Ellida (16 page)

Maggie, not an early morning person, let out
a soft growl but took the kitten.

THE AIR was cold and heavy with moisture. A
thick shroud of fresh snow covered the ground, muffling the sounds
of sporadic traffic, distant human voices and dogs barking. Big
snowflakes swirled silently down, heavy and wet.

I turned to Takeshi. “I’ll do the left
side.”

“Okay.”

Almost simultaneously, two little white
twisters rose from the ground, spinning around faster and sucking
in the snow at the base, gradually becoming taller and wider.

”Don’t make them too big,” Takeshi said.
“Otherwise the whole town will be here for the free show in no
time.”

“No worries.” I redirected my rotating
column, now almost six feet tall, to the edge of the pavement,
where it collapsed, leaving a heap of snow behind and clear path
where it had passed.

“Epic!” I heard my cousin’s excited voice
from behind.

Two warm arms locked around me from behind.
“Good morning, love. Having fun?”

“Mmm… Good morning.” For a moment, I
abandoned my task and leaned against Jack’s solid, firm body. Too
firm, especially below the abdomen, I quickly realized and
reluctantly refocused my attention to my task.

Takeshi was almost done. The right side of
the pavement was clear of snow, which now lay mounded on the
side.

I quickly finished my part and followed Jack
inside. Somebody else could clean the sidewalk in front of the
house using more mundane methods.

I WAS in my room, taking off my winter
clothes, when my phone rang. Ingmar.

“Can you talk now, Astrid? Is anybody else
around?” he asked in a low voice.

“Good morning to you, too. I’m in my
well-soundproofed room, all by myself. What’s going on?” I smiled,
quite sure how this conversation was going to unfold.

“Listen, I want to ask you something. I’ve
talked to your friends a few times in the last two days. I wanted
to know how you were doing.”

“I know you phoned. This time I remember
everything. Maggie asked me about you last night, after the three
of you finished your little chit chat.”

“Your cousin is a pretty young woman, but I
want to ask you about Peyton.”

I chuckled. I was right, then. “What do you
want to know?”

“Is she seeing anybody?”

“No, she’s single.”

“Does she know about, ahem, you and me?”

“I mentioned it yesterday.”

He paused, and I could visualize him running
his hand through his hair. “I’m going to call her today. I’d like
to get to know her better. Do you think there’s a chance that she…
Ah, never mind. Don’t tell her anything, okay?”

I smiled. “Not a word.”

“Do you know if she’s at home now?”

“She’s here. It snowed like crazy last night
so she stayed over.”

“I’ll try tonight, then. Thank you,
Astrid.”

“Good luck, Ingmar,” I said and ended the
call.

STILL IN his serene mood, Uncle James
declared a moratorium on all unnecessary activities. The road
conditions had prevented Jack’s workmen from coming. We’d persuaded
Peyton to take a day off. Eamon was on his spring break anyway and
Maggie decided to prolong her holidays for a few days. Even Takeshi
didn’t seem concerned about the delay in our training sessions.

I volunteered to make beef-barley soup using
the leftover meat from last night. Betty baked a loaf of bread, and
later Eamon made us hot cocoa with mini-marshmallows. We played
Monopoly, then Jack and James played chess while the girls watched
a movie. Eamon and Takeshi quietly discussed film music and scores.
Already attuned to her human surroundings, my little blue-eyed
silver tabby slept, ate and yawned.

The whole house fell under the cozy spell of
the snowy day.

“I HATE to break up the party, but I really
need to go,” Peyton said later that evening. It was around eight o’
clock when it had finally stopped snowing.

“We’ll walk you home,” Jack suggested.
“Astrid, grab your jacket.”

“BRRR, IT’S cold.” My words came out in
white puffs. Snow crunched under our feet as we walked toward
Peyton’s house: Jack in the middle, with the two of us on either
side.

Less than ten minutes later we stopped in
front of a two-storey red brick house not unlike mine. It was one
of those narrow and deep buildings that looked deceptively small
from the street. I noticed the white lace curtains, windowsills
with blue, pink and purple hyacinths in white ceramic pots, and the
entrance door with a floral stained glass panel in pink and
green.

“Would you like to come in?” Peyton said, and
I was about to accept her offer when her phone rang. She glanced at
the display. A tiny sparkle in her blue eyes gave me a good idea
about the caller’s identity.

“No, not this time,” I said hastily and
hugged her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I took Jack’s hand and towed him toward the
street.

“Finally alone,” Jack said and wrapped his
arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. The warmth from his body
instantly penetrated through the layers of clothing I wore,
spreading under my skin.

“Are you cold?” he said.

“Not anymore,” I said and lifted up my head
to reach his mouth. He lowered his head, making it easier. Oh, God,
I would never get enough of this man! I felt butterflies in my
stomach, my heart pounded, and my blood rushed in all directions
throughout my body. A warm arousal throbbed deep between my thighs,
almost painfully, screaming for release. I pressed myself firmly
against Jack, feeling his own sexual excitement.

“Are you afraid of the big bad wolf?” Jack
murmured into my hair.

“Depends what he’s going to do to me.”

He kissed me. “I’ll take you to a deep, dark
wood, to start with. I’d like to run first. The snow’s fresh and
crisp. And then we’ll see what takes our fancy. Come.”

I laughed and kissed him back. “I like this
fancy
part.”

WE WALKED across the clearing where Morgaine
and I usually practiced and soon reached the forest.

Jack took off his jacket and passed it to me.
“Hold it, please.”

I fixed my gaze on him as he was unbuttoning
his shirt.

“Slow down a bit, Jack. I’m enjoying the
view.”

“It’s minus ten, Astrid. Not the best time
for a striptease.”

“Well, I’m not cold. On the contrary.” I
swallow hard, and narrowing my eyes, glued them on Jack’s middle
part as the boxers came off.

He chuckled. “Take a rain check, honey. I
have to change now. I’m freezing.”

BEWITCHED, I watched Jack’s effortless
feet-up transformation into his magnificent honey-brown wolf. It
took just a few moments, and it was smooth, painless and
beautiful.

I heard his voice in my head as he walked to
me and brushed his long side along my leg.

“You are not cold anymore, Jack, are
you?”

“
No, baby. Are you?”

“No. Our bond works in all shape
combinations. I feel warmth when you touch me.”

“
Once you’re able to control your change,
we can change together. You’ll like it… Stay here now. I’ll be
back.”

And with that, he broke into a fast run. I
followed him with my eyes. He was a magnificent sight: a huge,
muscular wolf, fast and strong. His eyes glimmered in the night.
He’d left me enveloped in his warm, spicy and—darn, I knew I
shouldn’t be thinking about that now—so sexy scent.

I sighed and bent to pick up Jack’s clothes
so that they didn’t get wet, watching him running back.

He abruptly stopped in front of me, sending
clouds of snow flying all around.

“
Come on, leave my clothes here and play
with me!”

“Everything’s going to get wet and cold,
Jack.”

He grabbed my calf and tugged me. “
Then
you’ll warm it up, asanni! Put everything on the jacket, it will be
fine.”

We ran together among the trees. I ran,
actually, as fast as I could manage, while Jack jumped around me,
pushing me gently, pulling my jacket with his teeth and trampling
over me. Several times I ended up on my knees, hands deeply buried
in the snow, laughing. Jack would help me to stand up, pressing his
great, warm body against mine to keep me warm.

After he knocked me down in the snow for the
tenth time, I’d had enough. Shrieking with delight, I used a bit of
my magic and started throwing snowballs at him. Dozens of the soft,
round orbs flew right to their target from every direction.

“
You’re playing dirty!”
he said,
laughing in a futile attempt to avoid at least some of the
snowballs. He charged toward me, but I made the white orbs follow
him. He launched himself on me and we started rolling on the snow.
I lost my concentration and, one by one, the snowballs fell on the
ground.

We sat in the snow, panting.

“
Shall we go home? Are you cold?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m not. Just stay
close.” I raked my fingers through Jack’s thick, honey-brown fur
and instantly felt warm as if wrapped in an invisible blanket.

“
Here
,” Jack said and stretched his
big body on the ground beside me.
“Don’t sit on the
snow.”

I sprawled across him, closing my arms around
his neck. I buried my nose into his strong neck, inhaling deeply
his scent, both animal and human, familiar, warm and natural.

Jack lifted his head toward the night sky.
“Do you know that the Chinese call Sirius Heaven’s Wolf? It
guards Heaven’s Palace, which is our Ursa Major,”
he said.
“We also call Sirius the Dog Star. We can’t see it now. It
becomes visible just before sunrise around summer
solstice.”

“The wolf has an important place in many
cultures and civilizations.”

“
Yes, but it symbolizes different things:
in Japan, he’s regarded as a protector from other wild animals. For
North American Natives, the wolf is a warrior allegory because of
his strength and courage. In many cultures, he represents passion,
love and fertility. In Anatolia, barren women in rural areas pray
to a wolf to help them get pregnant. There are many human legends
that talk about a union between a woman and a wolf. In some other
societies, however, his ranking is pretty low.”

“Notably in Western civilization,” I said.
“In Greco-Latin mythology, with the exceptions of legends such as
Romulus and Remus, the wolf is mostly pictured negatively. Later,
wolves became connected with witches and evil forest spirits. In
many cultures, he represents the underworld. Not very flattering.
And utterly unfair.”

“
Do you know the story about the first
Ellida?”

“No. Tell me, please.”

“
Are you warm?”

“Are you? You’re lying on the snow.”

I heard his soft chuckle. “
I’m okay for
now. Don’t worry, I’m well protected. So, long ago, there were two
mighty asyrs, the wizard kings. Affan was a good ruler, whose
kingdom thrived until the bad wizard, king Studen, the ruler of the
far, frozen North, stole Affan’s Horse with the Silver Mane, and
his beloved daughter Illeanna. Heartbroken and without his magic
horse that made him undefeatable in battle, he turned to his
friend, blaidd Harlan, for help. Now, Harlan had been in love with
Illeanna for as long as he could remember, but never dared to ask
Affan for her hand, even though he was the Einhamir. ‘Bring me my
daughter and the Horse with the Silver Mane back, and’—this is a
very important detail, Astrid, you’ll like it—‘if Illeanna agrees,
with my blessing she’ll become your wife,’ Affan promised.

“
Harlan changed into a wolf. He didn’t
stop running for three days and three nights, until he reached king
Studen’s palace. He found the room where Illeanna was sleeping. He
woke her up and scared her to death because he hadn’t come to her
as a dyn–a man–but in his wolf shape. As they brushed against each
other, they felt the warm current of the bond run through their
bodies. And Illeanna, who had never given Harlan a second thought
before, fell in love with him.

“
Being a clever asanni, Illeanna didn’t
exactly sit in her room and mope waiting to be saved. She had
prepared a magic powder and used it to enchant the palace to secure
them enough time to escape. They rushed to the stables and took the
Horse with the Silver Mane and ran from the palace. They’d almost
made it when the guards saw them and closed the gate.

’
Get off that horse, Illeanna!’ Harlan
said. ‘It can jump over the gate, but not with you on its back!
You’re going with me!’

So Illeanna climbed on Harlan’s back and
they jumped over the gate. The Horse was already waiting for them
on the other side.

“
King Studen wasn’t ready to accept
defeat. He raised his army and marched to Affan’s kingdom. There he
met not only King Affan’s soldiers, but also Harlan’s warriors, who
came to fight alongside Affan. It wasn’t long before king Studen
was defeated. King Affan kept his word and gave his daughter to
Harlan. ‘As I promised, I’m giving you my daughter to be your wife
and the mother of your children, Harlan,’ the king said. ‘She’ll
bear you many sons, but your first child is going to be a daughter.
Name her Ellida. She’ll bring happiness and prosperity to your
people.’

“
And from now on, when a werewolf clan
proves to be strong enough in its spirit and good deeds, a female
child from a union between our two kinds will become the clan’s
Ellida. She will be a powerful force of life and good, and a token
of the alliance between my people and yours...”

Jack finished the story, but the sound of his
soft voice still echoed in my ears.

“That’s a beautiful story, Jack. Thank
you.”

He shifted slightly under the weight of my
body. “
It has many similarities to a Russian legend
about—”