Celestino kissed her lips tenderly, “my love, do you trust me?”

  This caught the older woman by surprise and her head cocked to the side, “of course I do, why would you even need to ask that?”

  “The reason these people are here may be more important to our people and all the Free People’s that live in the four corners region. There are so few times in history that the destiny of a people can be altered or set. I believe that this is one of those times. If you trust me, trust that I know what I’m doing. These people may be able to help our people more than even I know.”

  Pavayoyqamtsi stared hard into her husband’s eyes. The two shared some unspoken conversation in their gaze alone. After several long moments, she finally nodded and hugged her husband.

  Celestino glanced back at the group still seated at the table, “I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer in the way of sleeping space except room on the floor. There’s plenty of wood for the fire and you’ll want to keep that burning pretty high through the night, we don’t really run the heater at night.”

  “Thank you, Sir” Katherine said.

  “Make yourself at home, folks. There’s extra blankets in the cupboard.” Celestino said as he slowly stood up. “My wife and I are off to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning.” With that he helped guide his wife through their bedroom door. The door closed behind them and there was a soft sliding of metal against metal as the door was locked from the inside.

  The pack looked back toward Ansuya. It was Aceso who spoke, “We need to sleep. We aren’t going to get anything more done tonight.”

  “Are we really going to trust this guy?” Nicolas asked.

  “We don’t really have a choice.” Charles asked. “I didn’t pick up any scent of malice or mistrust. I can only take the old man at his word that he will help us and not report us to the feds, at least not yet.”

  “And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Nicolas scoffed. “I sure as hell don’t want to wake up with an AR fifteen in my face.”

  Ansuya silenced everyone with a gesture, “I don’t want to hear any more about it tonight. Your pack Alpha has given you, her guidance. I suggest you follow her.”

  The pack slowly got up from the table. There was some mutterings and grumbles from Nicolas but for the most part they were all tired and just wanted to sleep.

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  They added wood to the fire, grabbed some blankets from the cupboard, and laid down on the carpeted wood floor. Aceso shifted back into her wolf form and laid down next to the fire place. They all settled down and the lights were turned off. Soon, the pack was sleeping comfortably, the slow rhythmic breathing of the group, and the soft crackling of the fire were the only sounds in the small house.

  William wished he could be asleep as well. He couldn’t shake from his mind the feeling that Ansuya still felt responsible for what happened back at the Mountain. She had done more for the rest of the Shape shifters from the Mountain than anyone. And yet, for her, it still wasn’t enough. He wished that she could see that no one could have prevented what had happened, no matter how old they were.

  As he was thinking of this, and other things, a shadow rose silently from the floor of the room and silently exited the house through the front door. William got up and quietly followed.

  He moved out away from the house into the chill night wind that was blowing harder than it had been earlier and much colder than it was the previous night. The moon and stars lit up the flat desert and threw eerie shadows upon the ground. He saw the silhouette of a figure sitting on a rock a short distance from the house. He walked over and sat down.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” William asked Ansuya as he sat down.

  She smiled into the cold night air, “Interrupting, no. You should be sleeping with the rest of your pack.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you know that of all my pack members I can adapt to a lack of sleep better than anyone,” William replied easily. “Something’s wrong, what is it?”

  Ansuya shook her head. She wanted to tell him. As an Elder she was supposed to be something more than what she was. She had the task of ensuring the success of this expedition.

  “You never did tell me about what happened after you told me and Nicolas to run off of that rooftop,” William interrupted her thoughts with the casual question. “I didn’t want to leave you know. I would have stayed, if you hadn’t told me to run.”

  “And you would’ve been killed, just as I was captured,” Ansuya said quietly. She looked at him. His blue green eyes were not plainly visible in the moonlight but she felt them on her. “I was taken and held by a vampire and it took me a year to escape,” she answered.

  “You know, that’s not really what I meant,” he looked out over the desert and felt the cold wind upon his skin. “I know you have a lot of responsibility, and I know that you bear the weight of being responsible for all of us. But you’re not alone. We’re in this together.”

  Ansuya thought for the briefest moment to reach out and touch him, to feel the warmth of his skin against hers. To feel something other than the cold feeling of would be dominant mental tendrils that had slithered and slid all over her mind and body for over the past year.

  William gently placed his hand upon hers. Her skin was cold but soft. Ansuya didn’t pull away, so he kept his hand lightly upon hers. Just a small gesture to let her know that she wasn’t alone. That they would be there for each other. As far as he was concerned Ansuya was as much a part of his pack as Aceso and Amanda were.

  She didn’t say anything, and he had said his part. He stayed with her on the rock as a comforting presence. The two didn’t move, nor did they exchange any further words. They were two people waiting out the cold night together. Watching for the approaching dawn, the light of the sun, and the warmth of a new day.