Cynthia Cooke - Lying with Wolves

“I have no idea, and I really can’t think about that now.” Celia gave them each a big hug, holding on a little tighter and a little longer than she should. “I’ve really got to get going.”

“All right, if you’re sure,” Ruby said, hesitation ringing loud in her voice.

“I’m sure. I’ll see you soon.” Celia kissed them both on the cheek, then handed Malcolm the keys. They got into the truck and Celia waved goodbye as they drove out of the parking lot and hoped with all her might that it wouldn’t be the last time she saw her cousins.

“You think they’ll go back to Sedona?” Malcolm asked, his voice sounding doubtful.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Celia said, watching them until they were out of sight.

“Because obviously they followed us here from the canyon.”

Celia felt her eyes widen as the implications of his words set in. “You think they saw us?” she asked at length.

“I think they saw something or they wouldn’t be here now.”

“Blazes!” Celia thought about her and Malcolm walking out of the canyon without a stitch on. How was she going to explain that?

“I must admit, though,” Malcolm said with a grin. “I sure am glad they were here.”

“Me, too. Truthfully, I wish they could come back with us,” she said, her chin lifting. “They’re my family. They mean a lot to me, and I hate lying to them.”

“You know that could never happen,” he said evenly.

“Why not?” she shot back, her temper flaring. “Their mother was my aunt. They have just as much right to be there as any of the rest of us. They have shifter blood in them. They could change at any time. And then what? Who would be there to protect them from the Gauliacho? ”

“I understand your argument. But we can’t have humans in the Colony. If word got out... If people knew... There’d be no place for us. You know that.”

She flinched and went stony faced, then turned toward the window. She did know. And she understood. But that didn’t mean she had to like it. “They’re the only family I have left now, Malcolm.”

“Come here,” he said softly.

“What?”

He patted his shoulder. “Lean on me. You always can no matter how much you hate me. We’ve been friends forever and I’ll always be there for you. I may not be blood, but I am your family.”

Against her better judgment, she rested her head on his shoulder. And he was right, she did feel better. And no matter how much they hurt each other, they had loved each other since they were kids. They always would be family.

But sometimes even that wasn’t enough.

* * *

From his vantage point in the rest-stop parking lot, Mark watched Ruby’s cousin drive away and Ruby and Jade follow not long after. Why were they following her? And way the hell out here? He hadn’t had the chance to meet Celia, but from what he’d observed, there was something off with her from the start. He drove past the shop several times during his shifts, and the woman never seemed to leave the place. Over and over, he would see her standing at the window, staring out at the canyons. She was creepy.

The two men picked themselves up off the ground and got back into their car. Mark had to admit watching Ruby slam that guy with the baseball bat was pretty impressive. He didn’t know she had it in her. He pulled his car behind the two men’s vehicle, effectively blocking them in. He flipped open his badge and approached the driver’s side of the car. He knocked on the window with two knuckles.

“You mind telling me what all that was about?”

They didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Just stared straight ahead.

He knocked again. Harder. Finally the window came down an inch. Again, no answer.

“I asked you a question,” Mark said through gritted teeth, trying to contain his annoyance.

The driver turned to him, his black eyes suddenly clearing to a bright blue. What the hell? Mark took a quick step back. A shiver tore through him, raising the small hairs on his arms and neck.

“Can I help you, sir?” the driver asked.

“I...uh...” Mark gathered his resolve and stepped back up to the car. “I asked what in the hell was going on here?” He flashed his badge once again, then quickly stuck it back on his belt. No reason to point out he wasn’t a cop in this state and had absolutely no authority here.

“I don’t know what you mean,” the man said, looking very confused.

“You attacked those people.”

“What people?”

Mark stared at him. He hadn’t really said that. “The man and the woman in the truck. I saw you, both of you.” His eyes flickered to the man in the passenger’s seat, whose mouth was hanging open in shock. “Yes. Both of you. I should haul you both in for assault right now.”

“What people?” the man in the passenger seat echoed with disbelief thick in his voice. He glanced furtively around the parking lot, searching.

Their audacity was annoying the shit out of Mark, but the unbelievable part was that they actually seemed sincere. He talked to a lot of people, some good, some bad, some just out-and-out stupid, and his liar meter was top-notch. And these guys weren’t tripping it in the least bit.

“What about the cuts and bruises on your face and hands?” he demanded.

The driver held his hands out in front of him as if seeing them for the first time. “I don’t know, Officer. Really, I don’t. We just stopped for a bathroom break. Honest.”

Mark didn’t have time for this shit. “For both your sakes, I’d better not see either of you again.”

“Yes, sir,” the driver said.

“Yes, thank you,” his partner echoed, his relief thick in his voice.

Disgusted, Mark turned, got into his car and drove away. They were acting just like that one guy he’d managed to catch leaving Ruby’s shop the other night. Denied having been in there, denied having touched a thing.

What in the hell was going on around there?

* * *

Malcolm drove the next shift while Celia slept. In his mind, he kept running over and over what had happened at the rest stop. Together, he and Celia should have been able to take two Abatu . But they hadn’t. He was getting weaker and so was she. Other than last night, it had been too long since he’d changed. As he tried to recall the last time he’d run through the forest, he realized he couldn’t. A few sporadic changes here and there in so many months were not enough to maintain his strength. He knew that, and yet he’d let himself grow weak.

He’d been too caught up with the problems of the Pack, fighting with Scott and Jason. Working his schemes, setting traps, being a complete all-around idiot. Now he was paying the price in more ways than one. Without transforming, his body was losing power and he had started to age again, the process resuming where it had cut off the first time he’d changed as a young adult. He was becoming more human and losing the magic of the wolf. He only hoped Celia hadn’t been as foolish.

She looked like an angel as she slept, her face soft and worry-free. He used to love to watch her sleep. It had been the only time her defenses were down and her watchful all-seeing eyes weren’t upon him. She knew him so well, his passions and strengths, but now she couldn’t see past his flaws.

If only he’d married her long ago when she still loved him, when she still saw the best in him. But that chance had long since passed him by. He’d managed to destroy her trust and all that had been good between them. He remembered when they’d been teenagers. She’d stolen his breath, sapping it up with her energy and excitement. She’d had a wild streak that burned bright in her eyes and kept him chasing after her from one end of the Colony to the other. He’d tried to tire her out, to see how far she could really go. She’d not only kept up with him but pushed him even harder.