Chanter was outside when we pulled up, as if he’d expected our arrival. He stood near the side of the house, looking down the driveway with his arms crossed. He had a white bandana around his head, but had braided his hair over it. When Sal pulled up, the old man turned to grab a big piece of rolled-up canvas and hoisted it over his shoulder.
“Stubborn old man,” Sal growled. “What’s he doing lifting heavy things like that?” He jerked the gear shift into place and put on the parking break before tugging the keys out. Sal was out his door before I managed to get mine open.
The ground wasn’t wet out here, despite the threatening clouds hanging in the sky. Being so far from the river and on a small rise meant Chanter didn’t have to worry about flooding unless things got bad. Walking around the side of the house, I noted a few puddles in the low-lying areas around the house, but even they were vanishing. The desert was thirsty.
When I got around back, I stopped because Chanter’s backyard had been transformed. Normally, all that was back there was a little stoop before it turned into wild, untamed desert. The stoop was still there, but some other things had sprung up to join it, namely a large, round structure several yards from the house. It was a squat little hut with a bunch of canvas and maybe leather thrown on top. Several large rocks sat around it in a circle as if marking a boundary. A little further away, there was a fire pit inside another circle of rocks. A fire burned there, but it was low and mostly coals.
I took another step and paused to look down when a small wave of magick pushed back. A third circle of smaller stones had been laid on the ground, this one wider and further reaching than the last.
Magick circles are common. It’s first-year stuff in the BSI academy, partly because many people with even a little talent use them without ever knowing. A basic circle created a barrier that trapped and amplified magickal energies inside, separating them from the flow of energy outside. The smaller the circle, the more powerful magick one could perform inside it.
The circle I’d just stepped into had already been powered and magick performed inside. Since I didn’t know the magick’s purpose, I took a step back and remained outside the circle. When Hunter moved to keep going, I put a hand out and stopped him. Whatever magick there was inside of it probably wasn’t dangerous, especially since Sal and Chanter had just walked right through, but I wasn’t going to take chances with my son.
Sal breezed on through, but had abandoned his shoes next to where I stood. He didn’t say anything, just went to help Chanter get that last bit of canvas over the opening to the tiny hut. Hunter and I stood, waiting and watching, for about five minutes while they struggled with it and secured it using rope. Then, the two of them walked back to where we stood, still not having exchanged any words.
Chanter walked by us as if we were there and went to retrieve a canteen placed on the ground near the corner of the house. “So,” he said after taking a drink, “have you found your snake yet?”
“More like she found us.” I was going to explain further, but Hunter nudged me with an elbow. “But we’re not here about that. At least, I don’t think we are.”
“Hunter wanted to see you,” Sal said.
Finally, Chanter turned away from the house, one eyebrow raised. “Did he? Is there something you wanted, child?”
Hunter squirmed next to me. “I... I don’t know.”
Chanter’s face lit up with a warm smile. “A wise man always seeks the counsel of his elders before making an important decision. Do you have a decision to make?”
Hunter chewed his bottom lip and looked at me before answering. “Yeah.”
Chanter gestured for Hunter to come with him. The two of them walked around the side of the house to the front, Chanter’s hand on Hunter’s shoulder.
I frowned. “If he’s so on the fence about it, maybe we should just call it off.”
Sal went to lean against the house. “I don’t think that’s it. There’s a part of the picture you’re probably not seeing.”
“Enlighten me.” The words came out gruff and I crossed my arms to send the message home. If anyone knew Hunter and what he was going through, it was me.
“We’re doing more than just asking him to be bait for a monster. I think he wants to help, even if Valentino and he don’t really get along. We’re asking him to re-live past trauma.”
Sal was right. It had only been a few months since Hunter had been captured and tortured by two wendigos. He’d been alone at the mercy of a monster once before and I hadn’t come in time to save him from everything.
“Add to that,” Sal continued, “the pack dynamic. Valentino is Chanter’s third. Hunter is currently not even ranking, but everyone in the pack knows that, if he gets in, that’s going to change. Once Hunter’s of age, it could shake everything up in the pack.”
“I don’t understand. He’d still be at the bottom, right? He’s a child.”
“Not necessarily.” Sal shook his head. “Technically, yes, but that alone is going to cause some tension. Hunter has...” He trailed off and put a finger to his chin, looking up at the sky. “How do I put this? He has what you might call an alpha personality. Once he’s old and strong enough, he has every chance of running his own pack. He might also decide he wants to run this one.” Sal mimicked my pose by crossing his arms. “Which is why there’s some resistance to bringing him in. Valentino sees that possibility. Hunter’s very introduction into the pack threatens his position, which is precarious already.”
“I thought these things were pretty set in stone?”
“Not really.” Sal shrugged and glanced around. “If Valentino wants my spot, he can issue a formal challenge. I can challenge Chanter. Valentino can challenge both of us and lead if he succeeds.”
“What’s stopping him from trying?”
Valentino seemed like the kind of guy who really liked to be in charge. It was obvious, even to a human like me, that he wanted to run the pack and thought he’d be a better second than Sal. Since Chanter was dying of cancer, it almost made sense for someone else to take over now instead of waiting until he was dead.
“Well, me for starters.” Sal crouched down and picked up Chanter’s canteen. As he spoke, he unscrewed the lid. “It would be a good fight, but I think we both know Valentino can’t win it. Second, we all respect Chanter as a leader. I acknowledge I’m not ready to lead and Valentino would have to beat me to get to Chanter so...” He took a drink. “Things stay as they are.”
“Until Hunter comes in,” I added.
“Well, even then, it won’t be right away.” Sal gestured toward the front of the house with the canteen. “He’s eleven. It’ll be five years or more before he’s got full control over his wolf. Some never get there. It’s more than just a fight that cements your spot, babe. If the rest of the pack doesn’t affirm that your advancement was fair and within reason, you can lose status. Another reason Valentino hasn’t challenged me. Shauna, Daphne, and Ed would never follow him.”
“But Valentino might follow Hunter?” Pack politics sounded complicated. I’d only been involved with werewolves for three months and I was knee-deep in it. It’d be at least as many years before I’d fully understand how it all worked.
“Maybe. Depends a lot on Hunter’s decisions. At the very least, he’s a contender in five or six years for a good second in the pack. In twenty, I see him running his own.”
The remark filled me with pride, but also fear. If he ran his own pack, it would mean he’d have to go public. My decision to hide him away from BSI to keep him from having to register would hurt him in the long run. I hoped my decision wouldn’t do irreparable damage.
Sal must’ve sensed what I was thinking, because he reached out to place a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, he’s got tough times ahead, but he’s got a tough lady for a mom and me and Chanter to watch out for him. Despite what he’d like everyone to think, Chanter’s not going anywhere just yet.” He turned to smile in the direction of the three circles.
I followed his gaze. “What is all that?”
“Chanter’s setting up a sweat. Cleanses the body of toxins and stuff. Also a good opportunity to reflect and think.”
Chanter had refused chemo for his cancer ever since we found out he had it. Only at Sal’s insistence did the old man even go in for regular testing to monitor the growths. Over the last few months, there hadn’t been much change. He had slowed down a little, but it was barely noticeable. Maybe, if he was pursuing other non-traditional treatment options, he could beat it. You hear those stories all the time, the guy who beat cancer by eating a rare South American nut or something. Such stories always sound ridiculous until someone you love is facing terminal cancer.
I was suddenly acutely aware of Sal’s eyes on me and glanced over at him. He looked away. I should have called him out on it, too. I was getting even more tired of the stolen glances and guarded responses. If he wanted to be more than friends, that wasn’t going to happen by avoiding it. At least if he asked, I could turn him down without it being awkward. Unless he made a move, though, I couldn’t even bring it up without making things weird.
It was a relief when Chanter and Hunter came back from the front of the house. I had no idea what Chanter had said to Hunter, but whatever it was it seemed to lift a weight from his shoulders. Hunter came to stand beside me while Chanter gave me an acknowledging nod.
“Saloso,” Chanter said, choosing to address Sal instead of me. “I understand you are on your way to the hospital to visit Valentino.”
“I am.” Sal bobbed his head. “If there has been no improvement in his condition, you should consider bringing him here where we can monitor him.”
Sal shot another long look back at the sweat lodge (at least that’s what I assume it was called, since he never named it). Then, he gave Chanter an incredulous glare. “You didn’t put all that together for yourself, did you?”
“Of course I did.” Chanter peeled off his shirt and put it aside. He might have been old and a little withered, but he was still more toned than you’d expect a man of his age to be. I sure as hell didn’t want to get into a fight with him. “I can do the sweat on my own, but if it can be helpful to him, we can do a quick healing ceremony. And I was only suggesting, as is my place. You are still wearing the mantle of alpha. The ultimate decision is yours, of course.”
I heard Sal make a huffing sound, but he didn’t dare argue with Chanter out loud. Sal might have been the acting alpha for a day, but he knew Chanter would hold it against him if he abused his power. Instead of arguing, Sal lifted his chin and said with authority, “I’ll call you and leave a message with my decision.” Then, Sal turned to Hunter. “Did you get what you came for?”
Hunter, who still stood beside me, nodded.
“Good. Then let’s go check up on Valentino, Leo and Nina. The sooner you can give Logan your answer, the better.”
After we’d piled back into the truck in silence, Hunter turned to me. “You’re not going to ask me what we talked about.”
I exchanged glances with Sal before I answered. “That’s between you and Chanter.”
My answer seemed to surprise him. Good. It surprised me too.
I’d never thought of myself as over-protective before, but maybe I was. Hunter was tougher than most other boys his age. He’d been through hell already. If he wanted to put his life on the line to save someone else’s, I should have been proud. Nervous, but proud.
I thought of Alex, my dead husband, and wondered if he would have been proud of Hunter or angry at me for letting our only son walk into the line of fire. Well, if Alex had anything to say about it, he wasn’t making it known. Hunter and I were on our own.