Little Wolf

Secrets

Ivy

Taking a big swig of her wine, she focuses on the letter in front of her.

Dear Paislee

Please understand that I never wanted this for you.

By now, the Garretts have told you the truth about your werewolf heritage. Surely you have questions. I’ll try to clear away a few of them in this letter.

Two weeks after my eighteenth birthday, I found my mate in a bar. He’s tall and strong, and incredibly handsome. Unfortunately, he also has a mate; one who was chosen for him by someone else. Your father is being forced to live without me - his mate. We talked about running away together, but he has two children with this woman. He owes these children a father.

I couldn’t bring myself to add to his pain when I discovered I was pregnant, so I left.

Sometimes, a werewolf can die without her mate. Paislee, I’m dying. I can feel my life slipping away as you grow inside me. I am weak now, as I write. I will not name him, for your safety. His chosen mate can never know of your existence, lest she take our lapse in judgement out on you. It’s not your fault.

Someday you will find your mate. The pull to him will be so strong, you’ll never want to leave his side. It would take every ounce of energy that you have to stay away from him, fighting it would be pointless. This is how your father and I made our mistake. One night, and I’ve turned my life and yours upside down. I’m so sorry, darling.

With our Alpha blood, your wolf will be strong, Paislee. She will rise soon, and she will guide you through this confusing time. She won’t ever steer you wrong. If ever you’d like to take your rightful place in your home pack, the Alpha of Blue Moon will welcome you with open arms. Bring this letter to him, and he will cherish you forever, as he is my brother. Blood is thicker than water where we come from, darling.

Lowell is a trusted lawyer for the local werewolf packs. He found the Garretts for me, and your secret is safe with him. Anything you discuss with him will be held in strictest confidence, as I paid him handsomely for your safety. You are part heir to the Blue Moon pack, Paislee. I’ve moved over a sum of money into trust for you, and Lowell will sign it over to you when you’re ready.

We haven’t met, but my heart aches with the love that I have for you.

Lovingly yours,

Mother Anne Warner

Ivy stares at the page, blinking in silence. She hasn’t the faintest idea of where to begin. Looking up, she sees Paislee sitting stoically, just staring ahead into nothingness. “Lee -“, she begins. Paislee shoots up off of the sofa and begins to pace. “She was a complete nutjob, Ivy!”, she wails.

“Lee, I don’t think -“, Ivy tries again. “No! I don’t want to hear it, Ivy! No wonder I feel like I’m going crazy. It’s in the genes!”, Paislee rants as she paces.

Looking back down at the rest of the papers scattered on the table, Ivy shuffles them into a pile. The first three pages detail the legalities of the money held in trust for Paislee. The next few pages are a copy of the documents Ivy read the other day, the ones where Anne signed full custody of Paislee over to the Garretts.

The last page is a bank letter, describing the location information of a safe deposit box. Taped to it is a tiny key.

Werewolves aren’t real… are they? Ivy furrows her brow before picking up her cell phone. Opening up the internet, she types “werewolf” into the search page. Starting with the obvious, Ivy reads the Wikipedia page describing werewolves.

Paislee is pacing the room, guzzling her wine. Suddenly, Ivy sits up straight. “Paislee, didn’t you say that Luke makes you feel tingly all over? You thought he spiked our drinks”, she asks. Paislee stops and stares back at Ivy, her mouth hanging open. “Yes, but -“, Paislee begins to protest. “Oh my God, Paislee. He’s your mate!”, Ivy whispers.

“Call him. Ask him. He can’t possibly be in on the crazy with your mother. Ask him”, Ivy persists. “Oh sure, so he can know that I’m crazy too? Not. A. Chance”, Paislee yells. “Fine? I’ll do it”, Ivy stands and swipes Paislee’s cell phone off of the table.

“Ivy Harrison, you stop this instant!”, Paislee screams. “I will not. You’ll see”, Ivy dodges Paislee as she finds Luke in the contacts and calls him, putting the phone on speaker. Paislee stops chasing her and slumps her shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me”, she mutters.

“Paislee?”, Luke comes on the line, breathless. “It’s me, Ivy”, she tells him, “You’re on speaker”. “Hi Ivy. Is Paislee alright?”, he asks sounding concerned. “Luke, are you a werewolf?”, Ivy demands, staring at Paislee. There’s silence on the other end of the phone. “Luke?”, Ivy prompts him. “It sounds to me like you already know the answer to that. I take it she read the mail from Lowell?”, he asks gently.

“She did, and she’s freaking out”, Ivy tells him matter of factly. Paislee covers her face with her hands and shakes her head. “This can’t be happening”, she groans.

“Luke, are you and Paislee mates?”, Ivy asks. Again, there is silence on the phone. “Yes”, he finally answers. “Is there any way at all that you’re wrong?”, Ivy continues. “It’s… it’s impossible to be wrong about this, Ivy”.

Ivy looks at Paislee who is now moving back on to the sofa. She looks stunned. “Paislee?”, Luke asks, “Can she hear me?”. “She can hear you”, Ivy confirms. “Do you feel the electricity when we touch? I didn’t spike your drink, that’s the mate bond working. Your wolf growled tonight at Melody. We all heard it”, Luke pleads.

Ivy can see that what he’s saying is registering with Paislee. “Keep going”, Ivy whispers into the phone. “You heard the two women in the restaurant talking from across the room, Paislee. They were whispering. You without a doubt have werewolf hearing. My scent… my scent is unique to you. You said I smell like Christmas, but other werewolves think I smell like fresh cut grass. That is again the mate bond at work. I don’t wear cologne, Paislee. Please. Please let me come to see you”, he begs.

Ivy watches Paislee blinking away tears. She nods ever so slightly. “How soon can you be here?”, Ivy asks him quickly. “I’ll be there in half an hour, and I’ll bring my sister”, Luke says before ending the call.

Luke

Luke hadn’t been home for fifteen minutes before Ivy called. Tiptoeing down the hall, he taps on Lucy and Trevor’s door. “Hi honey, are you alright?”, she asks him when she cracks the door open. She had clearly been sleeping. “No. I need you to come with me right now. She knows”, he whispers. Lucy’s eyes widen and she pushes open the door all the way. “Let me get dressed!”, she hurries away. “Hurry!”, he calls over her shoulder.

Trevor wanders to the door, his hair a mess. He’s squinting at the hallway light. “Bro, everything okay?”, he asks in a sleepy voice. “I honestly don’t know. We’re going Paislee’s house right now. She just found out she’s a werewolf”, Luke answers. “Sh*t”, Trevor shakes his head, “Need me to get dressed?”, he asks. “Nah, I don’t think we should overwhelm her”, Luke answers softly, “But thank you”.

The truck flies down the road, tossing them around. “Luke, you need to slow down”, Lucy warns him as they hit a bump and she bounces in her seat. Luke shoots a glare at her and returns his attention to the road. “Okay then”, she mumbles as she watches the landscape fly by at breakneck speed.

They come to a screeching halt in front of Paislee’s house, and Luke throws the truck in park. Ivy is at the front door to greet them as he races up the steps to the porch. “Where is she?”, he asks, his eyes wild.

Ivy leads Luke in to the living room where Paislee is seated on the sofa. There’s an empty bottle of wine on the table and a stack of papers. He can see that Paislee has been crying, and he can feel her despair. Walking over to her, he kneels at her side. “Hi”, he whispers. “Why didn’t you tell me?”, she whispers back. “I was so afraid of scaring you. I can’t lose you”, he murmurs.

“If you’ll let me, I can make you feel better”, he offers gently. “What do you mean?”, she asks. “The mate bond will calm you. I can hear your heart racing. Baby, I can make it go away”, he pleads. Standing, Luke scoops her up into his arms bridal style and turns around to sit on the couch. He can feel her relax in his arms, her breath steadying. He wraps his arms tightly around her and kisses the top of her head as her heartbeat finds its calm rhythm.

“Feel better?”, he murmurs as he brushes her hair from her face with one finger. Her innocent face is looking up at him in awe. “Yes”, she finally replies. Luke looks up to the kitchen and sees Lucy and Ivy watching them. He waves them in to join him in the living room.

Lucy and Ivy quietly slip into the chairs on either side of the sofa where Luke and Paislee are. “Paislee, honey? Are you alright?”, Lucy asks gently. Sitting up a little, Paislee faces Lucy. “So you’re a werewolf too?”, Paislee asks hesitantly. Lucy nods but doesn’t speak. Lucy is leaned forward in her chair with her elbows on her knees and her fingers intertwined.

“I don’t know what all of this means”, Paislee says slowly. “Well, let’s sort out a few things and maybe I can help, okay?”, Lucy offers. She reaches out to touch Paislee’s leg. Paislee nods in response.

“I think the elephant in the room is how you didn’t know that you’re a werewolf, honey”, Lucy asks. “She’s adopted”, Ivy chimes in. This revelation shocks Luke. It never occurred to him that she was adopted. Normally werewolf children are adopted by their own kind.

“There’s a letter”, Paislee says softly, pointing at the coffee table. Lucy picks up the letter and reads it with a furrowed brow. As she reads, her eyebrows shoot up and her jaw drops. “She’s Bob Warner’s niece”, Lucy breathes. “What?”, Luke asks, stunned. Robert Warner is the Alpha of Blue Moon pack. “See for yourself”, Lucy says, handing him the letter.

Luke reads the letter and is absolutely shocked by what it says. He hugs Paislee tighter, who is now seated on his knee. “We’re going to need that wine, Ivy”, Lucy says firmly.