“What was that for?” Cheryl shot back, annoyed.
“I’m sorry, but how much help are we talking about here? I’m kind of overbooked as it is—”
“Oh yeah, I always forget how busy you are, with all your jetting off to Europe and partying on Saturday night—”
“I wouldn’t call it partying—”
“I’ve got two kids here, Jeffy’s starting kindergarten this fall, I never seem to get anything done, and I thought that just for once I could count on you to help out, just a little.”
The topic of this discussion had turned into something else entirely. This wasn’t about a party at all, was it? In a twilit sky, the silver moon was edging over the horizon. I didn’t have time for this … That was the trouble, wasn’t it?
I took a breath and did what I could. “Cheryl, are you okay?”
“I just want to know that when I call you for help you’re going to be there, you know? That’s what family’s supposed to do.”
“Cheryl, I love you, and everything’s going to be okay. But can we talk about this tomorrow?” I winced. I wasn’t trying to get rid of her. Except that I was. How did I make this not sound so bad?
Her voice turned flat. “Sure. Of course. Tomorrow. Fine,” she said, taking a deep breath. Like she was trying to keep from crying. Oh God, my big sister was having a nervous breakdown, and I’d triggered it.
“We’ll do the party,” I assured her. “I’ll help. But I can’t talk about it right now. Okay?”
“Okay, okay,” she said, and hung up. And that was that. I clutched the phone to my chest.
Ben watched me. “You heard all that?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Is my sister losing it, or am I?”
“Either way, it’ll pass.”
“I really don’t need another thing to worry about.”
He squeezed my arm. “Let’s get going. We’ll worry about that later.”
* * *
THE OTHERS would already be gathered, waiting for us. Not quite checking their watches or time on their cell phones, but watching the full moon rise and wondering where their fearless leaders were. This would take some damage control. I wasn’t worried about most of the pack; we’d been stable for years, and no one was much interested in challenging our authority.
But this time we had Darren. What would he think, the alphas not taking charge on the one night when being a werewolf really meant something?
Like I had to impress him or something.
The farther out of town we got, the better I felt. We were leaving our human selves—our human anxieties—behind. The wilderness in the mountains meant freedom. At least for a night.
Tonight we were meeting at a little-used dirt service road on National Forest land. We carpooled so we’d only leave a handful of cars parked suspiciously in the middle of the woods at night. Ben turned off the main road; another ten minutes of d
riving brought the first of the other cars into view. I counted them, and sure enough, everyone else was already here, or should have been. He switched off his headlights and parked. We stashed our wedding bands in the glove box.
The sky above was deep blue, touched by the silver light of a rising moon. It’s time, it’s time.
Hand in hand, we walked into the woods to meet the others. I could hear a few murmuring voices, and running feet brushing through foliage. A rangy, oversized wolf came at us, ears up and tail out like a rudder, loping along with his mouth open, smiling almost.
“Wow, Tom, you a wolf or a golden retriever?”
He put his ears back and veered away from us, snapping at air, enjoying his time. He could never be bothered to wait for the rest of us before shifting.
A few of the others had shifted as well, and they circled the spot where the rest of us waited, trotting up to Ben and me, brushing along our legs and nuzzling us in greeting, then bumping shoulders with the others. Chaos waiting to burst free.