Page 42 of Father of the Wolf

“Rath, return to yourself.” He gave the order when he saw Rath cornering Steve against the wall next to the door. Steve was so terrified by the stalking wolf that he didn’t realize the door and its dubious safety was no more than a single step to his right.

Hope pulled herself from Athair’s arms and watched Rath’s form waver and grow into that of a man. A man easily described by the word dangerous. He trembled with barely suppressed rage. He had been a nearly black wolf. Now he was a man with dark hair and dark olive skin, dressed in black leather pants and a jacket. She wanted to ask Athair why Rath had clothes on after a change, but he didn’t. She’d ask him later. For now, it was more important to get everyone calmed down and inside the house.

Athair took control of the situation by placing himself between Rath and Steve, who still cringed next to the wall in shocked silence. She felt Athair sending out calming, soothing waves as he spoke aloud. “Rath, I am very glad to see you are well.”

Quickly recovering from his speechlessness, Steve mumbled something that earned him threatening growls from both Rath and Athair. That was enough to send him scurrying into the house. Hope stepped inside to ensure he was unhurt. Then she returned to the doorway.

Athair had moved close to Rath and held him by his muscular forearms. She suspected they were communicating silently, but she couldn’t tell what about. She wondered if Rath was alone. “Athair, has Dàn come also?”

“Yes, Dàn is behind the house. He will join us directly.”

“Would you like me to do something? Prepare some drinks, perhaps?” Hope asked. She was uncomfortable, but she wanted to help Athair, even if only by escaping to get refreshments. Anything to ease the tension in the air.

“Please, Hope. Coffee would be good. Will you take it to the back porch?”

She agreed and left them. After a slight, tense giggle, she thought, at least they hadn’t greeted each other by smelling butts.

Athair restrained a smile at Hope’s thought, and then focused his attention on Rath, who was still only barely in control of himself. Quietly, calmly, he asked, “What happened?”

Something had gone terribly wrong. Rath was usually very controlled and never acted violently, like he had reacted to Hope and Steve. “Please calm yourself and tell me of the last three days.”

Rath took several deep breaths, as if gathering his thoughts. “The drobh attacked us as we made our escape through the forest.” Drobh was a derogatory term for clan members that meant a vicious, uncivilized pack of animals. “They did not take us back to Lakeside. They attempted to force us to help them find you.”

That puzzled Athair. “How would you know where I was?” It only took a moment for him to find the answer without a word from Rath. “Dàn?”

“Yes. But it was only an excuse to cause us pain.” Rath looked defeated at his inability to protect his friend. “They hurt Dàn. He told them nothing.” The last he said with pride.

“Dàn is here, though? He does not answer my call.”

“To my shame, I would have told them anything, just to make them stop.”

Athair found that very hard to believe. Rath was a strong and determined young man with a rebellious nature. He would have resisted helping them simply because of their methods.

Rath continued, “I didn’t know how to help him. Healing is not my strength, and I was too weak.”

“How did you get away?”

“Sgrios.” Rath said with a satisfied snarl. “He tore the cowards apart, helped us get away, and started Dàn’s healing. Sgrios is very powerful.” His expression softened. “Dàn comes.”

As he said this, Dàn edged around the corner of the house. His lean body was obviously still in great pain. He moved with deliberate care. His face was pale, and all his visible skin showed a roadmap of faint white lines from his recently healed wounds.

Even more startling was the crackling emanations of power that wavered over him, and hints of an odd red haze. Athair had rarely seen this before and was not encouraged. His people were always struggling to maintain a delicate balance between their natural and supernatural elements. In theory, any outside trauma could throw off that equilibrium with disastrous results. If the trauma was great enough, it was thought that the resulting imbalance could literally destroy an individual, not to mention a large portion of the surrounding area. While Athair knew he could continue the healing of Dàn’s body, he suspected that he could do little for the boy’s magical instability.

When Athair would have gone to him, Dàn held out a hand to stop him. “I am fine,” he said quietly. He would not step any closer or meet Athair’s questioning gaze. “I would like to meet Hope.”

He waited at the corner while Athair and Rath walked past him and started around the side of the house. Dàn followed them at a slight distance.

They did not talk while walking to the rear porch, yet they accepted the strength that came from being together. It was a sharing of magic that could, to a certain extent, provide strength and healing to one, without taking from the others. It soothed each of them. And it went a long way to calming Rath. To a smaller degree, it helped Dàn maintain control over his wild magic.

As they came into sight of the porch, Steve jumped up and moved back into the kitchen. Athair worried that Steve would never get past his fear of Rath and their people enough to ever trust any of them. That could make him dangerous, despite Hope’s assurances.

Hope waited for them with a tray holding the coffee cups. After setting down the tray, she bravely faced Rath and held out her hand in welcome. “Hello, Rath. I’m Hope. Athair has mentioned you.”

Rath stared at her hand for a moment, and then met her gaze. His golden brown eyes were a strange combination of fierceness and warmth. His body was mostly relaxed, yet he vibrated with restrained emotion. He enclosed her small hand in his larger one.

“Hello, Hope,” he said in a resonant tone that slipped through her, accepting and welcoming her. But overall, he frightened the daylights out of her, because he seemed on the verge of losing control.

Hope gently pulled her hand away and stepped to Athair’s side. Not understanding her response to Rath or his intentions, she sought Athair’s comfort. “Athair?”

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