Page 87 of Bite

“I’m not a shifter,” I rasp. “I am no wolf.”

The older woman tilts her head to the side, assessing. Her hand beats over her heart once. “Yet your soul is irrevocably tied to two alpha wolves. You are their mate. You may not shift, but you are a wolf.”

Dair’s eyes find mine, glowing silver with intensity as if to ask, Remember?

“Am I a wild thing?” I’d asked Dair.

“The prettiest,” he’d said.

He looks back to the Alpha. “With your permission, we’d like to leave as soon as possible.”

The older Alpha’s head lowers in a small nod. “Of course, Dair. My engineers are ready, as requested. I have things to attend to, but please send word when you’ve made it back to your lands. I am eager to know the outcome of your quest.”

Ren walks over to where Tore is crouched next to Ferris and whistles. “Dair, what the fuck have you gotten us into?”

“Let’s speak on the train,” Dair replies, scanning the growing crowd. Ren nods and helps Tore heave Ferris up the stone steps that lead to the train depot.

While they load Ferris and our three remaining backpacks, I walk over to the Alpha of this community. “Alpha.” I bow my head, just like Dair did. Up close, I can smell her sweet smoke scent, which is an unexpected comfort to my senses. “Thank you for allowing us passage. I cannot express how grateful I am after such a harrowing journey. However, I’m afraid I must ask for one more favor.” I pause, cautious.

“What is it?” Her curious brown eyes hold my gaze as I lift my head.

“Is there any way I can use your radio tower to quickly attempt contact with my brother at the Grand Prairie compound in the Midlands? I understand that your radio is how my alpha’s people contacted my brother’s compound in the first place.”

“Ah,” she breathes, nodding. “You can try, but transmission is often spotty and depends on how the weather is in the Wastes. If there’s a storm, you may not be successful.”

“That’s alright,” I assure her. “I would just like to try.”

“Alright, follow me.”

I walk with her for several hundred feet to the base of the radio tower where a small, wooden building rests. She opens the door and ushers me inside to where they’ve set up a microphone and an ancient headset. “I’ll be fast,” I promise, then settle into the rickety chair.

I scan through the radio stations until I find the channel that Grand Prairie typically leaves their radio on. I clear my throat as tears threaten to spill from my eyes again. “Grand Prairie, this is Raine, over?”

I release the talk button and wait, my skin crawling with anticipation while I listen to the answering static. I wait several long moments, then try again, “Grand Prairie, this is Raine, over?”

No one responds.

I switch stations, trying a different frequency, and repeat my introduction. Nothing. I wait a few moments and try one last time. “Grand Prairie, this is Raine, over?”

“Raine, this is Aspen, over.” I gasp, tears flowing for real now.

“Aspen, can I speak with my brother, River, over?”

“Hold, over.”

There are many minutes of static in which I start to convince myself that the transmission was all just an exhaustion-fueled hallucination, but then River’s voice practically yells, “Raine?!”

“I’m here,” I sob. “We made it to the Foothill Territory. I’ll be in the Northern Pacific soon.”

“I—” His voice breaks. “Thank you for asking for me. I’d hoped that you would so that we could speak, but I would have understood if you didn’t.”

“Okay,” I croak.

“First, I’m so proud of you,” he says. “And I know that Mother would be too.” His breath is ragged over the transmission as he continues, “I’m sorry for the part I played in your unhappiness at Grand Prairie. A lot has been happening here since you left, and it’s caused me to really think about how our lives have been for the past ten years.”

He pauses, gathering himself. “It’s no excuse, but I got so caught up in being a leader that I forgot to be Ferris’s friend, and worse, I forgot to be your brother.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I say. His apology means more to me than he can possibly know. “I love you, even if you are a self-absorbed moron half the time.”