by Sarah Beth
He continued to watch them for a second before turning his eyes to Abby, his facial muscles visibly relaxing when he looked into her eyes. He sighed before resting his forehead against hers, “I can’t help it. She’s like a sister to me.”
Abby smiled, resting a hand on his cheek, “Yes, and she’s a grown woman. She can date whoever she likes.” Glancing back into the kitchen, Abby watched as Ephram got plates out of the cupboard and handed them to Claire. “Besides, I like him, and so do you.”
His breath tickled her neck, “You’re right. I don’t dislike him.”
Chuckling, Abby kissed his cheek quickly, turning back to the table as Claire walked over with dinner. Once everyone was seated at the table, having had a bite or two, Abby told the story of their walk in the park that afternoon. Claire listened intently, food forgotten on her fork. When Abby told her observations of the adventure, Wesley added in his experience as well. How his senses had seemed heightened, even more than when he shifts into his wolf form. And how he saw the same visions as Abby had.
Abby watched Claire’s face for any sort of reaction, but the witch’s face had remained calm. Setting her fork down, Claire said, “Well, I’m not an expert on spirits but I would say you sent them on their way.” She shrugged, “To wherever the spirits of two forgotten children go.”
Chewing the inside of her lip, Abby nodded slowly, “That’s kind of what I was thinking...but wondered if you would have any other insights.”
“You should trust your intuition more, it’s gotten you pretty far.” Ephram pointed his fork in her direction, a smile on his face.
Abby smiled, casting a glance at the man beside her, “That’s true.” Claire smiled across the table at her, her eyes soft.
Wesley cleared his throat, looking back at Claire. “But that doesn’t explain what Abby’s magic did to me — I’ve never experienced that before.”
Ephram looked at Claire beside him, his brows pulled together. “Yeah, that’s something I’ve never heard of…”
Smiling mischievously, Claire said, “Well, stories of the Protectors speak of heightened powers for both the witch and the wolf.”
Wesley groaned, leaning back in his chair and bumping Abby’s shoulder in the process. “Not that stuff again.”
Abby smiled at Claire, the witch winking in her direction quickly, “I think it’s all pretty interesting, actually.”
“Of course you do.”
She turned in her seat to face him, resting a hand on her hip as best she could with the table in the way, “And what does that mean?”
Claire chuckled on the other side of the table, “They may just be stories to you, Wesley. But all stories are based in some amount of truth.” She shrugged when Abby and Wesley looked at her. “No one has heard of a Protector and witch pair in hundreds of years. Who knows what sort of things you two may be capable of in the future.”
Abby glanced at Wesley, who looked back at her, and sighed. “Oh, sure. Let’s just add more things to the list of things Abby doesn’t know about.” Everyone at the table chuckled.
Ephram smiled at her, “Hey, at least this is something you two are going to be figuring out together.”
Wesley’s hand settled onto her knee, making her stomach do a somersault. Ephram had a point, at least this was something she didn’t have to figure out on her own. Maybe there were a lot of things she wouldn’t have to figure out on her own anymore.
Looking up through the glass ceiling of the sun room, Abby missed being able to see the stars. In the middle of the city, there was too much light pollution for their far away light to break through. The moon, over half way full, shown down at her but even its light was dimmed. She wished she spent more time looking up while up in the mountains.
“You okay?” Claire’s usual sprightly voice was soft as she joined Abby in the sun room.
Smiling as she came to stand beside her, Abby shrugged one shoulder, “I just never noticed how few stars you can see in the city.”
Claire remained silent beside her, but Abby saw her lookup at the sky. After a moment, she sighed, “I know what you mean. I always end up needing to get away from the city after a while, every few weeks at most. I start to feel cut off from the Earth when I stay in the concrete jungle too long.”
Nodding her head, Abby held her arms tightly around her middle, “I’ve always felt that way too, like I was suffocating if I couldn’t get out into nature and explore. By myself was even better, but I didn’t get to do that much when I was younger.”
Claire smiled as she laid a hand on Abby’s shoulder, “Well, that just means we’ll have to go on regular hikes once spring comes.”
Abby chuckled, “Claire, we haven’t even gotten snow yet. We still have months of winter ahead of us.”
Walking back out of the room, likely to go help Ephram finish cleaning up the dishes, Claire waved a hand as she went, “Technicality!”
Abby shook her head, still laughing, as Claire walked out of her view and Wesley walked into it. He smiled as he came to stand beside her, “What was that about?” His arms wound their way around her, pulling her against him.
She smiled as she laid her head on his chest, “Oh nothing, but I get the feeling that Claire doesn’t care for winter much.”
His chest moved under her cheek as he laughed, “Whatever gave you that idea?”
They stood there laughing together, her arms snaking around his middle and holding him close in return. When had it become easy to hold each other like they were? The kiss on the cliff edge had been a catalyst. Everything else just seemed to settle into place since then. Abby smiled against his chest, squeezing just a bit tighter. Why had she been afraid to let him in, again? She couldn’t remember.
His hands ran up and down her back; she felt him kiss the top of her head. “What’s on your mind?”
She didn’t answer right away. But then she leaned her head up so she could look at him, her chin resting on his breast bone. “Just about how quickly things have changed.”
He looked at her for a moment, making her wonder if she needed to explain it more, but then he nodded. Placing an impossibly soft kiss to her forehead, he whispered, “I know what you mean.”
They stood there for a while, losing track of time as the moon illuminated the space around them and the noises of the city began to fade. Wesley sighed, holding her close to him for a brief moment before dropping his arms from around her. She did the same, but didn’t move away from him. Raising a hand to her cheek, Wesley smiled, “I should probably get you back to your apartment.”
She couldn’t help the groan and roll of her eyes. Why had she thought getting back to school was so important? Wesley laughed, pulling her into his side as he walked them both out of the sun room, leaving the comforting glow of the moon behind them.
In the early hours of the night, just as Abby was finishing up the last of her homework, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. An involuntary shiver went down her spine, causing her to set her pen down and make sure she had shut her window properly. As she stood by her window, testing the latch on the top, another shiver went down through her bones. Abby stood still for a moment, listening for any strange sounds in the apartment.
Her roommate had come home an hour or more ago. Had made a quick meal and then headed out again, to study in the library for a test. Abby wasn’t expecting her back until midnight, if not later. No, there weren’t any weird sounds that she could hear. But something was giving her the heebie jeebies. Her pulse was picking up, adrenaline shooting through her veins. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Abby shook her head. “Stop freaking yourself out. There’s nothing in here.” Her voice sounded loud to her own ears, in the silence of the apartment.
With one final check of the lock on her window, Abby turned back to her desk. But something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Looking back out the window, on the other side of the street, standing just outside of the light of the street lamp was — someone.
It was too dark to see any defining features, not when the person stood outside of the light. All Abby could make out was a figure cloaked in darkness. But what she did know, without any doubt, was that the person was looking in her direction. Without taking her eyes off the figure, Abby reached beside her for her phone that sat on her desk. Her hand searched around for a second before grasping the cool surface. Bringing the phone into her line of sight, Abby flipped through her contacts until it landed on Wesley’s name. She took her eyes off the window for a second, just to make sure she had the right contact, looking back up before hitting the call button.
The figure was gone.
Not daring to move, Abby stood still looking out the window for minutes. The phone poised in front of her, her finger hovering over the call button. When nothing happened — no loud noises inside, no strange figure walking into the light outside — Abby forced herself to take a few deep breaths. She needed to get a hold of herself. She was not calling Wesley when there was nothing to tell him. She knew that Wesley would drop everything to come to her if she said she was afraid. And yet she couldn’t bring herself to hit the call button. She had been taking care of herself for eighteen years, that didn’t just change. No, there was nothing out there. She was fine.
Shutting her curtains firmly over the windows, Abby sat back down at her desk and looked at her textbooks. Deciding there was no way she was getting any sleep, she tried to focus back on her homework. Leaving her phone beside her notebook, Wesley’s name still highlighted, Abby started reading the next chapter in her textbook. But her mind kept wandering outside and across the street.
Chapter Twenty-Six
❖
Wesley
Wesley hadn’t slept well the night before. He had no idea why — he was usually a fairly deep sleeper. But something had put him on edge around midnight and he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling. His wolf was restless; his skin crawled and itched, like the beast within was waiting for its chance to pounce. He didn’t understand it, hadn’t felt that way in years. It didn’t help the next day when Abby was unusually short with her texts. Sure, she had classes all morning, straight through until one in the afternoon. But that hadn’t stopped her from texting him before. Claire had told him he was being paranoid. That he better not let Abby know how concerned he was when she wasn’t in his immediate sight. But he couldn’t help it. Not when his stomach was in knots for some reason he couldn’t explain.
When his eyes landed on Abby walking across the commons on campus later that afternoon, his heart finally calmed to a normal rhythm. She was fine. But then he noticed the tight set of her lips, the way her eyebrows were pulled together. How her eyes kept darting from side to side, as she strode towards him with purposeful steps. She was not fine.
Rising to his feet as she reached him, he put a hand on her arm as she continued to look around them. “What’s the matter?”
When she was this close, it was impossible to ignore the smell of fear coming off of her in waves. By the set of her shoulders, Wesley knew that she was trying to control her emotions. It was why he hadn’t smelt it until she stood right in front of him.
“Abby?” He tried again, the hand he had on her upper arm gripping a little tighter.
Her head snapped to the right before back to the left, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Before he could say anything, she grabbed the arm he held her with and pulled him back towards the bench he had been sitting on. They sat down hard, her backpack falling off her shoulder and landing at her feet. Wesley’s pulse, that had slowed down at the sight of her, was rapidly reaching a boiling point. Abby still hadn’t looked at him, and it wasn’t helping him keep calm. Resting a hand on her knee, he tried to get her to speak, “Abby, please tell me what’s wrong?” His voice was rough, his wolf far too close to the surface. Seeing Abby so clearly shaken had woken the wolf, and he was not happy.
“I think someone is watching me.” She spoke in a hushed voice and she sounded tired. Like she hadn’t slept the night before.
Gently, trying to not spook her any more than she already was, Wesley raised a hand to her cheek. Turning her face to his, she finally looked at him and the fear in her eyes was far greater than what his wolf had been able to smell. “What do you mean — you think someone is watching you?”
She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand for a moment. He watched her face as she took a deep breath, her lips parting slightly, before saying, “I saw someone outside my apartment last night.”
He couldn’t stop the growl that made its way up his throat. “What?” He recalled the feeling that had struck him the night before, that had immediately put him on edge and he hadn’t been able to shake. The thought of someone watching Abby, scaring her enough to make her act like a scared mouse being chased by a cat, made him want to rip throats. Taking her face between both hands, he tried to gentle his voice, “Abigail, I need you to talk. Tell me what you saw last night.”
She sighed, gripped one of his wrists tightly in hers, “I was doing homework, it was around eleven. I felt strange all of a sudden, like I do sometimes when a spirit is around. But when I got up and looked out my window — there was a figure there watching my window. I think, anyway. But I couldn’t see a face, I have no idea who it was.”
Wesley’s nerves were fraying — it was taking all of his control to stay sitting on the bench and not shift in the middle of a college campus. “Why didn’t you call me? What about today? Have you seen this person again?”
She shook her head, as much as she could with his hands on her cheeks, “No, I haven’t seen anyone. But I’ve felt like someone has been watching me all day. There haven’t been any spirits around, I know that.” Her brows pulled even tighter together, “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I didn’t want to bother you.”
Unease only growing stronger, Wesley stood abruptly and grabbed her backpack. He extended a hand to Abby, waiting until she took it and stood, before heading towards the parking lot where his truck was. “We’re going to Claire’s, I need to call Alex. I don’t like this.” His worry only grew stronger when she didn’t say anything. Just held his hand tightly and followed him to his truck.
Wesley paced Claire’s house, from the living room through the kitchen and back. Abby sat on the couch, a hot mug of tea between her hands. Her pulse hadn’t calmed since they left the college campus, still far faster than normal. It was like driving a hot poker into his nerves, setting his body on fire.
Claire sat beside his Mate, rubbing soothing circles on her back and speaking softly. They were waiting for Alex and the pack to get there, but they were still a couple hours out. Wesley was going to wear a hole into Claire’s floor by the time they got there. A car pulled into the driveway and a moment later the front door opened and slammed shut. Wesley’s senses were on overdrive, the wolf under his skin ready to burst forth and protect what was theirs. He didn’t even have time to process who was walking through the door — all his wolf knew was that the person wasn’t pack, wasn’t family. Before the person had made it two steps into the kitchen, though, Wesley had them pinned against the stove with a hand around their throat. He growled;his canines growing.
“Wesley! Enough!” He could hear Claire speaking, but her words did little to calm the wolf who was intent on protecting his Mate.
Slowly, realization of who he held came to his brain. Ephram stayed calm and turned his head as far to the left as he could with Wesley’s hand around his throat. He was trying to calm the wolf, that Wesley barely had any control over, by submitting to it.
“Wesley, you’re scaring Abby.”
His head snapped to the living room, yellow eyes landing on a splash of auburn hair and pleading green eyes. Turning his gaze back on Ephram, Wesley growled menacingly once more before taking a large step away from the other werewolf. Taking deep breaths to calm his heartbeat, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side, Wesley struggled to regain any semblance of control. His nerves were firing, t
he adrenaline pulsing through his veins sending his senses into overdrive. And he was stuck in the middle of a Seattle cul-de-sac and couldn’t shift. It had been a long time since Wesley had needed his father there to help him control the wolf inside him. But in that moment, all Wesley wished for was Alex to be there.
A warm hand laid gently on his chest. The growl died in his throat when his eyes found Abby. He had been so focused on gaining control that he hadn’t heard her coming up to him. Her lips pulled in a tentative smile before she leaned her forehead onto his chest. Warmth spread into his body from her touch. A cozy feeling so unlike the fire running through his veins. After a moment, the wolf calmed. Laying down at the feet of his Mate standing before him.
Closing his eyes, Wesley leaned his forehead onto the crown of her head, and took a deep breath. They stood there for a few minutes. Wesley focusing on Abby’s scent and the feeling of her hand on his chest, until he wasn’t worried about his control anymore. He kissed the side of her head, whispering into her ear, “I’m sorry –.”
“Shh. Don’t apologize.” She cut him off, lifting her head away from his chest to look up at him, “We’re all a little on edge. I don’t think Ephram holds it against you.”
With a groan, Wesley scrubbed a hand down his face. “I haven’t lost control like that in years.”
“It’s okay.”
He leaned into her hand, taking a deep breath of the skin of her wrist. “It is as long as you’re around.” The sound of her laughter brought a smile to his face.
Her hand fell from his face and snaked down his arm to his hand. Grasping it in her own, she pulled him towards the living room. After a brief moment of hesitation, he let her lead him to the couch. Ephram and Claire sat across from them. Claire looked even more worried than she already had been, her brows pulled tight. Ephram leaned back into the couch, his hand resting lightly on Claire’s knee, and his eyes downcast.
