His dad licked Jimmy’s hand and rubbed up against him. The quiet sound of muffled tears filled the cabin. Mel stood still, letting his son cry against him. Finally, Jimmy let go. His voice raw, he said, “I hired a private investigator to find you, worried you would get yourself hurt or killed. They’re wolves like we are, so they were the only ones who could help me find you.”
David and Elizabeth finished dressing. David stepped forward. “I’m David Davis, a private investigator with White Wolf Investigative Services. This is Elizabeth Alpine, my associate. She’s a royal like your son, daughter, and wife, which means they have very few human roots mixed up in their genes. I’m more like you, bitten against my will, though it saved me when I was having a heart attack.”
David sat down on the couch with Elizabeth, and Jimmy took a seat on a chair. Mel lay down on the floor, listening to David speak. He explained about the phases of the moon. He told Mel all about how he had been turned and about the difficulties he and his fellow PIs had had with their business because of it. “Not only did we have the shifting issues, but when we returned to Seattle, we learned a gray wolf pack lived there. They didn’t want Arctic wolves living in their territory. And they didn’t like that we were newly turned—dangerous to their kind. We had our established PI practice there, so we had to move to another location where we could manage the agency and still hide what we were. You probably won’t be able to function in a job where you have to go to work on a regular basis. Online jobs are the way to go.”
“We know it’s a lot to take in,” Elizabeth said. “All the changes, learning how to communicate with each other, learning about the good things—the increased longevity and faster healing abilities, better hearing and sight—but the shifting can be a real issue. Eventually, you’ll have some control over it like David does. It just takes time. But you’ll have Jimmy to help. And us.”
Mel let out his breath, and David wished he knew what the man was thinking. But at least he had people to talk to who were knowledgeable about wolf shifter business. When David and his friends had been turned, they were all totally clueless.
Jimmy got a call on his cell phone. “It’s Mom. Yeah, Mom, we found Dad.” He glanced down at his dad. “He’s a wolf and he hasn’t been able to shift back. He’s all right though, not hurt or anything… Yeah, at Granddad’s cabin. We’re staying here. Cass is at her friend’s house. Okay, I’ll tell him. We’ll see you in an hour, then. We’ll be right here. Love you, Mom.” He ended the call. “She’s coming here to help. You should know, she didn’t have anything to do with this. If you’re going to be mad at someone, it should be me.”
“We mate for life as wolf shifters,” David said, glad the wife was coming. He hoped the situation between the wife and husband would be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. “In other words, no divorce. The problem is she married you before you were a wolf. We have no unwritten rules about that. We’re supposed to be with others of our kind to continue our species. Not only does that mean you don’t have to remain with her since you were human when you married her, but you can try to find a wolf who would be interested in mating you too. It means for life, and we live very long lives.”
Mel raised his wolf brows.
“Yeah, Dad. So if you and Mom can’t get along, there’s no sense in you staying with her. I never thought I would say that, but it’s not fair to either of you. Maybe she’s interested in seeing some other wolf. You might be happier with someone else too. I hate to say it, but it’s true.”
“Are you with a pack?” David asked Jimmy.
“No, not around here.”
Then David told Mel where he knew of packs that were located elsewhere. “We’ll help you find one that’s suitable for you to join. They’ll want you to be able to do some kind of work, something that won’t be an issue when you shift, and you’ll have to follow their rules to protect yourself and for them to protect themselves. But it’ll be a good life. You can still have a good life.”
Mel finally shifted, grabbed up his clothes, and headed for a bedroom.
When he returned, he ran his hands through his blond hair. He opened and closed his mouth three times before he settled on: “I–I don’t believe any of this. Does anyone want any water?”
David thought Mel needed to be doing something, anything, while he tried to come to terms with this.
“Sure,” Elizabeth said, David asking for some too.
Mel came back empty-handed, as if he’d completely forgotten what he went into the kitchen for. Knowing he had changed but unable to comprehend the extent of what had happened to him. “You’re saying you’ve always been a wolf?” he asked Jimmy.
“Yeah, Dad. From birth. Whenever you were away on business trips, we would run to our hearts’ content as wolves. One time you came home earlier than expected, and we were scrambling to shift and dress before you saw us.”
“I remember that. Cass wasn’t back and everyone was being kind of cagey about it.”
“Yeah, she was hiding in the tree house until I could sneak her clothes out to her. I–I was hoping if you were one of us, you couldn’t leave. That Mom couldn’t divorce you. I never knew a wolf who married a human, so I didn’t realize you both would have to decide if you would stay together. I thought it was a given.”
“Your heart was in the right place.” Mel rubbed the top of Jimmy’s head, and the tension David had been holding eased out of him. At least this part of Jimmy’s case would have a happy ending.
“We can leave when your wife gets here or wait and see how things work out. She might want to just see you for a while as a wolf and maybe things will improve between the two of you,” David said.
“I hope so. I love her and that hasn’t changed. And I love my kids. They’re like my own flesh and blood. This”—he gestured helplessly at himself—“doesn’t change that either. It’s just…a lot to wrap my head around,” Mel said.
“That’s understandable. Another thing you should know: if you are injured as a wolf, your blood will show you’re a wolf, and as a human, fully human. But if you’re killed as a wolf, you’ll shift back into your human form,” David said.
“Naked,” Mel said.
“Correct. Also, we try not to ever get into criminal trouble that will land us in jail. For those who can control their shifting, it’s bad enough to face confinement and not shift if someone’s hassling you on the inside. But as a newly turned wolf, it’d be disastrous.” He had an idea. “One of the packs that would be the best for a new wolf is the one in Silver Town. They run their own town. They take care of their own. You would be safer there.”