Chapter 24
“Did you know my dad was the alpha of our pack?”
I shook my head. “No, I had no idea.”
“He was a great alpha, my mom too. They ran this huge pack, and everything seemed to be so easy for them. Like they were born leaders. And when they died, I was supposed to inherit their position. I’d been groomed for it my whole life. We just never expected the reins to be handed down so soon.”
I digested his words for a moment. “So, you were supposed to become the alpha of this giant pack when you were only sixteen?”
He shrugged a single shoulder. “Wasn’t supposed to happen when I was sixteen. My parents should have lived long and happy lives and given up their positions when they were old and ready to retire. Not in the prime of their lives.”
“I’m so sorry,” I told him softly, knowing that anything else would break the tension in this car into a million pieces. “None of that is fair.”
He chuckled once humorlessly. “It never is, is it?”
This wasn’t the Abraham I was used to. The happy, optimistic alpha werewolf who always had a smile on his face was nowhere to be found. In his place was a sad and tired man, aged well beyond his thirty years.
“So, you left because you didn’t want to become alpha? I can understand that that’s a huge responsibility for a kid.”
He shook his head. “That’s not it. I would have become alpha regardless of how young and unprepared I was. It was my father’s position and it would have been an honor to carry on his legacy.”
I frowned. “So, what happened?”
His face was hard as he stared at the highway in front of us. “My uncle wanted it.”
“Your uncle?”
He nodded. “My father’s brother. He wanted to be alpha. Said I was too young and inexperienced. Said I’d ruin the pack if I tried to become their alpha. I cared too much about those people to jeopardize them in any way.”
“So, you stepped down?”
“I had to. He would have fought me for it.”
I gasped. “Your uncle would have fought you to be alpha? That’s awful.”
He shrugged. “That’s how the alpha position changes hands if it’s not passed down. There’s a fight, and the victor becomes the new alpha.”
“That’s awful. He really would have fought you? His own teenaged nephew? I can’t believe that. Not from what you’ve told me about your family.”
He sighed heavily. “My uncle is… different. He’s always had his sights set on my father’s position. Always hated that my dad was older than him and therefore had the role of alpha given to him when my grandfather retired.”
“This was your family’s legacy. From your grandfather to your father to you. And you gave all that up?”
“What could I do? I couldn’t fight my own uncle.”
“But he would have fought you,” I countered.
He shrugged but his shoulders barely rose with the motion. It was like there was a ten-ton boulder on his back weighing him down. I knew it was this conversation, knew that it was digging up old emotions for him that he’d probably prefer to leave alone, but I needed to know more.
“So, you passed over your opportunity to be the alpha of your father’s pack. But, why did you leave? Why did you move up to Asheville?”
“Had to leave. There can’t be two alphas in one pack. It was okay when it was my father and my uncle because my father was so much stronger. Even at sixteen, I was just as strong as my uncle. I couldn’t stay there.”
I remember Evey telling me something like that. She’d said if there was more than one alpha in a pack, it would destabilize it. Make it dangerous for the more vulnerable wolves.
“But you were only sixteen,” I whispered, my heart breaking for that young man.
He shrugged again. “Didn’t have a choice. I knew once I gave him the role of alpha that I’d have to leave. It wasn’t a surprise to me.”
“What about your sisters? Why did they leave?”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “They were always gonna follow me. If I was alpha of that pack, they’d have stayed and helped, but since I had to go, they went too. We’ve always been inseparable.”
That warmed my heart. To know he’d had support back then. Had his family to rally around him during a time when he must have felt really alone.
“Once Calvin and Clyde heard we’d found a good place to live, they left too. You can imagine how happy their father was about that.”
I gasped. “Your uncle is their father?”
He nodded, his once smiling lips now pressed into a thin line. “Conrad was always hard on them growing up. Nothing they did was ever good enough for him. They left the first chance they got.”
I sat there quietly holding Abraham’s hand while I let this new information swirl through my head. Knowing all this gave me a greater appreciate for Abraham and his sisters and everything they’d been through.
“It was incredibly brave to strike out on your own like that. I wasn’t even half as strong as you were at that age.”
In fact, I’d caused more trouble by sixteen than any one kid should. Listening to Abraham talk about his past made my own sordid one flare up in the back of my mind. But, like every other time it crossed my thoughts, I stuffed it back into the box I stored it in. I didn’t want to talk about it and I sure as hell didn’t want Abraham to know.
I snuck a look at him out of the corner of my eye. What would happen if I came clean to him? Told him all my awful history and laid bare everything I’d done that I so deeply regretted now. Would he listen? Would he understand? Would he still be holding my hand like this if he knew? Would he ever be able to look at me the same way?
“Well, you’re twice as strong as me now,” he said, breaking me out of the dark turn my thoughts had taken.
I shook my head. “No way, Abraham. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. I can’t believe how you’ve overcome everything that happened to you when you were younger. And now, you’re a great alpha of a big pack of your own. One you built from the ground up. I know I don’t have any right because I had nothing to do with it, but I’m so incredibly proud of you.”
I watched his chest grow bigger and bigger with my words, almost like I was inflating him with confidence. Instead of slouching against the bench seat, he was sitting up straight again, shoulders pushed back, and chin held high. He looked exactly like the self-made man I’d come to know and respect.
He squeezed my hand and kissed the knuckles again. “Thanks, baby. I think I needed to hear that today.”
Realization struck me then. “Is this the first time you’re going back to your old pack since you left?” I asked softly, afraid if I spoke too loudly that the words might spook him.
“No. I’ve been back a few times. Not many, though and I make it a point to send one of the girls instead most of the time.”
“Then why are we going today? I’m sure one of your sisters would have picked up your grandma for you.”
He shot me a look out of the corner of his eye. “I wanted to bring you there. Show you where I came from.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s dumb.”
I pulled his hand onto my lap and encased it with both of mine. “Not dumb at all, Abraham. I’m so glad you shared all that with me. I’d love to see where you grew up. Is your house still there?”
He smiled softly. “Yeah, it’s still there. It’s got new owners that might not take kindly to us traipsing through their house, but we can drive by it.”
“I would love that,” I told him honestly.
His small smile grew into a huge one that made my heart pound harder in my chest. And knowing I’d put it there made it all the more beautiful.
We drove in companionable silence for a while after that. But, as the miles flew past us, Abraham’s shoulders grew more rigid. By the time he signaled to turn off the highway, they almost reached his ears.
“Will we see your uncle today?” I asked, thinking that must be the reason he was so tense.
He shrugged. “Probably not. He’s usually tucked away in his big house letting his beta and gamma take care of the day-to-day operations.”
I nodded and fell silent as Abraham expertly navigated the roads to his old home like he still lived there. I wondered what this must be like for him. Coming back to this place that should have still been his.
We finally turned into a large gated development and Abraham sighed. “We’re here.”
I looked around as Abraham punched in the code on the keypad and drove through the gates. “We’re where?”
“This is Charlotte pack territory.”
My eyes widened as I took in the maze of streets and the dozens and dozens of houses. “How big is this place?”
“I believe this pack has about a hundred wolves now. Give or take.”
Holy crap.
“Was the pack this big when your dad ran it?”
He shook his head. “It was twice the size.”
“Wow. What changed?”
“My uncle,” he said, and I heard the finality in his voice. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to drudge up family drama. I’d just have to hold my questions for another time.
Abraham slowed the car as we passed by a large, light gray, two-story house with blue shutters and planters on every window. “This was our home.”
I studied the house closer, trying to imagine a young Abraham living here. Tried to see what it might have looked like fourteen years ago. “Has it changed much?”
“My mom used to have a great garden out front, but the new owners took it out and planted bushes instead. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same on the outside. Don’t know what inside looks like, of course.”
I heard the pain in his voice and it tugged at my heart. “Is this hard for you?”
He sighed. “I just miss them.”
I snuggled into his side and rested my head against his shoulder. “I bet they’re really proud of you.”
He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I hope so.”
I continued to watch the house as Abraham slowly pulled away.
I squeezed his hand tightly between mine. “Thanks for showing me that.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Anytime, babe.”
We only drove for a couple more minutes before Abraham pulled his truck into the driveway of a brick home. There were white shutters and a plethora of shrubs and flowers lining the front walkway up to the house I assumed belonged to his grandma.
I took a deep breath and willed my heart to stop pounding. Abraham chuckled and pulled my hand onto his lap. “There’s no reason to be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous,” I lied.
He chuckled again. “I can hear your heart racing.”
“I’m not nervous,” I repeated, “I’m worried. What if she doesn’t like me?” I finally voiced my fear aloud and waited while the words settled around us in the cab of his truck.
He sighed and pulled me closer before kissing the top of my head. “I love you, El. There’s no way my grandma isn’t gonna love you too.”
My heart thumped harder at his words. He’d told me he loved me for the first time last night and again this morning, but it was still so new to me. I didn’t know how to react or what to say to him.
What I did know, was that I loved that he loved me. His love filled in every empty space inside me until it felt like I’d burst at the seams. His love was the greatest gift I’d ever received, and I greedily drank up the words whenever he gave them to me.
He kissed the top of my head again. “Let’s go before she comes out here. She’s not a patient woman,” he said, the smile clear in his voice.
And sure enough, just as I got my belt unbuckled, an elderly woman with short white hair came walking out the front door carrying several large trays of food.
“Damn it,” Abraham grumbled before unbuckling his own seatbelt and bolting from the car.
I watched him run up to his grandma and take the aluminum trays of food from her hands. The stern look on his face told me he was reprimanding her, but the way she fluffed off his words with a wave of her hand made me think she wasn’t too concerned.
I kind of liked her already.
I took my time exiting the truck and rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans before walking over to where Abraham stood still speaking to his grandmother.
“Nana, I told you, you don’t have to cook for family dinners. I hire people to do that for us.”
She waved her pudgy hand again. “And I know Ms. Elsie’s a great cook, but can she make chicken and dumplins like mine?” She waited for a beat before continuing. “No, she can’t. And I don’t want my grandbabies goin’ without.”
Abraham rolled his eyes. “We’re hardly babies, Nana.”
She made a dismissive sound and spun around to face me. Her eyes widened as she gave me a quick once-over. I braced myself for the judgement I’d come to expect out of family but found only joy in her light blue eyes.
“Is this her?” she whispered to Abraham.
He smiled wide and walked past his grandma, so he could wrap his free arm around my shoulders. “Yep. This is my girl, Elizabeth.”
My face heated at his possessive introduction. I loved the way he called me his, but I didn’t know if it was a good idea to introduce me like that to his grandma. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, or how to act or, what to do with my hands. This was all brand-new territory for me and I was floundering.
Thankfully, his grandma had no such trouble. She opened her arms as wide as her smile. “Come here, Elizabeth. Welcome to the family.”
I stood there frozen for a moment before Abraham nudged me and I put my feet to use. I crossed the space between me and his grandma until I was close enough for her to pull me to her. She wrapped her plump arms around me and squeezed. I did my best to relax into her hug, but it wasn’t easy.
She finally pulled away to look in my face. “You’re even more beautiful than he said you were.”
And my face was probably the color of a tomato by this point.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
She took a step back and raised a brow as she studied me. “I thought I was supposed to meet you at the last family dinner, but you weren’t there, and neither was my Callie.”
I was confused for a second before I remembered Abraham had mentioned a family dinner the day I’d overheard him and Beatrice talking about how I wouldn’t make it through my first shift. My face heated to dangerous levels as I dropped my gaze to her driveway.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
She waved away my words. “Nonsense. My grandson told me about the boneheaded thing he did to chase you away that day and I can’t say that I blame you. I’m just glad I’m meeting you now.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. I hadn’t had much positive experience with family besides my own Gran and I was clearly a bit rusty. But, given how open and welcoming Abraham’s grandma had been so far, it seemed like it would be easy to get to know this woman and I had a feeling that by the end of the day, I’d like her as much as I liked her grandchildren.