Wolf's Bane Read Free Page A

change.  For the better or worse, however, I couldn’t know.
    We dressed, just blue jeans, t-shirts and such, and then invited Violet and her assistant inside.  Edie too.  She wasn’t a shifter but she was caught up in all of this along with Yeager and me.  She was one of the few people that knew about us, about our ability to become wolves and that we were mated.  Edie and Agnes sat at the dinette while Yeager and I sat on the ratty built-in sofa covered with an Indian blanket.  Violet chose to stand as we talked.
    “Thank you for hearing me out.  Our kind must stick together if we are to survive,” Violet told us.
    “How many of our kind are there.  Do you know?” Yeager asked.
    “Tens of thousands, maybe more.  Many reside in Eastern Europe, where our kind was born, but since the new world was discovered and now with modern transportation, our kind has spread.  Some have become isolated.  You, for instance, Yeager,” The woman explained.
    “Isolated?” I wondered.
    “Isolated from other shifters.  We have always been a loosely organized lot.  We live in packs without any centralized leadership.  But we, like the rest of the world, have learned to act more civilized over the centuries.  The various packs cooperate, those that know of one another.  Others are cut off from the larger community in smaller groups. Even you two associate with other shifters.  It makes sense to associate with your own kind, does it not?” Violet told us.
    “I suppose it does,” Yeager admitted.  He rubbed his bearded chin gathering his thoughts but his question was not subtle or thoughtful.  “So why have you really come?” he demanded with a soft voice but the edge it held was unmistakable.
    “You get right to the point, don’t you?  I know what Dolan and his pack did and that you, both of you, eliminated him.  He worked for me, though I am ashamed to admit it.  There are realities that must be dealt with and those like Dolan are an effective tool.  His actions towards you, Cassie, I do not condone, however,” Violet said by way of apology.
    “What of my mother?” I asked pointedly.  If Yeager could cut to the chase, so could I.
    “Child, I don’t know.  I know Dolan’s claims and I believe them but his father was a rogue.  So was Dolan for that matter until I tamed him with money.  He was a means to an end.  I’m sorry I can’t reveal more,” Violet said.  I wondered if her choice of words were unintentional or not.  Did she really not know or was she unable or unwilling to reveal what she knew.  I chose to take her at her word.
    “So, you still haven’t answered my mate’s question, Lady Violet.  Why are you here?” I prodded.  Violet smiled that practiced, disarming smile.  The same kind you’d get from politicians and used car salesmen.
    “I want to bring you into the fold.  My pack, or rather a collection of packs choosing to live as one, resides in Colorado.  Wolfsbane Ranch is thousands of acres of meadows, streams, forests and valleys in the Rocky Mountains.  It’s named after the flowers that grow there but it’s rather fitting, wolfsbane, isn’t it?  There we gather and live as our kind deserves, free and with dignity.  I want you to join us, Cassie.  You and Yeager.  Edie as well, if she wishes.  You are correct in part, there are few female shifters so many human women join their mates,” Violet told us but she had more to reveal.
    “We must protect the females of our kind.  They are our future.  But you, child, you are special.  You were born of a human mother.  That is rare thing, child, if not unheard of.  You could be the key to our survival,” Violet said.  I found her story a bit unnerving.  I didn’t want to be some kind of savoir.  I just wanted to be me.
    “I’m not sure I want to go to Colorado.  I love living here with Yeager.  We live here on our terms and I’ve come to cherish that,” I told Lady