Had she been so locked away that she’d often looked at the sky and wished for freedom? That made me a little sad for her and made my need for answers grow stronger. She talked when her guard was down. Alcohol worked, but I wouldn’t be using that again. As I studied her tired profile, I had another idea. Grinning, I moved over on the blanket and gave her space to lay back down. Maybe I could get something out of her if she was almost asleep.
She took the bait and lay down after a few more swallows of water. Minutes passed. Her breathing slowed, and her expression relaxed. I couldn’t stop watching her. What made her so perfect?
“What kind of music do you like?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t remember.” The quiet words escaped on an exhale. She was so close to sleeping.
“Why not?” I kept my tone light.
“Blake hated the noise.”
Blake again. Her leg twitched, and I knew I was losing her to a deeper sleep. Reaching out, I gently ran my fingers through her hair.
“Who’s Blake?” I asked.
She didn’t wake enough to answer.
After several minutes, I stood and joined Winifred as she watched Jim play with the kids in the shallows.
“Try not to obsess over it,” she said.
“What part? That she was kept prisoner by someone? That what she went through made it difficult for her to trust me? Or that there are people from her past still trying to find her, and I can do nothing about it because she won’t confide in me?”
“All of it.” Winifred turned to study me. “Be patient with her. She needs time to heal from whatever happened to her. And, she will heal, Emmitt. When she does, she’ll remember your patience.”
“I hope you’re right. I just hate hearing a name and not knowing who it is.”
“You said she mentioned a stepfather passing away. Perhaps that was his name.”
For the next hour, Jim and I played with the boys while Winifred went back to keep an eye on Michelle. I knew the moment she woke. She sat up and looked around in confusion. Patience, I reminded myself as I kept my focus on Liam.
“How long was I out?”
Despite the distance, I could hear her clearly as she spoke to Winifred.
“About an hour. Almost time for lunch.”
“Let’s try something different,” I said to Liam. “I’ll teach you guys a way to splash Jim with more water.” Using my clasped hands, I spun a slow circle in the water to show them. The turn also gave me a chance to watch Michelle.
“Can I ask you a question?” she said softly. “Do I have a scent?”
“Everyone does, dear. As unique as a fingerprint.”
“Why would a werewolf want to scent me?”
What? I whipped my head her direction. Our gazes met and held.
Why would she ask that? I sent Winifred. I’ve never—
Emmitt, focus on what you’re doing. You’re making her uncomfortable.
Jim chose that moment to send a wave of water my way. It hit me in the side of the head, filling my ear. The boys giggled loudly.
I didn’t care what Winifred said, I needed to understand what Michelle was asking. Was it when I’d stopped her from leaving? How would she have known I was scenting her? We’d never discussed that.
Michelle blushed and dropped her gaze, and Winifred gave me a warning scowl before responding to her.
“I’d be happy to answer that question, but I need to explain more than that for you to understand. If you’re willing.”
Liam tugged on my arm.
“Aren’t you going to get Jim back?”
“I think Emmitt needs to walk a little deeper into the cold water,” Jim said.
I turned away from Michelle to give Jim a discreet gesture of brotherly affection while still paying attention to what Winifred said next.
“Emmitt shared with me that he showed you who we are. People use the term werewolf, but we are more than a shapeshifting creature of the night. We are the opposite of a person with multiple personalities. We are one personality with two bodies. Who we are doesn’t change, no matter the form we choose. However, there are benefits to each form we wear. We are faster on four legs than two, but not by much. When in our fur, we have better protection because of our teeth and claws. Yet, some things, like our sense of smell, hearing, and sight, don’t change.
“Our sense of smell is more vital to us than our sight. We can smell an object long after it has disappeared. A scent can tell us more than we could ever see. Emotions like fear and desire can flavor a person’s usual fragrance. Through our senses, we read the world and react to it.
“Scenting is when we use our sense of smell to identify potential Mates. Their scent calls to us. It’s more than just liking the fragrance. It’s the rightness of it.” Winifred paused for a moment. “I’ve never had to explain this to someone who didn’t have our noses. So let me know if I’m not making sense.”
Tell her she smells like warm pancakes, I sent to Winifred.
I will not. Mind your business.
Jim sent another giant wave of water our way. I shook my head and continued to listen while I helped Liam return the favor.
“I like the smell of strawberries, but I wouldn’t want my clothes to smell like them. It’s a good smell, but not right for clothes. It’s the same for finding potential Mates. Although my scent may be pleasant to several of my kind, it might not be just right for any of them. Because of the nuance between an alluring scent and the rightness of that perfect scent, nature threw in a backup plan. It’s something we feel deep inside ourselves, like a tug in our stomach, reeling us toward the one we’re meant to be with. The scent calls us, possibly from a greater distance than we can see, but the pull cinches the deal.”
Winifred paused for a moment, and I was about to look up when Winifred communicated with me.
By the scent of her panic and her quick look in your direction, I would say she feels a strong pull for you.
I agree, but, I don’t want her to bolt because she thinks she has no choice.
You want me to lie?
Of course not. I just wish you would have...I don’t know...softened the truth a bit.
“It’s a lot to take in, but nothing to worry about. With humans, we werewolves typically don’t feel or scent anything that would indicate we’re compatible with you. Oh, a few have tried to have relationships, but they were shallow connections that never lasted long.”
Not what I meant. I sent her a look that might have earned me a smack upside my head in my younger years.
Winifred ignored me and handed Michelle another bottle of water.
“Would you like me to tell you more about our kind?”
Michelle nodded hesitantly, and Winifred explained our history and how Mom had helped unite the small packs.
“Charlene put the backbone back in our pack and brought us together by sheer determination. It’s because of her plans for pack growth that I am here with Emmitt and Jim. We are trying to establish another pack location because the main one in Canada is growing too large for the space.
“Our society is like any other in that we each have a place in it. Elders are the keepers of knowledge and peace. Pack leaders keep the peace within their own pack, but Elders keep the peace between packs.”
Winifred’s explanation caused me a brief moment of guilt. She made it sound like there were many packs. There weren’t. Not really. There were still secluded families of three or four members who considered themselves a pack, but there weren’t packs like my father’s or like what my parents wanted me to start here. A large pack made up of many families gave the members a kind of strength and security in the human community that the smaller packs would never have.