Chapter Fourty One
Mary and Amy waited in the car staring out at the empty buildings that once housed elderly Wolves. Amy sat in the passenger seat, her arms wrapped protectively around her belly while Mary gripped the steering wheel.
They had arrived at the old community fifteen minutes earlier. Philip was off searching the area for any threats and the seconds stretched by like something was about to snap. Amy didn't know how to drive, so it was up to Mary to get them away if they were attacked.
"So what is this ritual exactly?" Mary finally asked, unable to take the silence anymore.
She had hoped to recognize the buildings they drove by, but nothing looked familiar. It was frustrating and there was something inside her that was almost snarling. She wanted to stomp on the gas and get out of there right away.
Is it my Wolf? she wondered. Is it remembering what happened to it here?
Amy stared straight ahead and didn't speak.
Mary sighed. "I'm going to have to do it too, you know. I have a baby that I don't want to lose."
"A Bear's baby," Amy muttered. "Why don't you want a baby Bear?"
"Maybe I do," Mary snapped. "But the most important thing is that I have a live baby! So tell me. What do I need to do?"
Amy's shoulders slumped. "We have to start in the tombs."
"The tombs? Why?"
"Because that is where the moon mushrooms grow."
Mary stared at her. "We're going to eat magic mushrooms? How the hell is that safe for a baby?"
Amy flinched. "Must you swear? You were never this crude before."
"My Wolf wasn't purged before."
Amy flinched again.
Mary glanced out the window, feeling bad for her words and actions. Her situation wasn't Amy's fault. A sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I don't know. There is something about this place that is really freaking me out. I think it must be memories."
"Sometimes our Wolves get too protective," Amy whispered. "They know our babies, but they don't understand that they have to have Wolves of their own. When the baby's Wolf comes to join with them, our Wolves think that they are going to attack and chase them off. But our babies can't survive like that, without a Wolf of their own. Without a soul. So we have to help our Wolves meet our baby's Wolves. Then they will know each other and the baby's Wolf can join them at birth. But your Wolf is purged. You don't need to do it."
"My Wolf emerged during the last full moon. What makes you think that..." Mary sighed. "Never mind. Get back to the ritual. What exactly do we do?"
"We get the mushrooms, then find a room to wait for our Wolves. We eat the mushroom and wait."
"That's it?"
"That's it. If your Wolf is going to come, it will come to you then."
Mary's heart started to pound against her chest, hard and fast. Her lungs filled with warm air. The excitement made her fingers drum against the steering wheel. "Maybe I'll remember."
Amy's expression was startled. "Maybe..."
The back door opened. Both women jumped, but it was only Philip. His brow was furrowed. "There is no scent of Bears. There is something different, though. It's making me uneasy."
Mary didn't take any time to consider what that could mean. She was already out of the car, glancing around for some sort of sign to direct her to the tombs. Amy got out as well. She pointed and began walking in her pregnant, spread-legged gait. Mary frowned after her. What would they do if she went into labor while they were going through this ritual?
Philip stayed by the car. When Mary asked why he wasn't coming, Amy told her that this was women's business. Men weren't permitted to know the secrets.
The tombs were not what Mary had been expecting. Instead of cramped, damp, smelly caves, it was more like a temple. Built from white granite, the cathedral-shaped building was a good three stories high and covered an area of at least a thousand feet squared. Dense cedars grew in a ring around it, so Mary couldn't see it until she stepped through the low-sweeping branches.
Once inside, the tombs were dark until Amy turned on the electric lights. The walls were made from the same white granite, covered in small shelves that housed urns of various shape and color. Mary supposed that these were the remains of the dead, but she didn't ask. There was something about this place that forbade speaking. She followed Amy silently along a dusty blue carpet.
Eventually, Amy stopped in front of a hole just big enough for her hand to fit into. She reached into it, and after patting around a little, withdrew two mushrooms. Silently she handed one to Mary. The two then separated, going through different unmarked doors.
The room was empty. Mary turned the mushroom over in her hand. It was plain white, the same as any mushroom she had ever seen before. She hesitated, sniffing it. It smelled like nothing.
What if this was some sort of trick? Did Amy have a reason to want her dead? A hand drifted to her stomach and she closed her eyes. She imagined a little baby with her green eyes and Andre's tanned skin. Her mind was made up. She needed to do this.
With her eyes still closed, she popped the mushroom into her mouth. It had a bitter taste to it and she made a face as she chewed and swallowed.
Then she waited.
She didn't wait for long. A scuffling noise came from behind her and she turned. Her heart jumped to her throat and she backed away. A giant wolf stood snarling at her. Its ragged black fur stood up on its back and green eyes stared at her, as though ready to tear out her throat.
But even though Mary trembled and glanced around for a weapon, she couldn't deny that the Wolf was beautiful and fascinating. She balked at the idea of hurting it.
The Wolf snarled again.
"Hello," Mary whispered. "I think you're me."
The snarls abruptly stopped. It cocked its head and Mary cautiously took a step forward. She stretched out her hand. There was a deep longing in her chest.
"You're my Wolf. We're meant to--"
The Wolf howled and leaped at her.
***
Ibeth smiled as she led Andre through gray cinderblock halls, lit by flickering lights. He remained tense, uncertain of what he was meant to be doing. She had been very polite to him on the ride here, asking questions he didn't answer. He was distracted by thoughts of Mary.
Was Peter really worth this? Was he worth leaving Mary behind to deal with the same siblings that had driven her crazy before? Was she okay? What was she doing right now? Should he abandoned his quest, no matter how close he was, and return to her? What would happen during the full moon if he wasn't there?
"Here he is." Ibeth opened a door, gesturing Andre in.
The room was a stark white, broken only by the shadow cast by a narrow cot. Peter, dressed in the same black hoodie and blue jeans Andre had last seen him in, jumped to his feet as the Bears entered. There were faded bruises on his face, but nothing too bad. His skin paled at the sight of Andre and his hands clenched.
"So that's how it is?" he spat. "You're here to kill me now?"
"No," Ibeth said. "He's a prisoner, just like you."
Andre whirled on her, but she was already out the door. She smirked. "Did you think I would believe that lie about you wanting to kill him?"
"No, but I hoped."
"Oh, Andre… everything I've heard about you made you sound so smart. And yet… this? Sloppy."
Andre shrugged. "More like desperate."
"You don't strike me as a traitor. And yet, here you are. Trying to bring the Locke family's leader back to them so they can attack us."
"The Locks have no intention of attacking."
"That's not what he told us." Ibeth nodded at Peter. "Why don't you two talk and get your stories straight? We will find out where the Locke Wolves are hiding eventually, I assure you."
She shut the door with a snap.
Andre snarled under his breath, but he had been half expecting this. If he wanted to change his mind, he should have done so the moment Ibeth showed up. Given everything he had done, why would they believe what he said? Unfortunately, he hadn't thought passed making sure Peter was alive.
He turned to the Wolf, glaring at him. "So you were going to start an all-out war against the Bears, were you?"
Peter sat down on the narrow cot and shrugged though he didn’t meet Andre's eyes. "Why shouldn't I?"
"If that was your plan, you wouldn't have turned yourself over to them."
"Unless I was trying to find out where their base was. Maybe I knew that you'd come back for me once you found Mary." Peter's head jerked up and worry shone in his eyes. "You did find her, didn't you?"
Andre sighed. His Bear grumbled at him though the usual bloodlust he felt when he saw Peter wasn't present. Odd. Perhaps his Bear was coming to understand his reasons for not killing him.
We might be being watched. Why else would Ibeth put us together like this, unless it was so that we would tell them something while we are speaking to one another?
"Is my family—"
"They're fine. I'm not in the mood for small talk." Andre let a growl into his voice. "So you'd better be quiet or I really will kill you."
Peter, wisely, went silent.
Mary. Andre sat on the floor, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the wall. I will return. I promise. Somehow I will get out of here and find my way back to you.