The Howling Heart's Forgiveness

Chapter 133

Standing on Quincy’s front porch, I hesitate before knocking on the door. Caspian had told me before leaving the truck that Jett is staying here with his niece for now as Milan is shaken up by her Mate’s actions from today. I can’t blame him for wanting to be there for Milan, the only family he has left. I would be furious in Jett’s shoes and I would have marched down to where Quincy is being kept and throttled some sense into him by now whether Aunt Asteria liked it or not.

The door opens and Jett appears looking weary and pissed. His mouth opens – most likely to yell at whoever is at the door – only for his angry appearance to morph into surprise.

“Rune. Caspian.” He calls out with a sigh, looking at each of us in turn.

“What brings you two here?”

“I came to see how Milan is doing. Rune came to talk to you.” Caspian answers with a small smile. Jett hesitates, his eyes glazing over and we wait for a few minutes to pass figuring her was linking his niece to see if she wanted any visitors right now.

“Milan says its fine for you two to come in. She’s in the kitchen right now.” Jett states, his eyes focusing once again. I thank him, motioning for Caspian to go first. It seems he’s been here before as he instantly makes his way through the house. I hold back, looking to Jett who really seems like he needs a stiff drink, and soon.

“Quincy hides his whiskey in his office.” I state, watching surprise flash through Jett’s eyes.

“How the hell do you know this?” Jett asks, motioning for me to follow him in the opposite direction Caspian took.

“Brynlee told me when she and I started working on our friendship. It was just after finding out she was pregnant that she mentioned she missed the whiskey Quincy has. Apparently it's apple flavoured.” I answer with a shrug, my smile growing as I think about my Brynlee.

“Honest, the apple obsession she’s had the last few weeks finally made sense when Asteria blurted out she is with pup.” Jett chuckles out, opening a solid oak door and revealing a small yet tidy office.

“I thought she was going through something after the kidnapping incident. I guess I was partly correct.” Jett motions for me to take a seat on one of the two armchairs in front of a fireplace while he rummages through the drawers in the desk. He groans though when he comes up empty and turns to me.

“Wanna give me a hand?” He asks and I laugh, standing from my seat and making my way toward the one and only bookshelf in the office. Searching through the books, I find the one Brynlee told me about, a tale about the Goddess and the first werewolves, and pull on it. Instantly the shelf swings open revealing a hidden shelf full of finely aged whiskey. Jett lets out a low whistle, his eyes scanning the shelves before he picks up a bottle of The Macallan Fine & Rare 1959.

“I’ll be damned. Should I tell Milan about this?” Jett asks, reading the label on the bottle, his eyes widening.

“Careful, that bottle is expensive. The whisky was aged for sixty-five years.” I point out while grabbing two glasses from the shelf. Jett takes the bottle to the table that sits between the two armchairs while I bring the glasses over. His eyes are glazed once more before the door to the office opens with a loud thud, making me jump. Milan strides in, right up to the hidden shelves where she takes a bottle of whiskey before storming out the way she came.

“I am guessing she did not know about the whiskey.” I state as the door slams shut.

“No, she did not. I feel like Quincy is going to hear about this when he gets out.” Jett answers, taking the glasses from my hand and pouring me a glass. I sigh, taking a seat on the armchair once more and having a sip of the whiskey. It burns going down but the burn feels good. I can tell this whiskey was made to get wolves drunk.

“So what do you want to talk about?” Jett asks after downing his glass in one gulp. He moves to refill it with whiskey and I watch in silence. I have never seen him drink like this and I have known Jett my whole life.

“I had a vision.” I blurt out once the bottle has been closed and put on the table. Jett’s head whips towards me, his eyes wide as he searches to see if I am joking or not. I guess he deems that I am indeed being serious as he takes another swig of his whiskey before staring at me with a stoic expression.

“Describe to me what you were doing before the vision.” He states and so I do. I explain how the morning started. How Brynlee and I were about to start breakfast when it came on suddenly. My lips form a soft smile as I picture that scene, how my daughter will look just like her mother but with my eyes. After I finish explaining everything, the room becomes silent.

Jett stares at the empty fireplace, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees while I sip on my glass of whiskey. I can tell that he is mulling over what I just told him, can see the tears in his eyes forming. I know he is thinking about my mother – about his true Mate – and my heart aches for the man that has treated me more like a son than my own father has.

“Clairice had told me that her powers might be hereditary.” He finally says, his voice low and full of emotions.

“She had hoped that if you did indeed have powers, that you were Alpha of Pine Moon and out of Valor’s control. She got part of that hope fulfilled at least.” He adds, chuckling sadly at the end.

“So I can expect to have more visions in the future?” I ask, both elated and scared by the news.

“And my own pup may be able to have them too?” Jett nods, swinging back the last of the whiskey in his glass before setting it down on the table. I start thinking about what this new information means. That I may need to protect my unborn pup in case she shows her own gifts one day. But what about if Brynlee and I have more pups in the future? What if all my pups have gifts in the end?

“I would stop worrying about it, Rune.” Jett calls out, his voice breaking me from my thoughts.

“You and Brynlee are powerful wolves. Your pups, whether it be the one and only pup you have now or three dozen down the line, will be safe. You two will make sure of it.” He adds. Feeling a bit more confident and a little calmer.

“How will I know if my pups have the same power I have, the same one my mother had?” I decide to ask, wanting to be prepared for the day it happens.

“You won’t know until they tell you. I suggest you don’t keep this power a secret from your pups but instill into them the importance of not sharing it with others.” Jett answers, picking up the bottle and uncorking it. I thought for a moment he would pour it into the empty glass but I am shocked when he takes a long swig from it.

“That was the mistakes her parents – your grandparents – made. They shared that Clairice could see visions and that helped grow our Pack for a few years as they took advantage of her powers. In the end that led to her and I never being together.” Tears finally spill from his eyes and I reach out to take the whiskey bottle from his hands.

“Quincy doesn’t understand how lucky he is to have a second chance Mate. How lucky he is to have a Pack that cares! And he almost threw it all away because of his personal issues with Devlyn!” Jett shouts, taking the whiskey glass from the table and throwing it into the fireplace. The glass shatters into hundreds of pieces upon impact. I have nothing to say, no way to help Jett through his emotions other than to sit here and silently support him to cry it all out.

A presence pops into my head opening a link. I am about to shut it when I feel Caspian tentatively reaching out, worry etched into the link he just opened.

[Everything okay?] Caspian asks, sounding exasperated. I guess he is dealing with a drunk Milan while I deal with a drunk Jett.

[Yeah. Jett is just letting off some emotions.] I answer, my eyes focusing for a moment on Jett who has curled up in the chair with a forlorn look.

[Milan is doing the same. I think we should help these two to bed before we leave.] Caspian sighs out. I readily agree, telling him to deal with Milan first before coming to help me with Jett. He complies, telling me he will be there in a few minutes before the link closes. True to his words, Caspian appears at the office door in ten minutes, a bruise matching the one I got earlier under his left eye.

“Milan’s right hook?” I ask, getting an annoyed growl.

“Odette is going to be pissed.” He huffs back. I chuckle, telling him to take Jett's left side while I stand on his right. On the count of three we haul the now passed-out Jett onto his feet and half carry, half drag him up the stairs into the guest room that Caspian leads me to. We tucked him into bed, Caspian telling me he will meet me at Brynlee’s truck as he wanted to make sure there was a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol on the nightstand for Jett. After taking one last look at Jett now curled in bed, I leave Quincy’s house and wait beside the truck, taking in the fresh air.

I have the answers to my question about this newfound power. That now I can see visions just like my mother because it is hereditary. From what I know when Jett talked about my mother’s and Brynlee’s parents deaths, my mother could control her powers. I guess I just need to learn how to control mine.

“Rune?!” I jump, arm up as I prepare to punch whoever it is that has called out to me only to stop just an inch from punching Caspian.

“Dude, why are you being such a space case?” My friend asks, brows raised as he looks at me.

“Sorry. Just a lot on my mind.” I apologize, motioning to the truck.

“Mind if I just take you to the infirmary and head home? I have something I need to talk to Brynlee about.” I ask him, not really in the mood to visit Ashton and see how Devlyn is doing.

“Yeah about that. Quest linked me two minutes ago. Ashton is out cold so I will check on him in the morning.” Caspian answers, climbing into the truck. Feeling relieved, I climb into the driver's side and pull out of the driveway asking Caspian if he wanted me to take him and Odette home. He tells me that since it’s such a nice night out tonight, he and Odette are going to walk home from the cottage. With a chuckle, I steer the car towards the cottage, excited to get rid of Odette and Caspian for the night to spend the night with Brynlee in my arms and tell her everything that Jett has told me about my powers. Hopefully, the two of us can make a plan in case our future pups have the same powers as me in the future.