Rise of the Lycans: Shadows And Secrets

Chapter 9 – Truth

Maeve

“I didn’t realize you and the Lycan Prince were getting along so well,” Nan said as I raced up the stairs to my room.

“We’re not,” I called back. “I helped him with a project at the library for the Alpha King, that’s all.”

I stripped my clothes and jumped into the shower again. Three scrubs later, I was certain I had a Rex-free scent. Most people shifted while they were naked, but I wasn’t sure how long my first shift would take, and I didn’t want to be naked in front of Alpha Hamish or my grandparents.

“You’ll have to do,” I mumbled, lifting the cream cotton nightgown over my head. I’d probably ruin it when I shifted, but Nan had sewed me a dozen different ones when I first discovered my love for Jane Austen novels. This was the only one with a high neck to cover my dirty little secret.

“Maeve,” Nan called. “Alpha Hamish is here.”

My heart picked up pace, and I suddenly felt a rush of fear. It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten much because I wanted to vomit. I took the stairs one at a time and tried to shove down the anxiety brewing inside me. This was finally happening.

“You’ll be fine, sweetheart,” Grandad greeted me. “You just go out back in the grass and wait patiently for your wolf. We’re going to stay on the porch and let Alpha Hamish help you through it.”

“Ye hae nothin tae worry aboot,” Alpha Hamish assured me.

We moved to the small porch in the back of our house, and my grandparents seated themselves on the wicker chairs. I walked barefoot on the cool night grass to the center of the grassy patch we called our backyard. Alpha Hamish stood behind me, and I couldn’t help feelinglike we were being watched.

“It shouldnae tak lang. Ye may want tae lie doon.”

“Will it hurt?” I knew it would hurt because I had heard stories.

“Aye, a wee bit.”

I lowered myself to the grass and curled on my side, waiting for something to happen. The moon was visible in the sky, so I focused on it. The minutes ticked by, and I waited patiently.

“Come on, wolfie,” I murmured to myself.

She was taking her sweet time, and I allowed myself to relax in the grass. The minutes soon turned into an hour, and there was still nothing. Alpha Hamish stood still—like a sentinel. I rolled over onto my back to get a more comfortable view of the moon.

“Dae ye hear anythin in yer mind?”

“No,” I shook my head, knowing something was wrong.

My grandad's gray wolf trotted up to me and lowered his head to nuzzle me, almost as if he was trying to coax my wolf out. He let out a low whine and looked up at the Alpha.

“A'm in nae hurry. We can wait tae make sure,” Alpha Hamish seemed to be speaking to my grandad, but I knew they couldn’t mind link.

He wanted to make sure of what? Was something wrong with my wolf? I closed my eyes and tried to envision her. She may be an Omega, but she would still be a wolf.

Time seemed to drag on, and my grandad was sprawled out in the grass beside me. I tried not to think about Rex, but he kept invading my thoughts. I heard another low whine, and my grandad lifted his head in alert.

“What is it?” I scanned the trees, hoping to find Rex standing in the shadows.

Alpha Hamish lowered his head, and my grandad did the same. They could sense him before I ever saw his beautiful golden fur. Apollo was the most incredible and majestic creature I had ever seen. The golden wolf that belonged to Alpha King Ares was much bigger than a regular wolf shifter. I didn’t need to have a wolf to feel the power of the Gods radiating from him.

I was so mesmerized by his sudden appearance I didn’t realize I was openly gawking at him. Jumping to my feet, I quickly lowered my head to show him respect. Though I kept my eyes on the ground, I could sense he was moving toward me.

“He wants you to look at him,” my Nan called out. “He needs to look in your eyes.”

I took a shaky breath and lifted my head to meet his eyes. Even in wolf form, he was taller than me. He lowered his head and moved in closer. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I wondered if he could read my mind… if he knew what I had done with his son. I sucked in a sharp breath when his eyes began shifting from dark orbs to golden.

After another moment, he dipped his head and rubbed it against my shoulder. Nan released a sob, and Grandad’s wolf dropped his head in defeat. Something had happened, but no one was speaking.

Apollo moved to the wooden box by the treeline we kept for shifters who needed clothes. Alpha Hamish was lost in thought, and I wondered if something was wrong with my wolf. I heard the footsteps coming closer and saw Alpha Ares return. He had slipped on some shorts, but his upper body was bare.

My heart squeezed seeing him. From a distance, someone could mistake him for Rex. His blue eyes met mine, and they were also Rex’s, except Alpha Ares looked at me with gentleness. He looked more like Rex’s big brother than hisfather.

“We shoud gae inside, Maeve. Thare's somethin we need tae talk aboot.”

Alpha Hamish led the way, and we followed inside. Nan wrapped her arms around me and kissed my face.

“I love you so much, my sweet child,” she told me. “This changes nothing,” she insisted.

Maybe I was a late bloomer? Or my wolf was just stubborn? I looked at the clock… we had only been out there for three hours. Maybe my wolf needed more moon in the sky?

“Maeve, please sit down,” Alpha Ares motioned for me to sit, and I sat on the sofa.

Alpha Hamish took the chair next to the sofa, and Nan sat beside me. The back door pulled open, and my grandad entered in human form and fully dressed. The Alpha King gave my grandad a nod, letting him start the conversation.

“Maeve, sweetheart,” Grandad started. “There’s something we need to tell you.”

Whatever it was… it couldn’t be good. “Okay.”

“During The Golden Wars… Alpha Randall led a horrible attack on the Moon Realm, and your mother was injured. Her injury resulted in her not being able to have pups.”

“She was lucky to be alive,” Nan added with another sob.

Alpha Randall and a dark wizard were behind The Golden Wars. They were on the losing end, but the war had resulted in lost lives on both sides. If my mother had sustained an injury and couldn’t have pups… No, it couldn’t be.

“When Cormac met Elizabeth, he loved his mate regardless. Of course, your father was the last male heir in the MacDougall line, so his family wanted him to reject her and find someone who could give him offspring to carry the line,” Grandad explained.

“That’s terrible,” I voiced, my brows furrowed and my lips turned down. My mind was racing to figure out the timelines.

“Scots ar very proud people wit clan ancestry,” Alpha Hamish added. “Believe me, A'm also gettin pressure tae find ma mate an produce heirs.”

“Is that why his family disowned him?”

“Nae, lass, it's why he disownit his family. He gave up everythin tae be wit his mate.”

“They wanted him to take a chosen mate…”

“Taking a chosen mate is an insult to the Moon Goddess,” Alpha Ares said with conviction. “The mate bond is the heartbeat of a relationship.”

“Was… Was I adopted?” Goddess… please say no. Say no.

“No,” my Grandad replied. “Not exactly.”

“You were found abandoned in the forest,” Nan told me. “You were about a week old when your father discovered you. You were so tiny, and it was a miracle you had survived.”

Abandoned? My head spun. Humans or rogues, who could do that to a newborn? What was so wrong with me that they had abandoned me? That they had just left me to die?

“If my parents aren’t my real parents… then you’re not my—”

“Don’t say that,” Alpha Ares cut me off. “DNA doesn’t matter. Your parents loved and raised you as their own. Your grandparents have only ever seen you as their only daughter's child. Don’t hurt them like that.”

“Maybe my birthday could be wrong, and that’s why I didn’t shift?”

“I sent Rex to the library to scent you. To be sure you had turned eighteen. Lycan senses can pick up the slightest of changes,” he explained.

“We didna know if ye were a rogue, human, mage, druid, or some kynd o’ fair folk.”

Druids? Fair folk? What was it with the Scots and their obsession with damn legends? This isn’t a Highlander novel we're talking about… this is my damn life.

“Are ye sure a'm nae a selkie,” I replied in a bitter mock accent which shocked me.

“Tis nae a joke, Maeve,” Alpha Hamish replied.

“So, you were both here to ensure what? That I didn’t hurt someone if I was something else?”

“No,” Alpha Ares replied. “Maeve, you’ve been with us for eight years. You know my mate is human, her parents are now vampires, my offspring are lycans, my brother is mated to a mage, and the Moon Realm was started as a home for rogues long ago. You’re not a danger to anyone… even if you are a selkie, you’d be welcomed here.”

“Then forgive me for asking, but what was your wolf doing?”

“Apollo can compel any wolf to show itself, even if it’s bound with magic.”

That’s why his eyes were shifting.

“You’re the Alpha King,” I muttered, connecting the dots. “You were trying to draw out my wolf.”

“Yes,” he nodded.

I knew what he was saying… When his wolf rubbed his head against my shoulder, I knew something was wrong. “So, you’re telling me that I have no wolf?” I bit back the tears threatening to spill.

“I’m sorry, Maeve,” he said gently as my world tilted on itself.

“If I have no wolf… I don’t belong in a wolf pack…”

“No!” Alpha Ares replied. “This is your home. They are your family, and you will always be a part of this pack.”

“Ye also hae a home at mah pack,” Alpha Hamish said. “We may nae hae as many, but thare are four humans in Oor pack.”

Another realization hit me. “I won’t have a mate.”

“Ye dinnae know that.”

Alpha Ares chuckled softly. “My mate and the Luna Queen of the entire shifter world is human. You never know what the Moon Goddess has in store.”

I don’t know how long I sat there in a daze. My entire life, I thought I would shift and have a wolf, a mate, and be part of a pack for the rest of my life. Watch my grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow. Everything had changed for me in the course of twenty-four hours. I felt my reality twist and become something I had never imagined.

I was human.

My father’s sister knew it, and Angus and Jack hated me because they knew it, too. My other grandparents hated me because they weren’t really my grandparents. They hated my mother because she couldn’t give my father pups.

“I realize we’ve just unloaded a lot on you,” Alpha Ares said. “But if you want to talk about it again or talk to my mate about it, come to the mansion, Maeve.”

“Thank you,” my mouth moved, yet I felt numb. My breath was short, and I just needed to be alone.

The Alpha King spoke with my grandparents before leaving with Alpha Hamish.

“Maeve?” Nan murmured.

“I’m okay, Nan. I just need time to process everything.” I moved for the stairs, and my vision began to sway. Why didn’t they tell me sooner? I turned on the stairs to see the worried expression on their faces.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“If you had been born to rogues, you would have shifted today,” my grandad said. “It wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“But you knew there was a chance that I could be human.”

“The forest is located in an area humans don’t frequent because of the rugged terrain,” he told me. “Some say it’s enchanted, and others think it's haunted. It’s the perfect place for rogues to hide.”

My lips pulled up in a wry smile. “Sounds like the perfect place for a human to dump an unwanted child.”

Realization. Grief. Anger. Disbelief. Fear. An intense explosion of emotions rocked through me.

I shoved the door open to my room and locked it as my shoulders started to shake. The window was wide open, and a crisp breeze was blowing in, but I still couldn’t breathe. Stumbling to my bed, I crumbled.

The tears came flooding, and the aching sobs poured from me uncontrollably. How did I end up in a forest far from human settlement? I was a product of two people who didn’t want me. Did something happen to them? Are they alive? Thinking about them made me feel like I was betraying the parents who raised me.

Shame. Guilt. Heartache. The feelings threatened to tear me apart. It was too much.

“Maeve,” came his soft voice as the bed dipped beside me.

I buried my face in the pillow. The pillow that still smelled like him. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me back against his warmth.

“I’m so sorry,” he rasped, and all I could do was cry.

He was a lycan. He didn’t need to be downstairs to hear the conversation. I didn’t have to tell him my world had just been smashed to pieces because he already knew.

“I’m so sorry, Maeve,” he murmured, kissing the top of my head.

I closed my eyes and let the warmth of his embrace comfort me. I knew nothing more could ever transpire with us, and his father had reminded me of that.

Taking a chosen mate is an insult to the Moon Goddess.

The mate bond is the heartbeat of a relationship.

I was a throw-away human. Even my parents had just thrown me away. It was ambitious of me to ever dream of Rex… to ever hope for more with him.

I cried for my parents, my grandparents, the wolf I would never have, the mate I had longed to have, and the life I had dreamed of. I cried for myself because I was lost. Everything hurt.

Nothing made sense, and yet it all did.

I let myself fall apart in his arms. He smelled warm and familiar. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, and I knew I didn’t need to. Not with him. I gripped his muscled forearm, holding on to him like a life raft as I drowned myself in tears.

I cried until there were no more tears left.