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"Among my mother's people," I said loud enough for both Sister and my spread out audience of wolves to hear, "the wolf dance is a war dance. Each tribe has its own meaning for the wolf dance. For us now, it holds two meanings. First and foremost, is the defense of our values."
I smiled at her, wishing that telepathic pack link from her stories was a real thing. She would be able to feel without a doubt how proud I was of her and how much I loved her.
"Like my father before me, I would not hesitate going to war to protect a woman and to keep her from getting raped. And as you have so passionately pointed out, having a werewolf force his bite upon you is, in many ways, like rape. It is an assault on your person that affects the very core of your being. It is a physical invasion with long-lasting effects. It is something that should never be done without someone's permission!"
I looked away from her across the sea of gathered werewolves. Like earlier, the ones who deserved some personal attention were easy to spot from their nervous pacing or their submissive demeanor.
When I looked back at Sister, she nodded knowingly, giving me a small smile while she sniffled back her tears.
"By defending our values, I am also protecting the earthly portion of Spirit Wolf's pack to the best of my ability. Sister, I have seen the difference between someone who was forcibly bitten and mistreated, like Lone Wolf..."
Sister looked to the giant wolf, her eyes questioning, waiting for his nod before turning her attention back to me.
..."and someone like you who desired it with all her heart. My mother loved being a wolf, and would show me how she saw the world through wolf eyes. She taught me to appreciate what I was born with and not to take it for granted. For her, everything to do with being one with the wolf was beautiful and needed to be celebrated."
I smiled down at Sister, knowing how much she would have learned from my mother, had my mother lived and Sister been strong enough to survive changing.
That," I said, "is the second part of our wolf dance. Our wolf dance won't be exactly like it is for my mother's people, it will be ours. The second part is a natural result of the first part. Understand? To fight for what is right leads to the celebration for all, as our life as both man and wolf."
Sister looked troubled but nodded.
"What?" I asked gently.
"How do you celebrate the best part when there is so much pain for so many of them?" she asked.
"Ah, Sister! How do you celebrate your passion for life when you are dying of cancer?"
"By living! And writing about what I love," she added thoughtfully.
"So...," I grinned at her, mischief in my eyes.
She looked at me with a matching grin.
"We dance," I said. "We dance to express our intolerance for that which causes pain and heartache that can be avoided. The truth, Sister," and I took her hands like I did in her bedroom that time, "is that you cannot live and avoid pain and heartache."
"But that doesn't mean you have to cause it!"
"Which is why our dance is a war dance, to be willing to fight those who purposely cause suffering."
"And the part about celebrating life?" she asked dubiously, still upset.
"Come, you will see."
I moved around the fire slowly, feet making the double beat of our rhythm. Once she basically had that, I moved my arms up. She went to copy me and I stopped her.
"That isn't how we dance, Sister,"I chided gently. I wanted her to be able to express her emotions, which wouldn't happen if all she did was copy me. I knew her love for these wolves would find its way out in her dance. "Every movement has meaning, whether I reach for the heavens, or stretch toward the ground. Sometimes people choreograph a routine for show. Our dance isn't for show. My dance is mine, yours belongs solely to you. Together, they become our dance.
"A war dance can include fighting moves, it implores the spirits for aid and strength. We know that retaliation is a possibility, and consider our cause worth that risk. And we sing," I told her, giving her another outlet for self expression, "from the depth of our soul, the truth of our being, and about what we will fight for."
This time I nodded to Running Elk, my one hand flat and low. He worked his phone, and the sound of rattles started. I started to move. Sister watched for a moment. I could almost feel her becoming an alpha when she started to move.
The drums started, quietly at first, then slowly increasing in volume. I started to sing.
My song was in my mother's language at first. I sang to Spirit Wolf as my arms reached up. My feet kept the rhythm. I sang of Sister's passion as sure as bedrock as my hands swept above the surface of the ground. I sang of her nation, which she dedicated to Spirit Wolf, as my arms encompassed all the wolves our micro-nation could reach. My hands moved toward my heart, then reaching out toward the world, as I sang of the wolves only Spirit Wolf could reach.
Sister suddenly howled as she moved and her howl turned into words. "It isn't fair!" she yelled to the sky, fists shaking high.
"I can't be what I want to be! I'll never run on four legs!" Her cry held all of her anguish, but her feet didn't stop moving. Her hands moved toward her heart. Her frustration found its way out in the stomping of her feet. "But I am all that I am!" Her words were fierce and jubilant. "I'm not defined by what happens to me!" Her head was thrown back and her arms were wide.
"I AM WOLF," she yelled out, "AND A WOLF PROTECTS ITS OWN! I will protect my pack!
She held still suddenly, and I stopped. She looked at me, glaring, but it wasn't directed at me.
"I defy anyone to challenge what I am!" she yelled out across the expanse of gathered wolves.
It was Old Grey, still by the fire, who started it. He stood, his seamless transition taking mere moments.
"You are wolf," he said before melting back to wolf, nodding to her with his snout.
Cherokee was next. "You are wolf."
Again and again the words "You are wolf" were called out as wolves shifted to man, each affirming her identity as a wolf. I went over to her, holding her, the men calling out, the drums still beating, if quieter, from Running Elk's phone.
"My Sister," I said quietly in her ear, "queen of the wolves. Luna of our pack."
She looked up at me, questioning my sincerity.
I gave her a respectful nod, bowing my head to her slightly. I could feel the tension leave her as she sunk into my side. She had had enough for tonight. I guided her to the burlap sack so she wasn't sitting on the ground.
Mac came over as Lucian put more wood on the fire. Mac picked her up and sat down while holding her, settling her in his lap. Anna had come back down and put a blanket over Sister, holding a water bottle for her and sitting down next to her. Lone Wolf sat on her other side, his head over her leg.
Sister snuggled down, then sat up, putting her head under Mac's, resettling herself. When Mac tried to move her, I motioned to him not to.
"Brother understands, Mac. See, I'm protecting you. You're one of the few humans here, and you aren't Brother's actual family. But," she said, craning her neck around to look him in the face, "you're our family because you're part of our wolfpack. You're going to make a great wolf someday." Then she snuggled in so her head was under his chin.
"I don't plan on being some damn wolf, Lil Sis, and as for protecting..."
"But that's how a she-wolf will protect..." I stopped. I was not going to say mate. "Look it up later," I finished lamely.
Sister laughed at me.
"Brother, you need to keep dancing. Dance as the Alpha King!"
I leaned down and kissed her cheek since I couldn't get to the top of her head. I moved off, my feet finding the rhythm on their own. The sound of drums increased. I looked out upon the gathered wolves. Mine, I thought, my pack, my responsibility. I felt the connection to them, the leaders, the abused ones, the ones that resented being made wolf in the first place.
I felt it when I shifted, the musk of an alpha coming out of me. My feet moved me further out into the gathering, half man, half wolf. My sides were brushing against the trees, leaving my scent everywhere. My hands reaching out to stroke the wolves as my feet continued to keep the beat. Few dared to evade my touch.
I sang. My words were deep throated sounds, human language mixed with wolf sounds. My feet moved, gliding over the rough ground. I seemed to find the wolves that would cower before me, their pack members looking at me with hope. I felt Spirit Wolf merging with me.
MY WOLVES!
I couldn't tell if it was me or Spirit Wolf who growled the words, all wolf sounds from a half-human throat.
There were more men in the woods than wolves now, some staying in their small groups. Many were still watching me, and I could hear their many questions as they whispered among themselves as I danced.
I went past Max, my arm sliding along his shoulders. He had taken over Mac's job of passing out shorts to the wolves that needed them. His two men stayed by his side, exposing their necks to me.
Cherokee was the first to join my dance, dad joining shortly after but staying close to Running Elk and Anna. The Arctic Clan joined me, as did Lobo.
I made my way to the man who had been a chained wolf. I guided him into the dance, nodding at the question in his eyes.
"NO CHAINS!" He yelled, then kept muttering "no chains, never anymore chains," again and again as he moved.
Lone Wolf got up and joined us, his giant wolf prancing, growling and yowling. When he walked back over to Sister he seemed satisfied, huffing as he plopped back down next to Mac.
"Yeah, Bro, same for me," Mac said, also seeming content for now.
My dance changed. I was wolf and I was man. I moved and shifted, front paws in the air, back paws on the ground, mostly wolf legs moving to keep the rhythm. I knew my shifting to be as seamless as Old Grey's.
As I danced among the gathered wolves, I became familiar with their scents, knowing which were the alphas, which lived in fear. I encouraged them to join me as the sound of the drums reverberated in me. Many did, even if they weren't sure what to do.
Wolf reached up, man hands stretched along the sky. Man reached low, four paws keeping the beat as the wolf I was danced, displaying the truth of my being for all who had gathered to see.
I know my shifting dumbfounded some, shocked others. There were whispers of my being born a wolf, something some thought was only legend. I heard Max answer some of them as he handed out shorts, telling the gathering how I was descended from both man and wolf, being both royal and noble born. He explained the terms, and I growled slightly when he bragged of being royal himself, but in truth I couldn't blame him.
My dance ended where it started, by the fire, in front of Sister. I had shifted so much, so caught up in my dance, pouring out my soul, I had lost track of how much of me was what, and I didn't care.
I was everything. I was man and I was wolf. I was connected to Spirit Wolf. My brain was processing both wolf senses and instincts, and man-thoughts and emotions. I knew that what I was in this moment is what Sister pictured when she spoke of me being the Alpha King. All I could do was look at her, my chest heaving from my exertions.
"It was beautiful Brother. You're beautiful! You know it isn't finished if you don't go hunting now!"
I nodded. "Be gone day, two?"
My voice was rough, my thoughts not wanting to focus. The wolf in me was ready to hunt, wanting the feel of blood in my throat from my kill! The desire to lead my pack in a hunt was so strong it was almost overpowering. I would teach these wolves!
"That's ok, as long as Mom won't worry."
"Nah, we'll chat with her on and off. She'll know you're good," interjected Mac.
Sister nodded, sleep starting to work it's magic on her.
"Go hunt Brother, bring me back breakfast, or dinner...just..not the way wolves bring things back, ya know?"
I laughed as Mac asked how wolves would carry a meal to someone. I'd leave Sister to further his education. I wrapped my arm around the wolf that had been chained.
"Come hunt with me."
"I can't be wolf again, how do I know I won't get stuck again..."
I turned his head toward Sister. "Are not her arms enough of a guarantee? You have much to learn. Family is your anchor. To know you need both man and wolf to survive is the key."
I spoke louder then, calling out to all the wolves. "Come! All who would hunt with me! Tonight we run as true wolves!"
Sister let out an excited whooping holler, smiling at me despite the exhaustion that was settling in. I truly wished she had the strength to join us in our hunt.
I nodded to her, already on four legs, howling my promise of a successful hunt in her name out across the deepening night.