The Pull

by Amber Lynn

  I didn’t bother to ask whether she could tell. Her parents could’ve had precognitive abilities, but I was sure she had them.

  “If you didn’t hide your abilities, you wouldn’t need to ask that. You’d know exactly what was going to happen.”

  “You’re a smart little cookie, aren’t you? I’m guessing today is about you, isn’t it? You’re the one I’m supposed to read?”

  I wasn’t sure why anyone in the room would need me to do a reading with the little powerhouse holding court. If I ever questioned whether her mother or uncle were really werewolves, I was wasting my breath before meeting her. There was no way she was just a werewolf.

  “Today is about you, Velia. I’m just going to be a guide to help you finally know why you don’t seem to belong anywhere.”

  When the little angel of a girl said my birth name, I felt my body go rigid. I knew she had knowledge of my past, but hearing that name wasn’t something I thought I’d ever do again.

  “You can imagine how unnerving it is sometimes for the rest of us to deal with the miniature know-it-all. It makes surprising her a little difficult.”

  I was glad to hear Jack say that his niece had the ability to freak him out, and it was sweet that he leaned down and kissed the top of my head in an effort to try to comfort me. I wanted to know how so much power found its way into the girl.

  “How old are you?” I’d already been told, but I wanted to hear it from the wolf’s mouth.

  “We’re seven,” her sister said before she could.

  I got the feeling she did everything to make sure her sister wasn’t always the star of the show. Just her general demeanor seemed more confident, even if she had only just spoken. Selina’s manner seemed a little more sedate, like what I tried to pull off in my daily life.

  “It’s hard being that age with everything going on in your small body, isn’t it? Are you guys in school?”

  “Our parents understand how that experience wouldn’t be best for us, unlike your adoptive ones. Why don’t we go out to the living room so we can sit down? Uncle Jack is right about you needing a bigger kitchen.”

  “Of course.” I was quick to put on my hostess hat after Selina tried to do it for me. I’d never really had to be a hostess, and ten guests in my house was a little much for my first time out. “Does anyone need anything to drink?”

  I pretty much only had water, unless Jack had managed to prepare for company better than I had. It was still early, so I wasn’t sure if they’d had a chance to eat breakfast. I figured they were out of luck, knowing how bare my cupboards had been the last time I looked at them.

  “I’m sure eventually someone will want some water, but for now, I think settling in would be the smart thing.”

  Nikki took charge to herd her family out into the other room. Even though it was bigger, we were still trying to exceed its capacity.

  I’d lost track of Abbie, but saw her move along with the newcomers. I had a little warning about what was coming, and I was still overwhelmed. I didn’t know what she felt with the group of powerful beings, but I imagined she wondered how she’d missed them living so close to us, like I did.

  I ended up sitting on Jack’s lap on the couch, with one of his hands idly playing with my hair. Nikki, with Selina in her lap, was next to me, while Paul and Sierra sat on the other side of them. Abbie ended up sitting in the recliner, with Vik and the baby and Harry and the other little boy on the floor in front of the couch.

  It was a lot of people to keep track of.

  “So, can I ask how many kids my brother is going to magically have?”

  Nikki didn’t seem devastated to hear there were children in Jack’s future. If anything, she was a little amused by the development. Her brother stiffened behind me, so I knew he wasn’t over his shock.

  “There were five faces I saw. Do you need to know more than that?”

  “Wow. I guess we’re going to have a little more work ahead of us to make sure he doesn’t beat us in the offspring department.”

  “I’m going to suggest we wait a few years to work on it, love. Maybe until the girls are off at college?” Vik looked happy about his wife’s idea of the work they had to do, but I could understand wanting to wait a little while.

  The girls seemed advanced for seven, but they were still little girls, and I didn’t imagine it was fun trying to keep them and the boys under control.

  “Just wait another month and we’ll have to deal with Jakob running around the house too. Before we move on to your issues, I should probably introduce everyone to your friend. We’ve been rude, Abbie, sorry to say it runs in our family.”

  Abbie held her hands up in front of her and kind of shrugged. “I’m fine just trying to figure out what’s going on and what you guys are. Furry boy felt prickly, but there’s a few of you that make me think I’m sitting amongst gods.”

  I tried not to laugh at that thought. It was funny to hear it out loud, but in reality, I couldn’t deny that was exactly how it felt. I didn’t have anything to compare it to, so it was just the fact that they were stronger than anything else I’d felt before that drove my thinking.

  “We’re not the gods in the room, but we’ll get into that in a little bit. Kennedy was told some of our story last night. She was a little hesitant to believe, but you won’t be. You’re obsessed with anything magical, and a love story never hurts.”

  There was something about the way she said obsessed with anything magical that made me think there was an underlying meaning to her words. I made a note to ask Jack if there was something I needed to know once everyone cleared out.

  “There’s a connection to our ancestors and the Greek gods of old, but we aren’t descendants. My many greats grandparents were the first werewolves, who lived a very long life and provided a solid base of love for our species to thrive on. When they passed away, the love died with them, and werewolves went into a bit of dark ages until Vik and I were born.

  “Very few of the stories about the original par lupu exist today, but we were told some of their love as kids. That was the only time love was ever mentioned in our culture. Most of the time it was told in a way that made the couple seem weak because of their love, and no werewolf worth anything would want to be weak.”

  “Except my sister, of course. She thought running away and finding love with a human was the answer to all her problems.”

  Jack’s interruption wasn’t taken lightly by his sister. I could feel the force she smacked him in the head with, and I was pretty sure a normal human would’ve had a concussion from it.

  “I ran away from our father killing me, but we won’t get into that. Meeting Paul wasn’t supposed to be in my cards. It happened, and I learned everything we were taught was wrong, which made meeting Vik unexplainable. That’s another thing I won’t get into, but I will say when you feel the forces of the dead trying to drive you together, fighting them isn’t the wisest move.”

  “So are you married to both of them? We didn’t go through any introductions, and I’m trying to figure out who owns each of these kids.”

  Abbie tried to hide the fact that her eyes darted straight to Selina. After the comment about her being drawn to magic, I took the action a little differently than I normally would have.

  “Biologically, I am mother to all of the kids, Paul is Sierra’s father and Vik has the privilege of being everyone else’s daddy. Living all in one house, we don’t really separate the lines of whose parent is who. And I’m only married to Vik. It would be illegal to be married to both of them.”

  I didn’t think the legality of it would stop them. I could tell there were still feelings between the exes, but it didn’t compare to the lines I practically saw hanging in the room between Nikki and Vik. When it was just Nikki, the parts of the story she’d told seemed farfetched, the whole reincarnation bit especially. Seeing the two of them together left little doubt in my mind that they were destined for each other.

  “I think I got most of that last
night, and I can see it now, but you haven’t explained your beautiful daughter. I know you all know this, but she’s stronger than either of her parents.”

  Nikki squeezed Selina close to her and kissed the top of her head. The little girl rolled her eyes and smiled at me. There was so much understanding in her eyes that I almost felt like I’d found a long lost friend.

  “The legend of the par lupu includes a little something about their firstborn child. They call her the lupu magħżul, or chosen wolf. When she was young, we didn’t know how strong her powers were, because she did her best to keep them a secret. As she’s grown, it’s been harder for her to hide it from us.”

  “And you were chastising me for hiding my powers.”

  Comprehending the fact that she was strong enough to hide things from her parents, or to even think she knew there was a reason to do so at a young age, was a little difficult for me. My own childhood would’ve been so much easier if I hadn’t started exhibiting abilities. Things didn’t blow up for me until that first broken heart, but I’d alienated myself by doing things that weren’t normal.

  “You’re an adult now, and I think it’s probably time you try to figure out how to live with what you are, instead of hiding behind the persona you’ve created for yourself. You never have tried to figure out who your birth parents were, have you?”

  Talking to Selina made the word oracle come to mind. I didn’t know exactly what a chosen wolf was, but the idea of her being an all-knowing being seemed to fit.

  “You’ve never hidden behind your age, have you?”

  I didn’t like talking about the people who’d abandoned me, so asking my own question seemed smart. I was curious how long she’d spoken like the adults around her.

  “I had a full vocabulary from the day I was born, and have used it. Are you afraid knowing who your parents are would unlock the secret you’ve been running from?”

  “Hey, I’m not running from anything. The things I can do are consistent with being a witch, so I don’t know why you think there’s anything more to it than that. I’m sure one of the people responsible for my birth was a decent one, and that explains everything I need to know.”

  “I think we’re to the point in the conversation when it’s time for you to try that reading. Knowing parts of what you’re going to uncover, maybe it’s a good idea to do it somewhere a little more private.”

  Nikki didn’t want Abbie in the room for the reading. She didn’t say it, but every word punctuated it.

  “My supplies are upstairs, so I suppose it’d make sense for you to bring Selina up there. Jack’s not going to let me go until he hears my death won’t happen, so I’m guessing he’s coming too.”

  I did have a deck of cards upstairs, so if anyone questioned whether what I said was true, it technically was. I just didn’t need the supplies I mentioned.

  Nikki nodded. “I don’t imagine it will take more than thirty minutes. Everyone else can hang out here.”

  “You don’t do readings often, Kennedy. Don’t you think you should have a backup with you just in case you get stuck?”

  The question made me wonder exactly what Nikki was picking up off Abbie. Abbie had admitted that she couldn’t read wolves, so suggesting she should be there for backup made no sense.

  “For now, let’s see how things go with just the four of us in the room. If I need any help, you’re just a yell away.”

  Abbie contorted her face a little in disappointment. I didn’t know if being surrounded by wolves was throwing her off, or what. Something was odd about her and eventually I’d find out what it was. At that moment, I was busy being hustled up the flight of stairs to my bedroom.

  Chapter Twelve

  Much like they did when I’d first let Jack into my house, my eyes darted around my bedroom to make sure there wasn’t anything I needed to hide. My dirty clothes hamper was tucked in my closet, and I was usually good about getting my clothes in there, so the floor was clear of any embarrassing undergarments.

  The queen sized bed was made, other than the wrinkling my butt sitting on it caused. There were probably tons of dust bunnies underneath the bed, but I assumed no one was going to check.

  “Do you think Selina is in some sort of danger?”

  I still didn’t understand the pretense of me reading her. She could see things just as clearly as I could. The bit about everything being about me only confused me.

  “Not particularly. I am curious if you can figure out why she refuses to eat peas, but other than that, you reading her is more about you. We do have a problem downstairs. She’s different from yesterday, did you notice the crow’s feet around her eyes?”

  I’d spent most of my time with Abbie trying to taunt her by paying attention to Jack, so I hadn’t noticed anything different about her appearance, other than she continued to play dress-up.

  I looked to Jack to see if he’d noticed anything. He hadn’t left the space directly behind me.

  “She feels a little off, but I only have eyes for you when we’re in a room together.”

  “That is by far the corniest thing I’ve ever heard. She was acting her normal self as far as I could tell. What are you suggesting?”

  “You only have one person you consider a friend in town, and if you’re not accessible, maybe she was as a means to an end. I don’t know what all Helki can do, so I’m worried about her being around you.”

  “When did you find out his name?”

  I hadn’t been sure if Nikki meant Helki as a name or some kind of species. Jack seemed a little more certain she’d uncovered a secret name.

  “Obviously since I saw you last. It’s not important. The name doesn’t give us any insight into the monster. We need Kennedy to take a look into herself, so we can figure out what’s changed that leads to you having kids. Everything we’ve learned indicated she was cursed so she couldn’t have werewolf children.”

  “Wait, what?”

  I’d been invested in the conversation before, but bringing up a curse had me all ears. I looked down at Selina, hoping she had something to say.

  “You were told how the first werewolf was made, right?”

  There was no reason for her to ask, but I went ahead and nodded to let her know I remembered the story.

  “Well, you would be a descendent of Leto, and to make sure none of her descendants ended up falling in love with a werewolf, she cursed her line to be incapable of producing offspring with a wolf.”

  “How does that keep anyone from falling in love? You don’t have to have babies to fall in love.”

  I didn’t bother asking how she knew that. I didn’t pick up any lies, but I wasn’t sure she couldn’t fool my detector.

  “One thing wolves have never lost is a need to procreate. The original par lupu ended up having thirty kids over the years, so when Leto saw that, she convinced herself that was what it took to be in love.”

  “Do you have any proof of this? The way he talks, he’s half in love with me, and he was happy to hear he wasn’t going to have any kids.”

  I lifted my hand and pointed my thumb behind me, just in case there was any question about what idiot I was talking about.

  “There’s no half about it. He’s just been waiting to officially meet you before putting a period on the fact that he fell in love with you. Leto wasn’t very bright when it came to love.”

  “If what you’re saying is true, then I’m sure I inherited that. I still haven’t heard any proof, or what exactly being a descendent would make me.”

  There had to be over ten generations between me and anyone from that time period. Over the years, any magic passing down through the descendants had to have disappeared.

  “I can’t prove anything to you, which is why you need to read me. Tapping into my powers will help you focus so you can realize more about yourself. If you weren’t scared to open yourself up, you wouldn’t need me.”

  Neither Nikki nor Jack had interrupted my question and answer time with Selina. It was
weird for me to discuss something more than superheroes or fairy tales with someone her age. The kids I dealt with in the library didn’t say things like procreate, and it was scary to think someone who was only seven knew exactly what that meant.

  “Are you going to limit what I see? I think your mom promised we’d be back downstairs in thirty minutes, and we’ve probably been up here for almost ten.”

  “You’ll control things, so how long we take is up to you. I suppose it really depends on what you want to see. You’ll be looking into yourself most of the time.”

  The thought terrified me. I stopped opening myself up to make sure I didn’t accidently delve into my past and spark the mentality that caused havoc to anyone around me.

  “Does everyone in the room understand that there’s an element of danger involved in this? You make it sound like it’s a simple thing. I’ve already told Jack that there’s a reason I limit my abilities to Fridays.”

  “And there’s nothing any of us could do to stop you from burning the house down around us. The good news is that you won’t kill us. I’m not sure about your friend downstairs, but the rest of us will be safe.”

  I looked over to Nikki, wondering if there was proof her family wouldn’t die if I accidently set things on fire. Abbie was an issue, but I hoped someone downstairs would help get her out before anything bad happened. The string between Nikki and Vik had to be more than just a love line. I was sure they could talk to each other, and hopefully she was convincing him to take Abbie for a walk.

  “I can ask him to try, but I can’t promise she will. Selina didn’t mean to make you think we’d let her burn up. Historically, fire and witches haven’t mixed well, and that’s all she was trying to say.”

  “This is a horrible idea.”

  No one else seemed to be on the same wavelength, so I thought it was important to articulate exactly what I was thinking. There were so many ways opening up could go wrong.

  “You’re never going to live your life if you don’t face your past. You’re wasting your life doing nothing more than playing librarian.”