Chapter nineteen

The planet's name was Earth.

Mrs. Klyborne had just given birth to a son. This would make her fourth child. But there was a problem and that was when the baby was born it didn’t cry. The baby was whisked away to see what the issue was. The doctors tried smacking pinching but the baby wouldn’t cry. What the doctors didn’t notice until they put the baby down was he was breathing. They were so focused on the baby not crying that they missed the fact that his chest was rising and falling just fine.

“What should we name him,” asked Kelly Klyborne?

“How about Wolf,” said Richard Klyborne. As he looked at his fourth child he noticed that he looked slightly different then the rest of his kids. He looked more like his mother, much more tan.

“Your father called and said he would come to the house tomorrow. Also they said they were going to release you tomorrow morning. The kids say hi, get some rest I will see you tomorrow,” Richard said as he left.

Richard went home and told his other three children that they had a baby brother. Then he called his lawyer and spoke to him about the trust for his kids. After that he went to bed because he would have to be in the office tomorrow in Albany.

Meanwhile back at the hospital Wolf was going out of his mind here he was in the body of a baby. He was wondering what he was going to do and how he got here, mainly how he got here. It was bothering him that Ship would just do something on its own. He went over all the code that made up Ship and he didn’t see anything that pointed to Ship being able to do this. But maybe the Palace. He tried looking for that connection that he had with Palace but he couldn’t find it in his mind. That worried him then he fell asleep.

Wolf woke up the next morning hungry. He wasn’t exactly sure how to signal that he was hungry, luckily he didn’t have to wait long. As a nurse picked him up and started feeding him a formula bottle. After that he was changed and brought to his mother. There standing next to her was a person that Wolf instinctively felt comfortable with. Wolf was handed to his mother. A few minutes later she started getting tired so she gave Wolf to her father.

“Well little one let’s see what spirit is your guide,” said Kelly’s father. After he started speaking in a language that Wolf didn’t understand, then he fell asleep. After Wolf fell asleep Kelly’s father moved over to the chair in the room and sat down. Then he continued to speak in that same strange language for a few minutes. Then he stopped and looked over at his daughter and said this child of yours will be trouble. After he put Wolf in the hospital bassinet he left and went back to his ranch. All along the way hoping the darkness he saw in Wolf would go away.

The next day Wolf was brought home. There he was introduced to his siblings. There was Theodore who was fifteen. Then there were Maxwell and Rebecca twins who were ten years old. Then he was handed off to the maid. The maid brought him to his room and changed him then gave him a bottle then put him to sleep.

For the first few months he rarely saw any of his family for more than a few minutes. That was until Wolf started walking at eight months. Then Wolf started exploring the house. That was when Wolf found that there was a spot in the library in which he could listen in on his father. His father was usually conducting political business in his office. That was when Wolf learned there was much more to politics than what he learned about in school.

There was a constant balance that had to be maintained. One part was doing the job that the politician was supposed to do and another was offering patronage. You had to accomplish both parts or you wouldn’t get re-elected. But you also had to take care of the people that helped you get there. For Wolf’s new father that was a difficult job because he was the new head of the Klyborne family.

The Klyborne’s as Wolf learned were a political family on the rise. There was Wolf’s paternal grandfather who was a businessman. Then there were his two brothers and their kids. Then there were Wolf’s father’s brothers and their kids, but they were still young. But still as the new head of the family Wolf's father had to make sure that everyone got what they needed.

That meant Wolf's father was always busy doing something for a relative or for someone who got patronage. That meant that his father was very busy all the time and whenever he was home Wolf would try to listen in from the library. This gave Wolf a reprieve from the dreams of the killing he had done at the wedding.

As he got a little older he started reading the books that were in the library also. This became his hideout from the world. He would spend his days in the library listening to his father and reading.

As part of the trauma from the killing, Wolf wouldn’t speak to anyone. It got so bad that his parents took Wolf to see a specialist. The answer the specialist gave was he wasn’t sure what the problem was. When his parents asked what might be the problem. The doctor said he wouldn’t even know where to start. This left the Klyborne’s with a tough decision and that was what to do with Wolf. They decided to wait and see what would happen when he started going to school.

When Wolf turned six he started going to school and he still hadn’t started talking. This was a little interesting for his parents because they did love him in their own way. They just happened to have all their kids raised by the staff until the kid looked for a parent's attention. Wolf just never went looking for it because he never had a mother that he remembered.

Wolf was happy to be doing what he was doing and at that young age no one bothered him. That was as long as he didn’t make any trouble. Which was fine with Wolf because he was still too busy suffering in silence. But that all changed when Wolf started going to junior high.

The first week started ok but as soon as some of the other kids noticed that Wolf didn’t talk they started bullying him. There was one bully in particular, his name was Anthony Carmano.

Anthony Carmano thought he was invincible. He was left back multiple times but that didn’t seem to matter to him. He was 14 while most other kids in sixth grade were 11 or 12. This just made him think because he was older it should be his way. After all, weren’t you taught to respect your elders?

When the school tried to get rid of Anthony they ran into a problem. The problem was Anthony’s father was part of the mafia. Anthony’s father wouldn’t let the school kick him out. So they left him back hoping he would leave on his own. Which led him to think he was invincible. Because he was never actually punished.

But this all came to a head when he started bullying Wolf. Wolf just ignored him because it didn’t matter what Anthony said or did. After all, Wolf was still suffering and didn’t care if Anthony thought he had the upper hand.

“Hey Wolf,” said Anthony in a menacing tone. When Wolf ignored him as he always did Anthony went to grab him. As soon as he touched Wolf, Wolf reacted like Pakas taught him to and that was swift and efficient. By the time it was over Anthony was on the floor crying with a few broken bones.

Once Wolf saw Anthony go down he just walked away. He walked out of school and started walking home. Once he got home his mother was there and she already got a call from the school. She told Wolf to go to the Library by this time the family found out that that’s where Wolf was most comfortable.

On the other side of town

“What happened,” asked Anthony Carmano’s father?

“It was that Wolf kid he just wouldn’t get in line,” said Anthony.

“That doesn’t explain how you ended up in the hospital,” said the elder Carmano.

“I tried to ruff up the Wolf kid. Once I touched him he went off on me,” said Anthony.

The elder Carmano wanted revenge for what happened to his son. But first he had to get permission from the boss. So he went to the social club that the boss hung out at to speak to him.

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“Boss, my son was beaten up and I want that kid’s family to pay. Can I go after them,” asked the elder Carmano?

“Who was this kid that beat up your son,” asked the boss?

“I don’t know, I think his name is Wolf. Some rich guy’s son,” answered Carmano the elder.

“It’s fine as long as it doesn’t come back on the family. Don’t make a mess, and take Richie with you,” said the boss. Hoping that Richie would keep him out of trouble.

With the boss’s permission he went to get Richie. The elder Carmano went and filled in Richie; they decided to follow the kid home from school the next day. They staked out the school the next day with Anthony pointing out Wolf. They watched him get in a car and they followed. They saw him get out and walk into a building. They waited to see what would happen. A few minutes later they decided to go to the door. When they got to the door the door man wouldn’t let them in so they started threatening him but he wouldn’t budge. When they saw it wasn’t working they left to come up with another idea on how to get to Wolf’s parents.

When Mr. Klyborne got home. The doorman told him about what happened and the name of the person who wanted to speak to him. Richard knew this could be a problem so he went to his office to find out who Anthony Carmano was. He called a person who he knew in the mafia and told him about what happened. This person told him not to worry about it and he would take care of it.

Even though Richard Klyborne knew that this problem would be taken care of he still had to do something about Wolf. But the problem was what to do with him. Wolf still didn’t speak and this limited the options. But before Richard could do anything he would speak to his wife.

The consigliere of one of the mafia families just got off the phone with an important person. What got discussed on the phone call left him with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He quickly went to speak to his boss because this was something that would have to be fixed before it spun out of control.

“Boss, we've got a problem. You know how I’m friends with Richard Klyborne. I got a call from him about Anthony Carmano stopping by his house. Something about his son Wolf and Anthony’s son getting into a fight,” said the consigliere.

“I didn’t realize that’s who Anthony was going after. Call Anthony in and I will speak to him. Did you tell Mr. Klyborne that his problem would go away,” asked the boss.

“Yes, I told him I would take care of it,” said the consigliere.

“Boss you called for me,” asked Anthony Carmano?

“Yes, this thing with your son it’s over,” said the boss.

“Boss, my kid is in the hospital. How am I supposed to pay for all that,” asked Anthony Carmano?

“Well you can’t go after the kids' parents so come up with something else. If it's another racket or street corner I could help you out,” said the boss.

“Could I come back to you tomorrow with what I want,” asked Anthony?

“Sure, now go see your kid. While you’re there remind him this is what happens when people are pushed to far they push back,” said the boss

“Richie, why does the boss not want me to go after the kids' family,” asked Anthony?

“The kid is the son of Richard Klyborne and you know that they could bring a world of hurt down on us,” answered Richie.

“I didn’t know that the Klyborne family was that powerful,” said Anthony.

“The family was close to some of the early families. They went legit and started becoming politicians. Most of the family members are in some form or another part of the government. They are also expanding their reach right now; they are mostly in New York. But they are expanding as children get older they are moving to different states and trading off the name. This gives them an easier road into politics in other states. Give it a few years and they will be one of the most powerful families there are. That’s why the boss doesn’t want you going after the kid,” answered Richie.

“Kelly, what are we going to do with Wolf? He got into a fight with a mobster’s son,” said Richard.

“Can’t you take care of it,” asked Kelly.

“I called someone and he said he would take care of it. But Wolf still doesn’t talk, the doctors don’t know what’s wrong, it can't go on like this,” said Richard.

“What do you want to do, do you want to send away our son,” asked Kelly.

“He can’t go to school with other kids if he doesn’t talk. The problem with bullying will get worse and he will get into more fights,” said Richard.

“I can’t send him away, look into his eyes and you will see he is suffering. He is one of my children and he needs me,” said Kelly.

“That’s where you are wrong, he doesn't need you, he needs help that you would like to provide. I would also like to provide that help but I can’t and neither can you. That leaves us with one option and that is to send him away to protect him. So I’m asking where do you think Wolf will be more comfortable being sent to,” asked Richard?

“We can’t send him to a private school; it's already too late in the season for that. The only thing I can think of is to send him to my father. Maybe he will like the farm and decide to stay at least he won’t be getting into any fights while he’s there,” said Kelly.

“Perfect, that will hopefully help Wolf,” said Richard.

After dinner that night Kelly called her father to ask if Wolf could come stay by him. Kelly’s father was more than happy to have Wolf live with him. So it was arranged that Kelly’s father would pick Wolf up tomorrow morning from the house.

After Kelly hung up her father was thinking to himself about what he would do with Wolf. He thought there might be a way for Wolf to get over his problems but it would require the right circumstances. He also had no way of making those circumstances more likely to happen. This left him with an idea that he couldn’t use. But he hoped that it would work itself out.

The next morning Wolf was informed of the decision that he would be going to spend time with his grandfather. Wolf hoped that maybe his grandfather would see his pain and help him out. But otherwise he didn’t really care one way or the other; it was all the same to him.

The staff packed up what they thought Wolf would need for his stay with his grandfather. Which was a lot of stuff, once it was all packed in the car they left.

Wolf’s grandfather lived on an old estate outside Albany, New York. Once Wolf got there he was told to sit outside and he would be called for dinner. It was nice out so Wolf didn’t mind. So he sat down on the porch and just started looking off into nature. There he noticed a pack of Wolves and it caught his attention. The way they moved it just looked so beautiful and it reminded him of his martial arts. Every move had a purpose, nothing was done without a reason. Then Wolf heard his grandfather calling him for dinner. When Wolf looked back the Wolves were gone.

That was how Wolf spent the first few days after he was there for a week he decided he wanted to see if he could find the Wolves. So after breakfast one day he went out back and started walking into the forest.

Wolf

After walking about fifty feet into the forest I smelled something and some how I knew I was walking onto someone’s territory. This just puzzled me as to how I knew that but I didn’t focus on that now. I continued to move forward looking for the Wolf. It took me an hour to find them. What I found was a pack of Wolves ready to attack. How did I know they were about to attack? I asked. But I didn’t get so far as to think of an answer.

“Why are you here,” asked the alpha male Wolf. How did I know what it said? It didn’t speak, it was an animal. This thing of me knowing stuff about these wolves was driving me crazy.

“Because you looked like something that reminded me of the past and I had nothing better to do. So I was thinking that I would watch you in your natural habitat,” answered Wolf.

“You are a predator, why would you want to watch? Why don’t you attack,” asked the alpha wolf?

“Why do you think I'm a predator,” asked Wolf?

“Follow me,” said the alpha wolf as he took off into the forest.

So I followed him and I saw how he moved with such precision and his tail it was like a work of art. Everything about this wolf was perfect. I wished I could one day be as good at martial arts as he was at running. The wolf led me to a river where we stopped. He sat down on his back legs and I sat down on a fallen tree.

“I called you a predator because that’s what you are. I can smell it on you like I can smell the fish in the river. There is a reason that you don’t think that you are a predator. That’s what’s holding you back,” said the wolf.

“What do you mean holding me back,” asked Wolf?

“I can smell a multitude of clashing emotions from you. You wear them on your sleeve for all to see. I can smell them but I don’t need to because it is so obvious. From what I smell I think there is a war going on in you and until you solve it you will forever be in pain. There are places and things that can help but I don’t know them when you find the right thing you will know,” said the wolf.

“May I ask a favor of you,” asked Wolf?

“Sure you may ask,” said the wolf.

“You said I’m a predator. Can you teach me to move like a wolf,” asked Wolf?

“I can teach you but it won’t mean much to you. But you asked and for some odd reason I will teach you. Meet me back here tomorrow,” said the wolf as he took off back into the forest.