We sat together on the swing, as close as electrons will allow two people to be. He had his arm around my shoulders, and my head leaned against him. He was cold in his jacket, but he would not say a thing. Jonas was a tough guy and would not admit a little cold air bothered him. Not that it was his fault, mind you. Being a cold-blooded creature, Jonas thrived in the desert sun. Enough about Jonas. I just like to talk about him.

We were outside for only a few minutes before I heard a howl echo across the desert.

"Must be Allie," Jonas said absently.

"She can change whenever she wants, right?" I asked. "I've never seen it."

"Allie runs with the moon," Jonas told me. "She's a traditionalist. Come on." He got up, gave me his hand and led me around to the back of the house. "Just keep your eyes out that way."

I followed the line of his finger and stared out at the blackness of the desert beyond. I couldn't see a thing, but I never claimed to have great eyesight. Jonas took a seat at the small table we kept in the back, in case anyone wanted to eat dinner outside with a good view of cactus and Joshua trees. I followed his lead, as apparently I was wont to do.

I sat there, looking up at the stars, wondering about Alendra. Half-wolf and half-human. Perhaps something different? I myself could not claim to be wholly human. After what Holt did to me over the years, I couldn't even say how much of me was human anymore. So what was Alendra? Human? Wolf? An experiment gone wrong? Was she meant to be?

"Meant to be."

The voice came to me out of nowhere, echoing in the confines of my skull. I only know one person who could speak to me like this: Holt.

"Whoever he is, I'm not him."

I rose from the table, ignoring Jonas's words. Whatever they were, I didn't hear anything but the buzz of his voice. I let my eyes roam over the darkness, looking for the speaker. I could see nothing in the inky night.

"Didn't know I could hear you, did you?"

I let my jaw drop as I recognized the voice.

"Look to the north," she said.

I did as I was told. There, on top of a ridge, illuminated by the light of the full moon, I saw a silhouette. "Seriously?" I asked.

She came loping towards me, a shining silver beacon in the darkness of the night. She was still far off as she said, "This is kinda cool."

"Cool?" I said. "Please don't tell me you've been able to read my mind this whole time."

"No," she said. "I'm not like you. This is the first time I've been able to read anyone.

"This is really interesting," I told her as she drew closer to me.

She was almost to me in her wolf form, when she said, "Tell me about it."

Jonas was suddenly at my side. "I can tell something is going on," he said, leaning down so he spoke in my ear.

"Tell me about it," I said, repeating Alendra's words.

"She is quite beautiful," Jonas said as the large, gray wolf slowed to a walk about twenty yards from us.

"How is this possible?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure," Alendra said. "Perhaps we should ask Hermione. It must be a connection made only when I am wolf. Because I sure can't read you when I'm human."

"And I can read anyone while human." I paused. "Not that I'm really anything but human," I added as an afterthought.

"I believe you might be more than human," she said.

I swallowed and cursed under my breath.

The wolf's golden eyes sought out Jonas then she looked back at me. I actually saw her raise a furry eyebrow. She sat there for a moment, a large creature that was taller than my waist when standing...her standing, not me, in case you were confused. Her tail swished on the ground, stirring up a small dust cloud.

"Alendra," I said, keeping my mental voice at a pleading whisper. "Please."

She was quiet for a moment longer before she said, "Your secret is safe with me, Christiana. I won't tell a soul. I promise."

"Thank you," I said to her, swallowing the fear that crept into me when she discovered what I did to Jonas.

"So you aren't just a mind reader, but you're also a healer. I'm amazed." Alendra rose from her seated position. She walked up to me, her black nose raised upwards so she could better see me. Her eyes glowed in the dark like b.a.l.l.s of flame. Her ears perked, and she listened to more than just my voice in her head.

"You know," I said, "I thought you hated me."

She grinned, showing her gleaming white teeth, teeth sharp enough to tear open my throat. "I did," she said. "But now...well, there's no going back, Christiana. And I find I'm looking forward to more nights like this one."

I only smiled.

"Now stand back and I'll show you something else."

I did as I was told, taking a step back. I backed right into Jonas, whose questioning eyes locked on mine for just a second before Alendra began her change.

I can say I have been amazed before. The first time was when I cured Christian, only because I had never done anything extreme before. I wouldn't admit that fact out loud to anyone. What Alendra showed me that night is still one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

With Jonas's arm around my waist, I watched Alendra change back into a human being.

It was a quick process, and my description does not do it justice. Her eyes began the change first, turning from those of a savagely beautiful beast into the eyes of a human being. They lost none of her intelligence as they changed. Her entire body morphed at once, turning from wolf to human in a matter of seconds, a slow, deliberate melting of the flesh. I can't think of any other way to say it. She melted.

Before I knew it, Alendra the woman stood before me, her silvery hair hanging loose all the way down to her waist. Her hair was the color her coat had been, and luxurious, like silk. She stood naked before me, her white skin glowing just as wonderfully as her fur coat had. Alendra smiled brightly.

"Impressed?" she asked, not caring if her entire body was visible to both Jonas and me.

"You have no idea," I said, in awe of her.

"It's gone, you know," she said.

"For you, yes," I told her. "For me, it's never gone."

She came to me, her eyes all aglow. "I'll never think of you the same way, Chris."

I didn't correct her at the use of Jonas's favorite nickname. In fact, I didn't mind at all.

Jonas finally got hold of his tongue and said, "What the h.e.l.l is going on around here?"

Alendra simply said, "Let me have your jacket."

Jonas shrugged out of his jacket and handed it over without protest.

Though she knew the answer to this, she said, "I thought you were sick."

Jonas looked to me to answer, but I only echoed his shrug. "I was," he said slowly. "I'm not anymore?"

Alendra grinned. Jonas's jacket barely covered the important parts of her body, but she didn't care. "It's okay, Jonas. I know what happened."

"You do?" he asked.

Alendra nodded.

Jonas looked from me to her then back again.

I lifted my palms in a yet another shrug. When Alendra gave me the appropriate look, I said, "She can read my mind."

"What?" Jonas said.

"While wolf," Alendra said. "I can read her as easily as she can always read me. But apparently only when in my other form." Off of Jonas's concerned look, she said, "Don't worry. I'll keep your secret."

"Thanks again," I told her. "Really."

"I know how dangerous it can be out there," Alendra said. "We protect each other. And keeping what you can do a secret will protect us all."

"Got that right," I muttered.

Both Alendra and I looked to Jonas, who shivered horribly without his jacket. Alendra had an answer to the situation, saying, "You're freezing your a.s.s off, Jonas. Let's go inside."

Jonas smiled at me then led the way back to the house. He and I waited alone in the kitchen while Alendra retrieved her clothes from where they had been left, out by the shed. She'd returned Jonas's jacket and walked out mother naked into the night. She came back in time to find me putting Hermione's tea kettle on the stove to heat up some water. I like tea, but I was up for some coffee, and I'm not one for using the coffee pot. Anyway, she sat across from me and Jonas, clasped her hands on the tabletop and angled her head.

"So what does this all mean for us now?" she asked.

"Guess this means we have to be friends," I said.

It was well known Alendra and I disliked each other. We avoided each other as best we could. In fact, we hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other each day I lived in the Commune. I'd never seen her change before. I really didn't know anything about her except what Philip and Jonas told me. This new discovery changed everything.

Alendra smiled at me.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her.

"I wish I could read your mind at all times, like you can mine."

I laughed quietly. "No, you probably don't want to. It's not pretty in my head."

She echoed my laughter then gave me a sly look. "I'm betting most of your thoughts are about Jonas."

Jonas lifted an eyebrow, or a brow ridge or whatever you want to call it since it really isn't a brow of any kind.

"She's not lying, you know," I said to him.

If Jonas could blush, he would have just then. I got up to take the kettle off the stove and went about making myself a cup of coffee. This involved the use of fresh coffee grounds and a strainer. I made three cups and gave one to Jonas and the other to Alendra. I sat with the third cup and stared into its depths. What I was looking for, I could not say. So much happened in a twenty-four hour period. There was a lot on my mind.

Alendra seemed to sense this, and she said, "Jonas, it's good to have you still around. Hermione was mighty worried."

"She had every right to be worried," I said. "He would have died."

Jonas looked at me.

"What?" I said.

"Seriously?" he asked.

I nodded.

I saw Jonas shudder then hide it by taking a drink from his cup of coffee. That was enough of a distraction for him to say, "This is great. Where'd you learn to make coffee like this?"

I smiled. "On the street."

"The street?" Alendra said.

"I wasn't the most obedient kid," I said. I left it at that. It wasn't a story I really wanted to tell. Ever.

She sensed this and stayed quiet.

So it was the three of us stayed up until the sun rose. We talked about everything and nothing. We discussed the many aspects of our lives at the Commune. We laughed about something Pete said the night before. We talked about our favorite The X-Files episodes; mine being "Bad Blood," the one about the vampires, and hers being the one with the ghost ship, where Mulder kissed Scully at the very end. When the sun rose, Alendra went to bed to get a few hours of sleep. Jonas and I went back out onto the porch and sat together in the swing.

Chapter Eighteen.

Starch was the first to find us, and he couldn't think of much to say upon seeing Jonas as healthy as an ox. He'd gone out onto the porch only because he couldn't stand being by himself in his room anymore. He waited patiently for news of Jonas's death. I don't have to say he was pleasantly surprised. "I thought you were a goner, man," he said.

Jonas gave me only the briefest of looks before giving Starch his full attention. "I'm okay," he said.

"You sure?" Starch asked.

"I'm all right," Jonas said, trying to a.s.sure him.

Starch was a little skeptical and curious. He leaned against the porch rail, facing Jonas and me.

"I'm fine," Jonas growled.

"Okay," Starch said. "I just thought...."