Wolf at Her Door: BBW Paranormal Romance

by Liliana Rhodes

  She was quiet for a moment as she stared back into the fire.

  "Niall sent me to the Otherworld where I have spent many lifetimes waiting for him to realize his mistake, but he never came back for me. He spent his life looking for my sister and when he found out she died, he killed himself. I never realized how much he truly loved her. I was too young and jealous to recognize true love when it was right in front of me. It just wasn't mine.

  "That's what happened to you and Bran," she said. "When you overheard him, he had just learned about his immortality and he saw it for the curse it is. Realizing you would age and die before him was enough for him to declare he didn't want that for anyone else, including his children."

  Bran's words finally made sense. I stood up and walked to the door.

  "I have to get back to him," I said. "I have to tell him I'm having his child and explain what happened."

  "No, you can't. If you care for that child inside you, you won't go back to Bran."

  "Why not?"

  "Because my tears are not for Niall, they are for that babe inside of you," she said.

  "He will die?"

  "If you return, his death is certain. Your child will grow like other children. He will be susceptible to injuries and illness, even death. Once he reaches adulthood he will be immortal, but until then he is in danger."

  "But Bran will protect him," I said.

  "Bran has left. He believes you are dead and cannot stand to stay in the village that reminds him so much of you."

  "But I'm not dead. I have to stop him. I have to tell him I'm okay and he's going to be a father."

  "No, you can't," she said. "The trip to the Otherworld took you two weeks to make. It'll take another fortnight for you to return. He could be anywhere by then."

  Two weeks? I thought. Where did the time go? And what about Bran? I have to find him. He needed to know I was okay.

  "You can't find him?" I asked.

  "I cannot find those who choose to be lost."

  I didn't want to hear any more. I left the cottage for the some fresh air. As I stood outside, I looked around again and realized there was nothing else around us. I was in the Otherworld. The banshee probably made it look like Scotland, just like she was able to change her own appearance.

  I walked into the heather and ran my fingers over the soft purple tips. I was trapped. If I returned to my village, it would disgrace my father. A daughter of Clan Drummond was impregnated by their foe, who was missing. I couldn't do that to my father.

  More importantly, I couldn't push the banshee's cries out of my head. I left Bran to protect my child. If I really wanted to protect him, then I needed to stay in the Otherworld.

  The banshee appeared as an old woman again and walked into the field of heather. She was once again dressed in a long flowing white robe. In her hand was a ball of red yarn.

  "We can return whenever you're ready," she said.

  "No, I'm going to stay here. I'll have my baby here and make a life for him until he's old enough to safely leave."

  The banshee smiled and became young again.

  "I'm so happy to hear that," she said. "You'll see your Bran again one day, Ainsley. I know it, I've seen it. You have lifetimes before you, but remember wherever you go, make sure you move before others grow suspicious."

  "Lifetimes? You must be mistaken. I'm not from Clan MacCulloch."

  "But that child inside you is, and he needs you. As he grows, you will change, too. You won't be immortal, but you will age much more slowly. And trust me, that is to your benefit. You'll spend centuries waiting for Bran, unaware of how close you two really are to each other."

  I didn't care about how long I would live as long as one day Bran and I were together again. I was willing to wait however long that took.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ainsley

  Present Day

  I smiled at Bran and the rest of our company. Pinky and Rafael were entranced by my story. Their eyes never left me. Bran's shoulders were weighed down and sadness covered his face. He looked down at the table, deep in thought, before looking up at Callen.

  "You were raised by your mother and a banshee?" he asked. "How does a boy become a man without a man's guidance?"

  "How dare you, Bran MacCulloch!" I said indignantly as I stood from my seat. "I was a better hunter than you, and I was always faster, too. My father taught me all the things a man needed to know. I did what I had to do to protect him and us."

  I couldn't believe that after all these years, Bran still had his Old World thoughts. I wanted to strangle him, but I knew his chauvinistic attitude was just his grasp on the past.

  "I'm more of a man than you could ever understand," Callen said. "Yes, I was taught how to hunt and how to be a wolf by a woman, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It is because of her that I also know how to love, how to be gentle and kind, and when to shut up and listen."

  "I'm sorry," Bran said. "I said the wrong thing. I'm angry that I wasn't there to see you grow, to help teach you things a father teaches his son. You're right, my thinking is archaic. I come from a time when men and women had their place, whether it was right or not. I've spent my life wandering and alone, a nomad. I never settled in one place. To think all these years the two of you were out there. I had a family I didn't even know about. It upsets me. Callen is a lucky boy to have such a strong mother. I mean that wholeheartedly. I didn't mean any disrespect."

  I came up behind Bran and set my hands on his shoulders. He tilted his head to the side, onto my arm, and I brushed his hair back from his head. It hurt to see so much sadness in him.

  "I wish we could have been a family," I said. "I really do, but Gracelin was right about the curse. And as I've seen, things really could have been worse."

  "How?" Bran asked, turning to look at me. "We've lost so much time together, how could there be anything worse than that?"

  I turned away and walked to the other side of the room. Folding my arms in front of me, I thought about his question. I knew the answer, but it wasn't my story to tell.

  "Go ahead," Callen said. "Tell them about me."

  Searching Callen's eyes, the one trait he got from me, I saw that he was serious.

  "Alright, but a small part," I said. "It's your story to tell whenever you want to. But I'm proud of you and I love you, Callen. One of my happiest and proudest days was the day of your hand-fasting such a long time ago.

  "Our life with Gracelin flew by. We didn't always stay in the Otherworld. At times, we traveled to Scotland or other places in Europe. It was a life I never thought I would ever experience. Living with the banshee was probably the best education Callen could ever have.

  "Eventually though, I decided it was time to move on. We needed to be around other people. Callen needed a life of his own. With everything going on in the world, we decided to head to the New World. Specifically, we went to Salem, Massachusetts."

  Chapter Twelve

  Ainsley

  Late 1600s, Salem, Massachusetts

  It had been a long time since I had to interact with people. I couldn't believe how quickly a hundred years had gone by with Gracelin in the Otherworld, and it made me feel bad that I had kept Callen from having a life and the possibility of a family of his own.

  It was autumn in Salem and the trees were changing colors from their dark green to reds and golds. Callen and I lived in a house owned by friends of Gracelin. She was never mentioned and I didn't know if our benefactors were human, but I didn't question it. I was simply grateful for a place where we could stay.

  Since we looked so close in age, Callen and I pretended to be brother and sister. I didn't mind playing the spinster. The only man I wanted was lost to me.

  Callen and I would shift into wolves at night and go for runs. We had lived in Salem for several months and were happy. Many young women were interested in Callen, but he didn't think any of them were special. We didn't know how long we would stay, but I always remembered Gracelin's advice to
move before anyone became suspicious of our not aging.

  One night as we ran under the full moon, we raced to see who could reach the town line the fastest. Being the smaller wolf, I was faster, and racing with my son always brought back memories of running with Bran. I was lost in my memories when I realized I was alone.

  As I traced my way back to Callen, I found him standing near a church. He had shifted back to his human form and was staring into the distance. It was late, but I didn't want to draw any attention to ourselves. Salem was filled with gossips. Moving into the shadows, I shifted to my human form.

  "Callen," I whispered, "what's going on? Why did you stop?"

  "There's something nearby," he said. "I can't explain it, but I can feel it calling to me, beckoning me. It's something in the air."

  He turned, and his eyes fixed onto something in the distance. I followed his gaze to a young woman with coppery red hair. She wore a black cape and was seated near a gravestone. It looked like she was talking to someone, but no one was there.

  I had grown up hearing many superstitions and myths, but when I saw this girl, I knew she was only talking to the memory of whoever passed away. My shifter self didn't sense anything special about her. She was nothing more than human. Except to Callen.

  "Have you ever seen such a beautiful creature, Mother?" he asked.

  "Shh! Callen, please. Let's change back and get back to the house. This isn't the place to be walking around naked!" I said.

  "Mother, my heart is pounding in my chest. I feel like everything I've ever done has led to this moment of seeing her. I have to go over there now and–"

  "Callen MacCulloch!" I hissed. "You'll do nothing of the sort. Listen to me, I know how you're feeling. I felt exactly the same way before when I first saw your father. We can hide here as wolves and no one will see us. Then we can follow her home. Tomorrow, you can go over as a respectable young man, not some naked shifter, and you can ask her father for permission to speak to her. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, Mother. I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking, to be honest. I don't want to get us into trouble. You're right, I can wait until tomorrow, and then one day I'll make her my bride."

  ***

  Heather Mather was speaking to her parents that day in the cemetery. She had been orphaned at a young age and was raised by her elderly aunt. She was a kind young woman and I grew fond of her.

  It had been six months since Callen first spotted Heather at the cemetery, and they spent as much time together as possible. As his "sister", I played chaperone for those matronly women who looked down on Heather's wild ways. I didn't like how they spoke about her, and I could only imagine what they would have said about me when Bran and I were meeting in secret.

  I was tending to the vegetable garden one day when I looked up to see Heather and Callen holding hands as they walked towards me. They could barely tear their eyes away from each other and while I was mostly happy for them, it also reminded me of what I missed with Bran.

  "Mother," Callen said, surprising me.

  "Excuse me?" I said.

  "I've told Heather everything. I even showed her the wolf."

  My eyes widened. Callen had a habit for telling me everything, but he kept this from me. I knew it was because he thought I would convince him not to. I wasn't upset though, I knew how hard it was to keep a secret from the one you loved.

  "And?" I asked, looking at Heather but not seeing any judgment, only love for my son.

  "And we want to get married," he said. "But we want a Scottish hand-fasting. Neither of us has family. Heather's aunt can barely tell if it's day or night. We want to be hand-fasted because all that matters is our love for each other, and we want you to do it."

  I threw my arms about them and hugged them tight. My one regret with Bran was that we had never been hand-fasted. I gave Callen his last name because in my heart we were married, but I kept my last name out of respect for my father.

  It gave me so much joy that my son was going to be happy and live his life with the woman he loved. Gracelin's words of unhappiness briefly rang in my head, but I ignored them. There was nothing that could tear Callen and Heather apart.

  Present Day

  I couldn't continue. I looked at Callen. His face had fallen and it brought tears to my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I held in my tears and turned to Pinky and Rafael. If I looked at Bran, I knew I would be too upset to speak.

  "I'm sorry," I said. "I can't continue the story. It is not my story, but it's too heartbreaking anyway. If Callen wishes, he will tell it to you."

  Pinky bit her lip and turned away.

  "Go on, human," I said. "What is it?"

  "You said her name was Heather Mather," Pinky said. "I've been doing a lot of research lately, and there were a lot of ties between Salem and Leeds Point. I was looking at the list of names affected by the witch trials when I was trying to piece together why I had three MacCullochs from different time periods."

  I knew what she found out, and I figured it was easier for her to say it than me. She didn't have any connection to Heather or Callen. The words meant nothing to her, it was just history.

  "Heather's aunt died and left her a large piece of property," Pinky said. "That's when they accused Heather of witchcraft. They used her status as unmarried against her, but I read that Callen MacCulloch refuted that claim and said they were married. No one listened though. They wanted her property. Heather died during her trial."

  Pinky was quiet, and I could see the weight of the news hitting her as she looked at Callen.

  "I'm sorry, my son," Bran said. "I know how it is to lose the woman you love."

  "And I keep losing her," Callen said. "That's the difference between you and me. Mother never died. You caught her scent and here she is, still remembering you, still loving you. Heather comes back to me. We've been married several times, but something always cuts short our time together."

  "What do you mean she comes back?" Rafael asked.

  "Gracelin explained that not every soul moves on to the Otherworld," I said. "Some return if they feel they haven't finished what they came to Earth to do, especially if they had a tragic end."

  Callen stood from the table and turned to look out the window as I continued.

  "But each soul has its match, and when we're here, we look for it to become whole. With humans it's trickier, they don't recognize that counterpoint to themselves as easily because they don't listen to their instincts. But with shifters, we know from touch, smell, everything. We can feel that other part of us calling to make us whole. That is what I call the one love."

  "Heather dies and after a certain time, she is born again," Callen said. "Once she is of age, I can find her scent and trace where she is. This is the third time she's come to Leeds Point. The problem is she never knows who I am. Each time I find her, I have to make her fall in love with me again." Callen smiled softly. "There are worse things in the world, I suppose. And having her die is up there, but knowing she comes back and I can hold her and feel the love we have for each other makes it all better."

  "I'll help you find her," Pinky said.

  "I know you will," I said. "There is no such thing as coincidence."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ainsley

  The house was empty and it was finally just Bran and I alone. Callen went with Rafael and Pinky to see if she had any additional news about Heather. He would be gone for hours.

  Bran and I entered the small living room. I wanted to take him directly to my bed, but I reminded myself that we had plenty of time ahead of us.

  As he started a fire in the fireplace, it brought me back to so long ago and how we would sneak around to spend time together. We didn't need to do that anymore, but I didn't want him any less.

  He slid the coffee table over to the side, close to the couch, clearing the center of the room. As he stood on the thick white rug, he held his hand out to me and smiled softly with his head tilted to the side a little, silently
asking me to join him.

  Come with me.

  The words filled my mind as I remembered our first time so long ago. Just the thought of his whisper, the warmth of his breath on my neck, was enough to make my breath catch in my throat.

  I put my hand in his and his fingers snapped shut around my hand as he yanked me against him. With my body pressed against his, he swayed softly as he looked into my eyes.

  "I remember when I first saw you," he said. "You were this strange little girl climbing up a sea stack in Handa. I don't know if I would have loved you as much if you were just picking flowers."

  I laughed and moved my hands over his shoulders. "You were always jealous of me. Of how fast I was and how well I hunted," I said. "There was even that time you scared away my deer. I bet you did that on purpose."

  "If I did, it was only because I wanted to meet you. I thought I had spent an eternity looking for you back then, but it was only ten years. Now here we are together again, over four hundred years later and it's like no time has passed."

  "It's strange, isn't it?" I said. "But curse or no curse, what happened let us get back together."

  "And nothing will come between us again," he said as his fingers closed around my chin.

  His lips touched mine gently at first, and then harder. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, never wanting to let go as his kiss whisked me away. But I wanted more, I needed more. And I wanted it now.

  Sliding my hands down his chest, I reached the end of his t-shirt and lifted it up and off him before tossing it aside. He didn't look any different than he did our first time together. He was just as handsome and strong.

  I playfully poked his chest like I had that time in the forest, and he laughed then took my hand and kissed it. As we looked into each other's eyes again, I couldn't believe I almost forgot how light his eyes were.