I looked back as three red team back line defenders rushed out to meet the pair. Two moved towards Derek while the last covered Amanda. With a move worthy of the NFL, Amanda juked right then spun hard left. Derek leaped up between the two wolves, flipping the ball high and forward with his jaws just before he was knocked back ten feet, landing hard on his back. Amanda streaked to catch it like a frisbee dog before slamming it down in the endzone for two points.
“WOHOOO!! Go Amanda!!” I got caught up in the action, just like the fans.
The jumping the line strategy didn’t work again for us. Their next possession, the red team went to a power V formation with two wolves flanking the ball carrier. Our smaller wolves couldn’t get around them, and when they leaped the line their blockers easily knocked us down. Derek got distracted when Amanda shifted on the sideline and started cheering for him before she got her clothes on. He froze, staring at his new mate with lust, and was steamrolled by his brother Dave. Amanda ran to him and pulled him off the field, holding his head in her lap until he woke up.
The red team scored the next four points.
The teams were down to a dozen players each, and that was when the field opened up for us. Nathan rubbed his snout against my leg and pointed to Jimmy. I trailed the rest of the team as they moved forward, and by now the red team was ignoring me since I wasn’t a threat. Nathan looped backwards and tossed me the ball as he ran past, and no one covered a streaking Jimmy down the right sideline. I threw the ball sidearm, like a fat Frisbee, over the red team defenders. Jimmy caught it for two to tie the game.
Nathan shifted to a keepaway strategy, using our team speed to circle around the larger wolves before passing it to a fresh player. I was rolled by Dave while running the sideline; he grabbed on to my jeans and swung me like a chew toy, tossing me out of play. I dusted myself off and joined the Alpha family again.
Ten minutes later, a victorious Nathan and his squad celebrated while Dave’s team collapsed on the field. The better conditioned wolves had eventually outflanked the defense and pushed the ball across for the winning point. I and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Amanda came over and hugged me. “I guess that team name doesn’t work now,” she said.
“Oh, it still works.”
She looked at me and then a light went off. “Oh man, no longer can they beat…” and this time I covered her mouth, there were children around after all.
Mates rushed out to greet their partners, who shifted and embraced them. It was getting dark, and some pairs just ran into the woods to rut. I watched the sunset and walked back to the kitchen to get some leftover pie before bed.
As I showered, I thought back to the day and realized that this was the thing I would miss the most about being a werewolf. The simple joy of the Pack spending time together. Would it have been better if I had just given to the forced mating? I’d be back home, my parents alive, my Pack would be whole, and I’d have a mate to lead by my side.
Too much had been lost.
My tears mixed with the water running down my face as I realized that no, it wasn’t better. If I could do it over, knowing the result of my refusal, I would have given him my neck before my parents were killed.
I hated them all for what they had done, and I hated myself for putting myself in that situation. I put my hand on my stomach, and felt for the future inside. I still wanted my revenge, but it wasn’t just me anymore. I couldn’t endanger my baby, so I had to do this carefully.
I got dressed and got my phone. I texted my lawyer, Tom Harris, and asked him for an appointment first thing next week. I also asked him not to let Mark know I was returning to town. I wanted to surprise him, and we needed to talk.
I didn’t want to have this baby alone.
*******
We left the next morning for home; Mabel and Marge took over the back seats while I rode shotgun and Remi drove. Our luggage was stowed in a waterproof box in the pickup bed. Traveling at this time of year can be interesting in the mountains, and I had ordered chains to ensure I could get through snowy mountain passes. We had good weather, though, and arrived back at my hometown by dinnertime.
Calling it my “hometown” was stretching it. Belden, North Dakota is a ghost town. It was founded in 1904 and named after W. L. Belden, the agent-at-large of Indian affairs who was stationed at a nearby reservation. The town never exceeded a population of 25 at its peak, and its one resident sleeps above the gas station. My home sat on 2, 000 acres of mixed prairie and tillable land between Belden and the Missouri River. The Pack still owned thousands of acres more of land in the area; we had sold the mineral rights but kept the land, and the land was now managed by a trust to give each member a solid income stream.
We didn’t have any food yet, so we stopped to eat at the Ranchman’s Saloon in New Town, down by the reservoir. I ran into a bunch of people from high school, happy to see me yet sad over what happened. The official story was that my parents died in the car accident, and my thumb was ripped off in the crash. Many others stopped by to pay their respects; Tom had arranged for my parent’s funeral service to be held while I was still in the hospital. It took two hours to eat and get out of there. Mabel had us stop at the grocery store and came out with a bunch of bags. It had gotten dark during dinner, and it was almost ten by the time we headed home.
My home was at the end of a long road, and I passed the now empty homes of those Pack members who had left suddenly for other Packs. The sudden disappearance of so many people in the same area had not gone unnoticed by the humans around; I had been asked about it several times in town. My answer was simple, an investment trust had been sold and people were taking their money and leaving. It wasn’t that uncommon in the area with the Bakken oil boom.
Just a few weeks ago, the long run of houses served to protect the Pack as we all were in one area and could help each other. Now, there were bound to be for sale signs in the yards and I realized more humans would be moving in. I resolved to buy the houses closest to me, I wanted more of a buffer and I could use them for guests. My upbringing was too ingrained to allow humans so close to where I lived.
Finally, Remi pulled in front of the four-car detached garage that was to the left of the large house, a covered breezeway connecting them. It was two stories plus a full basement, with a covered deck wrapping the entire front and the opposite side. The roof was steeply pitched to shed the snow, with four dormers on the second floor to give more room and a better view in the upstairs bedrooms. The roof was metal and it had cement siding and brick facing on the main floor, and all of the windows had sliding metal shutters off to each side. It had all the look of a well-designed rural house that could withstand a wildfire, but I knew better.
The house was made from poured concrete, the walls ten inches thick and reinforced. The shutters were steel plate, capable of blocking rifle fire, and adjustable so it could leave a narrow opening to shoot out of. The Alpha’s house was also the Pack safe room. The home had been built entirely by Pack members and trusted friends, and was far more extensive than it appeared. The house was bigger underground than above; the basement connected via a secret door to a huge buried safe room that took up much of the front yard and driveway, including under the garage. Secret hatches in the garage and the garden allowed Pack members access. The safe room was buried under six feet of soil and spanned over 8, 000 square feet, including a full kitchen, bunk rooms, medical room and storage. It was designed to hold our fifty members for at least 30 days.
I looked back at Mabel as we got out. “Mabel, why didn’t you guys head for the safe room when the St. Cloud pack members came?”
She frowned. “Well, they didn’t all come at once. Two men showed up, they said they were there to pay their respects to the Alpha. When Darryl got to the door, he recognized the pack they were from and tried to close the door, but they forced their way in. He could see six more coming from the treeline, and one already had a gun to my head. I guess we didn’t anticipate them taking us hostage, we only thought a neighboring Alpha might try to take our Pack over, and that was already disbanding.”
Marge opened the door to the kitchen. “It won’t happen again, I promise you that.”
We walked in to the spacious, modern kitchen and set our bags down in the hallway. I froze when I got to the refrigerator and saw the photos on it; photos of our family and Pack back when they both existed. Remi came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me as I broke down. “I feel like Mom could walk through that door and this all has been a dream, Aunt Remi.”
“I wish it was a dream,” she said. She led me to the living room and sat me on the couch next to her.
A double urn sat in front of me on the coffee table; it was beautiful, each hand painted with panoramas of mountains and trees. A brass plate near the bottom said, “Mitch and Emma Grey, Together Forever” with their dates of birth and death listed underneath. I reached out my hand and sobbed as my fingers touched the plate. “I never got to say goodbye,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. I love you.”