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 |  A man has plotted his course through life; what happens when fate takes the wheel? |
| The Mark of the Wolf * * * * Standing in the shower, hot water cascading over my head and body, I wondered what had happened to my life this night. My musing was interrupted by the soft, soapy caress of Lenore’s hands on my body, scrubbing the tension of the entire night out of my body, familiar in a way that defied any other feeling that I’d ever had before. I no longer felt like running away from relationships, particularly this one, but I now feared that this was just a dream. The shower itself was uneventful, other than rekindling my physical appreciation for lovely Lenore. After our fierce bout of lovemaking just moments before, the bathing was leisurely, almost exploratory, and reminded me more of a courtship than anything else. She was examining every part of me curiously, as though she’d discovered a precious treasure of some sort, and as she did, I was drawn deeper and deeper into her world. We didn’t say much that night, but relied on our other senses to absorb bits of essence from each other. Touch, taste, sight, smell all came into play and a subtle faith in a visceral kind of trust seemed to keep me enraptured with this vision. Her eyes, ice blue and penetrating, saw into my soul it seemed, countering any objections I might have had to remain forever in her presence. It had to have been real magic. ”Who are you, really?” I whispered. Lying side-by-side, naked, pressed together, coming down off a wonderfully slow, smooth sexual high, I felt that I had to know more of this enchantress. “You know me Matt; you’ve always known me. You were never meant to live alone. My full name is Lenore Kéhachiwinga White Wolf.” I lay there for a couple of minutes, trying to understand what I’d just been told. Okay, so I’d already been cued in on the fact that she was of Indian descent, but all this stuff about wolves made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Uhm, just what does Kéhachiwinga mean?” I asked. Knowing that I’d butchered the pronunciation of that name, I expected her to be a bit pissed. Instead, I heard that wonderful laugh of hers, and felt her lips press against mine. “My wonderful Chief,” she said. “It means ‘Wolf's Mountain Home Maker’; just a big Indian word. Do you believe in fate, Matt?” Exhausted, I fell asleep with Lenore in my arms, a deep dreamless sleep for a change; no nightmares of betrayal or shame; no thoughts of emptiness in my life. The following morning, I was awakened by the aromas of eggs, bacon and toast; a typical American breakfast. The bed was empty except for myself, and the lingering scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. Events came back to me slowly, but the star of the show was Lenore, and my worst fear at this moment was that I’d awakened to a dream. It was nearly noon, and we finished our brunch in relative silence, Lenore glancing at me with those penetrating eyes, a small smile playing around her lips. I was feeling something different with this woman, my gut twisted into a knot. I felt like a kid again, innocent, ready to start my life all over again, but did Lenore feel the same? Was this just a tease, a fling for her? Jumping up from the table, she quickly cleared the dishes and shooed me into the living room. A few minutes later, she returned to where I sat, and reaching out, took my hands and pulled me to my feet. Melting into my arms, she fit me perfectly, I thought. The soft, easy scent of her hair captivated me and my uncertainty became stronger. I wondered if it were possible to prolong this moment, before everything fell apart, as I was sure would probably happen. ”Omens, Matthew,” she whispered in my ear. “It’s part of my culture, my heritage, and it still hints to our people of ‘The Way’, the ‘Right Way’ to pursue happiness. I can only belong to one man, one heart, one soul, and cannot share. Can you understand such a life?” I nodded my head dumbly, for it was the only way I could ever pursue a more permanent relationship. She was giving me the answers to my unspoken questions as though she were reading my mind. Where had she been until now? Kissing me gently, she hinted of another magic place nearby that she wished to share with me. Curiously, she donned my leather jacket once more, and asked me to wait for her outside. Handing me Eileen’s skidlid, she escorted me to the door, and turned back into the house. Before I left the house, my gaze fell upon the azure skidlid on the cabinet by the door. My heart sank at the sight; I was most likely one of at least two in her life right now, and like her; I cannot share. I returned to my bike, and held the helmet in my hands, waiting for Lenore to come out of her home. After a couple of minutes, I heard a loud rumble coming from her garage, which had begun to open. Instead of her emerging from her front door to ride with me once again, she was astride a bike, the likes of which I hadn’t seen in many years. I was in shock; on her head was the azure skidlid, her long hair flowing down her back in a neat ponytail. The bike, I figured, was a classic from American history; it appeared to be a 1953 Indian Chief – Azure Blue, almost pristine in condition. How appropriate, I thought; omens indeed… The large front fender was a dead giveaway, but not leaving much time for thought, she kicked it into gear, and roared away down the street, assuming I suppose, that I’d keep up. Shaking off my shock, I kicked my Harley into gear and followed. I began to understand why she’d felt invisible on our ride to the Magic Mountain, and felt a sense of relief that there was no longer a suspicion of another in her life. Not solid proof, but combined with her icy reputation in her workplace, I felt… well…privileged. Lenore seemed determined to demonstrate her ability to control the powerful beast, as she bolted down the highway at full speed. There had been many challenges over the years between the two companies, and it was still uncertain as to which ruled the cycle world. My concern was less about the cycle rivalry, than it was about keeping what I’d discovered in a relationship. I was unable to overtake her, but I kept up; and that was good enough for me. Most of the highway that we traversed was paved and in good condition, so I managed quite well, although I was unfamiliar with the route. The sight of her just ahead of me, ponytail sailing out behind her, was enough to keep me determined not to lose her. Did I just think ‘lose her?’ I knew now that I would do anything not to lose her. She had ensnared me completely, and I was ready to ‘go the distance’ to keep her. If she were not real, then my worst imaginings of humanity would be realized. After nearly an hour of hard riding, she began to slow down, and the road signs denoting an Indian Reservation began to appear at roadside. Finally, she pulled off the road to begin a trek up a long, winding gravel road. Following closely behind, I paid close attention to the twists and turns as I tried to keep her in sight. It wasn’t easy, but I managed, counting on reflex to keep me on the right path. As we came across an Indian village, apparently suspended in time, I had a strange feeling that I was out of my sphere of comfort, but then, I’d felt that way since we’d visited my favorite site the night before. This was not a normal weekend for me. Lenore, however, seemed to be right at home, and pulling up to a hut, shut down and dismounted. Putting her helmet on her seat, she approached the entrance to the hut without even checking to see if I’d managed to keep up with her. Chanting some kind of greeting at the door, she simply stood and waited. Soon, the door opened, and an ancient man, dressed in relatively modern clothing emerged, and approached her. His attachment to tradition was displayed as beads around his neck, and bracelets of colored threads around his wrists. Pulling out a palette of different colors, he dabbed his forefinger into each and began to mark Lenore’s face with subtle designs. Turning to me, he did the same, although I had no idea what any of this represented. My only thought was that something might happen during this ritual that might separate me from Lenore. I had no rulebook, no set of instructions as to how to behave. I was terrified, for the first time in my life. After he spoke to Lenore for a couple of minutes in their language, she turned to me and said, “If you trust me, we need to ride through the ‘Valley of Spirits’ to receive the answers to our questions.” I looked into her eyes as she said this, and saw uncertainty on her face. She was frightened; and I never expected that. We were both into something that rang of mystery and that in turn, frightened me. This was really weirding me out right now, but I had nowhere else to go. The old man had re-entered the hut, and left us to ourselves. Lenore looked off into the distance, and slowly replaced the small helmet on her head. Shaking her head, her ponytail tossing behind her, she glanced over at me and asked, “Are you sure that you want to know what our future might be?” I thought that was a pretty stupid question, but it confirmed that she couldn’t actually read my mind; because if she could she’d have known the answer immediately. What the hell did I have to lose, I thought? I wasn’t sure that I had her even now, so if everything went to hell, I’d still have a most memorable night to remember. I nodded my head yes, and switched on the Harley, giving it a bit of a roar in assent. Whatever, I thought; let’s play this out… Nothing ventured, nothing gained… Startling me, she roared out into the landscape, only briefly glancing back at me. I snapped the clutch in reflex, kicking up a stupid amount of gravel spitting out behind me, and my Harley roared off behind her. I had no idea where I was going, but I was determined to keep her in sight. Unless she was screwing with me, I was managing to slowly catch up to her, and in a bit, we were side by side. Was I really ready to give up all the security that I’d built up over the past several years for this crazy woman? Thoughts floated through my mind, unbidden; vampire, seductress, succubus or goddess; it didn’t matter. I was completely smitten with this creature, whatever she might be. How can it be, in just one night? It had to have been magic. What had she done to me? The landscape whipped past us as she drew me from gravel, to dirt to open plain. I feared that we would be drawn into something that would destroy us both, but the ground held out, supporting us through the long arduous trip. I kept my eyes on her, magnificent, free and wild. I knew that I’d finally fallen in love; irrevocably, without reservation. What was I going to do if this would turn into the terrible trial that my father had gone through? My eyes on her, I watched as she suddenly let go of the handlebars of her bike and raised her hands to the heavens. I couldn’t hear her, but I could sense her cry into the late afternoon. I didn’t know what brought that about until I saw, running beside her, a large wolf, long, stretching strides reaching out to the distance in front of them. It was nearly white, and very large from my limited experience with wolves, and beautiful in its own way. Shaking my head, I returned my focus to my own pathway behind her. As I did so, I was startled to see the counterpoint to her own apparition; a huge black wolf loping in long, sinuous strides alongside my bike. It glanced at me briefly, then sped on ahead to accompany the large White Wolf alongside Lenore. Once they joined up, the pair turned off and raced off towards the setting sun. Lenore had slowed to a stop by then, and with engine idling, she removed her helmet and glasses. I’d slowed to a stop behind her, and did the same, questioning her with my eyes. “Do you believe in fate, omens, or karma yet, Matt?” she asked. I had to admit that something was working here, whether it be magic or all those other things that she’d mentioned. All I knew now was, I loved this woman, whatever the reason. ”I have one more magical spot to take you to, Matt. I think you’ll understand more when we arrive there.” I wanted to regain control of the situation, but I was at a loss as to what I could do that would make sense. Reluctantly, I nodded my head and agreed. She sped off once more, leaving me to follow once more. There was a lot of unfamiliar territory covered before I began recognizing landmarks leading into the city. She kept moving along familiar streets and avenues until we arrived at a location that I knew only too well. It was Jeremy’s house, and the lights were on, as if expecting company. Lenore parked her bike with confidence, and removed her helmet. I did the same, but I expected to get some explanations from my brother when we entered the house. Standing in front of me, hips cocked, hair blowing free, she whispered, “Matt, I love you.” Before I could respond, she stepped up to me, kissed my lips lightly, turned and knocked on the door. As I joined her on the step, she wrapped her arm around my waist, leaning her head into the crook of my neck. Before this weekend, I never knew anything about her; I was independent, confident and sure of my present and my future. In a few short hours, I’d become completely transfixed with this creature, and my life had definitely taken a new direction. The front door swung open, and I saw my sister-in-law silhouetted in the doorway. I watched her face carefully as she saw both Lenore and myself on her doorstep, arms around each other. We had obviously become part of the female ‘Aw…’ factor, as she pulled us both inside, careful not to separate us in any way; behind her, with a glass of red wine in each hand, stood Jeremy, grinning from ear to ear. I was beginning to feel that this was a setup, but instead of being offended, I almost felt grateful; but there were still many questions I needed answered. Then, to my astonishment, I spotted Eileen emerging from the living room, arm in arm with a young man whom I’d never met. She had a smile on her face, and I instinctively threw up my defenses, as in years past. Lenore had tightened her grip on my arm, and brought her body closer to mine. I was confused right now, and decided to allow my family to bring me up to date on what was going on. Eileen released the young man, and suddenly rushed up to greet me, crushing me in her arms. I hugged her in return, thrilled to see her after these past couple of years. Finally, she stepped back alongside Jeremy and asked, “Well, big brother, how’d we do?” They both just stood there, grinning. Jeremy continued, “We both know what you’ve done for us over the years, Matt. My education; my job, all because of your supposedly secret efforts; Eileen’s education as well; it took a long time to track the contributions to her fund, but we found out, eventually. You were a sneaky shit, so we felt justified in being sneaky as well.” ”Eileen had vowed not to marry until you found someone to spend your life with, and she was determined NOT to die a spinster.” He continued. Eileen spoke up, tears welling up in her eyes, “I spent two and a half years in college with the most remarkable woman I’d ever met. She refused to allow me to fall into the usual pitfalls of collegiate life, instead introducing me to the gentler side of education; the progressive side. That’s how I met Howard, who’s only waiting for your approval to marry me.” ”She listened to my stories, and I listened to hers, and soon I began to see that she was the female side to your own story; betrayed, and determined to live free, but determined to be grounded with a life-mate, completely compatible with her. Everything fit, Matt, down to the fact that she was a biker, just like you, but most of all, her descriptions of her heritage, karma, and omens pointed to fate.” I just stood there, trying to absorb all that she was telling me, but I was losing ground just a bit. How could something like this happen that long without me getting a clue? She then pointed out to me that she’d figured that all she had to do was to introduce us somehow, but knowing my aversion to relationships, she decided to seduce Lenore with stories about me, real stories, not made up. It had worked so far, but she now needed to know whether we were prepared to be a couple, so that she could continue on with her life, her love. I glanced down at us, me with my arm around Lenore, hers around me. We were halves of a whole at that moment, and I couldn’t even imagine a future without her. Smitten seemed too soft of a description about my condition right now, but when I felt her hand reach down and grab my ass-cheeks, I knew we were ‘in the groove.’ The Biker had finally met the Troll of his life; no regrets. Epilogue: Eileen and Howard finally got hitched, but they insisted on waiting until Lenore and I preceded them down the aisle. I wanted us to have a double ceremony, but given my reputation as a ‘loner’, she wanted to make sure that I was in wedded bliss before she committed to Howard. It worked out all right, since there was no more than a week between our vows. The ladies formed a prenatal club soon afterwards; and the boys were born just a week apart, joined by my sister-in-law, who opted for a baby girl. It seems that the White Wolf of reproduction was working overtime. Do I believe in omens, karma and the like? Nah, just coincidence… Well—then again, maybe not! H -  |
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