Chapter 17

Ellie

He knew. I could see it in his eyes. They warned me, if you spill the beans, we’ll hunt you down, and what we do next will be far worse.

If I could just avoid him, everything would be fine.

But my dad insisted. I couldn’t meet Doctor Erik’s gaze, fearing he might spill the secret to my dad. If he did, my dad would surely abandon me. So, I buried my face in my dad’s chest.

I only looked up when I noticed he had my wolf. Now, I just had to convince my dad not to take me back for the stitch removal.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally left the hospital, and my dad let me walk.

I hadn’t walked outside since Jason found me in the woods. It was dark then, so I couldn’t see much.

Now, the sun was out. Buildings of all sizes were scattered around. People were everywhere. I held onto my dad’s hand tightly. But I wasn’t scared.

Everyone was busy with their own things, barely noticing us, which was a relief.

I was surprised when Dad said we were going to visit his parents. How come his parents were still alive when mine weren’t? He was much older than me.

He didn’t really answer when I asked if they were nice. I hoped they were like Jason and Jasmine. And ’lijah, but definitely not like Samuel.

I was so engrossed in my surroundings that I didn’t notice when I dropped my wolf. I only realized when I looked back and saw it lying on the path.

My dad’s grip wasn’t too tight, so I quickly slipped away and ran back to retrieve it.

Suddenly, I heard my dad yell. It wasn’t an angry yell, but a panicked one.

“Ellie!”

Before I could understand why, someone bumped into me, sending me sprawling.

I sat there, dazed for a moment. Then I heard a growl, followed by a stern voice.

“Squad halt!”

A huge man squatted down in front of me. He was as big as my dad and Jason.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I trembled at his booming voice.

“No tears, little one,” he said, picking me up and settling me on his hip.

I blinked back the tears, too scared to let them fall.

“That’s it, my brave little warrior. Though you're a tad small to be fighting this lot,” he chuckled.

He turned and glared at six boys. To my surprise, Samuel was among them.

“Apologize to this little pup, you useless individuals,” he growled.

“Sorry pup,” they all echoed.

Even Samuel, though he seemed to be gritting his teeth.

“Now do another five laps for not watching where you’re going,” he hissed.

The boys started running again.

The man turned back to me, giving me a once-over.

“Well, I don’t think there’s any damage done, but you should be careful running around, little one,” he gently scolded.

I pointed to the ground. “I dropped my wolf.”

He chuckled, bent down, picked it up, and handed it to me.

“And a very handsome wolf it is too.”

Then he tilted his head to one side and hummed.

“Seems like you’ve been in the wars already, little warrior.”

He pointed at the bandage on my arm.

“I got shot,” I said.

He raised his eyebrows. “Do you have a name? Because I think we better find your mom and dad, don’t you?”

I nodded, but before I could say anything, I heard my dad.

“Her name’s Ellie, and she’s in serious trouble.”

The man holding me chuckled.

“Alpha, I didn’t realize this was your little bundle of mischief. Maybe I should send her on a lap with the boys.”

“Can I?” I asked excitedly.

Both men chuckled.

“I can see you’re going to have your hands full with this one,” the man chuckled.

Then he looked at me.

“Well, little Ellie, when you get a bit bigger and stronger, you come and find me. My name is Murdoch. I think you’ll make a top-notch warrior.”

I smiled. “Thank you...for helping me.”

He ruffled my hair. “My pleasure, Ellie.”

He handed me over to my dad, who was trying to look stern but was smirking.

“I think a certain little lady has you wrapped around her little finger, Alpha,” Murdoch chuckled.

My dad rolled his eyes and hummed.

“I think you may be right, Murdoch...and thank you again.”

Murdoch bowed his head, then ran off into the distance to catch up with the boys.

My dad looked at me sternly.

“Ellie, don’t ever do that again. You could have hurt yourself.”

I looked down at the ground.

“Sorry, daddy,” I mumbled, “but I dropped my wolf.”

He lifted my chin so I was looking at him.

“Little furry wolves are a dime a dozen, you are not. You’re very precious,” he said softly, “now let’s go and find your grandma and grandpa before you get into any other mischief.

My dad carried me the rest of the way, which wasn’t far. We stopped in front of a house about the same size as my dad’s.

He gently set me down on the ground, one hand resting on my head. A little more firmly than usual. I guessed he thought I might run off again, but I clutched my wolf tightly to my chest.

With his other hand, he knocked on the door.

I looked at my dress, then at the door.

“The door, it’s yellow,” I exclaimed.

My dad smiled, “Clever girl, that’s right,” he praised.

We didn’t have to wait long for the door to open. A lady stood there. She was a little shorter than my dad, but not by much.

She glanced at my dad, then down at me.

“Isn’t she just the cutest thing?” she gushed.

I took a step back, hiding behind Daddy’s leg.

“Mother,” Daddy warned, “she’s not used to new faces.”

“Nonsense,” she shot back, “I’m not a stranger, I’m her grandmother.”

“Adriana!” A deep voice echoed.

I looked up to see a big man who looked a lot like Daddy.

“Give the kid some room,” he chimed in.

The woman, who I figured must be Daddy’s mom, stepped back and opened the door.

“Come on in then,” she sighed.

Daddy gently guided me through the door. I glanced at the two new faces. They both gave me warm smiles as we entered the house.

The house was nothing like Daddy’s and Jasmine’s.

It was darker, filled with dark wood furniture and sofas with floral patterns.

Daddy sat down on the sofa and placed me next to him. I would have preferred to sit on his lap, but he was close enough to comfort me if I got scared.

“Mother, Father,” he started, “This is Ellie...Ellie, meet your grandma and grandpa.”

“But,” the woman interjected, as she sat next to me on the sofa, “You can call me Nana, and him Gramps.”

She leaned in and whispered, “but we sometimes call him grumps, because he can be a bit grumpy.”

I covered my mouth to hold back a giggle. Nana had a playful glint in her eye. She seemed really nice.

“Mother!” Daddy chided her.

He must have heard what she said. I glanced at Gramps. He was smiling, but he rolled his eyes. I had a feeling he wasn’t really grumpy.

“How about some juice and cookies, Ellie? Would you like that?” Nana asked.

It sounded good, but I looked at Daddy, remembering the incident with ’lijah and the chocolate.

He rolled his eyes and smiled. Then he nodded.

“Go ahead, it’s not like I have much say when it comes to your Nana.”

Nana extended her hand and I took it, following her into another room, the kitchen. It was different from Daddy’s and Jasmine’s.

Instead of a breakfast bar, there was a small table with wooden chairs and a checkered tablecloth.

Nana gently lifted me onto one of the chairs. The chair was a bit high, so my chin barely reached the table.

Nana chuckled, “We’ll have to fix that.”

She opened a cupboard and pulled out a big, fluffy cushion.

“This will do for now.”

She wrapped her arm around my waist and lifted me, sliding the cushion underneath me.

“There...that’s better.”

She then walked to the fridge, grabbed a jug of orange juice, and poured it into a glass. She placed it in front of me.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Nana smiled, “Oh, aren’t you just the sweetest?” she gushed.

I was a bit confused. I’d just met her and she seemed so happy just because I said thank you. She then went to another cupboard and placed a plate of round things on the table.

“Go ahead, sweetheart. I made them just for you,” she beamed.

I looked at them curiously.

“What are they?” I asked.

Nana’s smile faded. It was the first time she hadn’t smiled.

“They’re cookies, sweetie. Haven’t you had cookies before?”

I shook my head, “I haven’t had a lot of things.”

Her smile returned, “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun,” she gushed.

She reached over and handed me a cookie.

“Try this one first, it's chocolate chip.”

I smiled back at her as I took the cookie. I had a feeling I was going to like my Nana.