Chapter 32: An Unexpected Visitor

CLARA

Elias spent every night with me after that.

Each day, I’d arrive home from work, and he wouldn’t be too far behind me. He’d cook or bring me dinner, and we would quietly watch TV or do puzzles together until bedtime. After only a couple of days, it felt more like a marriage than my actual marriage ever had.

But the full moon lingered just on the horizon.

When I thought about the possibility that Elias was wrong and I had no werewolf blood in me after all, I began to feel sick.

Would this perfect man reject me, like my father had rejected my mother? Was this all nothing more than playing house until the storm ripped it from its foundation?

If so, I was going to cherish every moment of it while I had it.

The rest of the week felt like a funeral march toward the full moon on Friday night.

I woke up so anxious on Friday morning that I felt like I might vomit. I curled up into a little ball with my arms wrapped around my knees, attempting to breathe deeply enough to calm down.

Elias rolled over and pulled me into his arms, nibbling softly at the back of my neck.

“You okay, Cinderella? Today is the day.”

I grimaced at the stupid nickname yet again and shook my head.

“I feel jittery and sick. What happens if this bond thing proves I’m not a wolf, Elias? Do you want to pack up all your stuff before we leave the house so you don’t have to come back to get it?”

Elias sighed heavily in my ear. “Clara, even in the minuscule possibility that both packs are wrong about your bloodline, I’m not going to abandon you. You are the one I’ve chosen, and you are the one I’ll keep.”

He held me tightly, and I’m pretty sure he could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

“I feel sick over this whole thing. I don’t know how I’m going to get through work today! It’s just going to be a day of sitting at my desk doing research for the article due on Tuesday, which definitely won’t be enough to keep my mind off what’s coming.”

“So don’t go.” Elias pressed his lips to the base of my neck, his breath hot on my skin. “You’re sick, right? So call in and we can spend the day together.

“I had a dream last night that I’m dying to paint. We can have a quiet day in the cabin where I paint and you draw, or watch TV, or whatever you want to do to relax.”

At first, I was going to outright reject the suggestion, but the longer I thought about it and the more my stomach lurched, the more I warmed to the idea.

Around eight a.m. I pulled out my phone and shot Perkins a text.

Clara

I seem to have caught a stomach bug, and I don’t want to spread it around the office. I’m going to stay home today.

Perkins

Yes. Please. Don’t bring your vomit virus into the office.

That was surprisingly easy. I tossed the phone to the foot of the bed and rolled over to press my face into Elias’s chest.

“Boss says to stay home. So a quiet day in the cabin it is.”

Elias kissed the top of my head and gave me a squeeze before sitting up.

“Then I’m going to start getting ready to go. Do you want to shower before we leave?”

I glanced at the bathroom door and shook my head. “Your shower is better than mine. I’d rather wait and shower there.”

“You mean we both actually fit in my shower?” Elias asked, his voice carrying a hint of hope.

I started to laugh and nodded, though my cheeks began to burn. Damn them for betraying me like that!

“Then I’ll definitely wait to shower as well. Pack for the entire weekend, just in case.”

That was an “order” I was happy to obey.

***

I watched Elias’s skilled hands floating across the canvas, amazed at how easy he made the process look.

Meanwhile, I’d spent the morning curled up on the couch with a blanket and a book in front of the fire.

Just as Elias had promised, the atmosphere in the cabin was calm and peaceful. Soft instrumental music floated down from somewhere upstairs, and snow fell outside the windows, blanketing the clearing in pillowy white.

It was so easy to pretend that our lives could always be this simple. Elias could support us with his art while I spent my days reading, and maybe even writing. I’d always wanted to be an author, but journalism had paid the bills while at least scratching the writing itch.

But as the hours passed, the anxiety from early that morning slowly returned.

By sunset, my hands were trembling so hard I could hardly hold my fork, much less eat the steak Elias had cooked for me. I felt his eyes on me the entire time, their concern heavy.

“It’s going to be okay. The whole pack will be there tonight to make sure that you’re safe while we attempt the ritual.” Elias wrapped his large, rough hands around mine to still them.

My heart skipped a beat as I stared into his golden eyes.

I wanted to believe him ~so~ badly.

“Are you sure you even know what we’re supposed to do, Elias? What if we have the details wrong so it fails, and the fighting doesn’t stop?”

“You’re worrying too much. If the prophecy is a bunch of bullshit like I suspect it to be, I’ll just find another way to make Xavier stop. I—”

He was cut off by the sound of a soft knock on the front door.

His face seemed puzzled as he stood to see who was there. It must not have been a member of the pack, because he always seemed to know when one of them was visiting.

I turned in my chair to watch him walk across the room and open the door, and saw his face grow even more confused.

“Come in,” he said, stepping aside to reveal a grizzled old woman.

Her dark skin was so wrinkled and rough that it looked like tanned leather, and her long black hair, tied in a tight braid, spilled down the wolfskin she wore on her back.

Despite carrying what I thought was a walking stick, she walked toward me with little issue. Her milky eyes were mismatched and haunting.

“At last, Clara,” she croaked in a voice that sounded like her vocal cords had been partially fossilized. “We have been awaiting your birth for many generations, Moon-Chosen. I have much to tell you.”

To say I froze was an understatement. I had no idea who this old woman was, and I hadn’t heard Elias introduce either of us. So how did she know my name?

I couldn’t even open my mouth to say anything to her, as hard as I tried.

“Do not be afraid, dear. I come with only good tidings for the both of you.”

Elias pulled out a chair for the old woman, and she settled into it with a chorus of crackling joints. He returned to his own seat, and I could see the wheels turning in his brain.

“You’re the Seer, aren’t you? The one who gave the prophecy?” he asked.

A wide grin spread across the woman’s face.

“Indeed, Alpha Elias. You are quick! There are great things to come, and I am here to ensure their fulfillment.

“Moon-Chosen, the ritual that you and your bond mate have planned for this evening is, indeed, the conclusion to the prophecy given long ago. It will cement your position in Alpha Elias’s pack and protect you from the influence of Alpha Xavier.

“It will awaken your inner wolf from her slumber and tie your fates together. And, in the end, it ~will~ end the war between Graveridge and Northfang. But I’m here to ensure you properly break the curse I placed.”

A shiver began in my ribcage and radiated outward all the way to my fingers and toes. The Seer spoke with a strange power that I’d never felt before. It was wild and vast as a storm-tossed sea and soaked deep into my bones.

“S-so, I really ~am~ a werewolf?”

“Yes. Have you not noticed her stirring since you met Elias? Your senses heightening and your strength growing? She still slumbers deep inside of you, but she is waking.

“Tonight, you and your bond mate will complete the ritual and she will rise to her full power. None will be able to stand against your might.”

I frowned, alternating nodding and shaking my head.

Had my hearing actually ~improved~ rather than my neighbors growing louder? Was I getting ~stronger~ instead of gripping things too tightly?

It seemed strange, but the puzzle pieces were beginning to click into place.

“But what if I don’t want to cause bloodshed?”

“Fire must often clear away the debris for new growth. When the time comes, you will rise. The forest may be watered with blood, but love will heal the wounds. Make haste. We must prepare for the ceremony.”

The Seer returned to her feet, and a new wave of terror washed over my head. It was time already?

Elias must have noticed me hyperventilating because he hurried around the table and took me into his arms.

“Breathe, Clara. We’ve been preparing for this, even though we didn’t believe it. Looks like Xavier was actually right about something…for once. Whatever happens tonight, I will stay by your side. Let’s get it over with.”

He lifted my chin and stared into my eyes before pressing his warm lips to my own. I could feel his consciousness prodding at mine, and I opened up to let him in. A wall of heat and calm rushed into my panicking mind, relaxing my muscles and loosening my chest.

I hurriedly dressed in my heavy coat and boots, while Elias simply put on his boots and stood bare-chested at the door.

He took my hand and led me out into the silence of the snowfall, our feet creating a new trail through the snow as we followed the Seer into the trees.