Hereditary (A Holloway Pack Mini) Read Free Page A

and
cries became yelps and growls.
    I reached out a
hand but with no intention of approaching, and more tears arrived,
urged forward by my sobs of despair.
    I remained that
way until the room fell silent but for the sound of our
breaths.
    At a shuffle to
my left, I brushed away droplets and turned to see Mia.
    Standing just
within the room, she fixated on that before her, staring for
seconds before another footstep brushed over the carpet.
     
    How much she’d
seen, I didn’t know.
    “Mia?” Her name
blurted from me like a thick mess of sound, but she didn’t
answer.
    She seemed
entranced, unable to turn away from what captivated her so.
    I turned my
head, followed her gaze.
    Gabe was as I
feared—some kind of creature, coated in thick shagginess. He’d yet
to raise his head. Only his deep shuddering breaths announced his
existence.
    Another few
steps, and Mia lowered to her knees.
    As though
sensing her presence, what used to be my son’s head lifted until
what used to be his face came into view.
    That was when I
knew he was still inside there somewhere. There could be no
mistaking the intelligence of his eyes. The blue of them sparkled
as they connected with Mia’s.
    Stretching her
fingers toward him, she whispered, “Gabe?”
    Breath snorted
from his nostrils.
    I studied him
harder. Not just some kind of creature. Not a beast. My son had
become a wolf—a huge freaking wolf.
    Mia swung
around to me, accusation in her stare. “Why?”
    I frowned.
    “Why didn’t you
tell me? Why wasn’t I told?” She spun back to Gabe. “I thought I
meant something to you, Gabe. How could you keep something like
this from me?”
    I found my
voice. “We didn’t know.”
    Gabe took a
step forward, pushed his muzzle against Mia’s hand.
    She whipped it
away. “What the hell is he? What are you, Gabe? What are you, a … werewolf ?” Her piercing tone penetrated my heart as she
slammed the back of her hand across her mouth like she’d uttered
something she shouldn’t have. “This is insane. They aren’t supposed
to be real.” Her breaths came quicker as her pitch heightened.
“There’s no such thing as …. What is this, some kind of sick
joke?”
    “Mia, please,
we didn’t know,” I said, my sense seeming to return in a rush.
    Pushing to my
feet, I raised my palms in request for her understanding—though,
how could I ask a sixteen year old girl to understand something I
could barely grasp myself?
    “No!” she
screeched, shoving to a stand and taking a step back. Her finger
pointed at me. “No, Shelley!”
    She stumbled as
she whirled and threw herself to the door she’d come through,
hysterics bubbling into her mumblings that, ‘This isn’t right, you
bloody lied to me, this is all wrong ...’
    A howl stabbed
through her words.
    Mia halted.
    At the long,
deafening, soul-destroying tune, she slapped her hands over her
ears, as I covered my own, and she spun back.
    Gabe’s cry
faded away, evaporating into a series of low whimpers. His gaze
seemed to hold Mia steady as he approached her.
    She didn’t
move. She didn’t even flinch when he nudged her lowered hand with
his dark nose. As though sensing his need for her, she dropped back
to her knees, whatever apprehension she had vanishing as her arms
embraced his bulk. When her fingers slid into his coat, he gave a
rough purr that vibrated within his chest.
    They remained
that way for hours.
    ***
    Now, six months
later, Gabe no longer changes in the house.
    The
transformations mostly come fortnightly, but occasionally his body
will dictate they arrive sooner.
    Each time, as
tonight, we head to Haughmond Hill.
    Mia is with me.
At the weekends, she’s permitted to ‘sleepover’—though, none other
than the three of us know the true reason why.
    Gabe has headed
off to the brush, to claim his natural fur blanket, as the two of
us shiver in sleeping bags, leaning against the makeshift support
of a fallen trunk. It’s dark, apart from the moon seeping