by Cameo Renae
She walked over to Rylan and gave him a hug. “I see you’ve met our resident hottie,” she said. “He doesn’t have a girlfriend yet. Well, at least none we know of.” Her eyes narrowed on him.
Rylan shook his head. “No ma’am. No girl, yet.” As he spoke the last word, his eyes met mine, making my face and insides heat. Jerk.
“Lydia,” Vera scolded. “No matchmaking in this house. Piers will go full wolf on you.”
I laughed. “Full wolf?”
They both looked at each other. “Oh, it’s just a saying. Means he’ll shred her to bits.”
“Yes.” Lydia laughed, slapping a hand on Rylan’s shoulder. “Eris’s daddy is wildly protective. We like you, Rylan, and your handsome face. So, don’t go making googly eyes at her or make her blush in front of him,” she warned, pinching his cheek.
This time I laughed as his nose crinkled.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, his smile widening. “At least on my part.”
“Eris, don’t mind your aunt Lydia,” Vera sighed, finally grabbing a plate. “She doesn’t have a filter, and speaks whatever is on her mind.”
“Don’t worry.” I chuckled. “I’m used to it. My dad doesn’t have a filter either.”
Breakfast was eventful. Both aunts asked me a ton of questions about growing up in New Mexico, and although there wasn’t much interesting to tell, they hung on every word. Much to my surprise, so did Rylan.
“So, Rylan, what are your plans for the rest of winter break?” Aunt Lydia asked, popping a grape into her mouth.
“I’ll probably ask the Kasuns if they need any help with the investigation.”
“That’s great. I’m sure they could use it. The sheriff and the Court have been extra busy this winter break, especially with that teenage girl who went missing . . . Heidi Bennett. Did you know her, Rylan?”
“No, but everyone in school was talking about her disappearance. It’s almost been a month.”
Aunt Lydia shook her head. “That’s so sad. I hope they find that poor girl. Maybe she left and didn’t tell anyone.” Her eyes narrowed as she turned to Rylan, “Do y’all think Camden and Heidi’s cases are related?”
“I don’t know,” Rylan replied. “They are totally different, but could be. Something strange is going on, that’s for sure. I hope they find out what it is before anyone else goes missing or gets hurt.”
“Yes, no going off into the woods alone,” Aunt Lydia said, sipping her coffee.
“What happened to Camden?” I asked. “I mean . . . who found him and where?”
Rylan set his fork down. “A guy named Rusty found him in the woods and brought him into the medical center. He said he found him unconscious.”
I nodded, wondering how it happened. “Where did he find him?”
“On the other side of Cooley Creek, which runs between the Blaekthorn property and Havenstone,” Rylan replied, pointing east. “His body was found a few miles behind Havenstone. Right on the bank of the creek.”
“Thank God for Rusty,” Aunt Lydia sighed. “Who knows what would have happened to Camden if he hadn’t been on patrol?”
There were stomps on the porch outside, and then we heard, “We’re home!”
The door swung open, and Uncle Garrick, my dad, and another man with a full beard stomped in.
“Well, well, look what the wolves dragged in.” Aunt Lydia laughed. Both women stood and headed over to the men. “Piers, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Lydia said, hugging him tightly. My dad hugged her back.
“It’s good to see you too, Lyd,” he replied, his voice tired.
“Piers,” Vera squealed. My dad picked her up and twirled her. “It’s good to have you back. I can’t believe how grown up Eris is. She looks so much like Aurora.”
A sadness washed over my dad’s face as he looked at me. “Yes, she does. And it’s good to be back.”
“Did they have any new news about Cam?” Lydia asked.
“No. Nothing yet,” Garrick replied.
“Well, go get something to eat before you all waste away,” Vera said, waving the men to the table.
“Princess!” The man with the beard exclaimed, smiling broadly at me. He looked like a muscular lumberjack. He had to be my uncle Barney, because he danced toward me with his arms wide open.
I stood to greet him, and when he reached me, he wrapped his large arms around me and squeezed me so tight I thought I was going to explode.
He was taller than both my dad and Uncle Garrick. His arms were as big as tree trunks, and his chest was solid as rock. He smelled like fresh-cut wood and earth, and when he hugged me, his beard tickled my forehead.
“Barney, let the girl breathe!” Aunt Lydia exclaimed, smacking him on his arm.
He let go with a hearty laugh. “Princess, you look as pretty as your mother. Thank God,” he said, nudging my dad.
Dad glanced at me and smiled. “Hey, I contributed to half of her looks.”
“Yeah, I can see that. She definitely has your ears and neck.” Another boisterous laugh burst from Uncle Barney’s gut. My dad first growled at him, then joined in with his laughter, which was infectious.
I was happy to see my dad with his family, smiling and laughing. For so long it’d just been the two of us, but it seemed like he was falling right back into this world. Although it was still a world without my mom.
I wasn’t sure if any of the others noticed the slight sadness behind my dad’s eyes, but I did. I knew him best, and also knew that being here was bringing back both good and bad memories.
While Aunt Lydia and Vera chatted with my dad, helping to fill his plate, Rylan stood and leaned toward me. “Catch you later, cupcake,” he whispered, then took his dish and walked to the sink.
“Where are you off to, Rylan?” Aunt Vera asked.
“I need to run my bike to the Havenwood Falls Garage. It’s making a weird noise, so Joshua said he’d take a look at it for me.”
“That’s mighty nice of him,” she replied. “Well, be careful. There might be ice on the roads.”
“Will do,” he said. He glanced my way and winked before slipping out the door.
When he left, I felt a little sad and wondered if he’d escaped to avoid conversation with my dad. If I was him, I would have.
Aunt Lydia stood. “Eris, your aunt Vera and I need to run into town a little later. We need a few more supplies for the New Year’s party tonight. Would you like to come with us? We can show you the town, and maybe get you some warmer clothes?”
“I’d love that.” I immediately turned to my dad for affirmation.
“Yes, that’s fine,” he said. “As long as you stick with your aunts. No going off on your own.” He gave me his very stern, serious look.
“I won’t,” I said.
“Eris, we have a lot to discuss,” he added. “You ready to go home?”
The room instantly quieted. I stood and took my dad’s and my dishes to the sink. “Thanks for breakfast, Aunt Vera. I’m glad I got to meet all of you . . . again,” I said, and they all laughed.
I followed my dad outside.
“Hey, remember we’re having a New Year’s Eve party at our house tonight,” Uncle Barney called after us. “We’re gonna have a barbecue, fireworks, and I got a brand-new guitar.”
“We’ll be there,” my dad said, then took my hand. “You ready?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yeah. I’m ready.”
“Good, because it’s time for you to learn the entire truth.”
Even though a few memories had returned to me, I knew there were still things hidden without the spell. Like how my mom died, why I was taken away from this place, and why Camden was left behind.
I was anxious, but glad I was finally going to get some answers.
Chapter 6
The walk back to our cabin was short and brisk, but the cool air was enlivening. Walking up the steps to the porch, my dad paused and turned around to glance at me. I gave him a nod of
affirmation and realized it was the first time he’d been back here since we’d left seven years ago.
He unlocked the door and pushed it in, then stood in the entry a few moments before he strode into the kitchen, toward the fridge, and opened the door. It was fully stocked.
Grabbing a bottled water, he twisted the top off and slid onto one of the barstools at the counter, then patted the stool next to him.
My heart thrummed inside my chest. Answers. I was finally going to get answers.
“Have all your memories come back yet?” I asked.
He took a swig and nodded. “Most of them.”
“Mine haven’t.”
His eyes met mine. “They will. You were young when we left, so there might be things your mind won’t remember.”
I nodded. “What happened to Mom?”
He placed his bottle of water on the table and folded his hands together, staring blankly at the poinsettia in front of him.
Then he began. “Your mother was special. She was not only beautiful, but she was brave and smart. And she loved her family fiercely.”
My heart swelled at the thought. “How did you two meet?”
A memory must have flashed before him, because he blinked it away and took another sip of water.
“Before I explain anything else, there are things I need to warn you about. Things you might not fully understand or even believe in.”
“Dad, just tell me,” I sighed. “I promise . . . I can handle it.”
A grin rose on his lips as he swiveled his chair to face me. “Your mother was a woman of magic, and she came from a long line of magic.”
“Magic as in—”
“Witches,” he said. “Your mother was a very powerful witch, as were her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her father—your grandfather—was a hunter.” I was still trying to process the witch part when he added, “A werewolf hunter.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “Werewolf hunter?”
I thought he was joking and started to laugh, but his face hardened.
Oh my God. He was serious.
I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Did he catch any?”
He turned away from me, his elbows resting on the counter. “Yes, he did. He was responsible for killing a mother and her thirteen-year-old son while they were out hunting for food one night. He shot the mother with an arrow, and when the son refused to leave her side, he shot him too.”
“My God,” I gasped. My heart ached as my mind conjured the horrific scene. “They were werewolves?”
He nodded. “Shifters that had taken their wolf form during the blue moon.”
I swallowed hard. “So, what does this have to do with you meeting Mom?”
“Everything,” he replied. “The pack—of the woman and boy—found out what happened to them and planned revenge on your grandfather. One night, when your grandparents and mother were sleeping, they attacked. They kidnapped your grandfather and mother, but your grandmother managed to escape. To this day, no one knows what happened to her. She just . . . disappeared.”
“Do you think she’s dead?”
“It’s likely,” he breathed. “If she was alive, I’m sure she would have tried to make contact. But we’ve heard nothing.”
“And you met Mom . . . ”
“They took your grandfather and mother deep into the woods where no one could hear their screams. Then, the man whose wife and son your grandfather murdered beat to near death and then bit Aurora—your mother and his only daughter—sealing her fate to become a werewolf. The one thing he hunted and hated most. Then, they beat him and ripped him to shreds.
“Thinking she’d die, they dumped your mother’s body in the river. But they didn’t know how strong she was. She drew on every bit of strength she had left inside, and clawed herself to the bank.” He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. “That’s where I found her.”
A tear trickled down my cheek. “You were her hero.”
He sighed, his brow furrowed, his eyes deeply saddened. “She was barely alive. We didn’t think she’d survive through the night. My father called a shaman in a nearby town, and he did what he could. And before the shaman left, he pulled me to the side and told me my fate was tied to hers.
“I stayed with her the entire night, made sure she was breathing, and tended to her wounds. My mother didn’t want to have anything to do with her at first, because she didn’t want trouble with the rival pack. But she came around, after seeing how dedicated I was to keeping her alive.”
“Rival pack? Wouldn’t that make you . . . ”
“Yes, Eris. My family—our family—are shifters.”
I swallowed the huge lump in my throat, my heart jackhammering. “Werewolves?”
“Yes.”
“The entire family?”
He nodded. “They are all werewolves. Your uncles, aunts, and cousins.”
I sat there for long minutes, processing it all. The changes I went through when I turned sixteen, the dream of the woman with the wolf. It started to make sense.
I’d read enough werewolf books to know the heightened senses were part of it, but I’d always thought they were pure fiction. It was no wonder my dad was always asking me if I felt anything unusual. He knew I might experience these things. All that time I’d just thought he was being overprotective.
But in some of the stories I’d read, the wolves shifted at will, while in others, their shifts were controlled by the moon.
“Dad, can the family shift whenever it wants?”
“Our shifts were controlled by the moon and its phases,” he started, and I cut in.
“Why haven’t I ever seen you change or even be affected by the moon?”
He pulled his necklace from inside his shirt and held it between his fingers. I knew he’d had it for as long as I could remember, and he never took it off.
“This is an amulet. A Tiger’s Eye stone. It is supposed to keep you grounded and stabilized, and enhances integrity and willpower. It is also a stone of protection. But this one is special.” He rubbed it between his fingers. “Before we came to Havenwood Falls, your mother searched and searched, and found a spell that would allow us to change at will, and not be bound by the moon or its phases. Without the amulet, we would have no control.”
“But, why haven’t I shifted?”
“Most likely because you aren’t a pureblood. Your mother was human—with magic in her blood—but she was not born a shifter. She was bitten. Most purebloods make their first shift by the age of thirteen. Those who aren’t usually take longer . . . anywhere from the age of sixteen to eighteen. And I’ve even heard that some half-breeds never shift.”
“Has Camden shifted?”
“He has. Garrick said his first shift was a few months after his sixteenth birthday. He was also given an amulet, but here, in Havenwood Falls, they have their own precautions. The tattoos given to the supernatural visitors and residents are magical. Another safeguard to keep the people here protected. For our family, it helps us keep our shifts under control. But with these amulets your mother spelled, we have an even greater advantage to live out normal lives, anywhere. Like we’ve been doing in New Mexico.”
I pulled the pendant from around my neck and held it in my fingers. My dad had given it to me a year ago, when I’d turned sixteen. It was also a tiger’s eye stone, in the shape of a heart, on a golden chain. He told me it was a gift from my mother and to never take it off. So I didn’t.
“Your necklace was also charmed by your mother. To keep you safe and protected.”
I looked up at him, his face solemn.
“What happened to her, Dad?”
“Once your mother regained her health and the new moon hung in the sky, we both transformed, shifting into our wolf forms. It was then I knew without a doubt she was my mate. The pull was strong, undeniable.” He paused. “But, enough about that.”
“Yeah, thanks. I don’t want or need any details.” I laughed.
“A young woman, a close friend of your mother, saw how happy your mother was, and how happy we were together, and she became furiously jealous. I don’t think she was in her right mind, because her obsession made her mad.
“The woman’s mother was high priestess of her own coven, but she preferred to frequent your grandmother’s coven and ceremonies. There were times she would follow us, hiding in the shadows, but we knew she was there. With the heightened shifter senses, we knew her scent and could hear her footsteps, even if we couldn’t see her. At times, she would show up when your mother and I thought we were alone. It became very strange and uncomfortable, until one day, she caught me alone and off guard.
“I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but that crazy woman tried to seduce me. I rejected her, of course, pushing away her advances, which infuriated her even more. She left in tears, ranting and raving about how I should have chosen her, and vowed that one day I would pay for my indifference and coldness toward her. I thought she was just a mad woman spouting meaningless threats and paid no heed. And we didn’t see or hear from her after that day.
“Years later, we found this place called Havenwood Falls. We saw the kind of protection it offered its citizens, and how we could start a new life and business together as a pack. We settled in this area and made it our home. Being out in the woods, we decided to start the lumberyard business.
“After getting approval from the Court, your mother cast a growth spell over the forest. It makes the trees we cut down regrow to full size in weeks, instead of years. That’s how our business can stay stable without leaving Havenwood Falls.”
“Mom did a lot of good before she died, didn’t she?”
“She did,” he replied. “And she stayed true, all the way to the end.” I stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. It was just as hard for him to remember as it was for me to hear it for the first time.
“When your mother became pregnant with your brother, we were overjoyed. But when you were born, our family was complete.”