Hidden In Plain Sight: Book 2 (Wolves)

Chapter 2- Halyn

It was a relief to finally arrive in Minnesota from Alaska. Years ago we visited my cousins Gannon and Susan, maybe two years after they had moved to Minnesota. I remember they lived in an apartment in the city with three bedrooms. Caitriona was pregnant with the twins and Gabriel was the only child at that time. Susan was a senior in high school. Hard to believe that was years ago already. Even then, I knew someday, I wanted to come back, get to know my family better, and see more of Minnesota. I’d never been to an area that reminded me so much of Alaska but yet, was so different.

After spending so many hours traveling, my wolf was chomping at the bit to run. Halyn asked, “Cousin Gannon, where is a good place to run?”

Gannon replied, “there is a wolf door in the farthest corner of the territory with stainless steel fencing, cameras, and security guards that you could exit. You'll need to request access at the gate when you want to return. I simply ask you don’t shift in plain sight of others since we do have humans here.”

Arriving at the far corner, a small shack sat near the exit, so I stepped in and removed my clothing before shifting into my wolf form. Being of Alpha blood, I shifted quicker than lower level wolves, but it still hurts enough to take my breath away. I had put my clothing together and tied it in a roll so I could carry them out the exit in my mouth. A bench with three sides sat to the right of the camera, so I set my clothing on the bench and took off at a leisurely jog through the green grasses and brush. To the East was bluff country, with grass,trees, rocks, lots of underbrush, and higher elevations. To the West was grass and weeds that ran toward the waterway and swamp.

I took my time to be careful not to fall into the swamp. It was a beautiful summer day at the beginning of July, but nearing evening, it was beginning to cool off a bit. I certainly did not want to have to explain to Gannon why I was still in wolf form, with wet, dirty fur, and why I hadn’t heeded his warning of the swampy areas. Before I left, Gannon had said, “as you head toward the water, if you stray too far from the path, you may take an unwanted dip in the swamp.” He had smiled at me knowingly. I had to admit my reputation for being an adventurous pup and getting into mischief, but I was nineteen now; I had learned to be more careful. Okay, I was more careful most of the time.

I was sure there was a story behind the smirk that had taken over his face; sometime when we had more time, I would ask him. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll be careful. I could use a shower, but a bath in the Mississippi isn’t really in my plans for tonight.” I had laughed and left the office for my run. I was hoping that running off some energy would help control some of my nervousness.

I didn’t often get nervous, but I still don’t completely trust my ability to use my intuition to make decisions. It was so much easier for me to trust my instincts as a child, because most of the decisions had less serious consequences. It wasn’t until after I had visited my cousins here in Minnesota that my intuition became so strong that I could no longer ignore it. When I got a strong feeling about something now and tried to ignore it, I began to feel ill. If I would give into the intuition and do what I felt was right, the ill feelings would vanish. My father had explained to me that it’s not uncommon for were-animals with Native American roots to have unique abilities such as seeing the future in visions, having feelings of intuition like I seemed to have, being able to tell if someone is lying, sensing distress in others, and other very unique things that he didn’t care to go into at that time. Since my abilities were just making themselves obvious enough I could no longer ignore them, I wasn’t all that interested in other’s abilities, only the one that was plaguing me. At times it felt more like a curse than a blessing.

Today my intuition was telling me I needed to go for a run and I needed to head toward the river. As I meandered through the grasses and wildflowers, I paid close attention to the trail to prevent an unwanted swim. The bluffs were beautiful, and I'd much rather have gone that direction and really give myself a workout, but my intuition was not agreeable to that option. So, like a good little shifter, I followed my instincts toward the river. I could hear crickets, croaking frogs, fish jumping, and smell the water nearby. I could also hear small rodents scurrying along in the grasses and a woodpecker off in the distance toward the bluff, just pecking away in search of food. As I passed a patch of clover, the sweet smell of the purple flowers tickled my nose. I stopped, thinking I might sneeze, but before I could think too hard about it, I heard someone yell, “f**k you Travis Lykos, you crude bastard!”

Who the hell was yelling, and what was going on? I couldn’t help but move toward the loud voice. The person yelling sounded very angry, I wasn’t sure if he was fighting with someone. I listened, but didn’t hear a second voice or commotion that sounded like a physical altercation. Deep in thought I couldn’t help but remember that Lykos was Susan’s new last name. I think Travis was her husband, even though I haven’t met him yet.

A rather unique scent, a human scent, hit my senses. The smell reminded me mostly of a fast food restaurant, and my stomach growled, informing me it was nearing meal time. As I inched closer, I smelled a musky, slightly salty scent. I then heard breathing and froze; I was closer than I realized. As I looked up, I saw what appeared to be a young male a little above average height, with a thin but athletic build. At that point, he quickly turned around, startling me, and I jogged off toward the bluff to hide in the tree line. Although I didn’t feel fearful of this human, I’d always been taught to stay away from humans when in wolf form. Ironically, my intuition was telling me to get closer, not further away. Just before I reached the tree line, I turned back to see him watching me. With my wolf sight, I could still make out his sandy brown hair, bright blue eyes, clean shaven face, full lips that were slightly parted, and a look of interest as he watched me watch him. The inner turmoil kept me frozen in place longer than I should have been, but finally my father’s teachings of survival kicked in and I turned and jogged into the tree line. Once in hiding, I turned and watched the young man jog back toward the gated community in which I was staying.

After my run, while finishing up supper, Caitriona explained, “we now have more than one human family living within our pack territory. For the most part, these families are here because they work for us in one capacity or another. Fred is a Security Guard, so he, his wife, and three children live within our community. Their house was burned down after he stood up for a pack member when Susan’s husband’s pack was attacked.. We have a computer guru who works from her house and does all our computer work as needed; Gannon says she is worth her weight in gold. Therefore, Halyn, we have to be careful not to expose our wolf sides to these humans that are not aware. We have to be careful what terminology we use as not to cause suspicion.”

I was floored. In my years living within a pack territory in Alaska, one that the hunters had not yet found, we were always taught to stay away from humans. My father was the Beta of our Yukon River Pack, the oldest pack in Alaska, so he was big on pack and Native American culture. As much as I loved my family, they are very old school. I came to Minnesota to attend college following a gap year after graduation. I intend to spread my wings and learn what modern wolf packs are like. I knew things would be different, with Gannon’s pack living in the suburbs, but I had no idea there would be humans within their territory. “So what terminology is different Luna Caitriona?”

Luna Caitriona looked at me, smiled, and responded, “when it’s just us, please call me Cat. You are family, we only use formality when the pack is around. We live in a gated community, not a pack territory. We do not discuss shifting, werewolves, or were-animals of any kind within the company of humans. Oh, mates… we refer to our mates as partners or husband or wife.”

“Really?” I asked as I gave Cat a look of surprise.

Luna Cat nodded and then said, “oh, we have a wolf who has mated with a human.”

“Get out of here,” I exclaimed. The kids stopped playing and looked in my direction. “Sorry Cat, but how did that happen? They must be chosen mates right, not fated?”

Cat laughed. “I’d have thought so, but they both swear they were drawn to each other, felt the tingles and electric sensation when they touched, and did not want to be apart from one another after they met. Jeffrey’s mate was adopted, so it is possible he has some were-blood, but without tests, we will never know for sure. They have a place here in our community. Jeffrey marked his mate within days of their meeting. That seems pretty fast if not fated mates.”

I simply nodded in agreement.

Growing up in Alaska, we were allowed to run in wolf form anywhere within pack territory. Werewolves paid no attention to nudity, and would not wear clothing when the weather was agreeable to doing so; being without clothing made for easy shifting. Because werewolves are sensory animals, they are more comfortable without clothing. It seemed being without clothing kept the animalistic instincts closer to the surface. Something about wearing clothing makes most werewolves more human and less animalistic, like maybe it’s a reminder they are humans as well as wolves. I knew living in a more urban environment would definitely teach me to better control my wolf.

I could not help but think of the young human I saw while on my run. Something about him made me feel the need to reach out to him, like he needed something. Or, maybe he needed someone, to help him with whatever it was that had him upset enough to yell while alone out amongst nature. Well, nothing could be done tonight, so I decided to focus on getting settled into Cat and Gannon’s basement and getting rested up after my long trip.