It would’ve been so easy to just see the flashy fish, and miss the whole other world of creatures who didn’t want to be seen.
Our side trip helped with the timing, so we arrived in Cancun in the middle of the night. We disembarked, I tipped the crew, and we picked up the rental car Ranger had already made arrangements for.
The guys were back on guard, after being relaxed and at ease for a few days, but I understood the danger of travelling in Mexico with over three million dollars cash in our suitcases. However, if we didn’t tell anyone what we had, no one would know.
Brain could pull off badass when he needed to, but the other three guys looked pretty tough whether they were trying or not. Ranger walked as if he were lethal, Bash and Gonzo looked like they’d just as soon punch you in the face as smile at you, and Duke was just big and muscled and… confident.
We were all heavily armed, and we didn’t intend to stop during the nearly four hour drive from Cancun to the private airstrip.
I hoped my bladder cooperated.
We were in a minivan, and they situated me so I could prop my leg and keep it straight. Duke drove, Ranger was in the passenger seat, and Brain and I were in the middle seats.
Twenty minutes into our drive, no one had spoken, and I fished for something to talk about. “I know Brain and Duke were born wolves, what about the rest of you?”
No one said anything for a few minutes, and Bash finally said, “I was born into it, are you thinking of asking Brain to turn you?”
“No, I was just curious. If I shouldn’t have asked, I apologize.”
“It’s kind of personal,” Gonzo said from behind me, “to those of us who were turned. Kind of like asking about someone’s first time having sex, but I know stuff about you, so it’s only fair I share, I guess.”
“No, that’s okay,” I told him. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“I won’t give details of how I lost them, but my wife died, and then my children were killed a few years later. A few hours later, I was nearly killed by the person who murdered my children, and when I finally recovered, my life was just… gone. I decided to sell everything I owned and hike the Appalachian Trail while I figured out what to do with myself. I hiked from Georgia to the section on the Virginia and West Virginia border, but I was so tired of being around people. I’d expected solitude on the trail, but some days it was a fucking freeway of hikers.”
He paused so long I wasn’t sure he’d keep going, but he finally did. “I took off on a side trail, intending to hike to a nearby city, but a local pack had taken some of their adolescents out on a long run. Those who are born have their first change during puberty, and it takes them a while to gain control of their wolves. I was mauled pretty bad before the adults could stop them. They carried me home, and doctored my wounds to keep me alive until my first change could heal me.”
I could hear the emotion in Gonzo’s voice, and I was sorry I’d asked. Bash picked up the story for him, and I once again marveled at how close the members of the pack I’d met so far were with each other. “During one of his changes, Gonzo ran into the woods and stayed wolf for five months. The pack finally got him back to one of their houses, and the local Alpha forced him back to human. He went through hell learning to control his wolf, since he’d been the wolf so long. It took him nearly a week before he spoke to them, he says he’d almost forgotten how language worked.”
This explained so damned much about the man. “I’m so sorry to have brought back bad memories, Gonzo.”
Gonzo ignored me, apparently in control of his voice enough to continue his story. “When it came time to swear loyalty to the pack and officially join it, I refused. The Alpha had helped me by forcing me back to human, but I didn’t want anyone to have the final say in my free will. Honestly, I think they were glad I refused, as it kept my fucked-up energy from mixing into their pack permanently. The father of one of the boys who mauled me gave me a Harley and the RTMC’s Atlanta address, and he let Bud know I was on my way and they should give me a chance.” He took a deep breath, let it out. “Brain and Duke are the ones who helped me find a way to truly be human again. I’d follow them to the ends of the earth, and I thought I was helping when I…”
“Don’t apologize again,” I told him when he trailed off. “It’s forgiven. I don’t even want to use you as a punching bag anymore, which I wouldn’t have believed possible a week ago.”
Ranger didn’t offer his story, and I didn’t ask.
I hugged Gonzo when we got out of the van, though, and thanked him again for sharing his story with me. He hugged me back and said, “I don’t know what the Russians did to you, and I don’t need the details to know the things Bash and I did brought back horrible memories and had to have put you in a terrible place. I’m truly sorry.”