The ticket guy’s mouth popped open as hisgaze lingered on my father’s tattoo. He punched something into his register. “Sir,that will be like three thousand five hundred dollars.”
My father whipped out a credit card and slidit through the window.
“Right,” the guy said and swiped it. “Thenext ferry leaves in five minutes.”
I felt a warm hand on my back and turnedto see my mom. “Hey. How are you?” she asked.
She gave me one of those I-know-what-you’re-feelinglooks and it made me want to burst into tears. “Fine,” I lied.
She nodded, letting it go. “Why is Masonpassed out and unable to wake?”
Oh, shit. I laughed. “Oh, he accidentallythrew sleeping powder in his face when he was stealing the rig.”
My mom chuckled. “That explains it, musthave been a lot. I’ll go wake him.”
My mom was much better with her magicthan I was and after today I made a promise to myself to take my magic studiesmore seriously.
My dad told the guy not to bother printingall of the ticket cards and we began to walk in a line. Four people per rowwith shoulders touching, we boarded the ferry. It was huge, more like a cruiseliner and one sign I saw said,Max Capacity 2,000.
As we loaded up onto the boat, I found a seatand stared out onto the open water. Maybe going to the island was a good thing.Surely Mukesh wouldn’t go to a 250-strong werewolf hideout. And from here Icould help broker the peace between the humans and my people. And try to helpmy mate.
A warm body slid next to me on the benchand Gavin placed his hand in mine and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay,” he stated.
I sighed. “Is it?”
He just looked out onto the water andnodded.
I sure as hell hoped my mate was rightbecause I wanted to live a nice, quiet life and not this shit storm.
*
“Shamus! My brother!” My dad bellowed inhis big baritone voice as he hugged a red-headed bearded man who mostdefinitely wasnothis brother. I knew the name Shamus though from oldstories my parents used to tell. He used to be the Seattle pack alpha, and heand my dad wentwayback. As the ferry pulled away, I took stock of mysurroundings. San Juan Island was an island buried among over a dozen othersmall islands. I knew it was a famous place for watching the orcas migrate, andthey had some summer campgrounds here but other than that, it was just sometourist thing. There was also a lot of Native American heritage stuff to see.One thing was for certain, it was breathtaking. Tall, jagged rock cliffs, hugegreen trees hundreds of years old, and smooth grassy fields. We weren’tslumming it, that was for sure.
After my dad spoke to Shamus for a momentthe big bearded alpha turned to face all of us. There was a large stonebuilding behind him, some kind of welcome center with totem poles on eitherside. Out of the double doors, a bunch of his pack mates were spilling out ontothe lawn. “Welcome to my territory!” Shamus bellowed. “My home is your home.The humans have declared war on our kind and I will not stand for it. Spreadthe word that San Juan Island is now Werewolf Island, and all who come here arewelcome.”
A symphony of battle cries rang out, myown included. Dad was right to bring us here. We needed a place where we couldregroup and feel safe. I had to admit, Werewolf Island had a nice ring to it.Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Nahuel had tied up a small motorboat. It wassteel with chipped red paint on the side. Kind of like his truck reincarnated itselfinto a boat. He had lit a sage bundle and was now walking around the islandwith it. I chuckled to myself. Some things never changed and that wascomforting. The sight of Nahuel with his sage bundle brought me a small amountof peace for some odd reason.
Shamus’ voice rose up again. “The humanshave always been the weakest race, and for that we pitied them. No longer!Unless a way can be found to help the humans without harming the wolves, thenwe will have to fight for our right to live.”
The wolves rose up again with cheers butwhat he said reminded me of my other purpose here. Kill the Skin Walkerandbrokera peace between the humans. I slowly pushed my way to the front of the crowdand cleared my throat.
My dad and mom beamed at me, ushering meforward. “Shamus, this is Anya, our daughter.”
Shamus smiled and held out his hand.“It’s a pleasure, Anya.”
I shook his hand and met his eyes. “Iknow how to heal the humans and keep the wolves alive,” I whispered.
So much for whispering, the entire crowdquieted down.Damn werewolf hearing.My mom and dad’s eyes were as bigas saucers. I sighed. I wasn’t the most the subtle person but what Mama hadtold me had to work and I needed to share it with everyone.
“Let’s talk.” A lot of shit had gone downsince I left my mom and dad on Mount Hood. My vision, Lina’s death, meeting Mama.I had been up since four a.m. and wanted nothing more than to sleep but thiscouldn’t wait. My dad was the political leader of us all and I needed to givehim the information so that he could decide how to handle it.
“Okay,” my dad said and shared a lookwith Shamus.
Shamus nodded to the big stone building.“I’ll meet you in my office.”
My dad nodded and then Shamus turned to atall burly guy who I guessed was his second. “Show them all to the bunk houses.Overnight order a thousand sleeping bags and whatever else you think we willneed.”
The burly man nodded and began callingthe wolves to follow him. I stepped up to go into the office when Gavin slippedhis hand inside mine. A smile spread across my face as I felt the warmth and comfortof his touch.
