The Great Wolf: A Legacy of Kilkenny Novel Book Three (The Legacy of Kilkenny Saga) (13 page)

She reaches over and puts her hand on my shoulder. 
“Shaynie.”

I feel my sunburned forehead wrinkle as my eyebrow curves
up.  “What?  Shaynie said Oakley killed someone? “

“Abe, I don’t have time to chit chat, our pack needs you to
wake up and save Oakley.  Arien says Shaynie helped Tao escape.”

“Parker, is he okay?”

“For whatever reason she only shot a tranquilizer at him.”

“Our Shaynie?  That’s bull-crap.”

“She’s not
our Shaynie
, she’s a traitor!  She was a
mole for Tao.  I’m not sure what she did to Oakley to make him forget, but when
I find out, I might be on trial too.”

I place my fishing rod into a pole holder so I can stand up
and stretch my legs.  I hold my hand out to her to help her stand.  “I’ve tried
to wake up, but I think they’re drugging me.  Where’s Brianna?  Is she okay?”

Pru grasps my hand and pulls me in for a hug.  “Oh Abel,
she’s pitiful.  My mom and her dad have convinced the hospital to allow the two
of you to be in the same room.  Quinney thinks you can heal her since she’s
your mate.  He said that like other leaders who bond to their mate, they get
sick when they’re apart.  We’re hopeful that it will heal both of you.  Please
wake up.”

Brianna needs me and I’m out fishing.  “I’ll try my best. 
Tell them to stop drugging me, it’s making my wolf too loopy.”

****************

 The sounds of hushed voices wake me from a crazy dream.  I
struggle to open my eyes when I hear my mom’s voice.

“Abel?”

I look up into her dark blue eyes.  The same eyes that have
been watching over me my entire life are staring down at me now.  “Mom,” I
croak out.  My throat is as dry as an Arizona desert.  I’ve managed to say the
one word and the entire room went silent.

“Oh, thank God!  Baby, how’re you feeling?”  Mom says.  She
hasn’t called me baby since my last hospital stay when I was eight.

I attempt to sit up but find it nearly impossible to lift my
head from my pillow.  “Can I have some water?”  Mom holds a straw to my lips as
I take a drink of water.  “What happened?”

“You were shot,” Dolly replies.

“Why haven’t I healed?”

“That’s a good question.  It has something to do with
Brianna being sick too.  We just had her moved to your room this morning.  She
woke up about three hours ago,” Pru answers.

I turn my head to my right and see Brianna.  Our beds are so
close that if we put the rails down, we’d be in the same bed.  She reaches her
hand over and I take it in mine.  Without warning, flood gates of pain and
suffering ripple through my head.  Everything Brianna has been through since
the fight is coming across to me via her memories.  My eyes sting with tears as
I think about the pain she’s been experiencing.  Our pinkies loop together and for
the first time in my life, I’m complete when I’m with her.  Like a purpose has
been given to me, and I’m not going to screw it up.

“I had the strangest dream about you telling me she’d be put
in my room.   You also said something about Oakley being arrested.  Where is he
anyway?”

Pru’s head cocks to the side and her eyes well up with
tears.  She’s biting her bottom lip so hard, she’s bleeding.  “It wasn’t a
dream….it’s true, Oakley is in jail.”

I audibly gasp at the thought of him behind bars.  “You said
it was Shaynie, was it?”

She shakes her head up and down, “Seems like it.  I need you
to get well for Oakley.  He’d never do anything to disrespect our pack.  That
bitch has had us all fooled.  I should’ve trusted my instincts; instead I went
along with it and explained it away as jealousy.”

“Everything will be okay,” Dolly says to Pru. 

It isn’t like Pru to be down on herself, but again, it isn’t
every day that Oakley gets tried for murder.

****************

Dr. Dawson comes to the room to check on me.  After looking
at our wounds, he asks everyone to leave us for a while.

“Abel, I think you and Brianna will work better at healing
each other if you’re alone.  I’ve found werewolves to respond the best with
touch.  Your bodies should be touching in some way.  You can hold hands, hug,
play footsies, just as long as you’re touching.  I’ll be back to check on you
in an hour.  No hanky panky,” he says and gives me a wink. 

Brianna cautiously rolls to her side to face me.  I do the
same.  The doctor lowered the rails before he left, giving us the freedom to be
together.  I drape my arm over her side and gingerly scoot closer to her.

“Abel, I’m sorry you were hurt because of me,” Brianna says
tearfully.

I study every aspect of her face before answering her. 
“Bri, I’m not hurt because of you.  Even if I were, I’d do it a thousand times
over to make sure you’re safe.  I don’t know if you want this or not, but I’d
like for you to go back to America with me.  It will give us a chance to know
one another.  My wolf wants to claim you today.  I don’t want you to rush you,
but damn, I need you.”  I’ve never told another person, especially a
girlfriend, that I need them.

A tear falls from her eye and rolls down her nose; I
carefully lift my arm and wipe it away.

“Abel, yes, I’ll go with you to America.   This might be
strange, but is it okay for Violet to go with us?”

“It doesn’t sound strange.  Why wouldn’t you want someone
who you know to go across the world?  Of course, I’ll send Dolly to talk to
your alphas to clear it with them.  I’d never steal someone from their pack.” 

I lean my forehead forward and press it to hers.  Warmth
spreads throughout my body.  Tingles of electricity tickle every nerve ending. 

“What’s happening?”  She whispers.

“I think our bond is melding together.  I have to be honest
with you.  The first time I saw you at the pub I knew you were special.  It’s
good we’re wolves, or we’d have a tough time explaining how we became attached
so fast.  In the beginning, I tried to deny my feelings, to keep us casual.  It
didn’t occur to me that you were feeling the same way.  You were weren’t you?” 
I tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Violet can see auras, she told me that when she met you,
that you and I have the same color aura.  She said when we’re next to each
other, they are blended together. The moment I saw you, I knew.  My wolf jumped
around like a schoolgirl with excitement.” 

I scoot as close to her as I can without sprawling on top of
her.  “You have no idea how happy you just made me,” I whisper.  She doesn’t
have to say anything; I feel the chills run through her body. 
“You’re
mine.”

“I am, and you’re mine,”
She grins from ear to ear. 
“
I think my wounds healed a second ago, I feel great.”

I pause for a second when I realize I too am healed.  “
You’re
right, I’m healed too.”

My hand reaches for the back of her head and I gently kiss
her on the lips.  She puts her hands around my waist.  Her lips are soft and
part slowly as our mouths explore each other.  Quiet little moans escape her
and my wolf nods in approval.  I stroke her hair and press her closer to me.  I
can’t get enough of the feeling I have when I’m with her. 

I pull back for us to catch our breath.  My body is aching
for her to be closer but my head is telling me to be a gentleman.  Especially
since we’re in a hospital bed which is in a hospital room and right outside is
our wolf family with perfect hearing.  That puts a damper on things every time.

“Let’s take a nap,” I sigh.

“I am a little tired.”  Her eyes lazily close as the warmth
lulls us to sleep.

****************

My parents and I called room service for a private breakfast
together.  The time has come for me to talk with them about my adult life.  The
conversation I’ve been rehearsing in my head since last night has been comical
at best.  It isn’t as though they aren’t aware of my status among the wolves,
but I’m still their baby boy.  In their eyes I’ll always be a child.

Dad is cracking me up.  He’s dieting for the marathon he’s
running next month so he’s eating mostly protein.  He’s cut his carbs and
spends his evenings working out.  Since he doesn’t work anymore, he started
working on his body with diet and exercise.  He secretly thinks he can be equal
to one of us werewolves if he works out.  I know this because I accidentally
listened in on his thinking at the gym one night. Mom is a part-time nurse out
at the Reservation.  She does it because she loves her job and hates sitting
home all day.  I have enough money for us all to live in a comfortable manner
for the rest of our lives.  I’m always concerned for their safety so them being
close to home is safer for them.  You never know if someone will attack them to
get back at me.

“The Council will be taking Oakley to Oklahoma today. 
They’re allowing one of our pack members to fly with them.  It will assure
everyone plays by the rules.  Dolly told me they do the trials in the member’s
home state.  I guess if Oakley is found guilty, they can do a ceremony to strip
the bond from him and Pru.  It will give her a chance to be spared of his pain
and mate with another person.  Not
mate - mate,
you know what I mean.”  I
glance at them back and forth.

“What do we do?  Will they execute him right away?”  Mom
asks.  He’s one of her favorites.  I’m sure it has nothing to do with his
looks.  At least that’s what I tell myself.

“No, they’re going to postpone his trial so we can try to
resolve it without having it go that far.  No one believes he did it without
just cause, but when another werewolf in your pack accuses you of murder, the
Council will listen.  I’ve hired a private investigator to get more info on
Shaynie, Ard, and Tao.  They interrogated Bryon for four hours last night.  This
whole thing is a giant mess.”  I grab a biscuit from the basket and slather it with
jelly.

Dad sits back in his chair, he’s tapping his chin with his
finger.  “What happens to Shaynie?  Will she be traveling with us back to the
states?”

“No, she won’t.  Could you imagine Pru on a flight with
her?  We’ve chartered a flight for all of us to fly alone.  Brianna’s brother,
Denny, will be escorting Shaynie to Oklahoma on a commercial flight.  I’ve hired
her an attorney to be our go to for information.”  If I let Shaynie and Pru in
the same room together, Pru would kill her, no doubt in my mind.

“Why would you hire her anything?”  Mom asks. 

“Because she’s officially a part of our pack.  Even though
it would be less than a one percent chance of Oakley doing it, I need to make
sure she is treated fairly.  I didn’t hire the dream team or anything, but
someone who is trustworthy.”

Mom takes a drink of her coffee.  “What are you doing about
Brianna?  There’s a lot of chatter about you and her being mated, is that
true?”

I inhale before answering her.  It’s awkward to use the
word, mating, with my mom.  “Yes, Brianna and I are meant to be together.  It’s
so crazy to think about her growing up in Ireland and the chances of her and I
meeting was practically zero.  Fate is always interesting to me.  That’s why I
wanted to talk to you two.  I plan on asking her father for her hand in
marriage.  Do you think that’s corny?”

My mom’s hand is up to her mouth in shock.  “Married?  Why
so soon?”

“Mom, it isn’t soon.  We’re not humans, we’re werewolves
with certain needs.  My wolf needs her around and I won’t be comfortable unless
she’s my wife.”  I try to focus on slowing my heart rate down.

“Needs?  You’re saying you want to have sex and that’s why
you’re going to marry her?”  Mom stands up from the table and starts pacing
back and forth in the narrow hotel room.

I stretch my neck from side to side.  Dad has a sheepish
grin on his face.  These two are impossible.  “Needs as in werewolf needs.  My
wolf needs to be with her.  We have to be close together.  I’m not saying I
don’t want to have sex, because I do.  I’m not blind or non-hormonal.   She’s
my everything.  You can probably drive yourself to work without dad popping
into your thoughts every two seconds.  Well, I can’t.  She’s the other half to
the Great Wolf.  We’re all going to plan the wedding together, so it won’t be
an overnight thing.  When we get back to Oklahoma, we’re going to do a Handfasting
slash wolf ceremony.  It will ease our wolf and allow us to sleep together
every night.”  I watch as my mom’s jaw nearly comes unhinged from her face. 
“Again, not having sex.  People really do sleep together without having sex. 
Am I going to make it to a wedding as a virgin?  I don’t know about that, but
I’m not going to flaunt anything like that in front of you.”

My dad is really grinning now.

Mom’s hand is on her forehead and she’s shaking her head
back and forth. 

“Mom, stop worrying.  Here’s the other part of the deal. 
When we get back, your cottage will be finished.  I talked to the contractor
last night and he said you can move in next weekend.”  I gave my parents two
acres and had a little cottage built for them on the farm.  It isn’t huge, but
it will be a nice place for them to call home.  All of us will be able to
protect them if we’re close.  I’m sure all the horsing around gets annoying to
them.  Growing up, our home was pretty quiet.  Dad had to go to work at four in
the morning, Allie and I had to be quiet in the evenings while he was asleep. 
I doubt they get much sleep now that they live with a pack of wolves.

“Sounds like everything’s under control son.  I’m proud of
you for taking this and running with it.” Dad says and pats me hard on the
shoulder.  “The contractor must have worked overtime to get the house ready so
fast.”

“Yeah, they’ve been at it non-stop.  Back to my question….is
it corny to ask her dad for her hand?”

Mom plops down in her chair in shock.  “No, it’s not
corny.”