Abraham swung his head toward his sister, and I had to imagine they were communicating. Thankfully, they must have realized it was rude to talk to each other while I couldn’t hear them, because in the next instant, there were a series of loud snaps and they both rose to two feet.
Abraham wasted no time crossing the distance between us and pulling me into his arms. He held me close, his head dipping to the crook of my neck where he inhaled deeply.
“I never should have left you,” he whispered against my skin.
I shook my head and pulled back far enough to look in his remorseful eyes. “You did what you had to. Your pack needed you.”
He shook his head, but instead of arguing, he pulled me back into his arms. I went willingly, basking in the knowledge that he was okay, and I was okay, and so were our babies. But that wasn’t the end of my list of worries. Not by a long shot.
I pulled back again. “Conrad?”
Abraham’s jaw tensed before he spat one word. “Dead.”
I released a deep breath, relaxing muscles I hadn’t realized I’d been tensing. “And the rest of the pack? Are they still fighting the Charlotte wolves?”
Abraham shook his head. “Just like I thought, as soon as Conrad was dead, that ended the conflict. None of them wanted to fight us. They were all under Conrad’s orders.”
I nodded slowly, millions of other questions swirling in my head. Abraham must have realized I had a slew of concerns because he leaned forward and kissed my head.
“We can talk more later. Go inside and get dressed. Grab something for me and Wyatt and meet us back out here. We need to get him into my truck and back to pack lands now.”
I nodded once and spun around to do as he asked. I ran past Peyton, not giving her body a second glance.
As far as I was concerned, she got what she deserved. She was a nasty, vindictive person who would have stopped at nothing to tear me from Abraham. When she realized she couldn’t do that, she settled for trying to kill me instead.
I just wished Beatrice hadn’t had to be the one to pull the metaphorical trigger. My sister-in-law’s pain still pulsed through my system, but I shoved it down. There would be time for mourning and healing later. First, I had to make sure my friend got the help he needed.
I raced up the stairs to the loft and threw on the first set of clothes I found. Next, I grabbed a couple pairs of shorts and sprinted back downstairs. As I was running through the living room, an ear-piercing screech shocked me to my core.
“Wyatt!”
The scream stopped me in my tracks for a moment, but I shook myself and darted out of the cottage. When I got back to the driveway, I found Callie, naked and crouching on the ground beside Wyatt. Her hands shook as they fluttered above his pale body.
I’d never seen her so distraught before and it tugged at my already bruised heart.
“Callie?” I called as I walked up to the gathering of people surrounding Wyatt.
She looked up at me, tears streaking down her pretty face, her pale blue eyes bloodshot. “What happened, Ellie?”
I kneeled down and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Paul shot him when he tried to defend me. We need to get him back to pack lands so Kyle can take a look at him.”
Her shoulders were quaking with her sobs. She leaned down close to Wyatt’s ear, and I did my best to give her some privacy. When she lifted her head again, she cupped his face and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
After the day I’d had, you’d have thought there wouldn’t be anything that could have shocked me, but Callie kissing Wyatt did the job.
She turned to me, not an ounce of shame on her face. “Can you find me a shirt or something? I’m coming with you guys.”
I shook myself out of my stupor and nodded. “Um. Sure. Yeah. Here,” I said, handing a pair of shorts to her for Wyatt. “See if you can get these on him.” I turned to find Abraham not far away, a look of confusion on his face, too. I handed him the other pair of shorts before darting inside to find something for Callie to wear.
When I came back outside with an oversized shirt for Callie, Wyatt had already been loaded into the back of Abraham’s pickup. Bea was back in her wolf form and Abraham was behind the wheel waiting for all of us. I handed Callie the shirt, and she shrugged it on before climbing into the back of the truck with Wyatt.
As soon as I was in the passenger seat, Abraham gunned the engine, racing down the gravel road and back toward pack lands. It was a quiet trip that only took about ten minutes, but felt at least five times longer. When we made it up the steep gravel drive, Abraham passed the lodge and drove straight to the first pack house.
Kyle and Doreen must have heard the roaring of Abraham’s engine because they ran out of their house, twin looks of confusion on their faces.
Abraham hopped out and called over his shoulder, “Wyatt’s been shot in the stomach. We need help now.”
Doreen ran back inside while Kyle hustled over to help Abraham get him out of the truck. Callie was hot on their heels as we all raced inside the pack doctor’s house. Kyle took Wyatt into the back and, although they tried, there was no keeping Callie out of that room.
Abraham walked back out a few minutes later, his face weary and his shoulders slumped. He took a seat next to me and picked up my hand to hold between both of his. We sat there quietly for a long time, the only sound the ticking of a wall clock in their living room.
There were a million things we needed to say to each other, and yet, we both held our tongues. It was enough to know that he was alive and by my side. It was enough to know that my family had made it through this.
There were a hundred other questions, but they could all wait. My friend’s life hung in the balance and nothing else was more important than that.
So, we sat and waited to hear if we’d be helping our friend limp out of here or planning his funeral.
Chapter 61
“Their wisteria is a menace! You have to do something about it before my poor bleeding-heart plants are overrun!”
I stifled a sigh and jotted down a couple notes. “And which house are you in again, Nicole?”
She sat up straighter. “I’m in nine and those damn plants are coming from seven.”
This time I had to stifle a roll of my eyes as I wrote down the house numbers and clicked my pen closed. “Okay. I’ll reach out to them as soon as possible.”
She looked suspicious but nodded slowly. “And what if they refuse to do something about it?”
I stretched out in my chair, my lower back aching from sitting still for so long. This was the sixth appointment I’d had to sit through today, and thankfully, my last. I’d had enough of hearing about creeping vines and who borrowed what and didn’t return it.
Although, I shouldn’t have complained. In a way, it was nice hearing about mundane problems when we’d had such big ones to deal with lately.
It had been about two weeks since the conflict with the Charlotte pack and things had finally returned to mostly normal. The lodge had emptied of the borrowed enforcers and the injured Charlotte wolves had all recovered and gone back home.
Unfortunately, our side hadn’t been as lucky.
Nicole continued to drone on about her plants while my stomach clenched uncomfortably like it always did when I thought about what we lost that day.
Although our men had been instructed to hurt and not kill, the Charlotte pack had been given no such order. We’d lost two men that day and their deaths weighed heavily on everyone, most of all me and Abraham.
One of the enforcers had been ours, a man named Jonah. I hadn’t known him well, but saw him at most meals and every pack barbecue. His presence and loud laugh were missed every day in the lodge. His funeral service had been held shortly after the battle with Charlotte and I knew the feeling of his loss would continue to ripple through the community for a long time.
The other enforcer had been on loan from the Greensboro pack. I only met him once, but
his sacrifice didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. I was with Abraham when he’d had to make the call to that alpha, Adam, and I hoped to never see that look on my husband’s face again.
Despite the losses we’d suffered, we’d pulled together and pushed through our grief. We celebrated the fallen and remembered them often. Their sacrifices were heavy on our hearts, but we got up each new day and did our best to keep living our lives as a testament to theirs.
“So, what if they won’t tame their vines? What happens then?” Nicole asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I shook my head and set down my pen. “If they won’t comply, I’ll send our gardeners to do it for them. I promise, one way or another, those vines won’t be a problem for you for much longer, okay?”
Nicole’s lips twitched with a smile and she nodded. “Okay, Ellie. Thanks.”
I rose to my feet, hoping she’d follow my lead. A headache was brewing behind my eyes and I needed to hunt down some Tylenol before it worsened.
“It’s no problem, Nicole. Please, don’t hesitate to come to me with any other problems you have.”
The dark-haired woman reached out a hand that I gratefully shook. I led her to the door of the conference room and watched as she made her way through the lodge.
Releasing a deep breath, I gathered my notes from that afternoon and turned off the lights. I was done with appointments until next week and so thankful for that. I loved being an alpha alongside Abraham, but there was only so much whining I could handle in a day before I was over it. And I’d just reached my limit.
I walked into the kitchen, hoping to grab some pain pills and a snack. I’d been bringing Charlie downstairs a lot more often lately, and usually, when I entered the kitchen, he’d come running toward me, but not that day. I looked around but didn’t see anything or anyone except a small group of enforcers playing cards at one of the tables.
I found the pills and washed them down with some water before I went searching for my cat. So far, his transition into life in the pack house had been pretty seamless, but it was still early. Maybe something happened to him, or maybe someone accidentally let him outside.
Remembering that sometimes my nose was stronger than my eyes, I lifted it in the air and gave a sniff. I could smell him, so I followed his scent over to the group of enforcers. It took me a minute, but I finally located him. Square on the lap of the person I least expected.
I waltzed over with a raised brow until I was standing beside Huxley’s chair.
“What’s going on here?”
Huxley jumped slightly in his seat and turned wide eyes toward me. When he noticed I was looking at the lump of fur in his lap, he glanced at it quickly before throwing up both hands.
“Hey, he jumped on my lap.”
Mathias snorted from across the table. “Don’t lie. You picked him up and put him there.”
There was a loud thud under the table and Mathias jumped before shooting a glare at Huxley.
I pursed my lips and leaned a hip against an empty chair.
“Is this coming from the man who insinuated my cat would get eaten by one of the werewolves in this house?” I asked.
Huxley shrugged. “It’s still a possibility.”
I shook my head and pressed my lips together to smother my smile. “Admit it, Huxley. You’re a big fat softie for that little kitty.”
The big man snorted so loudly I was worried for his sinuses. “Not even a little bit.”
“You’ve been snuggling that cat for the past half hour, man,” Mathias spoke up again, scooting his chair away from the table so he wouldn’t get kicked again.
Huxley glared at his fellow enforcer and shrugged. “Whatever. The cat wanted to sit on my lap. Who wouldn’t, honestly?”
I rolled my eyes so hard a sharp pain shot through my head. “You keep believing that, Hux.” I turned to leave before calling over my shoulder, “Just don’t eat my cat.”
“I’m not making any promises!” he yelled back.
I shot him the middle finger over my shoulder but ignored him. His secret was out. Underneath that bravado and macho behavior was a big, fluffy, teddy bear, and I wasn’t going to forget that anytime soon.
I made my way to the other end of the kitchen, hoping to scrounge up a snack. Aubrey was there doing dishes as usual, but also like usual, I ignored her. Her attitude had continued to be frosty toward me, but I’d trained myself to stop caring. There was only so much you could do to change someone’s opinion. If they weren’t willing to give you another chance, there wasn’t much you could do.
“Hey, Ellie?”
I froze in place at the sound of her voice. Slowly, so as not to spook her, I turned around to find Aubrey drying her hands on a dish towel.
“Are you talking to me?” I asked stupidly.
She nodded. “Do you have a minute?”
I could feel how wide my eyes were in my head and I worked to make them look a little more normal. I cleared my throat and nodded. “Sure. Do we need privacy?”
She shrugged. “I can say what I need to right here.” She looked down at the floor for a moment before taking a deep breath and meeting my eyes. “I want to apologize to you.”
My eyes were doing that creepy wide thing again, and I struggled to control my reaction. “Apologize?” I squeaked.
She nodded. “I wasn’t fair to you. I’d listened to Peyton and let her color my view before I even really knew you.” She took another deep breath before speaking again. “I heard what happened the day we were attacked, and it made me realize she’d always had her own agenda. She wasn’t a good person and I never should have believed her. If you can, I’d like you to give me another chance. We see each other so often and it doesn’t make sense for us to not be friendly.” She paused before adding, “If that’s what you want…”
It took me a moment to process everything she’d said before I could respond. I’d never expected this from Aubrey, and I was stunned silent for a prolonged moment. Unfortunately, it seemed like I took too long because the housekeeper’s shoulders hunched, and the corners of her mouth curled into a frown.
“I guess it’s too late, huh? The damage is already done.”
I took a step forward, shaking my head. “No, no. Not at all, Aubrey. Thank you so much for this. It’s not too late, and I’d really like the chance to start over with you, too.”
Her smile was wide as she nodded. “That would be great! Thanks, Ellie.”
I didn’t know if it was the pregnancy hormones or what, but this little scene was making me more emotional than it should have. Not wanting to respond for fear I’d cry instead, I closed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms. She froze for the smallest fraction of a second before returning my embrace.
When we pulled apart, we both had smiles on our faces.
“I need to get back to work, but thanks for hearing me out. I’ll see you around,” she said.
I swallowed the tears I could feel swimming to the surface and nodded. “Okay, yeah. I’ll see you around. Thanks, Aubrey.”
She smiled again and turned back toward the sink to finish what she’d been working on. It took me a little longer to recover from that conversation, but I finally spun around, grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and left the kitchen.
My mind was still spinning so I didn’t see the original werewolf until I almost ran head first into him. He stopped me with two gentle hands on my shoulders and a smile on his face.
“Granddaughter. How are you?”
I smiled up at him and shrugged. “Doing pretty good, actually.”
He nodded at my ever-growing belly. “And my grandchildren? How are they?”
My heart swelled in my chest at his question. I never imagined I’d be able to provide my children with loving grandparents until Will stepped up to the plate. He’d been more present than usual
and closely following my pregnancy’s progress. He was the family I’d always wished for and now was so lucky to have.
I cupped my belly as my smile grew. “They’re doing great. We get to find out what we’re having in a few weeks.”
His eyes lit up. “That’s great news! May I accompany you to that appointment?”
My eyes did that weird widening thing as the shocks just kept hitting my system. “S-sure, Will. That would be great!”
He nodded, his smile bright, but for the first time, I saw the dark bags under his eyes and noticed how much paler he seemed to be. I reached out and grasped his arm.
“Are you doing okay, Will? You don’t look so great.”
His smile turned forced as he shrugged. “Fine, Granddaughter. Don’t worry about me. Just keep those babies healthy.”
I nodded and let it drop, but I wouldn’t forget it. There was something going on with Will and I wanted to know what.
Now that I thought about it, he’d been acting strange since the conflict with the Charlotte pack. Was it the fact that he’d had to witness the fight between wolves he considered his children? Was it the losses we’d suffered that were bothering him so much? Or was it something else?
Initially, Will had declined to fight alongside our enforcers. He’d claimed it would be too hard for him to choose a side when we were all his children. However, I’d learned later on that once everyone had been evacuated to the lodge, he’d volunteered to stand watch with the other enforcers stationed on pack lands. I didn’t know what changed his mind, but I was grateful he was there to help us after all. I was even more grateful that, in the end, there hadn’t been a need for him to fight.
I continued through the lodge, my mind drifting toward Beatrice like it often did since that day.
Something changed in her the day of the conflict and she hadn’t been the same since. She put on a brave face and did her best to pretend, but all of us closest to her could see a difference. There was a tightness around her eyes that she never used to have. A slump to her shoulders that didn’t used to be there. Having to kill her best friend was weighing on my sister-in-law and it was eating me up inside.
Rise Page 51
