The EternalWolf Effect (Book V)

CHAPTER TWO - Reflection

The following Wednesday's sunrise brought a low layer of thick fog to the small town and it hung in the air through the day. Timber was making herself lunch when the doorbell rang. She left her cutting knife on the dark butcher block counter of the kitchen island and opened the front door to find her dear friend Renegade Frost on her porch. She ushered him into the warmth of her home. It was still odd to Timber to see Frost age. He looked the same for all of the years she knew him. Now, his face was beginning to develop age lines. His blonde hair that he once wore to his shoulder blades was shorter and modern with streaks of white by his ears. While he had also updated his wardrobe by many centuries, he was still old-fashioned and dressed the way gentlemen did in the 1940s.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" inquired Timber.

"I was coming to see if you were alright," said Frost, wiping the dew from the fog off of his nose with a handkerchief.

"Why? Oh no! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot about dinner with Aiyanna!" cried Timber in remorseful apology. "I've been so busy the last couple of days. Renegade signed up for football tryouts on Friday after school and I've been helping him and the boys get ready. I accidentally fell asleep on the couch at four and stayed there all night. I am so sorry."

"I understand," said Frost. "I will pass your regrets to Aiyanna. If it is of no inconvenience, may I stay and chat for a while?"

"Of course," said Timber. "I was just making myself a salad. I hope you don't mind. I could make you one too."

"Thank you for your generous offer but I ate shortly before coming here," said Frost with a smile. He sat down on an island stool across from Timber and her cutting board and bowl full of vegetables. "So, I heard through the grapevine about the new boy at the high school."

"Really?" asked Timber in surprise. Then she chuckled as she sliced her cucumber. "Well, it is a small town. News travels fast. I thought Renegade handled the situation wonderfully."

"I did hear of his actions, yes. I agree. I also have it on good authority that the boy has not bothered anyone since then," said Frost. "At the very least, not in front of Renegade."

"No. Renegade knows how to handle bullies. He was bullied for a short time in elementary school because he's a wolf but it stopped quickly when his pack rallied. No one bullies them. They find their safety in numbers. Then again, even without his wolf, Renegade looks like the last person you'd want to cross. It's the leather jackets and cowboy boots, I think."

"I am glad they all find security in each other. Timber, if I may ask. You look as though you have a heavy thought you need to share. You are cutting slower than usual."

"You know me too well," said Timber.

"Your deception skills are very poor," Frost explained and Timber chuckled softly.

"Axel's grandmother called me this morning," said Timber. "Axel has been calling Henry and I 'Mama' and 'Pop' for ten years, as you know, since he and Renegade were in Kindergarten. I guess he finally let that slip to his grandparents and they were none too happy."

"I see. What is the nature of his situation, if I may ask?"

"Axel's parents were killed when the war hit Fort Bragg. Axel was with the babysitter at the time down Highway 20, well past the parameters. He was raised by his grandparents in town, rather than on the reservation near Hopland because this is where his parents wanted him to be. When he and Renegade became friends he came over so much that's what he started calling us. We have never raised objections."

"They feel it is an insult to his parents' memory?" Frost concluded.

"Yes," said Timber. She set down her knife and sighed. "I understand that but I'm not going to ask him to call us anything different. He and Renegade are like brothers. I view him as a second son." She put the rest of her salad into the bowl. "So, anyway, would you and Aiyanna like to join me and Henry on Friday at the stadium to watch Renegade's football tryouts?"