Page 143 of The Wolf in My Tavern

My heart rate quickens as I stare at the sign. I still cannot read, yet the letters make a pattern that is familiar to me.

“Got a new proprietor,” Gray says mysteriously, his grin broad as he pushes open the door and guides us inside.

Callum

My parents once lived in Blue Bell. I visited not long after we arrived in Ludstone, seeking answers about my past from older community members who remembered them.

I learned that they fled shortly after I was born, a journey that took them all the way to Bleakness. Word had gotten to those who still sought to eradicate the royal shifter line, and it wasn’t safe for them. My father already had ties with the rebellion, and in exchange for the death of those who persecuted the royals, he agreed to relocate to Bleakness and fight for the cause in secret there.

It was only meant to be for a few years.

Then my mother died, and I can only presume that is why he remained there. Maybe for my safety. Maybe because it was the last place my mother lived.

Maybe for both reasons.

My father was a blacksmith here once, long ago. There is a new blacksmith now, a competent man not much older than me. He has a young wife, a toddler, and another babe due soon. It was his father who took over from mine all those years ago.

When I first called by, George was full of deference, bowing his head like I was royalty… which I suppose I am. I did my best to set him at ease. It was not long before we were talking shop. I admired his fine forge and the craftsmanship of his work.

By the time I left, he had forgotten I was a shifter and a ruler of many packs, and I was just Callum.

I feel the contraction of time and space as the past and present slam together in the now.

It is not George I think about today, but a different blacksmith who used to work in Bleakness.

It is midday. A few locals are having lunch and a beer, but they fade into the background as I stare at the man standing with his back to us behind the bar—the new proprietor Gray mentioned, I presume.

His hair has grown out a little since I last saw him, yet I would recognize him anywhere.

My heart rate quickens. I feel like I have stepped out of time. I’ve been here occasionally when visiting the village—the tavern is often used as a meeting hub.

The new proprietor turns almost as if he senses me, and a smile breaks out on his face. “Callum, lad!” he calls before he turns to his right, where a door leads into the kitchen. “Betsy, lass, they are here!”

A pretty beta lass with golden hair and freckles emerges from the doorway, one I have known almost all my life, for we were neighbors. With a squeal of excitement, she rounds the bar and throws herself at Ada.

The new tavern’s name suddenly makes a lot of sense...

The two women hug. I share a look with Gray, who is smirking and very pleased with himself.

I cannot keep the fucking grin off my face as I step forward to hug my pa.

“You have gotten even taller and broader,” he says, slapping me on the back.

I laugh, hardly believing that my eyes are not deceiving me, that my pa and Betsy are here. “What are you both doing here?”

He shrugs, his smile shifting toward the two women, giggling and talking excitedly. “I read your note and knew then that your destiny had called you. Mine called to me, too. I told Betsy what had happened. And, well…” —his grin grows, and I see a different kind of love and affection there as it lingers on Betsy before he winks at me. “Decided it was time I made a decent woman out of her.”

“Huff,” Betsy says with a roll of her eyes, although she bestows her new husband a saucy grin. “As if any man could make me decent, no matter how enthusiastically he tries.”

“Goddess! This is the best news! Congratulations!” Ada beams as she hugs Betsy and then my pa.

My father chuckles, sounding younger, lighter, and happier than he has been in many years.

“Congratulations,” I say, slapping his back and hugging him.

As the joy washes over me, I notice Gray standing a little to the side. “I can’t believe you kept this secret,” I say, stepping over to him and drawing him into the small crowd, not wanting him ever to feel like an outsider. There was a time when I hated him and might have sought any means to offer him a slight. Now he is my brother, and we are bound together. I could imagine no other way of life.

“Congratulations,” Gray says to my father as Ada presses against him, further bringing him into the circle, even as her hand clasps mine. “And you, Betsy. I heard you had plans for this place, although you have already made a start, by the looks of things.”

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