Chapter 12: Becoming the Wolf

As Jessica and I rode to the sheriffs' station, the wolf within me controlled both of our emotions. This was not new for me, however this was the first time the wolf forced its influence on others. In the 4 years that I have been a wolf, it has only controlled me. As I stare out the window, I think back on how I became a wolf.

On a camping trip in the Arizona Desert, my father's best friend Jerome Lafayette, his two sons Alexander and Jacob, and I were taking this trip in honor of my father. He died the year before not to long after we took this exact trip. I had missed dad so much, that Mr. Lafayette took it upon himself to make sure I had a father figure. He was on leave from his first tour in Afghanistan. We were visiting Chief Runs with Moon reservation, an old apache chieftain whom my father trained under in the Rangers. Jerome was my fathers spotter, they were a two man team, my father was a trained sniper, but since his death my father's best friend was now training with his new partner.

We were hiking through the Desert Mountains, it was supposed to be a 3-day excursions. We were all exhausted after the first days hike. I was out stargazing when I saw something strange. It was almost a full moon that night, and howling at the moon, I could have sworn was a giant wolf. I foolishly tried to get closer to the sight as I came to the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley floor. I followed the path up towards the top of the ridge. There at the top, I beheld two wolves howling at the moon. They were taller than I was when I stand on my toes. They looked up at me with quizzical looks on there faces. I was an intruder on something intimate and personal. I quietly backed away, but I should have been looking where I was walking because my foot hit a loose rock. I slid off the face of the cliff and landed 45 feet down into the ravine.

I awoke to the burning sun, I did not remember how I got there, but what upset me was I could not move my legs but my arms were ok. I felt something wet on my face. I touched it and saw red. I could not think what it was. As the sun got higher, I became more tired. I laid there for hours, looking up into the sky. Eventually, I closed my eyes and made my peace with the world. I felt my body floating towards the heavens, I saw my father standing there. His face stern as I remember it was. He was not very happy to see me, he told me I was supposed to be watching out for my mother and the women in my life, if I did not follow his orders he would be upset with me.

I woke up inside a tent, lying beside me was an Apache warrior of the village. He looked into my eyes and I could see the duality of them. One eye was beastial while the other was human. I politely smiled at him then stared up at the tent ceiling. I was told that I had been laying there for most of a day. By then I had lost a lot of blood and was in desperate need of a blood transfusion. The Apache warriors from this village were very wary of modern medicine. Since I was injured on their lands, I was their responsibility. The chieftain told Mr. Lafayette that he would take care of me, since Mr. Lafayette knew and trusted the chief; I was left in his care. My mother was informed of the accident; she came down and saw me. I was recovering very quickly, even more quickly than any human should.