by Mia Rose
“I’m so sorry, Noelle,” Marjorie whispered, “I can’t live my life completely separated from my daughter. I am not going to take it, either.”
“I’ll take it,” Noelle’s Uncle George spoke up, “I don’t want to be separated from you all, but someone has to stay with Mom.” Garett nodded and George’s wife, Amelia, also said she would take it.
They all looked at Steven, Noelle’s oldest cousin and he sighed. “I never wanted any of this. I didn’t want to be a hunter, let alone a werewolf. If I do take the cure and I turn back into a human, then I am leaving all this behind me and I am living a nice, normal, non-supernatural life.” George and Amelia nodded, agreeing that once they were human again, they were retiring from the hunting days.
Noelle felt a small glimmer of hope —at least she would have some of her family back, but still, she knew what she wished for the most was her parents, and that was no longer an option. Noelle had a choice to make and she decided that if she could get past the werewolf factor to sleep with someone, then she could get past it for her own family.
“Okay then,” Noelle said, “Edmund will work on the cure for the three of you. And, as for the rest of you, you no longer need to worry. I am choosing you —I am no longer going to be a hunter of werewolves, either. I will be a protector and we will be a family again.”
Noelle glanced over at Edmund whose lips were drawn into a tight line. This meeting had not gone as she’d expected, and she knew for a fact that Edmund was not a fan of her proclamation. But something inside of Noelle told her that she’d made the right choice. She looked over at Declan who had been standing quietly in the corner, and she saw a small smile play across his face. She couldn’t help but smile as well.
They all spent the rest of the day setting up the lab so that Edmund could begin working immediately. It was agreed then, that he would begin with the cure for silver and then move on, to the cure for the family members who had chosen to take it.
Edmund hadn’t said much after the family meeting, and Noelle had no interest in trying to speak with him at this moment. She needed to sort things out for herself first before she tried to bring anyone else on board.
She worked wordlessly and by the time night came, they had the entire room up and running. Edmund thanked everybody for their help and told them that he would begin his work first thing in the morning.
Noelle and he walked out into the parking lot together, not speaking, not even looking at one another. It was as though an entire world separated the two of them, and in some ways, that was exactly the case.
“So,” Edmund said finally, “this is what you’re choosing then?”
“It’s not really a choice, Edmund. If your parents were still alive, you would choose them, wouldn’t you?”
Edmund thought back to his all-too-recent reconciliation with his parents and he knew that she was right because that is exactly what he’d done.
He nodded his head and said, “I’m tired tonight, but I think we should talk, tomorrow. There is a lot that I need to tell you and some of it, I’m afraid, you will not want to hear.”
Noelle stared after him as he climbed into the car. He slid the keys into the ignition and reversed out of the parking space. Without looking at her, he drove off into the distance.
Noelle got into her car, and for a minute, she just stayed there thinking back on her meeting with her family. It seemed as though everything in her life was pushing her toward werewolves —first with Declan and now with her family —and not in a negative way, but as though she was meant to stand by their side, instead of against them.
She shook the thought from her head. She had to think of a way of how she was going to tell her nana the news about her family choosing to remain werewolves.
Noelle drove home slowly, hugging every curve and bend in the road. The stars were shining brightly and she felt peaceful, despite everything. The drive home was faster than she had wanted it to be, and when she pulled open the door, she still was not prepared to face her nana with the truth.
“Nana?” Noelle called out, but there was no response. She walked further into the house and checked both the kitchen and the family room, but her nana was not there. “Nana? Are you here?”
Noelle felt a little silly asking the question because she didn’t know where else her grandmother could possibly be. She walked to the room where her grandmother had been sleeping and knocked quietly on the door. There was no answer. Noelle pulled the door open and found her nana lying on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest, clinging to something in her hands.
“Nana?” Noelle said, but she already knew that her grandmother would not answer.
She walked over to her and put her hands on her nana’s and they were ice cold. Noelle’s eyes teared up and she took the photograph from her nana’s hands. It was an older family photo of all of them standing together after their first family reunion. Noelle’s grandfather had still been alive when this photo had been taken.
She looked at them —everyone’s smiling faces looking up at her. Noelle felt a mixture of so many emotions at once —despair that she had lost her grandmother right when they had started creating a closer bond, and relief. Relief; she would not have to tell her that she would not be getting all of her family back.
Noelle was not sure what to do at this point, so she called the one person she could think of who might be able to help her. The phone rang a few times and finally his voice answered on the other end.
“Hello?” the voice said.
“I need your help.”
Declan felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Noelle calling him. He almost sent her to voicemail, but something told him that he should answer it.
“Hello?” he said.
“I need your help,” Noelle said. He could tell from her voice that something was wrong and that she’d been crying.
“What is it, Noelle? What’s wrong?” Declan spoke as though the past few days hadn’t happened —he was still there for her when she needed him, and he knew deep down in his heart that he always would be there.
“I need you to bring my family to my house,” she answered slowly. “I don’t want to tell you why because I just want them to be calm.”
“Are you alright?” Declan asked.
“Just please hurry,” she said and then she hung up the phone.
Declan went to Gabriel’s apartment where sure enough he found Megan sitting on the couch.
“Megan,” he said, “I need your help. We have to take your family to Noelle’s house. I’m not sure why, but she just called me.”
“It might be a trap,” Megan said.
“A trap? What are you…”
“Think about it, Declan! She comes here to tell us that she found a cure and basically all of us turn her down and choose to remain werewolves. It might be a trap so she can kill us all in one swoop.”
“Megan, I really don’t think that is what’s going on.”
“Did she tell you what it was about?” Megan asked.
Declan shook his head and said, “No, but she sounded pretty upset.”
“Yeah, I would be upset too if I were planning to murder my family,” Megan scoffed.
“It’s okay, Meg,” Gabriel said, “I’ll go with you guys. Between Declan and me, she won’t get the chance to hurt you.” Megan hesitated, but she finally agreed.
They went around and rounded up the rest of the family. Declan could see that they all looked worried —everyone except for Garett. The car ride to Noelle’s house was interesting. Declan drove with Garett, Abigail, George, and Steven.
Everyone was silent until Garett joked, “Geez guys, everyone is acting like someone died or something!” The joke fell flat and Steven shifted uncomfortably in his seat, fidgeting with his seatbelt. No one spoke after that.
As they pulled up to the house, Declan saw Noelle standing outside, leaning against the banister. He could tell from her face that she
’d been crying, and apparently, he was not the only one to notice. Gabriel pulled up right behind Declan and the rest of the family piled out. Declan saw the tension in Megan’s shoulders melt away once she looked at Noelle.
“Noelle?” Abigail called out. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“Come in, please.”
The family glanced around at one another, but no one spoke. Garett led everyone inside and Noelle stood in front of the couch. She moved out of the way and the family saw their nana lying on the couch.
“Mom?” Garett called out quietly, tears quickly welling in his eyes. His voice broke on the word. “Noelle, is she…?”
Noelle broke down into tears, and she and Garett hugged each other tightly. The rest of the family reacted similarly —Amelia consoled George, and Steven leaned against the wall. He had silent tears running down his face. Gabriel took Megan in his arms and tried to calm her down as best he could. Garett turned to Abigail and they held each other as Abigail tried to catch her breath.
Noelle looked over at Declan, and without even thinking, he rushed over to her and took her in his arms. She cried quietly on his shoulder and the family stayed like that, for what seemed like forever.
Abigail was the first one who spoke, “Noelle, what happened?”
“I don’t know,” Noelle croaked. “When I left this morning, she seemed okay, she seemed fine. When I came back after talking with all of you, I found her in her bed holding onto this picture. She was already gone.”
“She died alone,” George cried. Garett hugged his brother tightly and the two of them tried to stand strong together.
“But she didn’t,” Declan said, passing them the picture. “She died with all of you by her side.” Garett smiled at Declan and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks, son,” Garett said to him. Declan smiled back and looked at Noelle.
He didn’t know why she had called him to help her —she could have reached out to Edmund, or she could have just called her father. But for some reason, she chose to call him. Declan may not have known the reason she called, but he did know that he was glad that she did.
“Smiling is good for the soul.”
Chapter 17
Facing the Past
“She had lived her entire life believing in one simple truth —werewolves were bad and it was their responsibility to kill them.”
Abigail took the lead on planning the funeral services for Noelle’s grandmother. The rest of the family helped as much as they could and they all decided, given the circumstances, that they would keep the service as intimate as possible. The only other person who joined the service was Edmund.
Noelle began the service with a speech that she had prepared. “There are few people in this world who deserve to be described as noble. Being noble —truly, in every meaning of the word, is more than just being a decent person. Actually, it’s being kind and moral because you know, to the core of your being, that to be kind and moral is vital. And not only as a service to yourself, but even more than that, a service to others. And that was my nana. She always acted in the interest of others, always gave whatever she could, and more. She always knew the right thing to say or when it was better to just say nothing at all. She was a beautiful woman, and I know with every fiber of my meaning that she is finally at peace in the arms of her best friend.”
She looked out at the other family members and saw every person dabbing at their eyes, struggling not to lose it altogether. She needed to be strong for them all, but inside she felt as though she had shattered into a million pieces. She looked at Declan and saw that even he had tears glistening in his eyes —but Noelle knew that he was crying for her. Her gaze drifted over to Edmund and while she expected to feel something there, knowing that he was there for her, nothing happened when she looked at him.
She rejoined her father at the front. The service was simple, exactly how her nana would have liked it. As they lowered her into the ground, the family went up to her one by one and said their final goodbyes, leaving a single flower on the casket.
Noelle was the last one to go. Declan could not hear what she said from the back, but he could tell from the way that her body was hunched over that she was crying. As they left the cemetery, Edmund, Declan, and Gabriel stayed behind and watched the family as they left.
“It is a hard thing to watch your family go. You never feel ready to say goodbye,” Edmund said thoughtfully.
“I guess I never understood that type of a loss,” Declan said. “We’ve lost members of the pack and that was hard. Losing Cassidy was especially difficult, but I never lost family when I was human. I never really had a family when I was human.” Edmund nodded as though he understood. He began to walk toward his car and Declan called out, “Will you be heading back to the apartments, now?”
“Not yet,” Edmund called out, “I have to make a stop somewhere first.” Declan nodded and watched Edmund as he climbed into his car.
“Gabe,” Declan said.
“Yeah?” Gabriel asked.
“Do you trust this guy?”
“Not one bit,” Gabriel admitted.
“Yeah,” Declan agreed, “I’m starting to wonder about his motives myself. Why don’t you try following him to see exactly where this stop might take him?” Gabriel nodded and together they walked to the parking lot and got into their cars.
Edmund pulled out of the parking lot and a few moments later, Gabriel did the same. Declan wondered about the night that he fought with Edmund in the woods. He recalled how quickly he healed. He thought back to the day at Edmund’s office in the hospital and how razor sharp his nails had been. If Declan didn’t know any better, he’d say that Edmund was a wolf. Or at least something like it. And he was determined to find out which exactly it was.
Gabriel followed closely behind Edmund making sure not to lose him, but he also knew that if Edmund realized that he was following him, it would mean it was game over. Edmund finally parked across the street from an expensive looking home. Gabriel drove right past him, hoping that he wouldn’t realize it was him. He waited further down the street for a few minutes and then circled back to where Edmund’s car was parked.
Gabriel parked and got out of the car. He quietly went around the house, looking into the windows. He finally spotted Edmund sitting on a couch with two other people. They were talking animatedly, but Gabriel could not make out what they were saying to one another. Edmund looked over at the window, but Gabriel ducked down. He stayed crouched beneath the window for a few minutes, hoping that Edmund had lost interest in the window.
He ran back to his car and jotted down the address before driving off back to the apartments. He wasn’t sure who Edmund was meeting with, or what they were discussing, but Gabriel was pretty sure that Declan would want him to find out.
Edmund stared out the window, sure that he had just seen someone looking in. He looked across the street and noticed a car that seemed familiar, but his father’s voice tore him away from the scene outside.
“Did you hear what I said Edmund?” his father asked, clearly annoyed at having to repeat himself.
“No.” Edmund shook his head. “I won’t do it.”
His father’s eyes grew into tiny slits that sat atop his cheeks. His cheeks were cherry-red from the anger he was trying so hard to quell. He gave out a short laugh.
“I’m so sorry, son,” Eddie said.
“Sorry?” asked Edmund.
“Yes.” Eddie nodded. “I’m sorry I ever let you believe that you had a choice in the matter.”
“Father, you can’t expect me to…”
“Oh, yes, I can,” Eddie growled. “I had to do a lot of sweet talking to people who I don’t quite enjoy speaking with in order for them to even consider giving you a place on the council. We were stationed here for one reason only, and you nearly cost your mother and I our positions on the council. After your research shenanigans, you are going to have to do a lot to prove yourself to me, and to them. Don’t exp
ect this to be the last request that they’ll have for you. And do not expect for them to be forgiving if you screw this up again!”
Edmund stared at his father’s face —so contorted. His muscles were twitching as if holding his face in that position was almost too much work. His mouth was hanging open on one side, and Edmund could see into his lips and see the fake teeth that lined his gums. But this was the face that was so familiar to Edmund, the one that he’d grown up with. It was actually the one he’d simultaneously come to love and hate. The one he feared he would always seek approval from, no matter the cost.
“Well, it doesn’t seem that there is much of an option here.” Edmund nodded. “I’ll do it then.”
When Noelle had left the cemetery with her family, they had driven back to her house where her mother had prepared an impressive spread for everyone. To Noelle, it felt as though she had her family back, minus, of course, her grandmother.
They sat together and ate and they shared stories of her nana. Her father and Uncle George would talk about what a strategic hunter she was —never letting her enemy know that she was there until it was too late. They joked about how their father wasn’t sure if the hunting had been in his genes or in hers after all!
Noelle loved having everyone around. It felt nice not to be alone, especially now. She needed this and she wanted nothing more than to stay at home with all of them, but there was a little voice in the back of her mind. It was reminding her of what Edmund had said yesterday, before she left the apartments.
“There is a lot I need to tell you,” he’d said. “And some of it, I’m afraid, you will not want to hear.”
Noelle’s thought process had her wheels spinning, but she could not come up with any ideas. She wanted to mourn in peace with the rest of her family, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do that if she didn’t know what Edmund needed to say.