Page 53 of Season of the Wolf

The three she called out by name all stepped forward first, the others moving right behind them. I was swept up into tight hugs, much like the one I’d seen Caleb give. But I wasn’t the only one being attacked. They had Liam, too—another of their long-lost brothers they could hardly believe was here.

There was so much going on—phrases being tossed about in a language I wasn’t familiar with; others in French, which Istilldidn’t understand. It was almost sensory overload, but the best kind.

No, I didn’t recognize or rememberanyof them, but couldn’t deny I felt a lingering connection I imagined one only shared with siblings.

I, Evangeline Callahan, had siblings.

A sloppy kiss landed on my cheek, followed by a laugh. They were fawning over me like a child, but I guessed that was normal, the way older brothers treated their baby sister. Still, all the attention made me a little shy.

“Boys, settle down,” Elise said with a laugh as she stepped forward. It amazed me how they obeyed, these large men immediately falling back at the sound of her voice.

She came to me, placed both hands on my cheeks, holding my stare as she addressed them.

“Be gentle with your sister,” she encouraged. “I know seeing her is, perhaps, the biggest miracle of all, but … Evangeline will need a bit of patience from all of you.”

The room grew silent and I felt the weight of her statement before she even finished. It also resonated with me that I was referred to as‘the biggest miracle of all’, reminding me they’d all been alive when my life was taken. They’d all felt the brunt of the grief right alongside Elise and Liam.

“Evangeline wasn’t brought back in quite the same manner as the rest of you,” she began, turning from me to face them. “Hilda and I had to operate in secret even more so than we do now. So, with only half the magic required for the spell … I was unable to bring Evangeline back with her memories of the past intact,” she revealed. “She was restored as an infant, starting fresh, with no knowledge of her past.”

Those six pairs of eyes were on me again, mostly passing confused glances in my direction as I’m sure question after question bombarded them. However, only one spoke up as he gestured toward Liam and I.

“She remembers nothing?” Caleb asked.

Elise nodded. “That’s right.”

The confusion in his expression spread like wildfire and it only took Elise a moment to understand why.

She turned her attention to my hand linked with Liam’s, gesturing toward it when she spoke.

“This,” she began with a smile, “has nothing to do with memory. This is the result of a lot of hard work on Liam’s part.”

There was a quiet moment while they stared at me like an exhibit in a museum, but then a voice cut through the silence. And with a joke, no less.

It came from Josiah, spoken in a still-raspy baritone. “If she’s anywhere as stubborn as I remember,” he quipped, “that must also mean Liam’s patience hasn’t thinned.”

The others laughed a bit—one shaking Liam by the shoulder, another rustling his hair. I simply smiled, because it was true onbothaccounts—my stubbornness and Liam’s patience.

“But Evangeline has come a long way,” Elise continued on. “Perhaps the six of you could do your part to help her fill in some of the blanks.”

Their expressions were all so warm toward me. I felt it when they nodded or agreed out loud.

“Good then,” Elise smiled, glancing at my brothers once again. “It smells like Hilda’s finished preparing your meal. You’ll eat, and then we’ll talk more after that.”

She leveled a knowing stare toward Liam and I when adding more, a coded message only he and I understood concerning our current plight.

“There’s much to discuss,” she concluded.

If only our new arrivals understood what that really meant.

Chapter Sixteen

Evie

I was pretty good with names and had memorized each one long before today. Only now, there were faces to match.

Declan, the oldest, was almost the spitting image of Elise—mirroring her slight facial features and straight, dark hair. Since we settled in the living room, he’d been posted by the stereo in a daze. From the looks of it, he was pleasantly surprised by the evolution of music, appreciating how it had transformed from his time to now.

Josiah and Caleb had finished their meal, but were still snacking on a tray of fruit Hilda brought in. Tobias and Ethan were getting to know Dallas. He made it a point to stay away for a while, giving Elise space to get reacquainted with her sons before stepping in, I guessed.

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