Copyright 1997 by Asikaa. All right reserved.
The right of Asikaa to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. This text may be copied and freely distributed as
long as the following conditions are adhered to: 1. No profit is made
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should be directed via electronic mail to the author at asikaa@poboxes.com.
Ti'rathi was not enjoying himself. In fact, he was feeling downright
miserable. The cold steel sky pelted his bedraggled form with rain,
turning his fur a shade darker and making the tips of his ears go numb.
He tried his best to ignore the weather and glanced down the hillside.
The cabin looked warm and comfortable. It sheltered an individual for
whom his emotions were in turmoil.
She was beautiful, but he instinctively feared her. He loved her, but could not abide her alien ways. He wanted to be free of her curse, but he was sworn to protect her until his last breath. It was a paradox that would send most wolves crazy with confusion.
Ti'rathi was different. He was born blessed with an insight that went beyond intelligence, beyond self-awareness, even beyond the phenomenal instincts of a wild predator. Ti'rathi possessed a spiritual power similar to that of the aboriginal Australian shamen. He was still a wolf, however. He still feared the unknown, and the two-legs were one of the biggest unknowns that he had had the misfortune to deal with.
Of course, had everything turned out differently, he would not have to deal with them. He could have stayed with his pack and provided spiritual guidance and advice for his family and fellow wolves. Sometimes during these eternal vigils his mind would wander and daydream of what could have been. The warmth of belonging to a strong pack, the thrill of hunting with such a deadly team, respecting his elders and gaining respect as an elder, dominance and submission, lean winters, plentiful summers.
It was not to be. He had had a vision. He had gone into a trance, murmuring ancient words and staring at nothing. He stood transfixed, while the rest of his pack milled around him in confusion.
What he saw were the events leading to a catastrophe for his race. An all-out war where the blood of wolf and man would mingle on the ground in the forests and in the cities. Many would die but the humans would triumph in the end. Ti'rathi saw visions that made his heart skip and his mind reel.
There was a key. Although he was young, he knew that every event was governed by a key. A tree would grow from an acorn if all the keys were turned at precisely the right time. The key to the war was a young human female named Charlotte. Virtually all humans are destined to enjoy longer lives than wolves but if for some reason there was an exception, nothing could be expected to become of it. However, his vision showed Ti'rathi that Charlotte's isea, or spirit, was destined to enter the body of an unborn wolf. If this were to happen before Ti'rathi died, he would meet Charlotte's new incarnation and fall helplessly in love with her. They would leave their respective packs and have pups. In his shivering trance, the wolf saw one of those pups become a great leader of wolfkind, and it would be her who would wage war on the humans, in a final and bloody revenge for the centuries of persecution.
This terrible future hinged on one key. That key was that Charlotte would die before Ti'rathi. If he could prevent that, then the infinitely forked path of fate would rearrange and the status quo would remain.
And so Ti'rathi's life was changed forever. He held on his shoulders the immense burden of thousands of lives, both wolfen and human. After the vision passed, he collapsed and remained unconscious for several nights. His pack thought him to be dying, and kept their distance, unsure of how to react. Finally he woke. Without any farewells, he left the pack and started his trek across mountains and forests, following his deepest instincts to where Charlotte lived.
He had arrived just in time to save Charlotte from being attacked by a mountain lion. Although he had planned never to reveal his true mission to her, the cougar injured him and he was forced to accept the human's assistance. While she had been examining his wounds, he had established a telepathic link and was able to recount his story to her.
Now he watched over her as best he could. It had been six months since the cougar attack. The strain of his constant vigil had started to show. Physically he was still in very good shape. He was only four years old, and approaching his prime. His fur was thick and his body was strong, reflexes sharp. But his mind was worn ragged. He was acutely paranoid and he felt that nothing was right. He had almost ceased to be a wolf. He still hunted but the thrill had gone. He still sampled the breeze, but the beautiful scents of nature no longer exhilarated him. The world had become as grey as an old wolf's muzzle.
He had ensured that there had been no contact since they had parted earlier that year. The wolf had no wish to interfere with Charlotte's life, simply to protect it. His was a massive responsibility, and it was not something he wanted complicated any further.
Ti'rathi raised his muzzle off his paws as the cabin door swung open with a quiet squeak. A tallish woman with a slim figure and dark blonde hair emerged into the gloomy day. She grimaced at the clouds and pulled up the hood of her windcheater. The wolf hoped that she was not going into town again. Hiding places were scarce and danger lay around every corner.
Still, there was a thrill in his heart at seeing her again. He should not have met her until she was reborn as a wolf, but he had been forced to meet her prematurely as a human. As her basic personality remained constant, he had fallen in love with her just as fate intended. It was part of what was tearing the animal apart - his want for her, but the necessity for aloofness.
Charlotte walked around the cabin, head down, squelching over the rain-sodden ground. She took three large pieces of cordwood from under the lean-to woodpile shelter at the cabin's rear. The young woman paused for a moment, as if she felt the wolf watching her. She turned and looked directly at the place where Ti'rathi lay, higher on the mountainside. He froze, fighting the instinct to duck down. The movement would surely betray his presence. After a indeterminable pause the human disappeared back inside her sturdy little house.
The wolf relaxed. He would have to hunt soon. Hopefully the weather would deter Charlotte from leaving the cabin again. Stretching out his stiff legs, Ti'rathi stood and shook the water from his coat. As he turned to leave, his ears swivelled in response to yet another squeak from the cabin door.
"Who's there?"
It was the woman. The wolf froze again, hoping against hope that he was still concealed by the long grass.
"I can see you, wolf."
He sighed silently.
"I think we need to talk."
He turned back. She was standing by the cabin door, squinting up at him.
[ It is not wise. ]
He projected the thought at her, and as before, the raw meaning of his thought floated into her mind, allowing the two beings to communicate on a deeper level. Although the human still used words, it was the underlying feelings that Ti'rathi picked up.
"Can you at least come down so I can quit shouting?"
The wolf made his way down to the cabin. He stopped a few feet from Charlotte.
[ I should not be making contact like this. ]
"Come inside, please. Out of the rain."
The cabin did look inviting. Charlotte held the door open and they went inside. The woman sat in a chair, the wolf curled his tail around his haunches at the fireside.
The young woman looked at him with an expression of wonder.
"You know, I still can't believe that all this is real."
Ti'rathi simply sat facing her, letting the warmth of the fire extend its comforting fingers through his skin.
"I should be angry at you. I thought everything was a dream at first. I've spent the last six months wondering what became of you. Then, just recently, I've had this feeling of being watched. Somehow I knew it was you."
[ It was not supposed to happen the way it did. ]
Charlotte nodded. "I sorta guessed that. But I remember almost everything you told me. I even remember your name."
The wolf merely looked at her. He knew that she felt the powerful attraction between them, and he supposed that she was also having trouble coming to terms with it.
"Flanker, right?"
[ That is correct. The wolf equivalent is Ti'rathi. ]
She nodded again.
[ Forgive me if I seem... hesistant. I do not feel completely comfortable in the company of your kind. ]
Charlotte uttered a nervous chuckle. "You should see it from my point of view!"
There was an awkward silence. It extended for what seemed like several minutes. Finally the human broke it.
"I guess I really what to know why you're watching me."
[ You do not know? ]
There was an element of surprise in the tone of his thought.
"Well, I remember that it's important that I outlive you, because of one of the pups we would produce..."
The wolf interrupted her with another projected thought.
[ That is correct. I have been watching you to ensure that you come to no harm. ]
Charlotte blinked. She opened her mouth, but could think of nothing to say.
[ I told you that I would always be near. It was a promise I have kept. ]
"Well, I'm... I'm touched. Really I am."
Again they sat in silence. Charlotte thought deeply about the situation, remembering the events of the Spring. Eventually she spoke.
"It's crazy you know. Why should you be watching over me like this, sitting out there in the rain?" She paused.
[ I have to protect you as best I can. ]
"I know that. I meant why don't you live here? It seems much more sensible to me."
Her proposal caught the wolf completely by surprise. At first he could not think of a reply. Charlotte urged him on.
"I mean, if you lived here, you'd be warm and dry through the winter, and I could feed you and..."
[ Stop. ]
Charlotte broke off abruptly and looked slightly hurt.
[ Ridiculous. I am not one of your dogs. ]
There was a great deal of comtempt in the wolf's thoughts. Anger too.
[ I am wild. You cannot keep me. ]
Sensing the woman's hurt, the wolf softened his tone somewhat.
[ You must understand. I should have nothing to do with you. If we were to meet, it would be as wolves. The fact that I communicated with you at all was a mistake. ]
The wolf stood. Once again Charlotte was struck by his natural poise, his nobility and elegance.
[ I should never have come down here. ]
"But you can't go now. Not again."
[ I must. Please open the door. ]
Charlotte hesitated, then sighed and held the door for him. The wolf slipped out into the rain and was gone.
The young woman slumped into a chair. Once again her thoughts were jumbled. Disappointment and emotional hurt pressed down on her like the rolling black thunderclouds outside. A few days ago, when she had finally decided that the wolf did actually exist and that he was watching her, the idea had come to her.
Why not invite him to stay with her? At first it seemed foolish but something had overridden her reservations. When she realized what it was she was shocked. Charlotte had fallen in love with the wolf and wanted him to stay with her, to stay close to her.
Six months ago she had attended to his wounds with a tenderness that reflected her budding love for him. Since then she had dreamed of him over and over again.
And now he was gone.
-----
Ti'rathi scrambled up the slope behind Charlotte's little house. Again the rain stung his face and his mood darkened. Why had he gone down there? He should have just walked away, melting into the wilderness. Once more this wise wolf had blundered into another big mistake.
The wolf broke into a fluid lope, heading into the forest. The dense firs offered some protection from the driving rain and his hunger had become more insistent. It was time to hunt.
He tried to concentrate on the matter in hand, but his mind kept returning to Charlotte.
All this was stupid and unrealistic. Charlotte could never be his mate. The consequences were too great.
The thought broke as a hare sprang from a hollow just a few body-lengths in front of the wolf. Ti'rathi simultaneously accelerated and inhaled, scenting the hare's panic. His mind cleared and his gaze tracked the hare like a laser beam. Close. The wolf was so close. Adrenalin coursed through his veins, spurring his finely developed muscles to drive harder, pushing him forward and returning to push again. His broad paws whispered over the ground, each stride closing that gap. So close now.
The hare must know now. It knows that the wolf will catch it and rip it apart. Ti'rathi could smell the hare's resignation. A deep growl rumbled up from his chest and his jaws crunched down, fangs stabbing through the prey's back. The wolf skidded to a stop and shook the hare violently, growling savagely, bloodlust filling his mind. Finally he dropped it and settled down to eat.
-----
Another morning. Still raining. A raindrop ran along the top of Ti'rathi's muzzle and tickled his sensitive nose. He sneezed it away and shuffled his paws under him. The cabin was silent apart from the rain rattling on it's tin roof. The night had been important for the wolf. He had pondered many things and decided that he needed to make contact with Charlotte once more.
Despite the rain, the day was warmer than the previous, and the wolf's fur kept him warm and comfortable. He had moved his observation point since the woman spotted him yesterday and this place was more sheltered than the last. Slowly, gradually, the big wolf drifted off into a deep relaxing sleep. The rain continued to hammer at his prone form, but he slept.
He slept even as faint noises came from the cabin. A clatter of pans failed to wake the wolf. The tempting scent of frying bacon made his nose twitch, but still he slept.
The cabin door opened and Charlotte stepped out into the rain, shoulders hunched into her jacket, headphones playing rock music. She glanced up at Flanker's old hiding place and slammed the door shut.
The wolf woke with a start, all his muscles instantly tense. The woman was trudging down the track to the town, singing to herself. He must make contact now.
Ti'rathi barked. Charlotte did not break stride. He barked again. Louder. No reaction. Why did she not hear him? The wolf's eyesight was not sharp enough to pick out the black pads covering the woman's ears. He sighed and rose, stretching out his legs. How many times could his plans go wrong? He wanted to approach the cabin as soon as Charlotte woke, but he had fallen asleep.
He gathered his thoughts and concentrated.
[ I must speak with you. ]
Charlotte continued receding into the distance down the mountainside. Ti'rathi was in better mental shape then yesterday but not strong enough to project his thoughts that far. The wolf set off after her.
The woman was approaching a wide strip of hard grey material running across the track. Ti'rathi padded along behind her, steadily catching her up. He had given up barking when his ears picked up the hiss-hiss of the music in her headphones. There was another sound coming faintly from his left. The wolf was concentrating on Charlotte and so ignored the sound. He had almost caught up with her when she stepped onto the road to cross it. Suddenly the sound got louder. Something was wrong.
Charlotte was thinking how much the music helped against the rain and what a wonderfully versatile voice Phil Anselmo has when she crossed the blacktop road. Then everything snapped into slow motion. A massive logging truck bore down on her from her left. She froze, knowing that the truck would hit her. She was about to die. Now she would not be able to get her groceries from the town store. There was not enough time for it to occur to her what an absurd thought that was.
Ti'rathi saw the immense machine before Charlotte did. There was no time to warn her by establishing a mental link. He detected the flare of terror from her mind as the truck driver slammed on the brakes.
The road was wet and the truck's tyres locked into an all-wheel skid. Forty tons of steel slid forward with a cacophony of hissing air and slipping rubber.
The wolf bunched his hindquarters and leaped. Images of the cougar attack flitted into his mind. Then the truck slammed into Charlotte with a sickening thud. Ti'rathi hit the side of the machine and slumped to the ground. He had failed. A muzzle too late.
"Oh Jesus."
The voice came from above him. The truck door had opened and the driver was climbing out, his face pale. Ti'rathi stood and glared at the human. The truck driver was trying to see around the front of his truck, and had not noticed the wolf crouched below him. Until he growled.
The wolf was consumed with rage, born of his own guilt. He felt an irrational urge to kill the driver, who was now staring back at him.
"Uh... uh..."
The man was obviously torn between the welfare of the woman he had hit and the fact that a large wolf was threatening to attack him. After a moment he climbed back into his cab and slammed the door.
Ti'rathi sat down and continued to glare hatefully at the driver. Then a shaken voice spoke from behind him.
"I guess this means fate gave me a second chance, huh?"
She was alive! Ti'rathi swung around. Charlotte stood there, her clothes muddied, but definitely alive. The link clicked into being and Ti'rathi conveyed pure emotion to her. Pain, relief, guilt and happiness. Then a more coherent thought.
[ You are alive. I thought... I was not quick enough. ]
"Well, I've ripped my jeans and got one hell of a headache, but yeah, I'm alive."
"Uh, ma'am?"
The truck driver spoke through the window. "Are you okay ma'am?"
"Yeah, I think so. Look, I'm real sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Is that your wolf?"
Charlotte laughed. "Uh, kind of, yeah."
"You should be more careful. Are you sure you're okay?"
Charlotte nodded and the driver started the engine with a loud roar. Ti'rathi stepped back and laid his ears flat, his growls drowned by the truck.
"It's okay, Flanker, it won't hurt you."
The truck moved off and Charlotte crouched next to the wolf, looking him directly in the eyes.
"I know you blame yourself for not getting there fast enough, but I want to thank you. You are very brave. You would have died for me."
[ We need to talk. ]
Charlotte was surprised at the wolf's directness. She looked at him and he stared back. They began the walk back to the cabin.
-----
The wolf sat in front of Charlotte as she sipped the whiskey. Her ruined clothes lay in a pile and she wore a warm robe. The shock had hit shortly after they entered the house. He sat quietly with his tail curled around his paws as her shaking subsided. Finally she spoke.
"So?"
[ I have been thinking about everything. ]
Charlotte felt the weight behind his thoughts. Then she sat transfixed as she caught the wolf's eye. He was staring at her again with those deeply serene eyes.
[ I am committed to protecting you. But that has been pushed aside by my feelings for you. Last night I finally realized that saving your life for the sake of my species has taken second place to my love for you. ]
The woman simply sat and blinked. The wolf continued.
[ I have made many mistakes. Because of what has happened I must remain near you until I die. Today has just served to confirm my decision. Therefore I accept your offer. ]
"You'll... you'll live here?"
One of Ti'rathi's ears flicked.
[ Yes. ]
"That's wonderful! I..."
[ Wait. There are conditions. I do not belong to you. I am not your pet. ]
"Of course. I would never..."
[ I am here to protect you first and foremost. However, I have come to know that I love you and... ]
The wolf bowed his head.
[ ...And if you feel that you can love me... I will be your mate. ]
Charlotte opened her mouth to speak but Flanker interrupted.
[ I realized last night that I can be your mate while you are human. ]
"Of course, because there wouldn't be any pups!"
[ Correct. ]
Charlotte broke into a huge smile. "Oh Flanker, this is wonderful! I..."
[ Do you feel the same way? ]
"Yes. I... Well, it feels strange, but I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone before."
The wolf was looking deep into her eyes again. His handsome face captivated her. Intentions and desires drifted across her psyche until she was no longer sure which were hers and which were his.
-----
A redwing sat outside the window. The occasional burst of song was a beautiful melody that woke Charlotte. She raised her hand and rubbed her blurry eyes. A soft hiss of air from beside her brought a smile to her face. She rolled slightly and slid an arm around the furry form. An ear twitched and rotated like radar in her direction. Flanker opened one eye and looked at Charlotte with that infinite gaze of serenity.
"Morning."
[ Yes. ]
"No, it's short for 'good morning'."
[ It is a morning that you like? ]
Charlotte giggled. "No, I guess it's just a silly human thing. Forget it."
The wolf sighed lazily, black nostrils flaring slightly against the pillow.
"You're so warm and snuggly."
[ This bed is very soft. It is like sleeping on leaves. ]
"Heh. Better, I hope. I paid nearly two hundred bucks for it."
[ I do not understand. ]
"Never mind."
Charlotte closed her eyes and cuddled up close to the wolf.
"Last night was wonderful, Flanker."
There was no reply. Instead the wolf sent her a wave of warm emotion that conveyed so much more than words. The young woman glanced up at the clock.
"It's late. You kept me up nearly all night." She smiled and stroked a finger down the edge of his ear. "You're so beautiful."
[ You are beautiful too, but still strange to me. ]
Charlotte smiled again. "Hey, I'm not exactly experienced at this. I don't make a habit of sleeping with timber wolves."
[ I believe the human term for me would be a inter-subspecies hybrid. ]
"Huh?"
[ I am both a timber wolf and a grey wolf. My parents were one of each. ]
"Is that what gives you your... your powers?"
[ I do not know. ]
"Just how far do your powers go?"
A mental shrug from the wolf.
[ No-one knows to be sure. The wolves that are born with the gift rarely use it. Mainly it is to guide the pack in survival. ]
"But you use it a lot."
[ Only because I must. You are my life now. It must be to prevent the horrors of my vision. ]
Charlotte shifted slightly. She lightly stroked a finger along his muzzle and propped herself up one elbow.
"Let's forget the heavy stuff. It's not going to happen now that you're here. Want some breakfast?"
[ Breakfast? ]
"Food."
[ No. I ate yesterday. ]
"I guess you don't eat as often as us humans, huh?"
[ I do not know. ]
"No, I guess not. We usually eat several times a day."
The wolf rolled over and stood. For a moment Charlotte was overcome with awe, reminded of his finely sculpted form, his exquisite markings.
"You are so beautiful."
He stood over her and stretched, licked her nose once, then jumped lightly to the floor. Charlotte let herself flop back down into the softness of the bed. She listened to the wolf pad around the living room. The musky scent of him clung to the sheets. An overwheming sense of contentment swept over her and she sighed happily. She was living with a lover who would die for her without hestitation, who was strangely sexy with an intensity that made her body tingle with excitement every time she thought of him. There was a loud clatter from the kitchen.
"Are you okay, hon?"
A thought floated into her head and she welcomed it, becoming more used to the sensation of the transmitted emotions.
[ I knocked something over. I am not hurt. ]
"What are you doing?"
[ Just looking. ]
Charlotte smiled. A large part of Ti'rathi's charm was his unfailing curiosity. Just ten minutes more. She rolled over and drifted off into a light sleep.
She dreamed of wolf pups playing amongst the wild Spring flowers. Charlotte watched them, enchanted by their antics. She caught sight of one of the pups gazing into the distance, a faraway look in his blue eyes. She felt something stir. Something dark and massive. Something just over the horizon that made her blood run cold...
