Chapter 40

MARCH 2013

I began to feel the truth in Hans’ words when I stopped talking to her.

My mentor had observed me during that chaotic week when we defended ourselves against the attack of those feline monsters in Wyoming, evaluating my already erratic behavior. I had just confirmed that my wife had been murdered in cold blood, and that those animals had plans to kill me, my children, and all my companions if given the chance. The kids and I desperately needed to be able to hold on to something. And Hans had noticed what I did not want to see: that my animal instinct and my hurt feelings were quickly replacing the lost figure of Anya with that of that young, healthy, and willing woman who had opened the door of her house to us, with everything and everything the second skin and what it all implied. Told me. She told me that my children had already assumed Johanna as a substitute for their mother (and how dangerous that would be in the long run), and that they could all sense h