Moon Rising: A Wolfland Novel: Four - Book Part Vampire and Wolf series. (The Wolfland Saga)

by E. S Night

  Isaac sniggered. “Oh, what risk mother? We know we can sort it even if he tells her. We should at least see what the girl has to say first

  with all the information. If nothing, it'll be a good laugh.”

  I couldn't understand what they were all saying, but that didn't stop the tears from rolling down my face.

  “Abigail, will you come with me please?” Grayson reached for me.

  I lifted my hand away from his and stormed out of the living room with Grayson trailing behind me. I opened the front door and jumped down the steps, raring to get away from the house.

  “What the hell was that in there?” I yelled, still not believing what was said.

  “Abigail, calm down for a second and I’ll explain everything.” Grayson tried to speak calmly but my blood was boiling and I couldn’t control my anger any longer.

  “Your mum! Is she always that awful? She was pure poison in there. And you – you’ll rip their throat out, who even says things like that to their family Grayson? Ella was in there for God's sake.” I shouted, feeling a rush of nausea come over me.

  “Are you okay?” Grayson carefully sat me down near a tree.

  I held my head in my hands. “No, I'm not! I feel sick, confused and hurt because of you – because of them.”

  Grayson crouched down to the ground sitting in front of me. “I have a lot to talk about, look, please just sit there and don’t say anything until I’ve finished. When I explain everything, you will be scared, but, I need to tell you. There is no reason to be frightened of me, please just remember that no matter what.”

  “Just tell me, I’m sick of this entire thing Gray. You’ve been hiding stuff from me from the very first time we met. I thought I didn’t need to know what you were keeping from me because I love you but this thing with your family– I need to hear it, so just go on.”

  He coughed. “I don’t even know where to start – I’m different from other people Abigail, my whole family is.”

  “Go on?” I pleaded.

  “Please don’t run away from me. Promise me that.”

  “I promise, now just tell me, you’re making it worse.” I shook my head irritated by his continuous stalling.

  “I don’t even know how to say it, every way I

  can think of just sounds stupid. Abigail I’m a wolf.” He spoke, making me laugh out loud.

  I could see how serious Grayson was, but that only made it more funny. “Abigail, I know this is hard to believe but I am - I mean, I can turn into one. Please don’t run, I’m not crazy, that day you went to the Garrison Wall, and you saw the wolf, that was me.”

  He spoke, bringing me back down to earth. I sat there, mouth wide open, processing what he had just told me. “Please say something.” He begged.

  “You had the same eyes.” I whispered, as a few things made sense in my head.

  “Yes, my eyes don’t change. When you saw me as a wolf I thought you might – on some level subconsciously know it was me.” He confessed.

  “I don’t know what I thought; I put it down to a strange coincidence. I feel like any second you’re going to turn around and say you’re joking with me. How did this happen to you Grayson?” I invited him to tell me more.

  “It’s a long story.” He sighed.

  I stared at him. “Then try to shorten it.”

  “My family are descendants of the first wolf, his name was Hale. Hale was the first ever man

  in Ireland to be turned into a wolf. He spent seven years this way with his wife Ula by his side.”

  I tried to keep up with his story. “What? His wife was a wolf too?”

  “Yes, in 1182 they both got turned by a group called the Lasair, a band of witches, led by a man called Elian. Hale had been betrayed by his own brother, William who had helped the Lasair. William had become obsessed by magic and allowed it to rule him, he thought the Lasair could teach him more. I feel like I’m giving you a history lesson here.” He acknowledged.

  “I don’t care, I want to know everything.” I waited for him to tell me the rest.

  “My ancestors, the Anam tribe and the Lasair were at war and their enemies won. They threatened the kids of my clan’s village if Hale didn’t accept their curse. Hale had no choice but to leave his clan and a truce was made between the two groups, which meant no one else would suffer. Hale and Ula were in their last year of being wolves, they were hoping to return to their tribe when Ula got injured by some hunters and eventually died; Hale was never heard of again.”

  I could see that this story bothered him but I

  needed to know more. “So, Hale had a family – children?”

  “Yes, he had a few children but his eldest was Cona – he had apparently taken over, leading the clan when Hale was forced to leave.”

  I moved my leg into a more comfortable position. “So, what happened to the clan after Hale didn’t return?”

  “It’s always been rumoured in my family that Hale was murdered by the Lasair, something had to have happened to stop him from returning to Cona and the others, but William never admitted to it. After the seven years, the Lasair came back to the Anam tribe, this time led by Hale’s brother William. They had obviously come back to rub my people’s faces in it that Hale had been defeated and to tell them of Ula’s death. This time the Lasair had developed their craft and had become a complete coven of powerful witches. They saw that throughout the years our tribe had multiplied and grown stronger, the Lasair were threatened by this and put a different curse on our people – this time the tribe were sent to live permanently as wolves in the forest. Over the years, the Lasair moved away from Ireland and left the wolves alone. Seven years later, the tribe

  unexpectedly turned back into human form forcing them to live two separate lives; from then on they could shift into a wolf on command.”

  “So, everyone turned back and I presume because you’re here, made families with children, and how does that even work?” I probed.

  “The Lasair did not understand that the wolf line had survived intact. It was a mistake one they now want to rectify. The tribe had to learn about their powers together, secretly never letting the humans become aware of their existence. Our people created families, all creating different bloodlines. When two wolves had children, that child would stay human until they were thirteen when they would change into a wolf for the very first time. From then on, they could shift when they wanted to – like me, they can learn to control it.” He spoke, captivating me.

  “So, there must be human and wolf pairings, right? So, their children would be half wolf and half human. Like if we had kids – not trying to scare you, I’m just using it as an analogy I guess.”

  “That’s the thing; we can never have children Abigail. That’s what my parents were trying to

  point out. Of course, our people tried to have relationships with humans in the past, you can’t choose who you fall in love with but when the pregnancy resulted in a pairing between a human and a wolf - the mother would always die in childbirth. Even if the mother was a wolf, and the man was human, the female would always die and so would the baby. We also have a counsel that reports to each individual family of wolves and notifies them of any danger or threat that might be coming. Rafe my granddad used to be one of those council members. When the counsel figured all this out, they made a rule that would keep our breed progressing but that would cause no further fatalities. They enforced a rule stating that once a wolf reaches eighteen years old, they are promised to another wolf from a different clan. The pair could try to bond for a couple of years but ultimately, they would have to marry. I am part of Hale’s bloodline so I’m considered royalty, royalty by wolf standards anyway; we are instructed by the counsel in Ireland to keep moving around the world because we are afraid of the Lasair group finding us again.”

  “Why would they find you again?” I tried to

  forget that I’d heard the part about predetermined marriage.

  "Our power was given to us by Hale a
nd for some reason the Lasair can sense it if they get close enough. Throughout the years, they have systematically picked off, one by one, the wolves that were found to be of Hale’s bloodline, leaving only my family in existence. When I was three years old, my uncle and his whole family were massacred, my dad told them to come with us but he didn’t listen and they were killed. That could easily happen to us. The other wolves not created by Hale’s blood are safe as long as my family aren’t captured. If we were ever caught, the Lasair would then use the information we possessed to gain access to all the wolves' locations, which would end our breed once and for all. We have barely escaped from them in the past. Their magic is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, they’re unstoppable and that’s why we run. Every time we move to a new location, the counsel uses one of its witches to cloak us from the Lasair. It’s never the same witch twice and their spell usually gives us a few years before we must repeat the cycle. It’s only when the Lasair get close enough to us, that they can even

  detect we are still alive."

  “They use a witch to help you hide? How do they know they can be trusted?” I was confused, so all witches weren’t bad?

  “They use witches that aren’t members of the Lasair. Not every person with magic is bad Abigail.” He laughed.

  “Grayson, who was the other wolf? The one that practically pushed me off the cliff that day I saw you?”

  He looked down at his feet. “Isaac. He didn't mean to hurt you. He was just angry with me for befriending you. My brother overheard a conversation I had with Colton about us. Isaac helped me save you that day. I assure you he meant no harm. Not really.”

  I nodded. “Okay.” I said, biting my lip. “What did your brother mean in there? He said something about, you know we can handle it if you tell me all of this. What does that mean? Will he hurt me?”

  Grayson moved closer. “No one will ever hurt you. Not any more, not now you know everything. We can make you forget everything I've told you, that's what he meant. If you choose that, I'll respect it.”

  “How can you do that? A spell or something.”

  He coughed. “Yeah, something like that.”

  I paused for a moment. “I'm not going to choose that. I don't want to forget you.” As my brain was dealing with everything I’d just heard there was only one thing I wanted to know.

  “So, we couldn’t ever have children?” I whispered.

  “Nothing prevents you from getting pregnant but you wouldn't be able to keep it.” Grayson added sensitively.

  “Because I’d die, right?” I lashed out at him.

  “Abigail, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, believe me, I wanted to. There just wasn’t a good time or a place to explain this to you.”

  “Sooner? Like before I was in love with you, yeah that would have been nice.” I shouted in a rage. “And when you got me this necklace, it wasn’t because you listened to my story about the wolf – it was because you were the damn wolf!” I hissed. “Who was the one sending me notes, the intruder, my mum’s car, the blood on the beach?”

  He sighed. “My family seem to believe it was Faelyn, the girl I was promised to when I was eighteen. She’s just a stupid girl Abigail, messing

  with you.”

  I hesitated. “Wait, it can’t have been her! I hadn’t even met you when the guy got into my house and what’s the deal with the symbol?”

  “That’s where the other half of our power comes in, the curse also gave some of us other gifts. Faelyn can see fragments of the future and my family can influence others. We can’t control the power unless we focus. I still have trouble with it, we call it compulsion. We guessed that Faelyn had a vision of us being together and followed us here to scare you away. Kaleb sorted it; she must have returned to Ireland because when he called she was there, obviously guessing she would be caught. Faelyn’s been put on house arrest so she can’t get to you now. We still don’t know why she used that symbol; it’s probably just another one of her games that only she understands.” He relieved me of some of my worry.

  “House arrest really? I’m guessing your compulsion can’t work on the Lasair then?”

  “It can’t work on any person with supernatural gifts.” He tried to touch my hand, but I quickly moved it away.

  “So, why have you even bothered to keep

  Faelyn away? Your family clearly don’t care about what happens to me.”

  “Please just give them time Abigail; it will be better now you know everything, but you’re right they stopped Faelyn initially because her actions could potentially lead the humans to us. My dad just couldn’t allow that to happen. Look, we don't go around telling humans we are wolves. I've told you because I love you. My parents don't understand why I've risked our existence for you. Do you not get that?”

  “So basically, I’m a hindrance to your family and they would never accept us as a couple, regardless. It wouldn't matter if I were fine about not having children, which I'm not by the way. That's what you mean, isn't it? That compulsion crap, you could make me do anything you want, make me forget anything you didn't want me to remember. For all I know I won't even remember this conversation in the morning! Right, I need you to leave me alone for a while. I can’t even believe this is happening. I thought we were happy and now that’s all just gone.” I cried, getting myself all worked up.

  “It’s not gone, it’s just different and we could adopt if that’s what you wanted further down the

  line, I need to be with you.” He appealed.

  “Erm, I have one more question, answer it honestly so help me God! Seriously have you ever used that compulsion stuff on me?” I asked boldly.

  “No, I don’t really do it - I have trouble with it, I told you.” He irritated me even more.

  “But you’ve tried it, right?” I shouted pushing him out-of-the-way.

  “No! I’ve not even tried.” As he touched my wrist.

  “I need to be alone, I’m sorry. I won’t tell anyone, you have nothing to worry about with me but I can’t be around you at the minute.” I sobbed crying into my cardigan sleeve.

  I ran off, leaving Grayson’s property, heading straight into the woods for a quick getaway. Then I remembered that my boyfriend was now a werewolf and could easily catch me if he wanted to. I continued to run home, realising he wasn’t chasing after me. Although, I don’t think he was fully respecting the space I’d asked for because I was sure I could feel someone watching me. I knew it was Grayson ensuring I arrived home safely. Unfortunately, that only made me love him more.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Boys Will Be Boys

  ​

  It was six when I got home, too early to meet Riley in town. For someone who had only been out of the house for just over an hour, I sure looked exhausted. I kept replaying what had just happened in my head, Grayson’s words still resonating in my mind. What made it worse was there was no one I could talk to about all this, no one to help me understand– there was only him.

  There’s a saying I’ve always liked, I might love you but I don’t have to like you right now. This was the way I felt about Grayson. Everything I thought I knew about the world was wrong, werewolves and witches exist and I’m supposed to just shut up and accept it? It’s not as if I was looking for proof. I mean - there were too many coincidences happening on the island for Grayson not to be telling the truth, but still – it was a lot to take in.

  Suddenly his odd behaviour these past few weeks was making sense as it all sank in.

  I stood in front of the house, away from anyone’s line of sight, not ready to go in yet. I couldn’t

  move or speak, I was afraid of what might come out even if I talked. I had no clue what I would tell my mum or Riley. It was all too much and I could feel myself losing my grip on reality. My innocence had been snatched away from me. I was now a party to a secret that had been closely guarded for the past eight hundred years. How on earth was I supposed to deal with this information by myself?

  I d
ecided to man up and go into the house. I obviously knew of the fact that my tear soaked, probably by now black eyes, would draw questions from my family.

  “Baby, what are you doing back?” Mum asked me from halfway up the stairs.

  As soon as she uttered the words, I could feel myself almost split open inside. I had absolutely no control over my emotions and immediately erupted, blubbering in front of everyone, I had completely lost the plot. My snivelling and sobbing alerted my whole family who came rushing in from various rooms in the house. I noticed that my dad wasn’t there, which was probably for the best. I thought I’d bottled up my feelings well up to now, well, at least good enough to get me to my bedroom without

  causing a scene. Evidently, I was wrong - I couldn’t manage it. I fell into my mum’s arms weeping, clinging to her in a way I hadn't done for a long, long time. I’d experienced nothing like this before; my heart felt like it was breaking, hammering uncontrollably inside of me.

  “Give us some space, now!” Mum yelled to the rest of the family. They moved into the living room wanting to know what was wrong. Uncle Konrad closed the door behind them so it was harder for my brother and Riley to hear what I was saying to mum.

  “It was awful, his family were so hateful.” I muttered in-between blowing my nose on mum’s shirt.

  “What did they say to you?” I remained silent, attempting to think about what lie I would tell her next. I hated Grayson for forcing me to lie so that his secrets remain hidden.

  “It must have been bad for you to end up like this, what did they do, and what did they say?” Mum continued trying her best to get an answer out of me.