Chapter 20

Gabriel

My mom was lost in thought, gazing out the kitchen window. She didn’t even notice when I walked in.

The stuffed wolf was sitting on the kitchen table, next to a half-empty glass of orange juice.

“Mom…?” I tried.

She turned to me, her eyes brimming with tears that were now starting to spill over.

“I’m so sorry Gabriel...I had no idea,” she cried.

I went over and hugged her.

“It’s okay mom...none of us knew. We’re all learning as we go,” I comforted her.

She pulled back from me and wiped her eyes on her apron.

“How could they? How could they do that to her? She’s just a little girl.”

I took my mom's hand and guided her to the kitchen table.

“Sit down mom, there’s some stuff I need to tell you.”

She straightened her apron and took a deep breath, pulling herself together. At her core, she was still a Luna. This was the first time I had ever seen her cry openly.

I doubted it was the first time she had cried, but tears weren’t for public display. That was what she had been taught.

She sat down, and I took the seat across from her.

She looked at me, waiting for me to speak. Waiting to hear what I was about to tell her, bracing herself for the worst.

She’d already heard the worst, I assumed my dad had told her what I had told him. I wasn’t sure that he had told her everything. Whatever he had told her was enough to upset her.

“I spoke to Erik,” I started, “Ellie isn’t human, she’s a hybrid. She’s half werewolf.”

I watched as my mom clenched her fists.

“She’s not twelve, mom. She’s probably six or seven.”

My mom just stared at me. Then she brought her hand up to cover her mouth as the realization hit. It was bad enough to think that had happened to a twelve-year-old, but to a six-year-old.

“Do you...Do you have any idea who her real father is?”

I shook my head, “I don’t really want to know. I just want to give her a loving family to grow up with.”

My mom nodded, then her brow furrowed.

“You’ll need to tell her, Gabriel. She’ll need to know.”

I ran my fingers through my hair.

“I will, just not yet. This is all so new for her, the last thing I want to do is upset her. Finding out her father wasn’t actually her father will be hard.”

My mom stood up and picked up the stuffed wolf.

“You need to be careful, Gabriel. I know that pups don’t usually sense their wolf until they are about ten, but we’ve never brought a youngster into the pack before.

“If she has a wolf, even if it’s dormant, she’ll feel different at the blood ceremony.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The blood ceremony. I hadn’t forgotten about that, but how do you explain to a pup that you have to cut her hand with a knife?

How did I know that they hadn’t done something to her with a knife? Imagine the trauma it would cause her.

“You are going to bring her into the pack, aren’t you, Gabriel?” My mom questioned.

I opened my eyes. The look on my mom’s face matched the tone of her voice.

“Of course, but...”

“No buts, Gabriel, it’s even more important now that we know she’s part werewolf.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Fine! But do you want to be the one to tell her that she has to be stabbed in the hand with a knife?” I retorted.

My mom just glared at me.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Gabriel,” she scolded.

“I’m sorry...but you’ve seen what happens when she has a panic attack,” I sighed.

She walked over and put her hand gently on my shoulder.

“Then we’ll do it together, Gabriel. We’ll be there for her. Stand alongside her. Hell, we’ll even cut our hands if we have to.”

I knew she was right, of course. Damn woman was always right. So I just agreed with her. There wasn’t much else I could do.

I walked into the living room. Ellie was still captivated by my dad. If there was one thing I knew, it was that he was a good storyteller.

He always managed to bring a story to life, changing his voice as he played the part of each of the characters.

“But grandpa, what happened then?” Ellie whined.

My dad chuckled, “I don’t know, pumpkin, I guess you have to use your imagination.”

“But the bears didn’t eat her, did they?” Ellie asked.

He laughed again, “I doubt it, she was too much like you...all skin and bone.”

She shrieked as he began to tickle her.

“No...No...Grandpa, no more tickling,” she gasped.

He hummed, “lucky for you, pumpkin, I think your daddy has come to save you from the tickle monster, and he’s brought reinforcements. Looks like he found your wolf!”

I watched as Ellie scrambled from my dad’s lap and ran over to me.

I scooped her up in my arms and handed her the wolf.

“So,” I chuckled, “Grandpa found your weakness?”

She frowned and tilted her head to one side.

I raised my hand and made a tickle motion with it.

She clutched her wolf to her tummy.

“No... No, daddy, please don’t. I’ll be ill.”

I hummed, “ill, eh? We can’t have that. Tomorrow is a special day.”

“Why?” she asked.

I sat down on the sofa and sat her on my knee.

“Tomorrow we’re going to have a big party, and everyone is going to welcome you.”

Her little brow furrowed.

“I don’t want a party, daddy,” she whimpered.

My mom showed up in the doorway.

“Sure you do, Ellie. Parties are a blast. There’ll be chocolate and cookies. All your favorites, and we’ll all be there to celebrate. It’s not every day you gain a new family, right?”

Ellie turned her gaze to my mom. I could practically hear the gears turning in her little mind.

“Chocolate?” she questioned.

My mom nodded, her smile wide. “Only the best for our little girl. Now, go wash up. Dinner’s ready.”

I wasn’t sure whether to roll my eyes or chuckle. My mom, the expert persuader. She always had a knack for getting people to see things her way, or maybe it was just plain bribery.

She’d only met Ellie a few hours ago and she’d already pinpointed her Achilles' heel.

I was skeptical that chocolate could convince Ellie that getting her hand sliced with a knife was a good idea, but as always, mom was right.

The fact that she was half werewolf made it even more crucial to integrate her into the pack.

Especially because if her biological father showed up, it would be a lot tougher for him to claim her if she was already a part of our pack.

Unless, of course, he was already a member of our pack. In that case, he’d feel the connection to her much more intensely than the others.