Author’s Note: Up to this point, the focus of a chapter has been either Dakota or Connor. From now on, the focus may be shifting at various times throughout the chapters. When this happens, I will separate these changes with a line of asterisks.

 

******************************************

 

Sleep did not clear Dakota’s mind, nor did the conversation at breakfast. Now, as he and Robin started for the Lone Wolf Ranch, his thoughts were torn between the strange boy he’d seen last night and the words Shamus had said about the origins of skinwalkers. He wasn’t even sure the term skinwalker was the right word to use now that he had this new information.

After ten minutes of riding in silence, Robin spoke up. “Your run last night doesn’t seem to have helped. If anything, you seem even more anguished than when you left. Care to talk about it?”

Dakota’s eyes never left the road, but his hands tightened on the steering wheel. After another long silence, he replied, “After running around a bit, I found myself at Shamus’ house. I was about to leave when someone came outside. I couldn’t see his face, but something about his scent… affected me.”

“Affected you? How?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be so confused right now, would I?” Dakota snapped. After a pause, he sighed, “I’m sorry, Robin, I didn’t mean to snap. He seemed upset about something, and I felt a need to… I don’t know, protect him? Comfort him?”

Robin put his hand on his brother’s knee. “No need to apologize, brother. I just wish I knew what advice to give you.” After a moment’s thought, he asked, “You said something about how you can’t see the future with tears in your eye…”

Dakota glanced at his brother, suspicious. “I did…”

“Well, you can’t see today by staring at tomorrow either.”

“And just what is that supposed to…” Dakota took a deep breath and smiled. “Well put, brother, and thank you. You’re right. I’m stressing about things that I have no control over.”

Robin bit his lip a moment, then said, “I heard a prayer once that says something about accepting the things we can’t change, changing the things we can, and being wise enough to know the difference. It sounds like good advice to me.”

“You’re saying I need to focus on learning from Shamus’ library and let things with this boy sort themselves out over time?”

Robin smirked. “I’m saying to read the manuscripts and accept the information they present for what it is: information you didn’t have before today. As to this boy, you can’t answer questions if you have no questions, so yes, let it sort itself out over time, at least until you know enough to understand the question.”

Dakota considered what Robin had said. After a moment, he said, “As convoluted as that was, I think it made sense.”

Robin laughed. “Yeah, it was a bit twisted, but I’m glad I got my point across. Maybe now you can focus on what we learn today, and that knowledge can help you sort out some of your confusion.”

They rode in silence for several minutes as Dakota digested what his brother had said. Robin knew he had said all he could say. He couldn’t help his brother by adding more words that would only add confusion. As they turned onto the Lone Wolf Ranch main house driveway, Robin realized that his brother seemed to be relaxed and focused, in other words, himself.

As he parked, Dakota glanced around and realized that Shamus’ truck was missing. He hoped someone was expecting them and there wouldn’t be an awkward wait for Shamus to appear. His concerns quickly vanished when he saw Katty and Ronin come out of the rear door of the house, both smiling in welcome.

“Good morning, Dakota. Are you here to see Granda?” Katty asked as she glanced at Robin.

“We are. We spoke to him… I’m sorry, Katty, this is my brother, Robin. Robin, this young lady is Katty O’Faolan, and that is her cousin, Ronin O’Faolan; they’re Shamus’ grandchildren.”

“Brother?” Ronin exclaimed. “Since when do you have a white brother that’s older than you?”

“It’s a long story, and I’ll happily go into it later. For now, Shamus invited us over to explore some manuscripts he has.” Dakota explained.

Katty looked to her cousin, then back to Dakota. “I’m sorry, Dakota, we were told to expect Drake Fraener; Shamus didn’t mention you. No offense, but Granda’s library is private. I wouldn’t feel right letting you inside it without him here, or at least talking to him first.”

Dakota nodded and started to turn back to his truck when Robin spoke up. “Would it be alright if we waited for Shamus to return? If Drake shows up first, we’ll leave.”

Katty and Ronin exchanged glances, and then Katty said, “We’re neighbors; the least we can be is neighborly. Would you like some coffee while we wait?”

As the group headed for the house, Ronin said, “While we wait, you can explain your brother.”

Robin let out a laugh. “If we have time, ask him about his son.”

Dakota couldn’t hold back a grin as he thought about Naiche, still curled up as a fox, on Jonas’ bed.

As they entered the kitchen, Dakota recognized the others gathered around the table. “Good morning. Robin, these boys are Ronin’s brothers, Regan and Rory. That’s Emmet, Katty’s little brother, and… I don’t believe I know this little one.”

Danny jumped up and ran to stand in front of Dakota. “I’m Danny. I’m Cawnew’s pup.”

Dakota knelt and smiled at the boy. “Well, I don’t know a Cawnew, but my name is Dakota. And this is my brother, Robin.”

Once the introductions were out of the way, Katty handed coffee to Dakota and Robin. Everyone watched as they added milk or sugar to their taste. After taking a sip, Robin looked around and realized that someone needed to break the ice. He decided that, as the newest face at the table, it fell to him.

“Dakota came to the boy’s ranch where I was living a few weeks ago to teach leatherworking to those of us who were interested.” Robin went on to relate how he and Jonas had come to live with Dakota and Wamblee. When he finished, Dakota told of how they found Naiche in their horse trailer and brought him home and the subsequent events that led to Naiche being his son.

Of course, the mention of a boy close to his age brought Danny to life. “Where’s your son now, Koda? Did you bwing him wiff you?”

Dakota grinned at the boy’s pronunciation of his name. “No, little one. He’s at my home with my grandfather. I’ll bring him next time I visit, though, now that I know there’s another pup for him to play with.”

Before Danny could reply, Drake walked in. “Well, I see you beat me here, Dakota. Did you save me any coffee?”

Everyone stood in a show of respect for the ancient dragon. Katty quickly grabbed a mug and filled it with black coffee, and passed it to Drake. After he took a sip, she asked, “So Shamus really did invite Dakota here this morning? Why would he do that? Weren’t we going to talk about our…” She glanced at Dakota, “Um, family history?”

Drake looked around the room as he took another sip of coffee. He could see the suspicion on the faces of the O’Faolan pack and the look of confusion on Dakota’s. Robin and Emmet seemed to be the only calm faces in the room, aside from the young pup that Connor had taken to raise. He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair.

“I believe it is time to start your lessons, young ones, and the first lesson is all shifters are family, regardless of their type.”

The shocked outcries from the O’Faolan pups were expected; Dakota’s silent acceptance was not. As if on cue, Dakota stood and began to shift into the form of the huge black panther made him most comfortable. The room fell silent as Katty and Ronin watched him drop to stand on his four massive paws.

Rory exclaimed, “Bagheera!”

After glancing at each other, Katty and Ronin shifted into their wolf. As they looked around, they realized that Dakota’s brother seemed unshaken. Apparently, the boy was human and aware of the world around him.

As he stood there surveying the room, Dakota watched as Katty and Ronin became wolves. He waited, expecting more. When no one else shifted, the words of Shamus came to him. ‘We usually shift the first time during puberty.’ Unless they were holding back, the twins were not going through puberty yet. It was obvious that Emmet was well into it, so Dakota could only assume the boy wasn’t a shifter.

Drake silently observed the scene of chaos he had instigated. He had made his point, now it was time to bring these beings together. “If you all would shift back to human, we can discuss things.”

Everyone shifted back to human form but continued to stare at each other. The look on each face implied ‘I never knew you…’ This brought another grin to Drake’s face as he sat down at the table and waved his hands to indicate that everyone should join him.

“Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag…” Everyone laughed and glanced at Dakota. “Sorry, Dakota, I guess that was a poor choice of idioms. Be that as it may, my point is now that you all know the other exists, you can learn to live together. That is our long-term goal. I’ll admit, I wasn’t planning on outing you to each other today, but as I thought about what we planned on discussing, I knew everyone would be wondering why someone else was in the room. We would have wasted too much time dancing around identities if we started down that path. I do hope you all can forgive me.”

An evil grin spread across Dakota’s face as he glanced around the table. “I actually liked the idiom, Drake, although I would have asked, ‘Who let the dogs out?’”

This brought a chorus of laughter from everyone at the table and seemed to remove the stress that had been just below the surface. When the laughter faded off, it was followed by an exchange of information that educated everyone. Dakota asked Katty if she could only shift into a wolf. Her yes then inspired Emmet to ask if Dakota could shift into more than a panther. When he said yes, he was then required to go on to explain that he could shift into almost any form. After he had demonstrated several shapes, he went on to ask Emmet if he were a shifter. This exchange seemed like it could continue for days, but it ended when Drake stood and motioned them to silence.

“Now that you’ve all had a chance to get a few questions answered, I’ll ask that you use our time together to study and learn what we know of our shared pasts. You can ask all your personal questions outside of our study time. For now, I think we should move to the library and see what we can find in Shamus’ manuscripts.”

Everyone had just stood when they heard the crunch of a vehicle in the driveway. Looking through the window, they saw Shamus pulling up in his truck. Dakota didn’t intend to lead the way, but he happened to be closest to the door, so he was the first out. The sunlight hit his face as he walked through the door, and he was momentarily blinded. All he could see were two shadowy figures stepping from a pickup. One, he knew to be Shamus. The other, he couldn’t identify. Suddenly, the smaller figure cried out in pain and, as Dakota watched, slowly shifted into the form of a large black wolf.

Everyone stared at the large black wolf for a moment, and then Katty and Ronin also shifted. Before they could move, everyone there, be they human, shifter shifted, or shifter in human form, clearly heard a young male voice in their heads shouting, ‘Get away from my mate!’

Dakota was frozen in shock. He knew shifters could communicate telepathically with their children and usually with other members of their family. Nothing he had ever heard would explain why he would hear this wolf shifter in this way. As he was lost in these thoughts, the wolf snarled, turned on its heels, and ran. Without conscious thought, Dakota shifted and chased after the wolf. After a few yards, he heard two wolves following him. He quickly turned and hissed at them, causing them both to slide to a stop. After staring them down, he felt they understood his intent. He, and he alone, would pursue this unknown wolf.

As he resumed his pursuit, the scent from the previous night hit his nostrils. That scent. He knew that scent. It was drawing him to this wolf. As he ran, his mind sorted through the information at hand. This wolf was the boy from the house, the one who had made a phone call and had drawn Dakota in such an inexplicable manner. This wolf had cried out, ‘My mate’. Could this be true? Could he and this wolf indeed be soul-bound mates?

***********************************************

When Connor recognized Dakota, a strange scent hit his nose. A scent like none he had smelled before was affecting him in ways that he didn’t understand. He wanted to run to Dakota and protect him from the others. How dare they stand so close to him. Didn’t they know who he was? Didn’t they know he was his?

Without thought, his mind screamed, ‘Get away from my mate!’

When he realized what he’d said, he was devastated. He then realized that he had shifted in front of strangers. He had exposed the pack to humans and embarrassed his Granda and his pack. There was only one option. Connor turned and ran. With no goal in sight, he simply wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and his shame.

After running only a short distance, he heard a snarl behind him. He slowed and listened. It sounded like a giant cat hissing to chase away another predator. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t far behind him. This caused him to increase his pace, and the miles flew away beneath his paws.

He wasn’t sure where he was heading, but Connor could sense he was traveling in a generally southern direction. His mind was in turmoil, but he still had enough sense to stay clear of the roads. Soon, he began to see things he recognized. The dirt road, the BSA sign. Connor remembered these and realized that he was approaching the Beaver Creek reservoir. He adjusted his course and headed for the wooded knoll at the south end of the lake. He could rest there a moment, but only a moment.

*******************************************************************

The farther Dakota chased the wolf, the more convinced he was that this stranger was his mate. He had chased game in the past, and never before had a scent been so unmistakable to his mind. Regardless of what crossed his path, the wolf’s scent overpowered them all. Somehow, the wolf’s scent was pushing him to speed and endurance he had never experienced. He continued to process the few bits of information he had at hand. He thought back to earlier at O’Faolan’s house, when he’d met that small boy, Danny was it? He had said he was ‘Cawnew’s pup’. Dakota was convinced that this wolf was this, as yet unmet Cawnew.

As he ran, he tried to observe where he was and, from that, project where this wolf might be headed. He had covered several miles when it hit him. There was no end goal; the wolf was simply running. He realized that short of outrunning him, he’d never see his soul-bound mate again. This seemed to give him even more speed.

After running several minutes at what he considered a fantastic speed, Dakota started to see landmarks and realized they were nearing the Beaver Creek reservoir. He took a risk and aimed directly for the wooded knoll at the southern tip of the lake, knowing this area would provide the wolf with water and brush to hide in.

As he approached the knoll, Dakota put together a plan. It wasn’t much of a plan, and it certainly wasn’t the most complicated of plans, but something in him said it would work if anything would. Dakota slowed from a full sprint to a trot as soon as his paws cleared the creek that fed the lake. As he entered the brush, he slowed to a deliberate stalk, carefully placing each paw to avoid making the most minute of sounds. He knew the wolf was on the knoll; he could not only smell him, but he could also hear the heavy panting as the wolf paced on the soft pine needle-covered ground.

Dakota slowed his pace even more, knowing that, more than anything, motion would be the first thing noticed. To the unobservant, he appeared frozen in place as he inched ever closer to the scrub thicket the wolf had chosen to rest in. When he felt he was as close as he could creep, he reached out with his mind and said, ‘Cawnew?’

*******************************************************************

Connor paused as he crossed Beaver Creek. His sides were heaving from the exertion of running roughly ten miles at full speed. He knew he was being pursued, but he felt he had time to pause for a drink and to catch his breath. After spending a moment at the creek to lap up as much water as possible, he pushed toward the knoll, where he found a thicket of scrub pine. The soft ground was covered with pine needles to quiet his footsteps, and short, thick pine bushes surrounded the entire space to block him from prying eyes.

As Connor paced in the small thicket, he considered his situation. He couldn’t return to his family, to his pack. He had shamed them. He couldn’t return to face Dakota; why was he even here in Montana? His life had started to look good and, once again, he had done something stupid and messed it up. He may as well run until he could find an old barn to hide in. Maybe he could steal food from the farmer. Maybe he could even steal some whiskey. At least getting drunk would keep his mind off his problems for a few hours.

He was tempted to curl up in the soft pine needles and rest, but his pursuers were too close. He couldn’t rest until long after dark, and that was still hours and hours away. He was about to resume his run when he was stunned into inaction. In his mind, he heard Dakota’s voice.

‘Cawnew?’

It couldn’t be. How could Dakota be talking to his mind? He wasn’t a wolf shifter; he was human. And how did he know Danny’s mispronunciation of Connor’s name? His mind was playing tricks on him; this wasn’t real. He had almost convinced himself of this when he heard it again.

‘Cawnew? Can you hear me? My name is Dakota. Please don’t run.’

Connor’s last thread of hope caused him to reply. ‘Dakota? Is it really you?’

*******************************************************************

When he called out, Dakota had heard the wolf stop pacing. He waited a moment, hoping beyond hope for a reply. When none came, he tried again.

“Cawnew? Can you hear me? My name is Dakota. Please don’t run.’

He considered rushing into the thicket, hoping to catch the wolf off guard when he heard the reply.

‘Dakota? Is it really you?’

Dakota recognized that voice from somewhere, but he couldn’t place it. Rather than dwell on it, he rejoiced in having received a reply.

‘Can I come into the thicket? I promise I’m not here to hurt you.’

The silence stretched so long that Dakota was worried the wolf had taken advantage of their conversation to sneak away. Finally, he heard the reply.

‘You can come in, but don’t come too close.’

Dakota hesitated, uncertain if he had misunderstood. Finally, he mustered the courage, lifting his paws to creep silently into the thicket. There, ten feet away, was a midnight black wolf, towering six feet at the shoulders. As the tip of his tail cleared the brush, Dakota froze. The pull of the wolf’s scent was almost overpowering, yet he knew a single step closer might send the creature fleeing into the shadows.

*******************************************************************

Connor wasn’t sure where Dakota was but assumed he would be approaching from the north. As such, Connor placed himself in the southernmost part of the small clearing, prepared to flee if things didn’t go well. He was impressed that the young Indian boy could have kept up with his running and even more impressed that he was now stalking as stealthy as a panther through extremely thick brush.

Connor waited, watching the edge of the clearing for any movement that would betray Dakota’s approach and allow him to adjust his position, so he was as far from the boy as possible. At the last second, he caught that same alluring scent he had detected at the house. He turned his gaze to the source of the scent and was stunned when the brush parted. Instead of the attractive teen boy he’d fantasized about many recent evenings, a large black panther flowed into the open space and stopped.

‘Dakota? I thought you were Dakota Two Guns. You smell like him, but he’s a human boy. Who are you?’

‘I am Dakota Two Guns, and I’m not a human boy. I’m a shifter, like you, but not like you.’

‘How do you know what my son calls me, and why are you using that and not my name?’

Dakota hung his head, ashamed that he did not know this boy’s real name. He decided that honesty was best in this unusual situation. ‘I don’t know your name. All I know is that the boy at the house called you Cawnew. How do you know my name?’

Connor wasn’t sure he could trust what the panther had said, but there was no doubt in his mind that this panther had the same incredibly alluring scent he had detected earlier from Dakota just before his world had come crashing down. He decided to trust his nose.

‘We met last month at The Last Stand Boy’s Ranch in South Dakota. And my name is Connor; Danny can’t say it right.’

Dakota was dumbfounded. This wolf was the small, young boy he had been so attracted to in the classes? How on earth had he ended up in Montana? When he saw him at the ranch, Connor looked like he was eleven years old. Last night, in the shadows, he seemed to be much older than that, almost older than Dakota even. Dakota knew he needed to take a bold step to break this stalemate, but he feared he would spook the boy. He decided that fortune favors the bold.

‘Connor, I’m going to shift so you can see that it’s really me, ok? Please don’t run.’

Getting no reply, but seeing no movement from the wolf, Dakota quickly shifted into his human form. He had barely stood up when he was knocked onto his backside by the huge black wolf who proceeded to lick him all over. He struggled to sit up, then wrapped his arms around the wolf’s neck, caressing his back and shoulders.

“See? I told you it was me. How in the world did you end up in Montana? And you’re a wolf? I have so many questions.”

Connor struggled to reign in his excitement as he danced around Dakota, licking his face, neck, and hands. Dakota’s touch had a unique calming effect, and soon, Connor simply lay down in the boy’s lap.

‘It is you; you really are Dakota! I never dreamed I’d see you again.’ Connor stopped his rapid-fire conversation as he stared at Dakota. ‘Stupid me, it’s not like you can hear me like this.’

Connor was stunned when Dakota laughed and said, “But I can hear you, and you’re far from stupid. It might be easier if you shift to human, though.”

Connor hung his head and whined. ‘I can’t shift back. Seeing you this morning made me panic, and I did an emotional shift. I don’t know how to shift out of one of those.’

Dakota gently grabbed the underside of Connor’s muzzle and lifted it so they could look eye to eye. “Have you tried?” Connor’s whine gave him the answer. “Well, how about you give it a try? If it doesn’t work, I’ll shift, and we’ll go back to the ranch so Shamus can help you.”

Dakota was shocked when Connor pulled away and cowered at the far edge of the clearing. ‘I can’t go back, ever. I’ve shamed him and made a fool of myself. And I shifted in front of humans. I’ve put them all at risk.’

Dakota got to his knees and reached out to Connor. “No, baby, no. You haven’t shamed anyone. And the only humans there this morning already know about us, so no one’s at risk, honest.”

Connor lifted his head and looked into Dakota’s eyes. ‘But I ran; they probably think I’m a coward.’

Dakota shook his head. “They think you were startled and upset, not scared. But if you can’t stay there, you can stay with me.”

Connor’s ears perked up. ‘Really? You’d want me to be with you?’

Dakota took a risk. He laughed and said, “Come here, you mangy mutt.” When Connor stepped forward, Dakota stroked his neck. “Of course, I want you to be with me. Don’t you remember declaring that I’m your mate?”

Connor froze. ‘I… I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry.’

“Don’t say you’re sorry; I’m not. I didn’t understand why I was drawn to you that day at the ranch. I wish I had pursued it then, but you seemed so young I… Well, we’ll figure out what to do about the age somehow. Anyway, your scent does things to me that I can’t understand. It’s like I can’t resist it.”

Dakota was stunned when he suddenly found himself face to face with an older version of the boy he’d met at Last Stand Ranch. He was further stunned when this older version leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips. He recovered and wrapped his arms around Connor while enthusiastically returning his kiss.