CHAPTER THREE

 

Selena was actually having fun at the festival. There were a lot of interesting things at the booths the townsfolk had set up. One of the booths was all about wolves. They had wolf teeth necklaces and wolf fur hats. There was a little sign with a disclaimer that said no wolves were hurt to make the products they sold, all of the items were donated after death. Selena found that part funny. She wondered if the wolves carried donor cards or if their families had to make that decision.

She stopped at another booth that had books on all of the animals who were indigenous to Alaska. There was a book about white wolves, and for some reason, something about the eyes on the wolf on the cover of the book reminded her so much of Conner’s eyes. She picked it up and began leafing through it, skimming through a chapter on how wolves mate for life and enjoy an active sex life. Lucky wolves. She closed the book and started to set it down, but something about the eyes of that wolf were still calling to her.

“How much for this one?” she asked the girl running the booth.

“Five dollars,” the girl told her.

Selena bought it and moved on to the next booth. This one was about werewolves. They had books on how to become a werewolf and potions to drink for people who “got stuck in wolf form” and necklaces made of garlic to “scare away the vampires.” Selena talked to the old couple running the booth, and after a few moments, it became apparent to her that they strongly believed what they were selling.

“Where are you folks from?” She could tell from their accent that they weren’t from Alaska.

“We are from Russia,” the old man told her. “Where are you from, young lady?”

“New York,” she said.

“There aren’t many werewolves in the city. Wolves prefer forests and mountains. Out in California, there may be a few packs, but New York is a little too populated.”

“Really?” Selena asked, playing along. “So tell me, what makes a werewolf?”

“Genetics,” he said.

“What about in books and the movies where he bites you and then on the full moon you turn. Is that true?”

“A werewolf can be made, yes. But it’s not like you see in the movies. An Alpha can turn a human to be his or her mate, or for another reason that the pack agrees with. It has to be a group decision, however, and it has to be done by the Alpha.”

“And do werewolves turn with the full moon like in movies?” she asked.

“A werewolf can turn anytime, anywhere. The full moon was added in for dramatic effect in Lon Cheney movies.”

“One more important question,” she said with a smile. “What kills werewolves?”

“Anything that kills humans, only not as quickly,” he said.

“Meaning what?” she asked.

“Well, werewolves have healing abilities that are ten times stronger than an ordinary human. So if you get shot and you’re bleeding out, it’s going to take maybe an hour to lose all five pints of your blood. If a werewolf gets shot, his body starts making more clotting factors and shutting things down that it’s not using, so the rest of the body can concentrate only on healing.”

“So…no silver bullets or immortality?” she said.

“The oldest living werewolf I’ve been able to track down was over three hundred years old. So no, immortality in the sense that he will never die may not be the case, but in the sense that the old S.O.B. lived three hundred years? Hell yes! Oh, and silver bullets and knives…those are the wounds that werewolves can’t heal themselves from.”

Selena laughed. “You sure know your werewolf stuff. You should write a book.”

He grinned. He was missing his two front teeth. “I would. But I do know too much, so it would end up being an expose, and I’d have to wait until I was buried to have it published. Otherwise, the Alphas of the packs would unite against me. They’re a private bunch. They don’t care to have their business spread around.”

Selena laughed and thanked the old couple and went on her way. She spent another pleasurable two hours on the town square before running into Slam. She found him at one of the hot dog booths, eating, of course. He looked like he had showered and changed clothes, but he was really pale.

“Hi, Slam. Are you okay?” she asked.

“Hey, Selena. Yeah, I’m good. Conner and me just tussled a bit with that wolf up at your place. It zapped some of the energy out of me.”

Selena sat down. “You tussled with him? Slam, I didn’t mean for you guys to do that. What if one of you had been hurt? I would have felt awful.”

“It’s okay, Miss Selena. Me and Conner know how to handle strays. He’s over at the wildlife conservatory now. He won’t bother you no more.”

“Wow, thank you, Slam. How did you catch him?”

Slam seemed like he was thinking about it, and then finally he said, “Tranquilizers.”

Selena got the feeling there was more to it than that, but Slam was not interested in giving up any more facts. “Is Conner working?” she asked. She wasn’t sure why Conner’s location meant anything to her, but she told herself that she only wanted to thank him for what he did today with the wolf.

“Yeah, he’s seeing people in the office today. Are you coming to the pageant and the dance tonight, Miss Selena? Conner will be there.”

“Hmm, I hadn’t thought about it,” she said.

“Please come, Miss Selena. I know Conner would like it, and I think you would have a lot of fun.”

“Well, I haven’t made any other plans so maybe… The wolf thing spooked me a little about coming and going after dark though,” she told him.

“I’ll pick you up if you like, and take you home.”

Selena smiled. She liked Slam, a lot. He seemed like he had such a good heart.

“Okay then, I guess I don’t have any other reasons to say no. I’ll see you this evening. If you see Conner before I do, tell him thanks for me.”

Slam smiled and nodded. “Will do, Miss Selena. I’ll pick you up at seven. The pageant starts at seven-thirty.”

“I’ll see you then,” she said. On her way home, her phone rang. It was Tony. “Hi, Tony!”

“Hi, Selena. How are you?” he said. He sounded sad.

“I’m doing well, actually. This place isn’t near as bad as I thought it would be,” she told him. “How are you?”

“I’m well. I’ve got no complaints,” he said in true Tony fashion. His passivity really pushed her buttons sometimes. She wished that he was more like… No, she wasn’t going to let her mind go down that dark path. “I miss you…so bad. I’m having trouble sleeping. I hardly have the energy to get through the day.”

“Aw, Tony. I’m so sorry.” She pulled into her driveway and turned off the engine. “Baby, you know that I don’t expect you to sit there and wait for me, right? You need to get on with your life.”

“I don’t have a life without you, Selena,” he said. “I’m lost.”

“Of course you have a life. Please don’t say things like that. You’re smart and handsome and you have the biggest heart. Tony, I need to do this, and I am so truly sorry that it affected your life as well.”

“I don’t want just any woman, Selena. I want you,” he said in almost a whiney voice. That was big emotion for Tony actually. “Selena, tell me the truth, please. Are you breaking up with me?”

“Tony, we’re three thousand miles apart, baby. I think it’s safe to say that my company’s decision to send me here caused our break-up. I know people claim to do it successfully, but I’ve never known anyone who took on a long distance relationship and didn’t suffer because of it.”

“I told you I would come there. I could get a job there. I could put in for a transfer. Anchorage isn’t that small. I’ll bet my company has subsidiaries there. I will look into it.”

“Your family would hate me for taking you three thousand miles away.” This was what she hadn’t wanted to do. She was making things up to keep from having to just tell him that she didn’t love him anymore.

“Selena…”

“Tony, please. This is hard enough. Go on with your life, please.”

“Do you love me?” His voice was hesitant like he didn’t really want to know the answer.

“Not the way I did,” she told him, honestly. She started to tell him how important he still was to her but she realized after a few seconds that she was talking to dead air. She didn’t know if the call had dropped, or if he’d hung up on her, but she wasn’t going to call him back. She loved him…like a brother. She didn’t want him to come here. She hoped he had heard her say it, and she wouldn’t have to do it again.

Selena got out of the truck and as she closed the door behind her she heard a rustle in the trees. Slam had told her that the wolf was at the sanctuary, so what now? She looked around, but she didn’t see anything. It was probably a frog or her imagination. Just in case though, she kept her keys in her right hand and slipped off her heels. Then she ran as fast as she could to the front door. As soon as she hit the porch, she heard them. She didn’t turn around; she just shoved the key in the hole and pushed the door open.

As she turned to slam it shut, she saw them coming. It was a whole pack of scruffy-looking wolves, and they were growling and snarling at her. She stood with her back against the inside of the closed door. Her pulse was racing, and her breath was coming in big gulps. Just as she started to get it under control, she felt a thump against the door. They were trying to get in. After the thump, there was scratching on the wood. That was frightening enough, but when they moved over to the glass of the big picture window she was suddenly terrified. She fished her phone out of her purse and called Conner.

“Hey, Selena,” he said.

“I’m sorry, Conner…” she said in a breathless voice.

“Sorry for what? Selena, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s a pack of wolves at my door, and my windows. I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t think they’re going to go away until they’ve gotten in and eaten me.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said. “Lock yourself in the bedroom and stay away from the windows. Do not open that bedroom door no matter what you hear until I say so, okay?”

“Okay,” she said as she heard another thud against the front window. “Please hurry.”

Selena went into the bedroom and locked the door leading to the living room and the door that led to the bathroom. Then she sat on the bed and waited. She could hear the scratching and clawing and bodies pounding on the glass. Then, her worst fears were realized as she heard the glass shatter. The wolves were in her home.