"Haha! Keep up Lappland or we'll be late!"
"Coming! Coming! Sheesh, just let me grab my coat!"
It had been two years since Lappland had come to live in the Texas household, and Texas's parents were still none the wiser. The two Lupus girls were dressed up in thick coats and fluffy pants, perfect for the freezing weather. Winter was coming full force. The leaves fell off the trees into shriveled piles. The garden out front was in a state of frigid decay as she breathed in the crisp morning air. Like usual, her parents were out at another boring business meeting. Being on a break from school work now was the perfect time for her and Lappland to have some fun.
"Well what are you standing around for? Let's get going." Lappland swung an arm around her back, tugging her forward as they traveled down the steps. The servants tossed salt on them earlier this morning, ridding them of the slick quality the ice provided.
"I was waiting for you duh," Texas said.
The two continued their chattering as they made their way into town. Without a disguise all eyes would have been on her and Lappland as they journeyed out of the rich neighborhood. The hoods over their faces solved this problem with ease.
"So, did you finally get the family sword?" Lappland asked.
Texas knew exactly which blade her friend was talking about. The Texas family was known for wielding a particular weapon. It was a golden bronze color, like a hot flame pulled right out of forge. Arts energy flowed through the dual swords. All Texas family members had them —if they were worthy of them that is. Her Gran had a set, as did her Aunt. The same could not be said for Uncle Ontario, but he was always the black sheep of the family. Not born in Columbia, not named a Texas name, wrong fur color, diagnosed with Oripathy. Indeed, there were several reasons why her Father's older brother was never meant to be Alpha.
"Nah, not yet. Dad says I'm not ready for it yet."
"Oh, if you want I could help with that?"
Texas chuckled. "I don't know if we'd get any work done if we practice together." The last time they tried resulted in a tickle fight. She would be lying if she said she had won.
Lappland must've also remembered their little squabble, if her easygoing grin was anything to go by. "Yeah, but we'll be serious this time. Last time you just picked up the blade. Can't be too serious on your first time of anything my Papa used to say."
The white wolf stretched her arms above her head. Lappland was still pale, but not the sickly kind she was back when Texas first found her. Two years of fine dining did that to you. There was a time when Texas imagined Lappland going on her way once she recovered. There was so much danger in the Wild Wolf living in the Texas household, a fear of what would happen if her parents found Lappland. This fear dissipated at some point however, probably because of how integral her friend had become to her lifestyle. Staying together seemed to be the best choice for now anyways, especially now that she knew the truth about Lappland. There was no pack for her to return to in Siracusa.
"Heh. Does this apply to everything or just fighting?"
They were approaching the bazaar now. The winter shops lined the streets with their festive decorations. Holly was strewn on the nets overhead, little red berries of mistletoe hanging down with them. Couples were kissing underneath a few. Texas resisted the urge to gag at the sight of a particularly vulgar French kiss going on between two blonde Lupos. Red and green was consistent on the tents as they came ever closer, rigid poles dug into the ground to keep the set up structures from flying away.
"It was hard to tell with him. I guess he meant everything. He did do the little smug eyebrow thing you say I do whenever I'm doing an innuendo," Lappland gave said smug eyebrow wiggle t her. Texas stifled a giggle by pressing a hand over her mouth. The slap was cold, but she hardly felt it with her own face becoming numb from the chill. Her friend grinned even wider as they entered the bazaar.
Vendors dangled their wares in front of them as they made their way to the center. The same tent was pitched their like it had been the many days before. Every year there was one tent standing out from all the rest. It was a beacon of gold in a sea of red and green. Christmas lights wove around each of the white poles, glittering like little stars. A table was set up underneath, a stack of documents spread out on top. And, of course, sitting behind it was none other than her grandmother.
"Gran! We're here!"
Gran was a lanky figure, old age taking some of the meat off her bones. The elderly lady remained spry however, capable of taking down entire packs with her quick feet and observation. She was the alpha before Texas's Father. "Texas! There you are. And I see you've brought Lappland again."
And out of her whole family, Gran was the only one who knew about Lappland. There was no hiding anything from her. "Hey Gran. Got any meat today?" Texas could feel her own stomach rumble at the thought of the many meat skewers left on the back grill. This stand was meant to be an information hub, but Gran loved to cook too.
"Yes yes. There's some in the back."
"Goody! I'll be right back Tex." Lappland walked around the poles, licking her lips as she went. Texas and Gran stood together for a few moments. Like herself, Gran bore the Texas name. While most alphas in the Texas family would choose to change their name once they were of age she had not.
"So how's business been lately?"
"Oh nothing out of the ordinary, though there's been a large number of Infected showing up around our city borders. Your parents have been trying to get them to leave."
During the coldest months, it was usual for some Infected to try seeking shelter here. But from her understanding, this was a much larger group than usual. And they don't seem to keen on leaving. That was the current concern. Her parents never detailed exactly what was going on, but it was clear by the late nights and dark circles they bore on their faces just how bad things were getting. Texas couldn't recall ever seeing them so stressed.
"How's the negotiation going?" She asked. Gran was good at giving her more information, provided it didn't keep Texas up at night. Something about the melody of the elder wolf's words put her at ease. Her hair was a dark blue with red streaks hiding underneath —alpha marks— a signal of power. Dallas had red at the fringe of his hair, but it was much fainter, like watercolors blending into the page.
Gran took a calming breath. Her bicolored eyes gave nothing away, the hard lines on her face from years of toil and ruling. She had passed down leadership to Dallas right before Texas was born, so she could only hear the tales of what a great alpha Gran had been.
"Not well, but you needn't worry. Dallas and Alice will solve everything. Just wait."
"Okay then."
The awkward silence was broken by Lappland rushing back over. A wide grin was stretched across the planes of her face as something dangled from one raised hand. "Texas! Texas look what I've got!"
Lappland held out two shiny objects. The necklaces were dangling from black strands, silver dog tag like plaques glittered with small inscriptions. From how they were swinging Texas could hardly read the words. In her other hand was the meat skewers they talked about earlier. The juicy scent made her stomach growl as it wafted over to her nose.
"What are these?"
Lappland grabbed her shoulder and pulled her forward, throwing one of the necklaces over the top of her head. Texas felt the necklace slide into place around her neck, the tag shining from the sun. It was easy to read the name on the tag now. Lappland.
"Don't you love it?" Lappland asked. She was wearing the other tag, though the name side was flipped over, hiding the name on it from view.
"Uh, yeah, but why does it say your name?" Texas was perplexed.
Lappland chuckled. "Because I belong to you, and you belong to me. See, my necklace has your name on it." She stared as her friend revealed the name on the other tag. Texas. The name was in all capital letters, just like the one on her own necklace was.
"Oh! That-that's . . ." She hardly knew what to think. There was a warmth pooling in her gut, heart notching up a pace.
Lappland's ears flattened to her skull. For a second she almost looked hurt. "Do you not like it? I-I thought you would like it?"
Something about allowing Lappland to have any doubt terrified her. "Of course I like it! I just didn't expect it is all. What made you think to get these though?"
"Well, we're best friends so I thought . . ." Lappland's face reddened as she ducked her head down. Texas had never seen the other girl so embarrassed before, a shyness there that was unusual for Lappland's confident demeanor. Maybe Gran's unnerving her? The elder Lupus was watching the scene with a faint hint of emotion. She could be terrifying towards her opponents, but once Texas explained that Lappland wouldn't be going anywhere, Gran had gradually let her guard down.
"You don't have to tell me. I think the gifts are just lovely. I think I'll keep it on forever and ever," Texas said.
Gran huffed. "Of course you would, especially since it's a—"
"Mother! I thought I'd find you here."
"Ama, there you are. Find what you were looking for?" Gran greeted the blonde furred Lupus with a nod. Amarillo was the youngest of Dallas's siblings, and looked the most like her father Houston. Grandpa Houston was at home currently, chilling out in one of his cushy chairs in his pristine library. Like Texas, the man wasn't much for socializing.
Blue eyes gained an extra warmth as Amarillo met Texas's gaze. "Oh Texas! There's my favorite niece."
She whined as her aunt reached out to ruffle her hair. "Ah! No, stop! Auntie!" Texas tried to push the offending hand away, but this only seemed to make the hair petting worse.
Lappland came to her rescue, grabbing Amarillo's hand in a fierce grip and abruptly shoving her off. "She doesn't like it so stop!" Texas was surprised by the barking volume in her friend's voice.
"Oh. Sorry then. But who are you exactly? Is this the friend I've heard so much about Texas?"
With the lack of hair petting Texas calmed down, her ears perking up again. "Yeah. This is Lappland. She's my best friend." The words came easily when it came to describing Lappland, especially when they made the white wolf happy. Lappland's tail was wagging, ears swiveling. The anger from earlier had disappeared like a drop of water in an overflowing bucket.
"Oh wonderful. It's nice to meet you . . . Lappland was it?"
"Yes, I'm Lappland. And who are you?" Lappland growled. She was pressed close to Texas, their arms brushing. Even after living in Texas's home in secret for two years there was still something wild about her. Her scent was the same as a forest, the tang of pine sap mixed with wildflowers and fresh grass.
"I'm Amarillo, though most people call me Ama for short."
Texas watched her aunt extend a hand for Lappland to shake, and nearly face palmed when instead of shaking the hand given to her Lappland leaned forward to sniff the outstretched palm carefully. Of all the Wild habits to still have. Texas in no way wanted her friend to change, but she worried about people finding out the truth. Several people would likely not treat Lappland with the same kind of respect Gran and Amarillo were willing to grant. The Hunters in Columbia ranged from peaceable to criminally insane. There was no in between.
"You smell like paint and clay."
Lappland's bland report seemed as good as any time for Amarillo to retract her hand. A confused look was sent Texas's way. She shrugged. What exactly does she want me to say?
"Well, I do pottery in my spare time," Amarillo said with her own caution.
"Hmm, interesting."
"So what've you been up to lately Ama? I haven't seen you in awhile." Texas was quick to change the subject. Don't give her a chance to ponder. Keep conversation going.
The subject change seemed to be just the thing to get rid of the frown on Amarillo's face. "Oh, I've been out on my travels. You wouldn't believe all the different places out there just waiting to be explored. And they all have their own different cultures and food too. Why I remember this one time in Chernobog . . ."
At this point Texas found herself beginning to tune out. When it came to Amarillo's stories they were either a hit or a miss with quality. And besides, she'd already heard this one before. Lappland appeared to be trying to listen, but judging by the glazed over look in her eyes she was finding the story just as boring.
"And then they told me about the many Catastrophes they have there, and I was like "oh the horror" because we never have disasters here in Columbia or in the Texas Pack for that matter."
Gran's expression darkened. "I wouldn't say never."
"This place has had a catastrophe before?" Lappland asked.
"Yes. There's a reason why Ontario wasn't born where he was supposed to be."
"How come I've never heard this story before?" Amarillo asked.
Gran shrugged. "Most people already knew. I just assumed you heard it from your brothers. And it's not a fun story to tell anyways, especially not in front of the pups."
"Please tell us Gran! I wanna know!" Texas begged.
"Oh! I bet it's a really good story if you don't want us to hear it." Lappland hedged. "So you have to tell us then."
"Not true. I wouldn't call it a good story, just a true one. Real tales just don't have the same wonder to them than what can be made up." Gran explained.
"But if they're real that means they actually happened, and what could be more interesting than that." Texas argued.
"Hmm, well said. I'll tell the story, but I'm only saying it once." Texas and Lappland leaned towards the table to hear Gran speak. Amarillo shifted closer behind them, a little bit more on Texas's side than Lappland's. Gran took a deep breath before beginning. "A long time ago, before Oripathy was even discovered, I had just become alpha of the Texas Pack. My Father and your great grandfather Texas, his name was Rockwall, had just came down with a rather nasty cold. There was rumor of an injured Texas wolf out in the woods, and because of his illness he could not go out to look for them. So it was my duty to do so instead, even though I was eight months pregnant at the time. So, Houston and I headed out into the woods together. We didn't bother taking anyone else with us, not when it was just one wolf we were looking for."
"Couldn't you have let another Pack member do the searching if you were so pregnant?" Amarillo asked.
"Did you find this wolf?" Texas asked.
"I bet they were dead," Lappland said.
"Lappland!" Texas elbowed her friend sharply.
"What? It sounds like they might've been found dead. Most wolves raised in the city don't know how to survive in the wilderness," Lappland said this like it was common knowledge.
"That's true, but how would you know that? I doubt your parents would let you out to travel." Amarillo narrowed her gaze in suspicion. Texas could see the resemblance between Gran and Amarillo in moments like these. They both had the same look whenever they were concentrating. From the way Lappland's own expression saddened —likely thinking about her own parents, her own dead parents— Texas could feel a growl of her own bubbling up in the back of her throat.
"It's because her parents do some traveling is all. Lappland's a very worldly person just like you. AND that's ALL there is to it. Got it?"
Amarillo nodded. Gran watched their interaction, hand tapping on the tabletop. The other tents in the surrounding area were still active with other patrons, their chattering voices like bird calls in the background. "To answer your questions, no, I couldn't have let someone else do this job. The missing person was a high ranking member of the Texas Pack, so it required someone who was in charge to go out looking for them. Also, Lappland was right in thinking they were dead. We found Lazlo right before crossing into a Wild Pack's land. He was a mess of blood and a torn open chest cavity. Something feral had hunted him down. And it was clear that he did not die right away either, the blood slowly flowed out of him. No one heard his cries for help."
Texas flinched at the imagery. Who could possibly be so cruel? Savagery in Wild Wolves clearly weren't the case a hundred percent of the time, but this story did paint quite the picture that they were. Lappland pressed closer to Texas, an arm wrapping around her to pull her close. She breathed in Lappland's scent and her heart calmed.
"So then what happened?" Lappland asked.
"Then Catastrophe struck. We had been on our way home, but there was no way we'd be able to safely travel during the chaos. And so we found sanctuary with a Siracusan Pack. All the hustle and craziness brought on early contractions."
"Oh, that makes a lot of sense," Amarillo said. "There was no way to avoid Ontario being born early then."
"No, much to my own chagrin my first child was born outside of our Pack. Tradition says that when a wolf is born outside of their Pack they do not truly belong. He could not be named a Texas name, that much was clear. And so I named him Ontario, after the lake he was born by."
"Interesting. Does Ontario know this story?"
"Yes he does. But he hated hearing about it." Gran shook her head. "He wanted to be the next alpha, but it just wasn't meant to be."
"Probably for the best. Dallas is a great alpha after all, and I'm sure you'll be too Texas." Amarillo gave her an approving nod. Lappland murmured her agreement, the rumble in her chest sending a faint vibration over her own skin. She was glad they had such faith in her, but was it well placed?
****
The walk home was an even colder journey. Crisp air blew the fallen leaves around, the wind chilling right down to the bone. Texas tugged her jacket tighter around her, pushing her head back further into the fluffy hood of her jacket. Lappland acted less bothered by the chill, though her hood was up too.
"Your Grandmother is nice, though I'm not so sure about Amarillo." Lappland commented. Texas could feel the warmth emanating from the white wolf through their joined hands as they swung like a pendulum. The sidewalk stretched on and on as a few cars drove by.
"Eh, she's a bit out there at times, but still pretty nice once you get to know her," Texas said with a shrug.
"Hmm."
"What you thinking about?"
"Oh nothing really. Just about this Uncle of yours. I haven't met him yet, but it sounds like . . ."
"Sounds like what?"
Lappland sighed. "It sounds like he might've been born in my pack."
Texas stopped in place. "You think so? I thought there was multiple packs in Siracusa."
"Well, I wouldn't say multiple. More like three. It's the families that are much greater in number. They were always loosely joined together. Whenever we had Gatherings it would be the full pack, but otherwise it was just the families."
"Oh, cool." The swinging had stopped as the mood in her friend became dismal.
Lappland shook her head as if dismayed by something. "I wish we would've all stayed together at once. Maybe then—" her voice cut off on its own accord, as if there was no way she could continue on. Texas squeezed her friend's arm, hoping the gesture would comfort her.
"I understand, you don't need to explain."
Lappland tipped her head back. The hood slipped off her head, white hair spilling out of the confines. It had been cut the other week, leaving it just below her shoulders. "The elders told me a story once, about helping a young city wolf deliver a child during Catastrophe. Said she named him after a lake. Guess it was Ontario."
"Huh, then I guess our packs have been connected long before either of us were born," Texas said, hoping the news would make her friend at least a little happy.
"Not have been, were. My pack doesn't exist anymore." Lappland told her.
"But didn't you just say that usually everyone wasn't all gathered together. What if—"
"No Texas. They are dead. We were having a Gathering the night the hunters came. All of them, all of them were slaughtered." Lappland's voice became ragged, silent tears trailing out of the corners of her eyes.
"Oh Lappland. I'm so sorry!" She pulled Lappland into a hug, wishing she could absorb some of the pain her friend felt. But she could not. All she could do was hold on tight and hope the pain would dim.
***
"Mama! Dad! You're back!"
Texas was waiting at the front entryway for their return for the past hour now. The servants held conversation with her for a few minutes when she first came down, but after awhile they hurried back to clean the antique tapestries in the gallery room. Lappland was up in her room, reading. Both of them knew she could not be roaming the house when Dallas and Alice returned.
Dallas blinked after her tiredly, his footsteps heavy. There was something different about him that evening. If only she'd known what it was. "Texas. You waited for us? You should be in bed. It's past midnight."
"But I wanted to wait for you."
Her parents returning home so late left her worried. Staying late at work wasn't the most unusual thing, but being gone for this long without any notice had not happened before. Her mother gave her a tired grin. Something was off with her too. "And that was very sweet of you sweetheart. But you really shouldn't have. Tell me you had dinner at least."
Texas nodded. "The servants had it waiting for me when I got home." They had thankfully supplied her with extra food without asking any questions. It was nice to share dinner with Lappland for once, though both of them kept glancing warily at the doorway, wondering when her parents might walk through that door. When they hadn't, Texas felt concern ramping up a notch.
"Good, good," Dallas said distractedly. He ruffled her hair gently before brushing by. His amber eyes were oddly vacant, tail limp.
"So what happened? Why're you both back so late?" Texas asked.
Alice sighed. Her face was crumpled compared to her usual smile and laughing attitude. Her small stature seemed hunkered down, her close to sky blue fur seemed dull like a graying cloud. The gray in her eyes seemed more apparent than the bright colored greenish-blue or turquoise as her mother often called it.
"The Infected are refusing to leave. Normally we supply them to survive for the winter and shelter their young and old, but this time the adults are sticking around."
"Why can't we take them in?" Texas asked. "Wouldn't that end the problem?"
Alice shook her head. "We would if we could. Taking care of others is important, but we have no room to safely keep them here without exposing them to the rest of our pack's population. Pack must come first Texas. Never forget it."
"Is there nothing to be done?"
"There isn't anything so far. Dallas wanted to end the trouble without any quarrels, but a fight broke out today," Alice said.
She gasped. "Were you two hurt?"
Alice rubbed her arm self-consciously. "Don't worry Texas. Everything will be fine. Just go on to bed okay?"
But everything was not fine, something that would become clear very soon.
*****
A/N: Hey guys! So, you may or may not have noticed but . . . all the Texas family characters are named after cities in Texas (with certain exclusions). Hope y'all enjoyed.