Walking Wolf Road (Wolf Road Chronicles Book 1) (5 page)

For the first time that I could remember, I felt whole.

We broke free of the forest and raced along the shore of a huge lake. The moon reflected in the perfect mirror of the water was as crisp and clear as the original, along with the green ribbons of light that danced over the trees on the northern shore. We kicked up sand and pebbles behind us as we flew and the soft silt squished between my toes. We reached a tall spire of rocks and leapt our way up to the very top and looked out over the lake and the forest.

I knew this place, knew it with a deeper memory inside me. It was like this world had been lost in time, but my soul remembered it.

“What is this place?” I asked her while we looked out over the vast black wilderness.

“Some humans call it the Lowerworld,” she said while we curled up against each other, our white and black coats like the halves of a yin-yang, “This is the realm of souls and spirits, but it’s shaped by memory and belief. This lake,” she looked out over the rippling water, “is a reflection of your memories, Jimmy. Long ago, this was your home.”

Memory stirred, and I realized that we had run like this before, years ago. Time meant nothing, a strange human concept that had no place here. My memories were shattered, half remembered and buried in the depths of my mind behind a shroud of terror, but still very much real.

“How many times have we run like this?”

“Too many to bother counting. Do you finally remember now?” She rumbled against my side, that same contented sound my wolf had made in the cave.

“Sort of… Have I
been like this all along?”

“You pushed it down, buried it deep and tried to forget it within yourself.”

I felt uneasy, and a twinge of pain rippled through my hind leg, “What happened to me?”

She was quiet a moment, “You’ll remember when the time comes. For now, I’m just glad you are home; I’ve missed you so much. You needed someone to remind you who you really are. Someone like you.”

“Fen.”

“Yes.”

This calm, this peace—it almost hurt. I felt like I was home for the first time in my life. Lupa lifted her head to the moon and let out a great soaring howl, and I joined in. Somewhere in the distance I thought I heard an answer rise from the trees across the lake as my eyes drifted closed.

The next day, Fen waited for me, leaning on the wall outside the art room door. Neither of us spoke for a minute, too stubborn to admit my mistake.

“I heard your call.”

I frowned. I didn’t remember calling him.

“Last night, from the lake?” he prompted and raised an eyebrow. “I tried to answer but I was too far away, you were gone by the time I got there.” I swallowed and lowered my eyes.

Well, if I was looking for proof that it wasn’t all in my head; that would
probably suffice.

“So… that place was real then?” I scowled as I tried to fit it all into my reality. It
didn’t
fit, but I was working on it.

“Eh, sort of… We’ll get to that later though. Meet me in the cafeteria at lunch; we have a lot to go over. You’ve been asleep too long.” He turned to walk into the classroom, and then paused, “Oh, and happy new moon by the way…”

I met Fen near the lunch line but said nothing. Embarrassed by my behavior and the lingering rationality that ‘there’s no such thing as werewolves’. Fen looked me over and narrowed his eyes.

“It’s obvious the change has stuck; but you’re off balance. You’ve still got a long way to go, and a lot to learn.”

I followed him out the cafeteria door, “Where are we going?”

He didn’t reply, and I took my cue, “Look Fen, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was such a jerk, but… put yourself in my shoes. This isn’t exactly easy for me; it’s sort of a mind-fuck.” I said as we started across the front lawn.

He paused and sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry too, we were all able to sorta prepare ourselves; you were just dumped in it headfirst.”
How many more were there?
“Lupa told me you were coming years ago. At first I didn’t believe it, I thought I misunderstood her, but then there you were.” He shook his head, “I wanted to wait, but apparently Lupa had other plans. She chose you Jimmy; it was decided long before you or I had any say in the matter.”

Okay, creepy. He didn’t exactly sound ecstatic about it either.

“First things first, look into my eyes.” I resisted making a Bela Lugosi pun, and did as he asked. His gaze was intense and I could only hold it for a few seconds before my skin crawled and I glanced away. We both shuddered and he blinked hard.

I rubbed at the goosebumps on my arms and felt that cool wash again from his necklace as it bumped against my chest. I pulled it out and looked at it, “So… why did you give me a silver necklace? All the stories say werewolves are allergic to silver.”

“All the movies
say that, but it’s not exactly true. Most of us react to it, but nothing as dramatic as fiction makes it. The moon has been associated with silver since the dawn of time. See, silver and gold are both charged with spiritual energy. And before you give me one of those looks, think about it; didn’t you feel better after I gave you the necklace?” I froze in the middle of making the exact face he mentioned and frowned. Damnit, he was right.

“Yeah, I thought so. You’re gunna need to open your mind a bit… okay, maybe a lot in your case.” He smirked at me so I knew he was just teasing and I smiled back. “Silver carries lunar energy, and werewolves are linked to the moon. But even that part is only half true. We’re connected, but we’re not slaves. So silver either boosts or deadens our shifting energy. It all de—”

“Wait, pause, what the hell is ‘shifting energy’?” I rubbed my temples; it felt like he was speaking another language that I only half understood. The words were familiar, but the way he used them was different. I was going to need to take notes to remember all this crap.

“Sorry; shifting energy is something particular to werewolves, or shifters since we’re not all wolves. It’s like to the Qi of oriental medicine; the energy of our bodies, our auras. Shifters’ energy is different though; it fluctuates more, usually in sync with lunar and yearly cycles. It peaks and dips, and when it peaks, it makes ‘shifting’ possible.”

“You mean like turning into a wolf?” I fought very hard to keep the skepticism out of my voice as we sat down on the grass in the middle of the field, no one around to hear us.

“Potentially,” he said carefully, “though I’ve never done it, or seen it done, or seen any proof that it’s even
possible
. But…I dream about being able to actually shapeshift someday.” He grew quiet for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. “Anyway, there are different kinds of shifts. You’ve already experienced at least one, last night, you shifted into your wolf form in your dream right?”

I nodded. The sun was warm; but the breeze gave me goosebumps as leaves skittered across the lawn.

“Anyway, like I was saying, our reaction to silver is based almost entirely on the individual. This particular Pack reacts to both silver and the moon. So it was pretty much just a good guess that the necklace would affect you the same way and help buffer your shifting energy.”

“Wow, it only took you half the lunch break to answer my question.” I muttered as I stuffed the last bite of food in my mouth.

He smiled with embarrassment, “Yeah, sorry. I’m notorious for my tangents. Do you have time after school?”

I swallowed my mouthful, “I usually walk my little brother home, but I could call my mom to see if she can pick him up.”

“See if she can. You have a lot to learn, and we can’t waste much more time.”

I called Mom and she agreed to pick Jacob up for me. After
school, Fen followed me to my locker and then led me outside.

We crossed the athletic field and he led me through the trees on the far side. I followed him to a hidden little patch of land overgrown with tall grass and weeds. Elm trees formed a wall and Fen led me to a path that snaked through the brambles. I heard voices up ahead and I gripped my backpack tighter.

The path opened up into a small clearing in the center of the wooded patch. Geri, the stocky boy from the night Fen bit me, sat on a fallen tree along one side of the clearing. Of course.

Geri struggled to stifle a laugh, and Fen glanced around the clearing, “Where’s Loki?”

“Oof!” The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with the wind knocked out of me and her grinning face hovered over mine. 

“Ha! You just got owned, pup! Too easy…” She cackled while I struggled, but she pinned my arms down with her legs. All I could do was stutter and blush. “Aw, he’s turning red! Look at him, he’s sho coot!”

“Loki, go easy on him…” Fen muttered.

“Aww, c’mon he’s only a little maimed! You can take a little rough handling, can’tcha?” Loki grinned and a ring of amber bled in around her emerald green irises, “I’m just asserting my dominance is all.”

She loomed over me, and stared into my eyes. Deep inside, a part of me understood and answered. My skin tingled as my wolf woke up and heat poured through my veins.

I arched my back and pushed us off the ground. I flipped us over and pinned her wrists down without even realizing it, surprised by my own strength. Whatever she did, the animal inside me didn’t like it one bit, and, I felt him look out my eyes.

“Uh, Fen?” Loki stammered, her wide eyes unable to leave mine. “He’s already manifesting!” With unexpected strength, she threw me off her and rolled out from under me. My body rolled on its own and came up on its hand and toes, disconnected from me.

“Look at his eyes,” Loki muttered while she crouched, mirroring me.

“I know…” Fen looked at me intently, but not into my eyes, not threatening. He stared at my chest and frowned, “He’s not wearing it…”

“Not wearing what?” Geri asked as he came up beside Fen.

“The silver I gave him.”

What was going on? I remembered taking off the necklace so it wouldn’t get caught on anything in P.E., but couldn’t remember putting it back on. The implication dawned on me; the silver dampened the presence of the wolf—and I’d removed it. My body backed up when Fen stood and walked toward me, messing with something around his neck while Loki and Geri fanned out around me.

A thought that wasn’t my own whispered through the back of my mind;
it’s a trap
…

I willed myself to stand up and realized I couldn’t control my own body. Worse, I didn’t know how to get it back. I panicked and fought for control through the numbness, but my lips still twitched and bared my teeth.

The next moment, all three of them pounced in a blur.

Loki struck from my left, Geri from the right, and they
wrestled me to the ground. The wolf raged when they forced me onto my back his power ripped through me and knocked my control away completely.

Loki braced an arm under my chin to keep my teeth away, while my arm smashed Geri across the chest. He barely held on to it as he crashed into the bushes, but it was enough.

In that moment, with my arms spread wide, Fen pounced. In a single swift motion he pushed my shirt up and pressed something cold against the hollow of my sternum. Lead weight bloomed inside me; a liquid exhaustion that flowed into my limbs and sapped all the strength from me. The wolf inside yelped in pain, closed his eyes and curled up in the darkness, drained and weary, while I seeped back into my body.

Everyone but Fen panted for breath, and Geri released my arm to inspect the violet bruise that was blossoming across his chest. I struggled to move, but my limbs just flopped weakly. I tried to ask what happened, but all that came out was a drawled slur.

“Don’t worry, it’s over now… Just make sure to keep that necklace on, okay?” Fen said, careful not to meet my eyes.

“Jeezus pup… don’t
ever do that again.” Loki let go of my arm and it fell to the ground. She picked off bits of leaves and grass that stuck to her.

“Ease off him Loki, nothing would’ve happened if you hadn’t challenged him,” Geri growled at her as he gingerly prodded the red streak across his torso. She glowered at him, but didn’t argue.

“I don’t… I’m… sorry…” I felt exhausted, like my body had been frozen.
What the fuck just happened?

“Didn’t you tell him what would happen if he took off the silver?” Loki shot Fen a furious glare.

“No, I got distracted.”

“Damnit Fen, you can’t be so careless,” she snapped and Fen winced like she’d slapped him.

“Yeah… you and your damn… tangents…” I panted. The mood broke, and everyone chuckled at Fen’s expense.

“Sorry, I don’t exactly have a syllabus…” Fen sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I doesn’t matter, can you put that thing away now?” Loki asked him, looking a little green. Geri didn’t look so hot either.

“Yeah, I think so…” He pulled away whatever he’d pressed against my chest and I caught a flash of blue-green as he tucked it away. As soon as he did, I took a deep breath and felt sensation rush back into my limbs. Loki sighed with relief, and some color returned to her cheeks.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, “It almost looked like—”

“Turquoise? It was,” Fen replied.

“Turquoise? Why not silver?” I asked and flexed my hands through the pins and needles.

“Silver’s too dynamic,” Loki answered as she stood up. “Sometimes it boosts shifting energy, so not always a good idea an emergency. Turquoise on the other hand,” she said, making a face, “nasty stuff… just seems to suck the energy right out of us.   

“By the way, I’m Loki. My real name’s Jessica, but only people who share genes with me call me that.” She smiled at me as some thought passed behind her eyes and I was struck again by how familiar she looked. Her emerald green eyes sparkled when she smiled, a mischievous light within them. Freckles dusted her nose and cheeks and her only makeup was the eyeliner that made her eyes even more striking. “And the guy you just about threw across the clearing is Geri. See, I told you you’d see us again soon.”

Geri gave a wry smile. “Hey.”

“I’m… sorry…” I muttered, but he just shrugged and smirked at me.

“Don’t worry about it, wasn’t your fault.” Geri shot a look at Loki, who glared at Fen, who pretended not to notice. At fault or not, I felt my cheeks flood crimson. I’d made some craptacular impressions in my life, but this was in a league of its own.

Fen ignored Loki’s ridicule and checked his watch, “Crap, I need to go pick my mom up from work, I have the car today. You guys should hang out though, get to know each other. I’ll see ya tomorrow.” He grabbed his backpack and hurried away, leaving me alone with two almost total strangers.

Looking for an escape, I glanced at my watch. “Actually, I need to get home too, it’ll be dinnertime soon.”

Geri seemed to have an idea, “Hey Loki, wanna take him home?”

“Sure. Do you mind?” she asked me as she stood and picked up her bag.

Truthfully, I wanted some time alone so I could get a get a grip on things. My mind struggled to categorize my reality, and force order on the impossible. It still just didn’t seem real. Only a couple weeks ago turquoise was pretty jewelry, supernatural forms of energy were an X-File, and werewolves were Halloween costumes. Now, a teenage girl had lifted me and thrown me like a sack of potatoes, and an animal spirit inside me had taken over my body. Even weirder; people actually wanted to be friends with me.