Chapter 40
I’d never understood the phrase ‘deafening silence’ until that moment. It felt like we were in a vacuum and all the noise had been sucked out of it. Even the insects and small forest animals were quiet in the wake of Will’s revelation.
“You’re the shepherd?” Adam breathed, finally breaking the silence.
Will nodded easily. “I am. It’s so nice to meet all of you.”
As quickly as the silence had descended, the clearing erupted in sound. The party guests were whispering to each other, their voices shocked and a little wary. Abraham turned to look at the row of alphas before his eyes landed on mine. They were both wary and incredulous.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Grady spoke up. A few of the werewolves under the tent murmured in agreement. They must have been his pack members. The rest of us were still shocked mostly silent, hanging on to every word that was said.
Will’s smile never left his face. “I know you can feel there’s something different about me. If you want, I could tell you about my travels, the things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met over the many millennia I’ve wandered this earth. Or I could tell you the story of how we all came to be although it seems you’re already familiar with the tale.”
Abraham took another step forward. “But, how?” his voice was so soft, it barely reached us. “We all know werewolves live longer than humans, but how are you still alive? How are you here? None of this makes sense.”
Will’s smile turned a little sad. “The witch’s magic is so strong, it’s kept me alive for centuries. I haven’t aged a day since the moment she first transformed me. That’s why your generation lives so long, the magic is in you too, just many times watered down.”
Abraham shook his head slowly. “This is unbelievable.”
Will’s smile grew as he spread his arms wide. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but I assure you, I am who I say I am. There will be plenty of time for more questions later, but if you don’t mind, I smell barbecue and I’m famished.”
I stepped forward and spoke up. “I can make you a plate,” I offered.
Will’s eyes turned to me. “That would be delightful, Granddaughter.”
Granddaughter?
Why was I called granddaughter when Abraham had been called son?
But there was no time to dissect the strange werewolf, so I scurried past the line of alphas and up to the patio where the food was now covered in sheets of aluminum foil. Not knowing what he’d like, I grabbed a little bit of everything I could fit and grabbed a bottle of water before heading back toward the other wolves.
The guests had grown brave in my absence and crept closer to Will and the alphas who were deep in conversation. I didn’t want to interrupt, but as soon as Abraham saw me coming, he held out an arm and I stepped into his embrace.
“Will, this is my mate, Elizabeth.”
Will’s smile grew as he opened his arms wide for me. I shot Abraham a curious look, but he just shrugged. So, I passed the plate and bottle of water to him and stepped into Will’s arms. They closed around me tightly and the electric feeling intensified tenfold, but it wasn’t unpleasant in the least. It was like I’d been covered with a warm electric blanket.
I stepped out of his embrace and Abraham passed Will the food and drink. His eyes widened, and he offered me thanks before turning toward the tent, presumably to find a seat. We all watched him as he walked away, no one daring to move a muscle until he was seated in a chair and digging into his food.
I turned to Abraham with wide eyes. “What the hell just happened?”
He shook his head slowly. “I think we just met our maker.”
I snorted and slapped his arm. “Be serious.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me against his chest. “I am serious. Can you imagine what we can learn from him? What he’s seen and done in all the years he’s been around. I can’t believe he’s here, in Asheville, North Carolina, of all places.”
I shrugged. “I guess when you have as much time on your hands as he has you can visit everywhere.”
Abraham nodded absent mindedly as he gazed over my shoulder. “I guess you’re right.”
“You want to go talk to him, don’t you?”
He smiled sheepishly. “I do.”
I released his waist and slapped him on the butt. “Go on, then. Go talk to your dad.”
Abraham rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face. “He’s not my dad, babe.”
“He kinda is though.”
Abraham shook his head and took a step toward where Will was still quietly eating before turning to look at me again. “You comin’?”
I shook my head. “I’m gonna run inside and use the bathroom. I’ll join you when I’m done.”
Abraham nodded and placed a kiss on my forehead before he walked off to join Will.
As hard as it was to believe that he was the original, the shepherd from the legends I’d heard, I had no doubt that he was who he said he was. I don’t know why, but something deep inside told me I could trust him. That he was real and benign and someone I should welcome into my life. I knew we could learn a lot from him and vowed to think of as many questions as I could to ask him.
I made my way inside the lodge and into the bathroom unhindered. Everyone was still out back gawking at Will, so thankfully there was no line. When I got out of the bathroom, however, it was a much different story.
“I thought I saw you come in here,” Peyton said from where she was leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom.
I rolled my eyes and went to walk past her. “Go away, Peyton.”
She reached out and grabbed my arm before I could get far. “Wait, I need to talk to you about something.”
I shook off her hand and turned around to glare at the dark-haired woman. “What could you possibly need to say to me?”
She shrugged a shoulder and leaned back against the wall. “I just thought there was some stuff that you should know before things go any further between you and Abey.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Desperate is not a good look, Peyton.”
Her eyes flashed with anger, but she smiled at me, anyway. “Please, I have no interest in him.”
I arched a brow in her direction and she had the decency to at least look away as she lied to me.
“Honestly, I’m just worried about you,” she said.
“Me? Since when do you worry about me?”
“Since you became a part of my pack. Pack always comes first.”
I was going to strain a muscle in my eyes if I kept rolling them like this. “Sure, pack comes first. Great. Now, can I go?”
She kicked off the wall and stood up straight. “Don’t you want to know what I have to tell you?”
“Not really.”
She huffed out an aggravated breath. “So, you don’t care that Abey hasn’t told you that you’ll never be accepted by this pack as our alpha?”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
She shrugged and looked down at her nails. “If things keep progressing between you two, what do you think will happen after your mating ceremony?”
“Uh, nothing?”
She shook her head and tsked. “No, Elizabeth, not nothing.”
I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Okay, I’ll bite. What happens if I have an official mating ceremony with Abraham?”
She peeked up at me through her dark eyelashes. “He really hasn’t told you?”
Okay, now I was getting irritated. If she didn’t get to it soon, I was going to walk away, ominous warnings be damned.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you please get to the point?”
She straightened back up. “Once you and Abraham are officially mates, you’ll be the alpha of this pack alongside him.”
All the saliva in my mouth instantly dried up. My tongue was a useless lump of tissue in my mouth as I struggled to comprehend what she was saying.
When I finally got my mouth working again, I stuttered out, “Wh-why would I be the alpha? Abraham is the alpha, I’ll just be his mate.”
The kind of mate who sits on the sidelines and stays out of his alpha business.
The kind of made that no interest in running a pack.
She shook her head with mock sadness. “Of course, you’ll be the alpha. I can’t believe you haven’t put it together by now.”
I clenched my hands into fists. “Peyton, you better start making sense. Quickly.”
She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “What do you think happens when you marry the king?” She paused a second before continuing. “You become the queen.”
My stomach dropped before clenching painfully in the pit of my belly. I didn’t want to believe her, but her words made perfect sense. So much sense that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought about it before now.
Why did I think I could be in a relationship with the leader of a pack of werewolves and somehow be separate from all of it? If he was the alpha, whoever he chose to marry–or mate–would obviously be his counterpart.
Peyton tsked as she slowly shook her head. “He really didn’t tell you, huh? That’s awful.”
I shot her a glare. “Don’t pretend like you’re sorry for me, Peyton, because we both know that’s not true.”
Her eyes widened. “I know we’ve had our differences, but no one should be lied to like you were.”
He did lie to me, didn’t he? After everything we’d been through, and after everything that happened the last time he tried to keep something from me, you’d think he’d be smarter than to make the same mistake again.
“But don’t worry, you won’t be alpha, anyway.”
Her words drew me out of the downward spiral my thoughts were in. “What does that mean?” I asked between gritted teeth.
She shrugged. “You don’t have to worry about taking on a position you don’t want because no one will ever accept a human as their alpha.”
“I’m not a human anymore.”
Peyton shrugged again. “We have a long memory. You weren’t born into our world and you don’t belong in it now. I don’t know why Abey is still stringing you along, but it’s really cruel to you.”
“Don’t pretend like you care,” I spat.
She held up both hands in surrender. “I just thought you should know, and it doesn’t seem like any of your new friends or packmates were willing to divulge.”
My friends.
They’d known about this, too.
Everyone had.
They’d all looked me in the eye knowing that one day I’d be expected to become alpha of this pack and not a single one of them had thought to warn me. Even after promising there wouldn’t be any more secrets. Betrayal burned hot down my esophagus as I tried to swallow everything I was hearing.
Was she right?
Would this pack reject me as their leader?
Did I even want to be their leader?
Rage washed through me as I realized, once again, my choices were being taken away from me. I wasn’t being given the chance to choose to be an alpha or not, I was just expected to take on the position.
And just the thought of my pack rejecting me sent a wave of destruction through my heart.
I loved my pack. I’d do anything for them. And to think, they’d forsake me just because I was a bitten wolf and not born this way made me ache in a way I wasn’t used to.
Did they look at me like that now? Like something other? All this time, I thought I’d been accepted by everyone and now I was realizing I didn’t know much at all.
I needed to get to the bottom this. I needed to speak to Abraham. Now.
I turned to walk away when Peyton grabbed my arm again. With a glare, she released me. “Where are you going?”
“None of your business.”
Peyton scowled at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, I get no thanks for letting you in on the secret everyone was keeping from you?”
When she put it like that, my blood boiled even harder.
“Thanks,” I spat and turned to storm out of the lodge.
I stomped down the steps and onto the grass, heading straight toward the tent where I knew Abraham would still be with Will. My head was spinning with everything Peyton revealed, and I was struggling just to catch up.
I couldn’t believe that Abraham had done this to me again. Couldn’t believe that we were in this place once more when he’d promised full disclosure from now on.
What else was he hiding? What else hadn’t he told me? Did he outright lie, or just omit?
Those questions and more swam through my head as I made my way across the grass and headed straight toward the large tent.
When I found Abraham, he was huddled close to Will and a crowd of curious onlookers had formed around them.
I cut through the throngs of people, elbowing my way through them when they refused to move. I heard more than a few curses and growls, but I ignored them all. My sights were set on Abraham and nothing could deter me.
When I got close enough, I grabbed his arm and pulled. “We need to talk.”
He turned to me with a smile that slowly faded from his face. “Is everything okay?”
“No. It’s not. Let’s go.”
Abraham excused himself and stood from his seat, a frown marring his handsome face. I spun around and led him away from the crowd. Thinking quickly, I took him back up the steps to the lodge and into the kitchen. I didn’t need anyone else overhearing the conversation we were about to have.
We had a lot to discuss, and I didn’t want to be interrupted.
I also didn’t want any of my pack to overhear us. It was bad enough that I felt their betrayal deep in my veins, I didn’t need to see the pity on their faces too.
I was going to get to the bottom of this alpha business and heaven help anyone who got in my way.