Violet (The Silver Series Book 4) (22 page)

“
Wh-why didn't you tell me?
What if we didn't save them, or we didn't know they were there,
or-”

He cut me off with a sad smile. “I was under
direct orders not to influence your task in any way. Besides,” he
sighed and turned back to the window. “If I had let them know my
emotions were compromised, I would have been pulled from the
mission.”

I frowned, thinking hard. “Does that mean
all of those children have parents that are werewolves?”

“
One parent,” he corrected.
The helicopter's blades started to spin and brush and sand were
battered away from the chopper. “I'm assuming Dr. Verus thought
children who already carried the gene in part would be easier to
fuse.” He looked at me searchingly. “I assume he was
wrong?”

I nodded. “Dr. Verus confirmed that none of
the child experiments had been a success.” I swallowed and
continued, “His clone experiments weren’t successful either.”

Agent Sullivan let out his breath in a rush.
“I can’t express to you what that means. The government knows of
werewolves and is infiltrated by more than we care to acknowledge,
as Jaze has learned to use to his advantage.” Jaze agreed with a
slight tip of his head, his eyes on the landscape below. The agent
continued, “But an army of genetically created werewolves is more
than we are prepared to deal with.” His eyes creased at the corners
when he smiled. “You may have saved more lives than you
realize.”

My mind reeled and I fought down the urge to
phase. I wanted more than anything to be away from helicopters,
guns, agents, blood, and anything that reminded me of the labs.
Rafe took my hand and tightened his grip reassuringly. I leaned my
head against his shoulder as the cars beneath us disappeared
rapidly behind the dunes.

“
Where are we going?” I
asked after several minutes had passed.

Rafe looked at me, his golden eyes light
beneath his headset. “To see your parents.”

My heart leaped in my chest. “They're
okay?”

“
They said to tell you
they'll have lasagna and spaghetti on when you arrive,” Agent
Sullivan said into the headset.

Tears of relief spilled down my face at the
thought of my mom cooking our favorite foods, my dad no doubt
preparing fresh orange juice to go along with it. I smiled and felt
the tightness in my chest from all that I had seen dissipate at
least for a brief time. I was going home.

***

Kaynan had come to in the helicopter and
phased back to human form when he heard where we were going.
Needless to say, there were a few uncomfortable moments while
everyone scrambled to find him some suitable clothes. He quickly
pulled on some flight pants, then Jet took off his black shirt and
my brother grinned as he pulled it over his head. “Better to hide
weakness than give them an easy target,” Kaynan said. Jet laughed,
then looked surprised that such a sound had come out of his
mouth.

“
Take this,” Agent Sullivan
said. He slipped out of his tailored suit coat and handed it
over.

Kaynan shook his head. “It’s too nice.”

The agent merely smiled. “I owe you much
more than just a piece of clothing. Take it as a memento of my
appreciation.”

Kaynan shrugged into the coat and looked
rather sharp by the time we landed despite his bare feet. I wiggled
my toes, relieved to be out of the bomb shoes I had feared would
explode if I took a wrong step. The beat of the helicopter blades
pushed against the trees and they waved back and forth as though in
welcome. Kaynan stepped out of the helicopter. I followed him
across the lawn so achingly familiar I wanted to lay down in the
grass as I used to do when I was young.

Kaynan reached the porch and walked slowly
up the steps as though he never thought he would get the chance to
do so again. I knew the feeling and blinked back tears before they
could fall.

Rafe stepped from foot to foot nervously as
we waited for everyone to reach the porch. I squeezed Rafe's hand,
surprised to find it cold and clammy. “They're going to like you,”
I reassured him quietly.

His brow creased. “How do you know?”

The worry in his voice made me smile. “Well,
you're you.”

Kaynan let out an exasperated sigh that
sounded very much like his old self. “What she means is, you helped
her learn how to control her phasing, saved her life on more than
one occasion, and helped bring her back home. They're definitely
going to like you.”

Rafe gave him a grateful smile.

I looked back at Agent Sullivan who waited
close to the helicopter. “You sure you don't want to come in?” I
asked.

He gave a small smile. “As good as I'm sure
your mother's cooking is, it won't be as wonderful as feeling my
little ones' arms around my neck and seeing the joy on my wife's
face when I bring them home. I'm must decline, but plan to take you
up on that offer someday.”

“
Definitely.” I waved and
he waved back. “Good luck,” I called.

“
I don't need luck,” he
said with a wink. “I have you two.” He turned back to the
helicopter, then paused. “By the way. You’re officially deceased
per government records, so we’re going to have to work on some
alternate identities. In the meantime, try not to get pulled over
or anything or we’ll have a heck of a time explaining why you’re
still alive.”

“
Yes, sir,” I replied with
the grin that had refused to leave my face since I found out we
were going home.

He ducked into the helicopter the same time
that the screen door behind me opened.

“
Oh my goodness,” Mom
exclaimed. “You're home. Thank goodness you're home.” She turned
and called behind her, “They're here! Get the lasagna out of the
oven!”

“
Lasagna?” Kaynan repeated;
a smile played about his lips even though his eyes remained
tight.

“
I'll always make lasagna
for you,” Mom replied. She threw her arms around his neck and
hugged him tight, then saw me and held open an arm. I ducked
underneath it and closed my eyes, relishing the strength of my
mother’s embrace.

Dad appeared at the door and held us all,
his strong arms comforting. “I'm so glad you're safe,” he said with
a sigh.

“
Me, too,” Kaynan replied,
his voice troubled.

Mom was the first to step free. She looked
at the others behind us and her eyes locked on Rafe. “I don't
believe we've been introduced,” she said, falling back into her
country manners.

I smiled. “Mom, this is Rafe, he-”

She brushed past me and hugged Rafe so fast
he barely had time to shoot me a surprised glance. “Jaze told me
everything you did. You'll always be welcome at our house,” she
said in a tight voice as she fought to keep from crying.

I shot Jaze a glance and he pretended not to
notice, though the corners of his brown eyes creased.

Kaynan smiled a shadow of his familiar grin.
“I don't know if Rafe’ll dare come back if you keep hugging him
like that, Mom,” he pointed out.

She stepped back with a frazzled look on her
face and blustered an apology, but Rafe shook his head. “It's
alright. I'll take whatever hugs I can get.” I slipped an arm
around his waist and he pulled me close. We followed Mom and Dad
into the house, and the familiar scents of home lulled me into the
hope that it was all over.

The lasagna was a ghost of scraps in the pan
and only a few leftover strands of spaghetti had escaped Jet's
careful attention by the time we pushed back our chairs. We stayed
around the table drinking orange juice and lounging with full
bellies as exhaustion seeped into our limbs.

Jaze tipped his head at my wrist. “What's
with the wrist bands?” he asked.

Kaynan and I exchanged a glance. Before I
could say anything, he held up his wrist. “Just tracking bracelets.
It's part of our agreement with Agent Sullivan. We go free, and
they can keep an eye on us to make sure we're not in trouble.”

I nodded in agreement, but knew by the look
on Rafe's face that he didn't believe us. The others seemed to
accept the explanation without question, but Rafe's fingers
lingered on the round metal band and the bulge that made up the
pill box in the middle. I was relieved he didn't push the matter,
but hated the taste of the lie in my mouth. I could only find
relief in the fact that not telling my parents the truth would keep
them from worrying.

***

“
I apologize again for the
death of your alpha,” Agent Sullivan said.

Whines escaped the covered cages in the
cargo truck and Rafe touched one of the corners, his eyes damp.
“The way of the wolf is to accept what has happened and move on.
They don't dwell in the past because there's nothing they can do to
change it.” He met the agent's eyes. “I would change it if I could,
but there's nothing left except to move on. I'm just grateful they
can return to their forest.”

“
Your forest,” Agent
Sullivan said. At Rafe's look, he reached into his new jacket
pocket and held out an envelope, then he glanced at me. “Well,
actually it belongs to both of you.”

“
What are you talking
about?” I asked. Rafe handed me the envelope, his eyes still on the
agent. I opened it and scanned the letter. The contents made my
heart soar. “The government is giving us the forest?
Why?”

“
As a wolf sanctuary.” He
winked. “Or a werewolf sanctuary as needed. They agreed that we
needed to do something to thank you for risking your lives to
destroy the labs.”

My breath caught in my throat. “But a whole
forest?”

He smiled. “It'll be considered a national
forest, but the fences around the perimeter will entitle it an
endangered animal reserve with a fine of a thousand dollars to
anyone who trespasses; that way no one will bother you.”

I didn't know how to express my thanks, but
Rafe looked eagerly from the agent to the wolves, politics and
boundary lines the least of his concern. “Can we let them out
now?”

The agent eyed the cages with a shred of
doubt. “At least wait until we leave. I wouldn't blame them if they
don't forgive us. We'll be back for the cages long after you're
gone.”

Rafe supervised the unloading of the cages,
and the wolves began an eager chorus of yips and barks when they
smelled him. We waited until the truck and Agent Sullivan's jeep
were gone, then opened the first cage. The tawny mother wolf leaped
out, her four pups close behind.

They had lost some of their puppy fat, but
they gamboled about with enough energy and zeal it was obvious they
would suffer little from the effects of the confinement. The mother
wolf, the mate to the alpha they had killed, was a different story.
While she looked happy to see Rafe, her eyes swept the edge of the
forest and it was plain she wanted to find her mate.

We let out the rest of the wolves, phased
into our wolf forms, and joined them in an overjoyed frolic around
the small clearing. The pups kept up the best they could, but the
mother wolf waited by the trees, impatient to return to the den.
Rafe and I knew we couldn't put off the inevitable any longer.

We led the way slowly along the creek bed
toward the den. The pups bit at leaves and dried twigs as we
passed, and it took a long time to herd them up the faint game
trail through the woods. When they neared the grove that housed
their den, though, even they stopped playing and walked resolutely
forward. We paused at the edge of the clearing and let the mother
wolf enter.

She walked to the fallen alpha's side, his
chest sunken and eyes closed, the effects of decay absorbing him
back into the forest where he belonged. She touched his muzzle
gently with hers, then lifted her nose to the sky and let out a
soft, mournful howl. After a minute, the pups pushed past and sat
at their mother's feet, mingling their sweet, high voices with hers
in a tribute to their father.

Rafe and I watched with the other wolves,
hearts heavy as we gave them time to mourn. After a few more
minutes, a low howl rumbled from Rafe's chest and he closed his
eyes, his face bathed in moonlight and the notes of his mourning
painfully beautiful on the soft night air. The other wolves joined
him, and I followed at the end to mingle my voice with theirs, the
loss of the alpha tight in my chest.

The female eventually lowered her muzzle,
touched her mate's side with her nose one last time, then led her
pups away from the grove haunted with memories of fear and pain to
a place more suitable to raise her little ones.

We followed the pack slowly, watching the
pups as they stumbled over sticks and around rocks. The big sable
male nipped at his brother and sisters to start a game of tag, and
they raced between their pack's legs, tripping up their elders who
didn't rebuke them for the trouble.

***

Rafe and I sat together watching the snow
fall outside the cave that now made up both our living area and the
wolves' den. With the alpha gone, Rafe had chosen to have the pack
move in with us. The pups still played, but their legs were
lankier, their fur thick with winter hides, and they were beginning
to show slivers of the wolves they would become.

The sable male was more dominant than the
rest, and Rafe had already taken over the alpha's duty of training
him to lead the pack. Earlier that day, we had helped overtake an
elderly moose that wouldn't have lasted the winter. It had been the
pups' first hunt, and now they all lounged around the cave with
full bellies and pleased expressions on their faces.

I pulled the bear blanket closer around my
shoulders and leaned against Rafe. He never seemed to feel the
cold, and smiled at me contently with one arm around my shoulders
and the other braced on the cold stone floor. Snowflakes drifted
down through the dusk outside the entrance, white spots amid the
darkening grays of the forest evening. An owl hooted somewhere in
the shadows and a mouse close to the entrance of the cave squeaked
in fear. The alpha pup cocked his head at the sound, but even he
was too full to investigate.