The Great Wolf: A Legacy of Kilkenny Novel Book Three (The Legacy of Kilkenny Saga) (5 page)

“Yes, we stopped the vampires from telling the humans of our
existence.”

Brianna pulls her collar up to cover her neck.  “Oh that
would have been a mess.”

“You’re telling me, everything was insane.  It’s hard enough
that I had only technically been a werewolf for less than a year, but they were
counting on me for decision making and strategies.  My wolf was wanting to go
ape-crazy on someone.”

“Ape-crazy?  What’s that?” She asks straight-faced.

  I laugh at the absurdity of the question.  “You know, like
really
crazy.”

“Oh, I get it…you’re funny Abel.  What do
you
do for
fun?”

We both turn around at the sound of a man and woman arguing.

I shrug, “That’s easy, I run.  I love shifting and taking a
long run.  It’s rare for me to do it alone, but that doesn’t bother me too much. 
We have a lot of rabbits and squirrels that we chase.  I don’t kill them
though.  Raw meat doesn’t appeal to me.”

“Eww, I know right!  I bet its fun to have another animal to
chase.  We don’t have a lot of small prey.  America is so mysterious to me. 
You’re the first American I’ve ever gone on a date with.”

Date.  So she does think of it as a date.

“You’re my first Irish girl to go out with,” I say and bump
her with my shoulder.  “Would you like to go grab a cup of coffee?”  I can tell
she’s shivering, despite being warm blooded.

She comes to a sudden stop and glances at me.  “It’s getting
late, I probably should get home before my brothers come looking for me.”

I can’t help but watch her mouth as she talks.  My wolf is
begging me to kiss her, my head is telling me to keep it casual.  Something
tells me I could fall for this girl, the 4,000 miles tells me it’s too far for
a long distance relationship to survive.  We’re just hanging out, not falling
in love - I think to myself.

“Oh, okay.  I don’t want to upset your brothers,” I laugh
nervously.  We’re both just standing and looking at each other.  Her pouty lips
are driving my wolf mad.  Before either I or my wolf can think things through,
I find myself asking if I can kiss her. 

She studies my face before nodding her head.

I put my hand under her chin and tilt her head back. Her
lips part as our lips meet and suddenly I’m lost without any thoughts of
anything else but her.  I struggle with my wolf not to go wild like a hunger
starved were.  The kiss is over too quickly but I want to respect her,
especially since we’re in a public garden.

She bashfully pulls away and blushes.  My wolf wants to
strut around and announce to everyone that he’s marked his territory.

I take her gloved hand into mine and walk back to the limo. 
Shaynie joins us just as we get to the car.  She has a dumb smirk on her face.

“Brianna, after we work out tomorrow, would you like a
lesson in knife throwing?  It comes in handy to stake a vampire, if the
situation calls for it.  Dolly wants us all to practice our skills in case we
end up competing in the Seeker event.”  Shaynie pops her gum making Brianna
jump.

“Yeah, thanks for asking me.  All of you are training for
the Seeker competition?”

“It’s a tradition within our pack not to announce the
competitors until the night before.  The alpha will gather the pack and have a
pep rally of sorts and announce who’s competing.”

Brianna looks puzzled.  She takes her gloves off and I can
tell she’s not shivering anymore.  “What’s a pep rally?”

Shaynie tilts her head, processing the question.  “It’s just
where we all get together and cheer for each other.”

“Oh cool,” Brianna leans forward and fiddles with something
in her purse.  I recognize the sound of a text message.

Shaynie takes advantage of the fact that Brianna can’t see
her, and starts making kissing faces at me.  Like a middle school kid, she
makes a total ass out of herself as she teases me silently.

We turn onto Bri’s street.  Even though it’s pitch black
outside, I recognize the neighborhood.  All the lights are on at the house and
I see Marc standing in front of one of the windows.  Awesome.  Nothing like
kicking my date’s brother’s ass on the first date.  It wouldn’t be a fair
fight, my super-wolf abilities kick in whether I want them to or not and when
my wolf is in charge, he doesn’t back down.  I didn’t come here to make enemies,
so I’ll be a gentleman.

The driver gets out and comes around to open the door.  I
get out and she turns to Shaynie and says she’d love to come to practice.  My
wolf growls in appreciation.  As we get to the front door she turns around to
face me.

“Abel, I had a great time tonight.”  Her eyes sparkle under
the house light.

Without thinking, my hand reaches up for her face and I step
in to close the space between us.  “I had a great time too,” I say barely
audible.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”  Her head nods in agreement.  My lips
brush hers, lingering for only a moment…just long enough to stir my insides. 
“Good-night, Brianna.”

She smiles as the door opens, “Good-night Abel, see you
tomorrow.”

****************

I’ve seen Brianna every day this week.  She’s come over and
hung out with us at the hotel and we went to the movies.  Her brothers aren’t
happy with me being around, so we haven’t hung out at her house.  Since the
Olympics start in three days, we have to focus on our events and not get lost
about why we’re here.  I won’t see her again until the competition begins.

 During our morning workout, they gave us the schedule for
the first day of the Olympics.

Monday -

5:00 a.m. - Everyone weigh in

6:00 a.m. - Breakfast

6:30 a.m. - Men’s Shifting Event on West Field

                   Women’s Shifting Event on South Field

8:00 a.m.   Men vs Women Shifting Event on West Field

9:00 a.m     Award Ceremony for Shifting Events

10:00 am   Strong Man Event - East Field - no one under 15
allowed on the field

12:00 p.m.   Lunch

  2:00 p.m.  Second half of Strong Man Event

  4:00 p.m.  PeeWee Were Olympics

  7:00 p.m.   Award Ceremony Strong Man

Oakley and Dolly are competing in the shifting events and
Parker will compete in the strong man part.  Parker put on fifty pounds so he
could compete with the big guys.  He was 170 lbs and now he’s weighing in at
223.  His wife, Sapphire, has sworn off chicken breast for a year after the
competition.  Parker said he was right there with her on that, he’s sick of
chicken and tuna.  When in wolf form, we all stay the same size, regardless of
weight.  We’re already big wolves, but our weight isn’t affected if we gain
weight as a human.  The main difference happens if we’re not healthy.  Rouge
wolfs often find themselves hungry during the winter months, especially wolves
who don’t shift as often or have money for food.  Many rogues stay in their
wolf form for the winter so they can hunt without looking deranged.  Not too
many humans sit on a park bench eating a raw squirrel.

****************

I step out of the steaming shower and tighten a towel around
my waist.  My cell starts ringing; I rush over to answer it, hoping its
Brianna.

“Hey, my mom wants everyone down in the conference room
right now, something has happened.  Parker is on his way to your room, him and
Oakley will escort you downstairs.  Before you moan about it, you know the
drill,” Pru says.

We hang up and I turn to Oakley, he nods his head, letting
me know he heard our conversation.  A knock on the door and Parker’s voice is telling
me it’s him.  Parker has changed since I first met him.  Two years ago, he was
a douche-bag, always mad at something, until he found his true mate and she
mended his cold heart.  When he found out Sapphire was one of us, a werewolf,
he became the nicest guy, ever.

I love my pack, I do, but it gets old having to be escorted
everywhere.  Especially since we’re all werewolves and the place has been charmed
against any intruders.  I pull a slim black tee over my head.  T-shirts no
longer hang on me, now, they show off how much I work out.  The shirt is snug
on my biceps and across my chest.  I slip on a pair of the ridiculously priced
jeans Pru insisted I buy.

Within five minutes the three of us enter the conference
room.  Dolly’s face is filled with worry as she stands up in the center of the
room.  She’s biting her lip which is her
tell
before she drops bad news
on us.  Something major has happened; she’d never stress out our team if it isn’t
necessary.

The room is filling up with everyone in the hotel as well as
alphas from other packs. 

“Okay everyone, if I can get your attention up here, I have
an announcement,” Dolly pauses for a moment.  “We’ll get down to it, Kane, the
owner of this hotel, is missing.  He went out to run errands earlier today and
he has not returned. His wife  MecKenzie was on the phone with him, he was in
the market picking up stuff for the kitchen.  She heard him yell and his phone
hitting the floor.  She hasn’t heard from him since.   One of the local witches
has tried a locator spell on him to no avail.  Why Kane was abducted is
anyone’s guess.  From this point forward, EVERYONE must be escorted everywhere
they go.  As you know, Abel Casey is in our pack and he’s everyone’s priority
to protect.  I need everyone to be alert, and check in on a regular basis.  We
can’t slack just because we’re at the Olympics and there are so many of us
around.”

One of the alphas raises his hand.  “Do we know who’s behind
this?”

Dolly shakes her head back and forth.  “We have our
suspicions.  If anyone has any information about any of the abductions, please
get with your alpha.  Let’s be clear about one thing…if I find out you know
something and you’re not honest with us now, you’ll face your Great Wolf.  Am I
clear?”  Dolly is in her strict mode.

I get the feeling someone is watching me.  I turn around and
catch two alphas giving me the once over.  It’s to be expected, they’re judging
me because I’m young.  Out of nowhere, my insides heat up so much it’s like my
blood is literally boiling because I’m so defensive.  They both freeze under
the scrutiny of my glare. 

Pru tugs on my arm.  “What’s up?  You’re giving the
stink-eye, why?”

“I’m letting them know I
am
the Great Wolf.”

“Okay… are you having an identity crisis?” Pru asks.

“We’ll talk later.” 
My wolf is restless and senses
another power is near.

My dad and a big beefy were from another pack open the
door.  With them is a group of ten or so people.  Everyone mutters under their
breath and I catch a few people’s thoughts.  Someone is a sorcerer and a few
people are from a local coven of witches.

“Quinney’s here,” Pru whispers to me.  “He’s the really tall
one, the bald guy with the goatee, I’ve seen him before at Quinney’s house.  I
think he’s one of the guys who works with him.”

Dolly leans in for an air kiss on each side of her face from
Quinney.  He towers over everyone at 6’5”.  He raises his hands in front of him
with his palms up.  “If I could have a minute of your time, I’d like to discuss
how things are going to play out.  My name is Quinney, and I’m here to help
assure your Olympics will go as planned.  I’m not a werewolf, as you probably
already know.  I’m a shaman like none other.”  His voice is deep and authoritative
with a Gaelic accent. 

 “The Phelan Pack has invited me here to not only help you
find the group responsible, but we’re going to protect you.  This gentleman is
my friend Jace O’Leary, and these lovely ladies are from a coven near my home
in the countryside.  Jace, will be doing a protection spell over everyone here
and we’ll go from site to site to offer them the same protection.  The rest of
the coven is already on their way to the other packs to set charms.  We’ll keep
two surveillance vans on the location to observe comings and goings.  If you
notice anything out of the ordinary, you need to report it to one of the vans. 
The fields being used for the Olympics have been charmed and protected by the
best sorcerers and witches in the world.  Right now, the fields are the safest
place around; I suggest you do the rest of your preparations out there.   We
will do our best to blend in and not interfere with your competition.  If you
have questions, please raise your hand.”  Quinney says and takes a sip of his
coffee.

One of the alphas raises his hand.  Quinney doesn’t say
anything, he just points his direction.

“Who’s footing the bill for this
protection?
”

“Good question…no one.  As a collective, we’re all
supernatural and we protect one another.  The Phelan Pack has a block of rooms
they graciously offered to our group to rest.  The werewolves have helped us in
the past; this is our way of paying it forward.  Does anyone else have any
questions?”

No one raises their hands.  Pru squeezes through the crowd
to get closer to Quinney.

She reaches him and they do the air kiss, when he stops he
whispers a word to her. 
Dream-quest.
  She nods her head in agreement.

“Hey everyone, I, too, have an announcement,” Pru shouts.

The room goes quiet and everyone turns Pru’s direction.

“I had a vision earlier today.  I’ve been working with my
mentor to understand the meaning.  We all need to set our political views
aside.  I know some people within the werewolf community don’t want Abel to
take over our packs.  Good for you,” she says sarcastically, “there’s no
escaping the fact, he
is
the Great Wolf.  This legend has been a part of
our lives, part of our future and our past.  Abel will be stepping into his
role soon, get over it and deal.  What good will we be if we cause a war
amongst ourselves?  My vision has clearly shown me another werewolf pack is
behind the abductions.  What does that mean to us?  That means we can’t trust
anyone, we all must account for our pack.  Our IT department is busy putting together
a crisis line.  If you see anything suspicious REPORT IT.  This isn’t a game. 
Here’s what I know about the pack involved.”  Pru’s voice is steady as she
tells us about her visions.   “They are not working alone.  They aren’t
American.  Their language is a lost one, the kind that hasn’t been heard in
centuries.  I’ve had visions of them for the last few months.  It never showed
me what they were up to, until last night.  They’re powerful, stronger than
most.  I’m guessing they’re a hybrid or genetically altered.  From what I’ve
seen, they relish in the fact that no one knows about them.”