Ellida Read online

  I heard him laugh. “Good to see you, too, Astrid! It doesn’t look like you missed me much.”

  James stepped between us. He was a big wolf, strong and bulky, although not as big as my favorite canine specimen. “Nice hunt, Astrid. How are you feeling?”

  “Free, Uncle. I feel free.”

  I heard Maggie from behind. “It was scary, Dad. Astrid was in a great deal of pain, but once she shifted, everything seemed okay. We’re having lots of fun.”

  Betty turned to James. “You didn’t believe me, did you?” Then back to me, “I told your uncle you are almost Jack’s size.”

  I laughed. “Well, it came in handy when we stumbled upon those vampires. I was quite a big fireball. I scared the tuna-salad out of them.”

  “Did you see how she knocked the deer down?” Excited, Eamon was jumping around me. “I’m surprised the poor animal didn’t die out of sheer terror before Astrid even touched it.”

  I smiled and walked to Peyton, who stood aside, under a tree, not quite alone, but not a part of the group either.

  “Are you okay, Peyton?” I asked.

  “I’m okay. They spoiled our fun a bit, didn’t they?”

  “They did. Men! But we can go back to my house, and stay there until I shift back. What do you say?”

  “This could be your last involuntary change. Consider it as a sort of bachelorette party.”

  “Your friendship means the world to me, Peyton.”

  “And yours to me,” she said quietly. “First I thought it would be impossible be a friend to you, but it turned out not to be difficult at all. It’s satisfying and fulfilling. I know something good shall come out of this. I was tired of chasing rainbows anyway… And you, don’t be bitchy with Jack now, or he’ll think I’m a bad influence.”

  “I was angry with him because he wasn’t here when I needed him most.”

  “But you had us.”

  “And that’s why I’m not angry at him anymore.”

  “Is it going to hurt you again? When you shift back?”

  “A little bit, but the worst is over.”

  “Good. Are you going to recover by Saturday?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  “Do you want to go skiing with me?”

  I bounced in excitement. “Yes! I’d love to!”

  “All set then.” She looked behind me and frowned, “Unless your teacher makes you work extra to catch up with the curriculum. Here he comes… Hi, Takeshi.”

  “Hello, Miss Kincaid.”

  “Lovely night to be outside, isn’t it?”

  “I’m rather an indoor person, but yes, it’s a beautiful night.” He turned to me. “Astrid, do you think you’ll be able to continue with your training on Wednesday? We’re running a little bit behind.”

  Peyton giggled, earning an annoyed look from the lean, dark-furred Master Nakamura.

  Soon Jack joined us. He came close to me, pressing the length of his body against mine. The hot jolt of our bond shot straight through me. I wanted to tuck my head under his neck, sniff him, lick his muzzle, and kiss him wolf-style, whatever that was. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him and how much I’d missed him. I wanted to beg him not to leave me ever again.

  “How was it this time?” he said, nuzzling behind my ears.

  I glanced toward Peyton and gently broke free from Jack’s embrace. I knew how fragile Peyton’s new confidence must be, and I didn’t want to challenge it. I didn’t want to see her hurt, not tonight, not ever again.

  “I skipped that horrible mid-phase.”

  “You did? What happened?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m glad. That part always hurt like hell.”

  Peyton raised her head. “Don’t tell me there is something that hurts you even more! It was terrible, Jack. She was in such horrible pain almost all the time.”

  I smiled. “I don’t mind. I’ve acquired a friend in the process.”

  Jack shifted his eyes from me to Peyton and back, smiling.

  I quickly changed the topic. “Tristan told me you left this morning. How come you didn’t make it in time?”

  “My flight was delayed. And my phone was empty; couldn’t even phone you. But I did arrive an hour before the moon rose, only then James wouldn’t let me see you. Betty’s orders, he said.”

  “Better stay around next time,” Peyton said, laughing. “I think you should know, Astrid was talking about Plan B.”

  I laughed, remembering my vengeful thoughts.

  “Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like your plan B?” Jack said.

  I tried to sound serious. “Ahem, I think I mentioned Sid Brandon. He’s quite eye-catching.”

  I heard a low rumble coming out of Jack’s chest.

  “Why Sid Brandon, my lady?” Takeshi interrupted, suppressing the laughter that colored his voice. “You might find him handsome, but you barely know him. You and I, on the contrary, know each other well. I would be honored to help you out.”

  “If you’re tired of your life, there’re easier ways to part with it, Master Nakamura, than to ask me to kill you,” Jack said. “I might take great pleasure in doing it. And besides, you don’t qualify. You’re not a full-blooded werewolf.”

  “I’d still be willing to try.”

  “Guess what, Takeshi?” Jack said. “Starting next week, you’re going to train Astrid under my watchful eye.”

  Peyton turned to me. ”When are you coming back?”

  “Before dawn.

  “I’ll see you, later then. Now I want to run. The night’s so beautiful. Come on, Takeshi, I’ll race you to the top of the hill!”

  ONE BY one, the wolves disappeared from our sight. Jack and I had several hours for ourselves.

  The indigo-blue sky twinkled with countless tiny diamonds. The snow sparkled under the bluish light of the cold, pale moon. I wasn’t cold. My blood was hot, my fur was thick and Jack’s warm, firm body stayed close to mine.

  We played in the snow and ran through the wood. We sniffed, licked, chased each other, growled and barked playfully. I gently bit his neck, and he nipped behind my ears and on my belly.

  Later we found a small spot of dry grass and pine needles under a tree and rested there. I placed my head across Jack’s shoulder, in a position mimicking our human sleeping. I wanted to ask him about his last trip, I wanted to tell him about my new friend, the spa-party, my training, but nothing seemed important enough to break the magic of the moment.

  “I feel like a very happy Queen of the Night,” I said.

  “You are my queen, Astrid.”

  I fell asleep tucked safely beside my king, listening to his heart.

  Fourteen

  Astrid the Bleithast

  JACK WALKED me home just before daybreak. We stood at the main door, reluctant to part. He sniffed around my muzzle and gently bit my neck.

  “You smell so good, Astrid. My head’s spinning.”

  I laughed. “Nice try, but I’m not going to ask you in. This is our first date, sort of. You may kiss me here and ask to see me again.”

  “May I see you again, Miss Mohegan? Later today?”

  “When I shift back. Until then, I’m staying with my friends.”

  “And there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”

  “Nope. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Jack’s warm, amber eyes studied me carefully for a long moment. “You’ll be fine, will you?”

  His voice was soft, thick with brewing emotions. Of course he was worried and wanted to be with me. My transformation, never a controllable process, had changed its pattern again. I wanted to believe it was irrelevant: this was supposed to be my last spontaneous shape shifting.

  Frankly, I had no clue what actually would happen once my loose parts were glued together. But, for the very first time, my two spirits were aware of each other. The most painful stage of my transformation hadn’t happened and I felt strong and happy.

  Could that be a sign that my spirits would have united
spontaneously in the course of time? What would have happened to them if I hadn’t met Jack at all?

  “I’ve been thinking, Jack.” I said carefully. “The change was easier this time. Miss Spock isn’t in her usual self-induced coma. She’s here, with me. If I, for example, continued with the transformations on my own, I think, theoretically speaking, my spirits would eventually find a way to merge. Maybe we don’t need to go through the, ahem, ritual.”

  He looked at me as if I’d spoken in Klingon.

  “Don’t even think about it! I mean it, Astrid! This is the safest way to get you through this. What happened? You were okay with that. God, I knew those women would fill your head with crazy ideas!”

  “What are you talking about?! Don’t you dare blame them! They don’t know anything about it. If you need to know, it’s actually your Miss Spock who’s been fiddling with the idea. It’s not that she doesn’t want to make love to you, but the ritual part of the process doesn’t agree with her sense of independence, so she’s started contemplating alternative solutions.”

  Jack let out a frustrated growl “Hold on, Astrid. Just hold on for a second! Listen, baby, this isn’t about you and your loose parts only. I need to go through it, too, so that my wolf spirit can connect with yours. And that can only happen if we go through the ritual, as you call it. Only then will our bond be completed.”

  “You’re just making it up, Jack.”

  “I’m not. Ask Morgaine. And it’s not a ritual. We’ll make love, Astrid. That’s it.” He shook his head. “Since when did you start listening to Miss Spock’s logic and reason? I like it better when you’re kinky and reckless.”

  I cracked a smile. “You just missed the kinky part by coming back one day too late, Jack, but I assure you, it’s still where you left it last time. Remember how concerned you were about me being in heat, with you nowhere around? Well, I do have plenty of naughty thoughts, but I can’t really express them in front of the most powerful woman of our world, your mother and sister, and my new friend who happens to be your ex-girlfriend, can I?”

  Jack’s lips tugged up in a smile. “I’m glad you like Peyton. I told you she’s a good person.”

  “Among many other things, we have you in common. It complicates things a bit, true, but it also gives us a chance to build a solid friendship. If you know what I mean.”

  He laughed. “I have no clue. Go now. I’ll phone you later. I love you.”

  I stuck out the whole length of my tongue and licked him all over his face.

  “Mmmm, delicious… I love you, too.”

  MY FRIENDS had already shifted back to their human forms when I joined them. Peyton was on the phone with Ingmar, filling him in about last night. I noticed a concern in his voice.

  “Tell him to stop fretting. I’m fine,” I told Peyton, and she immediately passed on the message. “I’m hungry. Can I get something to eat?”

  Morgaine stood up and walked to the kitchen. “Come with me, Astrid. I’ll fix you something. You let your supper walk free.”

  I followed her across the room.

  “What would’ve happened if I’d killed that deer?” I asked and dipped my muzzle into a bowl of beef cubes.

  “I expected you to kill it. That’s why I was so impressed when you let it go. Well, nothing would have happened, Astrid. I would’ve taught you how to control your instincts. Now we can skip that lesson. You already have them under perfect command. You know, I killed my first few preys. It took me a while to learn how to handle my hunting instincts. But you let it live. Astounding.”

  I stopped eating and sat on my back legs. “It was so scared, and so alive. I couldn’t kill it.”

  “There’s never been an Ellida like you. Your size is amazing. Your grasp over your wild side, your humanity… Red Cliffs is lucky to have you.”

  “Ellida, is it possible that my spirits could get connected spontaneously?”

  For a moment, her sage-green gaze was fixed somewhere above my head. She took a deep breath and sat down close to me. “I understand you’re tempted to try it, given your integrity and the inner strength you possess.” Her fingers gently plowed through my fur. “It would be risky, Astrid. I don’t know what would happen. You’re supposed to have intercourse with a male werewolf to get safely to the other side. That’s the only harmless, healthy, risk-free way. We know it works. And you have a man you love.”

  “Jack said it’d help him to link his spirit with mine.”

  “He’s right. And you have to mark each other as well, because you’re bond-mates.”

  I smiled silently. Well, then I would gladly do what had to be done. Not that I didn’t like the ‘harmless, healthy and risk-free’ plan in the first place.

  “May I ask you something else, Ellida?”

  “Ask me anything. I might not know the answer, though.”

  “The heads of several Red Cliffs families are women: Janet Falconer, Suzie Vilkas and Annika Sorensen. But a woman as an Alpha? I mean an Einhamir, a leader of a clan?”

  “I suppose it’s possible, theoretically, although it hasn’t happened yet. As Jack’s mate, you’re Alpha female, that’s your position in the pack. You’re also a natural Alpha regardless of your position, thanks to your character and nature, but only to the other females of the pack. If you weren’t Ellida, Jack would outrank you; your power as an Alpha female is limited because your position is submissive in relation to the Alpha male. If our society seems too patriarchal to your liking, think about this: only a woman can be an Ellida. We outrank everybody; we’re the ultimate authority.”

  “Why’s that? Why not a man?”

  Morgaine’s hearty laugh filled the kitchen. “Because no sane creator, or god, or force, or whoever you like, would grant such power to a man. It would be too much for any man to handle. And too dangerous.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  Morgaine just nodded and continued to caress my head. “Don’t worry, Ellida. Bit by bit, you’ll learn everything you need to know. Eat now. You must be hungry.”

  Betty’s head peeked in, phone in her hand. “Astrid, Tristan’s asking how you’re feeling.”

  “Tell him I’m fine. I’ll talk to them all when I shift back.”

  “Shall I call Gerd Falkenstain to come now?”

  “I don’t need to see a doctor. I’m fine, really.”

  Betty inhaled deeply and passed my message to Tristan. Then she turned back to me, “As you can hear, Tristan insists.”

  I shook my head and smiled. “No need. Remind Tristan I’m a doctor, regardless of my current shape. Everything’s fine. I feel excellent. Tell him not to worry. Can we watch a movie now?”

  When we went back to the sitting room, we found Peyton and Maggie talking with Ingmar. It didn’t seem I was the subject of their lively conversation.

  I jumped on the sofa, leaving its end free for Peyton, in case she wanted to resume her place. After a while, the giggling stopped and she and Maggie joined us. Morgaine and Maggie made breakfast for the human members of our Fellowship. Peyton squeezed beside me, and I placed my head on her lap.

  FOR THE rest of the day, we would interrupt our movie marathon only when we were hungry or thirsty. At the beginning our phones rang frequently, but we quickly learned to ignore them.

  As soon as the moon came out, I shifted back. It still hurt, but far less than before, and only immediately before the transformation.

  I flipped from one form to another, skipping the bloody, terrifying inter-phase one more time.

  Fifteen

  BEING SOCIABLE people, Red Cliffers loved celebrations and gatherings of all kinds. Their numerous festivals and holidays were the proof. They were also fond of small, more intimate celebrations and always looking for a reason to have one.

  The Mohegans were no exception, so Astrid’s last transformation became the perfect occasion for a family party.

  The men were busy making dinner. They’d already chilled the wine and even baked a cake. Eamon had set the table—
it had been his job since he was a child—using Betty’s finest damask tablecloths, porcelain dinnerware, silver cutlery and crystal goblets. Jack had gone to the florist, bought their entire stock of pink roses and placed them all around the house.

  Jack had put James in charge of the meat. He checked the prime rib roasting in the oven and started stuffing veal chops with a mixture of prosciutto, Provolone cheese, roasted peppers and oregano, preparing them for grilling. Jack was working on side dishes: wild mushroom risotto, mashed potatoes with parsnip, and vegetables.

  Seeing Jack trimming a heap of Brussels sprouts and halving them lengthwise, James raised his eyebrows.

  “Don’t frown. I bet you’ve never eaten Brussels sprouts with orange butter and hazelnuts. It’s delicious. Besides, Astrid likes Brussels sprouts.”

  “That’s because she’s a wizard.”

  Jack laughed at the indisputable logic behind James’ statement and turned his attention back to his task.

  “Jack, what can I make?” Eamon asked.

  “How about salad?”

  “What kind of salad? What do you want me to do?”

  Jack thought for a moment. “Okay, we’ll make a watercress salad with pears, pecans and gorgonzola… Do we have pears at home?”

  Now it was Eamon’s turn to throw his brother a suspicious look. “We do. Are we making fruit salad?”

  “And then orange and avocado salad on a baby spinach bed. Takeshi, you can make dressings, if you like. I’ll show you how.” Jack glanced at his wristwatch. Seven o’clock. About two more hours before Astrid shifted back to human form. “I’m going to finish the cake.”

  “Ah, now we’re talking,” Eamon said. “What did you make?”

  “Chocolate Marquise.”

  “My favorite!” Eamon said. “Thanks man, that really wasn’t necessary. I’m deeply touched. Is this Astrid’s favorite cake, too, by any chance?”

  “From all your degrees and occupations, cooking’s something I’d never have guessed would suit you, son, yet there you are,” James said. “You’re really good at this.”