“Yes. We’re certain.” Muriel’s voice tightened. Oh, how she wished she could claim otherwise. “She bares the claiming bite of theHo'cee.”
“Only the strongest of the woodland spirit animals claim their chosen with a bite,” Wolf’s mother murmured. “And they are always warrior spirit animals. The Wolf. The lion. The bear.”
Muriel was aware of this. Dread filled her. The thought of her daughter following in Daniel’s footsteps drilled into her heart and filled it with dread.
“You believe me?”
“You are not one to lie. Besides...” Rachel turned, her gaze landing on Jillian. “Your daughter is not the only female recently gifted with a warrior’s spirit.”
It took a second for the comment to register. Muriel followed Rachel’s eyes over to Jillan and her jaw dropped. “Jillian? Wolf’sshadowle'ven'a? Shewas chosen by theHo'cee too?”
“No. By theheschrmal.”
By the lion. Like O’Neill. Yet still, the claiming made even less sense than Gracie’s did. “But…but…she’s awoohanna.”
“Her lineage does not appear to matter,” Rachel replied with a furrowed forehead. “She carries theheschrmal’steeth and claws to prove this.”
Muriel digested that. “Two women claimed by warrior spirits. What does this mean?”
Wolf’sanistaasighed. “This, I do not know. Wolf spoke to Benioko, before his crossing, about Jillian’s claiming. TheTaounahadid not know why she had been claimed or whatexpectations accompanied it. Wolf said The Old One crossed into theTabenethabefore he could seek answers from the elder gods.” She grimaced, her face tightening. “And with theHee'woo'nee’slack of a mouthpiece…” She sighed. “We will have to sit with our questions.”
“Perhaps Wolf can convince hisjavaaneeto fulfil his duty to theHee'woo'nee.And he will answer our questions,” Muriel murmured.
“How couldHo'cee’s javaaneepossibly answer our questions?” Rachel asked, her lips twisting. “He knows nothing of theHee'woo'neeor the elder gods.”
Muriel hesitated. “Did Wolf not tell you? The Shadow warrior chose Aiden as his newTaounaha, but Aiden fights the calling.”
Rachel sat frozen, her mouth tight. “Of course, he does.”
Did Wolf’sanestoo’s betrayal still pain her? John Winchester had turned his back on theHee'woo'nee, along with his Kalikoia spirit mate, over three decades ago. True, Rachel had never claimed Winchester as her spirit mate, but she’d never found happiness with another man either.
Had she ever met Kait and Aiden, Winchester’sanvaatby his chosen female? Was that why she avoided the base? So she didn’t have to face Winchester’s betrayal? Probably not. Wolf had been part of Shadow Mountain for twenty years, long before Kait had joined the base. Yet Rachel still hadn’t visited.
“Ho'ceewill find a way to speak with the elder gods and answer our questions.” Rachel’s voice was certain.She glanced toward the cashier, where Jillian had set down a tray of food. “But enough about spirit claimings—how are you?”
Muriel opened her mouth, her habitual answer of ‘I’m good’ or ‘I’m fine’ ready to fly. At least until Rachel reached out and squeezed Muriel’s arm.
“You are not fine.” She squeezed Muriel’s arm again. “I can feel your grief and...confusion. Your pain over Daniel’s crossingis strong, but natural, and to be expected. But this other turmoil within you…this comes from another source. Sharing it will ease its burden.”
The comment and touch caught Muriel off guard. Wolf’sanistaararely used her gift of feeling the emotions of others unless directly invited. Her gift was too invasive to force on those unwilling. For her to do so now, with Muriel, meant her worry sank deep.
With an instinctive tug of her arm, Muriel broke contact, only to hesitate. Something had ruptured between her and Gracie, something that was driving them apart. Yet she didn’t know what or why, or how to fix it.
Could Rachel’s gift pinpoint the rupture? Could she help heal it?
The Blue Moon Mother had blessed Rachel with the ability to sense a person’s emotions, along with the ability to feel her way into the hurting heart. She could find the source of pain and soothe it.
What if she used her talent on Gracie? What if she could identify this chasm between Muriel and her daughter and pinpoint its cause? Muriel knew she couldn’t bridge the distanc, until she discovered what had caused it. Perhaps Rachel could help with that.
Assuming Gracie would let her try.
Chapter twenty-five
Day 32
Washington, D.C.
Clark sat hunched over his desk, staring at the screen of his laptop. Everything was back online. He was able access his entire system now, including the security system and all the recorded footage on the camera feeds. And for the past twenty-four hours, minus a couple to eat and sleep, he’d watched Doctor Comfrey and her lab assistants progress from uninfected to infected. The transition was easy to identify. They went from talking and moving, from tugging at the door handle or punching random letters, numbers, and symbols into the security panel, to silence, to paralysis, to staring.
