Lunacy (10 page)

Well, shit.

Alarm bells rang in my head as he lifted my chin with
his fingertips so I had to look up at him. Everything slowed as he
caught my eyes with his, and I felt trapped like a mouse by the
gaze of a snake. Slow motion became time-lapse photography as I
grabbed his wrist and did something like a Judo toss, ending up
with him flat on his back faster than I’d ever moved - or seen
anyone move - in my entire life. I still had a hold on his wrist
and I sat in a low crouch, my pulse like thunder in my ears. The
back of Jimmy’s head was barely an inch away from getting cracked
off the deck.

They both looked just as shocked as I was, but before
I could move or apologize, a woman I didn’t recognize appeared in
the doorway behind Jimmy. She was short, barely above five feet
tall, and busty. Her hair was long and wild, brunette and untamed
with streaks of shiny grey throughout. She looked like she’d just
run a marathon through the nearby forest.

“You must be the one the boys have been talking so
much about.” Her accent was thick, Germanic, and she knelt down to
pull the still-stunned Jimmy to his feet. “Get your happy ass back
inside, Birthday Boy. The party is over.”

He looked to me again for a second, the look in those
dark eyes telling me that this wasn’t over yet. Then he did as he
was told without question, and that made me wonder who this woman
could be to all of them. Maybe she was someone’s mother? But she
looked so young. She couldn’t be more than a few years older than
we were. Could she?

Wait… Why the hell had the guys been talking about
me?

“You’re glowing again, darling.” she said simply, a
small and knowing smirk curving the corners of her ruby red
lips.

“Again? How do you..?”

“The time for answers is soon, child. But come
inside, before you scent draws them all to the door.”

I had no clue what the hell she was talking about,
and I had a moment of panic remembering the giant dog we’d almost
road pizza’d. Her logic made perfect sense in that moment and we
headed inside. She owed me some answers, and it looked like Jynxx’s
band mates did, too.

***

We were sitting in the sizeable living room, and I
couldn't help feeling like I was about to experience an
intervention of some sort. Everyone was clustered in a close
semi-circle, and they all looked nervous. Not guilty, well... Jimmy
looked guilty and like he enjoyed it, but that kid was another
matter entirely. Teigan and the lady were the only ones who looked
comfortable.

Jynxx and I were still glowing, amber and snowstorm
white, and it was starting to piss me off. It couldn't be radiation
or it would've messed with the other boys, too. And since nobody
was glowy but us, logic dictated that it was some sort of reaction
to each other. But what the hell could be causing it? Possession?
Magick of some sort?

The wild woman caught my attention with a little wave
of her hand, noticing that I'd been spacing out and lost in my own
thoughts. "Stay with us, dear. All your worries and doubts shall be
assuaged."

I was skeptical, and still a bit jumpy, so I did my
best to be civil. "And who, exactly, are you?" I leaned forward a
bit and Jynxx grabbed my upper arm in warning. "More importantly,
lady, what are you?"

The tension in the room was suddenly thick enough to
choke on and I finally noticed in the dim lighting that her eyes
were glowing as well. But hers were like liquid quicksilver. They
were the same as the streaks in her hair that I'd mistaken for
grey. The highlights in her hair made me think of tinsel, and it
was only magnified when she laughed and the sound was like the
melodic tinkling of bells.

"Ah, the impudence of youth! You always were good for
a laugh, Skadhi." Before I could interject, she went on. "My name
now is Elomina. What is happening between you and Jynxx will become
more commonplace, so you need to prepare. You, Kacea, are special.
You've been noticing strange things of late, such as your ninja
take-down of Jimmy earlier." I nodded. "You possess the essence of
Skadhi, Norse goddess of the mountains and winter, beloved of the
Wolf."

"Essence? Meaning?"

"To put it most simply, you are the reincarnation of
Skadhi, the Ulven Elskerinne, Mistress of Wolves."

Not skipping a beat, I countered with, "Shouldn't a
goddess be immortal? Why would they need to be reincarnated?"

"Popular misconception. A god can be killed, in a
physical sense. They are much harder to kill, and it may seem
impossible since they tend to heal more quickly, but there are
ways." She looked a little green at the thought of what it took to
kill a god. "But the spirit, essence, soul...That part is indeed
immortal. This is true of all beings, but most are not aware of it.
And so, their soul goes where they believe it will after their
vessel, their body, is worn and no longer functions. But gods
remember, they maintain their knowledge, their... Powers, so to
speak."

I was quiet as I pondered it over. Denying it when my
eyes kept lighting up like the Aurora Borealis would be foolish.
"Say I'm willing to buy this. A good friend of mine's a pagan and
her mother's mildly clairvoyant, so I've seen some weirdness in my
life. What does that mean for me? And what's that say for
Jynxx?"

"He is ulven. A wolf born into the body of a human.
They are capable of shifting shape, if they're of such a mind. But
if they haven't consciously done so by a certain stage of their
life, the wolf will free itself." Her eyes flicked to Conner for
the barest of seconds before returning solidly to me. "Sometimes to
disastrous effect."

My head was spinning, and not in a nifty projectile
pea soup kinda way. “Let's see if I’ve got this. He's a werewolf,
and I'm a goddess reborn." Elomina nodded, and I was strangely
comfortable with it. But part of me needed some more empirical
evidence.

"Let me guess. You would like some proof aside from
your eyes being lit up like a mountain peak at noon?" She turned
back to Conner, whose eyes weren't glowing, but a more subdued
version of Jynxx's that I'd foolishly mistaken for hazel. "Would
you be so kind?"

He gave her a sheepish and crooked grin, and I now
noticed that his upper and lower canines were, well... More canine.
They were much longer than they should've been. "I, uh... Spend
more time being free than the others do." Conner pulled his shirt
up and over his head, tossing it onto the couch blindly behind him.
His socks joined it, then he undid his belt and the button on his
jeans.

I held up my hands, a touch uncomfortable by him
taking off all his clothes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Naked? Why?" Go,
me! That was articulate.

He gave me a soft, reassuring smile. “If I have to
shift with my clothes still on, you owe me a new outfit, rich
girl.” he said teasingly.

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes, only a touch
miffed. “Just do me a favor? Turn around so I don’t get the full
monty when you drop your boxers, please?”

“Sure thing,” he replied, his jeans hitting the floor
with a loud clank from the in his pocket and his belt buckle.

Being courteous of my squeamishness, he turned around
and the boxers came off, revealing two things to me at the same
time. Firstly, Conner had an amazing ass. And secondly, he tanned
nude. I made a point of staring at the space between his shoulders
after that, feeling that it was a much safer place to focus my
attention. I ignored the color that rose in my cheeks, more
interested by the fact that noises that should not be coming from
anything living started to emanate from his body. Cracks, pops,
brittle snapping sounds. I heard him exhale loudly through his
teeth and his head tilted forward, that ashy blond hair sliding
around his face. After the initial crackling, the change happened
fairly quickly. A series of ripples rolled through his body under
his skin, bare flesh giving way to thick and glossy silver fur. His
arms and legs shortened slightly and changed shape, a tail
sprouted, and the creature that had been Conner turned around to
face me.

As those large amber eyes met mine, I retracted my
last thought. That was very much still Conner in there. I could see
his personality shining through. And it was hard to miss, since he
was a wolf so massive in size that he was nearly a head taller than
I was. He sat back on his haunches and wagged his tail, his tongue
lolling out like he was laughing at my astonishment. Then I heard
his voice in my head as clearly as if he’d spoken.

“Neat trick, huh, Kaysh?”

I had a moment of panic and thought back to him,
“You’re reading my mind?!”

He whined softly and shook that big
shaggy head.
“You can hear me, and I can
hear you if you purposely project to me. But I’m not just all up in
your biz, knowing that you secretly wanted to pounce on our Jynxxie
last night.”

I frowned slightly and scratched behind his ears,
ruffling all that thick fur with my hands. “That’s not very fair,
you know. I wasn’t projecting that at all.”

He leaned into my affections,
nudging me in the ribs with his muzzle.
“No, you weren’t. But that was obvious even without me poking
around in your brain.”
His eyes flicked
towards Elomina, then.
“She’ll tell you
that you can do all sorts of things with our brains, but the link
between us is like a computer on an internet connection with a
firewall up. You can send things out, and let things in that you
want to, but we can’t get through from our end into your system
unless you let us.”

“Good to know,” I said aloud again. I petted him some
more. “If I throw a ball, will you fetch it for me?” I asked
teasingly.

He slurped my face, dragging that
long dog tongue up my cheek. I grimaced and wiped it off on my
sleeve and he gave me that laughing expression again.
“If you wanted me to play fetch, Kacea, I’d
rather have a prize at the end worth more than a slimy, wet rubber
ball. If I chase you and succeed in catching you, what would be my
reward?”

I managed to keep the flush out of my cheeks for the
most part, glad that no one else was privy to our mental
conversation. Rather than grace him with an answer, I put him in a
light headlock that I could barely manage due to his height and
gave him dog-noogies. He allowed it, for a few seconds. Then he
shifted back without warning, the fur rolling away like beads of
water and bare flesh took its place. Within a matter of seconds, I
was hanging with my arms around the neck of a very naked, and
slightly taller in human than wolf form, Conner.

Toes dangling inches above the floor, I felt beyond
undignified. To cover my freakishly immense embarrassment, I
coughed lightly and said, “Well… This just got awkward.”

“You just watched a werewolf change form, something
that drives some people to the brink of insanity, and you’re more
worried about seeing me naked.”

Conner and Elomina laughed wholeheartedly and he
leaned down a bit so I could stand on the ground once again. Jynxx
looked perplexed, Teigan and Kenshin seemed bored, and Gavin
looked… A touch jealous?

I turned away quickly while Conner put his clothes
back on. Some of them, at least. Shirtless I could deal with… Sort
of. We both went back to sitting, me taking a more comfy seat on
the plush carpet by Jynxx’s feet.

“You said that what’s happening with Jynxx will
become more common. What did you mean?” I asked Elomina directly.
Now that I was definitely on board for this whole “werewolves
exist” thing, I was ready for some solid answers.

She nodded slowly. “Being that you are the Ulven
Elskerinne, you will bring out the animal nature in those who have
not yet awakened. With a bit of practice, you can even force a wolf
to shift one way or the other. It can be painful, but may save
their life someday.” Those shimmering silver eyes went from me to
Jynxx. “And you, Jynxx, are the Kongen Ulven. The Wolf King of this
particular clan.”

Chapter 11

“King?” Jynxx asked, seeming more upset and confused
than before. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Conner shrugged his bare shoulders. “It means that
you’re meant to be our leader by right of birth, you putz.”

Gavin nodded, those red eyes of his not seeming
pleased about it. “There’s been a lot of dissension among the clan
lately, with everyone wondering who will lead until you’ve fully
awakened. Some were starting to think the genes had skipped you
entirely.”

He leaned forward. “You mean that my parents
were…”

“Are, Jynxx,
are
. You parents are werewolves. And
they’re not dead.” Teigan put in.

“Tell me you’re joking,” he countered
immediately.

“I am as serious as a heart attack, my friend. Your
mom and dad left a few years back because there were some families
in the local clan threatening to remove their young –you and
Jimmy-- before they even had a chance to ascend to the throne. They
felt it was in your best interest to be as far away as possible
until they knew the threat had faded.” He ran fingers through his
long, chocolaty curls, looking tired. “It’s been hard on all of us,
defending your honor and what is rightfully yours.” He sent a
pointed glare in Gavin’s direction.

Kenshin spoke up for the first time. “But now we
won’t have a problem with that! Not only do we have Jynxx about to
wolf out, but now we’ve got Kacea with whatever nifty old Viking
powers she’s got! The others who want to usurp the throne will have
to acknowledge our strengthened power base and back down.”

Elomina shook her head, a small and sad smile on her
lips. “If only it were that easy, Kenshin. Unfortunately for all of
us, it will more likely mean that they will want to fight. To test
our new strength and see if we are truly worthy of their respect,
and fit to rule them.”