**Three days later**
“Wake up, bitch,” a voice whispers in my ear.
My eyes flutter open, and I feel something sharp at my neck.
“What the fu…,” I start to say, but a hand covers my mouth.
“Say another word, and you’re dead. Got it?” the voice warns.
I nod as my eyes adjust in the dark, and I realize Catherine’s face is only inches away from mine.
“My dad is being banished because of you,” she spits, the anger in her voice like venom.
‘*Shift, Athena*,’ Enyo growls.
‘*Not yet*,’ I tell her.
“I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to my family,” she whispers as she trails a knife down my throat. I try not to make a sound as wolfsbane burns my skin anywhere the blade touches. “But first, I’m going to make you suffer.”
A sick smile forms on her face as she cuts my arm, and I gasp from the pain as the wolfsbane enters my system, the burning feeling excruciating. She cuts me again, but this time on my stomach. I try not to scream as tears fill my eyes.
“Look at you writhe in pain. The big, tough chosen one can’t even handle a little wolfsbane,” she snorts as she cuts my leg.
A low, deep growl escapes my throat, and I feel Enyo come forward, her eyes casting a blue glow over the dark room. “You’re going to regret this,” she snarls.
“I told you to keep your mouth shut,” Catherine growls, and slaps me hard across the face. She brings the knife to my eye, pressing its tip against my lower lid.
“I’m going to rip your throat out,” Enyo growls.
“You’re not going to do anything. Do you feel a difference in the wolfsbane? It’s a special blend, the same one used on your father,” Catherine smirks. “My father wasn’t the only one working with the Doc, bitch. And now, you can meet your father in hell.”
My body stiffens as her words slam into me like a tonne of bricks. Catherine climbs on top of me, her knees digging into my arms to hold me in place. Then she moves the knife up to my eyebrow and presses down. I close my eyes as she glides the blade down over my right eye and I feel blood flow down my temple. Screaming in pain, I try to push her off me, but my entire body feels heavy, as if I’m being held down by weights. I look up at Catherine, my vision filled with blood, and her face is twisted with hate and anger. She raises the large knife above her head, but before she can plunge the knife into my chest, a giant wolf crashes through my bedroom window.
“GET OUT!” she screams, jumping off me and waving the knife at the wolf. He’s pure white; the colour of fresh snow, his eyes glowing green, and the smell of butterscotch fills the room.
‘*Mate*,’ Enyo says weakly.
All I can do is watch as Catherine tries to attack my mate. She tries to slash him with the knife, but he’s too quick for her and dodges her attacks. He gets low to the ground and growls deeply at her. It’s then that I see the black crescent moon on his forehead.
“ABOMINATION!” she screams and lunges at him. He bites down hard on her wrist, and she drops the knife with a scream.
I try to wipe the blood from my eye, but the pain causes me to scream again, accidentally distracting my mate. Catherine pulls her arm from his mouth and shifts, then bites him hard on the neck. He yelps as she tries to get her jaw around his throat, but he’s too big, and he knocks her to the ground. He places an enormous paw on her throat to keep her down as my bedroom door bursts open and Carol, Jason, and his mate run into the room. Jason and his mate shift, growling at my mate as they see him holding down Catherine.
“No! Please!” I yell weakly, trying to sit up. “He’s trying to help!”
My mate looks at me with a look of longing and hesitation in his eyes, and then at Jason. Before Jason or his mate can do anything, my mate quickly jumps back through the broken window.
Jason shifts back and runs to Catherine’s side. “What the fuck happened here, Athena?!” He yells.
Carol turns on the light in the room, and Jason gasps when he sees my face.
“She attacked me,” I say weakly as the room spins and then fades to black.
#
“She’s lucky she didn’t lose her eye. But she’s going to be permanently scarred because of the wolfsbane.”
Who is that?
“Do you think she’s lost her eyesight?”
Is that Jason? Goddess, my head hurts. I try to raise my hand to my head, but everything feels numb.
“We won’t know until she wakes up.”
Um, hello. I’m awake, I groan.
“Athena?”
Uncle Alex?
“Athena, can you hear us?”
I groan again as I feel someone holding my hand. My whole body hurts. I feel like I’ve been sparring all day.
“Miss Argos, can you open your eyes?”
I try to open my eyes, but I groan from the bright light and quickly close them again.
I hear a sob next to me. “Athena, it’s Mom. Please open your eyes, sweetheart.”
I turn my head towards her and slowly open my eyes.
“Owww,” I say groggily, trying to focus on Mom.
“Oh, sweetheart! You scared me half to death,” she sobs again.
“Miss Argos, please look at me and try to follow the light,” the unknown voice tells me.
I turn my head, and a bright light shines in my eye. I try to follow it, but my vision is blurred, and it hurts, so I close my eyes again.
“Can you see the light, Athena?” Uncle Alex asks.
I nod my head. “Uncle Alex?”
“It’s me, Athena,” he says and rubs my leg reassuringly.
I open my eyes again, trying to focus on his face, and I realize I can only see out of one eye. I touch my right eye, and I can feel that it’s bandaged.
“Your eye needs to heal, Miss Argos. We’re not sure yet what permanent damage has been caused by the wolfsbane on the knife.”
“Who are you?” I ask the stranger.
“I’m the other pack doctor. Well, the only pack doctor now. I’m Doctor Connors,” she introduces herself.
“Can I have some water?” I ask as I try to sit up.
“Here, let me help.” Mom presses a button on the side of the bed, and it slowly lifts my head up.
“How long have I been out?” I ask.
“About ten hours,” Jason answers, and I find him standing at the end of the bed.
“Where’s Catherine?” I ask.
He pours me a glass of water and hands it to me. “She’s in the cells. Alpha Peter is questioning her,” he says.
“He needs to be questioning Doctor Shields. He has the same wolfsbane that killed my father,” I whisper.
“WHAT!” Uncle Alex erupts.
All I can do is nod as I take a small mouthful of water, trying to stop the tears from falling.
“I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!” Uncle Alex screams and goes to leave the room.
“Stand down, Gamma,” Jason says to him as he places a hand on Uncle Alex’s shoulder.
“I WILL NOT STAND DOWN! THAT FUCKER IS INVOLVED IN MY BEST FRIEND’S DEATH! I WILL HAVE HIS HEAD!”
“AND HE WAS INVOLVED IN MY FATHER’S DEATH! THIS IS OUR TERRITORY, GAMMA! STAND DOWN OR LEAVE!” Jason stands in front of Uncle Alex, both men breathing heavily.
After a moment, Uncle Alex takes a step back and nods, returning his attention to me. “Is there anything I can get you, Athena?”
“Mate,” Enyo comes forward and says groggily, “Where’s my mate?” She asks.
“Mate?” Mom and Jason ask in unison. “Who’s your mate?” Jason asks.
“He came through the window and stopped Catherine from killing us,” she tells them.
“That was your mate?” Jason asks, a look of bewilderment on his face.
Enyo nods, then I feel her retreat, curl up, and go back to sleep.
“No one knows who he is. We’ve never seen him before, and we don’t recognize his scent. We have no idea why he is in our territory,” Jason explains.
“He was the one at the edge of the territory when Nick and I went for a run,” I tell him. “The one we told Alpha Peter about after he questioned the doctor.”
“You didn’t tell us he was your mate,” he says accusingly.
“I wasn’t sure. It was Enyo who said the scent belonged to our mate.”
“Always trust your wolf, Athena,” Mom whispers.
I yawn, feeling groggy again. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep,” I say, and close my eyes.