Wild Blood (25 page)
Authors: Nancy A. Collins
Sunder shook his head. “Naw, I'm a loner by nature. The only thing that was holding me to the Pack was Rend.”
“I understand,” Skinner said sympathetically. “You're free to go. No one will stand in your way.”
As Sunder turned to leave, he gave Skinner a sideways grin. “Who would have guessed you to be a wolf-wizard? Good luck, cuz.”
Epilogue
Skinner emerged from the sweat lodge and stood under the full moon that hung over the mesa, studying its far-away dry oceans and dormant volcanoes as he wiped the perspiration from his body.
It had been a year since he had come West in search of his true identity, and he had never been happier. He had been completely accepted by the coyotero, Rosie was now his mate, and his relationship with Changing Woman was finally developing into something more familial. He knew she could never be a mother to him, but he did not need her to be, for he already had one whose heritage would always live in his mind, if not his flesh.
Now that he was the new leader of the coyotero, he had seemed it wise to relocate. After all, Lady Melusine was not the kind of matriarch to take the murder of her son and the mutilation of her consort lightly, so they abandoned the pueblo in Arizona in favor of an old ghost town in New Mexico, just to be on the safe side. Most of the coyotero had adjusted to the change quite handily, although Root Woman had complained mightily about being relocated so late in life. But it was all for the best, really.
Rosie sat on the front porch of their home, busy with the beadwork for the babies' shoes, her swollen belly serving as a natural workbench. Shortly after she told him of her condition, Skinner had a vision of a boy child, while Changing Woman had one of a girl. This is how he learned that he was the father of twins. Fella dozed at Rosie's feet while sucking on his thumb. Changing Woman said that the half-wolf undignified habit was a result of being weaned too early.
Occasionally Skinner found himself wondering if Jez had delivered twins, as well, but then chased the question from his head. He tried hard not to think of his demi-sister, or the cubs he had sired with her, but sometimes it was hard not to.
He had not had been visited by the Great Wolf since the night he battled Feral, but he could tell it was still with him, locked inside the Wolfcane. If it had work for him to do, it was keeping it to itself. But then again, vargr live a very long time. It might be another century or two before the Great Wolf set him on whatever task it needed done.
Until then, he would continue his apprenticeship under Changing Woman, love his mate, and raise his cubs the best way he knew how. Because, when all was said and done, he was still his father's son at heart.
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All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Nancy Collins
ISBN: 978-1-5040-1532-5
Distributed in 2015 by Open Road Distribution
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New York, NY 10014
