"Whoa, whoa, not a mate. Not... mating." Jed glanced at Anthony, who gave him a baffled look in return. "But we"re just here to do a little business with the boss lady. Want to drop the furry act so we can talk?"
One of the wolves sneezed, a sound that almost might have been a laugh. It took a step forward, and then it was a man with red hair past his shoulders, arms folded across his bare chest, completely unconcerned that his altogether was, well. Swinging in the altogether. "We could talk before, two-legs. And that one"-clear blue eyes darted over at Victor-"isn"t Canos and definitely isn"t human. Though he does smell rather-" The wolf huffed out a laugh. "-scrawny."
Victor gave a m.u.f.fled squawk of indignation, but seeing as he remained inside the van, he didn"t seem set on protesting that hard. "He"s a medusa half blood," Anthony explained, smirking at the wolf"s description. "Just don"t accidentally meet his eyes, and you"ll be fine."
"My name is Mallory. We patrol these woods." Mallory studied Anthony carefully. "How do I know we can trust you, Lewis?"
Far from the posturing and growling that Redford had expected from two wolves of their status, Anthony and Mallory were merely calmly studying each other-a little defensive, perhaps, but they didn"t look close to starting a fight to prove dominance. Anthony lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I can"t really say anything that"ll make you trust me," he apologized. "But I need help. That"s why we"re here, and you know it, because you can smell it. I"m not in any condition to start fights." He sounded pained to say it.
Mallory simply nodded, circling Anthony, ignoring Jed altogether. Anthony stood still under the study, meeting Mallory"s eyes when he could. "Why is the rest of your pack hiding in the van?"
"Hardly hiding." Randall climbed out, Edwin following him, Knievel fast on his heels. Apparently she felt as if she had to keep him in line. Both of the remaining Lewises shed their clothes easily and shifted, flanking Anthony even as Mallory"s group did him. Edwin glanced over at the van, yipping softly. Victor clambered out to stand beside Randall, and Redford was last, shoulders hunched. If Edwin expected him to turn, he wasn"t going to. Not here. Jed was right there, arm pressed against Redford, seemingly unfazed by all the wolves.
Randall stood in front of Victor, keeping his place by Anthony"s side. Mallory looked at each of them by turn, gaze lingering on Redford for a long moment, a twitch of a smile appearing when he studied the cat, who was mildly staring them all down, unimpressed. Then he chuckled softly. "You definitely need help," he told Anthony. "This is the sorriest pack I"ve ever seen." But he smiled, holding out his hand. "Come on. I"ll take you to see the Lady."
Laughing at the comment, Anthony reached out to clasp Mallory"s hand. "Thank you," he said gratefully. "Jed, Victor, Redford, you guys follow us in the van. We"ll go on foot with Mallory."
Relieved-and still a little nervous about why the wolf"s gaze had lingered on him for so long-Redford got back into the van. Once Jed had scooped up Knievel and gotten himself behind the wheel, he checked to be sure both Redford and Victor were settled. They watched out the dusty window as Mallory swung the gate open. The wolves started trotting their way down the road, flanking the Lewises on all sides, though Redford didn"t know if that was for protection of the Lewises or their own security.
"Well, that went okay," Redford said hopefully as the van slowly crept along behind the wolves, Jed keeping his foot just barely on the gas. "I think. That went okay, right?"
"No one"s dead, bleeding, or spewing out either end" was Jed"s reply. "I count it as a win."
Redford rubbed his nose as the scent of wolf grew stronger. The dirt road started to falter as the trees grew denser, and Jed began to curse under his breath as the path became harder to find. The wolves obviously didn"t have vehicles come in very often, because the only trail looked to be worn by foot. Occasionally, the wolves leading them would look back, a distinctly amused glint in their eyes at Jed"s struggles with the van.
It seemed that the camp came into sight very suddenly. One minute the view outside the van had been nothing but trees. Then they emerged into a clearing which Redford hadn"t even seen glimpses of through the forest. The scents. .h.i.t him like a truck-wolves, a nearby river, fire, the smells of an entire community of hundreds living in secret.
Victor leaned forward to peer out the windshield. "Goodness," he remarked, looking fascinated.
"Holy f.u.c.king LARPers, batnerd." Jed hung his head out the window, staring around, eyes wide. "What the h.e.l.l is this place?"
Redford thought that might be a good question. He leaned over alongside Victor as they continued to drive, his gaze darting back and forth, trying to take everything in. The clearing the camp was set in was ma.s.sive, circled by thick tree cover. As far as Redford could see, there were cabins lining the edge of the circle, rough-hewn, hand built but st.u.r.dy looking, some so small they must only be a single room, some that must surely fit a few dozen people.
To the right stood larger buildings that Redford thought might be for community use. He twisted his head to look through the windows of one as they drove past, and stared in stunned silence at the rows of desks covered with books and pencils, young children attentively watching a teacher write on a blackboard.
"Jed, they have a school," he said, reluctantly turning away when he could no longer see through the windows. He caught a glimpse of a playground at the back of the school, a clearly hand-built slide and a seesaw, kids in human and wolf form alike playing happily.
There was a painful kind of sadness on Jed"s face as he watched them, one fuzzy wolf darting around underneath the slide, apparently on the receiving end of a game of tag. For a long moment, Jed didn"t say anything, fingers tightening on the wheel as he followed their escort to park the van alongside a building. "Yeah, Fido," Jed finally answered, quiet, voice thick as he ducked his head, checking his weapons, tightening the straps on his chest holster. "I see it."
Redford moved aside as Victor got out of the van, but didn"t follow. "What"s wrong?" Redford frowned at Jed. "Did you not like the school you went to?"
Jed seemed to be taking quite a long time to check all his guns. "My school was just fine," he said, words clipped, jaw tight. "Not my school that I"m thinkin" about, here." Before Redford could form the next question, Jed was swinging out of the van, tossing the keys to Anthony with a sharp whistle. "Come on, Red. Time to meet the furries."
Redford, as he hopped out of the van, worriedly hoped that the wolves wouldn"t be insulted by Jed calling them furries. Knievel seemed content to march alongside their feet, tail thrashing in irritation when Jed attempted to pick her up. Randall was grabbing his clothes out of his bag, having changed back. Edwin didn"t seem so inclined. Hopping on one foot as he got his shoes back on, Randall gave him a slight smile as Redford closed the van door behind him and looked out into the camp. They had parked near one of the bigger buildings, though Redford couldn"t guess what it was used for-his gaze was more drawn to the bonfire set in what looked to be the direct center of the camp. There were wolves gathered around it, relaxing, reading, some of them curiously looking back at the newcomers. Redford instinctively hunched his shoulders and put himself near Jed"s side.
"The Gray Lady is expecting us," Anthony called, absently dodging as Edwin-still a wolf-ran past his legs. "Jed, lose the weapons. This isn"t a war meeting."
"Yeah, that"s not happening, La.s.sie." Jed didn"t even look at Anthony, his eyes restlessly roaming over the camp, the buildings, his shoulders tense. Jed didn"t like to be put in situations where he didn"t know the lay of the land ahead of time. Redford could see his gaze darting to the shadows of buildings, the edges of the bonfire, the thick darkness of the trees beyond the camp.
"Jed," Anthony tried again.
"You got fangs, princess fluffy?" Jed snapped. "You got teeth? Well I"ve got my d.a.m.n guns. So shut up and keep walking." Redford could hear Anthony give a sigh, but he let the conversation drop. With every step, Jed seemed to get more irritated, fingers tight around the b.u.t.t of one of his guns. He dropped to the back of the group, suspiciously studying the wolves they pa.s.sed.
Edwin found this all rather funny, apparently, chuffing at Jed"s knees before taking off in a run toward the large cabin they were approaching. "Edwin," Anthony barked, a sharp tone of urgency to his words.
It was echoed in Randall"s more desperate, "Edwin!" His ears going back, Edwin skidded to a halt, looking over his shoulder mournfully. Redford glanced between the brothers and saw Victor doing the same out of the corner of his eye, wondering what was happening.
Anthony put a hand on Edwin"s nape. "We"re in unfamiliar company." Redford could only barely make out Anthony"s words. "What"s more, we"re in the home of the oldest wolf alive. You can stay as you are, but please don"t run around like a pup who thinks he owns the place."
Edwin"s ears were pointed back, his tail still for the first time Redford could remember. After a moment, Edwin huffed a sigh and rolled over, showing his stomach with a whine. Randall rolled his eyes. "And stop acting like we"re beating you, just because we want you to behave."
Wriggling his body, Edwin arched his head up, blowing a huff of air into Randall"s face. Randall"s stern expression didn"t falter, but he, along with Anthony, gave Edwin"s stomach a pat. "I know, I know. Lots of stuff to smell," Randall agreed with a sigh. "But later, okay? They might kick us out."
Redford sidled up to Randall as they continued walking. "Didn"t Anthony let him off really easily?" Filtiarn-the alpha, the wolf in charge-would have reacted much more violently had any wolf under his command disobeyed him. "I haven"t been in a pack in a while, but I remember punishment being, um, harsher."
Randall gave him a baffled look but didn"t have time to speak. Anthony said, "We"re here."
The wolves that had guided them into the camp had sat themselves nearby, and Mallory nodded toward the entrance of the building. "She doesn"t like to be kept waiting."
Nervously, Randall straightened his sweater, pausing to fix Anthony"s collar. "It"s going to be fine," he murmured to his brothers, stooping down to fuss over Edwin"s messy fur. "Just let me talk. It"ll be fine."
Anthony gave Randall a look; it seemed to Redford that he wanted to speak, his mouth even opening as if to start. But Randall didn"t need to meet his brother"s eyes in order to immediately cut him off. "We"ve talked about this, Anthony," Randall said quietly.
"Doesn"t mean I like it." Anthony sighed, pulling back to fidget with his shirt himself, purposely undoing the top b.u.t.ton Randall had just finished putting into place. "It"s my place."
"But this was my idea." Randall sounded so practical, so matter-of-fact, but Redford could see faint creases of worry lining his face. "Do you want to flip a coin?"
"Yes," Anthony grumbled.
"Too bad." Randall"s hand paused halfway toward reaching out to Anthony, a low breath leaving him. "Ant...."
"I know." Anthony didn"t sound happy, but he moved to close the distance between them, shoulder b.u.t.ting up against Randall"s palm. "It"ll be good. We"ll all be fine." Randall"s eyes met Anthony"s, a silent conversation between the two; Redford felt suddenly awkward to be staring. He"d just never seen wolves interact like this before. He was half expecting Anthony to snap, to show dominance. Instead all he did was allow Randall to once again fix his shirt b.u.t.tons, snapping his fingers once to get Edwin"s attention. Edwin had apparently gotten distracted, rooting around under a nearby bush, but at the sound he immediately jerked around and came trotting back up to them, tail wagging happily.
"You"re a mess," Randall informed Edwin archly.
Edwin didn"t seem to mind. Randall and Anthony, though, immediately set out to try to brush dirt from his fur, much to Edwin"s apparent distress.
Knievel was helping, grabbing Edwin"s head between her paws and aggressively grooming the fur between his eyes before she stalked off to find Jed again, crying at him until he sighed and stooped, letting her jump up and settle onto his shoulders. Even Victor was running his hands through his hair, trying to look presentable. Redford chanced a look down at himself and grimaced. Perhaps he should have dressed nicer?
Edwin whined softly, nudging his nose into Randall"s shoulder. Randall bowed his head, rubbing a hand over his brother"s ears, obviously worried. But then he stood, brushing off his slacks. "Right. Okay. We should-"
"Oh, for f.u.c.k"s sake." Never one to hesitate, Jed brushed past them all and strode into the cabin, rapping on the door as he pa.s.sed. "We"re here, sweetheart. Let"s get this over with."
Redford winced as he followed. Normally, Jed"s way of doing things didn"t faze him, but there was an air of reverence to the cabin and the wolves waiting outside it. He could hear the Lewis brothers behind him, Victor at the very back, as they made their way through a short hallway that opened up into a wide meeting s.p.a.ce. It was lushly decorated, brightly colored silk hanging over the windows, plush chairs lining the edges of the room. The only light within was provided by candles and the sunlight that struggled to filter through silk.
The Gray Lady herself was sitting cross-legged at the edge of a lavish rug woven in many different colors. Like the room she surrounded herself in, she was regal in appearance and brightly clad, dress nothing more than soft folds of fabric gracefully draping to the floor, her white hair falling loose around her shoulders. The candlelight seemed to flicker in dark eyes as she opened them, lips parting in a white smile against olive skin. She seemed young and old at the same time, an ancient sadness in her gaze even as she moved elegantly, welcoming them all in. "Come, my children," she said, sharing her smile equally with Redford, Randall, Edwin, and Anthony. "Sit."
Jed started forward, his hand at Redford"s elbow, to be stopped by a low growl. The Gray Lady"s eyes flashed yellow, her smile never fading even as her expression darkened. "Not you, human. You may stand, if you must be present. But this is a conversation for wolves." Her mood shifted slightly as she nodded to Victor. "Half blood, you are welcome to listen. Keep the human in line."
Redford glanced at Jed, unsure. He didn"t want to sit now that Jed had been refused it. The choice was made for him by Anthony"s hand at his elbow, tugging him down until his knees buckled and he sat awkwardly. "Sorry, Jed," he murmured, reaching over to curl his fingers around Jed"s calf, wanting to keep in contact.
"It"s an honor to meet you," Anthony said, his head bowed. He"d placed himself closest to the Gray Lady. "Thank you for agreeing to see us."
"I would ask you how you found me, little wolf," the Gray Lady said, tone kind once more. "But I can smell Filtiarn"s foul work from here. I take it you have sought me out, werewolf?" All eyes turned to Redford as the Gray Lady sat, expectantly awaiting his response.
Redford flinched under the weight of her gaze. "Sorry," he said automatically. Did he smell bad to wolves? He really hoped not. He hated to think that riding in a van with him might have been awful for the Lewises. "And no, that"s not exactly why we"re here. We, um...." He looked at Anthony, waiting for him to jump in and save Redford from himself.
But when it came time to speak, Anthony seemed to hesitate. He"d curled his hands into his lap, the same knotted stiffness that Redford recognized as Anthony attempting to stop the shaking. So it was Randall who stood, bowing before the Gray Lady, all that nervousness and quiet restraint bundled up and forgotten. He spoke softly, yes, but there was a strength to each word. "My lady. I"m afraid we came with Redford because we weren"t sure you would see us otherwise."
"And why would I deny you?" she asked, head tipped to the side, watching Randall carefully.
"Because our parents were once part of your pack. We are the Lewises."
There was a long pause before the Gray Lady clucked her tongue with a quiet, "I see."
"We"ve come back because we need your help, my lady. My brother, Anthony, he"s sick. You"re the only hope we have for a cure." Randall took a step forward, hand reaching out to the Gray Lady, pleading. "Please. I will do anything. Pay any price. Just... help my brother."
"And what would you have me do?" The Gray Lady turned to Anthony. "What ails you, wolf?"
"If you can"t help, I understand," Anthony said hastily. "It may be beyond your ability." He glanced back at Randall and Edwin. "But human doctors can"t help me. It"s...."
He hesitated again before saying it, like he was embarra.s.sed.
"Canine Parkinson"s," Anthony finally said with a sigh. "It"s degenerative."
The Gray Lady stood, going to her window, looking out over the camp. The sound of voices filtered in, the noises of a thriving pack, the smells of meat cooking. It was all so calm and peaceful, like something out of one of the books Redford had read in his childhood. It was a home. "Do you know why your parents would not have been welcome here again?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the Lewises.
"Not exactly, ma"am," Anthony said politely, though his expression had tightened. "But I can hazard a guess."
"There are men who hunt us. There is a world that does not know of our existence, a fact which I work very hard to maintain. A lone wolf is a danger to all of that. One family, one mated pair, it is not a pack. It"s a risk that I cannot allow. Letting you come back after your parents chose to leave, what would that say? How would I begin to explain to the rest of the pack why you should not be shunned, as we shun all others who chose to walk away from our protections? As we shun those who put all of us in danger."
Jed shifted beside Redford, lips tight, fingers curling around his gun. He cut a quick glance over at Anthony and stayed silent, though it was clear he desperately wanted to make a point.
Anthony drew in a deep breath. "If you"d like to shun us, ma"am, I"ll accept that decision," he said, his tone still polite. A thread of steel crept into his voice as he continued, "But we are not our parents. We did not make the decision to leave. And if your decision to shun us is based solely on how difficult it would be to explain to others, we"d be glad to leave however quickly you"d like us to."
There was a long, tense moment, Jed shifting a step closer, Edwin"s hackles rising as he backed up against Anthony"s leg. But then the Gray Lady smiled. Tight and powerful, yes, but she smiled and waved her hand. "Go. You wolves may stay the night so I can think on this matter. Your human and half blood may even join us for the evening meal. I will meet with you in the morning to discuss this further." She reached out, taking Anthony"s shoulders in her hands, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his. "For now, Lewis pack, leave me, and sleep well."
"Thank you," Anthony whispered to her. He stepped back, and inclined his head, the lines of tension eased out of his expression. "Thank you, ma"am."
He turned and hustled his brothers out of the building. Redford followed at a slower pace, absently finding Jed"s hand with his own. Jed"s fingers tightened on his immediately, though he kept cutting glances back as they left the cabin and the door was shut firmly behind them.
"So," Jed drawled once they were all huddled around together, blinking in the sunlight once again, "that was a trip. Not exactly big on welcomes here."
"I"m really sorry, Jed. Victor." Anthony shook his head, looking surprised. "I wasn"t aware they"d be so xenophobic."
"No apology needed," Victor said. He didn"t sound bothered by it at all. "If you think that"s bad, you should see some sections of the half-blood community. You"d think it was the apartheid all over again."
"Wait, so, she hates bugs?" Jed was looking between them, confused. "Doesn"t everybody?"
Redford, like everybody else, gave Jed a questioning stare. "No, she hates humans," Redford explained. "Not bugs."
"Oh." Nose wrinkling, Jed turned to Redford. "Isn"t xeno-whatever a bug? The one with the legs all...." He wiggled his fingers and did a face with all his teeth showing. "Or wait. No. That"s the alien from that movie, right? So she hates bug aliens." Knievel, disrupted by his motions, jumped lightly down and wandered away, tail waving, eyes shining in the sunlight. She apparently wanted to explore, though she didn"t go far.
Anthony started laughing, a deep, full-throated sound. "No, Jed. Xenophobic means she doesn"t like people foreign to her."
"But you have a good point about the xenomorph aliens," Victor said brightly. "The key word is xeno, meaning foreign or alien, hence-"
"The point is," Anthony cut in, still smiling, "She doesn"t trust anybody that"s not a full-blooded wolf. I"m sorry, again, I didn"t want you to get treated so...." He glanced back at the cabin, seemingly torn between bluntness and reverence. "Rudely."
"But at least we have a chance to speak with her again," Randall said, stubbornly clinging to the good points. "For now, at least, she hasn"t forced us all to leave."
"Just the humans." Mallory had come up behind them, smiling, clapping Anthony on the shoulder. "And then, only after the meal tonight. That"s practically a warm welcome."
"Hold on." Jed"s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean we"re getting kicked out?"
Mallory shrugged. "Just got my orders. You and the half blood are to be escorted out of the camp after evening meal. We don"t allow humans on our territory, not while everyone"s sleeping."
"What, cause we"re going to slit your throats?" Jed b.i.t.c.hed.
That scenario didn"t seem to be too far-fetched to Mallory, though, who simply said mildly, "Or something like that. Look, friends, I"m sorry. That"s just how it is. No one trusts humans, and half bloods are too close to them. Especially with the trouble we"ve had with hunters. There"s a town two hours north. You can find a room there, I"m sure. And it"s not as if we"re kicking you out immediately. Food gets served a little before sundown. That"s plenty of time to visit the gift shop on the way out."
Redford saw Victor give Jed a horrified look. Jed nodded, seemingly accepting this. "Fine. Red, Vickie, and I will go have a spa day and-What now, Pippi Longfur?"
Mallory had been shaking his head, then arched an eyebrow at the nickname. "We can"t just let a wolf wander off. Even if it"s with you. Aren"t you listening? We"ve got hunters out there, looking for us. A lone wolf is a danger to the whole pack. I"m sorry, but until the Gray Lady says otherwise, the wolves stay inside, the humans stay outside. End of story." He paused, eyes flicking to where Knievel was happily fighting with a flower stem. "Though if you"d like to keep your cat with you, I can"t see a problem with that."
Redford hated that idea already. The concession for Knievel was hardly the same. Redford had barely spent a night apart from Jed since Jed had first burst into his grandmother"s house pretending to be a repairman. There had been a few nights, times when Jed had been out on a job in the early days when Redford hadn"t helped as much-but even then, Redford had stayed at Jed"s apartment.
He"d never told Jed this, but staying there surrounded by Jed"s scents had rea.s.sured him far more than Jed"s occasional postcard had. Though Redford did appreciate the postcards!
But Mallory looked like he wouldn"t be swayed. There were a lot of wolves around too, ones that would probably back him up if they argued the point.
"Yeah, that"s not going to happen." Jed moved a step closer to Redford, arms folded, an almost bored expression on his face. That wasn"t a good sign. "Me and Red, we"re together. Period. End of story. Finito. Whatever wolf barky thing that means full stop. Where he goes, I go. So either find me a place to bunk or he and I will head to the van."
"Jed," Victor said. He gave a nervous glance over his shoulder, where several wolves were beginning to look distinctly unhappy at Mallory being disagreed with. "Perhaps this isn"t worth a fight. We are in their culture, on their territory."
"f.u.c.k you, princess." Jed"s voice rose. Mallory shifted a bit, eyebrow raising, moving a step closer to them. Jed"s hand was on his gun, eyes flashing in anger. "You think I"m going to let some teen wolf with a hair gel problem separate me from Fido, you-"
Randall shoved Jed backward, giving them s.p.a.ce. Redford instinctively straightened his stance, scowling at Randall-though it looked like the flash of yellow in his eyes went without notice. Randall"s hands were on Jed"s shoulders, voice low and urgent, a thread of steel and worry running through his words. "Listen to me, human, and listen very carefully. You are not in your world. You are not anywhere you understand. You can use your guns and your explosives and start a fight, but if you do, the very best thing that could happen is that we"ll be shunned. And I know you don"t care. I know right now you think that"s a great idea." Randall"s eyes slid over to Anthony, and something painful entered his expression. "But if you do that, you are killing my brother. Do you hear me? You will be killing him. All for a night spent with Redford."
Redford could hear the very distinct sound of Jed"s teeth grinding, his hand tightening on the b.u.t.t of his gun. Redford knew that look, he knew the way Jed"s shoulders were tightening, how his gaze was flicking between Mallory and the other wolves-he was trying to decide if he could fight his way out, if there was a way beyond the path he really didn"t want to take. But, in the end, he let out a slow breath and nodded, a sharp jerk of his head.
"Fine, Cujo," Jed relented, jaw tight. "One night. One. We solve this s.h.i.t or I am going to get really cranky."
Randall seemed relieved at that, his shoulders slumping slightly as he nodded. His "thank you" was ignored as Jed shoved past him, going to Redford and wrapping an arm around him possessively.
"I was going to get really cranky too," Redford said. "You know, if anybody cares to actually feel threatened by that." He doubted they would. Explosions were a lot scarier than a man who couldn"t even really shift properly.
"I"d feel extremely threatened," Anthony said, patting Redford"s shoulder consolingly. "I"m going to take Edwin and Randall to unpack, check out the guest cabins." He looked at Jed and Victor, apology crossing his expression once again. "I"ll see what I can do to sway their decision to keep you out."