly happy to be where
he was. This bothered me a lot more than it probably should
have.

Daniel must have sensed my irritation because
he cleared his throat and spoke again. “I’m sorry; I should
probably be a little more specific.” His eyes darted to me and back
to Tristan. “I’m from St. John, Canada. I’m working my way to the
Rockies looking for other packs. But on my way, I thought I’d see
some of the United States.” He leaned back on his heels and shoved
his hands in his worn-out jeans pockets.

“Hey man, welcome.” Tristan replied with a
smile. “Is there any spaghetti left?” Of course Tristan’s thoughts
go directly to food. I thought. It only increased my
irritation.

Daniel gave me a lopsided smile and sat back
down to eat, finally acting a little self-conscious. I felt a bit
smug at this observation.

That evening at dinner I learned more about
this stranger in our house.

“So Daniel, what do you do for a living?”
Granddad asked as he passed Daniel the bowl of salad.

“Well, after graduating from secondary school
I did a few years in the Canadian Navy as a medical technician. I
loved the field so much that I’ve been working at the hospital in
St. John as an assistant tech for over a year now.”

“How old are you, Daniel?” Mom piped up.

“Just turned twenty-four in April. Still a
young pup, I guess but old enough to know where I'm going.”

“So if you don’t mind an old man’s nosiness,
what’s calling you out west? Seems to me like you are going awfully
far from what you know.”

Daniel was clearly amused by Granddad’s
observation. “Actually, I’ve realized that I’m ready to settle
down.” I thought I saw Daniel’s eyes flash my way.

“Aha! I knew it! You had that look in your
eyes!” Granddad’s laughter filled the room. It may have been my
imagination, but I could have sworn my mom stirred in her seat ever
so slightly.

“I admit it!” Daniel threw his arm up in mock
defeat. “I’ve been looking but you know how our kind is; we are so
spread out and finding the right girl, well that’s a difficult task
on its own.”

“Don’t I know it!” Granddad laughed out loud
again. “I have a feeling that our Tristan will be leaving us soon
to go roaming. I’d give it another year or two.” He tossed a look
of pride at Tristan who shrugged.

“Probably, Granddad.” Tristan wasn’t quite
there yet but he knew it might not be long. Tristan would get the
inner calling to find his mate and so he would pack a bag and set
out for the forests of the world. Eventually he would find the one
he was looking for and settle down, perhaps within another pack.
Sometimes males brought their mates back to their home pack but not
always. John had settled with us instead of taking Lorelei back
home to Texas. He said it just felt like here was where he was
meant to be. The thought of my twin leaving our home was as
heartbreaking for me as it was exciting for Granddad.

Granddad turned back to Daniel. “You know, my
other daughter Eve lives in western Colorado. I’ll give you her
information if you’d like. A man needs a network, especially when
he’s just starting out.”

“I’d be forever in your debt, Sir.” Daniel
seemed genuinely pleased with Granddad’s offer. I stabbed my
lettuce.

“You’ll do well wherever you go Daniel. It
sounds like you have a good start on a career to help support your
pack.”

“Well I’m not sure if all of my medical
training will qualify me to work in America, if this is where I end
up. But I’m positive that I will stay in the medical field even if
I have to take some extra classes.”

“You have to start somewhere, son.” Granddad
beamed at Daniel. “Thomas is the only one of my grandkids to go to
college but the others are doing very well with other
foundations.”

“What do you all do?” Daniel presented the
question to all of us but his eyes landed on me.

“I do gardening and sewing.” I answered him
plainly, hoping his attention would move on to one of my
siblings.

Tristan jumped in, thankfully, before Daniel
could ask anymore questions of me. “Right now I’m learning to work
on cars with John but I have a side business making custom
cabinetry. Granddad passed down his infatuation with woodworking to
me.” He seemed to know when to say the right thing to divert
someone’s attention. Tristan and Daniel buried themselves in
woodcarving for basically the remainder of dinner.

Mom asked me to clear the table and do dishes
as everyone else dispersed to the living room for a game of cards
or to play with the babies. The pain medication Thomas had given me
earlier in the day was wearing off but I wanted some time alone so
I agreed. After popping a few ibuprofens and swigging a big glass
of water, I started to my task. As I was stacking plates to take to
the sink, I felt a pair of eyes on me.

“Let me help you.” Daniel offered.

“Suit yourself.” I was astonished at how rude
I sounded. He is just trying to be nice. I reminded myself.

“You know, I’m an expert dish cleaner.” He
stuck his face to the first plate he grabbed and pretended to be a
dog at a dog bowl.

“Ugh! What is wrong with you?!” I tried to
fight it, but I laughed out loud.

“I knew you could smile.” He had a piece of
mashed potato on his cheek. I wanted to stay irritated but he
looked so ridiculous I couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Nice face.” I pointed to the food.

Daniel grabbed a dish towel and wiped it
away. His face flushed as his eyes met mine. I smiled haughtily
with a rush of triumph.

Daniel cleared his throat and handed me the
plate.

“You started it, you finish.” I said and
gestured toward the bucket for scraps. “And when that gets full you
can take it out to the compost.” Oh my god - bossy much?

“Yes ma’am.”

Daniel gathered, scraped, and handed me the
plates to wash. What would have taken me close to an hour, took
about half that. His presence was irksome mostly because he flirted
far more than I thought proper.

“I heard about that cougar.” He gave me a sly
grin. “Kind of reckless to take on something so vicious, you
know.”

“Thanks Mom.” I sniffed. “Because I haven’t
heard enough crap about it.” It was even more irritating that
someone in my family told this stranger about the hunt. He only
just got here but they’re treating him like a part of the
family.

“Hey now, I think it’s hot that you enjoy a
challenge.”

My cheeks lit up so fiercely I had to turn
away.

“Personally, I would love to tackle a moose
or maybe a polar bear one day.”

“Sounds fun.” I murmured as I rinsed the
final coffee mug and stacked it in the drying rack.

“Maybe we could tag team. You’re fearlessness
and my size; we’d make a great team.”

“Maybe.” I murmured again, avoiding looking
at him.

I abandoned Daniel in the kitchen and sat
down on the living room floor with my niece and nephew. Lorelei had
laid a thick quilt down for Nina and LJ to have a space to play. I
plopped myself down next to LJ.

“How’s my big guy tonight?” I cooed at
him.

The feeling of eyes watching me returned. A
pair of unbelievably sexy light grey eyes. You’re being completely
irrational. I thought. Willing myself to forget, I focused my
attention on the tiny baby in front of me.

~Balancing act~

“Have you heard anything about that hiker?” I
asked nonchalantly as Jaime started the vehicle.

His gaze became somber. “He died.”

“Oh god.” Thomas hadn't told us. At least, I
hadn't been told yet.

“That's why we're going picnicking outside of
the Allegheny National Forest. I'm thinking maybe Moshannon State
Forest. I want to keep you safe.”

I gave him a small smile. “Any ideas what
attacked him?”

“No. His wounds quickly became gangrenous and
the doctors weren't able to verify which type of animal or if it
even was an animal that got him. Some of his family came forward
and said it may have been a premeditated attack by a former
business partner or something like that. We just don't know
now.”

Conflicting emotions wrestled inside my
heart. Relief that there was no evidence of an animal attack but
shame that I should be happy at all to hear of another's
demise.

“Anyway, whether it was an animal attack or
not, I don't want to take a chance with my woman. So Moshannon it
is!” He tried to appear upbeat as we pulled out of the parking
space into the first golden streaks of early morning.

Entering a remote section of Moshannon, we
parked off the road and walked for at least a mile off the trail. I
grabbed the old blanket Jaime kept in his vehicle for times such as
these. The muscle in my shoulder ached as I stretched it out on a
pile of pine needles. My skin was healing just fine but the muscle
was taking its sweet time getting back to its peak. Jaime must have
seen the grimace on my face.

“Let me help.” He took the blanket from me
and pointed to my shoulder. “How's that doing?”

I shrugged with the other shoulder. “Fine,
just still a little sore.”

“No more hiking alone for you.” He laughed as
he spread out the blanket and began taking our food from the picnic
bag.

“Agreed.”

“So I was wondering if you thought any more
about taking classes in the spring.”

“Not really.”

“What do you want to do with your life?” The
question sounded slightly offensive although I was certain that he
hadn’t meant it to.

I helped myself to some pasta salad before
answering. The answer to this was tricky. It wasn’t that I didn’t
want to make a life for myself. It’s just that a werewolf life and
a human life are vastly different. I pictured myself having babies
and building a home for my pack just like my mom had. Gardening,
raising my children, and living the simple life were my future.
Sometimes I daydreamed about going to college but ultimately I knew
where I wanted to end up.

“I’m not really sure yet.”

“You’ve been out of high school for a year –
have you made any plans?”

“It’s not what you think, Jaime. I’m in the
earliest stages of building myself a future. I don't have to know
everything right this minute.”

“No, I get that. But it is your life and
ultimately you will be the one who has to live it.” He
interjected.

“And I will!”

“What does your mom think? Surely she would
want you to go to college?”

“You have no idea what my mom wants. I grew
up in a family that is vastly different than yours. You had a
family that encouraged you to go to school and build a career but
mine isn't like that. We are a solitary unit and we provide for
ourselves in a way that you couldn't understand or appreciate. And
we do it without a degree.”

“Thomas obviously had some encouragement to
go to school. Look where he ended up.”