Chapter Two

“Was she excited like me?” Raul interrupted. He’d been crying because Momma said he couldn’t have a dog, and he really, really, really wanted a puppy. They were so cute and fluffy, and they liked to lick your face.

His friend Bobby had a puppy, and Raul wanted one too. Poppa had caught him crying and had shown him this really neat trick he could do, but he made him promise not to tell anyone, not even Momma. Which was really, really hard, but Poppa said it was important and that he was counting on him. That Momma wouldn’t love him anymore if she knew.

“No, son. She wasn’t excited. She was angry. Very, very angry. So angry she left us, and she’s not coming back.”

“But…” Raul didn’t understand. Mommas weren’t supposed to leave.

“She said she didn’t love me, didn’t love us anymore, because of our secret,” Poppa said.

“Not love us? Mommas always love their sons, and you, Poppa. No matter what. She said so,” Raul argued.

Poppa dropped his hands from Raul’s cheeks and closed his eyes again. “Dear God, how do I make him understand? He’s so young.” Poppa opened his eyes and laid a hand on Raul’s shoulder. “We’re special, Raul, you and I.”

“How Poppa?”

“You know how I can turn into a wolf?” his Poppa asked.

“The big doggie?” he asked, not sure what a wolf was.

His Poppa nodded. “My brothers, your uncles can too. And one day, when you’re older, you’ll be able to do it too.”

“Really?” Raul was awed, all thoughts of Momma temporarily forgotten.

“Yes. But Raul, some people, people like Momma, don’t like people who are special. They’re scared of them, of us, because we can do things they can’t,” his Poppa tried to explain.

Raul scrunched his face. “Momma’s not scared, Poppa.” Then his face brightened, and he smiled. “Maybe when Momma’s not mad anymore, she’ll come home.”

Poppa sometimes left when he got really angry. Momma always said Poppa was “cooling off.” Raul wasn’t sure what being hot had to do with anything, but maybe this time Momma was the one “cooling off.”

“Maybe, son.” Poppa didn’t sound like he believed it, but he’d see.

But Momma never did. Raul waited a long, long time. School started, and there was Halloween where he ate so much candy he got sick, and Thanksgiving where Poppa cooked a big turkey and his uncles came to visit.

When Christmas came, Poppa took Raul to his uncles’ home in the woods. Raul loved visiting his uncles, even though they didn’t look much like Poppa. His friend Bobby had a brother that was bigger than him, and they looked a lot alike.

Raul had asked Poppa how come. Poppa explained that his uncles were pack, not blood brothers like Bobby and his brother, but they loved each other like family and took care of each other. Poppa said he was the oldest, and biggest, but Uncle Max was big too, like the football players Poppa watched on TV. Uncle Max’s skin was dark, and he looked mean, but he made Raul laugh. Uncle Dillion had yellow hair and was really, really tall. Raul liked sitting up on his shoulders. It made him feel he was on top of the world. Uncle Joey, the youngest, was his favorite. His hair was black like Poppa’s, but his eyes were gray, not brown, and he could play a really long time.

They went walking in the woods and chopped down a big Christmas tree. It was bigger than Poppa, and Raul got to pick it out. Then they decorated it and filled the bottom with presents. So many presents all he could do was stare.

Christmas morning, Raul was up before the sun, opening his presents while Poppa, Uncle Joey, Uncle Dillion, and Uncle Max laughed. His uncles cooked a huge breakfast, and then they went out and played in the snow. His uncles turned into dogg—wolves, Poppa said they were wolves—played chase, and hide-and-seek, and had snowball fights until his nose was red and running and his hands burned. Then they ate a huge supper.

After Raul took his bath and dressed for bed, Poppa came into his room and talked for a long time. He spoke of wolves, and alphas, and mates, and responsibility to the pack.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, son?” Poppa asked.

Raul bit his lower lip and nodded slowly.

Poppa sighed. Then he brushed the hair back off Raul’s forehead and smiled. Not the big smiles he used to give before Momma left, but a small one that tilted his lips and crinkled his eyes.

“Listen closely, son. This is important. Pack is family. Some packs are small, like your uncles and I. Some packs are big, having lots of brothers and sisters. Packs live together, love each other, and take care of each other.”

“Like Uncle Max and Uncle Dillion and Uncle Joey?”

“Yes, exactly like your uncles do. Each pack, each family has a person that’s in charge. This person is usually the biggest, the strongest, and the smartest.”

“Like you, Poppa?”

Poppa’s face looked sad again. “Like me. That person is called the alpha. The alpha is like…” His father broke off, staring off into space.