Wolf's Bane (3 page)

“Yeah, me too,” he said and we both let it drop.  There would be plenty of time to discuss this tomorrow.  I didn’t sleep for a long time, however.  All the thinking and considering I did over the next few hours didn’t get me any closer to an answer though.  Yeager snored peacefully next to me and finally, sleep took me as well.  My strange but oddly perfect life just became complicated but how complicated I had yet to discover.

~~O~~

Yeager and I ran hard side by side through the desert.  My tongue lolled out and despite the cold night air, I was hot.  My heart pounded in my chest.  I needed this to clear my head.  Lady Violet’s revelations had upset my world and now I was torn.  Should I go to see what she had to offer at her Wolfsbane Ranch in Colorado, go find out why she claimed I was special, or should I just forget about all of it and stay in California with my mate?

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.  Yeager was as well.  As far as he knew, I was the only female shifter to exist but now we’d met two others.  Yeager was also unaware of the pack of shifters Violet represented.  He and his friends, like Murphy, thought shifters were scattered and few but it seemed there were some that were organized and had been for some time.  Yeager and I both wondered what we could learn from Violet about our kind’s past and how we fit into the world.

But neither of us was completely trusting of Violet.  I was sure she had ulterior motives.  There was a subtle desperation in her request.  Violet wanted me to come to Colorado but I wasn’t sure why.  I knew it just wasn’t to show me around.  Maybe she did just want to bring us into the pack, to strengthen it with our presence and offer Yeager and I some protection in return.  That was most certainly part of it but there was more and it seemed to have everything to do with my uniqueness.

I was born to a human, my mother, by way of a shifter.  Girls never become shifters from such a pairing.  Apparently, two shifters could bear a female shifter but not a human and shifter, until now that is.  Violet hadn’t stated as much but it seemed logical.  She insisted that I was significant but she wasn’t clear as to why.  I wanted to believe that I was just an oddity, a curiosity, but I knew deep inside that wasn’t the case.  Violet indicated I was important in some way and I felt it too.  But beyond that vague feeling, I wasn’t sure about anything.

Yeager bumped me and I turned, startled from my human thoughts.  They were stark and devoid of any deep emotion in my current state but the thoughts refused to go away.  I regarded my mate, the gray wolf with the silvery streak of fur along his back.  I could see the reassuring smile in his piercing amber eyes.  I smiled back with my own emerald eyes and slowed.  Running wasn’t working.  Yeager slowed as well, turned and sat facing me with his tongue hanging out.  Suddenly, he changed into a man.

“We should go to Colorado,” he told me.  I remained a wolf hoping the cold, calculating instincts I possessed in this form would help me to work this out.  It wasn’t helping, however.  I slumped and then changed, the pain of shifting still keen but I was used to it and almost welcomed it.  I felt the cold air immediately and Yeager came to my side and wrapped me in his arms as I sat on the desert floor.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I can tell this is weighing on you and I have the feeling you won’t be satisfied unless we go.  I have to admit, I’m curious too,” Yeager said.  He was right.  This would bother me if I didn’t at least go and find out what Violet and her pack was all about.

“Then you’ll come with me?” I wondered.

“I would follow you no matter what.  We’re mates, partners and friends.  Where you go, I go, fur ball,” Yeager said and I smiled despite myself.

“I love you, old man,” I teased.  Yeager wasn’t old enough to be my father but he wasn’t far from it.  Gray tinged his beard and the long hair at his temples.  He wasn’t old but I was still young, barely twenty.

“I know,” he said and turned my head towards his and kissed me.  I savored his warm lips.  Yeager’s hand moved from my face and slid down my body.  I pulled away.

“Not tonight.  I’m sorry,” I said.  Yeager frowned.

“This thing really has you tied up in knots, doesn’t it?” he asked me.

“Yeah, and I can’t figure out why.  I just have this feeling that there’s more than Violet is telling us.  Something significant,” I said.  Yeager nodded.

“I know what you mean.  Still, some wild sex couldn’t hurt,” he offered and I giggled.

“It’s not that I don’t want to.  I’m just so distracted,” I assured him.  Yeager grinned and then bared his fangs.  I rolled my eyes as he moved to kneel in front of me.

“Let me help you with that,” he said and dived between my thighs.  I inhaled sharply as his warm mouth engulfed me and arched my back in response.

“Well, maybe just a quickie,” I said as I reclined on my elbows and looked into Yeager’s eyes as he pleasured me.  He was right.  I was already forgetting about Violet and Colorado.  By the time we made it back to the old motorhome we called home, I could barely remember the damn woman’s name or why she had come in the first place.

~~O~~

Edie came over that evening.  I traded shifts and Yeager cleared his schedule so we could discuss Lady Violet’s offer with Edie.  She was a part of...well, our family.  She had suggested she would go with me but I had to ask again.  I wanted her to know she didn’t have to go.  I had a vague feeling that she might regret going.  I had no evidence that going to Colorado as Violet wanted was a bad idea but something nagged at me.  It was probably silly but I wanted Edie to make the decision on her own and not just follow me out of loyalty.

Yeager grilled steaks along with corn on the cob and we had plenty of cold beer.  We avoided the discussion of Lady Violet and her offer until after we finished eating.  But as we lounged in the motorhome, sipping beer, I finally broached the subject. “I’ve decided to go to Colorado, Edie,” I announced.

“I figured.  When do we leave?” Edie asked.

“Well, I wanted to speak to you about that.  Yeager’s going with me but he has his own reasons.  He hopes he might learn some more about our kind there.  You, however, don’t have a reason to go.  You don’t have to,” I told my best friend.  She narrowed her eyes as she stared at me.

“Yes, I do.  You’re all I really have.  I’m not letting you go visit Cruella De Vil all by yourself...even if you are a wolf,” Edie told me.  I laughed at her assessment of Lady Violet.  I got that vibe as well.  She seemed pleasant enough, not friendly or warm but pleasant, but the woman had a hard edge under her practiced, disarming smile.  She did indeed remind me of the evil Disney villain.

“Damn, I’ve been trying to think of who she reminded me of.  Cruella De Vil,” Yeager exclaimed.

“I know, right?  She’s just like that bitch from 101 Dalmatians,” Edie replied.  I laughed again but then turned serious.

“I mean it, Edie.  You don’t have to go just for me.  I can take care of myself,” I assured her.  It’s not that I didn’t want her to go but I didn’t want any regrets either.

“I can take care of myself too, Cassie.  Besides, I’ll get a chance to see Agnes again,” Edie told me.  Yeager and I looked at each other.  We had our suspicions about Edie.  Hell, she was a lesbian and I’d known it since high school.  But I’d never said anything and neither had Edie.  It wasn’t my business and I didn’t care either way.  Edie frowned as she noticed our reaction.

“Did I say that out loud?” she asked us.  I nodded and smiled at her warmly.  “So, I like girls.  So what?  You’re a wolf.  Both of you are,” Edie said defensively but she wasn’t being completely serious.

“I know, Edie.  I’ve always known,” I told her reassuringly.

“Is it that obvious?” Edie asked.

“Yeah, it is,” Yeager replied.  Edie smiled sheepishly but Yeager stood up, set his beer down and squeezed between Edie and me on the sofa before he continued.  “And we don’t care.  We love you just the way you are, Edie.  I know what it’s like to be an outsider, to be different.  It’s hard sometimes but having people that love you for who you are makes it a whole lot easier,” Yeager told her and then glanced at me meaningfully.

“Thanks!  I guess I knew you guys knew, I just...I don’t know.  I was embarrassed to say anything,” Edie told us.  I put my hand on her knee and she smiled.

“You don’t need to be.  It’s cool.  Besides, I feel so cosmopolitan having a lesbian for a friend,” I teased her.  Edie laughed and then lifted her arms and threw them behind Yeager and me.  She pulled us close, both of us in a head lock of sorts.

“I love you guys,” she said in a shaky voice.  Yeager grunted.

“Can’t...breathe.  Room...going...dark,” he said weakly.  Edie let go and laughed again.

“Like I could really strangle you.  You’re twice my size,” Edie said and then hugged my mate before turning and hugging me.  “I’m going.  I want to see what Cruella wants.  And...dammit, I want to see Agnes.  She’s fucking hot,” Edie exclaimed, almost defiantly, then she giggled despite herself and I couldn’t help but join her.

“Then I guess it’s settled.  When Cru...I mean Lady Violet, damn I’m going to slip and call her that tomorrow morning.  When she shows up, we’ll tell her to expect the three of us.  I hope we don’t regret this,” I told my mate and my best friend.

“So, when do we go?” Yeager wondered.

“As soon as possible, I guess.  No sense in waiting.  Can this thing make it Colorado,” I asked referring to Yeager’s old motorhome.

“Yeah, sure, why not?  I’ll load my motorcycle on the back of the motorhome.  Edie you’re welcome to ride with us,” Yeager replied.  Yeager was a good mechanic but his less than enthusiastic assessment of our home on wheels didn’t leave me with much confidence.  Still, it would be an adventure no matter what happened.

“You guys aren’t going to...you know, go all wolfy in the bedroom?” Edie asked screwing her face up in mock disgust.

“No, we’ll just do it outside.  We’ll try to keep the howling to a minimum,” Yeager told her.  Edie stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes before she giggled.

“As weird as that is, it’s still kind of awesome,” Edie said.  Now I rolled my eyes.

“What are you going to do when Agnes gets all wolfy?” I asked meaningfully.  Edie’s face went slack and then a smile crept over her face.

“I didn’t think about that,” was all she said.  Yeager and I laughed as Edie grinned from ear to ear despite herself obviously imagining the possibilities.

“You’re a dirty girl,” Yeager teased and Edie turned bright red.  I laughed even harder but I let it be.

“Oh shut up!” was all Edie said in reply but she was still smiling and blushing. We talked and drank beer until the wee hours.  Yeager and I didn’t need to sleep, we were used to being up all night, but we didn’t run either.  Edie, however, fell asleep curled up on the sofa.  Yeager covered her with a spare blanket and then we went to the bedroom and closed the rickety accordion door.

“I hope I’m doing the right thing,” I told him as we undressed.

“I trust your judgment.  If you think we should go, we should go,” Yeager told me.  We climbed under the covers and I rolled into Yeager’s arms.

“If anything bad happens...,” I said, leaving the thought unsaid.

“I’m sure all of our concerns are for nothing.  Cruella is creepy but I’m sure she means well,” Yeager told me.  I looked over my shoulder at him.

“You really think that?” I asked him.  Yeager hesitated a moment.

“No,” he said plainly.

“Yeah, me either.  Still, I feel like we need to go there and see,” I replied.  Yeager nodded and then I turned and tried to relax.  Yeager napped but I never did.  I tried to convince myself I was making the right decision.  I believed I was but I felt like the decision would carry consequences that I couldn’t see yet.  I was probably letting my fears get the best of me but I couldn’t shake the feeling.  I guess I’d find out soon enough.

The next morning, at dawn, Lady Violet and Agnes drove up to the motorhome.  Yeager and I met them outside as Edie still slept.  I told Violet about our decision and she looked pleased.

“Excellent, child.  We look forward to welcoming you to Wolfsbane.  You won’t regret the decision and I’m sure you’ll find it hard to leave once you’re there.  Excuse my excitement.  I’m just anxious to welcome you to the pack,” Violet told me.

“We’ll be there in a few days.  We’re driving.  I hope you can accommodate our home,” I said and gestured towards the old motorhome.

“Of course.  There’s plenty of room.  We must be going.  The jet is waiting.  I meant to offer you passage but I suspect you would prefer to come on your own,” Violet said.  So, she had a jet.  I wondered if it was her’s or if she had chartered it.  I assumed Lady Violet was wealthy and the fact she had a jet waiting confirmed that whether she owned it or not.

“Yeah.  We’ll be there, assuming the motorhome makes it, I promise,” I told Violet.  Yeager glanced at me and frowned.  “Sorry, I’m surprised it even runs,” I admitted.  Yeager’s frown deepened but then he chuckled.

“So am I, to be honest,” he replied.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll make due,” Violet said dismissively wearing that disarming smile.  “I’ll see you in a few days.  Agnes, let’s go,” Violet said and handed us a map to her ranch.  She then climbed back into her Cadillac Escalade and closed the door.  Agnes, however, hesitated, her eyes focused beyond Yeager and me.  I turned and found Edie standing in the doorway of the motorhome staring back at the young girl.  Agnes finally turned and climbed into the Escalade and we all watched as it drove away.  There was no turning back now.  We were going to Colorado for good or ill.

~~O~~

Three days later, Yeager, Edie and I were rolling along I-15 in southern Utah.  We had stopped for a night in Vegas, hit a biker bar called Hogs and Heifers and lost a few bucks in the casinos.  Now we were headed for some open land to spend the night.  We weren’t rushing to Colorado but we weren’t taking a lot of extra time either.  We all had our reasons for wanting to get to Wolfsbane.

I was curious about Lady Violet and her assertion that I was special in some way.  Yeager wanted to find out what he could about our kind, our history and how we fit in to the world at large.  Edie wanted to see Agnes, the young, black girl that acted as Violet’s aide and driver.  Edie had opened up a bit since she officially came out to Yeager and me.  She told us she had liked women since she was a young girl but never felt comfortable enough in her own skin to admit it, even to herself, until she was almost eighteen.