Page 123 of The Lone Wolf Café
Memories I thought had disappeared a long time ago.
My mother then called for my sisters, who came running over from where they’d been fraternizing with our cousins, and my grandfather gave them the same warm, crushing hugs. Abbey even squeaked out that he was squeezing her too tight.
I peered over at Rowena, who was still chatting with her father. But next to him were three other pack members – a kindly middle-aged woman with bright-blonde hair, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who looked remarkably like Rowena.
I nearly gasped aloud, my breath catching in my throat, as Rowena gave the younger teen a hug.
Rowena’s stepmother and half-siblings.
It would’ve been her first time meeting them. And they seemed happy to be meeting her, too.
But then I turned around, and I noticed my father was hanging back, still on the other side of the ward. He watched us all with a grin on his face, but I could tell by the way he shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight from one foot to the other that he was nervous. Uncomfortable.
My mother noticed me staring at him. Then my grandfather did, and he returned my father’s sorrowful smile.
“William, son,” Alden announced. He had an incredibly deep, booming voice, with a heavy Maine accent. “I promise we ain’t gonna hurt ya. Yer family, too.”
My father nodded, but still didn’t step forward.
“Will, please,” my mother pleaded. “My father isn’t upset with you. That was so many years ago… I know you tried to help me. This isn’t your fault. Just please…”
It was the tears welling in my mother’s eyes that finally convinced my father to step forward and join the rest of us. And I gave him a quick hug as he did so, reassuring him that like the rest of us, he belonged.
When my mother first told the story about her illness and how she’d escaped Hollenboro, I couldn’t help but feel resentment toward my father. Him barring my mother from leaving the island seemed so cold and callous. He hadn’t made her illness worse on purpose, but his rule was what drove her deeper into despair, and it made rage bubble up in my stomach.
But now, I knew my mother was right. My father didn’t know how to help my mother at the time, but he’d still tried everything he could think of. He had fought for her, even when the rest of the village didn’t.
He didn’t lock down the island to hurt her. He did it because he was afraid. He didn’t want to see my mother accidentally hurt anyone, because the entire village would face consequences if she did.
He wasn’t the villain in this.
No one was.
“Nettie! Nettie!”
The crowd of cousins that had previously swarmed Alice and Abbey were now charging in my direction. I shouted and waved, overjoyed to finally be meeting all of them.
They responded by tackling me in a dogpile.
Or rather, wolf-pile, as several of them had shifted forms. I felt clothing, human skin, and prickly wolf fur rubbing all over me, and several of my wolfish cousins had wagging tails.
I should’ve known better. Werewolves were a rough bunch.
“Guys…” I croaked from beneath the pile of bodies. “You’re… crushing me… careful with the ribs… ow!”
Thanks to Rowena and Alden’s remarkable healing skills, my ribs were nearly back to normal. I had some purplish bruises beneath my breasts, but I wasn’t in any pain, and it no longer hurt to breathe.
I heard Rowena shouting in distress from beyond my gaggle of cousins, but once the raucous group began to clear, I lovingly reassured Rowena that I was fine.
She stood with her hands on her hips, smiling and shaking her head like I was a disobedient toddler. I burst into laughter, and a few seconds later, so did she.
“Woah!”
A sudden chorus of shouts echoed from the group. I noticed several of them were staring up at the sky, pointing at the clouds.
Then I felt it.
I thought it was rain at first, cold and wet upon the top of my head. It melted as soon as I scooped it into my palm, but it had definitely been solid.
