TDEH Ch. 14

Finn disappeared into the library after she finished. She needed space and Carter had a lot to consider. She didn't want to sway his choice because she was biased. She curled up on the old leather sofa to enjoy the smells of her childhood. Perhaps one last time. She didn't sleep. She simply laid there, to stare vacantly at the crackling fire.

To her quiet astonishment, Tom entered the room. He pulled a chair over while he grabbed a random book off one of the tables. He propped his legs up on the arms of the couch. He began to read quietly. No words were spoken. After some time, he cleared his throat. Finn scrunched her eyes together and waited for his painful words.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

After a moment, "... I mean, I guess? It's... it's been a rough last few weeks." She responded slowly, "or years..."

He closed the book, laid it on the floor, and cast his eyes to the fire. "I remember when we'd all spend too much time here reading. When we were young."

"Those are some of my favourite memories," she replied airily, for a second lost in thought.

"Mine too. For a while I thought I was going to ask you to be my mate," he admitted.

"What?" Finn asked as she bolted upright in surprise. Tom had been a friend when they were younger but mostly, she had assumed, because Atticus was his close friend. Atticus spent most of his time with Arthur and Lea which happened to include Finn. She never guessed that Tom had ever had romantic feelings towards her.

"You never let anyone push you around. You were always reading. I liked the discarded cups of tea and coffee left in your wake, all over the house. I liked spending time with you, even if we rarely did it alone. You protected the weak without a thought to yourself, even when they weren't kind to you. Before I met Wendy, I was trying to work up the courage to tell you."

She had never considered him as a potential mate, though she never considered having a partner to begin with. "I told Atticus," Tom continued. "I wanted his blessing. He was Arthur's best friend, well, after you. If he approved, I figured Art wouldn't have any objections to me asking you."

"... Wait," she said. She didn't want to hear more. An uncomfortable feeling began to grow in her stomach.

"This was two days before he demanded you be his mate in front of the entire pack." His eyes were wet. "If I hadn't brought it up, if I had kept my damn feelings to myself... None of this would have happened. And I have been awful to you since because I didn't want to admit my own fault."

Finn stood up. Tom pulled his legs off the sofa, readying himself for what he expected to come next. Pain. Maybe death. They were both a little shocked when she hugged him. "Thank you for telling me," she said quietly and held him a bit closer. He returned her embrace, wrapping his arms around her back. She pulled away after a moment, righting herself.

"You couldn't have predicted what Atticus would do. He was your friend and you were trying to confide in him. I understand," she said. For the first time in thirty four years, some of the pain that she carried in her heart ebbed. She forgave him, not that she truly thought he needed any forgiveness. And she began the path to forgiving herself. "And if it matters, I forgive you."

When the words left her lips, his head fell into his hands. Tears fell through his fingers. His body rocked as he sobbed, letting out the pain he had carried for so long. Finn placed a hand on his head as comfort and tried her hand at levity, "you made the right choice with Wendy, my friend. I've had Rachel's coffee and it's excellent." Tom continued to cry but Finn could tell he was also trying not to laugh.

(2)

Finn and Tom spent the rest of the morning catching up, the tension between them broken. Tom informed her of Wendy's passing from cancer a few years ago. They chatted about the pack and the ways their worlds had changed. He teased her about living with the council, the most sullen werewolf surrounded by flatterers. They joked and laughed. It felt like when they had been young again. The ease of it, like an old sweater. Soothing. It felt like they were a pack again. They shook hands when it was time to part, to place the past firmly behind them.

As Tom turned to go, he returned his gaze to Finn, "you should stay, when this is all over. With us. With Carter."

"What about Emma?" Finn asked quietly. She feared breaking their newly repaired friendship with the reality of his daughter.

"He was never going to choose her to be our Luna. I tried to explain that to her. She's young and in love but in time, she will move on and find her fated mate. We all have had heartbreak in our lives and all it did was strengthen our bonds," he smiled and left the library.

Once again alone in the library, she decided she needed fresh air. She weaved her way through the packhouse to the kitchen, exiting the rear door. Pack members gave her odd looks as she passed them but she chose to not acknowledge them. The elders wouldn't have told the pack about Carter's new mate but she was sure Emma had spread gossip amongst the wolves.

She slipped out the front door and walked to Anna's cottage. She picked up the wreath she had woven and opened the unlocked door. She kicked off her boots into the corner where Anna had placed her own shoes once. She slowly walked into the bedroom and placed the flowers on her mother's bed. She then returned to the parlor. She opened the small kitchen's window to allow a breeze in. She walked back to the small couch and sat down, curled her long legs under herself and waited.

After some time, a small black cat jumped through the newly opened window. It landed gracefully on the tiled floor. The cat looked around until its eyes caught the sight of Finn on the couch and it moved over to her. It jumped on the couch, tail curled over its feet, its yellow stare connecting with her.

"I think I prefer you this way, Izzy," she said, reaching out her hand to pet her brother's cat form. Izadore responded by purring and allowed her to rub him for a short time. He swatted her hand when he was done and looked at her with serious eyes.

"He hasn't decided yet," she said, assuming his question. "I can't push him into this. It's... it's too much, Iz. We are asking him to alter his body and mind forever just so we can murder our repulsive father. He has to make that decision for himself without my, our, interference."

They sat in silence for a moment. "You can return to the others. I promise I'm not abandoning you, any of you, no matter his choice. I'll be back once I know his answer," she said smiling to her oldest brother. "We are in this until the end."

Izzy closed the space between them and curled up in her legs. He remained silent. She began to pet him absentmindedly as she looked around the small home of her mother. It hurt to be here without her. She felt Carter before he made it to the door. His knock was light, a courtesy.

"Door's open," she called. Izzy's ears flicked.

The moment he opened the door, he smelt the cat. "Did you find a stray?" He asked as he walked to the empty chair and sat down. She chuckled, her hand continued to pet Izzy. "This is my brother, Izadore. Izzy, this is Carter." She held Izzy up to look at her mate.

"What...? Your brother is ... a cat?"

She laughed and Izzy hissed at Carter, offended by the assumption. "No, he can wild shape. It's a pretty normal school of sorcery."

"Oh..." He trailed off. The pack never spent much time around enchanters and unlike his father and his officers, Carter didn't spend much time in the library reading. His knowledge of the occult community was limited.

Finn placed Izadore on the floor, "time to head back."

Izzy remained a moment longer to take in Carter. He walked over to him and slid his body against the fabric of his pants, a small gesture of goodwill to his sister's mate. He walked to the open window and jumped onto the counter, his gaze cast back upon them before he leapt out the window and disappeared from their view.

They sat in silence for a bit. Finally, Carter cleared his throat, "So... um, dad thinks we should exhume Fionn and Elspeth's graves. Not that he doesn't believe what you found at your father's."

Finn flinched at the word. "Sorry, your sire's home but he wants to make sure there aren't any nasty surprises waiting for a moment to come to life and kill us all," he finished.

She nodded, "that's smart."

"He, uh, asked me to get your permission."

"You don't need my permission," she started. An uncomfortable look crept onto his face. "They were Ironbloods. The Alpha needs to do what's right to protect the pack and with this new information about a dark enchanter who has already hurt this clan, it's the best move he could make."

He had been expecting a fight. "Okay. Um, he'd like you there."

Her stomach turned. She assumed, knew, that Elspeth's grave would be empty but she wasn't sure what else they may find. It wasn't something she relished but she had responsibilities to the Ironbloods and to ensure that Helmut's wrath was minimized. "Okay. Now?"

"Yeah."

She stood, readjusting her jacket and sweater. She walked over and closed the window in the kitchen, an attempt to keep Anna's scent in the cabin for as long as possible. She crossed the distance between the kitchen and entrance way to pull on her boots. "Okay, lead the way."

(3)

Carter and Finn walked together without talking. He had reached for her hand to steady the worry that he felt rise within her. She accepted and laced her digits with his but did not verbally acknowledge it. She had never visited the Ironblood cemetery before. It was set far behind the main house, vegetable garden and the cottages, hidden from view. She had always known where it was but chose to not visit, her own internalized guilt the main reason she had stayed away. It was a place for the true pack to grieve, not her.

The graveyard itself was large, this werewolf clan was old, but there were no fences or signage indicating this was a burial place. Graves were scattered below trees and extended into the dense forest. Only some small name plates were visible in the ground. No large headstones, no manicured grass. Most of the graves were hidden under the flora's growth. Natural flowers and bushes had been planted in remembrance. It looked like a forgotten garden, somber and eerie. Carter guided her deeper into the woods.

"Do you come here often?" She inquired.

"I did, when I was younger. To visit my mother," he replied with no bile.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he squeezed her hand gently.

Through the trees, Finn saw the outlines of bodies. As they got closer, she saw Art and Tom but also three younger men she didn't know. Carter nodded to all of them as they came to a stop a few feet from the group. She didn't want to move closer. He let go of her hand and walked up to his family. He clapped two of the younger men on their backs, and said "guys, I'd like you to meet my mate, Finn. Love, these are my officers, Al, Adam and Aburey."

"Are you all brothers?" She asked. They were all as tall as Carter, though they appeared to be a little younger. They all had the same blue green eyes and reddish brown hair. They were dressed in coats, dark jeans and boots. She thought they looked familiar.

"Yes, they're all Dart's sons," Arthur responded. Dartanon had been one of Arthur's officers when Finn was part of the pack but she hadn't seen him during her time with them.

"Is... Is Dart gone too?" She asked. Fear had kept the question down until now.

"No," one of the brothers said, Adam she believed. "Da has dementia. Mum looks after him. They retired in town. He doesn't remember any of us most of the time. We visit when mum wants help or if he has the odd good day."

"I'm sorry," she said sadly.

When the words left her lips, the brothers descended upon her. Fear gripped her insides but she didn't move. They all wrapped their arms around her in a heartfelt group hug, "welcome to the pack, future Luna."

Arthur and Tom chuckled and Carter beamed from ear to ear. "Kids, let's not upset her, please. She startles easily," Art called to them. The men broke their embrace, smiled warmly at her and Carter.

Adam fist bumped Carter as he walked back to his friend, "good job, dude."

Finn felt a flush beginning at her neck and zipped up her sweater in an attempt to hide it. She cast her eyes down to the outline of two graves. A small plaque sat in between the two, below a large tree. Fionn and Elspeth Ironblood. Freed from pain it read. She felt sick, Elsepth hadn't been free of pain. Her death hadn't freed her from the horror Helmut had created for her for the last sixty three years.

"Okay boys, I'd like you to dig them up. Slowly. We don't know what we may find. My father told me they were buried eight feet down," Art said, his gaze upon the ground.

"Yes sir," Dart's boys said in unison as they pulled off their jackets and shoes. As they continued to undress, Finn averted her gaze, to take in the surroundings with more vigor. It was quiet and nice. A good place to rest. Once nude, the men shifted into their wolf forms and began to rip up the ground with their claws. The soil was hard with the frost and it took them time to dig down. She tried to quell the growing fear in her guts, Carter moved back to stand beside her. He laid an arm over her shoulders and held her to him as they watched the wolves slowly unearth the old burial sites.

Disquiet grew amongst the individuals present and began to permeate the air as it became apparent. Finally, they were done and moved off. Both graves were empty.