“I don’t understand,” Andy gasped, cutting through branches, and leaping over branches.
Paul looked back, and the snow was red with blood. Growls, snarls, howls, ripped through the air. Birds were zooming out of the trees as massive bodies slammed into redwoods and oaks. Some trees splintered, and the sound thundered through the air as the mighty redwoods came crashing down around them.
“Paul, what’s happening?” Andy demanded.
“War!” Paul said, picking up his pace.
Werebears darted past them; some looked at them wondering why they were running away from the fight. Thankfully, no one stopped them. But Andy and Paul were running against the tsunami of bears, and it was getting too crowded. The snow had made a narrow path to the fight, and every one of Aupon’s bears wanted a piece of the action.
Paul looked back again. The ground below was absolutely covered with the bodies of werewolves. A few bears were scattered amongst them.
“Shit!” Paul said. Amy
“Wait, what? You think they will get to her?” Andy looked over his shoulder.
“No telling. Some are staying to fight, but once it slows they will want to get the other wolves. I doubt all of the werewolves are down there fighting.”
Andy’s eyes darkened with understanding.
“We have to get her,” Andy said.
“God, I was afraid you were going to say that,” Paul said.
“Plan?” Andy asked, darting out the way of several black bears running past them.
“Transform. Run right into the thick of it. We will blend better that way. Just watch your back. Keep running. They couldn’t have gotten far,” Paul said, skidding to a halt.
Paul took a deep breath, then collapsed on all fours, running right into the mess of bodies and blood. The growls grew louder as they closed in. Andy closed in next to him growling. It would take a miracle, but they would have to try.
*****
“Are you alright?” Andy asked in bearspeak, as they cleared the fighting.
Paul growled a response. A wolf had clawed him deeply across his chest, but he got away. Paul looked down, and the snow had a trail of giant drops of blood.
“Shit, I’m going to lead them right to us,” Paul said, looking at the trail of blood.
“No worries. I see a campfire. There is still time,” Andy said.
“I see it. Transform. We don’t want to scare them.”
Andy rose into his human form, skidding a wave of snow into the air a few yards away from the camp fire. Women and children jumped up, staring at them.
Paul groaned as the pain of his injury weighed on his chest.
“Ouch, that looks worse without fur on it,” Andy said, grimacing at the claw marks on Paul’s chest.
“Thanks for the feedback,” Paul said, putting clumps of snow in the bloody scratches.
“We’ve got company,” Andy said, jutting his chin at a line of women approaching them.
“State your business,” said an old woman with long silver hair. She sounded French, though she was probably Canadian.
“We mean no harm,” Paul said, approaching her slowly.
“What’s going on out there?” she demanded, “Why aren’t the men back?”
“Look, we don’t have time,” Andy said, “There is war! You need to get out of here.”
“Nonsense. We’ve my granddaughter. There’s nothing to fight about,” she said, tightening a shawl over her boney shoulders.
“Granddaughter? You’re Amy’s grandmother?” Andy asked, looking around for Amy.
“Amelia. Just who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Andre, um Andy, and this is Paul. Look, we know her. And I am telling you, you’re in danger. You have to run. Don’t grab anything, just run!”
The old woman was about to speak when Amy stumbled from behind some trees. She looked weak, pale, and bruised.
“Nona,” Amy said in a low voice, “I believe them. We should go.”
“Good. Let’s go!” Andy said, walking towards her.
“Stop!” Amy said, tears brimming in her eyes, “Don’t come anywhere near me. We, wolves, are leaving. You two can go back to your kind,” Amy said, pursing her lips.
“Amy, you’re ill, and not fit to travel,” Nona protested.
“Um, I don’t think we have a choice,” Paul said, looking at a wave. A tsunami of bears and wolves about a mile away raced for the camp.
Nona’s face went ghost-white. The wolves howled in their direction, and Nona brushed her gray hair away from her ear, leaning her head in to listen.
“Oh, no,” Nona said, “Corion is—they say to run. Grab the pups. Run, everyone, quick!”
“There are caves. We can get there undetected if we move now,” Paul said, collapsing on all fours. Paul grabbed children two by two and tossed them on his back. The children held on tight, grasping at his thick black coat. Andy followed his lead and threw Amy over his neck along with five young wolf pups. The other women transformed following close behind.
“It’s okay, Amy. I’m so sorry,” Andy growled. Paul heard him so Amy must have too. He had taught her bearspeak, but she didn’t reply. Maybe she was just too weak.
They ran, and ran for miles uphill, and then across a lake to lose the scent, and then down the hill to a row of caves.
Paul squatted low so the pups could climb off, and transformed back, feeling the weight of his wounds.
“You’re hurt,” Nona said, rising to her human form.
Paul nodded, leaning on his knees.
Nona walked outside of the cave and returned with berries and leaves in her hands.
“This will sting, but it will keep out infection,” Nona said. She spit on the leaves, and mashed everything into a paste in her small, frail hands.
“Ow!” Paul said as the purple and green paste touched the bloody gashes on his chest.
“Pain only lasts a moment,” Nona said, “Thank you for saving us.”
“It was the right thing to do,” Paul said with a terse nod.
“What now?” said, Amy walking over with Andy.
Nona looked to Paul, as did everyone else.
“Why are the kids looking at me?” asked Paul.
Nona smiled, “Because the pups think you are alpha.”
“Alpha? No, no, I’m—not a leader,” Paul stammered.
“I don’t know, bro. You sure as hell like bossing me around. Might as well make that alpha status official,” Andy said with a slight smile.
Paul looked to Amy, and she nodded her thanks. Good, they were good. Andy smiled, and Amy reached for his hand, smiling at him. It looked like their feelings were real, and Paul felt a peace about it that he couldn’t explain.
“I can’t promise that I will be a good leader,” Paul said, looking to the wolves, to his brother, “But my brother was right about the forest being our home. So if the forest can be home to an architect, then wolves can be his brothers and sisters. We will have to keep moving, but I will protect you to the best of my ability.”
Paul rose, standing up straight through the pain, and he growled loudly to the sky. The wolves howled loudly in reply, and Paul smiled that his family was once again complete. He would not be a king of the woods, but its guardian.
THE END
Another bonus story is on the next page.
Abby had her sights on a new life; a new start. She needed this to keep herself going. She definitely couldn’t get any lower in life then she was right now!
Abby decided that in order to start her new life, starting a new career would be the best way to go. She enrolled in the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, clear across the country from where she used to be in California. Even that wasn’t going to be far enough away without needing a passport for people to forget where and who she was. She wasn’t going to be an embarrassment to herself or her family like she already was.
She recently received the keys to her apartment in the harbor’s historical downtown. The building she was able to rent out was cheap, she had never seen rent so low in a place such as this and she wondered why it was like that. Looking around her California flat one more time, she looked Sondra over carefully.
”Stay.” Sondra pleaded.
“You know that’s not possible. I have to go. My family is all over the tabloids. Paparazzi are swarming, I have no choice but to do this. It might be okay for you, or someone else, but it would never end for me. It has to be this way.” Abby had changed her name, her identity her entire everything.
She was the daughter of Michael Custer, the billionaire, and all she wanted was to get far away from her father.
“I understand you need to do this, but you still are able to live comfortably. You’ll never have to learn the true struggle of, well… being me.” She shook her head slowly.
“So what’s the point of doing all this?” Sondra asked her.
“No one else will have to know that! I’m late for my plane. I’ll let you know where I am and when I land in Bar Harbor. It shouldn’t really take all day.” Abby gave Sondra a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be okay, I promise.” Even though Sondra had heard those words before, she trusted that her friend knew exactly what she was doing and wasn’t going to question her any more. However, Abby knew it wasn’t going to be the last time she was going to hear about it. She would hear it from afar for a very long time.
Getting in the cab, she looked around to see if anyone had seen her leave Sondra’s apartment and breathed out a huge sigh of relief.
“Airport please.” She told the cab driver and he started off towards the airport. She leaned back to relax for a short time before the chaos would start and interrupt the solitude of her quiet mind. She wondered if she was making the right decision, but wasn’t about to second guess herself. It was to late for that. She was already on her way and she started her classes tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. at the College of the Atlantic. She was going to take advantage of the Maine culture of wildlife, and being on the Atlantic was the best decision she could have made to start her new life.
All anyone ever talked to her about was money, and how she could do whatever she wanted, when she wanted to do, it and how she got it done. Here, she hoped it would be different (little did she know it wouldn’t be) but she could have certainly tried to act like it would be. Finally getting to the airport, she paid the cabbie and walked in, taking her bags where they needed to go. She went through security and walked to the gate for her flight and sat in one of the chairs waiting for the time to board her plane.
As she sat there she looked across the way and saw a very handsome gentleman watching her carefully. She smiled toward him and nodded. They had quite a while to wait for their plane, and Abby was always at least an hour early for her flights, she was never one to procrastinate on anything.
She was getting bored so she decided to make a gutsy move and walk over towards the window and watch the planes land and take off for just a little while. It was an excuse to see if someone would take her seat and she would actually be able to sit next to the strange man. She looked around beside him and noticed no one was even near their terminal and wondered if they were going to have a small amount of people on their flight.
Deciding to go ahead and just sit down next to him, she did and was glad she did. Whatever cologne he was wearing smelled divine to her and it was all she could do to not jump him right then and there.
“If you don’t mind me being so bold; your cologne smells simply amazing! What is it that you use so that I might buy it for my husband?” She asked, not afraid to tell a lie to get where and what she wanted.
“Oh? This? It’s simple to remember, it’s just Old Spice.” He replied, giving her a genuinely handsome smile. She smiled back enjoying his warmth sitting next to him in the chair.
“Simply old spice or not, it still smells very nice on you and I’m sorry for being so straight forward, but it suits you and your looks so nicely.”
“Well, I thank you very much ma’am, I don’t usually get such straight forward compliments, so thank you. It’s made my day.” He said to her, shifting a little in his seat and adjusting his collar of his shirt not wanting her to see all the hair on his neck and make her take back the compliment and get all weirded out.
“Please, not ma’am, my name is Abby.” She said.
“Nice to meet you Abby, My name is Kurt. Where are you headed on our flight this fine day?” He asked her.
“I’m moving to Bar Harbor Maine, have you heard of it?” She asked.
“Actually, ironic as it may sound, I’m headed there myself!” He said excitedly, not knowing if it was coincidence or maybe he had a stalker and just didn’t know what he was up against, even though she seemed rather sweet and absolutely harmless.
She beamed a beautiful smile at him and her eyes got big and bright and he might have even seen a tiny sparkle in her left eye. “Simply amazing! It would be even more simply amazing if I ended up getting to sit by you on the entire flight there!” she said excitedly. “Are you flying first class? You’re here awfully early to just be flying coach.” She said.
He chuckled a little. “Nope, I’m in coach. I like getting to my appointments early, no time for error.” He said, grinning at her. She smiled back again at him and did a little thinking, she really liked this guy and was curious about him, she wanted to know more.
She nodded to him relaxed in her seat, watching the planes pull into their gates. She got up from her seat and walked over towards the front desk. “What would it take to get this gentleman’s seat upgraded to a seat next to me in first class?”
The desk clerk looked over the seating arrangements “The flight isn’t full today, there’s a seat right next to yours, if you’d like to upgrade to that.”
She thought about that and looked back over towards Kurt. Was it worth it? Yes, totally! “That would be great! Is there an extra charge?” She asked.
“No, since you are buying another seat I won’t tack on any extra fees for you, we’ll add some extra flyer miles to your account.”
“Thank you, Can I upgrade without letting him know until he actually boards the plane?”
The clerk smiled. “Certainly.” Abby smiled at the clerk and walked back over toward their seats.
“Everything okay?” Kurt asked her.
“Oh yes, I was just making sure I had my arrangements made and a car to meet me at the airport when I got there.” He nodded and continued to read the book he bought that morning at one of the gift shops.
“How’s your book?” Abby asked him, looking at the cover trying to read the title.
“Honestly, it’s horribly boring. There are no pictures in it!” She laughed, maybe a little to loudly, but he was glad she had a sense of humor.
“All passengers flying flight 1837 Cape Air may now come up to the terminal with their tickets.” They both looked up and started to pick up their belongings and walked towards the gate entrance.
“First class passengers first please.” The girl at the gate announced. Abby picked up her carry-on bag and her jacket and purse and walked over toward the gate and handed the girl her ticket.
“Thank you ma’am, hope you have a great flight today with Cape Air.”
Abby smiled and walked ahead and didn’t really look around to see if Kurt was watching her, she didn’t want it to seem obvious.
She did hear him talking on his phone. “I’ll see you in a few hours babe, don’t forget to meet me at the airport, should be there in a few hours, I’ll text you when we land.”
Abby’s heart sank.
Damn, well at least he’ll have a comfortable flight and I’ll have decent company,
she thought. She moved through the line and she was thankful that there really weren’t a lot of people flying first class this trip. It would be somewhat quiet. She walked down the terminal and got to her seat, one of the flight attendants actually recognized her and smiled widely at her.
“Welcome to Cape Air, Miss Custer. Is there anything I can get for you before we take off?” Her voice was a little too excited.
“No thank you.” Abby put her carry-on in the bin above her and waited until Kurt entered the first class cabin. A few moments went by and she started to wonder if he had declined the offer.