My mind spun. How was any of that possible? I searched my mother's face, and for the first time I realized she didn't have any of the fine lines or grey hair I had seen on other women when I went to war. None of our clan had that.
My mother's words swam in my head. I imagined my children surrounding their frail mother, watching her move closer to her death every day as she aged. It wasn't something I wanted them to experience. It wasn't something I wanted to experience.
"Then when I lead the clan, I'll end this for good," I said. "There will be no more children, no more births for Clan MacCulloch. This line ends with me."
I heard a sound outside the barn, and the strong scent of raspberries drifted in. Ainsley! Why was she here?
Tearing out of the barn, I spotted a silver wolf racing towards the trees. Letting my kilt drop as I pulled off my shirt, I quickly changed into my wolf form. What did she hear? Why was she running?
Speeding through the village, I tried to cut her off, but she was too fast. I let out several barks, but they were stifled by the wind. I had to catch her. If she entered the trees at this hour of night, I might never find her.
I raced as fast as I could, but I was too far from her and couldn't catch up. As she approached the edge of the forest, she looked back and her eyes flashed their natural green color briefly before she entered the trees and I lost her.
I entered the forest, but it was too dark. I couldn't see and it was too dangerous to go further in. I let out a long howl that echoed against the landscape. The sound was returned by others of my kind, but not her.
Moving deeper into the woods, my footing slipped. She was more familiar with the forest, and with her lead, I knew it was hopeless. I wouldn't find her unless she wanted to be found. I had to be patient and hope she'd return to me.
As the night covered the land and the moon rose, I made my way to Clan Drummond's village and waited. Her scent wasn't there. Several groups of people came out with torches and I knew they were searching for her, but she never came back.
***
It had been a fortnight since I saw Ainsley run into the forest. I held a nightly vigil in wolf form on a crag above her village, waiting for her to return. But she didn't. Her clan never acknowledged me. I might as well be invisible. And maybe I was. I didn't feel like I deserved to live anymore if Ainsley wasn't part of my life.
But why would she run? What happened to make her leave? I replayed the conversation my mother and I had in my mind, and I could only blame my immortality. Ainsley must not have wanted to be part of such a horrific curse. Who would want to live forever?
As the sun began to set, I waited for her clan to light the torches as they did every night so Ainsley could find her way home. That night, they didn't. What was wrong with these people? Did they give up on her? Or did she come back without my knowing?
The snap of a twig behind me told me I wasn't alone. Only one person was brave enough to bother me these days. Donal was slowly making his way to where I was seated. He grunted as he climbed the rock and sat beside me, then shifted into his human form.
"Bran–"
Quickly shifting back, I interrupted him before he could say anything.
"Did you hear something? Is she okay?"
"I don't know how to tell you this," he said. "There was a hunt several nights ago, and word is that a silver-maned wolf was killed. I spoke to several clansmen and the wolf they described sounds just like Ainsley."
"No!" I roared. "It's not true!"
"You know it's true. Look at her village. The torches aren't lit. She's dead, Bran."
Donal continued speaking, but I didn't hear anything else he said. Ainsley meant everything to me. As long as I believed she was out there, I had hope I would find her. If she was dead, then so was I.
***
Present Day, Leeds Point, NJ
Rafael's eyes were riveted on my face. His mouth frowned a bit at the corners. He reached down and grabbed a short glass he flipped onto the bar, then reached over for a bottle of Glenfiddich scotch. He poured the dark amber liquid and set it in front of me.
"I left my clan after that. I couldn't bear to stay when everything reminded me of her. The pain of losing her was worse than anything I could ever imagine. I didn't want to live anymore, but I couldn't die."
I picked up the glass and sniffed in the woody scent of the alcohol.
"Is this your first time in Leeds Point?" he asked.
I laughed. "Oddly enough, no. I didn't make my way to the new world for centuries. But somehow since I've been out here, I keep returning to this strange, run-down town. No offense."
"None taken. I'm sure you can tell by my accent that I'm not originally from here either. My girlfriend believes this town is some kind of beacon for the paranormal. She would say that's why you keep coming back here."
"This time is different though," I said. "I only came here because I caught her scent. I don't know how it's possible since she's been gone for so long, but... I just don't know. I guess I still have hope. Maybe after all these years, I've finally lost my mind."
"Come with me to see Pinky. Or I can have her come here. I know she would love to hear your story. Her family is one of the oldest in this town, and she has extensive records of the comings and goings of all kinds of people in Leeds Point, especially shifters. Maybe she knows something."
"It's not possible. Ainsley died in Scotland over four hundred years ago. She has nothing to do with New Jersey."
"Then just come with me because it'll make Pinky happy," he said.
My brow wrinkled as I looked at him. He had to be crazy or really in love with his mate to push for me to meet her, but something was telling me to listen.
"Aye, you twisted my arm," I said.
"Listen to me, Bran. I'm not like this. I don't befriend just anyone, and I'm not the type of bartender people tell their stories to. But I think sometimes fate works in ways we can't understand."
Fate. The word had come up so many times in my life that I didn't know whether to embrace it or hate it. Was it fate that I met Ainsley? Or did fate take her away? Fate had one more chance to prove itself.
As much as I didn't want to, I was optimistic about meeting Pinky. Maybe I kept returning to Leeds Point for a reason. Perhaps I wasn't going crazy after all and Pinky would have an answer for why I caught Ainsley’s scent here after all these years.
Chapter Seven
Bran
Something big was going to happen, I could feel it in my veins. The excitement, the rush, I didn't know what to expect, but I felt going with Rafael to see Pinky was a step in the right direction.
I followed Rafael's black Camaro through the small streets near Night Shift and back onto the highway. After a few short minutes, we turned into an area of small houses that felt familiar to me although I didn't remember being there before.
He parked his car on the hill of a driveway in front of a pale yellow house with a faded sign in front that said 'Smythe's Nursery School'. I thought it was odd for it to still be called that. One of the things I learned quickly while trying to fit in with each modern age was that the names of things constantly changed.
I stopped my car at the curb. As I exited the car, a tall woman with bright blue hair stepped out of the house. She was dressed very casually in a pair of jeans and an old grey sweatshirt, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had such a youthfulness about her that if it wasn't for her height, I might have thought she was one of the school children.
She let out a yawn and stepped barefoot towards Rafael, keeping her eyes on me. In my life, I had come across all kinds of creatures, both fantastic and mundane, but none like her. She was a different kind of human.
"Rafael, you know I'm not a morning person," she said with a lopsided grin.
"I know, but you've been doing a lot of research lately and I thought you'd want to hear this," he said. "Pinky, this is Bran MacCulloch. He's–"
"Wait, MacCulloch? Are you serious?" she said, tur
ning towards me.
"You've heard of my clan?" I asked.
"I don't know anything about clans, but I know your name. It's been driving me crazy for weeks now. This is too much of a coincidence. Please, come in. Maybe you can help me make sense of this."
We followed Pinky into the house and down the steps into an outdated office. There were boxes with a strange symbol on them stacked along one of the walls, and piles of paper were haphazardly scattered everywhere.
Pinky went behind the desk and rolled the chair out of her way as she reached for a smaller stack of paper on the center of the desk. She motioned for us to sit on the long couch, then pulled over a box and set the stack on top of it before looking at me again.
"I'm sorry, Bran," she said. "I've been so focused on this lately that I seem to have lost my manners. I don't even know why you're here. Rafael doesn't usually bring strange men to see me."
"I wanted you to hear his story, Pinky," Rafael said. "I've never heard anything like it before."
"My research can definitely wait. If you'd like to tell me, I'd love to hear your story, Bran. I can tell you're not from around here."
"Well, I don't know that my story is very special to be honest," I said. "The only thing that anyone might find fascinating is how long I've lived."
Pinky's face changed. Her eyes narrowed and she bit her bottom lip. I wondered if she could read minds or if my hint was too obvious.
"Go on," she said. "I'm sure Rafael has already told you about Leeds Point. About how it's a magnet for anything paranormal and always has been."
"I told him that's what you believe, yes," Rafael said.
"He's always trying to start something with me," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just because I can't prove it doesn't mean it's not true. Look at how many shifters we have here, and that's on top of the ghosts, witches, and who knows what else. Please tell me you're a vampire, Bran. I've been dying to meet one."
"They can be the death of you, you know," I said as she rolled her eyes. "But no, I am just another shifter."
"How old are you?" she asked.
"I've lost count, but I believe I'm around four hundred and fifty years old."
"You're immortal?" she gasped, her eyes widening as she grabbed her stack of paper. "That's brilliant! I can't believe I didn't think of it."
Her stack of paper was broken in three parts with a different color paperclip holding each part together. Each file looked identical as she moved them into place.
"I've been doing a census of all the people who have lived in Leeds Point," she said. "Honestly, I have no idea how my father gets some of this information. Anyway, I have these three files that don't make sense to me."
She picked up the first one and held it up.
"We don't have the original records anymore, but what we do have shows a MacCulloch arrived here in the late 1700s," she said. She put down the stack and picked up the other two. "Then we have him arriving again in the early 1900s. I had just come across this file when my father gave me a new one last week. MacCulloch is back."
"I'm sure MacCulloch isn't that odd of a name," I said.
"Probably not, but what are the chances that each of these has the same names on it? It's been driving me crazy. I thought maybe there was an error somewhere, but if you're immortal, then maybe there are others with your name who are, too."
I nodded slowly as I wondered who from my clan had come all the way to this small state. "Can I ask what his name is?"
"Sure," she said as she put the files back on top of each other. "His name is Callen MacCulloch."
"Hmm, I was hoping it was familiar. I didn't know it as a child, but I come from a clan of immortals. I left them long ago though and haven't run into another since. It could just be a strange coincidence."
Even as I said the words, Ainsley's memory came into my mind. But she was a Drummond, so she wasn't immortal. Even if the wolf the hunters killed wasn't her, she would have died a very long time ago.
Pinky set the files down on the seat between us. I picked up the top one, with the oldest date, but it didn't have much information on it.
"Do you have his parents' names? Maybe I know them," I said, shrugging.
She looked at the top sheet of one of the other files and moved her finger down the page. When she found what she was looking for, she tapped the filled box on the page.
"No parents, but he has a sister," she said as she took the file from me and then grabbed the last file. "How did I miss this? He has a sister listed each time, but they don't share a last name. Nowadays that's not that odd, but back then it was. I wonder why we don't have a file on her. Could I have missed it?"
She stood and started looking through an open box, pulling out files as she made room to look for others.
"She can be part of Clan MacCulloch and not have our last name. There were a few families that still carried their old surname back when my father was chief. What's her last name?"
"Drummond," Pinky said as she opened another box.
Hearing the surname of my love knocked the wind out of me. I wanted to leave and forget I heard it. For a moment I thought Ainsley could still be alive, but it simply wasn't possible.
"Drummond?" Rafael said as he grabbed one of the files we had been looking at before. "Pinky, what's her first name? I can't find it on here."
Pinky knitted her brows as she turned away from the box and looked at Rafael. Then her gaze turned to me.
"Did I miss something?" she asked.
"Dammit Pinky, just tell us her name," Rafael said as he thrust the file in his hand towards her. "Bran came here because he followed a scent. He's a wolf, remember? But his mate died in the fifteen hundreds."
"You caught her scent?" she said. "Why didn't you tell me? I don't need to look it up, I remember her name. It's hard to forget the name Ainsley."
"It's even harder to forget the woman," I said as I shook my head. "This is too much. I have to leave. I can't take any more grief and disappointment. Someone must be using her name."
"No, Bran," Pinky said. "I got this file last week. That means she's here. Call me crazy, but how could someone use her scent? You followed it, didn't you?"
Pinky was right, but it didn't make any sense. How was she still alive? Everything Pinky said came together and I realized that all these years, Ainsley had been traveling with a man. Callen MacCulloch. The thief not only stole my last name, but my woman, too.
"Where is she?" I demanded as I grabbed the files.
I threw aside the two older ones and looked down the one Pinky received a week ago until I found an address.
"Take me to 32 Lakeview Drive," I said, standing.
I left the room and walked out of the house. There was no need for any other words. Rafael followed, and behind him Pinky scrambled to keep up. She jumped into Rafael's car as he put it into reverse and I followed him back onto the main road towards a newer section of town I had never been to before.
The scent of raspberries filled the car, and I knew we were close. My heart thumped in my chest and for the first time in hundreds of years, I felt truly alive.
Seeing the street sign ahead, my foot pressed harder on the gas. I passed Rafael and found the house, barely putting the car in park before stepping out.
It was a small cottage-style house with a stone front that reminded me of the home she lived in with her father. The home was exactly what I would have built for her if she had become my bride. I stared at the house for a moment, inhaling the scent of raspberries I knew no one else could smell. I can't believe it, I thought. How can she still be alive?
Rafael parked his car behind mine as I walked up to the house. I wanted to yank the door off its hinges and find my love, but I had to be civil. I didn't want to draw attention in such a quiet neighborhood.
I rang the doorbell, listened to the delicate chime, and waited. I couldn't have waited more than a minute, but it felt like I was reliving all four hundred and fifty years of my life all over again.
The door opened, and a man with chin-length wavy black hair and green eyes stood on the other side. He was as tall and broad shouldered as I was, and I immediately despised him.
The wolf within me howled loudly. I gritted my teeth, trying to control my temper, but it was useless. I pulled him out of the house by his shoulders and pressed him against the house.
"Who the hell are you, and why are you with my woman?" I said.
His eyes flashed amber and as his hands came up towards my chest, I caught a flash of red hair out of the corner of my eye.
"Stop!" a voice from inside the house yelled.
I didn't change positions. I kept the man pressed against the wall, and he didn't try to move. We both looked inside the house as she moved towards the doorway.
She wore jeans and a green knit top. Her hair was dark red and wild, but with the slightest touch of grey. Small wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes as she narrowed her dark green gaze at me. It was my Ainsley.
"How can it be?" I whispered.
"Let him go, Bran," she said softly as she put her hand on my arm.
I released the man and swept Ainsley up in my arms. I didn't care who he was, she would always be my one love. Pressing her tightly against me, I felt her heart beating wildly against mine as she clung to me.
A soft cry escaped her lips, and I felt her tears moisten my shirt. She wrapped her arms around me even tighter as I buried my face in her neck. I left Scotland long ago, but now in her arms I was home.
The man entered the house, and I let out a low growl. Ainsley pushed herself away from me and laughed.
"You're jealous," she said.
"I never stopped thinking about you all of these years. And now that I see you're still alive, you're living with another man," I said. "Jealous doesn't begin to describe how I'm feeling."
Wolf at Her Door: BBW Paranormal Romance Page 3