The Legacy of Kilkenny (6 page)

Dolly took those first steps, I felt her apprehension, and I could sense all of the other Pack members on guard.

ABEL

The leaves crunch under the wolf’s feet as it moves slowly towards me, it feels like my shoulders are as high as my ears.
 
I take a breath trying not to totally freak out.
 
I take a look around trying to get a better sense of where I’m at.
 
Maybe I’m hallucinating, or just plain crazy.
 
Its eyes are strangely familiar, yet I know I’ve never been this close to a wolf before.
 
Everything is so quiet, there aren’t any birds chirping or wind blowing.
 
I wonder if this is what it feels like to be deaf, because the only thing I can hear is my breathing. Out of nowhere, a gush of wind like a mini-tornado, what is it the weatherman calls it?
 
A
gustnado
or something like that.
 
A warm, no actually, hot breeze whips around me and right there in front of me stands a woman.
 
Not just a woman, a very naked woman.
 
I turn my head away, embarrassed and….well uncomfortable.
 
“Pru?
 
What in the hell do you have me into?”
 
I ask.
 
How is this happening?
 
 
It is like one of those dreams where really strange things happen, yet they seem normal.
   
I know it isn’t technically a normal thing to happen, but it feels acceptable to me.
 
I close my eyes hoping it will all go away, but the smell of flowers and spices are still in the air.
 
I didn’t smell them before the wolf turned into a woman so I know she is still there.
 
I open one eye just to make sure.
 
Yup.
 
Now what?

“Mom, this is Abel.
 
Abel, this is my mom Dolly.”

I hear what she is saying; I just can’t wrap my head around it.
 
Did she just say that it is her mom?
 

“You’re her mom?” I wish I can see Pru at that moment, I want to see her face.
 
“Your mom is a wolf?
 
What is going on?”
 
My adrenalin is off the charts.
 
I feel like I do right before I get on a roller coaster, the moment the gate opens and for a split second, I want to turn and run out of line.
 
Yup, running right about now, would be a good option.

My underestimation on what open minded in her book means, something I won’t take lightly again.
 
At first I assumed she was going to tell me she was some type of fetish freak that thinks they’re a vampire.
 
I wasn’t even remotely prepared for what happened next.
 

Looking around, I see the piercing eyes of wolves all around me.
 
The glow of their amber eyes mimicking the color of liquid gold, glaring at me, giving me no choice but to listen to them.
 
She tells me this big story about werewolves and what it means to me.
 
There is a wolf that is destined to lead werewolves as they battle to keep the secrets of the werewolf from humans, and that wolf is me.
 
Me!
 
Ha.
 
My gorgeous friend is a werewolf and some type of magician person that can make me hallucinate.
 
This is not good.

“Abel?
 
Are you there?”
 
Dolly asked.

“I’m sorry; yeah I just zoned out for a second.
 
You’re really a werewolf?”

“Yes love, I am.
 
You’re one too.
 
Before you worry too much about it, I want you to come to the farm in person and we’ll explain all of it to you.
 
I
know
this is hard to comprehend, but it’s true,”
 
Dolly says as she stands in nothing but a robe.

“This is all so much to absorb.
 
So Pru, you’re only friends with me because you think I’m a werewolf?”
 
I ask.

“Abel!
 
No!
 
It isn’t like that.
 
Yes, in the beginning I
was
there just because of what you are.
 
I came to protect you and in the process you’ve become my friend.
 
Please don’t think I’m not here as your friend,” Pru pleas.
 

“I may be stupid for saying this, but yeah I get it.
 
I do.
  
Wow, it isn’t every day someone tells you that you’re a mythical creature and then prove it to you.
 
This is just crazy.”
 

Ha!

Ha!

Ha!

Call me crazy but something inside of me is screaming that I finally know why I always feel different than everyone else.
 
How on earth can I wrap my head around this?
 
I am crazy!
 
That’s it!
 
I’ve lost my mind…. I’m nuts, call the funny farm.
 
I wanted to disbelieve….. like when you go to a magic show and you know what they are doing is sleight of hand, and they are only creating an illusion.
 
She’s
the one telling me she’s a werewolf,
she’s
crazy.
  
I knew she was too good to be true.
 
There was the other part of me that believes her, only because I have always felt different, like something was off.
 
I have dreams of running.
 
I’ve never seen what I am in those dreams.
 
Oh God!
 
I’m having dreams of being a werewolf!
 
Maybe I fell asleep during the movie and I’m really dreaming all of this.
 
I pinch myself, nope not asleep.

Werewolves are real.
 
Real!
 
My mom is going to freak out that I’m hanging out with wolves.
 
Pru is really great, her and Dolly explain that they are werewolves not in the
ohmigod
there’s a wolf and it’s going to attack and kill me
kind of wolf.
 
It is a little hard to accept since there are at least ten wolves lingering around us and they look like they’d kill me if I move.
 
I don’t.
 
I start to relax again and can feel the other wolves relaxing too.
 
I guess they don’t find me an immediate threat, but they haven’t revealed themselves to me either.
 
Trust is something earned by a wolf; never underestimate their shyness.
 
They don’t say that to me they just let me
know
it.

I can hear Pru, her voice is foggy, it sounds muffled, and she tells me we are going back to the park.

PRU

Things went so much better than I expected.
 
My dad had suggested we do it that way so everyone would be comfortable and if something went wrong I could get us out of their quickly.
 
Originally I was going to take him to our farm and introduce him.
 
We didn’t go that route because one of our guys, Parker… our unpredictable wild wolf.

Parker is an omega, the bottom of the Pack. He has issues with authority, and with new members.
 
I have issues with Parker; I’ve dreamt his death will be at my hands.
 
I’m not really bothered by killing him, but it isn’t common for a Pack member to kill another member.

That is the mystery to me.
 
Not that he couldn’t get under my skin and make me want to twist his scrawny-ass head off his body, but I follow the rules, so I’m curious what he does that drives me to killing him.
 
It has been two years since I had that vision so it will be soon I’m sure.

“Just stay relaxed, I’m going to pull us back to the park.”
 
I took a deep breath and broke our connection. “Hey, you okay?
 
You look a little pale.
 
We can stop at Sonic and grab a Coke on the way home.”
 
He pulled his hand away faster than I’d hoped.
 

“No, I don’t want to stop anywhere; I just want to get home.
 
So, was that real?”
 
He asked.

“Was the vision real?” I asked.

Abel nodded his head up and down.

“Yeah, it was real.
 
That’s my family, like the saying goes, we can’t pick our family but we can pick our friends,” I said shyly.
 
Okay, maybe not too shy, but a little.

“So, you’re telling me that werewolves are real?”
 
I hear the shakiness in his voice.

“Yes,
 
Abel they’re real, and yes, I’m one of them.
 
You’re
one.
 
Please, don’t hate me.”
 
I could feel my own heart racing now.

“Cool,” he was totally calm and turned his attention away from me.

“Cool?
 
All you have to say is cool?
 
No, are you going to eat me? Are you going to turn into a wolf and howl at the moon?
 
Do you only turn into a wolf at a full moon?
 
Are their vampires too?
 
You’re not going to ask me any of those questions?
 
You’re just going to say, cool?”
 
I was totally confused.
 
I expected more from him.

“No, cool is good with me right now Pru.
 
I’m sorry but I’m not going to freak out in front of you.
 
I’ve got tons of questions, but I want to think about it first and then I’ll hit you with the 20 questions.
 
Give me some time, okay?
 
I’ll be fine.
 
Let me sleep on it and we’ll come back and you can do your hocus pocus vision stuff on me again.”
 

“It isn’t
hocus
pocus stuff
, it’s real.
 
I’ll give you tonight to think about it, but we’ve got a lot to cover.
 
Tomorrow I’ll take you to the farm, it will be easier if we as a Pack explain to you what your mission and destiny is.”
  
Looking into his big brown eyes made my heart skip a beat.
  

“Cool, do you have the
Death Cab for Cutie
cd
?
 
Lets jam, no more talking right now, I need to think.” he asked.

Men.

ABEL

Our drive to my house is awkward and absent of conversation.
 
Everything looks different to me yet the same.
 
I can’t help but play it all in my head on the drive to my house. Honestly, Pru showing me the vision wasn’t all that bad; it was more like watching a movie.
 
I just don’t know what to think.
 
You’d think I’d have some clue I am a werewolf.
 
I wonder if someone in my family is one.
 
Maybe that is why my dad works nights.
 
My mind is in overdrive, if my dad is a werewolf I’m sure they would have told me by now. Luckily my parents have gone out to a cheese and wine party.
 
I’m sure they won’t be home until two or three in the morning.

Reaching into my backpack, I pull out my IPod and pick my
crazy angry music
playlist. Flopping down on my bed,
earbuds
in place, I try to relax. It takes me a minute to realize that I don’t have to turn up the music as loud.
 
Great, I’m already turning into a werewolf.
 
I stare at my hands, waiting for hair to grow on my knuckles and turn me into a modern day
teen-wolf
.
 
Shane is going to crap when I tell him I’m going to be turning into a
wolfman
.

It’s three in the morning and I hear something outside.
 
I check the driveway to see if my parent’s car is out there.
 
No.
 
Damn.
 
The neighbor dogs are barking like something
is
out there.
 
I take a flying leap across the room to turn off the light to see better.
 
I look out the window again and I catch my breath, right there, standing in my yard is a large wolf.
 
I’m not an expert on wolves but this one is bigger than your average wolf.
 
It
looks
like a werewolf.
 
Holy crap!
 
I run and jump in my bed and throw the blankets over my head.
 
I’m down like a girl, huddle up scared to peep out.
 
I’m not ashamed, it’s a
freakin
’ werewolf, not a spider.
 
Damn!
 
Damn!
 
Damn! Is he gone yet?
 
I hide in bed for what seems forever.
 
Wouldn’t you know it, my parents decide to pull up when there is a monster sized animal in our yard.
 
I run to the window to see if he is still sitting out there, I let out the breath I’ve been holding when I don’t see him.