They drove straight through, trading drivers when they stopped to refuel, pick up snacks, or take a pit stop. Roxi offered, though warned that she hadn’t driven on the right side of the road in ages.
“I guess if we need to wake up and scream in terror!” Gwen said.
“Be nice. It’s all interstate from here on out, so she’d probably be fine,” Maggie replied.
They opted to put off Roxi’s first American driving lesson until she was healed and feeling up to it, but between their little mini caravan, there were plenty of people who could take driving shifts to give the others rest. Toward the end of the trip, Luke fell asleep, resting up against the door. He jolted awake when the truck pulled off the paved road onto a gravel road.
“Birkenfeld?” Luke asked, yawning.
“Yeah,” Sam said. “We decided you could use a slow reentry into life, so we figured the farm would be the best place to start.”
Luke nodded, a content smile tipping his lips. He had many happy memories at the farm, including his first kiss with Maggie. He’d enjoy the quiet solitude of the Coastal Range.
“Feeling up for a burger down at The Birk?” Pablo asked, once again behind the wheel.
“I’m always ready for a Birk burger. Mind if I take a shower first?” Luke asked.
Sam stretched, rotating her neck. “Sure, we got time. I’m sure everyone will want to take a moment to freshen up after everything.”
Once they parked, Luke slid out and made room for anyone else coming out of his side of the truck. “I hope there’s some clean laundry, I think I used all the clothes you brought me.”
Maggie stepped up next to him, sliding her arms around him. “I have some more clothes up in my room for you. Figured it was better than dragging everything all over the country.”
Luke squeezed Maggie, kissing the top her head. “Hopefully, we can spot Roxi some more clothes until we can get her some new ones of her own.”
“We keep a store of clothes up here. We’ll get her set up until we return to town,” Sam said. “We’ll have to find a place for her to stay while she’s in Portland.”
“I figured I’d offer her my guest room until she figures out what she wants to do,” Luke said.
Sam nodded, holding Luke’s gaze for a few seconds longer than Luke felt was normal. “Well, I’m eager to tuck into a Birk burger, and I need a shower before that’s tenable. I’m heading in. Besides, I see Holly’s car, and I’m in need of some sugar.”
Pablo opened the back of the pickup and lifted out the dog. He’d been eating the kibble they’d purchased in Wyoming and was looking a little less wobbly, but like the rest of them, he still had a long way to go.
“Who’s Holly?” Roxi asked, joining the huddle by Luke.
“Sam’s wife and the packleader,” Luke answered.
“Ah. So what’s this I hear about a burger?” Roxi stretched, twisting her torso.
“Oh my god, they’re the best!” Gwen said. “I’ll go find you a room so you can get ready!”
Gwen grabbed Roxi’s hand and dragged her toward the house. Roxi did the best she could to keep up, hopping twice on her good leg for every one on her bad leg.
“Slow down, kiddo,” Maggie called.
“Right. Sorry, Roxi,” Gwen said.
Luke chuckled as they disappeared into the house.
“Gwen seems to be taken with your new friend.” Maggie gave Luke a last squeeze then grabbed his hand, leading him into the house.
Luke and Maggie retired to the room they used when they visited the farm. Luke made his shower quick, his stomach rumbling, so he could let Maggie get a shower of her own before heading to dinner. He knew the company would keep him awake, but he couldn’t wait to sink into the bed with Maggie’s body next to him.
They met downstairs. Typically on a lovely evening, they’d walk in, but no one mentioned it with Roxi unable to join them due to her leg, so they piled back into the cars and drove the mile down to The Birk.
“I’m very excited to have my first proper American diner burger,” Roxi said, dressed in a pair of ill-fitting jeans loaned by Simone. Roxi was a couple inches taller, but the closest in size at the hips and thighs to the Senegalese French woman.
Luke had missed the entire development of Simone and Delilah’s relationship while he’d been a prisoner. He’d been looking forward to seeing if the spark witnessed in France and Belgium between the two young women would ignite. It appeared it had and was still burning strong. The two women always seemed to be touching, even if it was as simple as just leaning into each other. Their looks and smiles warmed Luke’s heart, briefly pushing aside the hollow anger smoldering inside. He was happy for Delilah and Simone, but not seeing his friend fall in love and start a meaningful relationship with a wonderful woman was just another tally to add to the sheet of what the vampires had taken from him.
Gwen, back in the first place she’d been welcomed and made to feel safe, clowned around with the people who’d become her adopted family. The group they’d left Wyoming with had been reduced to what Luke considered the core of the pack, at least his core—Maggie, Sam, Pablo, Delilah, and Holly, along with the new additions of Simone and Roxi.
Everyone, used to Luke’s bouts of quiet, focused on making Roxi feel welcome. They knew she was important to him, plus he could see they genuinely liked the woman as they coaxed pieces of her story from her in between attempts to make her laugh. Despite his physical and spiritual exhaustion, the friendly camaraderie of the people he loved most wore away the edges of his funk, drawing him into laughter and jokes. A few beers didn’t hurt either.
When they finished, everyone did what they usually did at the farm. Sam and Holly retired to their room to reconnect after Sam’s time away on a mission. Pablo went to his room to watch movies on his laptop. He was flying solo for the week or so it took to free Luke and get him home while Tony was in charge of the pack and Holly waited at the farm for the team to return.
Delilah went to her room, but now had Simone to join her. Gwen, still a ravenous book worm, slid away to the quiet of her room and whatever story she was currently tearing through. Roxi, exhausted for her first night at the farm, escaped to the room she’d been assigned.
Luke and Maggie grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a fuzzy blanket, then planted themselves on the couch where they’d first kissed, outside on the porch.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather head to bed? You’re practically falling asleep on your feet.” Maggie stroked his cheek.
Luke captured her hand and brought her palm to his lips, kissing it. “I know, but I need to have a glass of whiskey with you on this couch.”
“For strictly medicinal purposes?” Maggie asked, her tone teasing.
Luke affected a mock serious face. “Yes. As a medical professional, you can see it’s the correct diagnosis.”
Maggie laughed, then she leaned to the side and poured two glasses from the bottle they’d brought out. Once she handed him his glass, they touched them, then took a sip. The burn of the whiskey felt amazing after months on end of bland monotony and loneliness punctuated by terrifying struggles for survival, but the warmth of Maggie next to him felt even better.
“Damn, I missed you so much, Maggie.” He took another drink. “It’s…it’s really real, isn’t it?”
Maggie tipped his chin toward her so she could look into his eyes. “What, Luke? What’s real?”
“I’m out. Free.” The corners of his eyes burned as he breathed shallowly, trying to get his emotions in check. “Aren’t I?”
Sensing his distress, she took the glass from his hands and set it down on the end table along with hers, then pulled him into her arms. Luke buried his head in Maggie’s shoulder as she stroked his long hair and rubbed his back.
“It’s real, you’re free. It’s OK, Luke, you can let it out.”
It was the gentle, soothing tone that finally broke the dam of Luke’s tears as he sobbed into her shoulder. Making soothing sounds, Maggie let him cry himself out, the poison of the last many months pouring out in his tears. When they finally dried, he felt empty but clean. She left him to sit quietly on the couch while she fetched some tissues. After he dabbed his cheeks and blew his nose, she handed him his glass of whiskey. For the first time since Luxembourg, he felt free.
* * *
Late the next morning, they met in the kitchen for their usual debriefing meeting. Donuts and coffee awaited Luke and Maggie when they appeared. Holly must have brought the donuts the previous day when she’d met them at the farm.
Luke, feeling greedy for the little luxuries, took a maple bar and an apple bear claw to go with his steaming hot cup of black coffee. Maggie grabbed a maple bar for her coffee. Gwen had already been in to grab her donut so she could return to her book out in the sitting room. Everyone else was already at the table, save for Roxi. No one had told her about the meeting.
“Gwen, dear,” Maggie called into the other room.
“Yes?” Gwen replied.
“Can you run up and see if Roxi would like to join us, please?”
“Okelie dokelie,” Gwen replied.
Her footfalls thundered across the sitting room and up the stairs as she ran. A couple minutes later, Roxi popped her head into the room.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked shyly.
Sam rose and gestured toward the table. “Come on in, grab a donut and a coffee. We’re just going to have a little chat so we can all get on the same page after bustin’ you out of the hoosegow.”
“Hoose-gow?” Roxi asked.
“Jail. She means a jail.” Holly playfully swatted Sam’s shoulder. “Since we’re Luke’s friends and he’s part of our pack, we like to talk over these incidents to figure out what new dangers are posed to the pack and what we can do to protect ourselves and our city. We’d all like you to join us for your perspective.”
Roxi nodded, smiling nervously. “I don’t mean to be discourteous, but do you have tea?”
Sam smiled. “You’re not being discourteous at all. Let me turn the water on. We have a few different teas. If you’ll come over to the counter, you can pick what you want.”
Sam pushed the button on the kettle and pulled down a few boxes of tea bags and tins of loose leaf.
“Oh, Earl Grey would be lovely,” Roxi said.
Luke smiled at Roxi, glad his friends were doing their best to make her feel welcome and part of the group. He wanted her to feel at home.
Sam pulled a tea strainer from the cabinet, scooped some the Earl Grey leaves into it, and set it in a mug while she waited for the kettle to finish. “If you’re feeling peckish, the donuts are quite tasty. If not, we have other stuff in the fridge. Breakfasts are typically a ‘fend for yourself’ situation here at the farm. We have quite a bit more food stocked, since most of us planned to stay up here for a while to get out of town and take a break after our little trip to Wyoming.”
“I see,” Roxi said, moving to the donut box and picking up a small plate from the counter. After surveying the options, she picked one and waited for Sam to finish her cup.
“Do you take milk or sugar?” Sam asked.
Roxi shook her head, her wild black hair swishing back and forth. “No thank you, not with a proper cuppa Earl Grey.”
When the kettle beeped, Sam poured it over the tea, then set a timer on her phone before handing a small bowl to Roxi. “When my phone goes off, pull the strainer.”
“Thank you, Sam.” Roxi turned to survey the table.
Pablo, who’d been sitting next to Luke, slid over to the empty chair next to it to free the spot for Roxi. She gave him a light nod and an awkward smile before taking the offered seat. Luke gave her what he hoped was a friendly and reassuring smile. He longed to reach under the table to take her hand. After so many months of holding it as the only form of human contact, he felt oddly wrong without it. Maggie sat on his other side, and he yearned for her, missing the time they could have had together. The last handful of days, she’d been there, but he’d only been able to engage with her on the most surface level. Despite their physical proximity, there’d been…not a gulf, but a gap between them he couldn’t explain—although he guessed it was probably himself feeling it or causing it. Maybe both.
It had only been a handful of days since he’d been freed and regained a portion of his strength, yet he wanted too much of himself. He couldn’t put his entire life back together after only a few short days. He hadn’t been on vacation. It would take a while, a long while if he was being honest with himself, to return to some semblance of normalcy.
He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, holding it until he thought his chest would explode before letting it out, trying to keep the exhale from being a noticeable sound at the table. With a small shake of his head, he tuned back into the casual chit-chat of his friends as they nibbled on their donuts and drank their caffeinated beverages.
“So, Luke.” Holly fixed her intense gaze on him. “What hell have we gotten ourselves into this time?”
It was odd that Holly was trying to be somewhat jocular while entirely accurate about the depths they might have sunk to.
“I don’t know, Holly, but it’s not good. Bad might be a more accurate descriptor.”
Holly, normally the poster child of stoicism, seemed to shrink in on herself. Luke wasn’t sure what she’d been told about the incident in the mountains of Wyoming, but the internal scars he still felt attested to their danger.
Luke looked down at the table, his hands clasped there. “Holly, I’ve walked this earth for nearly two thousand years and fought the evilest creatures that have been created, but I’ve never felt anything like what happened outside that arena. Zalmoxis, if that’s who he was, felt deeper, eviler, worse than anything I’ve ever felt.”
He closed his eyes, trying to breathe his way to stability, his fingers intertwined and knuckles white with tension. He stared into Holly’s eyes. “I’ve never been laid more bare like that in my entire life. I can still feel the absolute desolation right here.” He hit himself with his fore and middle fingers in the middle of his chest. “Whoever he was, he stripped me of all the juice I’d taken from the vampires and even the blessing Selene had given me.”
“Selene?” Holly asked, her brow troubled.
“The goddess of the moon.” Luke chuckled humorlessly. “She’s your goddess too. The goddess who brought the pleas of your progenitors to Artemis. The beautiful light who blessed werewolves and welcomed them out of the darkness they were born out of. She’s the velvet glove that surround’s Mithras’s fist.” Luke took in a shaky, deep breath and let it out. “She is gentle and has given me strength and her kindness more times than I can think of or have deserved. And it was all stripped from me painfully, agonizingly so. I don’t know who we face, Holly, but it’s bad.”
Maggie’s hand slid up his right arm, taking his hand and giving it a gently but firm squeeze. He momentarily startled when he felt Roxi’s hand on his left leg, the hand giving a gentle pat.
“W…w…who is Zalmoxis?” Holly asked, her face blanching.
Luke squeezed his eyes together, letting a harsh breath out through his nostrils. “He was a Dacian god. Supposedly, he was a man and studied with Pythagoras. When he died, he rose three years later, alive.”
“Do you believe he was a god?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know.” Luke shook his head. “I know a few gods.” He laughed harshly. “Such an odd thing to say and mean. I’m having trouble gauging the power of a god. He stripped me bare, then tore down a massive stone arena. Pulled it down like it was crumbling into a black hole. I’ve never felt anything like that in my entire life. He was amused by us, but profoundly hateful. Utterly evil. He drained the vampires, drained them and left husks. Frankly, I’m amazed any of us left there alive and weren’t crushed and condemned to utter oblivion.”
Luke’s words left the room silent, the life sucked out of it as they contemplated his words and the tenor he’d placed on them. Holly, desperate for something substantive to grasp, looked around the table at the members of her pack council—Pablo, her second, Sam, her wife, Maggie, her medical leader. Luke, watching Holly’s eyes as they moved from person to person, could see she found no comfort or reassurance from the people who’d witnessed what had happened firsthand.
“Is there anything we can do?” she asked, looking pleadingly at him.
He’d never seen Holly anything less than confident and self-assured. Her seeming helplessness startled him. He’d rarely met someone as deservedly self-confident, but to see her confidence shaken? It didn’t sit right with him. He didn’t realize how much responsibility and leadership he’d abdicated to her since he’d become involved with her pack. From the moment Luke formed the Black Legion, he’d operated independently of military control, but he’d always subjected himself to civilian leadership, such as it was in the Roman Empire. He’d always sought to place himself under a civilian leader whenever possible. When he didn’t have someone of appropriate gravitas, he fell into a habit of keeping his operations confined to himself as much as possible. Once Pablo interjected himself into Luke’s life and mission, Luke welcomed Holly’s authority as the final arbiter of his status. With the potential for such destruction and unfathomable power, the veil of Holly’s authority disintegrated as she looked to Luke for answers on how to protect her pack. Her family.
And he couldn’t provide them.
“I don’t know, Holly. I need to speak with Selene. This is beyond me, and I’m afraid it may be more than even she can address. I won’t know until I can speak with her. I may not be able to avoid Mithras anymore. I may have to give myself over to him again. I just don’t know, Holly.” Luke pleaded with her, focusing his lack of confidence into his gaze.
They were the leaders at the table. The ones everyone else looked to and looked up to. They grasped at each other for a straw they could present to the people who looked to them, finding nothing in the other. Holly sighed and nodded.
“What can we do in the meantime?” Holly asked. “Until we know what we’re facing…”
“Keep driving the vampires out of Portland. We need to make this a total no-go zone. It’s time we expand beyond our little corner. We need to figure out what packs we can bring in on our side. We need to watch for plants. There were a lot of werewolves serving and fighting for the vampires. If we let the vampires bring over a lot of packs to their cause, we’re going to be in serious trouble. How do you feel about diplomacy?”
“We’ve largely been working in that direction during your absence.” Holly nodded, looking more confident having reasonable things she could accomplish. “This pack wouldn’t be here without it. I’ll reach out to my allies and feel them out. I’ll have anyone in the pack with good contacts in other packs start opening those lines of communication. Besides reaching out to your…uh…contact, what will you be doing and how can we help?”
“Right now, I need to do some healing, but I need to see where my gear is and we need to see about getting Roxi’s rudis fixed.” He turned to Roxi. “Do you have contacts with other hunters? People you’ve run into in your travels?”
Roxi nodded. “Yeah. I can try to track some of them down. Have you spoken with the hunters you brought out of the arena?”
Luke shook his head. “I haven’t spoken with them yet. I will as soon as I’m back in town.”
“Why didn’t you bring them out here?” Roxi asked.
“They aren’t pack. They’re unknown commodities.” Sam got up and refilled her cup of coffee. “You’re here because Luke trusts you. This is the pack’s retreat—where we celebrate and mourn. We don’t just invite anyone up here.”
“I feel honored.” Roxi gave a close-lipped smile.
“I wish Pieter was up here,” Luke said. “I want to talk to him about Luxembourg.”
“He wanted to get back home and didn’t figure you’d be in any shape to really discuss things for a while,” Pablo said.
“We’ve been getting an influx of Belgian refugees fleeing the pack there,” Sam said. “He’s been working on settling them.”
“Ah, I see. He’s probably right. I’m almost two years out of date on what’s been going on. I guess I’m going to need you all to fill me in. We’re going to need to set up a worldwide intelligence and communication network. Playing it local isn’t on the table anymore.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry I got you all into this before Wapato, but…”
Holly straightened in her chair, fixing a stern gaze on Luke. “As you told us then, we were involved in this without even knowing it. I can’t say I don’t wish for the quiet times, but the people of this pack fought to just exist in our world. If it’s our job to protect that world, I guess that means we widen our operations.” She looked around the table at her packmembers, the werewolves and the humans. “You’ve helped us fight and made sure we stayed alive. Luke, you’ve earned our trust and then some. We’ve got your back.”
Luke nodded. “Thank you, Holly. I’ll do right by you and the pack.”
“I know you will.” Holly leaned across the table, narrowing her eyes. “Now, one last question. What is that stinky dog, and why do you have him?”
“I don’t know.” Luke shrugged. “He was in the special prisoners’ section with me and Roxi. I don’t know why or what he is, but he seems to be able to shift between that dog and a giant wolf, bigger than any I’ve ever seen before.”
“He kind of looks like a Grampr,” Roxi said. Seeing everyone’s confused looks, she added, “It’s a large Armenian breed of herding dog.”
He sighed, mulling over the problem for a moment. “I’m going to have to move him into the house. Whatever he is, I think it’s best I keep an eye on him.”
Delilah laughed. “Good luck with introducing him to Alfred.”
“Oh my, that could be trouble.” Maggie chuckled, as did a few other people.
Pablo laughed and stood up. “You better get him groomed. He’s one stinky mutt.”
Holly shook her head, smiling. “I wish you luck with your weird pets. It’s good to have you home, Luke.”
The room was silent as they all looked at each other, smiling and nodding. The clink of glasses broke the silence as Pablo pulled whiskey from the cabinet and filled glasses. “I know it’s still early, but we’re not driving anywhere. I bought something special to celebrate for when we eventually found you. It’s been sitting up there for a year.”
Sam and Delilah grabbed glasses and passed them out until everyone had one, save for Pablo, who filled one for himself. Holly pulled out a bottle of sparkling apple juice and poured a glass, taking it to the table.
“Gwen,” Holly called. “Come in here, please.”
When the young teen poked her head in, they waved her to the table and handed her the sparkling juice.
Pablo raised his glass. “Luke, buddy, it’s good to have you back home with your family. I missed you, and I know everyone else here did as well.” He turned his gaze to Roxi. “I also want to welcome Roxi to our little group. If you ever need anything, just ask any of us.”
They all touched classes and took drinks. Luke sighed at the burn of the fine whiskey, taking another sip.
“Now, I have a question that I’ve been dying to get an answer to,” Luke said. “How in the world did you find me? I thought I was going to die in there.”
Everyone turned their heads toward Gwen. The kid blushed and lowered her eyes.
“So I have you to thank for my freedom?” Luke asked. “How did you know where I was?”
Gwen paused, swallowed, then gathered her strength, looking up and into Luke’s eyes. “You remember when you were in Belgium, and Maggie and I couldn’t get into your house?”
“Yeah.”
Roxi looked confused since she was the only one who wasn’t around then.
Luke looked at her. “When I went into my Mithraeum in Belgium, it activated my shrine in my house in Portland.”
“Well, when that happened, I, uh, I went into the basement and found it. I wanted to see it. After I opened it, a woman’s voice started talking to me. I closed it real fast and ran away, but…”
Luke chuckled. “But you were curious and went back?”
“Well, not at first, but one night when I was outside and the full moon was out, she talked to me again and told me who she was. Is it true?”
Luke tipped his head to the side, brows furrowed. “Is what true?”
“Is she really the goddess of the werewolves?” Gwen asked.
“Selene?” Luke smiled encouragingly at the teen.
Gwen nodded.
Luke nodded slowly, contemplating his answer. “It’s a complex story, but yes. She took in the werewolves after they’d been created. She and Artemis took them in and accepted them when they fled their cre…a…tors…”
“Luke?” Holly asked.
He held his hand up to forestall her. Settling his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands, he stared into blank space. While Luke sat quietly thinking, Pablo topped up a few glasses, including Luke’s when he didn’t wave Pablo off.
After a few more minutes, Maggie rubbed his shoulder. “What’s going on up there, Luke?”
“I’m having some thoughts about who that might have been at the arena—Zalmoxis. I’m going to need to do some research first, but…” He shook his head to clear it. “Sorry for the interruption. Gwen, please continue.”
“Well, Selene started talking to me. When you disappeared, I asked her to find you. She said she didn’t know where you were. She said she looked but couldn’t find you. The only thing she knew was you were alive. Then a few weeks ago, she found me and told me she’d found you and knew where you were.”
“Did you tell anyone you were talking to her?” Luke asked.
Gwen shook her head. “Who would believe me?”
“I would have,” Maggie said. “Pablo, Delilah, and Sam all met her in Belgium.”
Gwen crossed her arms, looking petulant. “But did any of you tell me that? You never tell me anything.”
Sam snickered, covering it with her hand. “She’s got a point there.”
Gwen rushed forward with her explanation. “So when she told me she knew where you were, I told Maggie, and she told Sam.”
“And then she guided you to Wyoming?” Luke asked.
They nodded.
“What I don’t get is why she was able to find you all the sudden,” Sam asked.
Luke chuckled and shook his head. “The arena had a retractable roof. They opened it during one of my fights, and she was able to find me.”
“Ironyyyyy…” Pablo said, laughing.
“All the same, I’m glad they decided to be fancy with their design,” Luke said.
“Me too,” Roxi added quietly.
Luke patted her leg under the table.
“Unless there’s anything else to add to the discussion, let’s call it until we can get going on what we’ve talked about here. I’m feeling like taking a walk with my wife.” Holly slid her hand over Sam’s.
“I think I’ve got a nap on the old schedule,” Pablo said, tipping the last of his whiskey into his mouth. He waved and headed upstairs.
Holly and Sam followed him out, heading upstairs to put on some walking clothes. Maggie stood and moved the empty glasses to the sink.
“Luke,” Gwen started tentatively. “Would you like to play cribbage?”
“That sounds lovely,” Luke replied.
“Maggie?” Gwen asked.
“Of course, Dear.”
Gwen looked at Roxi. “Do you know how to play, Roxi?”
Roxi smiled and nodded.
“Yay, we can play teams! I’ll go set it up.”
Luke helped Roxi up and led her to the sitting room so the four of them could play cards, so he and Roxi could begin the process of healing. He knew they both had a long way to go. A game of cards with some of his favorite people seemed like a good first step toward finding himself again. He just hoped it would be a step on Roxi’s journey, and that she’d let him walk it with her.