The Song Of The Wolf (Unedited)

Chapter Seventeen

Two weeks.

That's how long it took for the box with Christmas presents to arrive from Ireland. With the weather still not being ideal, Maebh had driven over to the small post office in town and picked up the parcel that was currently placed in the passenger seat beside her.

There was something very rewarding about picking out gifts for your loved ones. Among many other things, she had sent her parents dried herbs from the greenhouse, maple syrup and matching ugly Christmas jumpers.

In spite of loving to give presents, there were only very few people who could honestly say they didn't like receiving presents. And Maebh definitely wasn't one of them.

Her eagerness was momentarily put on hold because the second she stepped from her car, a wolf pup came running to her and shifted into a familiar boy, mid-air. The day she got used to that sight, would be the day pigs fly.

A stark naked Logan clung onto her leg, his entire body shaking with sobs as the tears streamed down his chubby little cheeks.

The parcel was long forgotten as Maebh reached down to gather the boy into her arms. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and continued sobbing as she carried him into the warmth of her home. Even when she had sat down on the sofa and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, Logan refused to ease his hold on her.

"Lo, what happened?"

"They-they.. and that daddy..." he said incoherently and made shrill, crying noises. His words were impossible to decipher. Something along the lines of other children teasing him about his dad being in "prison". Maebh could put two and two together. She shouldn't have even been surprised to hear he wasn't the only wolf kid in town.

"It will be alright, I promise. Daddy will be back soon." She said, not knowing what else to say to reassure him.

His breaths were coming shallowly and his cries became somewhat softer. Although seeing him cry his lungs out was depressing to look at, in a way she felt glad that he found consolation in her company.

"You know what I think? I think we should make some hot cocoa with cream."

Logan abruptly stopped sniffing, gazing up at her with shiny eyes. "And marshmallows?"

"Obviously! And we can also eat some cheesecake on the side but let's not tell your auntie about that, okay?"

The toothy smile that appeared on the boy's face felt like a true prize.

After dressing Logan is some pajamas, the two of them happily rounded their tummies with sugary treats and were seated cross-legged on the floor –a big cardboard box in their midst. Maebh had fetched the parcel from outside and asked Logan to help her unwrap the gifts that her "mummy and daddy" had sent her.

Naturally, she had bought him and the rest of his family a couple of presents too. It was his first Christmas and she wasn't about to deny him the joy. But that was two weeks ago. In the end, they decided it would be best if Logan opened all the presents to make up for the fact that said presents weren't actually for him.

After having revealed a beanie and some bars of assorted Irish fudge –that she promised to share with him—the little boy ripped the paper from a black jewellery box and popped it open, frowning at what was inside. "What a silly keychain."

Maebh took the gleaming object from inside the box and lifted it to her face, smiling when the pendant caught a ray of lighting in the background. "It's a necklace, a Celtic Talisman."

"It's ugly."

"It's old, Logan."

The once copper amulet had taken on a green hue over time and the bright colour of the Amber drop placed in the middle had faded. It was hand etched in small runs with careful attention and just as impressive –if not more- as when it must have been brand new. Her Mam had hung it on a new leather cord, and woven it into an old styled knot work ornament.