“I know they’re a gift from the witch. I know they’re rare.”
“Wait a second. A gift from the witch? What does that mean?”
Will leaned back over the pool table and took a shot, eliminating another couple of balls. His eyes stayed on the green felt for so long, I wondered if I should take my question back.
Maybe Will wasn’t the right person to talk about this. I mean, it was rumored that he and his heartbreak were the reasons behind fated mates. It couldn’t be easy talking about the worst time of your life, even thousands of years later.
I shouldn’t be here. Shouldn’t be making him dredge up painful memories because I’m having commitment issues.
“You know what? Never mind. I’m sorry I bothered you,” I said and spun on my heel to leave him to his game.
When I was about halfway across the room, he called out, “Wait, Elizabeth.”
I stopped walking and slowly turned back toward him.
He had his pool stick resting on the ground, his hand wrapped around the top of it, looking like it was all that was keeping him upright. I knew I shouldn’t have brought this up. It was unfair of me to ask him to go through it again.
“It’s okay, Will. I’m sorry I asked. It was stupid of me.”
He held up a hand and shook his head. “No, no. It’s fine. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He jerked his head toward a stool near the table he was at and I walked over to it and took a seat. “You wanted to know about the witch, right?”
I shrugged. “You said fated mates were a gift from her? How’s that?”
Will turned back to the pool table and lined up another shot as he talked. “The witch that gave me the power of the wolf kept watch over me long after our agreement. She saw what happened when Adela didn’t shift.”
“Adela?”
Will looked up at me briefly. “My wife.”
I swallowed and nodded.
“The witch saw the devastation I wreaked in our village after my wife took her last breath. After that, she watched me still as I wove in and out of humanity over the years, hoping for death. Praying for the reprieve that the end would give me.
“That’s when she decided to change the magic. To enhance it. She placed another spell on me that would ensure that when I met the woman I was fated to be with, I’d be allowed to die along with her someday.”
My heart stopped in my chest. “She created fated mates so you could die one day?”
Will shrugged and took another shot. “Essentially.”
“But why? Why would you want to die?”
He stood back up and leaned against his pool stick. “Imagine having to watch everyone you’ve ever known and everyone you ever will know die. One right after the other. The only constant is you and your inability to join them. To be free of this world. To finally rest. Now imagine doing that for millennia and I think you’ll have your answer.”
I was shocked speechless for a moment.
Whenever I thought about how old Will was, I imagined all the knowledge he’d accumulated over the years. The things he’s seen and done and was a part of.
He’d witnessed the great pyramids of Giza climb toward the sky stone by stone. He’d watched the Roman Empire rise and fall. He’s seen the industrial revolution change the world. Seen this age of technology bridge the gaps between every corner of the planet.
All of those wonderful things that came with living so long, and I never once stopped to imagine how lonely it would be.
Each time he met someone, he only had a number of decades with them before they were gone, and he had to start all over again. I couldn’t imagine a life like that. One where I outlived everyone and everything around me. When life and death came and went every day, but I sat apart from it, completely untouched by time.
I cleared my throat. “So, she made it so you would someday find your fated mate and be able to live a normal life with her? And die when she did?”
Will nodded. “Essentially,” he said again.
“So, what happened?”
Will’s lips thinned, and he shot a look at the door. “Haven’t found her yet.”
Words escaped me again. After thousands of years and all the many places he’d been, he’d never found his fated mate?
“How is that possible?”
Will took a shot, the balls clacking together angrily. “I’m not sure.” He shrugged. “Maybe it didn’t work.”
I shook my head. “But you’re the reason there are fated mates, right? The magic came from you and flowed to the rest of us.”
Will shrugged again. “That’s what I think.”
“Then how could it not work on you?”
Will sighed and stood back up to pin me with a look. “I’m not sure, Granddaughter, but I stopped looking long ago.”
A tiny crack sliced through my heart. After all this time, Will deserved someone to love. Someone to grow old with. Someone to die with if that was what he wanted.
I could sense he didn’t want to talk about his predicament anymore, so I changed the subject. “Have you ever heard of a bitten wolf being the fated mate of a born wolf?”
Will quirked his lips to the side and looked up at the low-hanging ceiling. “I don’t believe I have.”
My shoulders hunched as I sat back in the chair. If even Will hadn’t ever heard of something like this happening, then what were the odds we were really fated? If the oldest person on the face of the Earth hadn’t seen a situation like ours before, it was more proof that we were wrong.
I wasn’t really Abraham’s mate.
His real fated mate was out there somewhere, waiting for him. I was a placeholder. A stand-in.
This was the worst-case scenario.
I slid off the stool and took a shaky step toward the door. “Thanks for talking to me, Will. I’ll see you around.”
I’d just reached the door when Will called out to me. I turned to find him with both hands on the edge of the pool table, his knuckles white from strain. His jaw was clenched, and he was looking down, but finally, his dark eyes met mine.
“Just because Adela wasn’t my mate by magic didn’t make her any less mine. She was the love of my life. If you’ve found something worthwhile, fight for it. I know if there was a chance for me, I’d still be fighting for her.”
His broken words matched the sadness in his eyes, and it was almost too much for me. My nose burned with tears, but I held them back. If anyone had a reason to cry in this situation, it was Will. The man who was still pining for a woman he lost thousands of years ago.
Was he right?
Did it not matter that we weren’t fated?
I knew what I felt. Knew how much Abraham meant to me. I didn’t need magic to keep me with him. Didn’t need some witch’s spell to solidify our relationship. Abraham was the one person in the whole world for me. I knew that from the depths of my soul. Mate magic or not, he was mine, and I was his.
That had to be enough.
I smiled. “Thanks, Will.”
He shrugged. “My pleasure, Granddaughter. I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”
I nodded and left him there alone. As I walked back towards the stairs, I wondered why he spent so much time like that. It seemed he was always on the fringe of any group, as if he’d rather observe life than participate in it.
Was that a direct product of how long he’d been alive? Had he heard it all already? Seen it all? Was there nothing that excited him anymore? Nothing that entertained or amused him?
Will was an enigma, and the longer he hung around the lodge, the more questions he raised.
I’d just reached the end of the hall when Abraham appeared at the top of the stairs, a bright smile across his face. “I was lookin’ for you.”
I smiled and stood there as he descended the staircase. “Hey, baby.”
He cleared the last step and wrapped an arm around my waist, dragging me into the nearest room and shutting the door behind us. My back was immediately pressed against the cool wood.
A growl rumbled through his chest and into mine. I dug my fingers into his thick hair and tugged as he kissed and nipped my skin. Finally, his lips found mine and everything else faded away.
The worry over this fated mates business.
The questions about the future of my career.
Even the sadness I felt for Will was all washed away by Abraham’s presence. He had a way of doing that. Of blocking out everything but him. Everything but us.
Was that enough?
I knew he thought we were fated to be together, but what if we weren’t? What if we just fit? If we just worked together. What if we were just plain old in love? Was that enough?
As he lined his hard body up with mine and his hands worshipped every inch he could reach, I knew it was.
It was plenty.
Finally, Abraham pulled his mouth away from mine. “What are you doing down here, anyway? I thought you were working with Callie?”
I struggled to catch my breath before answering him. “I already helped Callie and then I came down here to talk to Will.”
Abraham took a half-step back. “What did you need to talk to Will about?”
Oh, damn.
I guess I shouldn’t have admitted what I was really doing down there. Now, I either had to lie to him or admit that I was asking about fated mates. And if I did that, he’d know I was still skeptical about us and I knew that would hurt him.
So, I compromised.
“I was asking him some stuff about the wolf magic.”
Abraham nodded and moved his lips back to my neck. “Oh, yeah?”
“Mmm hmm,” I moaned softly as he sucked on my skin. “What are you doing down here?”
Abraham pulled back again, a smile spread across his face. “I came to find you for dinner, but then you called me the b-word and I got sidetracked.”
My lips twitched with a grin. “The b-word? You mean bab–”
He covered my mouth with his big hand before I could finish. Abraham shook his head. “Don’t say it. Not if you want to eat before I have you again.”
I rolled my eyes but nodded to let him know I’d concede.
But where was the fun in that?
As soon as his hand was gone, my lips curled into a smirk. “I’m pretty hungry, but I’m always ready for you, baby.”
He growled, but before he could wrap his arms around me again, I slipped through the door and ran up the stairs. I could feel Abraham just inches behind me and a crazed laugh spilled from my lips as I raced toward the main floor.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I flung the door open just as Abraham’s hands found my hips and he jerked me back against his chest. “You ran from me?”
I was out of breath. “And you chased me.”
“Because you ran.”
I shook my head. “You would have kept me down there.”
He pulled me closer. “You’re damn right I would have.”
I spun in his arms, fully prepared to have this little lovers’ quarrel with him when someone turned down the hallway, headed right toward us. I smelled tobacco and knew it was Clyde even before I could make out his face in the dim lighting of the hall.
I tried to pull away from Abraham’s hold, but he gripped me tighter.
“Cousin,” he called to him.
Clyde lifted his head to look at us, his dark eyes darting back and forth. “Abraham. Elizabeth.”
That was about the most I’d heard out of him in the past month.
Even though we’d all had some connection to Calvin, it goes without saying that no one was closer to him than his twin. That was why it was even harder for Clyde when he realized it had been his own brother who’d been killing women and dumping their bodies in the woods around the lodge.
Even worse, Clyde had been tasked with leading the investigation. He was supposed to figure out who the killer was, and it turned out, he’d been right beneath his own nose.
I couldn’t image what would be worse. Finding out your brother was a serial killer, or losing him altogether. The betrayal had to be just as bad as the loss he felt.
That night in Charlotte hadn’t left me, and I was sure it was the same for Clyde.
I’d almost died, and if Abraham hadn’t gotten to me when he did, I probably wouldn’t have made it. Calvin had caught me trying to escape the stone cottage he’d locked us in and lost his mind. He’d somehow deluded himself into believing we were fated mates and belonged together.
Apparently, the women he’d killed after he attacked me had just been substitutes for the real thing. My stomach still hurt thinking about it.
After Abraham had been forced to kill Calvin, I wasn’t sure Clyde would ever forgive him. Even though his brother was a killer and a psychopath, they were still family. However, Clyde had seen the whole thing. Heard Abraham try to reason with him and watched as Calvin struggled until he snapped his own neck in Abraham’s jaws.
Since that night, Clyde hadn’t been the same.
He’d always been quiet and broody, but I hadn’t heard him speak a full sentence in over a month. He kept to himself, only leaving his room in the lodge when he was on patrol, or for the occasional meal. It was clear he’d lost weight, and if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by, I was willing to bet he wasn’t sleeping much, either.
I felt awful for him, but what could I do? Clyde hadn’t been my biggest fan before all this had gone down, and I was sure nothing had changed. In fact, I was part of the reason his brother lost his damn mind in the first place. If he’d wanted to, I was sure he could have found plenty of blame to lay at my feet.
It didn’t seem like he was angry, though, which was what I’d been used to from Clyde. Instead, it was almost like he’d given up. Like he no longer found any worthwhile part to his day. Nothing fazed him, nothing affected him, nothing mattered to him.
I didn’t know how long he could keep that up, but I knew the whole family was worried about him. It wasn’t my place, but I felt partially responsible and wished there was something I could do. Some way I could take away his pain, or at least ease it somehow.
But I knew a loss was something you had to deal with on your own. I just hoped he came out the other side of it intact.
Chapter 10
I rolled over again and tried to find a comfortable position, but it was no use. My mind was spinning, and I knew I wouldn’t be getting to sleep anytime soon.
The day had been full of information and revelations, and I was having trouble keeping up. The list of things for me to worry about was endless, but there were a few items that bothered me more than the others. A few things I couldn’t ignore, despite my best efforts.
At the top of the list was whatever was between Abraham and me. It was clear there was something there. Some deep profound well of love, but was that where it ended? Were we just like any other human couple who had the same chance to make things work as everybody else?
Or was there more between us?
I wanted to believe we were fated. Wanted to believe that the sickness I felt whenever I was away from him and the strength I got when he was near was all the proof we needed. But it wasn’t that simple. There was still a whole list of reasons why us being fated was impossible, and I couldn’t ignore them.
I wondered why Abraham was so quick to believe we were. It wasn’t like he’d experienced it before and knew what it felt like. What it looked like. It wasn’t like he could compare me to the last one he had. Werewolves only got one of those and he thought it was me.
I’ll admit, I wanted to be his fated mate. I wanted to be the only one for him. The yin to his yang, the peanut butter to his jelly, but there were too many doubts
to contend with. Still so much that was unknown and unbelievable about our love story.
To sum it up: we didn’t make sense and I couldn’t wrap my brain around it.
Those thoughts and more had me tossing and turning between the sheets for over an hour, and I didn’t see any end in sight.
Abraham tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “I thought I sexed you to sleep.” His voice rumbled in the quiet, dark room.
A smile tugged at my lips. “You definitely sexed me, but it doesn’t seem like sleep is happening tonight.”
Abraham hummed softly and propped himself up on an elbow. “What’s goin’ on, baby?”
I sighed and looked away. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
He used a thick, calloused finger to turn my face back toward him. “What’s bothering you? Maybe I can help.”
My heart beat faster in my chest as I looked up at his face in the dark room. Despite the lack of light, I could see him clearly. The strong jaw with light stubble across his tan cheeks, the blue eyes that were concerned and trained on me. He was so beautiful, it was sometimes hard to look right at him.
I studied him for a long time, not willing to admit what I’d been worried about because it would worry him too.
He was dead set on us being fated. The few times I’d brought it up had ended in arguments and I didn’t want to go there again. Because, beneath the harsh words, I knew there was a lot of pain.
He was so sure of us. So unwavering. Nothing I said made any difference to him. When I mentioned a born wolf shouldn’t be fated with a bitten wolf, he just told me we got lucky.
Lucky.
Like this was a slot machine in Atlantic City.
But I’d keep this to myself. I didn’t have the energy to argue with him and I didn’t have the heart to hurt him again.
Abraham tucked some hair behind my ear and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Are you worried about the appointments you have comin’ up tomorrow?”
Rise Page 8
