Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

Lycaon? He was just a legend told to the children to get them to behave, there was no way Kian was serious. As I stared at him in disbelief, he did look serious though.

“I do not recognize you; I have never seen you at any of the Kairos. Lycaon is just a legend. You lie, wolf!”

The Kairos was a gathering of all the neighboring packs who lived in this part of the world, it was how we stayed connected with news and kept up with friends and family who married into different packs. Nick startled me a little with his harsh tone, but I had to agree. There was just no way I could believe this.

“Besides, “I added, “Why would he choose here in the middle of the nowhere anyway?”

Kian nodded, “I didn’t believe it either, but there has been evidence of Lycaon and his followers trekking these woods. Especially around the area my pack and I had been settled recently. Because we are nomadic, we rarely attend the Kairos as generally we are a good distance from there when it comes around.” He added for Nicks benefit before continuing.

“Not only had the caribou began disappearing, but so too had other wildlife. Then members of our pack begin to disappear. At first it was one or two, then it became too dangerous for anyone to leave the village at all. We had to do something, move, or go missing ourselves. I take it there have been no disappearances from your pack?” He asked.

 I shook my head, “No, just the missing caribou. Did you guys attempt to look for your missing pack members? There are other predators here.” I responded.

Grizzlies for one, I thought to myself. You needed damn near the whole pack to take one of those down, a single werewolf just didn’t have a chance.

“Yes, we looked for our missing members. We only found blood and pieces of their clothing. There wasn’t even a trail to follow.” Kian answered, voice grim.

“How do you know it wasn’t a bear?” Nick asked, following my train of thought.

“As mean as grizzlies are, they don’t just abduct people. We would have seen traces of a body and prints. Besides, this time of year they are all in hibernation. It was something else. We did find strange markings on some of the trees around where we found the blood, though, and these symbols correlate with the ancient symbols used by Lycaon. In the past he has had his followers take and kill people for sacrificial purposes. It is how he gains his power. The stronger the sacrifice, the more power he gains, and werewolves are a pretty powerful form of magic.”

Nick glowered at Kian, “You seem pretty knowledgeable about Lycaon and his dark deeds.” He accused. Kian just shrugged, only saying,

“My pack are nomads, and the passing of stories have been our tradition for centuries.”

The sun was getting lower in the sky, I could feel the air growing ever colder with each minute, and a lot of it was the chill from Kian’s story. We couldn’t just stand out here any longer. I turned to Nick and said,

“I think we should take him back with us. I know the pack is wary of outsiders and I don’t entirely believe his story either but maybe your father could help to put the pieces together. I don’t think he is a threat and even if he was, we could handle it. We have to get back; I don’t want to make the whole journey in the dark.”

 I wasn’t going to pretend Kian’s story didn’t bother me, my already evident fear of the dark had intensified after his disappearance story. Nick turned to look at me and nodded, knowing full well hoe I felt about the dark.

“You walk in front, and I will follow behind. He can walk between us, and I can keep an eye on him.” I turned back to Kian.

“We will take you back to our pack, you can eat and get warm and perhaps stay there for the night.” I said to Kian.

“Thank you and trust me I am no threat to anyone. Your boyfriend here has no need to worry so.”

I nearly choked, “Nick is not my boyfriend, only a friend.” I managed to stammer out, blushing furiously. Kian laughed softly at this, a deep and sexy sound that had my hormones dancing. I really needed to get a grip on myself.

“Then I amend my statement,” he said, moving to stand in front of me. He was so close I could feel the heat of his body.

“I am only a threat to you.” I swallowed, knowing full well what he meant.

I looked up at him and realized just how tall he really was. I was a good five foot eleven. This man was as tall as Nick, a good five inches taller than I was. His golden eyes investigated mine and I could feel the sudden jump in temperature between us. I knew what he wanted, and I would have lied if I said I didn’t want it either.

Nick jerked me away from Kian, nearly toppling me over with the force applied to my forearm. I turned, fully intending to reprimand him when his face stopped me. It was as dark as a thunderous sky, and something in me told me to hold my tongue.

“Let’s get moving.” He said, bending to grab my pack and shoving the now disassembled pole gruffly into it along with the ice saw. I snuck one more glance at Kian and saw the amusement in his face. Nicks current attitude to the situation seemed a bit off to me, I understood not trusting Kian of course but the way he had reacted to Kian even speaking to me had me a little confused. I turned and started across the snow, following our earlier path back into the forest and towards home.

A good hour and a half later we reached the edge of our pack’s village. It was well and truly dark by now, and I could hear the shouts of mothers trying to wrangle their children in for the night and the smell of each family’s dinner lingered in the air and making my mouth water. I hadn’t eaten anything since we left this morning, Kian’s appearance had interrupted any meal plans I may have had out there. As we walked into the village, the feeling of being home hit and I smiled. I loved this place. I was born and raised here, surrounded by all the familiar people we walked by.

Many packs had chosen a nomadic life, such as Kian’s pack seemed to have, but our people fell in love with the beauty and serenity this place offered. Food was generally plentiful, and humans never dared to venture this far into the arctic wilderness. For all intents and purposes, we were safe and secure here. I shuddered a little, thinking about Kian’s story. If his words were true, then our people were no longer safe here. Moving would break their hearts.

They deserved the peace this place offered and to have to upend it all would be torment for all of us. As we passed the different houses that had been built using the woods that surrounded us, people were noticing it wasn’t just Nick and I. Kian’s presence was creating some unease, I could feel it around me it. I headed towards the big village house, where all the ceremonies took place and where Nick’s father, Galan and the rest of us resided. Not only was he the pack alpha, but as Nicks father and the guy who basically took me in and raised me, he was essentially my parent too. I knew he wouldn’t be happy that Nick and I brought a stranger into the village, but I felt it was important for him to also know Kian’s story.

I opened the large double doors and walked into the main hall. The big fires weren’t lit, but the torches used for light were. I turned left and followed a small hallway to the room the alpha met with his people to discuss important issues. It was smaller than the ceremonial hall and the flames blazed warm and bright in the main fireplace beside his chair.

Galan had been our alpha for as long as I could remember, long before I was born even. He was an older grey wolf with a medium length beard that matched his greying hair. His face was kind and though he was close to sixty, still held traces of the young man he once was. He stood when he saw me enter, his smile of welcome freezing in place once he saw Kian. I walked up to him and bent my head close to him whispering,

“I know we are wary of strangers, but Nick and I encountered him on our hunt today and I think it is important that you hear his story. He and his pack have also encountered difficulties with finding the caribou and he keeps mentioning Lycaon returning”

 I watched as his face went from happiness at Nick and I’s arrival to a mixture of concern and, I thought, fear. He reached out a hand and grabbed my shoulder familiarly, nodding and said,

“Thank you for bringing him to me, it was a wise decision.” He let go and walked to Kian, beckoning him to sit in the empty chair across from his own in front of the warm fire. “Come stranger, warm yourself and tell of your tale.” Kian took the seat offered to him and recounted what he had told Nick and I.

For the next twenty minutes Kian related his story to Galan with far more detail than he had to Nick and I. He talked about the disappearances of his people in more detail, spoke of how it was a mix of men, women, and children. He also spoke of how all they ever found of the missing was blood and scraps of clothing. How his pack had decided to move on, packing up everything they had in fear of who or what they might lose next.

As he spoke, I saw the pain in his eyes, and I really believed he was sincere. You could lie about a story like that, but you couldn’t fake the real emotion that he was exerting through his tale, could you? He described the symbols they had found carved into the trees around them and I saw Galan’s face when Kian told him he and his pack believed that it was the work of Lycaon’s followers and that Lycaon was here in our forest.

“Lycaon is here, sir. My pack left to keep safe, but I believe we should try and find his purpose and destroy it.”

I was a little taken aback by this, he certainly never mentioned that to Nick or I while we were talking.

“I had originally taken it upon myself to search for clues to Lycaon’s exact whereabouts and his reasons for being here, I left my pack as they travelled to keep them safe. I had found more symbols on the trees and followed them, they led me to your part of the forest. It was there I encountered your two hunters.” Now I was a little mad, he made me to believe that he was lost and stranded from his pack. To say I felt a little used was an understatement.

Galan stood and walked to Kian, extending his arm, and grabbing Kian’s shoulder.

“I had never thought to hear Lycaon as anything more than the legend he was supposed to stay as. I am sorry for your people. Lycaon could not have come back to this plane of existence without help if he is indeed returned. One of my men will escort you to a place you may stay and find you some dinner. I will do some research on this. Go and rest.”

Galan beckoned to one of the guards by the door who beckoned for Kian to follow him. Nick and I watched as Kian left the room, only turning back long enough for our eyes to meet one more time and the heat that filled them was intense.

I walked up to Galan as he stood from his chair, “What did you mean that Lycaon cannot have returned to this plane without help?”

His eyes, usually full of warmth looked suddenly old and sad. He sighed and said,

“Lycaon was never just a legend and to escape the prison he was banished to; he would have needed assistance. If he has indeed returned, then we have a very big problem.”

Galan turned and walked to the door leading to our private quarters, he looked back over his shoulder and beckoned for us to follow.

“Come in here, away from other ears, the tale of Lycaon that I need to tell you is far different from the tales others have grown up on. And every word is true.”