Rise

by Heather MacKinnon

   She pulled away until I was at arm’s length and eyed me speculatively. “Did you get prettier or is that just my imagination?”

   Instantly, my cheeks were on fire while I looked everywhere but at her. “I think it’s your imagination, Nana,” I mumbled.

   I caught sight of Evey, who was seconds away from bursting out laughing, and I shot her a look. It only made her face turn redder as she tried to hold her laughter in.

   A thick arm landed around my shoulders and I was bathed in Abraham’s familiar scent. “No, you’re right Nana. She gets more beautiful every day.”

   I rolled my eyes, but my smile couldn’t be contained. Being complimented like that from the most handsome man I’d ever met will do that to a girl.

   Nana shook her head, but her eyes were still trained on me. “Well, whatever it is you’re doin’, keep doin’ it. Your skin is so beautiful, it’s almost like you’re glowing.”

   My stomach sank in that instant and I fought to keep the smile on my face. “I’ve been drinking a lot of water lately,” I said lamely.

   Nana raised a brow but shrugged. “I hear water is good for the skin. That must be it.”

   I did my best to hide my sigh of relief, but it looked like it hadn’t escaped Abraham’s eagle eye. Honestly, nothing ever did. That man was so attuned to me, he probably knew what I was feeling before I did.

   But I had a secret I was keeping from him and I wasn’t ready to share. I needed to do my best to hide it for as long as I could. I wanted to make up my own mind about what I was going to do before involving anyone else. I was afraid their opinion would sway my own, and I didn’t want that.

   This was my body, and it had to be my decision. I wouldn’t be able to live with either outcome if it wasn’t.

   “I hope everyone’s hungry because I brought extra food!” Nana hollered as she made her way down the hallway.

   Abraham leaned in to whisper in my ear. “What did I tell you? She probably cooked enough to feed the whole pack.” My stomach growled, and he chuckled. “Or maybe just you.”

   I elbowed him in the ribs, and he had the decency to wince.

   It wasn’t my fault I was eating for four.

   As we followed Nana and the others down the hall, we came upon Will who looked lost in thought. I hadn’t seen much of the original werewolf in recent weeks and I wondered why that was. He seemed like a loner and I wondered if that was by design or not.

   Did he have trouble relating to people so much younger than him? Did he feel lost in this modern world? Did he not get along with the other werewolves or did he not even try?

   There were so many questions surrounding his presence, I could have spent all day just thinking about them.

   One of the biggest was: what was he still doing here?

   It seemed like he was a wanderer, never staying in one place for very long. At least that was the way it’d seemed when he first got here. But it had been over a month and he was still hanging around the lodge. I wasn’t sure what he did all day, but I barely saw him.

   Suddenly, I felt immensely sad for him. He must have been so lonely, and I knew I hadn’t made much of an effort to make him feel welcome. I figured it was time do something to change that.

   “Hey, Will,” I called out as we approached him.

   He lifted his dark curly head and speared me with a gentle smile. “Elizabeth. How are you?”

   I shrugged. “I’m doing all right. Are you heading somewhere important?”

   He shrugged and looked over my shoulder. “I’d planned to go for a run in the woods.”

   “Could you postpone it? We’re having a family dinner and I’d love for you to join us.”

   His eyes darted from me to Abraham before he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know that I’d be welcome.”

   I discreetly pinched Abraham’s side, and he jerked in response before clearing his throat. “My grandma’s made tons of food. You’d be doing us a favor by helping us eat it all.”

   Will’s smile was wide and so genuine that I knew I’d done the right thing. Will needed to be included more. If he was planning on sticking around for a while, there was no reason for him to live on the outskirts of all of us. We needed to drag him right into the mayhem.

   I pulled away from Abraham and linked my arm through Will’s. “Come on. Let’s go grab a seat. The food should be warmed up by now.”

   Will shrugged and let me lead him toward the dining room. When we arrived, the space was full of loud talking and boisterous laughter and Will hesitated in the doorway.

   I felt for the guy.

   My first couple of times with all the McCoys had been pretty jarring, too. After being used to solitude, their brand of crazy was a lot to handle. But I knew he’d grow to love it as much as I had if he let himself.

   I dragged him farther into the room and found a set of three chairs on one side of the giant table. Nana was directing traffic and filling up plates while the sisters fluttered around her and Clyde sat quietly in a chair.

   I wished there was something I could do for him, too, but I knew he wouldn’t accept the help from me. Our relationship hadn’t been the best before the mess with Calvin and I couldn’t imagine it would be any better now. It was my fault his brother had gone off the deep end and wound up dead. That wasn’t something you just forgave.

   Once the plates were filled and everyone had drinks, we sat down to eat, Nana the center of every conversation. Soon, though, our mouths were too full of her delicious cooking and the room grew as quiet as it could with so many people in it.

   “Would you pass the butter?” Will asked from my right.

   I reached for the dish and set it next to his plate.

   “Thank you, Granddaughter.”

   It wasn’t the first time he’d called me that and it made me pause every time. I never had the courage to ask him what he meant by that, but apparently, Del didn’t have the same issue.

   “Why do you always call her that?” she spoke up from across the table.

   Will raised his eyes to meet hers and frowned. “Pardon?”

   Del swallowed the food in her mouth and reached for another roll in the center of the table. “I always hear you callin’ Ellie granddaughter, but you call the rest of us daughter or son. How come she’s different?”

   He shrugged as he buttered his dinner roll. “That’s because she is my granddaughter.”

   I almost spit out my drink. “I’m sorry, what? I’m not your granddaughter.”

   He shot me a curious look. “Of course you are. You’re a descendant.”

   The whole room grew quiet. So quiet, I could hear every heart in the room thumping in time with mine.

   What the hell was going on?

   “What’s a descendant?” Callie asked from the end of the table.

   Will shrugged again. “She’s related to one of my offspring. I call them my descendants.”

   Again, a hush fell over the room, and this time, I couldn’t hear a single heartbeat because the ringing in my ears was too loud.

   “What are you saying?” I asked. My voice sounded a little desperate, but it was coming from an honest place. I had no idea what he was talking about, and the more he said, the less I understood. “I thought your wife died. Did you have kids before then?”

   His face fell the tiniest bit, and I felt awful for bringing it up. It was clear the death of his spouse was still a sore subject. But he was the one talking in riddles and I was just trying to understand what was going on.

   He set down his roll and knife and met my eyes. “No. Unfortunately for me, Adela and I never had children of our own.”

   “Okay, then how am I a descendant of yours?”

   His face turned the lightest shade of pink and I almost laughed. Was the original werewolf, the man who was thousands of years old, really blushing?

&
nbsp;  “She was not the only woman I’ve ever laid with,” he explained softly.

   My brain was working hard at putting the pieces together, but I felt like I was still missing a few.

   “So, you’ve laid with other werewolves? Then shouldn’t I have been born a werewolf? Shouldn’t my parents be werewolves?”

   The mere thought of Bill and Regina Montgomery being werewolves was laughable.

   He shook his head, his cheeks darkening. “I’ve also been with human women before. There have been a few instances where, despite our best intentions, we procreated.”

   Another quiet fell over the room. This time Beatrice was the one to break it.

   “So, you’ve just run around for centuries knocking up human women and taking off?”

   He frowned at her, his shoulders stiff. “I did not run off. I stayed and raised the child as long as I was able.”

   “What the hell does that mean?”

   “Is it not obvious?” He paused for only a moment but when no one spoke, he pressed on. “I don’t age. There was only so long I could stay with any one person before they realized that, and I had to move on.”

   Beatrice scoffed and shoved her chair back, the legs screeching across the floor. “This is bullshit,” she muttered before storming out of the room

   I wanted to investigate her peculiar behavior, but I had bigger things to deal with at that moment.

   “So, you think I’m related to one of the children you had with a human woman?”

   His eyes were still fixed on the doorway Beatrice stalked through, but he nodded. “I don’t think. I know. You’re one of my descendants. I thought you knew.”

   A hysterical laugh bubbled out of me. “How the hell would I know that?”

   He shook his head and finally met my eyes. “Because you’re mated to a born werewolf of course.”

   Of course.

   Of course.

   Like it was so damn obvious I should have seen it before.

   I really liked Will who, I guess, was my many times over great grandpa, but in that moment, I could have strangled the man.

   “How would I know that? Why would I assume that?”

   He frowned. “You came to me asking about bitten wolves being mated with born wolves. I thought you knew why that was possible for you.”

   “El?” Abraham asked softly from beside me.

   I could tell by his tone that he was hurt I’d gone to Will with that issue, but I didn’t have time for that right now. I had a million more questions for Will, and they were all spinning so quickly through my head, I didn’t know which one to ask first.

   Thankfully, Callie spoke up and asked one of the major ones.

   “How do you know she’s a descendant? Have you kept track of them over the years?” There was a hint of excitement in her voice, and if I had to guess, I’d bet it was at the thought of getting her hands on a document like that. She’d probably kill to study a family tree that old and complex.

   Will shook his head. “That would be impossible since there’s no way to accurately tell paternity. I suppose I could have followed the women of my line, and I have in the past, but after a few centuries, it becomes complicated and convoluted.”

   “Then how do you know I’m a descendant?” I asked.

   He shrugged and picked up his dinner roll again. “I can just tell.”

   Another crazed laugh spilled from my lips. “What do you mean you can just tell? How?”

   He shrugged again, and my hands itched to circle his neck and squeeze. “I’ve always been able to tell. I assume it has something to do with the magic in me responding to the magic in you.”

   “I have magic in me?”

   “You are a werewolf,” he countered.

   I shook my head. “But what you’re saying is I had magic in me before I was a werewolf. That I was born with some of your magic.”

   He nodded. “Yes, you were. I believe that was why you were able to be fated with a born werewolf.”

   His words echoed through my head as I tried to wrap my brain around them. There were so many, but a few swam to the forefront and I tried to focus on them.

   I was a descendant of the original werewolf.

   There was magic running through my veins before I ever became a werewolf.

   But most importantly, I now had an explanation as to how I could be fated to be with Abraham. I had concrete proof that there was a cosmic force pulling us together. That I was born to love him and for him to love me. That we’d live our whole lives together and die the same way.

   It seemed that family dinners around there always came with life-altering revelations.

  Chapter 45

   I was quiet the rest of dinner as my head spun with what I’d learned. Abraham was silent beside me, too, and I could only guess why.

   He was probably upset at me. Probably hurt. And I felt awful about that. The reason I’d kept my doubts to myself was so I wouldn’t hurt him, but it seemed like I had, anyway.

   Thankfully, Nana and the sisters kept the conversation going, and we were left to our own thoughts. Beatrice never came back, and I had to wonder what her issue was. But that would have to wait for another day because right then, I had a million other thoughts in my head.

   I was Will’s descendant.

   One of my parents was related to the original werewolf.

   I’d had magic running through my veins my whole life and never knew it.

   And most important of all, I finally had an explanation for what was between Abraham and me. I had proof we were meant to be together. My head could catch up with my heart and fall in line with what it always knew. That Abraham was the one person in the whole world meant for me.

   That person, however, was not happy, and it hurt me that I’d hurt him.

   As soon as our plates were clear, Abraham leaned close to speak in my ear. “Can we go to bed early tonight?”

   I turned to him and nodded, my tongue tied in my mouth. His eyes were so sad that it broke my heart. Before my eyes, his face transformed, and he pasted on a smile, but I could still see the lines around his eyes and knew this was only skin deep.

   “El hasn’t been feeling well lately, so I think we’ll go to bed early tonight,” he said when there was a lull in the conversation.

   Nana frowned at me. “What’s going on with Ellie?”

   Abraham gave her the lie I’d fed him, and my stomach clenched tighter with every word. Wasn’t it amazing how a lie could grow and swell and travel from person to person until you felt trapped in the middle of it? I’d never understood the phrase web of lies until that moment and I wished I could have kept my ignorance.

   Abraham stood and held out a hand for me. His was big and warm and rough as always and I hoped by the end of the night, everything else between us would be the same as well.

   We walked over to give Nana hugs and kisses goodbye before we left.

   “Nana, I think you should stay here tonight. If you want, one of us can take you home in the morning.”

   She waved a hand at Abraham. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

   I took a step forward. “You could never be a bother, Nana. In fact, we’d all be ecstatic if you lived here full time.”

   She raised a brow, her eyes darting between me and Abraham. “Did my grandson put you up to this?”

   I pursed my lips and shrugged. “He might have mentioned it, but I agree wholeheartedly. None of us like the idea of you living so far away. Your family is up here.”

   She sighed. “But my home is there. How can I leave everything I’ve worked for and built over the years?”

   It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she’d have a lot more to live for up here in about eight months, but I swallowed the words. There was no way I could tell Abraham like that. It would have been so unfair to him. Besides, I still wasn’t entirely sure wha
t I was going to do. However, the more time that passed, the more sure I became of one path in particular. I just knew I needed to talk to Abraham before I did anything.

   I leaned over and gave Nana another big hug. “Well, stay the night and we can talk more about this in the morning, okay?”

   She sighed and squeezed me back. When I pulled away, she shot a look at Abraham. “Your mate is convincing.”

   He smiled, but it was thin. “That’s what makes her such a great lawyer.”

   Nana laughed, and the sound lightened the load on my heart by the smallest amount. We said goodnight to everyone else before Abraham took my hand and led me up to our room.

   We were quiet the whole way, but my head was anything but. It was still racing with everything I’d found out and the repercussions of that information. I didn’t know what was going through Abraham’s mind, but he seemed as preoccupied as I was.

   When we made it to the bedroom, he dropped my hand and spun to face me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

   My heart dropped to the soles of my shoes. “Tell you what?” I whispered.

   Holy shit.

   Did Doc Monroe spill the beans before I could tell Abraham myself? Doreen maybe? They’d agreed to keep my secret, but maybe pack bonds ran deeper. Maybe they’d decided I was taking too long and took matters into their own hands.

   Abraham sighed and paced away from me. “I knew you were having doubts about us. What I don’t understand is why you couldn’t come to me with them.”

   I let out the smallest sigh of relief. He wasn’t talking about the pregnancy. He didn’t know about the babies. That secret was still safe with me.

   But I still had an unhappy fiancé to deal with.

   I took a step toward him. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

   He scoffed and ran a hand down his face. “Well, I’m still hurt.” He turned away and paced the floor in front of me. “I just don’t understand you. Why are you so unwilling to believe we’re meant to be together?” He stopped and turned to me, his face filled with so much pain, my heart clenched in my chest. “Do you not want to be with me?”