Chapter Fourty Five
The full moon hung low in the sky. The green leaves of the poplar trees glowed silver and a light breeze blew the scent of the forest to the farmhouse. The sky was cloudless and the stars were almost as bright as the moon.
Andre wiggled his fingers, growling playfully as he chased the children around a red wagon. They all shrieked with laughter though Lydia had recently decided she was too old to be caught up in such “baby” games. She bounced on her toes, clearly torn between her newfound maturity and her desire to join in. Andre caught little James and tossed him in the air, eliciting cries of “me too” and “again”.
The door to the house opened and Mary danced out. Her sparkling green eyes twinkled as she lightly clapped her hands, calling attention to herself. James ignored her, tugging at Andre's hair and demanding to be thrown into the air again.
"It's time to get going," she called, and instantly James was kicking to be set down. Andre laughed.
Lydia ran to Mary and whispered in her ear. Mary smiled and nodded, and the girl disappeared into the house. The rest of them scattered to the bushes, where they would quickly strip down and embrace their Wolves.
Andre stepped over to Mary, panting. "Wolves!"
"They've worn you out already, have they?" She laughed.
Andre shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "They're always hyper on the night of the full moon."
"Well, we only have half an hour to midnight and Neal won't embrace his Bear." Mary shook her head. "I'll get the rest of the children in the wagon if you'll go help him."
Andre nodded, pressing a kiss to Mary's temple as he passed her. He took the stairs to the nursery two steps at a time, anxious to get his little son to embrace his Bear before midnight and the involuntary shift to Wolf happened. He was a rarity, Neal, having a soul that was both Wolf and Bear. But he was a happy, healthy little fellow, with Andre's black eyes, Mary's black hair, and a laugh that was twice his size.
Neal sat in his room, having made a blanket nest on the floor. Unlike the rest of their brood, his energy spike didn't happen until after the full moon, and it lasted for a good three days before he got back to his calm self.
Andre crept over to his son and knelt beside him. Neal smiled sleepily at his father and Andre smiled back.
The pain of Isadore and Eve's death had not gone away, but in the eighteen months since Neal was born, Andre had felt it shift. When he thought of them, images of their dead bodies no longer haunted him. Instead, he remembered the good times and the happiness they shared together. He was as happy now with his odd little family as he had been then.
"We have to go out to the run, bud," Andre said, easing Neal into his arms. "Can't you be with your Bear? You know it hurts if you don't have it when it's midnight."
"Not tonight," Neal said, his babyish lisp muddled further by how sleepy he was. "Tomorrow."
Andre laughed and kissed his son's head. "What if Daddy embraced his Bear, too? Come on, you know you love running with your brothers and sisters."
He tickled Neal's feet and peals of laughter rang through the home. Andre heard the impatient little yips and playful growls from outside that told him that the rest of the family was waiting on them.
"Help me?" Neal tugged at his sleepers.
Andre undressed Neal, and with a little encouragement, the toddler wrinkled his nose and embraced his Bear. He was still in the spindly-legged stage, not quite used to walking and Andre carried him down to the yard.
Mary waited at the door and took Neal, kissing his fuzzy face while she took him to the wagon where the rest of their children waited with their Wolves, tails wagging, climbing all over each other. Andre paused, soaking in the sight of the love of his life settling their little Bear-Wolf son among their adopted Wolf children.
Peace and contentment filled his heart. He had a family once again.
Mary trotted next to Andre as he pulled the wagon. The children jostled each other, but the occasional stern woof from her kept them in order.
The moon's call filled her blood, and she couldn’t stop herself from dancing around the wagon, nipping at Andre's heels from time to time. He gave her an indulgent glare and she wagged her tail, spanking the ground.
Soon they were at their destination with its wide fields, frosty with the first freeze of the year. The others were already there causing the children bounded off to greet their brothers and sisters, as though they didn't see them every single day.
Mary hid behind Andre, repressing her Wolf so she could unhitch him from the wagon. The night air made goosebumps rise on her arms, but soon she was safely wrapped in fur once more.
Neal tumbled out of the wagon and Mary hurried to him, licking his fur to make sure he was okay. He stood on his back legs and wrapped his front legs around her neck, biting at her ear and making a purring noise.
Peter, Amy and their little girl jogged over to join them, rubbing heads and wagging their tails as greetings. Nearby Julia chased a young man, a human from town she had confided to Mary was her soulmate. His eyes were bright and his cheeks flushed as he dodged her attempts to tackle him. A little further, Conrad Milton and David Monroe roughhoused.
The children dashed back to Mary and Andre, growling and biting at Andre's thick fur.
Mary's blood sang, as her gaze was drawn to the moon. It seemed closer than ever before and she could see every crater in its pearly surface.
There was a long moment of silence as all Wolves turned their faces to the call of the moon. Luna sang to them, and as one, they threw back their heads and sang too. The humans who had joined them cupped their mouths and howled, as the few Bears attending stood on their back legs and roared their solidarity. Neal's thin, puppy howl joined the song, and Mary glanced down to see he had transitioned smoothly from Bear to Wolf.
The children gathered around Andre and Mary. Tongues lolled out and tails wagged. They watched eagerly. Wolf and Bear shared a glance and as one, they started forward, running together at a speed even Neal could keep up with.
Mary let the air rush around her. She was aware of each of the children and every other Wolf, Bear, and human in the field. They all ran under the moon, connected by her silvery light.
And she thanked Luna that this life was hers.
*****
THE END