Free Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1) by Shawn Underhill Page B

presently eating like a hog. She
shrugged and kept on eating, smiling weakly and saying only “Hi” (Hah) when her
grandfather introduced him as Dale.
    “Evie as in Evelyn?” he asked from the
entryway.
    “Yup.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Evelyn.”
    “Just Evie. And you too.”
    “Evie,” Dale corrected himself. “Evie
from …”
    “Alabama.”
    “That explains the accent,” he said half
to Evie and half to her grandfather.
    Joseph Ludlow cleared his throat. “Yeah,
I could listen to her talk for hours and never tire of her.” He placed his
strong hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Let’s get to work while the house is
quiet.”
    “Of course,” Dale said, taking one last
glance in Evie’s direction. The two men entered the study and closed the door.
    Not bad, Evie thought, for Geek Patrol
(or whatever they’re called). He’s sure no athlete though.
    She finished her bread, bacon and
potatoes, and headed upstairs to get cleaned up.

 
 
    The hot bath did wonders for her stiff
muscles. After drying off, in her bedroom she emptied the contents of her two
travel bags onto the bed to take inventory. Her mother had packed all the
essentials, jeans, sweats, underwear, sneakers, dressy shoes, her laptop, even
her cell phone—though she knew it wouldn’t work. Everyone up north used a
smaller carrier, and even that was sketchy at times. “You are the awesomest mom, Mom,” Evie thought aloud.
    Dressed and presentable, Evie made it
downstairs a little after noon. Papa Joe and Dale were still in the study. Her
mother and Gram hadn’t returned from church. So after eating some more bacon,
she took some carrots from the big industrial fridge and went out the front
door to the driveway, crunching on one of the carrots as she walked. From there
she went to the nearest barn, where the horses were kept. Only one horse was in
the barn at present. He was being groomed by her older cousin, Eli.
    “Heck of a night, hey, Red?” he said
when Evie popped into the barn.
    “Hey! I wish I could remember it all,”
Evie said. “It was intense, what I can remember.”
    “Did you rest?”
    “Till after ten.”
    “Good,” he said with a nod. “While you’re
new, you’ll need your rest. It’s a bit of a shock to the system.”
    “Just a bit?”
    “Yeah,” he laughed. “But don’t sweat it.
Once you get used to it, mind and body will be stronger than ever. Wolf or
girl, it won’t matter.”
    “So it just becomes … normal?”
    “Better than normal, if you ask me. I
have more energy on less sleep. The more time you spend as the wolf, the stronger
you get.”
    Chappy the horse neighed low and blew
excitedly, butting in on the conversation; he could smell the carrots. Evie
took one from the bag and fed it to him, smiling as his wiggly-soft lips
tickled her palm.
    “You know, I swear the animals mind me
better too,” Eli remarked. “As me , I
mean.”
    “Really? They can tell you’re … more
than human?”
    “They can tell something .”
    “Maybe it’s because you practically live
out here with them,” Evie smiled.
    Eli laughed to himself. “That’s true.”
Then he became serious again. “You’re still, what … sixteen?”
    “Yeah.”
    “ Man .
I was twenty before I first changed; almost twenty one before I had full
control.” He shook his head. “It’s remarkable, Evie. No one since Grandpa Joe
has had his coloring. And yes, females do mature quicker, but I’m pressed to
remember anyone changing at only sixteen. I don’t think anyone has.”
    “Was I his exact color last night?” Evie
asked, sidestepping the prodigy aspect.
    “You couldn’t tell?”
    “Even if I could, I can’t remember now.
Everything’s all jumbled in my head.”
    “Well, you’re not as white as Grandpa,
but you’re damn close. You’ve got silver in your scruff and along the top of
your back. The rest is pure white.”
    “You were gray, I think,” Evie said
thoughtfully. “Your saddle was dark, and