Mohegan: Native Instincts, page 5
The other man grinned at his friend, taking the last swig of his beer. "Kid needs a lesson." "Yeah..." As Henry came closer to Elmridge a man waved him down. Henry didn't recognize them, but they were definitely from the reserva on. The smaller one had a black eye, the other a busted lip.
"Henry Conner?" Henry nodded. With a gruff smile the two men threw Henry off the bike. "Your Daddy's been stirring up trouble, boy!"
Henry struggled against the bigger men, trying to call out for help as one put his hand over the boy's mouth. He kicked out, trying to fend off the men a acking who were a acking him. He was thrown to the ground, a swi kick thrown into his ribs. Henry whimpered, trying to roll over to his knee, clutching his chest. As another kick came towards him, Henry grabbed onto the oncoming foot and twisted it causing the smaller man to fall backwards. Henry let out a cry as he felt another kick against his back, boots stomping into his back. "Little shit!"
Somehow, Henry found the strength to jump up, and in his rage he punched the tall man, knocking him over. Just as he was about to get another blow in, the small man bull rushed him sending him careening into a broad chest. Henry grunted against the large abs, peeling himself away he looked up in surprise to see Mohegan's scarred face.
Mohegan looked down to Henry, his lip curled into a snarl. Henry's hands closed into fists in the man's ght shirt. How long had Mohegan been there? Mohegan put one large hand on Henry's shoulder, moving Henry's smaller frame behind him. "Leave," Mohegan said, his hands curling into fists, looking threateningly to the other natives.
The other two were obviously shaken by Mohegan's presence, but they otherwise held their ground. "We're not like your kind! We don't take orders from a—" The man's face was completely covered by Mohegan's giant hand as he grabbed it, picked him up, and flung him a good twenty feet across the road. Mohegan brought his leg up, and smashed the other man's chest with his booted foot, knocking him to the ground. The mo on knocked all of the breath out of the small man, and he lay mo onless beneath Mohegan's foot. The large assailant had skidded along the road, his face now covered in dirt, blood coming out of his nose.
Mohegan huffed and turned to Henry. "Even if this is your fault, I can't let you pay for your father's actions."
Henry pulled Mohegan's arm, "What are you going on about? Does this have something to do with the land my Grandfather le to the reservation?"
"Your Dad seems to think we have some kind of dark magic, or some nonsense, said we were going against his Bible." Mohegan's nails cut into his hands. "He thinks tribe ways need to be changed. He wants our kids sent to those boarding schools to correct them."
Henry so ly touched Mohegan's hand, the man unfurling it at his touch. "I'll talk to him. I'm sure his friends just s rred this up." He explored the details of Mohegan's worn hands, trying to pass off a scan for injury. Mohegan's knuckles were thick and abrasive, with small scars were sca ered around them, like he had punched through glass and barbed wire. His palms were so , but calluses were formed around his thumb and fingers. There wasn't much hair on his hands instead they were surprisingly smooth, his scars dipping down ever so slightly from the flesh.
Mohegan smacked Henry's wandering hand away, stuffing his scarred hands inside his pockets, "You should just go; you're not safe here."
Henry rubbed his rib, "Apparently not. Mohegan... what was that man going to say?" "He doesn't answer to a monster." With a wide smile Mohegan looked down at the boy, "Henry, you should be warned, I'm not a good guy. A monster would be putting it lightly."
"You're not a monster." Henry said coming closer. "I'm not afraid."
Mohegan turned, leaning down he growled, "If you truly knew what qualified as a monster—" "I know... I know you're a werewolf." Mohegan's smile dropped, his hands heavily rested on Henry's shoulder. Henry looked up defying his sudden feeling of regret, and looking deep into the dangerous eyes that seemed to flash golden before him.
"You've been watching too many horror movies." "I've seen you... I've see your other form. Out in the woods that night with my Pa." Henry shook a li le as he trailed off, but stood his ground. He swallowed hard, pu ng a shaky hand on Mohegan's chest.
Mohegan grabbed Henry and quick as a flash they traveled deep into the forest, away from prying eyes. There Mohegan threw Henry into a tree, the boy gasping out as his back hit the bark, the hulk trapping the boy between his large arms.
"You want to play this game?!" Mohegan's voice was different, as if it had mul ple pitches. He threw off his clothes, Henry barely able to catch a look before the big man was right back on top of him. Mohegan's eyes were golden, his mohawk seeming to stand even more on end.
Henry tried to stammer out something, but could only gawk at the sight of a naked Mohegan in front of him. This seemed to push Mohegan over the edge as he shi ed. It was a quick and painless process, unlike what Henry had seen Jake do. Mohegan's fur burst from his body, his bones quickly se ng into place, and his head shi ing last. Henry couldn't help being a li le disappointed at not being able to take in every gory sight, as the change was too quick to appreciate. As soon as it had begun it ended, and the large wolf-man standing above Henry. The creature's face came close to Henry's and it roared, Mohegan's teeth inches from Henry's face, his breath hot.
Henry felt fear grip him and his hands clenched into fists, almost ready to defend himself, but something calmed him. Staring into the eyes of the beast, Henry saw kindness, a longing for companionship. His hand moved, the beast's eyes following it as it went past the teeth and muzzle, by the cheek and so ly caressed the torn ear. One p was nipped completely off the other was torn into two at the end. Henry watched compassionately as his hand gently rubbed the ear, he wondered what had happened to them. He looked back at the beast's face, seeing that Mohegan's eyes were closed, obviously enjoying the touch, though his face was still fixed into a snarl.
Henry rubbed circles around the base of the ear, smiling as the wolfman pushed against his hand; his face was now completely devoid of anger. As Henry moved his other hand in an a empt to pet him more thoroughly, Mohegan snapped out of the lull. In a fury, Mohegan viciously backhanded Henry's arm away and he shoved Henry once more into the tree. Mohegan let out a loud roar that echoed in the forest causing the other animals to scatter away.
Henry's arm was bleeding, and tears welled in his eyes as the pain hit him. It wasn't a deep gash, but his skin felt as if it was on fire and the area around the wound began to swell and turn red. Henry looked up at Mohegan, whose shoulders were hunched, his claws outstretched and his teeth bared once again. For the first me he realized that Mohegan really could kill him, and maybe would.
"You should run. Never come back. A monster like me only knows how to kill." Mohegan's feet gripped the earth, looking ready to pounce on Henry.
Henry scooted back, favoring his le arm, "Please Mohegan, I know you're not—" The roar shook Henry to the core and he quickly moved away when Mohegan got on his hands, ready to chase, and looking intent on his kill.
"You won't scare me off. I—I—" Henry ran as Mohegan bolted a er him. He could hear the wolf scraping across trees, and breaking branches as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch. Henry could feel the wolf's hot breath bea ng down on him.
Finally he saw his bike ahead on the road. Henry jumped onto it, skidding out as he quickly started the bike. He drove off, too scared to look back.
Once home the infec on in his arm hit him hard. He panted as he opened the door to his house and collapsed in the entry way.
His mother came over to him, her face full of concern, as she looked at Henry's arm and called for a servant to come. Henry felt dizzy and sick, cradling into his mother's touch. He heard his father yell, "What happened? What's wrong?!"
Henry looked at his arm, it was no longer bleeding but he could see now there was a long scratch, and the wound red with black threads spidering out.
Pa shook Henry by the chin, making him look up at him, "What happened?!" Henry stuttered, "I—I fell…"
"Tell me!" his father ordered.
"Rodger!!"
"It was a wolf. I saw a wolf and ran, and got caught on a branch." His father seemed sa sfied and allowed the maid to bind Henry's arm.
*~*~* Henry looked out his window, holding his bandaged arm, s ll feeling its s ng. It had been two days and he hadn't le the house. He felt feverish and sick. At mes he felt he was dri ing in and out of consciousness, but never fully asleep.
On the fourth day he began to see wolves every where he looked. They danced around him, but then he would shoot them, watching as their blood turned the grass red. He panted, and cried out for them to come back, but they were all dead.
"Henry..." a voice said, "Henry..." Henry turned around seeing Jake. He looked down to find that his arm was bare. "Henry, shut up!" Jake whispered.
Henry could have sworn that Jake turned into a wolf again. He felt the pain in his arm disappearing as the wolf licked it. He smiled pe ng the wolf with his other hand, feeling a sort of ecstasy at the touch of the wolf's fur. It was like touching freshly cut hay. He wondered if the wolf would eat the flesh off of his arm, and for some reason he thought that would be alright.
He cuddled closer to the person in his bed, rubbing his face into the so cloth. He opened his eyes to see Jake, who was pe ng his hair. "Glad you got through that. I was wondering when you'd come around."
"Where am I?"
"Home, your mother let me in. She said you were asking for me."
"How did you know I was sick?"
Jake bit his lip and touched Henry's wounded arm. Henry pulled away reflexively, but felt no pain. "Mohegan told me. All he said was that you'd gotten swiped. What happened?"
"I told him, that I knew he was a werewolf. Then he sort of attacked me."
"Did you tell him I told you?!"
"No. No! But... if he told you to help me, I wonder if he knows."
"Henry, why did you talk to Mohegan? You just had to push him didn't you?" Jake shook his head. "I don't know. I just … I wanted him to open up a little. He's … interesting."
"Henry! He's the Alpha!"
"R—Really? But … I thought the chief …" "The chief isn't a lycan." Jake held his head in his hands. "You're gonna end up ge ng yourself killed. I never should have—"
"Jake, I'm sorry. I just happened to see Mohegan when some guys were looking to beat me up. He came to help me. He said he was a monster, so I just tried to show him I would never see him as something like that!"
Jake looked at Henry from between his fingers, sighing. "Listen: you're in way over your head. If you think Mohegan will ever be anything more than civil … " Jake paused, shaking his head, "I'm sorry Henry, but Mohegan is not a nice person. He's more wolf than any of us."
Henry brought his knees up and hugged them, "I've seen his eyes; there is a kindness there he's hiding."
Jake pa ed Henry's back, "He's already hurt you ..." He let out a short breath, "If I hadn't cleaned it, you would have died. A lycan wound is different from those of other animals. We have this stuff under our nails that keeps the wound open and infected so it's easy to find the prey later. I could smell the scent of Mohegan's mark on you from the gate of the ranch."
"Yeah, it swelled up pre y good. You really mean I could have died?" Henry held his arm looking at the now faint wound.
"It's been four days. I was surprised to see you weren't comatose." Jake took Henry's hand, "I came as soon as I knew. I can't believe Mohegan waited so long."
"What? Four days?!" Henry shook his head. "Let's not talk about Mohegan anymore. How's Shuey?" Jake blushed. "Well, he's really knowledgeable about a lot of things." He smiled at Henry. "We haven't done anything yet, but he's a really good kisser." He looked away, s ll smiling, but a er a moment turned serious again. "I wanted to warn you though, because of what Mohegan did. The Lycanthrope, they're ruthless, bloodthirsty and savage. They have the cursed blood. When they shi on the phases, it's like they go crazy. Mohegan seems to maintain some kind of control, but that doesn't mean he's sane. If you see him as a wolf again, you might not get away."
"Jake, I don't want to—" "You need to hear it!" Jake growled. "Mohegan's killed in cold blood, more than once." Jake's hands curled into fist, "When he was younger than we are now he a acked the previous alpha, and he didn't just kill him—he ripped the man's head off! He ordered all the wolves s ll loyal to the old alpha to be killed, had them ripped them to pieces."
Jake got up off the bed, "When another pack entered near our woods, our old alpha would offer the land as a community hun ng area, but Mohegan went to fight them off. He marked this whole area as his own. They almost killed him. Being such a young Alpha, Mohegan wasn't up for a fight with experienced wolves. S ll Mohegan fought them, not allowing any of his betas to help him out. I've been told that Mohegan entered the blood rage." At Henry's curious look, Jake elaborated, "Think of a dog with rabies, wan ng nothing more than to maim and kill.
"The wolves were unrecognizable. No one could tell which parts went with which body, Henry. Mohegan is a monster. He's not so , and I don't believe you'll ever find an ounce of kindness in him. He commands respect here, but Mohegan has no friends."
"Why tell me this?"
"I've no ced you showing more and more interest in him, and your face shows you like him..." Henry looked away, and replied, "Maybe a li le, but..." Jake glared shaking his head, "Alright. I'll be careful."
Henry walked Jake out and no ced fresh flowers and get well cards from Amilee on the front hall table. He smiled and con nued on. "I'll see you later Jake, I'm kinda hungry now..."
"Alright, bye." Jake put his rimmed cowboy hat back on at the entryway, nodding a goodbye to Mrs. Conner.
"Sherry! Henry's back on his feet! Hurry child', get my son something to eat!" She scooted the servant into the kitchen, coddling her son as she always did.
Mrs. Conner was a homemaker, but rarely spent me actually working on the home. She never cooked, never cleaned. Her only real duty was to care for her only son. She smiled at her son as he hungrily ate, moving a lock of his hair from his face. "Your father and I were worried. What was this nonsense you said about seeing a wolf?"
Henry stopped stuffing himself and looked at his Mom, "Well I just... I think I got into something out in the woods." She raised an eyebrow, but nodded her head.
"Your father has been raving about something, not sure what he's so mad about. I think he's geared up to kill whatever attacked you."
Mohegan. All he wanted was to see the big man again. He knew Mohegan might actually eat him alive if he tried a second me, but Henry's curiosity couldn't be se led without seeing the big man at least once more.
Chapter Four
Henry pulled his bike into Mohegan's driveway, a dirt path with a large truck parked under a car port. His heart beat faster and faster the closer he got. He climbed up the porch, took a breath to se le his nerves.
Henry drew his wrist back, prepared to knock on the crudely made oak door, when it flew open. Mohegan stood in the doorway, his huge body baring the way inside. With a grizzled look he grumbled, "What?"
Henry looked up at Mohegan's scarred face. His hair was tousled and hanging down the le side of his head. Mohegan crossed his arms and leaned against the frame, obviously wai ng for an answer from Henry. S ll preoccupied with gawking, Henry stu ered out, "I—I—just wanted to say… I'm sorry. For bringing up…" he sighed. "Well, you know."
Mohegan looked a bit shocked. Shaking his head, he said, "You shouldn't s ck your nose into people's lives. You need to learn your place." He uncrossed his arms and jammed them into his pockets, an act that proved difficult as his jeans were already very ght. "Though… I am sorry I hurt ya kinda bad."
Henry smiled and li ed his sleeve showing the so discolora on. "No harm done, Jake fixed it. I'm better now."
Mohegan looked away, seeming slightly pissed. Henry bit his lip, realizing he might have earned Jake a lecture. A er a few moments, Henry's eyes darted to the inside of the house. "Can I come in?"
He strode inside without wai ng for an answer. Mohegan rolled his eyes as he moved out of Henry's way. "I'd rather you not." Mohegan watched as Henry made himself quite at home, taking his jacket off and placing it over the beat up couch.
Henry smiled as he sat down at the kitchen table. There were two chairs, but only one appeared worn and slightly splintered from use. "Don't get many guests?"
"Never ask for any." Mohegan said, slumping into his chair and pu ng his bare feet on the table. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Mohegan just staring at Henry, as if trying to get a read on him. Henry was soaking in what kind of man Mohegan was from how he kept his home, wan ng to learn more about him. It looked a bit mismatched, and there were obvious signs of wear on the house. Dishes were piled up in the sink, and dirty laundry lay strewn across the floor. Mohegan was definitely a bachelor; if Henry's mother ever saw this house she would most likely faint. Mohegan began tapping his fingers on the table, s ll staring at Henry, as though he were trying to devise what Henry was mulling over.
Henry finally looked at Mohegan and asked, "Do you have anything to drink?" "Beer. In the fridge." He nodded over to it, and Henry grabbed two. It wasn't the first me he'd had a beer, but the taste was s ll new to him, and he coughed as the suds went down his throat. Mohegan smiled as some of the suds came out of Henry's nose, taking two big gulps of his own. Henry rested the beer on the table pu ng his hands around the bo le, enjoying the icy cold. Mohegan's feet were s ll propped up, and Henry briefly considered pu ng the beer to Mohegan's bare feet, but the thought passed.
Instead, Henry braved a conversa on. "Where did you come from?"
Mohegan raised a brow and shook his head. "Not really important where I came from."
"What do you do here?" Henry smiled, watching Mohegan heave a sigh and sit up straight. "Nothing, I'm not all that involved with the reservation."
"Chief seems to like you well enough."
"You shouldn't talk about things you don't know about."
