Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1) by Shawn Underhill Read Free Book Online

“Now
stop your clowning and talk to the girl seriously.”
    “Breathe, honey,” Janie said, leaning over
close to her daughter. “You’re a little pale. Are you okay?”
    “Fine,” Evie exhaled, “if heart attacks
are okay with y’all.”

 
 
    “Ask your questions,” Joseph Ludlow said
when it seemed Evie had settled from the shock.
    There were so many questions swirling in
her head, it was like picking just one ice cream flavor from a long list. “When
can I change?” she settled on.
    “Tonight.”
    “But when ?”
    “After we’ve had a chance to rest a bit,
you and I will go out for a run.”
    Evie liked the idea of a run, but
certainly not the idea of waiting. It showed on her face.
    “The time will come soon enough,” her grandfather
assured her. “What else would you like to know?”
    “How fast are we?”
    “ Very fast.”
    “Like horses?”
    “And then some,” he smiled. “The clock’s
ticking. What else?”
    “What does the white hair mean? Am I
stuck with it?”
    “You’re stuck with it. It means quite simply
that you are the rarest of the rare.” He smiled large. “A white wolf … just
like your old Papa.”
    “Is that good?”
    “ I think so. But of course I’m biased.”
    Evie paused only for a second to smile. “Okay,
what’s with the eyes? Of the four of us, I noticed yours and mine look the most
alike.”
    “Simple. It’s a matter of genes. In you
and me, a certain genetic trait is very prominent.”
    “They look different,” her mother
clarified, “partly because your vision has changed. You can pick up on
subtleties a little easier now, like an animal; all of your senses should
improve a little. Plus, wolves have piercing eyes.”
    Evie remained focused on her grandfather
as she listened to her mother. There really was something mesmerizing about him.
Something dangerous and magical. She had been right as a little girl: he was
special. And now that she knew the extent of that truth, as with the wolf of
her dream, she found it difficult to look away from him.
    “Your grandfather has been pack leader
for a long time,” Janie continued. “He’s a very strong wolf. He changes almost
every day, and it shows in his human form. Your grandmother doesn’t change as
often. I obviously don’t change at all. Not anymore.”
    Evie turned to her mother now. She
couldn’t believe her ears. “Um, why? ”
    “I haven’t since before you were born.”
    “You’re telling me you can become a wolf
if you want to, and you don’t? ”
    Janie shook her head subtly. For a brief
moment she appeared almost sad.
    “It’s a choice,” Papa Joe said, drawing
Evie’s full attention once more. “It’s her choice, and it’s something the two
of you can discuss later. Right now we’re running out of time. The family is very
excited to see you. I’ve held them off as long as I could, during the fever,
but now that they’ve heard you’re on your feet again, they’ll begin arriving
shortly. There is a slim chance you could change, stirred by all the excitement.
Before that happens, there are some ground rules to go over; a last minute
crash course, if you will.”
    Evie glanced from one relative to the
next, waiting for whatever was to follow.
    “You should handle it, Daddy,” Janie said.
“You’re the best at this.”

 
 
    On the porch it was cool. The weak September
sun was sinking behind the ridge of Percy Peak, and Evie stood with her arms
crossed looking out to the nearest pasture and the closest of the barns.
Several of the horses were grazing the upper fence line.
    “Please tell me wolves don’t eat horses,”
she sighed.
    “Never,” her grandfather said. “Our
rules regarding food are among the strictest the pack has.”
    “I feel bottomless inside; smelling that
chicken was killing me.”
    “I understand. The urge to run and the
urge to refuel go hand in hand. You’ll grow accustomed to it all, and you’ll
learn the difference between urges and