Chapter 4 - Rayla
Rayla watched as the half-shadow of Xander disappeared. She sighed in relief and held her petrified son close to her bosom.
She was so scared when she saw Abel’s room thrashed. The fear heightened when she couldn’t find him anywhere around the house.
She had prepared to venture into the forest to look for him. But she didn’t have to because he was back the minute she’d stepped out of the house.
Her heart raced as relief washed over her at the sight of him. She held onto him tight as he cried into her bosom. He was naked and dirty all over. Leaves and sticks were stuck in his beautiful hair.
She brushed them out as she tried to calm him down.
Xander had found her. The thought struck a chord in her heart.
She could swear she had a small heart attack when he had appeared on that tree. She wondered how he did that. One minute he was there, the next he wasn’t.
But had he really been there?
Xander had seemed like a shadow cast by the moonlight. His outline was blurred. His figure flickered in and out.
He’d just perched there on the tree and watched.
Her mind churned with questions. But her fear toned them down. Rayla knew he heard when Abel called her Mom.
Scared that he’d figure out the truth, Rayla had screamed at him to go away. Her screams came out in shrieks. Shrieks that made Abel stiff in her arms. Yet, she had continued to scream out as much as her lungs would let her.
What was he doing here after all those years? Why disturb her peace?
As much as she had screamed, she hadn’t expected him to listen. But he had. One minute he was there; the next, he wasn’t.
The chills settled in her spine at his exit. Xander had a trick she didn’t know about. She wondered what more he was capable of.
He was not just a werewolf. He was a powerful one. He’d have no problem ripping her child from her.
She was so lost in her thoughts that, for a few seconds, she forgot about Abel.
“I’m so scared, Mom.” His little voice dragged her out of her thoughts.
“What’s wrong with me, Mom?” Abel’s voice cracked. His breath came out heavily. The tears flowed freely down his face as he wept bitterly.
The confusion and fear on his face tugged at a different chord in Rayla’s heart. She was just as scared as he was. But she was the mom, so she lifted his face to hers.
“Abel, listen to me. Nothing is wrong with you,” she calmly assured him. She wiped his face with her hand.
But he wasn’t buying into that. He shook his head in response and stopped sobbing. He looked her dead in the eyes. His dark eyes pierced her light brown eyes.
“Mom, something is wrong with me,” he declared.
Rayla knew she had to tell him the truth. They had moved past the stage of secrecy.
It was getting cold outside. She sighed. “Let’s go inside, Baby. I’ll make you a cup of hot chocolate, then we’ll talk.”
Abel was too weak to walk but Rayla couldn’t carry him. She did the next best thing and draped his hand around her neck. With most of his weight on her, they slowly trudged into the house.
By the time they got inside. Abel had stopped shivering. His breath returned to normal. Yet, he was still shaking.
Rayla sat Abel down on their single sofa. She dashed upstairs to get towels to clean him up and grabbed one of his pajama bottoms.
She ran back down to make the cup of hot chocolate she’d promised. All of this had only taken her a few minutes, but sadly, it was enough time for Abel to get hysterical again.
He called out to her frantically. She ran to meet him. For a long time, he stayed wrapped up in her arms. Slowly, she cleaned him up with the towel. Then, made him wear his pajamas.
She watched as he drank from the cup she’d brought with her. When she was sure he had calmed down again, she sat on the table in front of him.
“Like I said earlier, nothing is wrong with you, Sweetie.” She lightly ruffled his hair. “However, there is something you need to know.”
Abel looked up at this. But remained quiet as he sipped his chocolate.
“Before I tell you this. I need you to tell me what happened.”
Abel nodded in response. He spoke immediately after. “I couldn’t sleep. I felt like my whole body was on fire. Like I needed to get out of my skin.” His voice broke with each word.
He took a sip from his chocolate. He tried to place the cup back on the table, but a shudder went through him. He spilled some chocolate on his lap and squealed.
Rayla jumped in response. Instantaneously, she collected the cup and placed it on the table.
“Wait there, let me get a towel to clean that up.” Rayla stood up to go.
“No, Mom, don't leave me,” he whined. Abel was terrified he would disappear again if he was left alone.
He might have calmed down, but he wasn't over what happened to him.
Rayla held his hands in her left palm while caressing them with her right hand. She hoped it translated as support to him.
“Well, let's just wipe that off with my sweater.” She smiled sadly at him.
She dropped his hands to pull off her sweater. Quickly, he placed his hands on her knee. Rayla noticed this as she cleaned his legs.
Her sweet baby. She was right there in front of him, yet he didn’t feel assured. He seemed convinced that he would disappear without physical touch.
For all she knew, he could be right. Rayla did not know how things worked. Xander had never told her about young wolves.
Although, he once told her about werewolves’ emotional intensity. He explained that they felt emotion more strongly than humans. So she had figured that her son’s violent tendency was due to that.
She wondered if Xander’s emotional intensity was what made him love her so deeply. And yet, despise her just as much. Even more.
Rayla knew she shouldn't think of Xander now. Her son was her priority.
She cleaned the mess and sat down back on the table. She took his hands back in hers. “I'm ready to listen when you are ready to talk,” she nudged.
He nodded and attempted a smile. It came out sad. “It was scary, Mom. The urge to run was too much. I didn't know when I jumped out of the bed and flew out the window.”
Abel had kept his cool so far. His eyes distanced as he spoke. It seemed like he was living the moment again. Rayla ran little circles on his hands.
He continued in a little voice, “I ran into the forest. I had no control of my body. I tore into my skin as I ran.”
Why should her poor boy have to go through this?
“What scared me most was when I ran past a tree and found myself in a strange man’s room,” he said quickly, then went quiet.
“A strange man’s room?” Rayla questioned.
“Yes, one minute I was there in the forest. The next minute, I was in a dark room. I saw a man. He was huge and scary,” He explained.
Like Xander
She gasped in shock.
Huge and scary. The description matched Xander.
Again, Rayla’s mind swarmed with questions. But she waited for him to continue before she made the wrong assumption.
“The man was surprised to see me in his room. He asked who I was, but I was too scared to answer.” He leaned into the table, picked up the cup, and sipped from it before he went on.
“I was so scared, and I needed you. I cried and called out to you. The next thing I knew, I was back at the forest entrance,” he finished.
Like Xander.
One minute he was there; the next, he wasn’t. Rayla mulled this over.
Her mind took her back in time…
She was waiting for Xander at their usual spot. It was under a tree on the outskirts of her town. When he called earlier he promised not to be late.
Yet, it was ten minutes past the agreed time, and he hadn’t shown. She’d thought to call him. Just as she was about to do so, he materialized at her back.
She yelped in shock. He laughed and rained kisses on her neck. This calmed her down. But she could have sworn that he appeared from thin air. She had not sensed him coming.
Her memory shifted to a different time it had happened.
Rayla had traveled with her parents to a different town far from home. She was bored on the trip. So, she texted Xander. He had asked if she would like for him to be there with her. Innocently, she had replied with a yes.
One moment she was texting him; the next, he was standing before her with a shopping bag in his hand and a huge grin on his face. She was startled.
When she asked him about it. He told her he had business close by and decided to surprise her.
On different occasions, Xander had pulled the same appearing-out-the-shadows act on her. But he always had a tangible explanation.
She used to have her doubts. But there was no other explanation for it. So, she had let it go.
After all, werewolves couldn’t teleport… right?
She never could tell when he’d sneak up on her. It had kept her on high alert.
Rayla shuddered. She had so many questions. But she was certain about one thing. Whatever appearance trick Xander had, he had passed it on to her son. And it had led him to his father.
Abel quietly nursed his cup of chocolate. He watched as his mother bit her lips and wondered what her thoughts were.
“Mom,” he called. He had completely calmed down after he told his story. “You wanted to tell me something,” he probed.
Rayla cleared her throat. She stood up from the table and sat directly opposite Abel on their couch.
This was the hard part. How was she to tell her son the truth? She knew Abel—he would be mad. What she feared most was that he would want to meet his father. She inwardly groaned.
Maybe he didn’t have to know. She hesitated. That was an idea that would backfire horribly. She had to tell him the truth.
“I want you to listen closely to everything I’m about to say. I don’t know how you’ll take it, but you need to know,” she started.
Abel nodded diligently.
Rayla, filled with nerves, continued. “Your father, Xander, was a very special man. He was different from other men in the way he carried himself. The moment I met him, I fell hard.” She laughed at this. She saw a ghost of a smile appear on Abel’s face.
“Fortunately for me, he reciprocated my feelings.” She shifted in her seat. It was about to get serious.
“We dated for a while.” She paused. “During that time, I found out he wasn’t human.” She paused once again to let it sink in.
Abel’s eyes widen in bewilderment.
“Your father was a werewolf, Abel,” she blurted.
It felt like a huge weight was lifted off her chest. She had said it. She did it.
Abel was transfixed. He gave no expression away. It unsettled her. But she pressed on.
“You are your father’s son.” She clasped her hands. “What I mean is that you are also a werewolf.” She waited for a reaction. Nothing came.
The silence stretched out for a few seconds before Abel finally spoke.
“You knew?” His voice was laced with venomous accusation.
Rayla gulped and shook her head. “Yes, Abel, I have known what you were since you were born.”
“I didn’t tell you because I thought I could handle it. Keep you safe and guide you.”
She bowed her head in regret. “Now I know better.”
Rayla tried to divert the discussion slightly. “There are different werewolf towns in Starlight Valley. According to your father, they live together as a pack. Each pack has its town and alpha. They have many customs that are different from humans’.”
Still, Abel maintained his demeanor.
“I have never been around or seen any other werewolves, but I saw your father’s wolf. He was big and strong.” Rayla pulled at straws. Her nervousness heightened as the minutes went by.
She continued, “Your father was…” but was interrupted by Abel.
“What about my father?” When he spoke, it didn’t sound like her son.
Tension settled in her gut. Abel was not her biggest fan at that moment.
“Is he even dead? Did you lie about that too?” he fired at her.
She had lied. Xander was far from dead. The night had proven to her that he was alive and well.
Rayla hadn’t thought of this part. She had been more worried he would be pissed about her hiding his heritage. She had forgotten how she had woven the web of lies so perfectly over the years.
“Abel…” she started.
“Yes or no will do,” he interrupted her again.
She couldn’t look Abel in the eyes. She fidgeted in her seat, filled with guilt. “No, Abel, your father is not dead,” she finally admitted.
She expected him to blow up at this point. But for some reason, he was holding it in.
“For years, Mom, I have been bullied and abused because I didn’t have a father,” he scowled. “You told me he was dead. I believed you. I felt all that pain, but you lied to me.”
Rayla’s eyes shot up at the last words. She met his dark eyes. They burned with pain and fury but were mostly clouded with betrayal. Rayla’s heart crashed at this.
“Does he know about me? Or did you lie to him, too?” He had balled his hands in a fist. His cup of chocolate was long forgotten on the table.
“He doesn’t know about you, Sweetheart. When I found out I was pregnant, he had broken up with me. I thought it best to keep it to myself,” she lamented.
“Regardless, Mom, you should have told me. Why didn't you tell me?” Abel whispered. His eyebrows shot up as his eyes got darker.
Rayla knew that expression. Everything had finally broken into a million pieces. Abel was blowing up in anger.
“You lied to me over and over again. You kept the truth that would have made things easier for me. You kept me away from my father. And for what reason? So you could keep me to yourself?”
Abel had never spoken to her this way. But there was a first time for everything.
Rayla couldn’t form a defense.
“I trusted you, Mom. But you allowed me to go through all that pain. You lied to me. You knew what I was and kept it to yourself,” he screamed.
Rayla jumped up, went to him, and tried to hold his hands like she had done earlier, but Abel pulled his hands out of her grip. His expression was that of undiluted contempt.
“Abel, my sweet boy, I’m sorry I lied. I’m so sorry. I was selfish, but I was only trying to protect you.” Tears dropped from her eyes. Her heart was broken to see her boy this mad at her. She needed his forgiveness. She needed him to understand that she had no choice then.
However, Abel was not buying into it.
Suddenly, he stood up. His rage intensified as he watched her beg and cry.
“I hate you,” he spat. “I hate you for doing this to me.”
He ran upstairs without looking back at his inconsolable mother.
Crumpled on the floor, distress and regret plagued Rayla. She wished she had told him about his heritage. She wished she had not lied about his father.
He was right, after all. If he knew who he was, he could have fought his demons better.