Wolf at Her Door: BBW Paranormal Romance (9 page)

As I thought about how fate worked in such strange ways, both good and bad, I couldn't help but think back to Gracelin's words and her warning about the curse on Clan MacCulloch.

When a MacCulloch finds his mate in another clan, they will be torn apart.

I hoped it wasn't true. I had to believe that four hundred years without my mate was long enough to satisfy the curse, but I didn't know. All I was sure of was that I was finally back in the arms of my one love. I would never leave him again, and I knew he was finally mine forever. I just hoped that one day our son would have that same happiness with his love.

Wolf at Her Door

by

Liliana Rhodes

Chapter One

Gracelin

Dropping the rose petals into the bowl in front of me, I watched as they swirled in the water. The petals gave off a lovely scent in the small cottage, and I leaned back in the small wooden chair and smiled.

I loved using the bowl for gazing when I had visitors, but it wasn't necessary. Most of the time I used it only for fragrance.

Getting up, I walked to the door and stepped outside. The breeze made my long skirt swirl around my legs. I shielded my eyes from the sun as I enjoyed the view.

Where I lived in the Otherworld could look like however I preferred, but I always made it the Highlands. The rolling hills covered with heather, the rocky cliffs, the lakes that reflected the sky all made me feel comfortable, but something was different today.

Looking out at the calm water, I could tell he had awakened. Bran and Ainsley coming together rang through the cosmos, and soon their son would find his one love, too. Niall didn't want love to survive and if fate didn't intervene, he would take matters into his own hands.

The lake rippled, and I hugged myself as a chill jolted me. I didn't want to think about him. It was hard for me to accept that the same man I loved was capable of murder, including my own.

Boom!

The boom echoed through the hillside, shaking the lake. I stroked the thick scar along my collar as I thought about the last time I saw him. Niall wasn't himself that time. I didn't want to wait to see what he was now, centuries later.

I squeezed my arms tightly and disappeared back into the cottage. My scar burned and as I reached up to touch it again, I noticed my hand was shaking. Ice ran through my veins as I heard the boom again and I held my breath.

Boom! Boom!

The next boom was quicker and reminded me of thunder. As I heard the next one, I wondered if it meant Niall was closer. I pulled the blanket around me tighter and ran to the furthest corner from the door.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

This can't be happening
, I thought. My mind raced as I wondered if I could be killed again. I was a banshee. I cried for the deaths of others; why didn't anyone cry for me?

"Not now, Gracelin," I said under my breath. "Get yourself together!"

My scar burned even more. It was the only thing on me that wasn't cold. I shook in the corner trying to gain the courage to look outside, but each boom made me cower even more.

BOOM!

The final boom shook the cottage. I gasped as the walls trembled against me. The water in the bowl of rose petals splashed onto the table, reminding me of Callen playing with the bowl as a child.
 

My stomach dropped as I thought of that young boy so sweet and innocent kneeling on the wooden chair. The boy who became a man I loved as I would my own child.
 

BOOM!

"Please don't let this be what I think it is", I said. "Please, not Callen. Anyone but that dear boy."

Standing up, I stumbled getting to the door. I kept the blanket wrapped around me as I thought of how I wrapped Callen as a baby hundreds of years before. As I stepped out the door, I stopped and grabbed onto the doorframe to keep myself from falling into the darkness.

My Scotland was dark. The scent of the heather that usually drifted towards the cottage was gone. I tested the black ground in front of me and found it solid so I stepped out of my home.

The booming stopped, but the ground beneath me trembled as if it was as scared as I was. The hills were now shadows against a deep purple sky. I walked towards the cliff, unsure what I would see, and found the calm dark water reflecting the sky like it always did.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my Scotland. Slowly, the scent of heather filled the air and I could feel the sunlight against my eyelids.

Opening my eyes, I breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing happened and my world was changing back to normal. I still had the blanket tight around my shoulders when I turned back towards the cottage. As I stepped closer to it, the ground rumbled, stopped, then rumbled again.

Kneeling, I reached down and pressed my palm against the earth. I felt the vibrations move underneath me, stemming from the lake then out towards my cottage and beyond. A shiver ran though me as I realized where they came from.

Too scared to rise, I spun on my knees and looked out towards the lake. I was too high to see most of it, so I crawled closer to the edge of the hill where the heather began.
 

The lake was still calm as I felt the rumble drift underneath me. I waited as I did before until it came to a stop.

Slowly, the glassy surface of the lake changed. In the center, an invisible drop seemed to fall and then rippled the surface. It traveled out from the middle and as it got closer, I felt the earth tremble. My scar burned intensely.

"No," I said with disbelief.

Crawling in the heather, I moved closer to the edge. The one drop of water multiplied in circles over the lake, spreading and increasing until I felt the rain drip on me.

The ripples moved quicker across the lake. They were almost invisible because of the rain, but I felt them moving against my legs until it was a constant wave. But then the rain stopped.

The lake was calm again, but only for a moment. From the center rose a man with shoulder length blond hair. The water streamed off his muscles as he stood with the lake surrounding his waist. I didn't need him to turn towards me to know who he was.

"Niall," I whispered.

The man I thought I would never lay eyes on again stood in the lake, looking as beautiful as he did the first time I saw him. As if he heard me, he slowly turned in my direction. His eyes glowed a fierce amber.

I couldn't move.
Could he see me? Would he remember?
I didn't know the effects of staying underwater all these centuries would do to someone. Especially not to someone as crazed as Niall was when I last saw him.

His eyes changed into a glowing blood red, and I ducked to hide in the tall heather. My chest ached as if it remembered having a beating heart and knowing it would be racing. It didn't matter if he saw me, he wasn't Niall anymore. He had the eyes of a demon.

A roar filled the air, and I peeked up to see Niall rise out of the lake on the other shore in the same navy and white kilt as before. He shook his hair, making the wet strands whip his face. As he lifted his hand to his face to wipe his hair away, he stopped.

He tilted his head to one side then the other as he moved his fingers in front of him. Then he looked down at his strong, muscular body.

His body rippled like the water, and Niall was suddenly in wolf form. I gasped at how quickly he was able to shift. He leapt towards the rocky crag and climbed it easily. Once he reached the top, the wolf shimmered and he was Niall again.

I couldn't help but stare at him. He was standing across the lake, on a higher cliff than the one I was lying on. As the wind blew, his kilt moved and I wondered where his clothes came from.

An evil grin spread across his face, causing shivers to run down my body. He looked around and his eyes settled on my cottage, but recognition didn't cross his face. His eyes glowed red again and then the ripple spread over him, including his kilt, before he disappeared.

I ran to my cottage and slammed the door behind me. My breath caught in my throat as I tried to calm myself, but it was useless. I knew what Niall wanted and where he was going. If fate wasn't going to continue the curse of the MacCulloch clan, then Niall the demon would.

Fear shook me and I pulled the blanket around my shoulders tighter. He couldn't harm me anymore. I had to remember that. But I cared too much about the people he would try to kill to continue hiding in my cottage in the Otherworld. I had to get to Ainsley and Callen before Niall reached them. It would take me time to reach them, and I prayed the demon couldn't travel quicker than I could. In the meantime, I would watch what happened in Leeds Point.

Chapter Two

Callen

The back seat was cramped. I wasn't even sitting with my legs ahead of me. That was impossible. I didn't have to let the human woman with the funny name sit in the front, she even fought with me about it, but she was a woman and women should always sit in front.

 
Rafael was driving towards Pinky's parents' house where she said she had a lot of documentation that could help me find Heather. I didn't need her help. I had already found Heather, but no one needed to know that.

For centuries, I found her on my own. I only left with Rafael and Pinky because of my memories. I knew what Bran was going through when I saw his eyes focus on my mother. I'd be an ass if I didn't leave and give them time alone.

Pinky twisted around in her seat to look at me. Her eyes were wide and curious, and I could tell that even though she lived in a town of shifters, she had never met anyone like me. It wasn't surprising, there were very few of us still alive.

"You have questions," I said.

"Is that alright? I don't mean to be nosy or rude or anything," she said.

I nodded. I needed to learn to be more patient. Lately it seemed the only person I could tolerate was my mother, and that was because she was the only other person who understood the trials of living for so long.

"Go ahead. Ask away," I said.

"If you're a shifter like Rafael, why are you so different?"

"Because I'm nothing like Rafael. We both have the ability to change into an animal. I believe it's what Rafael calls his spirit animal, and maybe that's right, I really don't know. But my wolf is more a part of me than Rafael's bear. I can sense his bear in him fighting for power and control. My wolf knows better," I said, shrugging. "My age gives me strength and abilities other shifters don't have."

"But you feel different. I don't know what it is, but there's an energy that I can feel from you," she said, looking confused.

Her words confused me. What did a human know about feeling energy?

"I think what you're feeling is why I'm here. I never know when or where Heather will appear again, but I feel it. Her soul calls to me like a magnet and I follow."

"It's more than that, Callen," Rafael said. "I noticed you wear a silver chain around your neck. How? Doesn't it cause pain?"

"The pain it causes me is nothing in comparison to the pain of losing Heather," I said. "She gave it to me long ago. She didn't know or understand what I was yet, but she gave it to me and I always wear it. It reminds me of the beauty and pain that comes from living."

"It doesn't weaken you?" he asked.

"I'm far too strong for what little effect the silver has on me," I said with a scoff. The look on his face reminded me I wasn't with my own kind. I shook my head, then pushed back my chin-length black hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be an ass. I'm not used to being sociable."