Destiny Binds (14 page)

My shoulders slumped in relief. “How did Liam get to you before dawn? Isnʼt he a werewolf too?”

#

“Of course heʼs a werewolf. It runs in the family.”

“But you said that you had to stay in wolf form from sunset to sunrise on the night of a full moon.”

“The rules donʼt really apply to Liam,” Alex said with a wry smile. “He has an amazing amount of control. He made his first successful non-full moon change when he was fourteen.

By the time he was sixteen, he could change at noon on the day of a new moon.” Alexʼs words were saturated with admiration and envy. “Itʼs not even supposed to be possible, but neither is changing back to human during a full moon.”

The fact that Liam was such a good werewolf wasnʼt really surprising. It was clear that he was different than Alex. More other. More wolf.

Alex casually reached over and placed my hand in his. “Youʼre cold,” he said, misinterpreting my slight tremble. “Maybe we should head back.” Like Hades we would. “Iʼm fine. Iʼve got a million burning questions to keep me warm.”

“A million burning questions, huh?” He tried to appear put out, but I could see a rogue dimple.

“At least a million, and Iʼm prepared to stay out here all night if that is what it takes to get answers. I mean, unless
youʼre
too cold...” Growing up with Jase and Charlie taught me one truth about boys - the best way to ensure they do what you want is to question their masculinity. I could tell by the set of Alexʼs jaw he was no exception.

“Iʼm not cold. This is balmy compared to Montana.”

“So, youʼll stay and answer all my questions?”

This time the weariness on his face was real. “Iʼll try.” That was good enough for me. “So, being a werewolf or Shape-Shifter or whatever is inherited, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, Jaseʼs kids will all be able to turn into a coyote during the full moon?”

“Jaseʼs sons will start changing sometime during adolescence. Itʼs one of the perks of puberty, like a deeper voice and chest hair.”

“Only boys? Girls canʼt be were-whatevers?” That hardly seemed fair.

“Itʼs rare for a girl to be born with the gene. Most of the ones that do, donʼt survive the first change, if they last that long.”

Something about they way he said “if they last that long” didnʼt sit right with me. “Why wouldnʼt they make it to puberty?”

“The childhood mortality rate amongst female Shifters is abnormally high, most likely due to the bodyʼs inability to accept the physiological changes associated with being a Shifter,” Alex said as though he was reading aloud from a text book. He often did that when we were debating issues for our newspaper articles. It meant that he didnʼt believe a word of what he just said.

That bothered me. Why would he tell me something he didnʼt believe? And if it wasnʼt some sort of allergic reaction to being half-wolf (or half-coyote) that caused little girls to die, what was? Not knowing was going to drive me crazy, but pushing the issue might make Alex less inclined to answer the rest of my questions. Reluctantly, I moved on.

“Does it hurt? Changing, I mean.”

Alexʼs loosened his vice-like grip on my hand. “In the beginning. The first time I Changed I thought I would die before everything got in the right place, but you get used to it. Now itʼs more uncomfortable than painful.”

“How does it work? Itʼs not like wolves and humans have the same physical make up. I mean, they have more teeth than we do, and smaller internal organs, and a tail, for Peteʼs sake. And coyotes are tiny compared to people. Where does Jaseʼs extra 100 pounds go when heʼs Coyote Jase? Or is he the worldʼs biggest coyote?” My mini-rant managed to illicit nothing more than a laugh from Alex.

“Whatʼs so funny?”

“You want me to explain magic?”

Of course I did. “In the most scientific terms possible, please.” He gave me one of those full-force smiles that made my heart skip a beat. “I thought you might feel that way,” he said, reaching into the pocket of his coat. “Thatʼs why I have this.”

“What is it?” I stared at the package he placed in my hands.

“Your Christmas present. I wrapped it myself.”

No kidding. Only a boy would require half a role of Scotch tape and five feet of Pokemon paper to wrap a single present.

“I thought you didnʼt plan on seeing me tonight.”

“I didnʼt.”

“So, you were just carrying this around in your coat pocket in the off chance you ran into me in the middle of the night?”

Alex ducked his head and peered up through his lashes. “Promise not to freak out on me?”

“No.”

His laugh echoed off the surrounding trees. “Will you promise to try not to freak out on me?”

“I will put forth a valiant effort,” I conceded.

“I was going to sneak into your room and leave it.” His words came out so rapidly it took a minute for me to realize what he said.

“You were going to break into my house?”

“You live ten miles outside of Timber, Kentucky. I was going to walk through the unlocked front door. That hardly constitutes breaking in.”

Illogically, the thing bothering me most was that my room was trashed. There were probably bras and panties sitting out in plain view.

“Itʼs a good thing that plan didnʼt work out,” I said. “Jaseʼs room is next to mine. You wouldʼve totally been busted.”

“Actually, I was coming to talk to Jase, to let him know we were back in town. I was going to say I ended up in your room by mistake.” Obviously, he thought he was very sly. I, for one, felt certain that Jase would have easily seen through such a weak lie, but I allowed him to believe his little fantasy.

“There is no gift tag on here,” I noticed. “How was I supposed to know it was from you?”

“Open it.”

It took some time to get through all the tape, but eventually I was looking at an old, yellowed paperback. The cover had a beast that looked like the illegitimate love child of Chewbacca and Lassie and read, “
Werewolf Autopsy
by PJ Smith.” He thought an ancient pulp novel was going to sate my curiosity?

“In 1955 George McPhearson, a werewolf, turned himself over to a scientist at Cambridge University. After two years of observations and experiments, Dr. Smith presented his findings, and was subsequently laughed at by every academic institute across the globe. Maybe it wouldʼve been different if he could have offered proof, but George conveniently disappeared right before the study went public. Eventually Smith was only able to get his findings published as fiction with only one limited press run. You may well be holding the only copy of the only book that tells the truth about werewolves.”

“Where did you find it?” If it was as rare as he said it was, which I fully believed, he must have searched everywhere for it, or got really lucky on eBay.

“It was my dadʼs. I guess that technically qualifies as re-gifting.” In the back of my closet there is a box filled with some of my motherʼs things - her favorite albums and books, some pictures, a few pieces of jewelry, and her wedding dress. None of the items would bring much at an auction, but theyʼre my most prized possessions. I couldnʼt bear to part with any of them.

“Iʼll take good care of it,” I said, turning the pages with care, as if it was an invaluable holy document. My eyes skimmed the pages, pausing on words like muscular regeneration, skeletal fusion, and passionate embrace.

Passionate embrace?

“This is all real?” I asked as I quickly read a paragraph detailing the trials and tribulations of kissing with fangs.

Alex looked over my shoulder. “Well, not that stupid love story stuff. The publishing company added all that crap in, but the pages upon pages detailing werewolf anatomy and the Change in ʻas scientific terms as possibleʼ is as real as itʼs going to get.” I was holding all the answers I had been so desperately seeking for the last month. Ever since the moment I realized what Alex was, my world had been off balance. I found comfort in logic and reasoning. Werewolves defy both. Alex gave me a way to turn the impossible into something that could be explained and studied. Tears stung in my eyes. “Thank you.”

“Iʼm glad you like it,” he said. “Does this conclude the interrogation portion of our evening?”

“That depends.” I gently placed the book in my lap, gathering up every ounce of courage I had to reach over and grab his hand. “Does Dr. Smith also cover the science behind vampires?”

“Vampires? You think vampires are real? Seriously?”

“The
werewolf
is asking me if I believe in vampires?” Alexʼs smile only widened. “Point taken.”

“So, there are no vampires?”

“As far as I know, vampires are just a legend.

“How about faeries? Ghosts? Witches? Zombies? Unicorns?” He squeezed my hand and moved in closer so that we were leaning against one another. My heart rate kicked up a few notches and my brain threatened to shut off completely. “Or, you know, gnomes. Maybe gnomes are real. Are gnomes real?”

“Gnomes? I donʼt think so.” We were sitting so close I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. “Iʼve never seen a ghost, but I wouldnʼt discount the possibility. There are women with supernatural senses, but theyʼre called Seers.”

“Seers? Like precogs?”

“There are a few very powerful Seers that can catch a glimpse of the future, but itʼs extremely rare. They come in different varieties. Some are dream walkers, Seeing things that have happened in the past or something going on a thousand miles away, but only when theyʼre asleep. Some Seers can See your thoughts, emotions, or deepest secrets just by touching you. The Seer that served my fatherʼs Pack could See everywhere an object had been when she held it in both hands.”

“
Served
your fatherʼs pack?” Itʼs not like Iʼm a donʼt-shave-your-legs-in-definance-of-our-patricarical-society type feminist, but things like a woman
serving
a pack of men made my skin crawl.

“I didnʼt mean in a sexual way.”

Oh gross. I hadnʼt been thinking that, but I was stuck with a searing visual and queasy stomach anyway. “How did you mean it?”

“Seers are honored, exalted members of the Pack. Like lycanthropy, itʼs an inherited trait, but itʼs a recessive gene. When a werewolf has a son, he knows that one day he will be a werewolf too, but the daughter of a Seer doesnʼt necessarily have the gift. The ratio of Seers to Shifters is probably less than one to ten, yet they are important for our survival.” Alex paused and looked at me expectantly.

“Important how?” I didnʼt want to disappoint.

“While their other talents vary, all Seers have the ability to communicate with us in our animal form They can warn us if someone is coming too close to our hunting ground, or tell us if one of our brothers is in danger. Itʼs a bit more effective than the howl and growl system Liam and I use.”

“Seers are telepaths?” My world was beginning to look like a cheesy made-for-SyFy movie.

I was partially right. It turns out that Seers minds can only link with Shifters when they are in wolf (or coyote) form. They can also link to the Alpha Female, no matter how far away she is.

“I guess you want to know what an Alpha Female is now?” Alex asked with a dramatic sigh.

“No, thanks. I already know what an Alpha Female is.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Would you mind enlightening me then?” He eyes were filled with little sparks of laughter.

I raised my chin and said with absolute certainty, “The Alpha Female is the wife of the Pack Leader.”

“Iʼm sorry. That answer is incorrect.”

What? No, it wasnʼt. I had read like a million books on werewolves in the past month. I knew what an Alpha Female was. “Iʼm wrong?”

“Youʼre wrong.” He seemed to take great pleasure in this fact.

“So, are you going to tell me what she is?”

“Are you going to ask nicely?”

He was so annoying. “Alex, darling, could you please explain to me exactly what an Alpha Female is?”

“Certainly, sweetheart.” The next ten minutes consisted of a lecture on Pack social structure conducted by Professor Alex Cole, Werewolf Extraordinaire. In simple terms, it breaks down like this: newer, weaker Shifters; older, stronger Shifters; Pack Seer; Pack Leader; Alpha Pack; and then the Alpha Male (a Shifter) and Alpha Female (a Seer) shared the top spot.

“So, where is Shifter HQ?” I asked once we came to the question and answer portion of the class. “Do the Alphas run their kingdom from the Bat Cave under 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?”

“Itʼs more like Wayne Manor, and itʼs in Romania.”

“Romania?”

“The Alphas control all the Shifters in the world, Scout. They have a house in almost every country with a Shifter population, but the main house is in Romania.”

“The werewolves have chosen the home of Dracula as their base of operations?” #

“The irony is not lost on me.”

“Well, at least they canʼt really have much influence on what happens here,” I said. “They probably donʼt even know that there are a bunch of Shifters running around Lake County, Kentucky. Heck, they probably donʼt even know Lake County exists.”

“They know where almost every Shifter and Seer in the world lives,” Alex said, face tight.

“The Alphas are all about micromanagement. For example, if Liam or I were to break our treaty with the Hagan Pack, they would have to file a petition with the Alpha Pack before they could seek recourse.”

“Seek recourse how? Like chase you out of town or fight you?” He hesitated before answering. “The Alphas set the terms. If it was a boundary dispute, they would set up a Challenge between the Pack Leaders. When a treaty is broken, the guilty party faces either banishment or death.”

Death? Alex and Liam would be killed for crossing a boundary line or hanging out with me?

“The Hagans arenʼt killers. They wouldnʼt do something like that.”

“The laws about this sort of thing are very clear, and Shifters have to follow the laws. If they didnʼt comply, they would face their own executions. The Alphas donʼt allow disobedience.

Anyone they view as insubordinate or a threat ends up dead or on the run for the rest of their lives.”

“Why did you come back here, then? Why risk it? Couldnʼt you find a place where you wouldnʼt have any other Packs to deal with?”