Chapter 67
Chapter 67
The Ranger Station was an old cabin in the mountains overlooking the meandering flow of the same tributary river that ran through Longtooth. Declan brought Tessa inside and then left her there while
he scouted the surroundings.
The cabin was small, but unlike the tiny shack they’d
her truck broke down, this place had a narrow kitche with four chairs, and an indoor composting toilet. The sy space was lofted above the kitchen, accessible by a wooden ladder.
Tessa stared up at it, thinking. There was only one bed. And you’d think that, after sleeping in Declan’s bed last night and kissing him this morning, it’d be easy to assume they’d be sharing the bed. But it wasn’t in Tessa’s nature to assume that she was wanted, and Declan hadn’t exactly made any declarations to her. In fact, all he’d said was that they weren’t ignoring each other anymore. Which made things about as clear as mud. With a sigh, she dropped into one of the chairs and stared out the window at the river.
She was still lost in thought when she heard something scratch against the door. Startled, she twisted around to look at the door. That scratch sounded again.
“Hello?” she called nervously.
Another scratch. Right outside the door, a wolf howled
“Declan p>
A canine whine answered.
Tessa went to the door and opened it a crack, peering out nervously. A massive silver–gray wolf stood at the threshold, looking up at her
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with bright, amber eyes. Awareness and familiarity shone in those eyes. Hoping she wasn’t a complete and total idiot, she pulled the door open.
The wolf trotted inside, tame as a poodle. Tessa shut the door, and when she turned around, Declan was there, stark naked and
grinning. His hair was mussed and windblown, his cheeks ruddy
from the cold.
“Where are your clothes p>
them
“Left them in the truck when I shifted, and then I could
when I made it back.” He held up his hands, fingers wiggling. “Wolves don’t have thumbs. And I wasn’t going to shift outside p>
“Shift,” Tessa repeated contemplatively.
Declan’s expression sobered. “Right. Explanations.” He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it further. “Let me get some pants on p>
“That’d be good,” she said, face flushed.
He grinned and then turned away from her to rummage through his bag. He pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants. Tessa returned to her chair at the table, and Declan pulled out the one across from her. He hadn’t put a shirt on, and his broad, muscular, hairy chest was immensely distracting. It took all her effort to keep her eyes on his
face.
“So,” he said, rubbing at his beard. “I don’t know where to start p>
“You’re a werewolf,” Tessa said, “Start there p>
He nodded. “We call our kind wolf kin. Here in the Valley, our pack is the Teekkonlit. It is what neighboring tribes called the First People of our pack. It means ‘wolfskin. Wolf kin from other parts of the world, from other traditions, have joined our pack over time, but we
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are still the Teekkonlit. The blood of the First People still flows in all
of our veins p>
Tessa suddenly remembered her first night in Longtooth, when
Wade had given her an extremely detailed explanation of the
Valley’s history. She’d been exhausted and numb at the time, but
everything she could remember him telling her lined up with what
Declan was telling her now. Wade had just conveniently left out the
part about wolf kin and packs.
“We can shift into our wolf form and back into our
will.” Declan continued. “The moon doesn’t force the
“Could you live as a human and never shift?” Tessa asked.
“No. We need to shift. We can hold off if we have to–although younger kids sometimes have trouble controlling it p>
Caitlin, she remembered.
1 at
“-but staying in one form forever would be like spending the rest of your life locked in a windowless room. Technically, it wouldn’t kill you, but you’d be miserable. You’d lose your mind p>
Tessa nodded. Chicago hadn’t been a windowless room, exactly, but Tessa hadn’t realized until she left how much she’d felt boxed in and claustrophobic there. Thinking of Chicago made her think of Alex–though she hardly needed the reminder, considering the
circumstances.
“So Alex is…. what, exactly? Margaret said you don’t call them
vampires p>
“We call them strigoi p>
“But they’re basically like vampires? Drink blood, hide from daylight, can’t come inside without an invitation p>
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“Well, yes. But they aren’t repelled by garlic or holy water or Christian symbols. They can dematerialize and move at speeds that even wolves can’t keep up with. A single wolf is no match for a strigoi. You need a pack to take one down p>
A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Do you think Alex is the one who cut my fuel line p>
Declan’s expression turned grim. “Now I do. Fucker was tr you stranded until dark so he could snatch you when no around to protect you p>
to get
Tessa was quiet for a moment, absorbing that. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t think about him anymore. She turned her thoughts back to the wolves. “So, all of the locals are…
wolf kin p>
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