Shadows of the Ancients (22 page)

“Oh, yeah, I get it now. I can’t believe Jack’s still worried about that. It’s been two years for him.”

“Do you remember my parents? They can piss a butterfly off when they’re in a mood!”

“Yeah, okay, I get it. Can we get going? I’ve had a lot of fun tonight, but something tells me I’m in for a world of strange when we get to my house.”

I damn near fell asleep on the way to my house. We took my Jeep, and Asi and Ashley took Evan’s car. When we pulled up the lights were on in the house, which struck me as odd, because it was going on three in the morning, and my parents would normally be sleeping.

“I talked to them earlier, and told them to be expecting us, Jess.”

“Oh.” I side-eyed him from my position in the passenger seat. “Sometimes, it’s like you can read my mind.”

“No, I just pay attention.” He threw the Jeep in park, and got out, coming around to meet me by the door, and together we walked into the house. Asi and Ash had gone to her apartment to get a few things for our stay at Ashley’s family’s house, so they hadn’t arrived with us.

As soon as we got to the door, my mom was there, throwing her arms around me. “Your father told me what happened with Zach today. I’m so sorry, Jess. I feel like you just keep getting stuck in a mess we’ve made for you.”

“No, it’s not your fault, mom. Zach’s fucking nuts, and you didn’t make him that way.”

“Jess, language!”

“Mom, I’m an adult.”

“So!”

“Fine.” I relented. It was her house, after all.

My father greeted us at the door, and stepped aside so we could come in. Once we were all settled in the living room he was ready to get things started. “Okay, I’ve had a long damn day, and truth be told, I am ready for some sleep. So, what was so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

“Jess is the white wolf.” Evan said, and my parents both blanched. “Since she seemed at a loss as to why that is important, I wondered if it was just because you guys didn’t understand fully what it meant.”

I was stumped, looking back and forth between my parents and Evan like I was watching the ball flying over the net in a tennis game.

“We knew she was different. It wasn’t until recently that we discovered how different. It wasn’t until you marked her, that she was strong enough to resist the will of her elders here. Until then everything seemed normal, and we thought she was a white wolf in coloring only.”

“So, for the past two weeks, you’ve known that she was more, and you didn’t think it was important to tell her?”

“Um, guys, I am sitting right here. When is someone going to fill me in?

“We still don’t understand ourselves,” my mother interrupted everyone. “How can this be? We’ve always been told that the white wolf only ever presents in the Ancient clans, those with pure blood lines.”

“Are you so sure you’re blood line isn’t pure?” Evan asked.

“I’m aware that I am of Ancient origin, but Eileen is not. Her grandfather was a human who was turned.”

“Dad? You’re an Ancient?”

“Believe it or not, some Ancients didn’t hold to the beliefs that our lines were better without humans in them. Yes, both of my parents were Ancients. They wanted a simpler life though. They came to find this pack, and by sheer accident, my father wound up being the pack master. No one would have been able to beat him in a challenge, because he was an Ancient Alpha. It wasn’t something he meant to put to the test though. Anyway, it’s a long story, and not important to what’s going on with Jess right now.

“I don’t mean to be indecent in any way, but are you certain that your grandfather was your biological grandfather, Eileen?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“The kind I’m asking because your daughter is a white wolf, one that hasn’t been seen in over three hundred years, and that have only presented to direct bloodline of Ancients.”

“STOP!” I shouted at all of them. “No more asking if Gam Gam was a whore. No more talk of ‘holy shit my dad’s an Ancient.’ I need for someone to fill me in on this white wolf stuff, and what it means for me.”

“Jess,” my mom shrunk in on herself. “We really didn’t think it was possible, or we would have told you sooner.”

“Sooner? You still haven’t told me anything.”

“The white wolf is revered among the Ancient, Jess. She is always female, and only seen once in every few generations and we live long lives unless something unnatural happens to us, so you have to understand it could be a couple to a few hundred years before another presents itself. The last white wolf died nearly two centuries ago, and my people thought it was a sign. The end of our people that the white wolf hasn’t been around to rule her kind.”

“To rule her kind?” I questioned.

“When a white wolf is born, she’s normal, aside from her wolf’s coloring when she goes through the changing. Within a year after transitioning completely though, she comes into a great amount of power. Over the next few years she will grow into even more, until the white wolf is the most powerful of our kind. She is our natural ruler. People like my father, the King of the Ancients, only rule when no white wolf has taken the place of the last. You haven’t heard of a white wolf ruler, because there hasn’t been one in so long.”

“What the fuck?” I stood up and started pacing. “Mom? Did your family lie about who your grandfather was?”

“Jessica Marie!”

“No seriously, I think this is important. I need to know if this is possible? Am I going to turn into some white wolf freak? What if her grandfather really was a human who turned? Does that mean there’s no way I can be this white wolf you’re talking about?”

“Jess, we’ll figure it out, but I am going to caution you, as your parents already have. Do not shift in front of others just yet. Has anyone other than Ashley and Jack ever seen your wolf?”

“Marcus has.”

“What?” My dad asked.!

“He saw me once when I was alone out by the lake. He never said anything, but I knew he was there, watching from the tree line. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, because I thought he was just out running, and saw an unfamiliar wolf, and stopped to see who it was. He saw me though, and he followed me home. He stayed far enough behind that it didn’t spook me. And like I said, I thought he was just making sure he knew who it was, or that I got home safely. It wasn’t long after the accident with Ashley, Jack, and Sierra.”

“SHIT!” My dad yelled. “No wonder he was always so adamant about the union with Zach.”

“We need to find him.” Evan said.

“Don’t worry, I will get my men on it first thing. I’ll just tell them that he’s been helping Zach try to stalk Jessica down to get back at me. They already hate his cowardice, and it will get them all riled up that much more.”

“Maybe we should cancel the trip to see Ashley’s family?”

“What? No! We can’t do that. The cabin isn’t far from here, it’s just on the other side of pack lands. Marcus won’t come that close. We’ll be fine.”

Ashley walked in then, having heard the last little bit of our conversation. “Why would you cancel coming to my family’s cabin? Did you two have another tiff?”

“No, Ash. Apparently I really am a mutant, and Marcus is probably plotting to get me as a result.”

“Oh, so… anyone want to fill us in?” Asi popped his head around the corner then, hands filled with bags.

“Where should I put all of this?” I pointed to the corner of the room. “A weekend, and she’s packed for a month long excursion.” He was mumbling under his breath, but we could all hear him.

“A girl always has to be prepared, Asi!” Ashley said to him. Then she turned back to me. I got up from the loveseat I had been sitting in, and went to sit on Evan’s lap. The gesture surprised him, but I saw that smile streak across his face again, so it had been totally worth it.

“You can tell them. I’m tired, and I’m just going to sit here, in your lap, and listen. Maybe if I hear it again it will all sink in.” Evan pulled me closer, so that my head was resting on his chest, near his shoulder, and he kissed the top of it, while he waited for Asriel and Ashley to settle in.

“So, what’s up this time?” Ashley asked.

Evan started from the beginning with the white wolf history, all the way up to seeing me in his apartment earlier, and then explained that Marcus knows, and he’s a danger. Ashley’s face was priceless. She was literally looking at me like I had grown two heads. Asriel, meanwhile, looked like he was about to get sick.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize sooner.” His eyes were bugging out of his head.

“Asi, she’s still Jess. It’s okay.” Evan was laughing a little. I loved the feel of the vibration through his chest as he laughed.

“But, I’ve been so disrespectful. I bonded with her best friend without permission too…”

“Oh, I could have so much fun with this. I am suddenly seeing the perks!” I squealed and clapped my hands.

“Be nice!” Evan said, still laughing.

“Asriel,” I stated in my most official sounding voice. I nearly lost it when he sat up straighter. “Don’t ever change man, I will be pissed if you suddenly start acting like a little pansy ass twat around me.”

“Jessica!” My mom started again, then just threw her hands up in the air, in her typical frustrated pose. “I’m going to bed, we can figure everything out in the morning.” My father followed her to the back of the house. They had an entire master sweet on the lower level of the house. The upstairs was mine complete with my own bedroom, bathroom, and even another room that my mom let me turn into a little library when it was clear that I wasn’t going to have any siblings.

“So, where are we to sleep tonight, your highness?” Asi started in on me. I was so happy that his usual sarcastic tone was back in his voice.

“The couch folds out, Ash knows where everything is.” I got up off of Evan’s lap, and pulled him forward with me, heading for the stairs. I was also thinking, it was really time to get my own place. I hadn’t needed one before, but now every time I thought about bringing a man to my room in my parents’ house, I was a little weirded out. Not that I had plans to get busy with him or anything, but still.

When we got upstairs I grabbed a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top to sleep in and went to the bathroom to change. Evan had already seen me completely nude a few times now, but I really didn’t need the temptation. I promised my parents I would wait for our bonding. Actually, if I was being honest with myself, it wasn’t even that holding me back. It was the fact that the last time we were intimate I had to face losing him the next day. When I finished changing and got back in my room I was surprised to see Evan had changed into sweats and a t-shirt. It was actually the first time I’d ever seen him dressed down, and honestly the look suited him just as well as his usual sleek casual style. “Hey,” I said quietly.

“One of those bags Asi brought was mine.”

“Oh, I was wondering.” I walked over and climbed up on my bed, sliding over closer to the wall so Evan could get in behind me. We were lying face to face as his arm slipped around my waist, fingers rubbing little circles into my lower back. “Mmmm,” the low moan was unintentional. “That feels good. I can’t remember the last time someone scratched my back.”

“Roll over.”

I hesitated only briefly, but then when I turned facing away from him, he pulled the bottom of my tank top up far enough that he could reach under, and scratch long lines up and down the length of my back unhindered. If I had been part cat instead of wolf, I would have been purring. Hell, I think I may have been purring anyway. It felt that good. “Does this change things between us?” I asked, now that thoughts of my wolf had surfaced.

“Scratching your back? Maybe. You know the saying, I scratch your back, you scratch mine.” I could hear the laughter in his voice.

“I have no problem with that, but that’s not what I meant.”

“We never did really get our talk in, did we?”

“No, we didn’t.”

“Okay, how about you tell me what worries you, and I address those things first.”

“Okay.” Now I felt slightly put on the spot, but any tension that built up seemed to slip right back away as he continued those long strokes up and down my back with his fingertips. “Me being a white wolf, does that change anything between us?”

“Other than me being more concerned about you, no.”

“Why the worry? I mean, I guess I don’t get it. If I am going to be the most powerful wolf or whatever, wouldn’t that… doesn’t that make me a bad ass that you shouldn’t have to worry over so much?”

“Jess, the white wolf is revered and loved, but more than that, when she appears she’s coveted. She’s also feared by those in power. If anything, this makes my family more dangerous to you. Mikael can’t know what you are. Just as Markus tried to bond you to his flesh and blood, others would too, because they think it will allow them sway in your decision making later. They think by being linked to you, they will achieve greater power as well. Then there are the others who think that by taking out the white wolf, men can continue to rule, as they are destined to.”

“Our werewolf society was one of the few who accepted the supreme rule of a woman, and we flourished under the white wolf’s rule before. Think about the world you live in, males are in charge of your pack and tell the females who they will bond with. In the human world, it’s no different really. Males run things for the most part.”

“Yeah, that’s why the world’s so screwed.” I laughed, trying to lighten the subject. I didn’t want to think about people wanting me dead just because I was a woman who would one day rule things. “Won’t this make things easier with your family though? I mean, if we bond, then you’ll be by my side.”

“Jess, I’m not sure my father will want to relinquish his power, and certainly not to a woman and his third born son from a second mate.”

“Oh.” I turned over to face him again, effectively ending the back rub. “But even with all of this hanging over my shoulders, that doesn’t change anything for you?”

“No. I’ve felt a pull to you since that first night, Jess. Like we were meant to be, and to be honest, I’m not one to play into the whole fate thing. When I left here the other night, it was out of respect for your father. He was more than a little pissed. I smelled like you, and in more than a scent exchange kind of way.”