Chapter 31 QUESTIONS AND EXPLANATIONS
WILLA’S POV
Before I could respond evasively, Grandpa said, “Now is your chance to explain, child. Your son is asking. Might as well seize the chance.”
Gillian and Calisto looked at me inquisitively, and I glanced at William for help.
He heaved a deep sigh before he reached out to Calisto, picked him up, and got back on his feet. Then he gave a nod to Gillian’s direction.
Biting my lower lip, I wrapped my arms around my daughter and moved her to sit on my lap. William then occupied the chair my daughter vacated, settling my son on his thighs and making him face me.
“Go on,” William murmured.
After drawing a much needed breath, I said, “Mommy has something very important to tell you. You see, the Ascension Rite is an important thing, and you must listen closely to Mommy, okay?”
Calisto nodded, curiosity shining in his wide green eyes. Meanwhile, Gillian chirped, “Okay!”
“You both know we are werewolves, right? Remember all the time you accidentally grew sharp nails, or when wolf ears popped out on your head ever since the two of you turned five? That’s the blood of the wolf manifesting-”
“Simpler explanation, Willa,” Grandpa softly reminded me.
“Right.” I cleared my throat and tried again. “The wolf inside of you is beginning to show. But you see, we have to learn to become friends with that inner wolf, so we don’t fully become the animal.”
Ugh. I grimaced over my own pathetic and confusing explanation.
“What do you mean? We are wolves, right?”
“No,” I said slowly. “We aren’t truly wolves, love. But we are half wolves. Er…”
Grandpa sighed as if he was pained by my attempt to clear the confusion. “Let me demonstrate it, child.”
He slowly stood up and addressed the twins, saying, “Look here, dear Calisto and Gillian. Look how Grandpa is human-like in appearance. It is because I am friends with my inner wolf that I can stay in this form and keep my logical mind. And it is also because I am friends with my inner wolf that I can change into a wolf whenever I like.”
“Basically,” I piped in. “Being friends with the inner wolf means you can be what you want to be on command. And if you are not friends, the wolf will take over, and you will become just like an ordinary forest wolf. You cannot change back to being human-like.”
“While this is what friendship with your inner wolf means,” Grandpa declared before he shifted into his majestic wolf form, his deep gray pelt looking thick and silky, and his keen eyes glowing vibrantly.
“Wow,” Gillian and Calisto murmured in awe. They wiggled out of my hold and William’s and scurried over to Grandpa.
Calisto immediately wrapped his short arms around Grandpa’s neck, while Gillian scratched a spot behind his left ear. A satisfied rumble then reverberated from Grandpa.
“So cool,” Calisto gushed as he dropped his embrace around the gray wolf.
The twins then turned to me and asked at the same time, “Can you do it too, Mommy?”
“Sure I can.”
William gave me a confused look. “You haven’t shown them your wolf yet?”
I stared at him wryly and said, “Well, it is more convenient to perform my Mommy duties when in human-like form.”
William rolled his eyes at my sarcasm.
“Can we do it too?” Calisto asked, excitement ringing loud in his voice.
“Not yet. But soon, love. That is why you must attend the Ascension Rite. It is the first step in befriending the wolf inside of you.”
“But what happens during the asseshon rite, Mommy?” Calisto wondered.
“Ascension, dummy,” Gillian corrected.
“That’s what I said,” Calisto argued with a cute pout.
As briefly as I could, I explained to the two of them the entire process of the rite, and they listened with rapt attention while their hands still busily petted Grandpa, who had laid down on the floor like an obedient and oversized dog.
“But what happens after?”
This time, it was Gillian who asked.
“Well,” I said slowly. “Your ancestral lineage is affirmed, and your name will magically appear on the record of your parents’ family.”
“Wait, really?” Calisto perked up.
“Really.”
He and Gillian looked at each other and a grin appeared on their faces.
For some reason, the shared smile caused me a wave of apprehension.
“Willa,” William murmured. “You must also tell them about the parental blood link.”
The apprehension I was feeling grew a hundredfold, and I had to swallow down the growing lump in my throat.
I didn’t want to discuss Gallahan at all. But I couldn’t delay what was inevitable, and my children deserved to be prepared well for what was about to come for them during and after the Ascension Rite. They would feel the link forming, and they were bound to ask questions. So, I might as well explain it to them ahead of time.
Still, acknowledging the necessity didn’t make it easier for me to bring up Gallahan.
It had gone well for me so far with neither Calisto nor Gillian ever asking about their father. And while I knew that someday they would, and that I should prepare for what was an eventuality, I had never mustered enough strength and courage for it.
What could I say? What could I tell my children about Gallahan when I barely knew him apart from his bloody history?
But the fear that kept me up for many nights was the possibility that the twins would want to meet Gallahan, who would then likely take them away from me.
“Willa,” William whispered, shaking me out of my thoughts.
I gave him a weak smile, which I was certain looked more like a pained grimace. I then turned my full attention to my twins, drawing a big and much needed breath.
“Calisto, Gillian, there is one more important thing that will happen on the night of the Ascension Rite.”
Gillian tilted her head a little and inquired, “What is it, Mommy?”
The angry thudding of my heart intensified as if it had every intention of escaping me, and my tongue felt heavy and uncooperative in my mouth. But I steeled myself and powered through, saying, “A very special link will form between you and your parents.”
Calisto’s eyes widened, and his mouth parted slightly, a cute little gasp bursting out of him. “Does that mean…”
Gillian, with a poorly veiled thrill and hope on her face, finished what her younger twin brother couldn’t coherently put together. “Are we going to finally meet our Daddy?”