Chapter 14

It took five days for the gunk to work its way out of Dad's system. I had envisioned the cancer as a mass of cells I could probably hold in my hands, not the buckets of sludge that oozed out of his mouth. Maybe something was mixed in with it to wrest it away from the body. I wouldn't be surprised if all the waste products that would normally be shit or pissed out were a part of it.

I mentioned that I was curious how the body grew if it wasn't taking in any nourishment; that it would take a lot of energy to grow the way it did and Bev answered, "Simple. The sand provides the nourishment."

As soon as she said it, I knew it to be true.

Neither of us had any concern about Dad now, not that we had that much before, due to it being suppressed. I don't think there was any outside influence on our feelings now, but how would I know for sure? Anyway, we both thought he was going through the routine we'd both gone through and he'd be better than ever when it was done.

In the meantime, we got to know each other better and fell further in love. I don't know if she was easier to love than before or if I had more capacity to love, but something had changed and that something was more than her body. She noticed the same ateration in her feelings.

We took hikes, we went swimming and bathed each other. We frolicked with the pups. It was nothing for a deer family to come down and drink from the shallows while all five of us were there. Bev would always go up to them and pet them. She didn't need to talk with them; they could communicate without words.

We didn't run into any more mountain lions but we did come across a bobcat on one of our hikes and a bear on another. Both were friendly enough. What amazed me was how they treated the wolf puppies. The bear wasn't interested but didn't seem to mind when the male pulled on his tail. The bobcat actually licked them, as if they were her own cubs.

Smaller animals were just as amazing. It wasn't a Disney cartoon but it wasn't far off, either. Chipmunks, squirrels, a couple of badgers. All came up to us, either on the ground or a nearby branch. More birds were visible than usual. None of them seemed afraid of the wolves and the wolves weren't aggressive at all. Well, maybe a little too inquisitive. A big puppy who's two or three times your size and wants to play can be a real pain. Bev would usually tell the pup to knock it off and everything would be fine.

We made love. A lot. On our sleeping bags at night. On a bed of pine needles during the day. With Bev bent over a log or sitting on my lap. Each time as if it were the first, but each time better than the last because of our increased knowledge of each other's souls, minds, hearts and bodies.

There was no doubt about it. The wolves were growing at an accelerated pace. When we found them, we could pick them up and carry them. Now they were all longer than my shoulders were wide. I could put any on them behind my neck with front legs over one shoulder, back legs over the other and the head and butt extended out to the side. The male was a little bigger and he had to bend to keep both pairs of legs over my shoulders.

Bev gave them names after we got to know them. The male was Alfie, the more aggressive of the females Betty and the other female Subi.

We were heating up the last of the mountain lion one afternoon. Bev would occasionally cut off a chunk and toss it to one of them. It was all cooked and they could care less if it was warm or cold. Heck, they could care less if it was cooked.

Bev had an agreement with them. They had to pretty much leave other animals alone. The only excuse was if the other animal was putting us in danger or if she specifically told them it was OK to kill it. She was as good as her word. We came across a herd of antelope and there was one that had obviously been attacked but had escaped. He had a big scar from his back to almost the knee on his left, hind leg and was limping badly. Bev pointed it out and told the wolves they could have it if they could run it down.

She didn't need to tell them twice. All three took off like shots. The herd disintegrated, with each member running for its life. It didn't take long for the rest of the herd to outdistance the lame one and it didn't take long for the three wolves to overpower it. The kill was merciful. One minute he was running, the next his throat was ripped open and he went skidding as his legs ceased functioning. And then three wolves were gorging themselves on fresh antelope while we watched from a hundred feet away.

It didn't take long for more wolves to show up. A pack of five came by and were all set to attack when Alfie went over to the largest one. The two of them faced off, teeth bared, each growling and snarling occasionally. Then Alfie ran at the other and swerved just before he reached him. He was a good foot shorter than the leader of the pack but he swerved back, stopped just before he reached his side and jumped up on him. One leg was on the other's head, the other was high on its back. Alfie rested his neck so if was on top of the leader's neck. And then he growled, so low and deep in his throat that you could hardly hear it. But the other one felt it, alright. his head went down and then he bent his front knees, ending up with his chest and the front of his neck on the ground. Alfie road him down, then backed off so his feet were right next to the leader's face, still on the ground. Then Alfie raised his head and howled, soon to be joined by Betty and Subi.

As soon as Alfie was on the leader's back, it was easy to tell the differences between them. Though smaller, Alfie was the picture of health and vitality while the other looked thin, almost starving. I looked around at the others in the new pack and if anything, they were in worse shape than the leader.

When they were done with their howling, Alfie leaned over and licked the leader's face, then turned and went back to the antelope. The three of them ate their fill while the five outsiders watched. When they were full, Alfie yipped a couple of times and the three of them left the antelope and came over to us.

The five newcomers seemed surprised to see us. Bev sent over an OK for them to finish the antelope and they rushed over to it and started tearing into it. It seemed strange to see them snarling at each other as they ate. Our three had each taken a section and had at it with no arguing.

On the way back to the cave, I said, "Well, what are you going to do with these guys? You know you've only got a few days before you have to go back for school."

"I'm taking them home, of course. They're part of the family."

"Are they going to be OK around the horses and the cattle?"

"They'll be fine."

"You know that this is most probably their first kill. They're going to want to continue."

"Val, that's part of who they are. I'm not going to try to turn them into dogs. But they'll only kill what I tell them they can, just like now with the antelope. If the beef or the sheep need culling, they can do it. If not, it isn't that far to bring them out here on a weekend and let them get it out of their system. I don't see any problems at all."

That was a couple of days ago. Tonight was going to be our last night together for a while. Bev would be leaving in the morning so she would be there when Mom arrived to pick her up at Noon or 1:00. There was no reason for me to leave Dad and walk her out since she would get a lot more protection from her three babies than from me. Not that she needed protection the way she'd bulked out. I'd feel sorry for any fool who trapped her in a dark alley.

"I'll be glad to finally finish this meat," I said.

Alfie growled, then I heard, "I'll be glad to help you eat that."

Bev squealed, jumped up and ran back into the cave, jumping into my father's arms so he had no choice other than to grab her. "It's so good to have you back," she said, kissing him all over his face.

They made their way up front and she jumped down, holding his hand and dragging him over to me. I stood up and held my arms out and she let go so we could hug each other.

After a couple of minutes, Bev said, "Will you look at this stud. God, Val, if I didn't have you, I'd be battling with your mom for a chance at this."