4
After Harry Clearwater's death, Old Quil's interest in me seemed to double. The old man kept trying to corner me into conversations about my life history and more than once I saw him talking to my father too. I think Dad finally came to see how creepy the tribe elder was being when the both of us heard him whisper "He's still young enough" to himself while staring at me from across the produce section at the grocery store. Following that incident, Dad stepped in and told the old man to stop bothering me or he'd go through more official channels to see that I was left in peace. Still, I had caught him more than once watching me from across the street with a pensive look on his face.
Strangely, with Leah's exit from my life so quickly after she literally ran into it, Merle became my new BFF. The ninety-two year old not-employee of Newton's was awesome, unlike creepy Old Quil. Merle's eighty-seven year old wife, Pearl, was just as cool. I think the two of them had pseudo adopted me as a grandson since their son Earl (I kid you not) and their grandkids and great grandkids lived on the East Coast and didn't visit often. I'd started joining them after work on Wednesdays for an early dinner. Pearl always brought out her good china and actual silverware for my visits and had a plate of homemade cookies and hot tea waiting when Merle and I got to their house after my shift. After the meal, which was generally served at 5:30 on the dot, I'd resign myself to watching recorded episodes of Wheel of Fortune while Merle worked on a crossword (to keep his mind sharp) and Pearl crocheted. I'd already been gifted with several of her projects including two pairs of socks and a bulky striped scarf for my birthday. Her most recent endeavor appeared to be a hat which I hoped she planned to give to someone else because burnt orange and lime green were not my colors.
My evenings with the old couple, while making me feel good about myself for brightening their lives, simultaneously made me despair for company my own age. Occasionally I'd work late at the store and get to interact with the high schoolers, but most of them just treated me as the sad older kid who failed to get the hell out of Dodge. The fact that technically I was an actively enrolled student at Stanford who just happened to be taking a year off and was not in fact a failure at life seemed lost on them.
At least Dad and I had finally moved out of the resort. Since he had found a somewhat steady job with the Forks PD we decided to upgrade to a little rental house on the rez closer to the Black's house. It didn't have the same views of the coastline that the cottage at the hotel had had, but it was nice to have a place to call home that was a little more private. The only bad thing about the move was the loss of housekeeping service. My room quickly degenerated into an approximation of my dorm in Palo Alto. I was currently running an experiment for how gross I had to let the place get before my dad gave in and cleaned it for me. I figured a few more days and I'd hit my target.
I broke up the monotony of my life by going on runs. I never went to the same place twice in an attempt to keep from leaving too many signs of my activities. Dad also kept me informed of where the current searches for the hiker-eating wolves where located so I could avoid those areas as well.
It was a rare sunny Friday and I was on my way back to La Push after work when I pulled off to the side of the road and decided to go for one of my runs. There were several unmarked hiking trails between the two small towns and I parked the jeep in a turnout and made my way up one of them. As per my usual modus operandi, I walked for a mile or so on the trail and then turned off the path and forged my way through the trees for another mile before ditching my clothes and flipping.
I immediately felt like something was off this time around when my four paws hit the ground. My enhanced human nose had detected hints of it, but as soon as the air passed through my canine nose, that same horrible smell from my first run permeated my senses and made me sneeze. This time the scent was fresh and I immediately started running to try and put some distance between myself and its source, whatever that may be.
I was so intent on avoiding the smell that I didn't hear the voices in front of me until I skidded into the clearing and saw the two men standing there. At least I think they were men. The sun glinted off them like a little girl's art project gone wrong. As if they'd rolled first in glue and then jumped in a pool of iridescent glitter.
They saw me before I could even think of turning around. I immediately ducked into the cover of some underbrush but found my instincts kept me from turning my back to them to escape. Something told me that taking my eyes off them might be the last thing I did.
"That's not one of them, is it?" The larger one asked.
"I don't think so." An accented voice returned. "He's too small."
"Can I eat him then, do you think?" They both were keeping a close watch on me, even as I tried to slowly slink backwards away from them.
Oh fuck no. No one was eating me. Not today. Not ever. The accented one, thankfully, seemed to agree with me. "I don't think they'd take kindly to us partaking of their sacred animal."
"Awww. Come on Jasper. They'll never know. It's been so long since I've had wolf. You know you want to too. Something different. Variety is the spice of life. Please?"
"I really don't think it's a good idea."
"Pretty, pretty please? With a mountain lion on top? He's not even running. That's just like, asking to be eaten."
Accent man, Jasper, was starting to cave. I could tell by the twitching of his eyes and the clenching of his fists as he watched me.
The wind shifted directions and blew their scent towards me. It matched that sickening sweet smell I'd been trying to avoid. I bolted. Fuck, fuck, fuckity shit fuck. I heard them give chase, faster than was humanly possible. I was so screwed. My smaller size gave me the slightest of advantages as I could run under and through obstacles that they had to dodge around. My paws were kicking up clods of moist soil and moss as I fled. My mind quickly assessed my options; my pursuers where now between me and my car, so that was out. I could try and lose sight of them for long enough to flip back and hope they had no interest in eating naked men, but with their speed that was unlikely. My best chance was to avoid them for as long as it took to get to civilization, the closest of which was in La Push. I had a sneaking feeling that these guys had no desire to be seen poaching animals in all their glittery glory so if I could just get close enough to the town and potential witnesses I might be home free. The rez was several miles out though and I'd have to push myself to stay out of their reach that long.
A mantra of curse words punctuated each of my strides. I zigged and zagged between the trees, hugging to them as closely as possible to try and make up some distance. My lungs burned from heavy breathing and my legs ached from my exertion. I refused to die like this. Finding any and all hidden reserves of energy within myself, I ran faster through the pain.
If at that moment, someone had told me to predict what happened next, I never in a million years would have been able to accurately guess the divine appearance of the ginormous wolf that burst through the trees and leapt over me to face the men chasing me. The two men skidded to a halt in front of the beast and to their credit did not look too surprised at its presence.
"Man!" the big one sulked. "We're like two miles from the border. That's fair game."
The wolf growled and raised its hackles, tail sweeping low in an aggressive manner.
"Come on." Jasper grabbed his companions shoulder and turned him around "Sorry to intrude, we'll be on our way. No disrespect was meant."
The wolf growled louder and continued its low rumble until the intruders into its territory were out of sight back the way we'd come. I could still hear the larger one loudly complaining about losing his meal as they ran. Territory defended, the large animal gave a disdainful sniff and trotted back around to contemplate my presence. To my great distress, two more of the creatures melted out of the shadows to join the first.
They formed a circle around me while I cowered on the ground in front of them. I was exhausted from my first run for my life today and didn't have it in me to flee again. I wouldn't have made it far anyways. The three of them appeared to be having some sort of wolfy conversation that I was not privy to as heads kept whipping back and forth to look at one wolf or the other as if they were giving the current speaker their attention. Whatever they were saying, they seemed to come to a conclusion in regards to what to do with me. As one, they moved towards me to herd me in the direction of town. I refused to budge and gave a warning growl at the first to approach me. In the end, I knew I would probably end up doing whatever these guys wanted, but I felt the need to at least express my displeasure before acquiescing. At least it didn't look like they had immediate plans to kill me and eat me.
It wasn't until the lead wolf nudged me with his snout to get me to move that I noticed something really strange, not counting the obvious unnatural size of them. The wolf in the back had a bungee around one of his hind legs to which a pair of QTS basketball shorts were attached. That definitely was not normal wolf behavior. I sat up from my defensive crouch and cocked my head to one side, deeply sniffing the air.
Underneath the lingering abhorrent smell from the sparkly guys, the distinct scent of human came though clean and clear. I sniffed again, focusing on the individual scents. No. Fucking. Way. This was priceless.
In my relief, I projected at my saviors. Had I not just narrowly escaped losing my life, I may have made a different decision. As it was, I was too relieved to care.
-Man, I have never been more relieved to see someone my entire life than I am to see you guys.-
It was as if I'd suddenly tuned in to a radio station with the volume cranked all the way up with no mute button. My head was flooded with images and thoughts not of my own making. I inadvertently whined with the sudden invasiveness of it all. The three wolves towering over me looked on in confusion as I flattened my ears to my skull.
-Is it talking to us?- One of them mentally shouted.
-I think it is. Did any of you know we actually spoke wolf?- Jake's voice yelled back in my head.
Loud. So very, very loud. Had no one taught them to moderate their volume? And they were flinging thoughts left and right; not just what they were trying to communicate to each other, but all their surface thoughts were being projected constantly as well. It was an overwhelming cacophony of mish-mashed pictures and voices. I couldn't shut it off. I'd never experienced anything quite like this. When I'd gone running with my aunt and uncle, projecting worked pretty much like a telephone; you just directed your thought at the person or group of people you wanted to talk to. Either Jake and his friends didn't know how to do that or their way of communicating worked way differently than what I was used to. I should have been laughing my ass off at the fact that they thought they were talking to a wild animal, instead I was reduced to squeezing shut my eyes and pawing at my ears in a vain attempt to block out the exogenous sights and sounds invading my head.
-Is it okay?- The one with the shorts asked. -He looks like he's hurt.-
-Could you all just stop thinking so loudly?- I shouted back at them. They looked perplexedly at each other. From their thoughts, I knew they were confused that I'd somehow invaded their 'pack mind' and wanted to ask their Alpha (Sam it would seem, of course Leah's asshole ex was another one of them) what to do about me. -Jake! Seriously man, you guys don't need to yell. I'm right here.-
-It knows your name. How the hell does it know your name? Dude, this is way too freaky.-
-I don't know. I've never met any wolves. Let alone introduced mysel...-
I couldn't take it anymore. The mile a minute non-stop onslaught on my mind was quickly developing into a migraine. I flipped. Silence reigned supreme. It was beautiful. Glorious. Magnificent. Wondrous silence. I had no way of knowing if the three wolves now staring at me had been shocked to mental silence as well as physical silence and I rejoiced at that. Jake's eyes were wide and his mouth was literally hanging open.
"Yeah. So this" I gestured down at my naked self "just happened. Deal with it. Now, would someone please care to explain to me why I now know that one of you has inappropriate feelings for a toddler?"
The one with the shorts flipped and quickly slipped them on with his back turned to me. I recognized him as Jake's friend Embry.
"Uh. Hi." Well wasn't he articulate?
"Hiiii." I drew the word out like I was talking to a little kid. Between running for my life and the brain damage I'd just endured, my patience was thin. "You can look at me you know."
"But you're naked."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious. You're a shapeshifter; you should be used to it. I don't have anything you don't have." He must have been pretty new to the werewolf thing to still be so uptight about nudity. Truth be told, I wasn't as comfortable with it as I was pretending to be since I'd never run with a real pack and had only really been seen in the buff by my aunt and uncle. Now there was a man who truly didn't mind just letting it all hang out. Still, feigning nonchalance gave me the psychological edge over the prudish Embry.
I could tell Jake and the other wolf were laughing at him but he did eventually settle his eyes on my face. "So, uh, you need to come with us to meet the alpha. Sam can explain what's happening to you and why. He can help."
"No thanks." I didn't want anything to do with Sam. I may not have known Leah very long, and the girl still wasn't talking to me, but I didn't want to betray our budding friendship regardless.
Embry seemed at a loss for why I wouldn't want to meet with their leader. "Why not? Aren't you curious as to why you can turn into a wolf?"
"I'm going to go with because Sam is a douchebag and genetics respectively."
Embry looked back at his friends for direction. This obviously wasn't going how he'd planned. Jake apparently took pity on him and flipped as well. He didn't have clothes to put on and looked very uncomfortable standing there in his birthday suit.
"Hey Logan."
"Jake." God, this was awkward.
"Sooo, we really need you to come back and talk to Sam with us. Meet the rest of the pack. Really. There are things you need to know now that you've shifted. Sam can teach you all you need to know about shifting; he was the first of us to phase nearly two years ago, so he's had time to figure it all out."
"Wow. Flipping for two whole years? And now he knows everything there is to know?" That was doubtful. I wondered why Sam was the oldest of the wolves; surely their parents could flip too. Then again, there were some obvious differences between us; perhaps we were different breeds or something.
"Why do I get the feeling you're being sarcastic? Look, I get that you're probably confused as hell about what's going on, but we're just trying to help. I swear."
"You obviously haven't noticed, but I'm not all that new to the wolf thing. Now the crazies chasing me through the woods? Yeah, those threw me for a loop. But I've been flipping since I was fifteen. That's over twice as long as your alpha." My mind was whirling, still catching up to the fact that, yes, my half-cousin was in fact a giant shape shifting wolf. With no known relation to the only other pack that I knew of. Perhaps it would be in my best interest to play along to find out more about what was going on without exposing my uncle's pack's existence.
"He's your alpha too." Embry chimed in, breaking through my reverie.
"He's really not." Playing along or not, I was not giving up my lone wolf status to fall into line behind some upstart. Besides, if anyone could claim to be my alpha, it was Uncle Luke.
The three teenagers shared a look (well, two teens and one wolf.) "Just meet with him and you'll see." Jake implored.
"On one condition." I conceded. "My jeep is parked back along the highway. I need to get it and my other things that I left in the woods. Like my clothes. And my phone."
"I can go get them and drive the car back." Embry offered. "The leeches may still be out there. They won't bother me, but if they see your tiny ass again there are no guarantees."
And there it was; the obvious dig at the fact that I was so much smaller than them when flipped. I chose to ignore it. "Fine. My stuff is tucked into a tree about a mile west of the second trail marker off the road. The jeep is at the trailhead. You get any scratches on it, and my dad will kill you. Wait, you are old enough to drive, right?"
Embry rolled his eyes. "I guess you'll find out, won't you? I'll see you guys back at Sam's." With that, he stripped the basketball shorts off and looped them around his ankle before flipping and disappearing into the trees.
"Seriously, if he messes up that car he's in deep shit. We've been through a lot together."
"It will be fine. Don't worry." My cousin told me. "Now come on. Quil has already told Sam we're coming." Jake flipped back and he and the other wolf, who I finally had a name for, waited expectantly.
Mentally preparing myself, I took a deep breath and exhaled into my wolf form. Luckily for me, flipping back and forth appeared to have re-set the connection I had created between myself and Jake's pack's hive mind. The two of them managed to have confused looks on their canid faces when they couldn't speak to me over their mind link, but there was no way in hell that I was opening that can of worms on purpose ever again.
I trotted to the edge of the small clearing and glanced back to see if they were coming. Sure enough, the two behemoths were right behind me. I stepped to the side and let Jake take the lead since he knew where we were going and Quil brought up the rear. I had to move at a light run to match their easy lop with their longer legs. After my mad cap run earlier, it was all I could do to keep up. Jake must have noticed my huffing and puffing as he shortened his strides to a walk.
We weren't heading straight towards the town, but instead Jake lead us to a little isolated house on the outskirts where Embry was waiting with my Jeep in the driveway around the back of the house. I don't even want to think about how fast he had to have driven to beat us here, but a cursory inspection didn't reveal any new dings or marks on the paint so I chose to let it slide. From the look on his face where he stood on two legs by the driver's door, he'd hoped to get a rise out of me for his Speed Racer impression.
When he saw I wasn't taking the bait, he instead stepped aside. "You know, it's considered bad form to drive a Cherokee around here. You've got to have tribe pride, man. You're things are in the back. You should have a minute or two to get dressed before Sam gets here."
"Thanks." I said, after having flipped. I reached into the back for my pants and had just finished tugging them on when Sam and two others wandered into the yard through the same trees backing the property that Jake, Quil, and I had come from. Only Sam was in human form; his four-legged packmates flanking him like an honor guard. Quil trotted over to join the others while Jake flipped and pulled on the cut off shorts that Sam tossed at him. Embry remained standing by my Jeep, kicking at a small rock with his bare toes and watching it skitter around in the dust.
I don't know what I was thinking, having agreed to this. My dad was going to kill me. At least six people were now in on my secret and I had a feeling that number would only grow. So much for my low profile. The only saving grace was that Jake was family and if things hit the fan with the Wolf Lake pack, I'd have at least someone on my side that could fight back on their terms. That is, assuming that Jake wanted too.
"Logan Black." Sam said, addressing me.
"Not quite. It's Kanin."
"Kanin, then." He amended. "Welcome to the pack. We have some things to discuss."
"So it would seem. Jake tells me you're the alpha of this pack."
"Just until he's old enough to take over. The Black line is the alpha line; I'm just holding his place. Of course, you're from that line too, but since you're not from..."
I cut him off. "Look, I have no interest in taking your pack from you. I'm perfectly happy on my own."
"But that's the thing, Logan. You're not on your own anymore. You are a part of this pack; it's your duty to this tribe."
"You can't have it both ways, Sam. Either I'm a part of this, in which case I'm the oldest, most experienced shifter here, and from the Black line to boot, and therefore I'm in charge, or I'm an outsider and you can't boss me around."
"You don't understand." Jake broke in. "The reason we can phase; it's about the safety of the tribe. We all need to stand together against the leeches."
"The leeches?" I'd heard them use the term before but hadn't thought anything of it.
"Those things in the forest that wanted to eat you. Cold ones. Vampires. Being around them is what triggered your wolf." Jake explained. "There must have been some hanging around wherever you were living when you were 15."
Huh. So without the proper stimulus their kind would never go through the change. I guess that explains why Sam was the oldest shifter; if those weirdos from the woods hadn't been around when Billy and his generation were younger then there would have been no reason for them to become wolves. It also explained Old Quil's obsession with my personal life. At least I hoped it did.
"Regardless of my origins, and can I just say; vampires. Really? If I wasn't a shapeshifting wolf, I'd have you all committed. But irrespective of whatever these vampires have to do with your pack, they aren't my problem. I've got my own shit to worry about." I paused, a thought coming to me. "They're the ones snacking on the hikers, aren't they?" Damn. Dad wasn't going to like this. He wasn't safe out there combing the woods with his patrol unit if the supernatural was involved. Just our luck. We moved out here to get away from being hunted.
"Not those ones exactly," Sam said, "But more of their kind. The pair you ran into and the rest of their coven claim to feed only on animals. We have an agreement with them in exchange for their continued presence near our lands."
"So then what does this have to do with me?"
"Like it or not, you are a part of this pack now. You will help us patrol the borders and take care of any bloodsuckers that trespass on the rez and hunt down the ones attacking the hikers. It's your responsibility as a Protector of this tribe." Sam stood to his full towering height and glared down at me; daring me to disagree.
"No." Challenge accepted. Worthy cause or not, no one told me what to do. Except my dad. Or Uncle Luke. And maybe Aunt Sophia. Certainly not jackasses the same age as I with superiority complexes. I'd learned enough from our brief meeting to start to piece the rest together so I decided it was time to leave. I turned on my heel and started back to the Jeep with the keys still in the ignition where Embry left them.
"Stop right there. I am your alpha; you will listen to me." Sam demanded, the timbre of his voice changing. Embry and Jake inhaled sharply at the command and I turned to look at the gathered pack.
"Get over yourself. I'm leaving." And I did. Jake stared after me with an openly puzzled look on his face and Embry was holding back a laugh at the look on Sam's face. The gathered wolves also had varying expressions ranging from amused disbelief to outright anger. I backed the Jeep out of the long gravel driveway without another look back.
On the way back home, I dialed my dad's cell phone and mentally crossed my fingers that he wasn't occupied with work and would be able to pick up. It was frowned on for him to have his personal phone on him while on duty, but circumstances what they were for us, he'd decided to risk Chief Swan's ire. From the few times I'd met the man now, I figured he'd be understanding, especially given the backstory with the cultists Dad had told him when he first got here. Luck was on my side for once again today and Dad picked up on the third ring.
"Logan? What's wrong?" He demanded right away, knowing that I would not have called unless it was an emergency.
"I wanted to give you a heads up; I have a feeling Billy is going to be calling you later. I need to talk to you about what happened today but if he gets a hold of you before you get home, don't mention Uncle Luke and mom's side of things."
"Logan... What do you mean by that?" His tone held a warning in it. "What is going on? Do we need to leave town?"
"I'll fill you in when you get home. Promise. For now, let's just say that the legends that were told at the bonfire are more historical than fiction."
"I'm leaving work now. Stay at the house and don't go anywhere until I get there." I could hear him scrambling around moving papers in the background; he must have been at the station when I called. "You hear me? I'll be right there."
"Yeah Dad. I'll be here when you get home." I pulled into our driveway and hung up the phone before letting my head fall forward onto the steering wheel and inadvertently setting off the horn. I sat there for a minute; the loud, drawn out honking surely disturbing the neighbors. I found it cathartic; droning out everything else in the world around me. With a sigh, I pulled myself up and clambered out of the car and into the house. Why couldn't my life be easy?