AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But Jackson was more aware of things than I anticipated. He roared as he pushed up against the hand that was over him, sending it away, and then rolled away as Ishmael’s other hand came crashing down, leaving a small crater where Jackson’s head had just been. Jackson spun around and then leaped onto Ishmael’s back, dragging his claws down. Ishmael reached around, trying to pull Jackson away from him, moving around, but Jackson managed to evade his grasp and he started to scratch and claw, until Ishmael slammed himself onto the ground, crushing Jackson. Jackson was dazed, his head lolled. Ishmael staggered up, there was no beast more dangerous than a wounded one, and before Jackson could do anything else he was picked up by Ishmael. Ishmael had both hands curled around Jackson’s neck and he squeezed tightly, making Jackson’s eyes bulge. This was it, I thought, this was the moment when everything was lost.
It was surely only a matter of time until Jackson’s neck snapped, until the life slipped from his eyes, but then Jackson’s eyes shot open. Ishmael had his back to me, so I could see Jackson clearly. He gasped for breath, his neck twisted as he aimed to be free, but then he raised his arms and dug his claws savagely into Ishmael’s neck, holding them there even as Ishmael tried to shake him away. The blow had taken everyone by surprise, including Ishmael, for we all thought that Jackson was a goner, but with his last throes of life he had been able to drive his claws into Ishmael’s neck, and then he tore out the wolf’s throat, while Ishmael squeezed with all his might.
When Jackson pulled his hands away he brought with it a bloody mess. Our eyes met across the battlefield and in that moment silent understanding passed between us. I realized that this was the moment when our future began, and that it was my duty to pass on the legend of his life.
Ishmael fell to the floor, choking on his own blood. His body jerked and convulsed as he struggled to keep hold of his life, but in the end it was a struggle that he couldn’t win and his eyes dimmed. He lay on the ground, arms splayed out. All the horrors he had committed had been avenged, but all the souls he had killed could never be brought back. And now Jackson was added to that list. Somehow I knew before I had even seen him. I ran up, joining Jamie and Logan as we stood around his body, cradling him. He looked so weak, and as he shifted into a man I gasped at how his body was covered in deep bruises. He struggled for breath but smiled when he saw us.
“You…you are the future,” he whispered, reaching out a hand to each of us. There were marks where Ishmael’s hands had curled around his neck and deep gouges where his flesh had been torn away. I would never have guessed at the extent of the internal damage he suffered. This was more than a mere gash, and despite his inherent healing abilities I knew that it wasn’t possible for him to survive this, even if we had been able to get him to a hospital.
“No,” Jamie choked, and beat the ground with his fist. “NO!” His face was a picture of vengeance and he turned to the broken form of Ishmael on the ground. Jamie beat the body with his fists, crying out in anger at the man who had killed his brother. Logan and I shared a look. I walked over to Jamie and placed my hand over his shoulder, pulling him into me. He sobbed and shook his head, unable to believe that Jackson was no longer with us.
Logan rose and turned to face Ishmael’s army.
“Your champion has fallen. The challenge was met and dealt with. You all heard the terms. Now begone!” he cried. I wondered if they would actually adhere to the agreements, but we didn’t have anything to worry about as the wolves prided themselves on honor, and there was no way for them to continue fighting without going against the vows and oaths that had been made. We stepped aside as a few of them walked forward and carried their great general off the battlefield. It seemed as though the rebellion against humanity was going to have to wait for another generation, but although victory had been won it was not triumphant. I didn’t feel as though we had gained anything, only that we had lost a lot.
The three of us sank down beside Jackson’s body and mourned him in our own way. I had only known him for a brief time compared to Jamie and Logan, but he had had a great impact on my life. He had chosen me to be the mother of a new generation. He had seen something in me that I couldn’t, and he had stood by me even when I fled. He had shown me vulnerability and taught me how to look at myself in a different way. I was a changed woman because of him, and although he had taken me against my will I wouldn’t like to think where I would be with him, probably still in the Rainbow Bar, lamenting my life, wondering if I would ever have the opportunity to change.
Instead I was with two men I loved, mourning the third, with a new generation waiting to rise within my body. I was going to be the mother of wolves, and I was going to make sure that my children knew everything there was to know about him.
I don’t know how long we stayed by his body for, but eventually we took his body back into the cabin and rested him on the altar so that he could be with the goddess of the moon, with the ones who had passed before. Jamie promised to carve a picture of him, and Logan prayed that he could be as good a leader as Jackson had been. We consoled each other. The mood was somber even though just recently it had been filled with so much love and adoration, but although we had gained a lot from each other we had lost something powerful, something that could never be replaced, and the only thing I was sure of in that moment was that we would never forget him.
That night, I slipped into bed and I too prayed to the moon goddess. I prayed that she would guide me in my actions and give me the strength to prove myself worthy of the faith that Jackson had shown in me. I wanted to be strong enough to rule the wolves and be a good mother to them, but I also prayed that she w
ould pass along a message to him as well.
“Please tell him that I forgive him for the wrongs he committed in life, and please tell him that I thank him for rescuing me from a prison I didn’t even know I was in.”
The way we had come together was strange and unorthodox, but I knew that I loved them more than anything. They filled my heart with joy and I wanted to be good for them. I wanted to be better than I ever was before. I wanted to be the kind of person that could inspire a new generation, to be looked at with respect and affection. I had left the woman who stayed in the Rainbow Bar behind. I had left the lost little girl behind as well. I had found my place, and it was with these wolves.
Epilogue
The following months were some of the strangest of my life. We stayed in the cabin; Logan, Jamie, and I, and slowly but surely life returned to normal. The brothers had gotten too used to mourning their loved ones and for a time I wondered if they would ever be able to get back to something resembling a normal life. I tried to help them as best I could, sharing my affection with them, kissing them, taking them out for long walks. I got them to tell me more about wolf culture and what I could expect from being a mother to these babies. Jamie was the more inconsolable one. His faith had been shaken, wondering how the goddess could have allowed such a cruel man like Ishmael to rule the world.
We talked through his crisis of faith as best we could, while Logan went out for long hunts. Sometimes he disappeared for days, but he always returned with his quarry. I think both of them were worried that Ishmael’s followers would return and finish what he started, but they seemed to take the vow seriously. They were both struggling to fill the void left by Jackson, and I realized that it was up to me to shake them from their depression.
My life was much different than it had been in the Rainbow Bar. There, I had to pretend to be something I wasn’t, to try and forgot my sorrows, but now I had to embrace my emotions as honesty was the only way forward for us. I got them to talk about their fears and their hopes, and it brought us closer. I never felt as though my loyalties were divided between them. The traditional family dynamic didn’t seem to matter to them or to me. I had had enough of tradition during my time in the outside world and it was a relief for me to be able to live how I wanted without any thought of what other people may think.
However, it was difficult for them to move on, and there were moments when I wondered if they ever would. But then time passed and my body changed. My stomach swelled and they started realizing that the new generation’s arrival was imminent. The idea of being fathers, of rebuilding their clan, gave them more impetus. Jamie threw himself into his studies again and Logan spoke about how he looked forward to teaching them about the hunt. We made plans for the future and spoke about how it would work, how we would wait until they were a little older and then try to recruit more people to join the clan. We would always honor Jackson’s memories and his wishes, just as he had honored Lilah’s. In a way I knew that he had never really loved me for me, only as a shadow of her, but I loved him and his brothers deeply, and I was fully committed to this life. I was looking forward to eventually returning to the city and giving our children the best life they could possibly have.
The birth was the most difficult and exhausting thing I had ever been through. My belly swelled to such an extent that I didn’t think I was going to be able to cope with it all, but this time Jamie and Logan were there to help me through my panic, just as I had helped them through their depression. I panted and heaved and my body was soaked with sweat as the littler of babies emerged from the cocoon of my body, each one of them beautiful. I gave birth to three babies, each one of them given life by a different brother. I wasn’t sure how it biologically worked, but I was convinced then more than ever that the goddess of the moon had played her part and delivered these babies to me. They were each the spitting image of their father, and I cherished them.
For the first few years we remained in the cabin, living a quiet life by ourselves. The babies grew quickly and were quite a handful. I was rushed off my feet trying to take care of them, but never once did I feel as though it was a burden or a chore. When I gave birth the old fears returned, fears that I would be like my parents and treat these children with disdain. I was glad to know that I didn’t feel like that at all, that all my fears were unfounded. I was proud to be their mother and I wanted nothing but to take care of them. In fact it changed the feelings I had towards my parents. For all my life I had hated them for the way they had treated me, but now I pitied them as they had thrown away the chance to raise me, missing out on the wonder of my childhood. I sometimes wondered if they missed me and how much they thought about me. They had lives of their own now of course, but even though a long time had passed I still should have been a part of their lives.
Well, it did no use thinking about it because I wasn’t ever going to see them again. I had nothing to say them. Everything I wanted was right in front of me. I had two men I loved and three children who I spoiled rotten. I taught them everything I knew and I loved thinking about the future and how we were going to widen the clan. I had wanted to be a part of something like that for so long, and now it was finally happening.
The six of us lived in the cabin happily. As the boys grew they started to learn more about their abilities and the first time they shifted was a happy time for us all. Logan and Jamie took over in teaching them about their instincts and how to control them. More than once did I find the children scurrying about on their paws and I had to scold them. If we were going to return to the city they were going to have to learn to control their impulses. Logan grew into a fine leader and father, teaching them all how to hunt and hone their instincts to be the best wolves they could be. Jamie pursued his studies and taught them all about their past and their heritage. The children were enraptured by the stories and never tired of hearing of them. As they grew they had their own identities, which usually reflected their father’s.
It soon became clear that Jackson’s son noticed there were only two fathers, and that he had different characteristics to his brothers. He asked me about it and I sat him on his lap and told him all about his father and what a great man he was. I left out the gory details of course, but I felt sorry that he wouldn’t be able to get to know his father properly. I assured him that Jackson was looking down upon him though, that he was looking down upon all of us.
Over time myself, Logan, and Jamie all decided that it was time to return to the city and build the vision for the future. The children were older and had a good handle on their abilities. We made it clear to them how they had to hide their true natures, telling them that it wasn’t a sign of shame, more an indication of how petty and judgmental humans could be, but it was our job to try and change that eventually. I promised them that they wouldn’t have to hide forever.
Our life in the city was much different than in the cabin, and we often returned there on the weekends so that the wolves could let themselves be free and indulge their natural instincts. We each found jobs and enrolled the children in schools, and for the most part there weren’t any incidences. We had to be careful though in telling people about ourselves. We wanted to grow the clan, but it was a slow process. However, eventually we found likeminded people and shared our secret, and we welcomed people into the clan. I shared my story with them and they all remarked on how far I had come. I was pleased and proud to be treated with such respect, and eventually everyone in the clan called me ‘Mother’, whether I was their mother or not. Logan and Jamie stood by me, and we had more children together as well, eventually forming a dynasty that I doubted would be matched anywhere in the world.
We spread through human society and gradually opened people’s eyes. We shared our culture and our philosophies with them, and slowly but surely the secret wasn’t such a secret any longer. There were many children born to people in the clan and I took great pride in teaching them all about the history of the wolves. I used to take the children for walks aroun
d the city and explain to them why it was so important for us to live the way we do, and how we should aim to make a difference in people’s lives.
There was one part of the city I always resisted visiting though; the Rainbow Bar. I hadn’t tried to get in contact with Mel, Harper, Damian, or anyone else I knew before. As far as I was concerned that part of my life was over and I didn’t have any desire to open those doors again. The only time I went was with Jackson’s son, for he was curious about everything to do with his father and I thought he should see where I and his father met. We took a ride down and I was shocked to see that the Rainbow Bar was now just a shell. Its lights were off and the windows had been smashed. There were no signs of life. It was hollow, empty, and sad.
