Authors: Jennifer Loiske
“Be careful. We don’t know anything about them yet,” I warned him apprehensively.
“Always, sister,” Gavin grinned and swiftly backed out of the approaching storm's eye.
I stubbornly continued to stare at the forest, desperately trying to close David off. David didn’t give up, though. He came closer and laid a cautious hand on my shoulder. I shook it off but he put it back again. I turned angrily to face him.
“How could you? I trusted you. The girls trusted you,” I said angrily and tried to back farther away from David.
“Do you really think Marie would’ve stayed with you? Don’t you see she’s a part of Tiamhaidh and vice versa? It can take centuries, even forever, for a shape shifter to find a soul mate. They are together forever,” seething, I tried to figure out a way to get rid of David or to hurt him as he had hurt me.
I knew I was being childish, but he wanted to drive me and Clarissa out of our home and even though I was no longer certain whether he'd stand by his decision, I couldn't let him off this easily. I lifted my chin and stared at him, challenge in my flaming eyes.
“Forgive me. I’m here now,” David said wearily.
“I don’t know what got into me. Madness, I suppose. All this kept feeling suffocating and unreal,” he went on, gesturing at our pack.
“I don’t know if I can trust you anymore. We’ll be off as soon as this situation has been dealt with,” I said stubbornly.
“Sofia, please,” David begged.
“No. I won’t be able to go on if I have to keep looking behind me to see whether or not you are there. This is my life and now Clarissa and Marie share it. I won’t be able to fulfill your expectations and act as if nothing has happened. Look at them, David! All those men in our living room are also part of me. They are my pack,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
“And I am not,” David said quietly.
“No, David. That’s where you’re wrong. You are one of the pack, but you obviously don’t want to be and we can’t force you.”
I regarded David pensively. I tried to stay firm because I couldn't give in to him. What if I risked trusting him again and he betrayed that trust? Even if I could bear it, could our daughters? They worshiped David and couldn't understand why he refused to accept our shape shifter friends as members of our family. I blew air out of my lungs and tried to calm down.
“It’s you who called us freaks and wants us out of your house. We weren’t going to abandon you – you abandoned us,” I said as calmly as I could.
“I am sorry for it, but don’t you understand how much of an outsider I feel?” David said, sounding anguished.
“They are all part of you and now our children are part of them. I’m only a human. There’s nothing extraordinary about me. The only thing that makes me in any way special is that you love me,” David tried to explain, with resignation.
“Are you now trying to say you’re just jealous?” I snapped.
“I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say. I’m only sorry and I promise I will make it all up to you. I won’t leave you again. I promise,” David looked at me wearily and I saw that he truly did mean what he said. I swallowed and he reached out to touch the corner of my eye where a lonely tear fell.
“You promised that before,” I choked in a small, weepy voice.
“I know. Please forgive me. I have been an idiot.”
“Yes, you have,” I affirmed and tried to smile. But I failed miserably and swallowed, staring at the tips of my shoes.
David looked at me in misery and took a step towards me. I didn’t move. Could this work out after all? In my mind I had already given up, but if David meant what he said, would I dare give him another chance? I scrutinized him. How deep blue his eyes were. How familiar all the features of his face. Was the man I had fallen in love with still hidden somewhere within him? Could I truly trust him or would he again crumble under the weight of new hardships? I pursed my lower lip and narrowed my eyes. Did I love him still? The answer hit me like a bright bolt of lightning. Yes. I was still very deeply in love with him and if I had even the slightest chance of keeping him in my life, I would take that chance.
“Very well. I forgive you, but if you screw this up now I will go back to Gunward and take the girls with me. For good,” I threatened.
David was visibly startled at that, but didn’t take his eyes off mine.
“Agreed,” he said.
“Agreed,” I affirmed.
We eventually agreed that I would go out with Clarissa to bait the approaching wolves. Clarissa would lure the visitors in and I would penetrate their minds and command them to change form. The rest of our pack would also come out but hang back and observe the situation. Twilight had begun to descend and I sensed the wolves roaming in the vicinity. Clarissa sat on the garden swing, looking smashing. Snug black jeans encased her long legs and a tight-fitting white top set off her young, beautiful figure. Her long blond hair flowed down her back like a stream of liquid honey and her large green eyes surveyed the forest with apprehension. When the first howls began she rose and joined me in the center of the garden. I knew all twelve wolves were very close by now and sent my mind to touch them with caution. I sensed no barriers, but was surprised to find out that those nearest to us were only a few hundred meters away. I sent them a sternly worded invitation to come to our home in human shapes - the shapes we had also chosen.
The wolves were surprised by my order, but since they had all come with serious intent to claim Clarissa for themselves, they decided to obey me. It was completely quiet. The howling had stopped and Clarissa and I stood tensely side by side. Suddenly we heard rustling in the woods and twelve physically very fit young men stepped out of the shadows. Their upper torsos were bare and almost all of them wore informal, worn jeans. Sweat gleamed on their skins and I saw Clarissa staring at them open-mouthed.
“Oh, God,” she whispered.
“Indeed,” I said, though for an entirely different reason.
“They’re divine! Totally unbelievably handsome!” Clarissa drooled.
“Clarissa,” I burst out.
“Well, they are! Look at them, Mother! Can there be a more gorgeous sight?”
I looked at the men, trying to see them from my teenage daughter’s point of view. She was approached by twelve gorgeous men with trained bodies, between eighteen and twenty-five years of age. Their bare, muscled upper bodies gleamed with perspiration and their hair was unruly. Their feverish eyes were hungrily fixed on Clarissa and they were all here for her sake. She only had to choose.
“Wait a moment. You have to remember they’ve chosen the form you see in order to please you. They might just as well have changed into old men,” I warned Clarissa.
“Still. They’ve chosen pretty well,” Clarissa muttered.
The men stopped in front of us and looked at Clarissa as though she were their prospective prey. Clarissa didn’t disappoint them; she met their scrutiny with proud poise. Finally the largest of them moved his yellow-brown, slightly slanted, predatory eyes to me and inclined his head.
“Mathair.”
“Joshua,” I replied.
I don’t know how, but the name slipped from my lips. I lightly touched his mind and he permitted it. This tall, brawny man was indeed dangerous. He originated from the Rocky Mountains in North America. Even as a wolf he had been an unusually large, light Grey alpha male. I knew his presence here was an honor to Clarissa. This was a wolf at least equal to Adam.
“You have come from afar, brathair,” I said respectfully.
“I heard you have something for me here,” he said, glancing brazenly at Clarissa
“In that case you have been misinformed. Clarissa will make the choice but she will do it in accordance with human rules. She is still too young to understand the ways of the wolves.”
“She is a wolf, though,” Joshua grunted.
“In mind and body, perhaps, but she is newborn and you must respect that,” I reminded, giving the man a stern look.
“Your rules, then?” Joshua lifted one eyebrow in inquiry and smiled dazzlingly.
“My rules. Take it or leave it,” I nodded.
“Wait a moment,” a red-haired freckled young man interrupted.
“Derry, right?” I asked.
He nodded and began a feverish discourse in my mind.
“No, Derry. This time we will converse as humans do.”
“As you wish. But I don’t understand why we should submit to human conduct while courting a she-wolf,” Derry said with a hint of cheek in his voice.
“There is a riddle for you indeed. If you don’t understand it, feel free to leave,” I gave Derry a look of challenge and for a moment I was certain he would turn on his heels and leave.
“In fact, any of you who do not agree to our terms can leave at once. This matter is not open to discussion,” I said in a voice that brooked no opposition.
I scrutinized each man in turn and tried to estimate which of them would cause the most problems. If there was anything I could be absolutely certain of, it was that there would be more than enough problems to go around.
“What exactly do you intend, then?” asked a black-haired, obviously, French young man.
“I mean that you will proceed to court Clarissa in accordance with human manners. Meet publicly, go on dates, send each other secret messages and if all goes well, fall in love. But Clarissa will choose. You will not put pressure on her. Not even if it takes months or years. You will not pressurize her. Do you understand?” I asked, preparing for opposition.
The men glared at each other. They weren’t prepared for this. They had come to fight over a newborn shape shifter female, not to pamper a young girl. But the allure of procreating and carrying on their lineage was so strong they were left with no choice. Muttering unclearly, they nodded.
“I want your words on this. No trickery. Fair play,” I insisted.
“Oui,” the Frenchman said. “You have my word at least.”
“You have mine, too,” said Joshua.
Soon enough all the men had given their words, though some of them clearly very reluctantly, and I invited them into the house. Clarissa couldn’t tear her eyes off the men and I noticed that Ciall was already somewhat bothered by that. Clarissa’s eyes met Joshua’s with particular frequency and I wondered whether it had been a mistake after all to send Adam to Senja. If Clarissa spent a few months in Joshua’s company, Adam would no longer stand a chance to win her for himself.
Mathanan had somehow managed to conjure food so the table was laden with it and while the men stuffed themselves with delicious hot rolls and grilled chicken, they told Clarissa about themselves. I sat beside David but didn’t yet want to touch him. I sensed the men’s fervour towards Clarissa and I knew David had to sense it, too. David sat rigidly, trying to accept the new situation. He had promised to try to accept our new life, but this new turn had come so suddenly that he didn’t quite know what to make of it yet. Our house was full of strangers, all of them shape shifters. David was the only outsider and, even though he was Clarissa’s father, I noticed our guests ignored him and directed their words to me or the rest of our pack. David would have wanted to ask them all sorts of things but didn’t’ quite know where to start, so I decided to relieve him of the anxiety and ask the questions on his behalf.
I didn’t always bear in mind how easy it was for me to find things out and I tended to assume others were equally capable. I only needed to lightly touch the visitors’ minds to gain answers to any questions I might have. They kept their minds open and allowed me free access to explore. I would have explored even without their permission, but they either knew that or merely wanted to prove they were serious about Clarissa and thus gave me free rein. I directed my words to David, but I noticed our daughters were also listening attentively.
“That man at the head of the table is Fabio Bolelli. An Italian wolf. His pack lives in Tuscany and they all have taken human shapes. The pack is small and besides Fabio there are only a few elderly males. They’d really need Clarissa but I don’t think she’ll choose him,” I spoke very quietly.
“The blond Viking is Jonas Bastianssen from Norway. He’s the only member of his pack capable of shape shifting and he’s spent most of his life on Senja with the elders. I do wonder how he’s managed to give them the slip without Adam or Gunward noticing. Jonas is a very noteworthy competitor and a serious threat to Adam.”
Jonas glanced at me and flashed a reckless smile. Without quite realizing it, I moved closer to David and almost pressed my mouth to his ear.
“The two dark-haired lady killers over there are from France,” I said, indicating two very handsome men whose eyes were like molten chocolate. They were already trying to flirt with Marie under the murderous scrutiny of Tiamhaidh. “The hawk-nosed one is Marc Gasquet and the one with the long dark lashes and nearly black hair is Adrian Benneteau.”
“Who’s that morose-looking young man?” David asked.
“He seems really scary,” Clarissa whispered.
“His name is Igor Korolev and you truly do have reason to be scared of him. He hails from Romania but has lived for the past forty years in the pack of Alexei Safin, that other somber man. Alexei has for years been gathering up shape shifters in order to train them in Siberia to be secret killing machines for the Russian state. Those two are extremely dangerous and I wouldn’t be at all sure they haven’t made some kind of a pact to share Clarissa.”