Chapter 12-Finally Some Answers

Sitting on the long metal bench in the change room after getting dressed, I take a deep breath. I don’t know what has gotten into Enyo. She’s always been aggressive, but her aggression seems to be getting worse. I lean over to the cupboard where spare sneakers are and put them on, then take another deep breath to calm myself down. I’m about to leave the locker room when the door swings open, and Catherine walks in with two other women. They walk over to the corner of the room, and I can hear them snickering and looking in my direction. I ignore them and leave and find my way back to the gym. When I get there, I see Alpha Peter and Beta Jason in the middle of the room, talking to an older guy. 

Alpha Peter stops talking when he sees me approaching and crosses his arms across his chest. I bow my head as a sign of submission and stand in front of the three men.

“Athena, I’d like to introduce you to our pack doctor, Doctor Shields,” Beta Jason says.

Doctor Shields holds his hand out, and I shake it. “Nice to meet you, Doctor,” I say to him. 

I turn to face Alpha Peter, with my head lowered, “Alpha, I’m so sorry about earlier. I don’t know what Enyo was thinking.”

“You’re lucky you weren’t both killed,” Beta Jason says.

“Enyo’s outburst is why I’ve asked Doctor Shields to meet us earlier than this afternoon, Athena. Please come with us. We’ll take you to his office,” Alpha Peter says. 

I nod and follow them out of the gym to an SUV. 

#

A few moments later, we pull up to a small cottage with a ‘Doctors Office’ sign on the lawn, and I follow the men inside. They lead me past the small reception area and into a back office. 

“Please take a seat, Athena,” Doctor Shields says. 

Alpha Peter and Beta Jason sit on the couch against the office’s back wall, and the doctor directs me to sit at the large desk as he goes through files in a large filing cabinet. Finally, he brings three large manilla folders over to the desk and sits down. 

“As I told you yesterday, Athena, we were working on something before the packs were attacked. We were working with lycans who are like you,” Alpha Peter explains, as the doctor opens the first folder and hands me a piece of paper that looks like the ones I found in Derek’s office. 

Leo Watkins–Moonstone Pack

D.O.B.–3rd of June 2001

D.O.D.–5th of September 2016

“He was only 15 when he was killed?” I ask sadly, and Doctor Shields nods. I look back at the paper and read the rest of the doctor’s notes.

I attended Leo’s first shift at eleven years old. He had difficulty shifting, as his wolf was quite large. It took him almost 12 hours to shift completely, and when his shift was complete and his wolf, Demi, came forward, his eyes were different. They were not yellow. Instead, they were a deep shade of blue. 

When he first attended training to become a warrior at thirteen, his wolf was unusually aggressive. Leo often had trouble controlling Demi, and he attacked his brother viciously, almost killing him. Nevertheless, he showed a strength rarely seen outside of an Alpha pup throughout his pack training. 

“Wait. So, Leo’s first shift was before sixteen as well?” I ask Doctor Shields.

“Yes, everyone we have spoken to has shown the same characteristics as yourself. They all shifted early, their wolves were larger than usual, and their wolves’ eyes were not yellow,” Doctor Shields says.

“How many are there in total?” I inquire.

“So far, we have come across eight lycans with the same story,” he responds. “Five of them were members of the packs attacked down here, including Leo, and are deceased. Two are missing, and one is still alive and a member of the Red-River pack. So, you make nine,” Doctor Shields explains.

I sit back in the chair, stunned. Doctor Shields passes me more papers, and they’re all the same. Accounts of the different wolves they had worked with, all with similar stories. 

“And these names match the ones that I gave you, Alpha?” 

“Yes, Athena. As I suspected, every single name matched. Leo Watkins, Brent Minias, Lewis Bowman, Richard Stannis, and Lila Haywood, Nicholas Teresi, and Dominic Farris. They had all visited our pack. The last one, Andreas Papatonis, I hadn’t met personally, but I spoke to him briefly after his Alpha had told me about him.”

The last page the doctor gives me is a description and history of me. 

“Hold on. You mentioned last night that you knew I was different, Alpha. How long have you known about me?” I ask as I read the information they have on me. 

“I’ve known about you since before the attack on your pack, Athena. After our pack was attacked, I called your father for help. I knew I could trust him, and I told him of my suspicions of why the packs were being attacked here, and he told me about you,” Alpha Peter answers.

“And what were these suspicions you had?” I ask. I can feel rage slowly bubbling under the surface of my skin at the mention of my father. 

“That the attacks had to do with these lycans specifically and that they were the targets. The only packs that were attacked were packs we knew had lycans like yourself,” he explains. 

“Are you saying that it’s my fault that my pack was almost destroyed and why my father is dead?” I almost yell at the Alpha, and I feel Enyo stir from my sudden distress.

‘What’s happening?’ She asks through a yawn.

“The fault lies with the people who attacked us, Athena. After I shared my suspicions with your father, he shared them with Alpha Niko, and they started extra training for the pack, including the younger pups who hadn’t shifted yet. And in case you were the target, they also started your Gamma training earlier as well, correct?” Alpha Peter asks.

I nod my head, trying to process everything. “They just didn’t tell me why they started my training early.”

‘Did he just say we were the target, Athena?’ Enyo asks, becoming increasingly on edge.

‘I’ll explain later,’ I tell her, not ready to deal with her yet. She tries to push forward and take control, but I push her back. ‘I mean it, Enyo. Not now,’ I say curtly.

“Your wolf’s eyes are beautiful,” Doctor Shields says.

“Thank you,” I say politely. “What led you to believe that these lycans were the targets of the attacks on their packs?” I ask, turning my attention back to Alpha Peter. “It could have been a coincidence that these lycans were members of the packs attacked.”

“As soon as Leo was killed, they stopped attacking and fled. Later, when I realized the packs being attacked were the ones that had been working with us, I tried to call the two remaining packs to warn them. But I was too late. Dominic had already vanished from the Black Mountain pack, and the Shadow pack had already been attacked. Andreas survived, but he hasn’t been seen or heard from in almost five years. No other pack in our area was attacked.”

“And what about…” I look through the paperwork for the page I had seen on the Red-River pack, “Nicholas Teresi?” I ask.

“He survived the attack. The last we heard, he was named the Gamma of his pack,” Beta Jason says. “He hasn’t been in contact with us for some time, though.”

“Why were you working with these other lycans in the first place?” I ask.

“Because of Leo. When we found out there were more like him, we started inviting the others to our pack. We were trying to find out why you’re all different,” Alpha Peter explains.

I’m quiet for a moment, when something clicks. “Wait. So, when I called here last week, you knew exactly who I was?” I ask angrily.

Alpha Peter nods. “I did.”

“Then why the charade yesterday? You knew why I was here! Why did you put me through all of that?!”

“I wanted to gauge who you are as a person. And I wanted to know what you knew before we divulged anything. I obviously had no idea about the papers you had with you.”

I clench my fists and dig my claws into my palms to stay calm. “Give me one good reason I should stay here. Or why I should even trust you,” I say through gritted teeth.

I hear a knock on the cottage’s front door, and Beta Jason excuses himself to answer it.

“Because we can help you, Athena. There’s more you need to know,” he explains.

“Have you found anything to explain why we’re like this or why we were targeted?” I ask, trying to move on. 

“While the visiting lycan were here, we traced their family histories to see if bloodlines had anything to do with why you’re different. Nothing came from that, though. However, that is something that the person who is about to join us can answer better than I can,” Alpha Peter says, as Beta Jason re-enters the office with a woman.