Wolf Tales 12 (35 page)

“Good point. Oliver was right. The last thing we need is that Area 51 kind of notoriety.” Stef sipped his coffee and stared across the cavern. “I have to agree with you, though. Even though it was unplanned, the way Nick outed us couldn’t have been better. The government can’t come in under cover of darkness and bundle us up and hide us away, though we’re going to have to stay on our toes. There’s always the chance they might try. Thing is, when Nick took us public, he did it in an indisputable manner.”

Nodding in agreement, Anton said, “The government has no idea how many of us there are. Where we are. I think now that we’re out, we need to stay out. We do the talk shows, we go on the nightly news for interviews, we do whatever we can to market ourselves as good citizens of the world.” Anton saw Nick and Beth with their plates, walking away from the buffet table.

“Hey, Nick. You and Beth want to join us?”

Nick glanced up, said something to Beth, and they both headed toward Stefan and Anton.

“G’morning.” Nick grinned at Anton. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you. I take it that dream we had this morning was courtesy of either you or Lily. Whoever the source, I want to thank you. Amazing.”

Anton nodded his head. “I sent it, so the delivery was mine, but the info came via my most precocious daughter. Glad you liked it. Guys, I’m hoping to get everyone together later today and see what the general consensus is about our unexpected past. For now, though . . . you ready to help plot our coming-out party?”

Nick laughed as he scooted over to make room for Beth. “Personally, I think I’ve already ‘come out,’ as you so plainly put it, but as long as it doesn’t require my dropping my pants on live TV, sure. Been there, done that.”

“That you have,” Anton said. He saluted Nick with his coffee cup. “You have definitely done that.”

As the others awakened all about them, Igmutaka lay quietly on the pallet beside Sunny and tried to make sense of the amazing dream he’d had. This was obviously what Lily had gone in search of, this most unbelievable history of their kind. He glanced at the woman sleeping beside him and wondered how she was going to feel about the history she now owned—one she’d not known she was part of until just over a week ago.

He had always known. Oh, not the details, but he’d known the fact he was part of an ancient race, though he’d thought at first that his kind had always been cougars, or eagles, great horned owls, foxes, or wolves—they’d been skinwalkers and spirit guides, the creatures who guarded the native peoples in this half of the world.

Now it appeared his ancestors had been among the very first to leave their landing site in Tibet—they were the first among the Chanku to spread out across the world. And in their slow but steady migration around the Earth, they spread the first seeds of legend and the mythology of shapeshifters in almost every culture.

Now he knew that Chanku were the Norse berserkers who turned into wolves and bears during battle, the Mestaclocan of Mayan mythology who could change their appearance to those of the animals around them. They were Native American skinwalkers and Gypsy shapeshifters, the source of all werewolf legends, and the Japanese kitsune, or werefoxes. All of them Chanku. All of them making their homes in ancient lands long before humans walked the Earth. Becoming the things legends were made of, the stories that formed the mythology of cultures around the world.

These were his ancestors, and his was a proud tradition. A powerful tradition. One he would always honor.

“Ig? Are you awake?”

He turned to his right and gazed into Sunny’s dark amber eyes. “I am. I’m thinking of the dream Anton gave us. Do you understand everything he’s put in your mind?”

She nodded, her eyes still sleepy, her short hair spikier than usual. “I wondered if it was real. Our ancestors came from another world? Really?”

Ig sat up and crossed his legs. He’d donned a loincloth before entering the chamber, but Sunny struggled for a moment, adjusting and tying her sarong to cover herself. They’d made the journey through the dark caverns as wolves, traveling underground from the chamber where they’d made love to this one, where they were surrounded by children, by the other Chanku.

He missed the privacy of that far-away cavern. Waking up hard and needy beside a beautiful woman still discovering how much fun sex could be was not conducive to carrying on a calm conversation.

He would try. “It is all true. Much of it I knew as legend passed down by my own ancestors. I am many thousands of years old, and . . .” Sunny’s eyes went so wide he stopped talking and grinned at her. “I take it you did not realize how old I was.”

“Well, duh.” She giggled. “How was I supposed to know? You look about twenty, if that.”

“So do you.” He smiled, leaned close, and kissed her. “Actually, you look about twelve, but since you said you’re almost twenty, I’ll have to believe you.”

“Thanks loads. C’mon. I’m hungry. I smell food.”

He stood and pulled Sunny to her feet. Already she walked with more confidence, with more strength in her slender legs. He had a feeling she was going to need that strength. They hadn’t been given their history on a whim. The Mother must know something was coming. As Ig followed Sunny to the long table laden with food, he had a good feeling it had something to do with this modern media and the fact the secret of their existence was out.

Knowledge was power. In the coming days, he figured they’d need all the power they could lay their hands on.

Luc, AJ, Mik, and Tinker sat with Tia, Lisa, and Tala. The kids played and tumbled while Lisa nursed eleven-month-old Ricky. Luc watched everyone for a moment and then finally asked the question that wouldn’t leave him alone.

“So what do you think? We can go back to San Francisco and wait until Anton gets the house rebuilt with room for all of us, or we can go home, pack up and move back here, tough it out in RVs and trailers, but be closer to the pack. Remember, this is Montana. It gets damned cold in the winter, so this really has to be a group decision.”

AJ and Mik both looked at Tala. As with all of them, it would be the woman’s choice where they ended up. Her hand immediately covered her flat belly. At three months she wasn’t showing yet, but Luc knew her pregnancy would help her decide.

“I think I’d rather be miserable and cold with pack than warm and comfortable without them.” She blinked back tears and focused on each of them. “I love you guys, but I’ll be honest. I’m scared. I know what it’s like to be hunted.” She grabbed Lisa’s hand. “We all do, but the idea of being here with everyone else makes me a lot more comfortable. I can handle roughing it for as long as it takes, as long as we’re together.”

She laughed. “It’s not just the fact that the whole world is going to be checking us out and all the nutcases are going to be after us now that we’re public. It’s the kids. Living here in such a beautiful, isolated area gives them a chance to grow up in the kind of country wolves or cougars or whatever they turn into need. It’s not going to be all that long before they’re shifting. I’d much rather they do it here than in downtown San Francisco.”

Tia laughed. “I know. I can’t stop thinking about that . . . all those worst-case scenarios. I’m already afraid to take the girls to the zoo. What if they see an animal and decide they want to be one?”

Tinker doubled over, laughing.

Tia punched his arm. “Okay, big guy. What’s so funny?”

“Stay away from the elephant house. Shay and Cami would never fit in the car. You couldn’t get ’em home.”

“Funny boy. I’m with Tala, though. I’d rather rough it among packmates than be comfortable in our place in the Marina District and scared to death.”

She sighed and Luc wrapped an arm around her. Two sets of twins, and Tia was still as gorgeous as the day he’d first seen her—all grown-up, coming down the escalator at the airport, looking over the sea of people in the baggage claims area in search of her father.

She’d never expected Luc, and not in his wildest dreams had he imagined how he’d feel about her, the once-skinny teenager he’d last seen. It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Lisa? What about you?”

Tinker’s wife glanced at her sister and then at Tia. “No questions in my mind. I’ve missed the mountains ever since I left Colorado. I know Bay and Jake are planning to make the move west with their families, and I really miss big brother Baylor, so I’m all for it. What about you, Luc? Can you run Pack Dynamics from Montana? If Millie and Ric move there, will it be a problem having Ric in the same place? I mean, he started the company. Will he get in your way?”

“It’s a good point, Lisa. I can run PD from just about anywhere, and Ulrich and I have never had any alpha issues over how I do it. He trained me, so I think I operate the same way he did for years.” He shrugged and hugged Tia close. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?”

Tia kissed Luc’s chin in obvious agreement. “Tinker?” She touched Tink’s knee with her fingertips. His eyes snapped in her direction.

“What, sweetie?”

“You haven’t said how you feel. Are you okay with leaving the city?”

Though he held tightly to Lisa’s hand, Tinker’s eyes rested steadily on Tia. He’d been up front with Luc about loving Tia from the very beginning, so many years ago. He would have wanted her as his mate if things had been different. Not that he didn’t love Lisa, because he adored her.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t love Tia just as much, and it was there right now, in his dark eyes, in the serious smile on his face. There wasn’t a hint of the teasing they always expected from Tinker. Not now.

“Wherever you and Luc go, wherever AJ, Mik, and Tala go, Lisa and I will be there with you. You don’t even have to ask. San Francisco is just a place. Wherever this little pack is . . .” He sighed. “Well, that’s where home is. That’s where we’ll be.”

Mik slung an arm around Tinker’s shoulders and hugged him close. “What he says. Right, AJ?”

Always the quiet one, AJ nodded. “We’re family.” His voice was soft, almost hesitant. “Wherever we go . . .” He shook his head. “Doesn’t really matter. Not as long as we do it together. Not as long as we keep our families safe.” His gaze fell on Tala. She was only three months pregnant, but they already knew she carried his daughter. He smiled at Tala and squeezed her hand. Then he sort of shook himself and turned to Luc. “Luc? How about you? You’re our alpha. What do you want?”

He looked at AJ but couldn’t speak. He hadn’t expected to feel this way after merely asking such basic questions—where they wanted to live, where they preferred to run the business. Sometimes, the simplest things affected a guy the most.

Something as basic as choosing where to move reminded him of what was really important in his life. And it was all right here, with these people he loved. This pack of strong men and women who openly acknowledged him as their alpha.

They were his family. The only family he’d known for more years than he could count. He finally got his emotions under control and grinned at Tia. “Well, sweetie. It looks like we’re moving to Montana.”

Bay looped his arm around Manda while they sat with Liana and Adam. Liana nursed her newborn daughter and Manda fed Donovan, but Bay wasn’t giving either their new niece or his son their due attention. No, his thoughts were in the other room with Jake, where Logan was once again checking the healing burns on his back before turning him loose.

Shannon was with Jake, but she’d been updating Bay on her mate’s progress all morning long. Jake was damned lucky to be alive. Even luckier that he wouldn’t be horribly disfigured or even maimed by the burns he’d gotten.

They’d come too damned close last night. Bay kept thinking how easily this could have happened in Maine, thousands of miles from Adam and Logan, the only ones capable of healing such horrific injuries. He thought how he and Jake had talked about making the move to Montana, but they’d not discussed details.

It was time for details. Time to get their butts in gear and sell the property in Maine. Time to make the move.

He glanced up as Millie and Ulrich wandered over with fresh cups of coffee and sat with them. Four-year-old Keegan clung to his Grampa Ric like a limpet while Jake and Shannon’s triplets trailed along behind.

They’d been unusually quiet since their father’s injury, though the entire pack had rallied around to keep them occupied and unafraid. That was another reason to make the move. Grandparents, packmates—the security of loving, caring friends and family. An amazing support system they all needed.

He glanced up and caught Adam smiling at him. “Admit it, Bay. You’re gonna do it, aren’t you? You’re going to leave that gorgeous piece of Maine you and Jake guard like feudal lords and move to Montana, right?”

Baylor nodded, and caught Manda studying him. “It’s up to Manda and Shannon, of course, but yeah. I’m ready. Jake’s injury reminds me how vulnerable we are by ourselves. If you and Logan hadn’t been here to help him . . .” He glanced to his right. All three of Jake and Shannon’s four-year-olds hung on every word he was saying. He shut up and smiled at the kids. “I’m just really glad your daddy’s okay.”

He caught Shannon’s soft mental comment and grinned at her kids. “Do you know where Daddy is? Where the clinic is?”

Two little redheaded, green-eyed girls and one amber-eyed blond boy who could have been Jake’s clone nodded in unison.

“You can go see Daddy now. Mom just said so.”

They scrambled and ran for the clinic. Manda laughed softly, but Bay noticed tears in her eyes. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I am.” She reached for his hand and held on. “I know you and Jake have been hoping to stay in Maine, but it’s time. The kids are loving being around so many others. I’m getting a chance to see my brother and sister-in-law . . . and the new baby.” She leaned close and ran her fingers over the baby’s soft cheek. Then she raised her head and smiled at Millie.

“Most of all, I’ve missed time with my mom.” She shrugged and stared at little Donovan, who was almost asleep in her arms. “I think we’re meant to live together, the way wolves do. In a pack, with all our children and our siblings. You’ll have Lisa and Tala nearby, I’ll have Adam and Mom. Our kids will know their family so much better. And now that the world knows we exist, we’ll be safer. We’re always safer together.”