Shifters Pen

29

I had lizards in my jacket pockets. Little, blue tailed lizards. Riding the bus to Amarillo was so hard. Luke was fine. But my back ached, and the baby was not happy. Then some old woman started eyeing me. I didn’t want to talk to her. But nothing like an aisle was going to stop her.
  “When are you due?”
  “The 15th.”
  She pinched her lips together and nodded. “Walking will help your back a little.”
  I knew that. “But it’s weird walking on the bus.”
  She looked up and down the aisle at the men, women, and children seated there. “Ain’t no one gonna care if you stretch out those legs and back muscles a bit. This bus don’t stop for 3 more hours. I do this trip every couple months. I’m betting that that little boy over there will be running up and down this aisle in half an hour. That old man is about to burst and will be making his way to the bathroom in the back soon. Go on. You won’t be the only one outta their seat.”
  Luke nudged me, “Go ahead. I’ll hold your jacket for a bit.”
  I carefully handed my jacket to him. It held 4 skinwalkers. I didn’t want to jostle them too much. Not happy about taking orders from an old lady I stood and walked the aisle a few times. But my back did feel better. And that woman was right, other people were soon up and going to the bathroom or kids dashing down the aisle.
  I thanked her when I sat down. She shrugged. “I worked as a labor and delivery nurse for 30 years. Loved it. I have seen so many women at your stage. They get to riding on long trips or bumpy roads and get false labor. Now and then it would go into full on labor. I doubt you want that on I-40. It’s no fun.”
  I swallowed. “No, I don’t want that. Not until we get home.” I made sure to get up every half hour to 45 minutes and walk just a bit after that.
  Amarillo finally arrived. The bus stopped and I let others get off first, not wanting to get jostled. Luke pointed out the window to a guy holding a sign that read Windswept ranch on it. We had no luggage. Watching bags of clothing and personal care items being pulled down and out from under the bus I felt like I wasn’t ready for anything.
  Luke kissed my temple, “It’s gonna be fine. We got this.” He led the way off the bus, and headed straight for the man holding the sign.
  He smelled like a werewolf, and nodded when he saw us. “Luke and Lucy? Where are the other 4?”
  I smiled, feeling the lizards shift a bit. “They are here.”
  He didn’t really understand, but cleared his throat. “I’m John. My dad sent me to get you. Did you have any luggage?” His eyes were looking at the swiftly emptying luggage rack.
  Luke said, “Your dad didn’t tell you anything about us, did he?”
  The young man shook his head no. “Just that there were gonna be 6 people. Two joining the pack.”
  I said, “We are coming with nothing but the clothes on our back.”
  He blinked, and nodded, “Oh. Well, uhm, follow me. Uh, your friends?” His eyes were sweeping for people.
  I felt lizards leaving my pocket and scurrying down the back of my pants. A moment later Che appeared. He smiled at the young werewolf, “Hello.” Then the other three swiftly showed themselves. All that John knew was that they hadn’t set foot off the bus. He was trying to figure it out. I felt bad for him, and whispered in his ear, “Skinwalkers can turn into any animal.”
  He nodded, “Well that’s good. My truck will only hold 5 people in the cab.”
  Che said, “We just spent 5 hours as lizards. Lucy gets shotgun. I’m taking a seat. I don’t do sliding around as a dog anymore in the back.”
  The skinwalkers were less than pleased. Luke grimaced, “Once we are out of town I will take the back and one of you guys can have my seat.”
  We loaded into a king cab truck and headed out of town. After 2 hours we turned down a dirt road. John was driving on it like he was on a race track. It hurt.
  Che scolded him, “What the hell do you think you are doing young man? You want to throw her into labor? You slow down!”
  He slowed down, “Can that really cause a lady to go into labor?”
  “Yes!” the skinwalkers answered.
  The young man growled. “It’s gonna take a while to get there then.”
  Over 2 hours went by as we crawled over a washboard road, passing horses and cows occasionally. Finally we drove through a gate. Men stood to either side of it. I heard Luke’s thoughts in my mind, “This is it. No matter what they do to me stay calm and composed.”
  Homes started to appear here and there. People were curiously sniffing towards the truck. Some were making phonecalls and hurrying off somewhere.
  I knew this was an initiation. I had seen enough of them in prison. I knew they were violent, painful things. Did I want to see Luke get hurt? No. Did I have a choice? No. I was nervous as the homes started coming closer together and we hit a paved road. On the pavement John smiled and headed past buildings that were not homes. Shops maybe?
  John said, “You’ll get the full tour soon enough. For now though we are headed for the exercise grounds. We have an indoor gym, but the exercise grounds are where we plan on getting bloody.”
  They plan on getting bloody. They have an entire area where they plan on getting bloody? What the fuck? Even the skinwalkers were not too sure about this. Were we just going to get slaughtered?
  But no. He turned a corner and there was a large dirt lot with rodeo style stadium seats. All that was missing was the bull pens. Che asked exactly what I was thinking, “You ever have rodeos here?”
  John grinned, “So you know what a rodeo is. Yeah, we do that. I’m into the broncs myself.”
  Tl’izi smiled, “In my younger days I almost made it to the top of the region riding bulls. I was the best in New Mexico.”
  John was curious, “What happened?”
  “Life. I got drafted for ‘Nam, came home fucked up, was saved by the shaman.”
  John was wowed, “You served in ‘Nam? Wow. Well thank you for your service.”
  Benny shook his head, “We had to serve. Had no choice in it. You want to hero worship someone you bow down and kiss Che’s boots. He was a code talker in WWII. He signed up to go.”
  John stopped the truck and jumped out, opening the door for Che. Che stared at the young man, “Were you raised in a barn? There is a pregnant woman on the other side of this truck and you came to get my door?”
  Luke was laughing. “I got her Che. Cut the kid some slack. He’s driven all day long.”
  Luke was sunburnt and looked sore from riding in the back. People were gathering around to meet us. “You look like a lobster. Here, let me help you.” I ran my hand over hi sunburned face and it healed. People gasped. “I thought other lunas could heal.”
  In my mind he answered, “Not all lunas are intended mates, and so they don’t have that power at all. Further, only the red wolves can do it completely on the first try.”
  “Oh.” I worked on his neck and hands. “Better.”
  “I don’t know why you bothered babe. I’m just going to get my ass kicked.”
  A familiar voice spoke, “He knows what’s comin’ to him.” It was Alpha Jordan. His Luna stood beside him. She had watched me with a bit of envy. “How was your trip?”
  Luke, Che, and I shared a look. “Long.”
  John was still really impressed with Che, “Dad, he served in WWII as a codetalker.”
  Alpha Jordan also looked at his son like he was retarded. “He also served in Shifters Pen with these two for doing something he shouldn’ta.”
  The other skinwalkers hissed in displeasure, but Che held his hand up to stop them from doing anything. “The Alpha is right. I deserved to be there, but we are all here with a job to do. You get paid when it’s done, and not before. Behave yourselves.” And just like in Shifters Pen all of the skinwalkers deferred to him.
  Alpha Jordan led the way to the dirt field. “Luke, to join the pack you will face off against our best warriors. You stand as long as you can, and we will evaluate if you can enter.”
  Luke nodded, “Any other rules?”
  “Nope.”
  A circle formed around Luke. Che held my hand in comfort as the first man stepped forward to fight Luke. I was nervous. What would we do if they found him wanting? Clouds started gathering. Che ran a hand down my arm, “Breathe She’ma.”
  The man got one hit in on Luke before Luke dodged and wove, and did a combo of hits and kicks on him. The man went down. He was removed as another man was sent in. He was slightly larger. He went down just as fast though.
  Che was grinning, he whispered in my ear, “None of these have ever seen a vampire, lycan, or wendigo. Your mate was the alpha of Shifters Pen.”
  I smiled, and the clouds rolled away. Che was right. My mate was going to be fine. After about 5 men being taken down easily by Luke the alpha started sending in pairs of men. I still wasn’t worried. Now and then a man would get a hit in, but it never phased him.
  They started sending in men by threes and fours. A dark haired girl beside me watched with her jaw dropped, “Moon above! Look at that! How long can he go?”
  Che peered around me, and grinned, “For her? For however long it takes, and then some.”
  I blushed a bit.
  “Jeremiah! You are in.”
  A gigantic man, who could only be the beta of this pack, stepped in. I knew it. Che knew it. Luke knew it. This was the last man Luke would be facing. Some of the people from the crowd were snickering as Luke looked up at the muscled man. Luke wasn’t worried about him.
  They faced each other, Luke dropped his fists and gave a Command, “Hit me.” Jeremiah shook his head, obviously not used to getting commanded by another alpha. Luke did it again, “HIT ME!” And Jeremiah did as he was commanded. Luke didn’t even try to defend himself. He took hit after hit. “You are no fucking Nostradamus! You are not Christopher Hawthorne!” Luke was bloodied, broken, and bruised, but he did not go down, eyes watching me all the while.
  Alpha Jordan finally called it off, “Jeremiah stop.” The big man stopped, staring at Luke like he was crazy.
  “Dude, who the fuck is Nostradamus?” Jeremiah asked as I hurried forward.
  Blood ran down his face. But he wouldn't let me touch him. He looked at Alpha Jordan, “Is there more?”
  “You and Lucy are in. Go get cleaned up. See the healers. Luna Paula will show you the way.”
  Luke spoke in my mind, “Let them carry me off. You can heal me in their clinic.”
  I whimpered, not liking to see him this way. Two men came and carried him off. The luna took me by the arm, “Come on. He will be fine.”
  The clinic was very close by. They knew people were going to be hurt here. Men that Luke had beat up were already in the waiting room. They smiled to see him being carried by, but not seeing Jeremiah. They probably thought their beta beat the crap out of him in a normal way. They didn't know he had commanded him to beat him.
  Paula said, “This is where you will be working.” Her eyes traveled to my belly, “And other things.” I was introduced to a girl who worked at the desk, registering hurt men. She was busy. Luke was taken directly back, past men who were less injured than he was.
  A nurse popped out from a door and called the name of a man with a broken nose. “Can I go back with Luke?” I could heal him faster than the doctors could.
  “Once we get things stabilized a bit.” Her eyes roamed the room. “It might be a while.”
  Luna Paula sighed, “I suppose we could go get you settled in the Pack house for now. John said something about your friend serving in the military? Where did you go?”
  Che closed his eyes in memory, “I don’t really like to talk about it. I will just say it was in the South Pacific.”
  Her brow raised.
  My bladder was about to explode. I found a restroom and came out feeling much better. Luna Paula was asking all sorts of questions she had no place asking when I came out. “So, do you guys smoke peyote?”
  I frowned at her, “Luna Paula, these are not your average members of the Native American Church. I assure you that if they do use peyote, in any form, it is most certainly not for recreation.” A man's nose was dribbling blood in the chair beside mine. “Here, let me just fix this for you so you can go home.” I ran a finger down his nose and it popped back into place.
  “Holy crap! How did you do that?”
  Che just smiled, “She's not your average healer.”
  Screw this. I wanted to see my mate sooner. If healing a few men would get me back to him sooner then so be it. I popped my neck and went to one man after another in the waiting room, healing black eyes, busted heads, broken ribs and noses. Che didn't bat an eye at this. He'd seen me in action before after riots and fights. The other three skinwalkers were blown away. The werewolves of the Windswept pack were amazed.
  The registration girl popped into the back of the clinic for a bit. A nurse came back out and took me back to my mate. He was in braces and had fluids going into him. There were stitches in a couple places. I leaned over him, “Hon, you look like Frankenstein.”
  He smiled softly with a busted lip. I ran my thumb over it, and then his face. Healed, I kissed him softly. “Thank you.”
  I laughed, “Me? Look at you, and you are thanking me? God, just hold still. I'll get the rest of you soon enough.” I ran my hands over his arms and torso. It was tempting to tease him, but he was hurting. I took care of my mate. The only thing I didn't mess with was the IV.
  A doctor came in. He frowned, “What happened to all my patients?”
  I grinned sheepishly, “You got the afternoon off?”
  He started removing braces, smiling. “My name's Bernie. I hear we are going to be working together.”
  “That’s what I hear too, though I must confess that I have no professional training at all.”
  He shrugged, “We will teach you. So, do you mind if I do an exam on you tomorrow? You look really tired.”
  Bernie disconnected Luke from the IV and invited me to stop by anytime tomorrow. I found I was tired. It was late, I hadn't had dinner, and I had been on the road most of the day.
  Luna Paula led us to the packhouse. She should've just called it an enormous mansion. Inside it was decorated like a rustic cabin or lodge, but there were signs of wealth here and there. Deer antlers hung next to a grand painting. A rustic coffee pot sat beside, “No way! Is that a real faberge egg?”
  Paula glowed with pride, “My great great grandmother brought it with her when she came to America.”
  “That is so cool! The closest I ever got to that was wandering the San Francisco Music Box Company store in the mall. It was one of my favorite stops with my mom.”
  Paula didn't mean anything by it, but it hurt when she said, “Maybe she can enjoy it when you have the baby. When will she visit you think?”
  My head hung. I couldn’t seem to clear the knot in my throat. Luke said, “Her mother passed away recently, and her father.”
  The luna took a deep breath, “I am so sorry. But you are part of a pack now. We will be there.” The woman still looked horrified. She led us to a kitchen. “There’s always leftovers in that fridge. The good microwave is above the stove. Plates and bowls are over there. Cups there. Silverware. Help yourselves to anything. I will be right back.”
  Where was she going? I didn't care. I opened the fridge and found, “Soup, pasta, chili? What sounds good?”
  We sat down with soup and pasta. All 6 of us were tired. Che said, “I forgot how flat Texas was.”
  Benny said, “And blonde.”
  This was a shameless joke that had the skinwalkers laughing. I could tell they were nervous. They hadn’t exactly been received warmly. Honestly it made me a little nervous too.
  Paula came back. “I have some rooms situated for you.” She led us upstairs, “Gents the rooms off to the right are usually reserved for younger warriors before a cattle drive. The last 4 are all yours. Lucy, Luke your rooms are going to be one floor more up. That's where we keep mated couples who are visiting. Or in your case until you are assigned more permanent housing.”
  We all frowned at this. It felt like a trap, a set up. “But what if I need Che in the night, or one of the others?”
  Paula thought this was silly, “What could you possibly need him for in the night?”
  Luke spoke softly, “Paula, Luna, I will sleep on the floor, but please don't separate them at this time. On her stressful days she tends to have nightmares at night, and shift into things. We gotta be really careful about that because of the baby. If she shifts into a wolf it's okay. Sometimes bloody, depending on how the dream goes. If she shifts into a bird it could kill her and the baby. If she shifts into a bear-”
  “Does that actually happen?”
  Benny spoke, “It happened to me for years. I practice relaxation techniques, but Luke is right. She's been through a lot and should have at least one or two mentors to keep an eye on her. If we sense she is changing we can wake her, or guide her into a safer animal.”
  Paula asked, “Like a wolf?”
  Che shook his head no. “A horse, elk.”
  “Maria,” Tl'isi teased.
  Che glared at him, “You leave my wife outta this. We all know she's meaner than a momma bear.”
  I bit back a smile. He adored his wife, and told me many fond memories of her. They were right about my nightmares though.
  Luna Paula escorted us to the end of the hall and stopped at the 5th door, debating something. Then she grimaced and went ahead and knocked on it. A young man opened the door stark naked. “What? It's late Luna. Them horses don't need water for a bit.” His eyes found me. He still didn't attempt to cover up. “Why-?”
  She stopped him, “Can they use your room tonight? Just until I can figure out better accommodations for them.”
  The man scrunched his forehead like she was insane. “Luna I don't-”
  She growled at him, “I am very aware of how you practice naturalism. That could come in handy tonight. Now, go stay with Jessup or John.”
  He grumbled, “One second. Gotta put on clothes.” A minute later he shoved passed her in a pair of jeans and a cotton t-shirt.
  The Luna indicated his room. What was naturalism? Inside the floor was bare. There was a nest, not a bed. Bones were gnawed on in one corner. The only sign that a person lived here was the closet with clothing in it.
  “This dude is weird. Che, are you gonna be okay?” I asked. But Che had already turned into a spider and was going up the wall to get cozy in a corner. Luke let me take the nest. “It smells funky.” I didn't want to name the scent. I didn't want to think about it. Luke took the floor right beside me.