RISE OF THE LYCANS - SHADOWS AND SECRETS

Chapter 19 - Christmas Eve

Maeve

"Fall on your knees... Oh hear the angel voices," their voices filled the cathedral. "O night... divine... O night... when Christ was born."

I sat in the back of the church, listening to the beautiful song the choir and attendees were singing. I didn't know the words, but I had heard the song before. Growing up in the shifter world, we believed in and prayed to the Moon Goddess. Now that I knew I was human, I didn't really know what to believe in.

I looked up at the church's gothic architecture, which gave it wonderful acoustics. Saint Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, with its spires towering over the city, had caught my attention. Someone at the pub had mentioned Christmas Eve services, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was like the movies.

The pub had practically been a ghost town tonight, and so I decided to take a walk three blocks over to the cathedral. I was passing one of the entrances when an older woman who reminded me of my Nan welcomed me at the door. I entered with a smile, thankful for the warmth, and found an open seat in the back. Families sat together, the young and the old, and all of their faces held such joy.

I wondered if I would have attended church if I had grown up in the human world. I sat quietly, lost in my thoughts... feeling as if I should be praying to someone, but not knowing who.

The last two months had been a whirlwind for me. I lied to everyone I cared about. To help explain why I wasn't coming home soon, I told Nan and Grandad that I was working at a pub in London, and would start university in the new year. Remington owned a few buildings in London and had given me an address to give to them. More lies.

Brianna and Persephone asked if they could visit, and shame filled me as I recalled the mounting lies.

"I'm sorry," I told them on a three-way phone call. "Now is not a good time. London is really expensive, and I'm working another part-time job at the market. I don't have much free time, and I don't want to neglect you while you're here."

"I can send you money," Persephone offered. She was such a sweetheart, and knowing I was lying to her brought me to tears.

"No," I insisted. "It's okay. I'm doing well and enjoy the work. I just don't want Nan and Grandad to worry."

"Well, are you coming home for the Wolf Moon celebration?" Brianna asked.

"I think you have to be a wolf to fully enjoy that holiday," I laughed bitterly.

"I don't care if you're a leprechaun," Persephone said. "You're still a member of this pack. I can send you a plane ticket or ask my father to come get you."

"No!" I nearly shouted. The last thing I needed was Alpha Balthazar hunting me down in Scotland. "I love you both so much," I heard my voice tremble and lowered my hand to my growing belly. "But I just need some time to do this on my own."

It had been a week since that phone conversation with my two best friends, and guilt still riddled me.

I listened as the priest told the story about a carpenter named Joseph, who brought his pregnant wife, Mary, to the town of Bethlehem because of a census. He spoke of an angel, shepherds, wise men, and a manger. The more I heard about the baby in the manger, the more I thought about the one growing in my belly.

I was almost three months pregnant, but to a normal human, I'd look five or six months along. Shifter pregnancy's had a quicker gestation period than humans, but I had no idea how long a lycan would be. My hand circled over my bump, and I felt a sharp fluttering jab from within.