Winter of the Wolf Moon by Steve Hamilton Read Free Book Online

Alex. Mr. McKnight from the Scottish highlands. The wolf moon belongs to you, not to me.”
    “I’ve never even been to Scotland,” I said. “Jackie was born there. It must be
his
moon.”
    “You share the same blood,” she said. “Why do you think you go there every night?”
    “Because I don’t have a television.”
    She laughed. Or came as close to laughing as she was going to that night. “Every moon has a message, you know. You know what the wolf moon means?”
    “No,” I said. “What does it mean?”
    “The wolf moon means it’s time to protect the people around you because there are wolves outside your door.”
    “I see.”
    “I’m not saying you need to protect me,” she said. “That’s not what I’m saying. I can take care of myself.”
    “Okay,” I said.
    “That’s the moon talking,” she said. “Not me.”
    “Okay.”
    The snow was beginning to accumulate. She staredout at the road for a while and then she said, “Although if you wanted to just keep driving all night long, I wouldn’t object. See how far away we can get.”
    “Dorothy …”
    “Keep driving,” she said. There was a sudden, ragged edge in her voice. “Just keep going. Get me the hell out of here.”
    “This road goes straight up the point about twelve miles,” I said. “And then it’s a dead end.”
    “Story of my life,” she said. The edge in her voice was gone, just as suddenly as it had appeared. “Hey, you know they got wolves out on Isle Royale now?”
    “So I heard.”
    “Speaking of wolves, I mean. You know how they got there?”
    Isle Royale was an island in the middle of Lake Superior. The whole island had been protected as a national park. “They crossed the ice,” I said. “How else they gonna get out there? Take the ferry?”
    “Yeah, you’re funny,” she said. “What I mean is, do you know
why
they got there? Why they went all the way across the ice to get to the island?”
    “They’re hunters,” I said. “There’s only one reason they’d go there.”
    “Yeah, the moose,” she said. “The moose crossed the ice first. And then the wolves came looking for them.”
    “Naturally.”
    “So imagine you’re one of those moose. You think you’ve finally found a safe place, with no wolves around. And then one day …”
    I kept driving.
    “The wolves will always find you, Alex. Remember that.”
    “I’ll remember,” I said.
    “God, I can’t believe I’m back here.” She slid into a fake yooper accent. “I’m in da Yoo Pee, ay?”
    I didn’t say anything.
    “I hate this place so much, Alex. I can’t even tell you how much.”
    “This is it,” I said. I took the left through the trees. The snow had all but hidden my access road again, I was sure I’d have to plow it again the next morning.
    “You live here all year?”
    “Sure, why not?” We passed Vinnie’s place first. “That’s where Vinnie LeBlanc lives,” I said. “The guy who recognized you.” There was no car in his driveway. It looked like there hadn’t been a car there all day. “I haven’t even seen him around since last night. Since the hockey game, I mean. I wonder where he is. He should meet you.”
    “Why’s that?” she said. “So we can exchange the secret Indian handshake?”
    “He’d want to meet you,” I said. “That’s all. I can’t imagine where he is.”
    “Probably drunk somewhere,” she said.
    “Vinnie doesn’t drink,” I said. It came out sharper than I expected. “I mean, you can’t say something like that if you don’t know the man. Even if you are an Indian yourself.”
    “You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
    “Here’s my cabin,” I said as we passed it. “The empty one is just up the road here.”
    I parked next to the cabin. When I turned the headlightsoff, the night reclaimed us. We sat there in the total darkness.
    “I’ll turn these lights back on until we get inside,” I said.
    “No,” she said. “Leave them off. I forgot how dark it