“Oh lord, Seriously, Jackson? A werewolf? And I suppose I’m the wicked witch of the west?” Lana was all but cackling when Nana rose up from her spot and leaned forward enough to smack the back of her youngest daughter’s head.
“Hush now, Lana. If you can’t listen to the man tell his secrets you can get out and not be a part of this discussion.” Nana’s admonishment was completely serious. Taking note of that I turned back to my father.
“You’re being serious?” I asked. He simply nodded. “That’s craziness. Dad, seriously, what is going on? I’m not going to break. You could just be honest.”
In the next moment a felt an electrical charge rush through the room, as if every electron in the place was shifting to one centralized location. My dad was surrounded with this energy. It raised the fine hairs all over my body, and sent a weird tingling up the nape of my neck. In less than a minute’s time my dad’s body morphed into a ridiculously large wolf. It had a dusting of gray and white fur on top of a mostly russet-colored coat. My hand shot up to capture the scream that was coming from my mouth. I didn’t get to move let alone say anything before the front door flew open and a muscle-bound man put himself between the wolf that was now pacing my nana’s living room and me.
“What in the hell?” Lana yelped out. “Wolf… Oh my God… Dre? What?” Her semi-incoherent babbling was the only noise in the room for a minute.
“I warned you not to shift in front of them without me being here,” Dre growled out in front of me. He was talking to the wolf.
“They didn’t believe him,” my mom offered quietly.
The wolf in front of us lowered himself to his belly in front of Dre, and whined a bit before anyone else spoke. “Ladies, turn around for a minute. Our clothes don’t shift with us, and I don’t think most of you want to be seeing Jackson sans clothing.”
“What in the hell?” I asked before Dre’s hands closed around my upper arms, and helped me turn around.
“I’ll help explain things as soon as your dad gets some clothes on.” I listened to the rustling in the room as a bag was tossed, unzipped, and the swish of what sounded like denim being pulled over someone’s legs. Large hands were on my arms again before I had time to process, and I was being turned back around to face my father who stood there clad only in jeans as he sat on the edge of the fireplace again, elbows on his knees, and head in his hands.
“Did you?” I started, and stopped my external train of thought. “You were a wolf…” I whispered.
“I am a wolf,” my dad corrected, “and a man.” His eyes were imploring me to understand, but I wasn’t sure I could. This was the stuff of storybooks, not reality.
“I’m not a wolf,” I said more to myself than anyone else.
“No, you’re something else entirely.” Now that admission startled me to no end. My eyes widened even further, if that was possible at this point.
“Excuse me?”
“My kind either finds their potential mate, their Kindred, and claims them, in which case they go on to breed other male werewolves, or they mate with human women and create the Kindred mates for others of my kind.”
“Oh my God!” Something apparently dawned on Lana that was going completely over my head. “You said you were searching for her for three years. She’s all that matters.” Lana looked sick, but I noticed that Dre nodded his head in acknowledgment.
“Iz,” my dad’s voice drew my attention back to him. “That feeling you get in your gut. I was about to explain that…” I didn’t say anything so he just continued. “When we were here three years ago, you felt it when you came into proximity to Dre and Garrett, but when you accidentally took that picture, you pointed Dre out to your mom. I knew what it meant, and I was scared to death. You were only 17.” My dad was speaking fast, trying to get everything out at once. I still didn’t understand what he was getting at. He must have realized this. “There’s a reason you have that gut-reaction when you’re close to him. A wolf only gets one true, fated mate in their lifetime. When they come into close proximity to one another they both experience a feeling that is meant to pull them to one another. That feeling you had, it was trying to get you closer to Dre.” He shoved his hands back through his hair, tugging a bit.
“When your sister hurt her ankle it was a blessing in disguise. It gave us a reason to leave early. If we’d gone back on the train he would have been waiting there to claim you. I didn’t want you to lose out on the college life you’d been planning with your sister. It wasn’t fair to you. We left, and I never said a word to the pack here. They didn’t know I was in town, and they didn’t know who you were. I figured you’d be safe until you could graduate.”
“Safe?” I swallowed hard then. “Am I in danger?”
Dre’s answering growl made me wonder if that was the case after all. “You were never in danger,” he managed to gruff out.
“Safe was probably a bad word choice,” my dad admitted. “I just meant the life you were planning was safe from interruption then. Had he claimed you back then, you would have had to give up college, and…”
“Stop. Those were your assumptions Jackson, not a certainty.” Dre was leveling my dad with an almost angry stare.
I took a moment before saying anything and then I figured a recap was in order. “So, let me get this straight,” I took in everyone in the room. Then pierced my dad with my own stare. “You are a werewolf.” I turned toward my mom, “you knew.” My nana came into view next, “and so did you.” Lana was looking just as shocked as I felt inside so I knew she had no clue. At least I wasn’t the only one completely in the dark here. Although, she was hiding her own secrets that concerned me. “And none of you bothered to tell me? I’m assuming Liz doesn’t know either?” They indicated that was a fact. I turned back to my dad, “and you’re telling me you knew why I had that funny feeling, and you basically hid me away from some fated werewolf mate I was supposed to, what? Marry? Have wolf-babies with?” My face heated with the blush that crept across my cheeks. “Is that about the gist of it?”
My dad gave an almost imperceptible nod then. “You knew what was going on all this time too?” I was asking Dre, who was watching me closely.
“Yes,” was all he said.
“You never said anything.”
“I realized you were unaware of what your dad was, and thought that information should come from your family first. As soon as we put two and two together and figured out whom your dad was, the pack tried to get a hold of him so this could all be squared away.”
I nodded. Finally, an answer I could respect. “You knew about me, and knew what that meant for three years?” He again nodded his affirmation, curiosity blazing from his eyes, wondering where I was going with that train of thought. He didn’t have to guess long, because my gaze shifted to my Aunt Lana. The unspoken question dawned on him, and I read the guilt and regret on his face. I didn’t have to ask him why he was with her if he knew I was out there. He understood the silent question, and I suppose she caught on to it too, because her cheeks flamed as much as mine had only moments ago.
I don’t know if my dad missed the silent conversation the three of us were having, or if he was trying to save me from it. “Since things have changed, and you two have found each other, I thought it was prudent that your mom and I move back here now. I won’t have to hide who I am, and we’ll be here to help you with any transitioning into the truth…” His voice trailed off as I looked between my father and Dre.
“This changes nothing.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, except the fact that I know you can go all furry now.”
“What do you mean by this changes nothing?” Dre asked.
“I don’t know what kind of relationship the two of you had.” I pointed between Dre and Lana as he blanched and she blushed again. “I know you had one though, and that means something to me. It’s a… well, I can’t ever be with you.” The words came out easier than I thought they would, despite the twisty feeling in my stomach.
“What exactly do I not understand, dad?” I glanced at everyone in the room in turn before I reiterated my position. “He knew his mate was out there, and he still hooked up with Lana, repeatedly and for months, while we’re talking about it. Meanwhile, I was-as you said-obsessed with someone I didn’t even know and throwing myself completely into school while ignoring a social life. Had it been anyone else, I’m sure I could overlook it, but Lana is my Aunt. She’s family, and she was crushed by what happened.” I turned to Lana then, “and obviously I didn’t get the complete truth about what transpired there either.” I huffed. “As far as I see things, all of you are liars at this point.”
“Izzy,” my mom started.
“Nope. Mom, I need some time to process all of this. What I do not want is excuses. Seriously, all of this mess could have been avoided if any one of you was ever honest with me in the first place.” I turned on my heel and headed for my nana’s front door.
“Where are you going?” My mom asked.
“Away from all of you.” My mom jerked back as if I’d slapped her. While part of me felt badly about her reaction, the rest of me felt somewhat vindicated. My parents had been manipulating my life for so long, and in ways I had never even realized. That thought was a kick in the pants. Before I walked out the door I turned back one more time to look at my dad. “Is this why you kept us away all those years? Were you afraid someone would claim us as kids?”
“It doesn’t work like that. The scent doesn’t kick in until after you go through puberty,” he explained. “I had my own reasons for staying away. Maybe one day when you’re not so angry I’ll sit you down and tell you my story. It might help you understand what’s…”
“This is not that day,” I said simply before I walked out.
~*~ DRE ~*~
There was no way this could have been fucked any harder. The woman who was supposed to be my mate had been lied to, manipulated, and disappointed by every last person in the room with me, including myself. Watching her walk out the door was killing me when every instinct I had told me to go after her, claim her, make her mine. I rubbed my closed fist over the center of my chest as a pit of dread settled somewhere in there. I knew the claiming would link us in a way that she’d come around, and understand things better, but I didn’t think she’d ever forgive me if I resorted to brute tactics after doing such a damn good job of already fucking things up on my own. She had to agree to be claimed. I wouldn’t take that choice from her, and that was what had me almost on my knees with the weight of the despair that clung to me.
She was absolutely right to judge me. I knew she was out there. Even with that knowledge I spent my time wallowing in self-pity and random hook-ups instead of trying harder to find her. Hell, she’d admitted she hadn’t been with anyone in the three years since we’d become aware of one another. That just blew my mind. She was 17 when that happened. It made me wonder if she’d ever been with anyone at all. Sure, Garrett and I had overheard the conversation about her being a virgin, but surely, she had to have had a boyfriend. She had to have done other things, even if not the final deed? No, she’d said it herself just moments ago, she had given that up because I was there in the back of her mind. Izzy didn’t even know what that meant for her. I did, and still I hadn’t held the thought of her dear enough to abstain from others. I felt a small hand touch my arm, pulling me from my own self-loathing and regrets.
“This is what you meant when you said, she is everything?” Her voice was quiet, and I hated that we still had three people standing by witnessing this interaction. I hated it even more they were Izzy’s family. My kind weren’t modest by any means, but that didn’t mean I wanted my potential mate’s family privy to my sex life.
“Yeah, I told you I could try to explain, but that I didn’t think you’d understand. We don’t just go around willy-nilly telling people we’re not exactly human, or that we get one shot at our perfect mate in this lifetime.” I watched from the corner of my eye as the pained expression fell across Jackson’s face. “Maybe you should ask your brother-n-law what it’s like when you lose your potential mate before you talk to her again.”
Jackson’s head snapped up at that. I noticed his wife wasn’t shocked by that revelation. I admit, I said it to hurt him further, hoping maybe I would reveal a secret of his. Misery loves company and all that. Doing it made me a complete dick, but I couldn’t help it. Knowing what it was like to lose a mate, he had still fucked around with my life and made it so that I might have to be that same broken bastard without his mate for the rest of my unnaturally long life too. He deserved at least a little grief for that.
“I had no way of knowing things would turn out so complicated on your end. I was just trying to buy my daughter some more time to grow up and live her dream before it was all stolen away from her.”
“The problem is that you assumed I would steal anything from her. I don’t know the specifics of what went down with you and your Kindred. I don’t know how that affected your decisions here, but what you failed to do was get first hand information about how I would handle MY situation!”
“Like I said, you weren’t my concern, my daughter was.”
Lana interrupted our argument then. “I’m assuming my sister was not your potential mate, so what happened to yours? Obviously, you can still be happy and have children with others, so I’m not sure what the big deal is here.” Lana’s flippant attitude pissed me off even while I knew she didn’t understand what the pull of a mate was like. I ignored her, but Jackson decided to fill her in.
“When we find our Kindred, the pull to each other is incredible, damn near undeniable on our end. The females hold all the power in those pairings. The males have no choice but to be with their mate. The females don’t feel the same instincts we do, at least not until after they’ve been claimed by their mate. They’re able to walk away from the pairing. When that happens, it kills a part of us. My potential mate and I didn’t meet until a little later in her life. She was already married with two children when our paths crossed.
“In the end, she chose to stay with the family she had started rather than to accept the mating with me.” His grief was still fresh on his face, twenty-some years, a marriage, and two daughters later. “When Lori pulled me out of my dark period I didn’t think I’d survive still. My potential lived near here, and once in a while I would see her with her family and it would kill me all over again, that loss… it’s something I never wish on another.” Jackson glanced at me then. “I swear, I didn’t intend to keep her from you forever, just long enough to finish up college. It was important to her.”
“Yeah? And what if she had found someone while she was at college?” Jackson blanched, but then he turned the tables on me, not willing to accept all the blame in this mess.
“Like you did?”
The rumble of a growl I allowed to slip let him know he needed to curb his attitude with me. He might be the older wolf, but I was the Alpha. “I did not sign on for a relationship or anything serious. I was lost and trying to distract myself.” I took note of Lana’s stiff stance. “Nothing more, and I made that clear.”
Lana sniffed then. She knew I spoke the truth. Jackson knew I spoke the truth too, because we could sniff that out in one another. “He never made me any promises,” she confirmed needlessly in a quiet voice.
“No, I didn’t, but you have led your niece to believe that I did just that.” My gruff voice held no sympathy. This family’s lies were about to cost me my mate, and my patience was running thin.
“So, she would be able to have a happy life, even without you?” Lana asked.
“Not entirely happy,” Jackson answered for me. “She will always feel there is something missing. Another man will never compare to the feeling of being near her mate. Some ch
oose that before they know the truth. My potential didn’t know anything about our world. Her father had been killed before she was born, and her mother never knew what he was or what that would mean for her daughter.”
“So, if she’d met you before her husband, she would have chosen you, no questions asked?”
“She would have left her husband for me too, almost did. Her children were the only reason she stayed.” Jackson added on a sad note.
“That’s just nuts. And you are what? Biding your time with my sister?”
“No, I love your sister. I respect her, and am thankful for my family, but my wolf still grieves the loss of its mate.”
Lana shook her head. “That just seems so screwed up to me. Lori, how can you be okay with this?”
“I just understand, and I didn’t think Jackson should be punished to a lonely life simply because his mate denied him.”
“What if she came back? Her children have to be grown now, right?” Lana asked.
It was something I hadn’t really ever considered for Jackson’s case. “That’s why I stayed away so long,” Jackson added. “I wasn’t sure what the pull would do to me if I were around her and she was available. So, once Lori realized she was pregnant, I made a choice too. I stayed far away from here to ensure I never ran into my Kindred. She moved away from here with her husband four years ago.”
“What if she comes back now that you’re going to be moving back here? What happens to my sister if that woman comes back here alone?”
“She won’t be coming back. She did get a divorce, but I sent a letter to her asking her to respect my family now, and stay away. She agreed, saying she owed me for the sacrifices I had to make because of her decision. For instance, the only way our kind can have a son is if we find our potential mates. We only ever have females with humans, males with our mates. It’s some weird way nature balances out our numbers so that we don’t become the dominant species, or so the elders have stated.”
Entwined (Vukodlak Brew Book 1) Page 9