Wolf's Bane (6 page)

“Yes, that.  Our kind’s history is incomplete.  Where we come from, how we evolved, is sketchy at best.  We do know that our kind once thrived in Europe and our ancestors came to the new world after it was discovered.  With them came legend and myth, most of which is utter foolishness.  One legend, however, is known by all of our kind and always has been.  You, it appears, are the personification of that legend,” Violet told me.

“How so?  Because I’m an alpha?” I asked.

“No, child.  Many of our women are alphas.  The legends speak of the Wolf Mother that will be born to a human woman.  Your mother was human and she mated with a shifter, Dolan’s father, your father.  You know this, though.  However, such pairings may only produce male shifters and human females.  That is until you arrived,” she explained.

“So, I’m a mutant?” I asked only half joking with Violet.  She smiled.

“Hardly.  You’re...special.  My parents were both shifters.  So were Agnes’ and Sophia’s as well.  All females of our kind are born to two parents that are able to turn.  As you might expect, females are at a premium among our community.  Most males find mates among humans and only the strongest and most successful males manage to court a female shifter,” Violet told me.

“So, I’m the only one born to a human mother?” I asked.

“Yes, as far as we know.  You can imagine our interest when we heard of your existence,” she told me.

“So, what’s the big deal?” I wondered.  So I was born to a human.  What did that matter?

“Legend says, and I believe that the legend is true, you will bear sons that can mate with humans and bear both male and female shifters.  If that is true, our kind’s future will be assured.  Females will no longer be the exception.  That is what the legend, the prophecy, says.  That you will save us from extinction.  That you will spawn the beginning of a new era,” Violet explained to my astonishment.  I hesitated for a moment as I digested her words.

“I...I don’t know what to say to that.  I find it hard to believe I’m going to save shifters from extinction,” I said, my doubt apparent.  Violet, despite her calling most of the legends brought over from Europe foolish, seemed to believe this one.  I found that a bit odd.

“You will.  You’re sons’ human wives will bear female shifters and so will their sons and so on.  You can see why I wanted you to come here, to live amongst us.  You’re important and you must be protected.  You must find a mate and bear children so that our kind may not only survive but flourish,” she told me.

“I already have a mate,” I said.  Violet smiled again but this time it seemed genuine if a bit self-satisfied.

“I suppose he told you the two of you were fated to be together, that you are his one and only mate,” Violet replied.

“Yeah, he did. So?” I wondered.

“Child, that’s utter rubbish.  We are no more fated to mate with anyone than humans are.  In the vernacular of young people, that’s a pick up line and it appears to have worked,” she said.  That made me bristle a bit.

“That’s not true.  I felt it.  I know that Yeager is my mate,” I argued but Violet’s words were already working their way into my thoughts.  I didn’t want to believe her but I remembered the way I felt when Yeager first told me.  I didn’t believe it then but part of me wanted to.

“Of course, you felt it.  A girl like you suddenly told by a good-looking, albeit rather uncivilized, man that she is his mate for life.  It’s a romantic notion, a fairytale of sorts, and I suppose his bad boy demeanor didn’t hurt either.  Young girls are so susceptible to that sort of thing.  I don’t doubt Yeager is interested in you but I wonder what his motives really are,” Violet said.  I recoiled at that.

“I’m not some naive schoolgirl.  I love Yeager and he loves me.  We are mates,” I assured Violet hotly.  She flashed that familiar smile again.

“Of course, child,” she said and just then Agnes appeared at the door.

“Dinner is about to be served,” she announced.

“Excellent.  We can discuss this later, child,” Violet told me and led me inside, her hand on my back again.  Suddenly, I felt the possessiveness of that simple gesture.  I realized it was a subtle display of dominance.  I pulled away from her touch and let Violet walk ahead of me.  She smiled that false smile again as we entered the dining room.  The head of the table was empty, Violet’s spot I was sure.  Agnes took her seat leaving me to sit at the opposite end of the table from Yeager and right next to Violet.  Sophia was seated next to Yeager.

“I thought sitting like this might allow us all to get to know each other,” Lady Violet announced.  Yeager subtly shrugged at me.  Edie sat on the other side of Sophia and Agnes across from me.  Phillip sat at the other end of table opposite Violet.  The leader of Wolfsbane Ranch smiled at me as she sat.  I reluctantly sat between her and Gerard.  I felt as if I was purposely being separated from Yeager.

A moment later, two women dressed in traditional maid uniforms served Caesar salad.  I barely noticed as Violet’s revelations swirled around inside my head.  I was the fulfillment of a prophecy, the one to save what Violet referred to as “our kind.”  But along with that was her claim that Yeager was not my one true mate.  I couldn’t believe that.  I felt it inside and had from the moment we met.  But Violet had an answer for even that.  She implied Yeager was simply taking advantage of a young, naive girl.  I wasn’t so naive as to imagine all of that, was I?

As the meal finished, the evening wore on, Lady Violet all but ignored me.  I tried to corner her but she always managed to slip away before I could pry anything from her.  I found myself avoiding Yeager and Edie, partly because Gerard hardly left my side.  But Violet’s words swirled in my head as we finished dinner and retired to the great room for drinks and dessert.  I’m sure that was her intent.  She wanted me to stew about what she had told me and made sure I got plenty of time to do just that.

I didn’t believe her but still, her claims made some kind of sense.  There was enough truth to cause me to doubt myself.  I watched Yeager as he spent most of the evening in some corner or another with Edie and Agnes when she wasn’t serving drinks or doing Violet’s bidding.  He would glance my way now and then, smiling warmly with a look that assured me this would all be over soon enough. I appreciated the gesture and he had no idea what Violet had told me, but I still held it against him that he didn’t come to rescue me.

Despite the doubt I felt, I couldn’t help but notice Edie and Agnes.  They were undoubtedly getting closer.  The touches, the looks and the blushes all told me that Agnes was as interested in Edie as my best friend was in the young shifter.  I couldn’t help but wonder if Agnes sensed something about Edie, maybe that Edie was her mate.  I wondered if that was even possible considering they were both women.  I wondered about the coincidence of that possibility and that made me doubt myself even more.

I tried to reconcile what Violet had told me with what Yeager had revealed to me when we met.  Could both be true?  I suppose they could but that idea left me with even more questions than answers.  I wondered how Violet could put me back on my heels so easily but I knew why.  She spoke to the doubts that were already within me, the part of me that still couldn’t quite believe a man like Yeager could find a girl like me so attractive, the part that still couldn’t fully accept we were mates and that people turning into wolves was even possible despite that fact I was one of those people.

Lady Violet’s claims spoke to my irrational fears and doubts but it did so quite effectively.  I knew that was likely her intent, I knew I was fool to trust her, but the seeds of doubt were sown.  I tried so hard to dismiss them and ignore Violet’s claims but I found it difficult.  If her intent was to put me off balance and cause me to doubt myself and Yeager, she had succeeded.

“Cassie, hello?” Gerard said turning my attention back to him.  Was he done droning on about himself?  He was going on about this and that as I was lost in my own thoughts.

“What? Sorry,” I replied.

“I asked if you would like to take a walk with me,” he repeated.  He’d been telling me all about himself for nearly twenty minutes as I nodded and smiled but heard barely a word of it.  I was sure his attention was all Violet’s doing and I wondered why Yeager hadn’t come to claim me.  I had to remind myself he had no idea what Violet had told me or how it made me feel.  Yeager probably thought I was being courteous.  I was about to decline his invitation but Violet was suddenly there to meddle.

“I’ve sent Agnes to retrieve a jacket for you,” she said and I turned to find the girl was gone.

“It’s cold but refreshing here in the mountains this time of year,” Gerard added.  Agnes returned and helped me slip into my jacket before I could even tell her not to bother.  Then I looked up and found Sophia engaging Yeager, gazing up at him as she played with her red hair.  She was flirting with him and Yeager seemed to enjoy the attention.  They both laughed as I watched.  Suddenly, I was burning with jealousy as Violet’s claims were given new life.  Part of me knew I was being manipulated but right then, I just didn’t care.  Seeing Yeager with her in light of Violet’s revelations had my blood boiling.

“Yes, I’d love to go for a walk,” I replied to Gerard despite my better judgment.  I knew this was Violet’s doing but I found it hard to think clearly.  I was being manipulated but I could do little to guard against it.  My emotions were in control now.

“Excellent,” Gerard said and offered me his arm.  I slipped my arm into his and let him lead me to the front door, right past Yeager and Sophia but I refused to look at them.  I decided Yeager needed a bit of his own medicine.  Gerard and I walked out the door, onto the porch and then into the night.  “How long have you and...what’s his name, Yeager is it, been together?” he asked me.

“Since July,” I replied abruptly.

“Not long at all.  He’s much older than you.  How did you meet him?” Gerard observed.

“Yes, he’s older.  We met at...well, it’s a long story,” I said.

“We’re not in a hurry, are we?  We are of the same kind.  There are relatively few of us.  We should know one another,” he told me.  I guess that made sense so I told him the story.

“He found me when I was only twelve.  He knew I was his mate but I was too young.  Then, this last summer he returned but things got complicated and, well long story short, I came to accept what he had told me and then discovered I was a shifter too,” I said.  Gerard stroked his beard.

“You mean, Dolan, of course,” Gerard replied, referring to the complication I spoke of, and I was only mildly surprised he knew.

“Yes,” was all I said.  I didn’t want to delve into that part of my story.

“I’m sorry.  I knew him.  He was a rogue and rather uncivilized but I know he was your half-brother.  My condolences,” Gerard said warmly.  He seemed sincere enough.

Thank you but I barely knew him and after what he tried to do, I don’t really consider him my brother,” I told him.  He mulled that over for a moment and then Gerard surprised me.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Cassie, but I sense you’re very strong as well.  You’re a magnificent woman and from what I hear a surprisingly beautiful wolf,” he told me.  I blushed despite myself.

“I’m just a girl,” I said.  Gerard smiled again and pat my hand with his as we walked.

“You’re much more than that,” he said, then stopped and turned to face me.  He gazed into my eyes for a moment but then his hands cupped my face and he kissed me.  Electricity coursed through me.  Just like when Dolan kissed me, just like when Yeager kissed me.  The kiss of a shifter that went right to my core.  I melted as this man slipped his tongue into my mouth.  I didn’t resist; I let it happen.  I told myself that Yeager deserved it for flirting with that redhead, Sophia.  Then Gerard pulled away and I felt my knees go weak.

“I’m sorry.  I couldn’t resist.  My God, do you know how important you are, Cassie?  Do you know how revered you are among our kind?  You’re the answer to everything.  I find myself attracted to you because of that but even more so because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he told me as he touched my shock of white hair.  I’d barely recovered from his kiss before he hit me with all of that and together they had me off balance.  Inside, I knew Violet was behind it, that she and Gerard were manipulating me, but I ignored that and let my emotions rule me.

~~O~~

Edie had drifted away as Sophia engaged Yeager.  What was he doing, she wondered.  Sophia was pretty but she was so transparently phony.  Besides, Cassie was his mate.  Then Edie looked about and discovered Cassie was gone.  Where had she run off to, Edie asked herself.  Edie sighed and quietly wandered upstairs to her room.  It wasn’t anything that she could put her finger on but suddenly things weren’t right.  Even Edie could see that.

She slipped out of the dress, glad to be free of the feminine garb.  How she hated dresses and skirts.  They just felt unnatural.  Edie undressed to her panties and then looked through her bag, found a sleep shirt and slipped it on.  She also grabbed a book in which to lose herself but just as she was about to crawl into bed, a soft knocking came at her door.

Edie went to answer the door hoping it was Cassie so she could talk to her best friend.  She cracked the door but it wasn’t Cassie.  It was Agnes, instead.  “Can I come in?” Agnes asked.  Edie’s heart skipped a beat.

 “Sure,” she replied and opened the door to allow the beautiful, full-bodied black girl inside.  Edie had never felt the way about a woman the way she felt about Agnes.  The girl was undoubtedly attractive with her dark complexion and long, straight hair as black as Cassie’s, but it was more than that.  Edie’s feelings went much deeper and that surprised her, even scared her a bit.  Agnes went to the bed and sat down as Edie closed the door behind her.  Agnes’ expression was dour.

“You need to leave,” Agnes said and Edie was caught off guard.

“What?” she asked, not understanding what Agnes meant.

“You, Yeager and especially Cassie need to leave.  You’re in danger here,” Agnes told her.  Edie walked over and sat next to the girl, facing her.