I moved with purpose.
I was aware.
Nothing was wrong.
Nothing felt off.
I was human, but I’d grown into my instincts.
It was fine. It was all fine.
But I still played it safe.
I went through the side door into the kitchen.
As soon as I closed the door behind me, it felt like a wet blanket fell over me.
Muted. Dark.
The air smelled sharp, almost like smoke.
The pack bonds were there, but they were grayed and dull. Muffled.
“Mom?”
And a man said, “Hello.”
He was leaning against the counter near the sink. He was a tall man. A slender man. Thinning brown hair. Little wrinkles pronounced around his eyes. A sharp, angular nose above even teeth. Tan skin without a single mark that I could see. He smiled at me and it was a kind smile. Full of laughter. Amusement.
He was pleased.
He said, “Ox, isn’t it?”
I took a cautious step because of the wrong wrong wrong. “Where’s my mom?”
He cocked his head, the smile fading slightly. “That was rude,” he said. “I asked you a question.”
I said nothing.
He sighed. “Ox.”
She kept the good silver in a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. I could—
He said, “I’ve certainly heard stories about you. The human who runs with wolves. The man in a wolf pack. Tell me, Oxnard. Do you feel the pull of the wolf within you? Does it claw at the human tissue surrounding your human bones?”
“Where is she?” That heavy feeling wouldn’t leave and I wondered if this wa
s what magic felt like when you were engulfed by it. If Gordo felt like this all the time.
He frowned. “I asked you a question.”
“I’m not a wolf.”
“I know that. I’m aware of that. That’s not what I asked.”
“No. I don’t feel it.”
The man said, “That was a lie. Why would you lie to me, Ox?”