My father's truck rolled through the ridge gate at dusk, and the yard was too quiet.
I was Corin Tarn, and my family had brought me here to trade.
In the hall, Doran sat at the head with his son beside him.
My father talked about borders and grain. Nobody at that table looked at me.
Corin: I'll take some air.
Doran: Don't wander far. We finish this tonight.
I didn't answer him. I walked out into the cold.
Most of the pack was inside. Then a radio hissed from a shed at the edge.
A woman sat at the bench inside with wire around her fingers.
Short dark curls, a work shirt, a fresh cut on her lip. She didn't look up.
Corin: Is this where they keep the radio girl?
Nova: If it's the guest house radio, it's the antenna. Tomorrow.
Corin: I'm not here about the radio.
She looked up then. Her eyes were dark and tired.
Nova: Then what do you want?
Corin: Somewhere quiet. If that's allowed.
She looked at me a long time, then moved her toolbox off the stool.
I sat down. Up close the cut on her lip was fresh.
Corin: Shit. Who hit you?
Nova: Nobody you need to worry about.
Corin: I wasn't going to worry. I was going to ask.
Her hands stopped on the wire.
Nova: The Alpha. He didn't like my answer.
Corin: What was the question?
Nova: Whether I'd lie down and be quiet for his son.
She said it flat, like a weather report.
I knew that voice. I had used it myself all week.
Corin: My brother died in the spring.
I don't know why I said it. It just came out.
Corin: He was supposed to be Alpha. Now my father wants me to marry for a border.
Nova: So they're trading you.
Corin: Something like that. I said I'd talk. I didn't say yes.
Nova: And you came out here to sit with me instead.
Corin: The radio was the only sound in the yard that wasn't a lie.
She looked at me again. This time she didn't look away.
Nova: That's a strange thing to say.
Corin: It's been a strange month. Here.
I held out a loose coil of copper. Her cold fingers brushed mine.
Nova: It's a coil. It makes the signal stronger.
Corin: Then I'm useful after all.
One side of her mouth moved. Not quite a smile.
Nova: You're not going to ask me what's wrong with me?
Corin: Should I?
Nova: Everyone else does. They want to know why I don't have a wolf.
Corin: I figured you'd tell me if you wanted me to know.
Nova: I don't have a wolf. I never did. That's the whole answer.
Corin: All right.
Nova: Most people say something cruel about it.
Corin: I've had enough cruel this month. I don't need to pass it on.
Her shoulders let go, and the hall door opened across the yard.
Doran: Tarn! We're not done in here!
I stood up. I didn't want to.
Corin: I have to go.
Corin: Will you be here tomorrow?
Nova: I'm always here. Somebody has to fix the radios.
Corin: Then I'll come back. If that's all right.
She didn't say yes or no. She went back to her wire.
I walked back to the hall with her face in my head.
My family wanted a deal. I knew I would come back.