River Run Wolf Read online

“We also took a photo of the map. But it turned out Hetty already knew where the Stone Claws were, so we decided to take a trip there.” Sage held her coffee cup in both hands. “You see, at the same time we were visiting the old village, Emilia went up into the mountains and found the cave system she grew up in.”

  “And that’s where they’ve gone back to now?” Nana asked. She hesitated before she continued. “What did Emilia find?”

  “A tooth. A dragon tooth.” Sage’s hand trembled as she took a sip of coffee to moisten her mouth. “The tooth was buried with what she believed was her father’s bones.”

  Nana and George both sucked in a deep breath. “Poor Emilia,” George said, expressing everyone’s thoughts.

  “The poor child needed answers.” Nana nodded. “And that’s what she had to show Magnus.”

  “Yes. She wants to move the bones and bury them in Bear Creek with their mother.” A sob caught in Sage’s throat. “They were mates, they should be together.”

  “They should,” Hetty agreed as Patrick reached for Sage’s hand.

  The people crowded around the table fell silent, all aware of the hurt and loss Emilia and Magnus’s mom must have known. Somehow, she’d found the strength to carry on. Somehow, she’d raised two children and kept them safe from a marauding dragon.

  It was time they were joined together as they once were in life.

  Chapter Eighteen – Patrick

  “And you plan to move here to the River Run Mountains?” Nana asked. They stood looking at the river as it flowed through the village. The day was glorious, the sun bright as it chased away the chill in the air.

  “I do,” Sage replied, studying her mom’s face.

  Nana nodded. “They need a good woman like you here.” Nana looked around her. “This village could really be something if it were nurtured like a newborn baby.”

  “I don’t know about a newborn baby, but I’m willing to help build the village.” Sage linked arms with Nana. “We’ve talked about opening an activity center here. Something centered around the river. We’d like it to be a sister site to Chance Heights.”

  “I like that idea,” George said enthusiastically. “There’s not too much distance between the two mountain ranges.”

  “What do you think Luke and Marcus will say?” Sage asked. “Will they think I’m abandoning them?”

  “No,” Nana said firmly. “They’ll say do what your heart tells you.”

  “I already knew that,” Sage said. “I just needed to hear it from you.”

  Nana pulled her into a tight embrace and held her close. “We all love you, Sage. We all want the best for you. That’s what your brothers said when I relayed the news you’d found your mate.”

  “I wish I’d been there to tell them myself,” Sage told Nana.

  “Well, you’ll be able to see them soon.” Nana looked at her watch. “They should be arriving in the next half hour.”

  Sage pulled back and looked up at Nana, questioning if this was some kind of a joke. “They’re coming here?”

  “Yes. It slipped my mind with all the talk of the past. They would have come yesterday but I told them you needed time to get to know this man of yours before your two brothers come butting in.” Nana chuckled at Sage’s expression.

  “They waited a whole day.” Sage gulped down her nerves.

  “Why don’t we wait, and we can all go up to the head of the river together,” Patrick suggested.

  “Good idea, George has been talking about it for weeks, I’m sure they’ll want to see it, too.” Nana looked longingly at the mountain. “Unfortunately, it’s too far for me to climb.”

  “We could hike up there,” George slipped his arm around Nana’s shoulders. “If we start now.”

  “No,” Nana shook her head. “I’ll slow you down. You all go on and I’ll stay here.”

  “I have another idea,” Patrick said. “Leave it to me.”

  He slipped away before Sage could protest and ask him what he planned. Going back to his house, he lifted up the garage door and peered inside. At the rear of the timber-built building, he rummaged around under the various stuff he’d accumulated over the years.

  “There you are.” He grabbed hold of a rope and pulled a small boat toward him. It looked watertight and fit for the purpose he had in mind.

  Ten minutes later, he had it cleaned off and stowed on the roof of his truck. Once it was secured with rope, he drove the truck back to the river, where Sage was waiting with Nana and George.

  “A boat?” Sage asked as he got out of the truck and sauntered over to her.

  “Yes, Nana can sit in the boat and we can pull her along up the river. The water isn’t too deep, if a couple of us use rope as a harness, we can easily make the journey.” He shrugged and turned to Nana. “Are you game?”

  Nana’s face broke into a wide grin. “Am I?”

  “That’s a yes, I hope.” Sage turned to her mom. “We promise to keep you safe.”

  “I know, and this is one time I won’t be left out not being a shifter,” Nana said excitedly.

  “Now all we have to do is face your two brothers.” Patrick turned to the truck. “Shall we go back to my grandparents’ house?”

  “Yes, that’s the address we gave them.” George looked up at the boat on the roof of the truck. “You’re full of good ideas, Patrick. I’m a hundred percent positive you’ll make a success of whatever you turn your hand to here.”

  “Thanks, George. I appreciate your confidence.” Patrick got in the truck and started the engine. He wanted to get the meeting with Sage’s brothers over with and then test his idea of pulling the boat up the river. It had given him plenty of other ideas of how they could use the river to bring tourists to the village. Perhaps a particular kind of tourist, since shifters were not a secret here in River Wolf, unlike other places.

  Only the dragons, his wolf reminded him.

  Yes, only the dragons, but that’s because they are special. And they can’t exactly blend in with the wildlife, can they?

  His wolf chuckled, in a good mood now that life seemed to be settling down. Yes, a wolf can be just a wolf. But you don’t naturally see dragons flying in the wild.

  Exactly. Patrick steered the vehicle around a bend in the road and then drove toward his grandparents’ house. As he stopped and turned off the ignition, another vehicle arrived behind them. As it parked beside Patrick’s truck, he read the signage on the door, Chance Heights Activity Center. “Your brothers have arrived.”

  Sage leaned forward and looked past him as the door of the other vehicle opened and someone got out. “Marcus.” She opened the door and jumped out, running around to meet her eldest brother.

  “Hey there, Sage.” He opened his arms and she went to him, hugging him close.

  “I’m so happy to see you both,” Sage answered as Luke came around to join the family hug.

  George and Nana got out, too, and Patrick took his time, giving them some space before he got out and joined them.

  “So this is the man who stole my sister’s heart?” Luke said and held out his hand to Patrick then pulled him into a hug. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Good to meet you, Luke.” Patrick patted his back and then let him go and stepped backward. As he did so, he came face to face with Marcus. “Marcus. Good to meet you, too.”

  Marcus looked at the hand Patrick extended to him and then looked up at his face. “I guess you’re okay for a wolf.” Marcus took his hand and shook it firmly. “But why do you have a boat on top of your truck?”

  “We’re going to take Nana with us up the mountain,” Sage informed them excitedly. “So as soon as you two are ready, let’s go.”

  “Okay,” Luke said, catching on to his sister’s excitement. “And there was I thinking we were going to be sitting around chatting for hours.”

  “Well, we do want to know what’s happened,” Marcus told Sage. “Nana said you went to visit the Stone Claw Clan.”

  “You told them th
at, too?” Sage asked her mom.

  “I did. There are no secrets in this family. Not anymore.” Nana gave Sage a knowing look and Sage’s body language softened, and she hugged her mom once more.

  “You’re right. And it’s not as if it was a secret.” She turned to look at Patrick. “Will Hetty and Lupe join us, too?”

  “Let’s go and ask.” Patrick led them all inside, with Sage walking between her brothers, answering their questions about the Stone Claws. “Hey, Grandma, we are all going to the head of the river. Do you and Granddad want to come?”

  Hetty turned around to see a houseful of people, and ushered them all in. “I’d love to come. Let’s pack a picnic.”

  “It can go in the boat with me,” Nana said brightly as she offered to help Hetty.

  “Your granddad will be back shortly, so we can get everything packed. I know he’ll want to come, too, although he’ll be disappointed not to be flying, he has a thing for those dragons.” Hetty began packing the backpacks Patrick set down on the table.

  “He does love those dragons, if you heard him now, you would never guess he was the one who tried to shoot them down,” George said.

  Sage laughed. “He’d fit right in with the Stone Claws since Emilia’s father is like a god to them.”

  “Don’t let him hear that,” Hetty warned in a conspiratorial voice.

  “Don’t let him hear what?” Lupe asked as he entered the kitchen. “We have a houseful of people.”

  “We do, these are Sage’s brothers, Luke and Marcus. We’re all going up to the head of the river to take a look. Are you coming?” Hetty asked as Lupe greeted Marcus and Lupe.

  “Sure. We’re eating up there?” Lupe asked, opening the fridge and taking out bottles of beer which he placed in a cooler bag.

  “We are. And drinking by the look of things,” Patrick said. He could just down a beer right now, even though it was early in the day. He’d have to wait until they reached the top of the valley.

  “Okay, that’s it,” Hetty announced after she’d packed far too much food. They all carried it outside and split the food and the passengers up between the two trucks and then Patrick drove back toward his house, joining the road that took them along the side of the river.

  This was a different road than the one he followed on the first day Sage came here. Because it followed closer to the river, it meant they would have to walk further, but the bank was shallower. They could set the boat into the water and stow everything in it, then Nana could get herself comfortable before they pulled her along the river.

  “Nice day for it.” Luke’s optimism was infectious as he helped Patrick take the boat off the roof of the truck and put it into the water.

  “It is.” Patrick tied the boat to a tree stump and then stood up straight to look up at the sky. “It’s a perfect day.”

  “I wonder if Emilia, Magnus, and Thorn feel the same way.” Sage’s eyes traveled to the high peaks that could just be seen in the distance.

  Patrick ran his hand down her back and pulled her close. “I wish there was something we could do, but this is for them to come to terms with.”

  “All we can do is be there for them and support them in whatever they do.” Sage leaned on his shoulder. “It’s difficult to comprehend that for them this only happened in the last few years. Yet to the rest of us it’s ancient history.”

  “We’re ready,” George called as he helped Nana into the boat.

  “Are you sure about this, Mom?” Sage asked as she broke away from Patrick and went over to her mom.

  “Absolutely. I’m ready for a little adventure. Although I’m not so sure about coming back down.” She looked into the distance. “That looks a little steep.”

  “Don’t worry, that’s the last part, we’ll leave the boat below it and walk up. It’s steep but not far.” Patrick grinned at her. “And this is the inaugural journey along the river. You’ll go down in history in River Wolf.”

  “This is all part of your idea for the activity center, isn’t it?” George asked as he stood on the bank with his mate bobbing up and down in the little boat.

  “It is. I can envisage shifters and their children playing on our river.” Patrick bent down and untied the rope. “Let’s see if Nana likes it.”

  “Oh, so now I’m a guinea pig?” Nana asked, her face flushed pink as Sage shifted into her bear and Patrick adjusted the rope to make a harness.

  “I’ll take the other rope,” Marcus offered.

  “Are you sure?” Patrick asked, unsure if Marcus trusted him with his mom.

  “Yes, that way, if we have to make any adjustments up river, you can be the one to get your feet wet.” He winked at George, who burst out laughing.

  Patrick joined in, feeling relaxed. They had accepted him.

  Luke shifted next, his bear helping to nudge the boat away from the shore. Patrick watched, making sure everything was all right before he shifted.

  “Look at that.” Lupe and Hetty stood on either side of him, their voices filled with pride. “We did that.”

  “With help,” Patrick pointed out.

  “Yes, with the help of friends who once might have been enemies.” Lupe smiled, his expression a mixture of pride and love. “We live in the best of times, Patrick. Never forget that.”

  “I won’t.” Patrick put his arms around his granddad and grandma. “I want you both to know how much I love you.”

  “And we love you, Patrick.” Hetty wiped a tear away and then added. “Are you going to let that mate of yours run off with her family?”

  “No.” He laughed and shifted midair, so he landed in the water paws first. With water spraying up all around him, Patrick was a real River Wolf as he ran toward the small boat and the bear who was towing it along the river.

  She gave him life, just as the water gave new life to the land. They would make a success of their life here. And bring about change.

  Although in so many ways, they already had.

  Epilogue

  “I love it.” Sage turned to him and kissed his cheek. “And I love you.”

  Patrick looked up at the new timber cabin that had been built on the side of the river. It was the first of a small number of new buildings the villagers were building for the visitors to the River Wolf Activity Center.

  “I love you, too.” He sighed. “It’s all worked out, hasn’t it?”

  “It has.” She glanced across to her brothers, who were clearing away the tools. After some long winter nights sitting around a table with plans for both activity centers, they had finally come up with the idea of joining the centers. They would pool resources and manpower to keep both running and profitable. And sustainable.

  “So which of your brothers do I have to ask for your hand in marriage?” Patrick asked, taking her by surprise.

  Sage squealed, like a girl. Luke and Marcus dropped their tools and came running.

  “Are you okay?” Marcus asked Sage, although he cast an accusatory glance at Patrick.

  “I am.” She turned to Patrick and placed her hands on his chest. “You don’t have to ask either of them. I can speak for myself.”

  “Ask us what?” Marcus’s eyes narrowed and then grew wide.

  “Do you want some privacy?” Luke asked. He’d instantly figured out what the question was.

  “I don’t mind you staying,” Patrick said as he took a small box from his pocket.

  “Is that because you think I’m a sure thing?” Sage asked.

  Luke rolled his eyes. “Even Marcus knows you are going to say yes.”

  Sage slapped Luke across the chest playfully. “Don’t spoil it or you can go.”

  “Sage Chance of the Stone Claw Clan, will you do me the greatest honor of marrying me?”

  “Yes, Patrick, even if you are from the River Wolf Clan.” She pulled him to his feet and kissed him before he had a chance to put the ring on her finger.

  “What’s going on here?” Lupe asked as he arrived with Hetty, George, and Nana.


  “We’re engaged.” Sage held out her hand for Patrick to slip the ring onto her finger and then showed them all. “I’m so happy.”

  Then her expression faltered as she saw Thorn, Emilia, and Magnus walking toward them. “Is everything okay?” Emilia asked.

  “Sage and Patrick are getting married,” Nana told them.

  “Congratulations,” Emilia said and hugged her close. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “I feel bad, feeling this happy when you’ve just buried your dad,” Sage told her quietly. Emilia and Magnus had arranged for their father’s bones to be dug up and reburied with their mom. With as little fuss as possible they had held a simple ceremony which only their closest family and friends attended.

  “Don’t be.” She reached out for Thorn’s hand and then took hold of Magnus’s, too. “We have to look forward. Never back. The future is what matters.” She slid her hand over her swollen stomach, where a new dragon baby grew inside her. There would be no more long-distance flights across the ocean for Emilia. Not now.

  As for Sage, her family had extended. And one day she would carry Patrick’s child and it would extend more. Bear or wolf, she didn’t mind. As long as they were happy and cared for.

  And loved.

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