14. Grey

Can't rememberthe last time I was this nervous. I know how much is riding on this, not to mention how much it means to Abigale. With everything she's done for me over the last two plus months, this is the least I can do for her. I look over to Shilah, who's patiently sitting, waiting for the sign for us to enter through the back. Jeffries is actually down on one knee in front of lil' Fern, giving her a rubdown that she is loving. She's a bit more comfortable with humans, where Shilah decides who gets in his space. Even though we've talked about it, both Jeffries and I have some anxiety about how this part will work out. Everything is depending on a couple of things. How the folks in there react because that will determine how the wolves act. We don't need any loose cannons going off their rockers.

I spent a little bit of time in the back of the hall when Abigale was talking and, man, anyone with eyes could see how passionate she is about the preservation of wolves. She agrees there are times a wolf might go into a rancher's herd, but that's generally a lone wolf who is starving. Then she went into a very detailed explanation of how a wolf pack operates and the area they call home. She went into the ranks of the wolf hierarchy. When she explained that only the alpha wolf couple mate there were some snickers and rude comments until I heard Phantom, of all men, tell them to shut their mouths in the presence of ladies. Not sure what else was said but it got quiet pretty quickly. I left shortly after because I left Jeffries out with the wolves. When I opened the door, Shilah was waiting for me so I reached down and patted his head, then we walked around to the back of the building where Jeffries and Fern were waiting. We figured out that Shilah is interested in lil' Fern. Their antics are hilarious and cute. Not sure if this can happen as lil' Fern is a wolf dog, while as far as we can tell Shilah is a purebred wolf. Abigale said if they decided to mate, it would be okay. The pups would be three-fourths wolf and one-quarter dog.

The door opens and Paisley is there waving us in. The plan is to have Abigale tell everyone there was something she wanted to show them, so hang on a minute. Then between her, Paisley, Jeffries, and me, we would walk the wolves in. What happens next no one knows but we are willing to take the chance for these animals. Well, for all animals, actually. As I explained to the guys, hunting is one thing if it's for food not trophy, in my opinion. But to hunt and kill a species just because you don't understand the importance of said animal in the circle of life is stupid and much more dangerous to many species out in the wild. I look to Jeffries, who walks up to Paisley with lil' Fern between them. She knows both humans so she thinks it's a game and is excited. When Abigale walks up to the other side of Shilah, he knows something is up but follows my lead. As we walk through the door, Ollie, Bennett, Alder, Ash, Orin, and Avalanche each fall in line. In front of us all is Panther, hair braided down his back, with both of his wolves Ma?iitsoh, which means Wolf, and Zh???ii, which means Raven in Navajo. The reason for Panther's involvement is because Panther and Avalanche found five wolf pups and they each took two of them when the fifth died. Ma?iitsoh and Zh???ii are here because Panther concentrated on raising and training the two of them to be part of his family. Avalanche's wolves are training but prefer their solitary life. They also live at the stud ranch. They have access to the home but prefer the outdoors. In winter they come in and share the space with the humans and other wolves.

We are taking a huge chance with this type of display but sometimes you have to go big or go home. When we are all in the hallway lined up, I hear Shadow start talking. Again, for shock value as most folks in town now know some of her story. Yeah, she's a badass bitch—her words not mine—but after the rescue of Raven, they also realized how she has a huge heart and would give her life for any of her club sisters. When she mentions her ol' man, Panther looks at all of us, gives a smile, then nods to Dog to open both doors. I don't hear a word when he walks in with each wolf at his side, no leash. As folks realize what's going on the yelling, screaming, and panic starts to take over. When Panther starts to chant the room suddenly goes eerily silent.

"Before the rest of those behind me enter, for those who do not know me, I am "CHAHóó?HééL NAABAAHII T'áá SáHI in Navajo or, in your language, Dark Warrior Walking Alone. My friends call me Panther. If you give us a chance to see where we are going with this, then I will consider you a friend and you may call me Panther. Now these two wolves, and yes, they are one-hundred-percent wolves. Before any of you lose your minds my brother, Avalanche, and I found the pups when someone killed their mother and left the pups to die."

"What the hell, who names their kids Panther and Avalanche, for Christ's sake?"

Panther looks around the room then his eyes fall on a big country man with long dirty-blond hair and a face full of hair, probably with food stuck in it. Once again, I'm right at the doorway watching what's going on. The guy is smirking like a total dick while Panther just looks his way. Then all of a sudden, the guy stops smiling and grimaces in pain. He reaches with his hands to grab his head for a second then seems to calm down. That's when Panther speaks to him directly.

"My friend, first our Navajo names were given to us by our shaman and parents on the reservation. The names we have friends call us were given to us by your military. That should answer your question. Why you find it funny to be ignorant when asking a question, I do not understand. In regard to the wolf pups and how we found them, whoever took their mother from them didn't just shoot her. They butchered her body after skinning the fur off of her. We found the pups crawling all over the mess that remained. As Natives we believe that animals feel, maybe not like us, but they do. I cannot even comprehend how one of your children would feel if they found their mother like that. I'm a firm believer that everything on Mother Earth deserves to live their best life. So my brother and I took the pups, but we lost one. So we each have two, a male and female. Avalanche refused to bring his here because he fears what the haters in this meeting might do. I'm also afraid but feel that we need to try and make others understand that the circle of life is very important in our ecosystem, which Abigale spoke about at length. I'm fine if we agree to disagree, what I'm not fine with is being belligerent, ignorant, and a bully. Look at me, please. I'm one-hundred-percent Navajo so do you think I've never experienced ignorant, belligerent bullies? That is the center of my life and why we do what we do. Along with my soulmate, Zoey, or you all know her as Shadow, and her club the Devil's Handmaidens Motorcycle Club, together we try and save those who cannot save themselves. We have come across and seen the worst of humanity. I am not against hearing your reasoning behind not wanting wolves around, but to intentionally play with and then torture these magnificent animals before killing them is heartless and makes you one of the worst humans in our world. My opinion."

I watch as Panther takes a minute to put his hands on both of his wolves. He says something to them in Navajo and they start to walk through the hall, heads held high, as you can feel the energy change instantly. Breaths were taken in, as some crossed their arms, while others reach for their sides, then realizing no one was allowed in with guns. Panther continues to scope out the room patiently.

"I'm watching you panic, reaching for weapons or just plain freaking out. Have you noticed these wild beasts haven't gone after a single person or drawn blood? They are just walking around sniffing your scents. Wolves generally are very reserved. It has taken me years of training to get them to do this. I've taken them to schools and other meeting forums so people who have never been with wolves can see one up close. Please let me introduce Ma?iitsoh or Wolf and Zh???ii or Raven. They are siblings so at the moment neither has mated because they don't have a partner. We are in the works with a wolf preserve to mate Zh???ii. If we decide to do that the male wolf will be moved to Montana to my ranch to spend his life with my girl, that is if they hit it off. Now if anyone is feeling brave, put your hand out and see what happens. I promise they will not bite anyone unless I tell them to."

Panther looks my way and nods, so I walk out toward the center of the room's middle aisle. His male wolf approaches me cautiously, head down, though his hair is standing up on his neck and back. I stop going forward and hit one knee, hand out. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous myself but I trust Panther, obviously, with my life. When Wolf is within reach, Panther calls out to him and he stops and stares at me. His eyes are a gorgeous burnt yellow and he's much bigger than Shilah. If I was out in the woods and he approached me, honestly, I'd probably shit myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone stand and start walking toward us. What the ever fuck is this dude thinking? I've got a probably one hundred thirty or forty pound wolf standing alert, eyes on me. Then I see when he reaches toward his back, pulling out a gun. Immediately, I'm on my feet, arms pulling Wolf behind me as I see out of nowhere Avalanche coming up behind the man. But it's Panther's female wolf, Raven, who reaches him first, her mouth going around his wrist while her body slams into his, taking him to the ground in less than five seconds. Everyone is on their feet, shocked at what they just saw. I know some thought the wolf attacked for no reason, well, until Avalanche grabs the gun from the man's hand. As Avalanche helps the man up, Raven stays right there, though she doesn't have his arm in her mouth any longer. Panther walks down to where Raven is and takes a minute to give her some loving with a piece of something from his pocket. He nods at me and I take over.

"This is what wolves do. They are family oriented and when Raven saw Wolf in danger, she reacted. Now as you can see Chicago isn't damaged. He's one of Panther's teammates and since the wolves don't know him too well, we were able to pull this off. Panther has had his wolves for over eight years. He shared with us that they are coming into the last quarters of their lives. Give us a few more minutes of your time, please. I'm going to introduce to you one of the wolves that started this debate."

I put my fingers to my mouth and whistle. I hear him as he comes running into the room, right to me. He stops to the left of me, putting his head in the hand I extend.

"I've claimed Shilah. He's here tonight to show you what can be done when someone takes the time. NO! I'm not saying a wolf can be a pet. None of the ones here are pets. The dynamics include the human being the alphas, which wolves recognize. Remember, they are wild animals that those who care have taken time to work with them to co-exist in the world today. Now Jeffries is going to bring out lil' Fern. She's part wolf and part dog. Our whole thought process is that maybe if you were in the presence of these majestic animals, you might realize that, yeah, maybe sometimes a wolf might go after a rancher's stock but remember you do get reimbursed by the government for incidents like that. Due your diligence and submit a claim, it will be handled. Our ecosystem needs balance and as much as some don't want to believe wolves are part of it, they definitely are. They help keep balance in that circle of life. Now the decision is yours, but please remember there will always be different opinions, but as neighbors let's try to respect each other's beliefs. Bottom line is, we are a family here in Timber-Ghost and I'm saying that even though I'm relatively new. Ollie and Paisley have welcomed strange folks to their home to help us heal mentally, physically, and emotionally. In a way, that's what wolves are trying to do with all the strife they have lived for decades. Thank you for your time."

I grab Shilah and go back to my seat with him leaning on my lap. Abigale leans into me as I feel Ollie's huge hand on my shoulder. Not sure if this will work, but we gave it our best try. When the mayor pounds his gavel on the table, everyone shuts up.

"All right, that was something. I had no idea we would have live wolves walking around the hall but after I pulled my heart back in my chest, I liked the idea. Off the cuff, thinking outside the box. Now, if no one else has anything else, we are gonna call it a night. Let's take a few days to think over all the information from both sides, then we'll get back together. As Grey mentioned, life would be so much better if we learn to live with Mother Nature's children. Now it's the wolf this month, next month it might be coyotes or bears. As long as animals walk this earth, we need to walk with them not try to eliminate them. There is so much hatred in our country right now, let's try to show everyone that in Montana we can agree to disagree. I have a favor to ask from you, Grey. Can you bring that big wolf up here; I want to meet him. Everyone else, have a good night."

With that the meeting is finally adjourned. I stand, grabbing Abigale's hand, and together with Shilah and lil' Fern make our way to introduce these majestic animals to the mayor of Timber-Ghost.