Present Day
I wake up to my stomach grumbling. It’s dark out, so I lean over and grab my backpack and get my phone out. Goddess, it’s 3am. I’ve slept for hours. I get up to pee, finding the ensuite on the other side of the room. When I’m done, I go to the sink and wash my hands as I look at myself in the mirror. My eyes are puffy and red from crying, the remnants of the nightmare still lingering in my mind. In the mirror behind me, I notice an oversized shower with various jets and decide to take a shower. I grab a towel from the cupboard near the sink, undress, and turn the water on as hot as I can stand.
Water shoots out of the jets in all directions and standing beneath them feels like heaven. I wash my long auburn hair and feel slightly better afterwards. When I’m finished, I exit the shower, wrap myself in the large fluffy towel, and return to my room. I unpack my backpack and find the extra clothes at the bottom. I put on my workout shorts and top, my runners, and head downstairs to find the kitchen to have something to eat before I meet Beta Jason to join the pack training. But I’m too busy looking at my phone that I run straight into an Omega, knocking her onto the floor.
“Oh, Goddess! I’m so sorry,” I say as I offer my hand to the poor girl on the floor.
She takes my hand and stands up. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m Carol. Are you Miss Argos?” She asks.
“Please, call me Athena. It’s nice to meet you, Carol,” I smile down at the soft-spoken girl. She’s a plain-looking girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes.
“Can I get you anything, Athena?” She asks with a small smile.
“If you could please direct me to the bread and toaster, that would be lovely.”
She goes to the fridge, pulls out a loaf of bread, then bends down to a cupboard under the kitchen island, pulls out a toaster, and plugs it in on the bench.
“How many slices would you like?” Carol asks.
“Please don’t go to any trouble. I knocked you down. The least I can do is make my own breakfast.”
She smiles and nods, then goes to the pantry and pulls out an array of different preservatives and spreads and places them next to me on the counter as I put four slices of bread in the toaster.
“Thank you, Carol,” I say with a smile.
She smiles back and then heads out of the kitchen, leaving me alone. ‘Lovely girl,’ I think to myself. I make my toast and sit down at the counter to eat it as I scroll through the messages that I missed yesterday.
#
Half an hour later, I’ve cleaned up from breakfast, and I’m waiting in the living room for Beta Jason. At precisely twenty past five, he comes down the stairs to meet me.
“Good morning, Athena. I hope you’re well-rested,” he says.
“Not exactly. But I’m ready to see your training routines,” I reply with a small smile.
“Let’s get to it then,” he smiles, and we go out the front door.
We walk through the neighborhood for five minutes, making small talk as we walk, until we reach a large oval with a building to its right.
“Over there is our gym, if you’re interested in seeing it after training,” Beta Jason points to the building.
“Sounds great,” I reply.
Beta Jason jogs over to stand next to Alpha Peter, and I stand at the back of the training group and start to stretch.
“Good morning, everyone,” Alpha Peter addresses the group. “Today, we have a special guest from the Blood-Moon pack joining us. Please welcome Athena Argos.”
Members of the pack turn to me and either nod or wave to me.
“She will be visiting with us for a couple of days, so I hope you all make her feel welcome. Today, I have decided to do combat drills in human and wolf forms. Catherine, I would like for you to pair with Athena, please.”
A tall girl with dirty blonde hair comes and stands beside me with a smile.
“Instructors, please go to your assigned groups, and we’ll get started,” Alpha Peter instructs.
Everybody moves in different directions, and I follow Catherine to Beta Jason’s area.
“I will be your instructor today, ladies. The only rule is to get your opponent to submit in either form. So, please take your positions, and start on my whistle.”
‘I hope this girl knows what she’s in for,’ Enyo says.
‘Oh, now you decide to make an appearance,’ I say back crankily.
‘Look how cocky she is. I can’t wait to take her down a peg,’ Enyo says with a smirk.
I stand in a defensive position and wait for the whistle. As soon as Beta Jason blows it, Catherine shifts into her wolf and attacks, going straight for my throat. I dodge her easily and punch her in the ribs. I hear her whimper as she lands on her paws and turns to attack again. This time she tries to attack my legs, and again I dodge her easily and land a kick on her jaw. She tries this a few times, each time ending with me hitting her. When she turns this time, her hackles are raised, and she’s snarling at me, her teeth bared.
‘Well, that didn’t take long,’ Enyo yawns, clearly bored.
I smirk at the wolf in front of me, which earns me a low, deep growl.
‘Oh, she did not just growl at us,’ Enyo says excitedly. ‘Let’s show this bitch how we do things.’
I wait patiently for Catherine to make a move, and as she does, I run at her at full speed and launch myself at her, shifting mid-air, jumping clear over her. When I land, I quickly turn and grab her by the scruff of the neck, forcing her down to the grass, but she refuses to submit.
‘Stubborn little thing, isn’t she?’ Enyo says.
I growl at her, signalling that she should give up, but instead, she rolls over and frees herself from my grip, scratching us across the face as she stands up. I lose control of Enyo at that point. She propels herself forward and takes control. She towers over the wolf in front of us, her chest rumbling with a low guttural growl. Catherine’s wolf cowers, but I see a defiant look in her eyes, as if she refuses to give up. She tries to tackle us to the ground once more, but Enyo dodges her, drops low, grabs the wolf by the throat, and rolls, landing on top of Catherine, and squeezing her neck hard.
‘ENYO, STOP!’ I yell at her, as Catherine’s wolf struggles underneath our large frame.
But Enyo growls again and tightens the hold on the wolf’s throat. Just then, I hear a whistle blow, and Enyo freezes.
‘ENYO! LET HER GO!’ I yell at her. ‘IT’S JUST TRAINING!’
Enyo releases the wolf from her mouth and steps back slowly, her teeth bared and snarling. It’s then that I realize everybody has stopped training and is watching us, and Alpha Peter is now standing with Beta Jason. Catherine shifts back to her human form and stands before us, holding her throat.
“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!” She screams at us and then runs away towards the gym.
Enyo gives the poor girl a low growl as she runs away. I hear a growl come from Alpha Peter, and to my utter shock, Enyo turns towards him and growls back at him, and everyone who has gathered around us gasps. Alpha Peter shifts and stalks towards us, his teeth bared in a scowl.
‘Enyo, what the hell has gotten into you?’ I ask her.
“Stand down!” Beta Jason yells at us.
Enyo refuses to submit to Alpha Peter, who now stands just a few steps in front of us. Instead, she maintains her position, even as Alpha Peter warns her with another growl, his Alpha aura emanating from his wolf. Enyo gets low and snaps aggressively in his direction. Alpha Peter roars and rushes towards us, ready to attack, when I’m finally able to regain control and quickly lower my head, baring my neck in submission. He comes to a halt and growls at us. I get as low to the ground as possible to prove that we’re not going to attack.
‘What are you doing?!’ Enyo yells. ‘We can take him!’
‘Have you lost your mind? This is an ALPHA!’ I say as I slowly back away from Alpha Peter.
“Athena, go to the gym, please. You will find spare clothes in the women’s locker room to change into. We will meet you in the main hall when you’re done,” Beta Jason tells us sternly.
Before Enyo can do anything else, I turn towards the building and begin sprinting. I run into the building and follow the signs for the change rooms. I finally find the door, and I burst into the locker room and shift.
‘What the fuck was that about, Enyo?!’ I ask her as I find the cupboard with the spare clothes in it and get dressed into sweats and a t-shirt.
‘What? She deserved it,’ she says, acting innocently.
‘She deserved to get her throat ripped out, did she? And what about challenging the Alpha? You nearly got us killed!’
‘Please, we were bigger than him. We could have taken him,’ she says nonchalantly.
‘If you have a death wish, you better speak up now, Enyo. Because you are never pulling that shit again,’ I say to her angrily.
‘I do not have a death wish. But we are a Gamma, a warrior, and we shouldn’t be cowering from other wolves!’
‘So what? We just kill everyone who challenges us? We were in a training exercise! But then, to threaten an Alpha? An Alpha who has welcomed us into his territory and could help us find the truth?! You crossed a line, Enyo!’
Instead of answering me, she blocks herself off from me again and curls up in the back of my mind.
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, open the door, step out, 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
I slump back in the seat. This is too much. “I don’t understand any of this,” I say. “We all have the same marking?” “Yes, and all of them are in the same place. We think this mark shows that you’ve been blessed by the Moon Goddess. Apart from your eyes, this shows that you’re a chosen lycan,” Luna Rachel says. “Chosen for what? Why would I, or any of the others, be chosen or blessed by the Moon Goddess?” “We don’t know why you’ve been chosen, Athena. At the end of the day, what matters is finding those responsible for the attacks, and that will hopefully get us to the bottom of this,” Alpha Peter says. “But how?” I ask. “I have no idea where I’m supposed to go from here.” “I contacted Nicholas Teresi this morning and asked him to come down. He should be here tomorrow,” Doctor Shields says. “What? I didn’t ask you to do that,” Alpha Peter says. “I thought it could be helpful to get them together, Alpha. To see if they can help each other,” Doctor Shields says. Alpha Peter
I pack the last of my clothes into my suitcase while Beta Jason is on the phone with Alpha Peter. “Yeah. Room 12. Mhm. Yes, Alpha. We’ll wait here until they arrive. Thanks,” he says and ends the call. “Alpha is sending a group of warriors to escort us back to the compound. They’ll be here in about an hour,” he tells me. I nod as I head into the bathroom to grab my toiletries and makeup, packing them into a small bag. Then I turn to leave and crash straight into Beta Jason. “Shit, sorry,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was coming to see if you needed any help.” “Oh, I’m nearly done,” I smile awkwardly. “Thanks though, Beta.” “You can call me Jason,” he says as he moves to the side, my breasts rubbing against his chest as I move past him into the room. I feel his eyes on me as I get the last of my things from around the room and pack them in my suitcase. I turn and look at him, my heart rate picking up as we stare at each other. ‘Today has been a whirlwind of emotio
We arrive back at the compound with no issues at 4pm and find Alpha Peter waiting for us out the front of the pack house. “Let’s go into my office,” he says as we get out of the SUV, so we follow him inside. Alpha Peter closes the door behind us when we enter his office and then walks around his desk and sits in his chair, and Jason and I sit across from him. “So, what exactly happened today, Jason?” Alpha Peter asks. “I told you most of it over the phone, Alpha. I noticed the car pull onto the highway shortly after we did, but I didn’t think anything of it at first. It wasn’t until they sped up and started tailgating us, that I felt something was off. Then, when they managed to run us off the road, Athena chased after the one that shot at us,” he says, looking at me. “Yes, it looked like it was the private investigator, Derek, that I told you about,” I tell Alpha Peter. “It would seem that he wants me dead. Which would explain why he disappeared after sending me to meet with a hu
I’m woken the next morning by someone knocking on the door. “Athena? Are you awake?” I groan when I realize it’s Jason. I turn over, look at the time on my phone, and groan again. It’s 4:30am. “It’s too early,” I yell out and roll back over, hiding my head under the blankets. “I’m coming in,” he says, and I hear the door open. I sit up in a huff and rub my eyes. “Jason, I’ve barely slept. What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until later?“ I ask. “I wanted to make sure we were okay,” he says, blushing, and gives me an awkward smile as he sits at the end of the bed. “Why wouldn’t we be?” I ask as I pull my hair back into a ponytail. “Well, because we almost… And then I found Jess, my mate…,” he trails off. “Oh, I see. Did you tell her about yesterday?“ I ask, not able to hide my embarrassment. Jason blushes again and says, “I did, but she understands it didn’t get far.” “Well, she has absolutely nothing to worry about. Yesterday was a crazy day, and I’m thrilled for you
Alpha Peter stands in front of his Gamma. “Stand down, Richard!” He yells, his alpha aura radiating from his body. “Athena is not a threat!” Gamma Richard bows his head, submitting to the Alpha, but he growls in my direction. “Listen to your Alpha, Gamma. You don’t want this fight,” Enyo says cooly. “Enyo, you’re not helping,” Jason says. Enyo shrugs and looks back to the Gamma with a smirk. “Shift back now!” Alpha Peter orders him. Gamma Richard shifts back and kneels in front of Alpha Peter. “I’m sorry, Alpha,” he says and bows his head. “You need to tell me exactly what Doctor Shields has been telling you, Richard,” Alpha Peter tells him. “He approached me about a month ago and said that things were happening that could impact our pack and that it would be up to me to protect us. He said that outsiders would come to the pack that would endanger all of us, and they couldn’t be trusted,” he says. “Has this been told to anyone else in this room?” Alpha Peter asks, looking
‘We need to find an Alpha and a pack, Andreas. I can’t continue to be a rogue. We’re pack animals. This is killing me,’ Ares says dejectedly, as we run through the trees at the back of the Moonstone pack territory. ‘I know, buddy. But it’s not safe. We can’t return home, and joining a pack puts them in danger. So instead, we need to concentrate on finding out who attacked our pack and why. And we need to find the other lycans that are like us.’ ‘I know,’ he sighs. ‘Do you think Athena is still here?’ ‘Noah said that she left the motel with the pack Beta, so I assume they came back here. Hopefully, the old man at reception gave her our number.’ ‘Do you think she’ll call?’ ‘I probably wouldn’t with what’s been happening.’ Ares stops suddenly, his hackles raised. ‘Someone is coming. If their warriors see us coming this way, they will attack,’ Ares warns. ‘We need to get off their territory. Over there, up the hill a bit,’ I instruct Ares. He turns in that direction, running back
Enyo goes back to where she can still smell the scent and says, ‘I’m telling you, Athena! It’s our mate!’ ‘I’ve told you before, Enyo! We don’t have time for a mate!’ ‘You don’t get to decide that! Just because you’re having issues with the Moon Goddess doesn’t mean I am!’ she growls, still sniffing around, trying to find the scent again. Donny whimpers and shifts, and Nick walks over to us. “What’s happening? Why did you take off like that?” He asks with worry in his voice. I force the shift and look around the area to see if anyone else is around, but it’s definitely just the two of us. “Enyo thinks we caught the scent of our mate,” I explain. “All the way out here? I think we’re close to the edge of the packs’ territory,” he says, looking around. Enyo whimpers. ‘I’m sure it was our mate, Athena. You can’t deny us our mate. You know what that does to a wolf,’ she says sadly. “She’s sure,” I say, a pang of guilt washing over me. “This concerns me, Athena. Why would someon