**Andreas P.O.V**
I walk into the small room where Gamma Alex has Doctor Shields tied to a chair.
“Has he said anything?” I ask as I look at the dishevelled doctor.
“Nothing. He just sits there smiling like a madman,” Gamma Alex says.
I grab the other chair in the room, place it in front of the doctor, and sit facing him.
“You may as well talk to us, Doctor. Your silence won’t save your life,” I say to him.
“Who are you?” Doctor Shields asks, a curious look on his face.
“I’m a man who wants answers, Doctor. Why don’t you tell me who you’re working for?” I ask.
“You’re one of them, aren’t you? One of the abominations?”
Gamma Alex stomps over from the corner of the room and punches him in the jaw.
“The only abomination in this room is you,” Gamma Alex spits out. “Now talk, you filth.”
Doctor Shields spits blood on the floor, then laughs maniacally. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, then he spits more blood on the floor. “You have no idea the reach the people I work for have. So, if you think you’re safe or that they don’t know where I am, then you’re delusional.”
“Given that the council is the only group interested in keeping you alive, I’m guessing they’re involved?” Gamma Alex asks.
“The council, lycans, werewolves, various other supernatural creatures, even hunters. You do not know how many people want these… things to die.”
“Why, though? We’ve harmed no one or done anything wrong. Our packs were attacked and killed for reasons we didn’t know or understand. Innocent children were murdered,” I snarl.
“It was never about what you did, but what you could become,” explains Doctor Shields. “Do you believe we intended to murder children? I work as a doctor. I learned to heal others, not kill them. But the threat you all pose to us…” he trails off. “So, we did what had to be done.”
“I can’t listen to anymore of this bullshit. I’ll call Noah,” Gamma Alex says and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
“What threat could we possibly pose on anyone?” I ask Doctor Shields. “Is this about the prophecy?”
Doctor Shields looks surprised. “How do you know about the prophecy?” He asks.
“I have my sources, Doctor.”
“So, you know then that one of you is a natural born Alpha?” He asks.
“What?” I ask. “A son of an Alpha is one of the chosen?”
“No, not quite. According to the prophecy, the Moon Goddess Selina will choose some of her children to be born with extraordinary power, and they will lead her children to peace. An Alpha would be among those chosen. Not born from an Alpha but chosen by the Goddess to be an Alpha regardless of their parents’ rank.”
“How can we be threats if we’re supposed to lead our kind to peace?”
“Have you ever heard of the great war that took place over 100 years ago?” He inquires.
I nod. “But there isn’t much information about it. Just what we were taught in school.”
“This is because it was more comparable to genocide. The Goddess has not chosen you as the first generation. She has chosen some of our most powerful rulers. However, the last time they were born on earth, they used the power given to them to kill anyone and everything that stood in their way. They considered themselves to be pure because the Goddess had chosen them. As a result, anyone who was half-breed, a hybrid, a werewolf, even humans, were targeted because they were perceived as weak,” Doctor Shields explains.
“How were they stopped?” I ask.
“Not easily. The council back then had to work with whoever they could to bring down the pack, much like we are now. Once the Alpha was killed, the rest of the pack was easy. The council then erased all records of the chosen, and altered the narrative, hoping future generations would not follow in their footsteps.”
“So, based on the behaviour of a previous generation, you killed innocent lycans?” I growl, my stomach churning with rage. “You stated that some of our greatest rulers came from previous generations! Why would you deny us that opportunity?!”
“The council couldn’t take that risk. If your generation turned bad, we’d have another genocide on our hands,” he says calmly. “As soon as we realized there were more of you being born, we had to take action.”
I take a deep breath, attempting to control my rage. “What about the Alpha who was chosen? How can we tell who it is?” I ask.
“We don’t know the true extent of what their capabilities are. But the Alpha will have gifts that the others don’t, and they will be the biggest and strongest of all of you,” he explains. “That’s why we attacked the packs. We attempted to eliminate the Alpha before they became a problem. The only thing I regret is the innocent lives that have been lost in the crossfire.”
“How many of us are left, then?” I ask sadly.
“We only know of a few of you who are still out there that we haven’t been able to reach, or we were disrupted during the attacks and were unable to kill them. But hopefully, we were successful in eliminating your Alpha,” Doctor Shields says cruelly.
I lean back in my chair, trying to take in all this information, and I’m weighed down by a deep sadness. So many innocent lives have been lost because of fear. The council is going to pay for this.
“Are all the Elders involved?” I ask.
“No, not all of them. Some refuse to see you for what you are.”
“I hope you burn in hell for everything you’ve done. You call us the abominations, but you’re the one murdering innocent people.” I get out of the chair, leave the room, and search for Gamma Alex. I find him outside, near the front of the empty warehouse, staring off into the distance, arms crossed, and deep in thought.
“Gamma?”
“Hmm?” He turns around and sees me standing behind him.
“I need to go for a run,” I tell him. “I need to clear my head.”
“What did the doctor tell you?” He asks.
“I’ll tell you when I get back. Do you think you can go into town and get some supplies?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll knock the doctor out again and head out,” he says, and he squeezes my shoulder, then walks back towards the warehouse.
“Thanks,” I call out and walk over to an old side building, step inside, and strip down. I fold my clothes neatly and place them on a dusty shelf, placing my phone on top, and then Ares takes over and shifts. He dashes back out the door and heads towards the nearest tree line.
‘*Who do you think the Alpha is*?’ Ares asks.
‘*I don’t know, buddy. But I need to switch off for a bit. Go and hunt. Wake me when you’re done*,’ I tell him and try to shut my mind off.
After a few moments, I feel my mind relax and let go, allowing sleep to take over.
#
**Sometime later**
‘*Andy, for fuck’s sake, wake up*,’ I hear Ares yelling.
‘*Goddess, my head. What the hell happened*?’ I ask him with a groan. ‘*My head is pounding*.’
‘*I was chasing after an elk, and then I felt something hit me in the neck, and I went down. I’ve been trying to get you to wake up ever since I came to*,’ he says.
I realize it’s completely dark and something is covering my face. I try to move, but my hands are tied behind my back. “What the fuck…” I try to say out loud, and I realize I can’t talk because of tape or something covering my mouth.
‘*They’ve drugged us with something. It must have caused the shift because I have tried, and I can’t shift back*.’ Ares says, slightly panicked.
‘*Wolfsbane*,’ I tell him as I struggle to try and free myself from the rope wrapped around my wrists, but it’s coated in wolfsbane and burns every time I move my wrist.
I freeze when I hear a door open and footsteps behind me. I try to pick up on any scents, but I don’t recognize any of them.
“He’s awake,” someone says, followed by another set of footsteps.
“Andreas! Finally, we’ve found you. You evaded us for so long, but you finally messed up. You should have stayed on your own,” the other voice says.
‘*One of them smells like a human*,’ Ares says with a growl.
My breathing is labored as I try to concentrate my senses on what’s going on around me. I can hear the two men in front of me shuffling around the room, doing something.
“Is it ready?” the first voice asks.
“Yeah, it’s ready to go,” says the other.
“Good. Turn off the light and go put on your mask. I’ll get the recording started.”