A Bit of Wolf in Her

17. If it's a Christmas movie, why am I hunting the easter bunny?

Back at home, Winnie stripped and after several minutes of shower contemplation, decided that telling people she was leaving would be a bad idea. Just by Elijah's response, she could take an educated guess that the rest of the Delaney's would follow just the same. Elijah still hadn't shown up at the house and by ten o clock Winnie was pushing away the worry that gripped at her chest. Was he okay? She didn't care. Not if he was coming back, not if he fell off a cliff and sank to the bottom of the fucking ocean. As if he had heard her, she heard the front door bang shut. Elijah stomped into the kitchen where she was eating leftover lasagna and his eyes burned into hers with newfound determination.

"I'm going to the wedding," he started and Winnie guessed he was referring to the same one he previously expressed disdain about. "And you're coming with me." She opened her mouth to say something but he continued. "You're going to tell my family you're leaving. End of discussion. So, pack a bag and be ready in twenty minutes or so help me god I will drag you out of here just like that."

He gestured to her sweatpants and oversized shirt, covered in old paint stains. Or was it food? Without another word, Elijah left Winnie in the kitchen to once again re-evaluate all her life choices before sliding off the bar stool begrudgingly, heading to her room. She had no intention of taking Elijah's threats lightly.

 The Delaney's cabin in the woods was about an hour's drive out of Seaford. Winnie sat staring out the window at the lights of the town disappearing in the distance. Neither she nor Elijah said one word to each other the entire ride over. She had nothing to say to him and had to save her energy anyway for when she faced his family. Winnie still found it hard to believe that it was happening. When Elijah had knocked on her bedroom door twenty minutes after ordering her around like a child, she knew she had made the right call. Or the lesser of two evils call. For a while, there was just a dark road ahead. Seaford vanished behind them and Winnie imagined giant wolves running beside the car, in between the trees that grew more and denser the further they drove. Finally, they turned onto a dirt road and beautiful fairy lights shone in the distance, where she guessed the cabin was.

The closer they got, the more nervous Winnie became, and she chewed her thumbnail. Elijah helped carry her one bag inside and she followed him, hoping everyone would already be asleep so she could at least delay the inevitable until the next day. When she saw Lydia coming down the stairs, though, the hope dissipated. Lydia threw her arms around Winnie, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

"You're here!" she squealed, a little too loudly in Winnie's ear. When Lydia pulled away, the rest of the family trickled into the hall to welcome her. She saw Lydia hug her cousin softly as Noah did the same with her. Rebecca smiled and put a hand on Winnie's shoulder.

"How are you feeling, Winnie?"

Winnie gave her a small smile. "Not sure yet." Rebecca's shoulders shook with a soundless chuckle.

"You remember my husband, Simon." Simon Delaney stuck out his hand for Winnie to shake, the kind look on his face a stark contrast to the formal gesture.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Winnie," Frank joked. "We're glad you made it."

"Why don't you join us in the kitchen? I just put on some coffee," Rebecca said, already walking, and she followed behind. Luckily, no one tried to make active conversation with her, though it might have been because of the tension brought on by Elijah's presence. Winnie didn't even pretend to listen as chatter floated around her, her eyes heavy with sleep and her limbs aching from the car ride over.

"Winnie?" she heard and lifted her eyes to see the kitchen was empty. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, Winnie got up, leaving her half empty cup on the table. "Yeah, sorry just tired."