Chapter 14
“We!” the crowd chanted back at Del, the sound of our combined voices echoing in the clearing.
We were in the midst of a lively rendition of Taylor Swift’s classic “We Are Never Getting Back Together”. As I sang along, I looked around the group of people, and saw every one of them knew all the words. When Del’s sweet voice rang out with the last note, they all erupted in cheers.
I turned to Abraham. “Taylor Swift? Really?”
He shot me a comically offended look. “Don’t tell me you’re not a Swiftie.” A loud laugh shot out of me, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. His answering smile was brilliant. “Are you having a good time?”
“I really am. Thank you for inviting me.”
He shook his head. “You’re pack now. That means you’re family.”
Family.
That word was still so foreign. It’d been so long since I could say I was a part of one. The encroaching sadness was cut short when a small group of people approached us.
“We’re heading home, Abraham. Thanks for the cookout.”
He reached out to pull the man into a brief hug. “Anytime, you know that. Elliot, this is our newest pack member, Elizabeth.”
I held out a hand, but he knocked it aside in favor of pulling me into a brief, but fierce embrace. “Welcome to the pack, little lady. I look forward to gettin’ to know ya’.”
With heated cheeks, I stuttered out my thanks. The rest of his group also enveloped me in big hugs before taking their leave. Feeling self-conscious, I tried to step behind Abraham, but he wrapped an arm around my waist, and stood me next to him. His touch was becoming familiar and almost expected at this point.
It felt like there was more to his touch than simple friendship. But I had zero time for a relationship, so that thought got folded up, and stuffed in a closet somewhere in the back of my mind.
Person after person streamed by us, offering thanks to Abraham, and welcomes to me. I hugged more people in that fifteen minute span than I had in the last fifteen years of my life. To my surprise, it got easier as time went by. I went from feeling awkward, and out of place, to holding out my arms without being prompted.
When most of the pack had gone home, the only ones left were the McCoy siblings, and unfortunately, Peyton.
The latter slithered over to us and wrapped a thin arm around Abraham’s bicep. “Abey,” she cooed, “Some of us are gonna’ have some moonshine down by the lake. You’re comin’ right?” Her fake eyelashes were fluttering so fast, they looked like they were in danger of flying off.
Abraham extricated himself from her grip and took a small step back. “Thanks, Peyton, but I’m good tonight.”
Her angry eyes flashed in my direction before she stuck out a lip. “C’mon Abey. It’ll be fun.”
He shook his head resolutely. “No, thanks.”
She pouted harder and actually stomped her foot. “Fine. We’ll have fun without you then.” Spinning on her heel, she stomped over to Beatrice who shot a scathing look my way before wrapping an arm around Peyton, and leading her away.
Evey, Delilah, and Callista wandered over next.
“You two aren’t comin’?” Evey asked.
“Elizabeth can’t drink moonshine.”
I turned angry eyes in his direction. “Says who?”
“Says me,” he retorted.
I spun on my heel and poked him in the chest. “Who do you think you are tellin’ me what to do?”
Callista stepped forward. “He’s right, Elizabeth, you can’t drink this moonshine.”
I redirected my ire her way.
“Hear me out,” she entreated.
I sighed, but kept my mouth shut.
“The moonshine we have here is a lot stronger than anything you’ve ever had. It has to be to affect us in any way. If you drank it, there’s the possibility you’d get really sick. We don’t know for sure what effect werewolf moonshine would have on a human, but none of us are willing to take that risk with you.”
The other two women nodded seriously, and the anger left my system all at once, deflating me like an old birthday balloon.
“Okay, that makes sense.” I turned to Abraham. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
He laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “I would have if you’d let me get a word in.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but thought better of it, and snapped it shut.
“No sarcastic retort?” he asked.
With narrowed eyes, I warned him, “Don’t try me.”
He laughed again and turned to say goodnight to his sisters. They each hugged me tightly before melting into the dark night.
And suddenly, I was alone with Abraham.
My heart was the first one to react, thumping wildly in my chest, almost drowning out the noisy crickets and cicadas around us.
Abraham either didn’t hear my wild heartbeat, or was choosing to ignore it. Either was fine with me. He held out his strong, tan arm, and I wrapped my hand around it.
While we made our way back to the house, Abraham tried to help me identify the members of the pack I wasn’t familiar with. He had a different funny or interesting story for each one, and it was obvious how much he cared for his pack. They really were like a big family.
When we made it to the staircase, I looked up the steep steps with trepidation. My leg was feeling better, but walking up these steps to the back door, and then another two flights to my room would be tough. Abraham sighed from behind me before my feet left the ground, and I found myself cradled in his strong arms. We were up the first flight, and in the house before I had a chance to protest.
“Abraham, put me down!”
He shook his head. “I spoke with the doc, and he told me to keep you off that leg as much as possible.”
“It’s feeling better. I don’t need to be babied like this.”
He shook his head again. “He said you’d try to argue your way out of it.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed in defeat. They were all conspiring against me.
Or they’re just concerned.
I pushed that thought away and locked it up in the back of my mind. I didn’t need anyone’s concern. Or help.
Or worse, their pity.
I expected him to set me down once we made it to my room, but he swung open the door, and walked over to my bed before I could protest. He gently sat me on the edge of the bed and took a big step back.
His breaths were even and measured as if he hadn’t just lugged my butt up three flights of stairs. But, as he stood there, his chest began to rise and fall more rapidly. How was it that he was out of breath now?
“Do you need anything?” His voice was full of grit.
I shook my head, unable to form words at the moment. I watched him brace himself before closing the distance between us.
“Abraham,” I breathed. With my eyes squeezed closed, I took a big breath. “Whatever this is,” I wagged a finger between the two of us, “cannot happen.”
There. I’d said it.
He reached out a hand to tuck a lock of thick blonde hair behind my ear. When he leaned his face down toward mine, my breath caught in my chest, and I swear, my heart stopped all together. His clean scent enveloped me, and I felt the heat radiating off his body. His warm lips pressed gently against my temple for a moment that felt both brief and infinite.
The room spun, and I wasn’t sure if it was from his proximity, or the lack of oxygen. He took his time walking toward the door as if reluctant to leave. When he turned to face me again, I saw my conflicted emotions mirrored on his handsome face. He gave me a small smile. “Sweet dreams, Elizabeth.”
Just before he closed the door behind him, I squeaked, “Night.”
The door closing echoed throughout the dark, empty room like the heartbeat in my hollow chest. It begged me to call him back, but I resolutely ignored it. I hadn’t let my heart make decisions for me in over a decade, and I wouldn’t start now. My sanity depended on it.
I woke the next morning feeling much better than the day before. My head was clear, and my leg almost completely healed. I was already showered and dressed when there was a knock on the door.
I called for them to come in, expecting Evey carrying an overly large tray of food. Instead, Abraham’s massive frame entered the room, somehow tentative and confident at the same time. I took a minute to admire his casual clothing that seemed tailormade for him. His thick, dark hair was wet as if he’d just showered. He jerked his head to the side flinging an errant lock back into place.
I stood there like an idiot for so long, he had to clear his throat to get my attention.
“Ah. Um. Sorry. Did you say something?” I stuttered. Embarrassed that I’d been caught practically drooling over him. I turned around and continued to towel-dry my hair in the large mirror hanging on the wall.
He chuckled softly. “No, I didn’t yet. I was just coming to invite you down to breakfast.”
“That sounds great.” When Abraham remained quiet, I turned to find him still standing in the doorway, looking like he needed to say something.
“Is there anything I can say to get you to stay here?” he asked quiet, but firm.
Yes.
No.
Probably.
“I have an important meeting I can’t miss Tuesday morning,” I insisted instead of answering his question.
His eyes dimmed. “What time do you have to leave?”
I couldn’t stand to see the look of disappointment on his face, so I turned back to the mirror, and ran a mascara wand over my light lashes. “Probably around noon.”
“So soon.”
It wasn’t a question, but I answered him anyway. “Yeah, I don’t want to hit holiday traffic getting back into Raleigh, and I want to get caught up on some paperwork.”
“I see.” He was silent for a moment while I quickly wove my hair into a thick plait. “Oh! I almost forgot. I still have your camera and phone in my office. We’ll get them on the way back up from breakfast, that way you don’t have to carry them around all morning.”
I gave myself one final look in the mirror. “Sounds great, let’s go.”
To Abraham’s dismay, I insisted on getting down the stairs on my own. He only let it go when he saw how well I was walking on my injured leg today. As we neared the ground floor, the sounds of many people talking, and the clanking of dishes could be heard several rooms away.
He led me down a new hallway to a massive kitchen that overlooked the back of the house. There had to be at least twenty people, mostly men, in various stages of their morning meal.
A large, granite-topped island held large platters of breakfast foods. There were several styles of cooked eggs, a variety of meats, toast, muffins, and breakfast pastries alongside large pots of oatmeal, grits, and cream of wheat. Clear glass pitchers held a few different fruit juices and milk which sat next to a couple carafes of coffee.
“I’m seeing a mealtime pattern,” I commented dryly.
Abraham chortled next to me. “We like to eat.”
Even though I scoffed at the understatement, I wasted no time locating a clean plate, and loading it up with the delicious smelling food. Abraham was never far away, and once we had full plates, he led me over to the massive wooden table. We found a couple seats near the end, and he held out my chair for me.
Once seated, Abraham made a few introductions to the men sitting closest to us. They all greeted me with friendly smiles, and words of welcome. It wasn’t long before I caught the eye of one of the few people who’d been less than hospitable toward me.
Clyde sat on the other side of the table, a few chairs down. He sat hunched over a large plate of food, eating like he hadn’t in days. As if he felt my prying eyes, Clyde’s gaze snapped up to mine. I quickly looked away, but knew the damage had already been done.
Embarrassed, I focused all my attention on the cooling food on my plate. A few moments later, a masculine throat-clearing from behind made me jump in my seat. I spun around to find Clyde just a few feet away, hazel eyes significantly warmer than I’d ever seen them.
“Elizabeth?” His rough voice was like sandpaper against my skin.
I nodded tentatively.
“I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I was rude, and I’m sorry.”
He stood there waiting for my reply, but I found my tongue absolutely useless. Instead of an actual response, I nodded again.
His jaw clenched almost imperceptibly before continuing. “I was hoping you had a minute to go through the details of your attack with me. Anything you can remember will be useful for me.”
I finally managed to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Sure.”
He smiled widely, and I swear, I could see all thirty-two of his teeth. “If you have time after breakfast, you could come to my room, and we can talk there.”
My stomach tightened at the suggestion, but before I could respond, Abraham piped up. “We’ll be in my office after breakfast having a look at her phone and camera we recovered from the scene. The camera’s damaged, but we’re hoping to retrieve something from the memory card. You’re welcome to join us.”
Clyde nodded his head a few times, his eyes focused on something in the distance. “Sure, sounds good. I’ll meet you up there in thirty?”
Abraham took a quick look at my plate. “That should be good.”
Clyde nodded once more before making a hasty exit. I watched the doorway he’d disappeared through, trying to understand the unease I felt.
“Sometimes I worry about him.” Abraham’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I turned to face him.
“Really?”
He nodded seriously. “He had a rough childhood, and it kind of messed him up. Made him real angry all the time. I put him on this case because I thought it would keep him out of trouble. Give him a purpose. Something to be proud of. Instead, it seems like he’s become almost obsessed with finding the killer. He spends night after night, combing the woods for any sign of him. It’s made me wonder if I made the right decision assigning him to this.”
The concern for his cousin was clear in his deep blue eyes. I’d bet just about anything that while Clyde had been out searching for the killer, Abraham had been here worrying about him.
“I think you made the right choice at the time. Keeping his mind off his personal life was probably helpful for him.” I was quiet for a moment while images of my own experiences with tough investigations floated through my mind. “It’s real easy to let the senseless death and violence get to you. It can change who you are if you’re not careful to compartmentalize your work, and your personal life. Maybe Clyde just needs a little break. Some time to step back, and clear his head for a while.” I laughed humorlessly to myself.
“What’s funny?”
“That’s what this weekend was supposed to be for me. A time to just relax and let all the stress of my work take a backseat for a few days.”
Abraham was quiet for a long time before he asked another simple question. “Do you regret it?”
His words struck me. If he’d asked me this two days ago, my answer would have been an easy YES. But now, that answer didn’t have the ring of truth it once did.
Did I regret it?
My life had changed irrevocably. Taken a direction I’d never planned for–never even imagined possible. I’d be a werewolf for the rest of my life. A slave to the full moon until the day I died. I’d change in incomprehensible ways.
I took a look around the beautiful kitchen, and out to the backyard. The large ring of seats around the charred logs from last night’s fire reminded me of all the wonderful people I’d met. People who’d welcomed a stranger into their fold with no questions asked. I thought about Callista and Delilah. About Evey. And lastly, I met Abraham’s true blue eyes, lit with the tiniest spark of hope.
The answer wasn’t yes anymore. But I wasn’t entirely sure it was no either. So I gave him the only response I could give with absolute certainty.
“I’m not sure.”