Rise of the Lycans: Shadows And Secrets

Chapter 12 – Angus

Maeve

“Oh, come on, Maeve,” Fiona begged. “It wull be th’ rugby game o’ th’ season.”

“That’s what you said when they played Edinburgh last week,” I told her as I slipped my empty suitcase into the storage compartment below the bus. It was early in the morning, and she was returning to school for the week while I was headed into the city for some shopping.

“Ye've bin here fer nearly two weeks an hardly done anythin,” she continued.

“Today’s the tenth day,” I corrected her. “I’ve already toured the university, attended a rugby match, visited the botanic gardens, the cathedral, and the necropolis. Oh… and I’ve had dinner at the pack house twice. Besides, I need to do some shopping, and I promised Nan I’d give her a video call this evening.”

“Glasgow has th’ best nightlife,” she continued. “Thare wull be loads o’ hotties.”

“I have nothing to wear.” Even if she wanted to loan me something from her closet, there was no way I could squeeze into it. She was a size four, and I was more of a fourteen or sixteen, depending on the cut. I also had no interest in running into Jack, who would likely follow her to the club of the evening.

“Fine, then a’h wull see ye this Sunday,” she replied with a dramatic pout. I had been invited to Sunday dinner at her parent's house for the traditional Sunday roast.

It was almost eight a.m. when we arrived at George Square in the center of Glasgow. I said goodbye to Fiona and headed to Buchanan Street with my empty suitcase. The pack provided groceries and essentials through an order system delivered twice a week to your door. I had eaten through most of the groceries Alpha Louise had stocked when I arrived, and I wasn’t comfortable ordering through the pack system.

The truth is, I felt more like a visitor in the home my parents left me. I wasn’t a werewolf and wasn’t doing anything yet to contribute to the pack, so I felt awkward living off pack resources. I had some money saved from my job at the Library, and if I played it smart, it might last a year or so.

The bus blended in with the other tour buses rolling through Glasgow for the day. It would make the return trip to the pack at one p.m., leaving me with five hours to shop. Marks other times, it felt like a fever dream. If it weren’t for the two week old bite mark on my ass, I’d be more inclined to believe it was just a dream.

“Ye're runnin away already?” A deep voice startled me.

I looked up to find Jack Jameson. Angus was tall and had a lean, athletic build. Unlike his brother, Jack had dark hair, dark eyes, and was big. He played professional rugby in Glasgow. The biggest and strongest guys on the pitch were the props, and Jack Jameson was a beast.

“The suitcase is empty,” I replied, trying to sound unaffected and unafraid. “I’m doing some shopping.”

“How lang are ye plannin on stayin?” He crossed his muscled arms over his broad chest.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged and returned my attention to my breakfast. “Until the kelpies drag me to my watery grave, I suppose.”

“A’h know whit a’h saw,” he insisted.

“I hate to break it to you, Jack, but kelpies aren’t real,” I huffed. “Shape-shifting demons don’t exist.”

He tipped his head back and laughed. “Ye grew up around shifters, witches, an bloodsuckers, Maeve, but ye draw th’ line at kelpies?”

“Right, and I’ve also seen the enchanted island in the middle of the loch,” I scoffed.

“Ye’ve seen beyond th’ veil?”

“Beyond the what?”

“Avalon,” he replied pensively, and I wondered how many times he’d been hit in the head playing his sport.

My mother was an only child and my father had the one sister, which meant that Jack and Angus were my only cousins. I remember wishing they would be nice to me when I was little, but that never happened. It never happened because they never considered me family.

“Is there something you wanted, Jack?” I stared up at him and noticed he was scenting the air.

A smile crossed Jack’s face, like he had just discovered something fun. “Which Alpha wis it?”

“What are you talking about?” My brows furrowed in confusion. It had been two weeks since I’d been with Rex. There was no way he could still scent him on me.

My pulse stuttered in my veins as his eyes trailed over me before they returned to my face. “Enjoy yer haggis. Thay mak’ it fresh here.”

He left just as quickly as he had appeared. People who recognized Jack as a rugby star turned their attention to me. I picked at my breakfast and tried the haggis. I usually loved haggis, but a wave of nausea hit me, and I lost my appetite.

“That wis Jack Jameson!” The waitress practically swooned over my table.

“He’s my cousin,” I replied dismissively, though I wasn’t sure why I said that. He wasn’t my cousin and never regarded me as kin… I knew that now.

I walked around Glasgow aimlessly with my empty suitcase before coming across a used bookstore. Ironically enough, a stack of Highlander novels greeted me on the first table with the bare-chested, kilt-clad hero passionately embracing the ample-breasted woman in a bodice-ripping cover. I selected two, though it wasn’t the romance novels that I was thinking about.

Jack had baffled me, but I had to remind myself that he had spent his entire life in Scotland. Next to the Greeks and Romans, the Scottish seemed to have a great number of myths and legends. I moved to a section that contained folklore and found a book encompassing Celtic myths of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, and Wales. Another book, Mystic Might, caught my eye, and I added it to my growing pile.

I meandered through the different levels of Marks & Spencer's department store before I finally made my way to the basement, where the supermarket was. There are those who will tell you whisky is the national drink of Scotland. Then, there are those who will argue that Irn-Bru is the most popular drink in Scotland. I was with the Irn-Bru people and grabbed some of the bright orange fizzy drink from the shelf before I continued my shopping.

A sprinkle of rain started to fall when I reached the pack bus waiting at George Square. The bottom of the bus held a refrigerated compartment, and I slipped the meats and cheese inside a cold bin. The bus wasn’t as full on the return trip, so I set the tote bag with my eggs, bread, and fresh flowers on the seat beside me.

I noticed a few curious looks thrown my way, but no one spoke to me. Alpha Hamish had mentioned the pack had four human members, but I hadn’t met any of them yet. I wondered if they were happy and comfortable here. If they had found a way to slow down their aging since werewolves lived twice as long as humans.

Settling in for the ride back, I pulled one of the Highland novels out of my purse and started reading. The rain turned into a downpour by the time we reached the pack. Unfortunately, the pack bus dropped off and picked up passengers by the pavilion nearly a mile from the cabin. I could walk it in about fifteen minutes, but everything would be soaking wet.

I gathered my groceries from the cold box and moved under the bus stop's awning, hoping the rain would let up in a few more minutes.

“Maeve!” A voice called out.

I turned to find Angus running toward me. He had a hood pulled up over his head and a wide smile on his face.

“Wait here,” he told me. “A'll get th’ car an help ye home.”

“The rain is starting to ease up,” I said. “I can walk.”

“Nae in yer condition ye wull nae,” he insisted. “Stay here.” Angus sprinted away before I could say anything.

My condition? I’m human, not an invalid. A little rain never hurt anyone. Of course, the rain was chilling, and I’d probably need a hot bath to thaw myself out, but this was the Highlands. Rain was an expected part of life.

Angus returned in his Range Rover and quickly loaded everything into the car.

“How wis th’ city?” He asked, turning up the heat in the car.

“There aren’t as many tourists out in the morning, so the shops were nice.”

We drove past the pack house and down the road to the loch where my cabin was. I wanted to ask Angus what had changed between us. Jack still didn’t seem to like me very much, but Angus had changed. He wasn’t the mean ten-year-old boy I remembered.

He parked close to the cabin's front door and turned off the car. “Open th’ door an ah wull bring yer things in.”

I still had the tote with the eggs, bread, and flowers in my lap. I retrieved the key from my purse and dashed to the front door to unlock it. Moments later, Angus carried my heavy suitcase through the door.

“Dae ye hae a dead body in here?” He chuckled, and I froze. His laugh reminded me of my father. Jack resembled his Jameson side of the family, but Angus… Angus looked like the MacDougall side. His hair and eyes… that laugh. He could have passed for my father’s son.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s just groceries,” I told him.

He closed the door behind him and brought the suitcase into the kitchen for me. “Pack delivery is set up fer Tuesdays an Fridays.”

“I wanted to get out and see the city,” I said as I filled a glass vase with water for my flowers. My mother always had flowers in the house.

He lifted the suitcase and set it on the counter so I could easily unpack it. “Ur ye adjusting tae th’ rain?”

“I’ve always loved the rain.” Just not so much all the time.

“A’ll get th' fire stairted fer ye,” Angus moved into the living room and busied himself with the fire while I put the food away.

“I saw Jack in town today,” I told him.

“Aye. Wis he his usual crabbit self?”

“He wasn’t entirely unpleasant,” I laughed and moved into the living room. “Angus… I don’t understand what’s happening here.”

The fire started burning, and he added a few small pieces of wood to get it going. There was a long silence before he spoke.

“A'm sorry fer th’ way we treatit ye when we wur pups, Maeve. Ye didnae deserve that.”

“Did you always know that I was… I was adopted?”

“Aye,” he sighed. “Ma grandparents niver let anyone forget. Uncle Cormac wis ma only uncle, an a top warrior tae Alpha Louise. We wur angry because yer mam took him away from us.”

“No one, except for Fiona, wanted to be friends with me because of you two.”

“A’m sorry.”

“Jack told people I was a cursed changeling.”

He dropped his head with a shake. “Pups kin be nasty sometimes, Maeve.”

“All I wanted was a family and friends,” I sighed, sitting on the sofa. “And here I am… alone in the world again.”

“No fer lang,” he said softly. “Ye’ve got yer pup now.”