**3 weeks later**
I slam my fist down on the table in the motel room.
“This is useless. We’ve visited five different packs, and no one will talk to us,” I say, frustrated and tired.
‘*You can’t really blame them. From the little we have found out, what happened is a tragedy*.’
“Well, someone needs to talk. How are we supposed to find out who did this if they refuse to talk about it?”
‘*Who are we meeting with today*?’ Enyo asks as I stand up and pack my things into my backpack, getting ready to leave.
“The Moonstone pack. Let’s hope they’re willing to talk,” I say as I pick up my backpack, leave the motel room, and head to the truck and get in. I throw my gear onto the seat, start the truck, and head towards the Moonstone territory.
#
I travel south along the old highway until I finally come across the turnoff we need. I pull onto the old dirt road and find an SUV parked on the side of the road. The young guy standing near the vehicle waves me down, so I pull over and wind my window down.
“Hey there, are you Athena Argos?” He asks.
“That’s me. Can I help you?”
“I’m Beta Jason of the Moonstone pack. I’m here to take you to the pack compound,” he tells me.
“Okay, thanks. Lead the way.”
He gets into his car, and we pull back onto the dirt road. I follow him for about 15 minutes when we turn down another dirt road that eventually leads to a large metal gate surrounded by tall brick walls. Beta Jason leans out of the window and presses buttons on a keypad. When he finishes, the large gate opens, and he starts slowly driving through. I follow him through to find a small community. We drive down what seems to be the main street, with small shops and an enormous library. I follow the Beta further into the community towards a neighbourhood. A few moments later, he finally indicates to turn into a long driveway leading up to a large three-story brick house.
I park behind the Beta, grab my backpack, and get out of the truck.
“Welcome to the Moonstone pack. This is our pack house. Please follow me inside. Alpha Peter is waiting for us.”
I nod and follow the Beta into the house. Inside is a large open plan living room, with plenty of chairs and couches, and a large dining room to the right. Further back is the kitchen, and Beta Jason leads me to a small hallway at the back of the house and knocks on a large double door.
“Come in,” yells a voice from inside. Beta Jason opens the door and leads me into the large office. He directs me to a chair opposite the large mahogany desk, where an older gentleman with black hair and dark brown eyes sits. I sit down and place my backpack at my feet, as Beta Jason Stands next to the man behind the desk.
“Welcome, Miss Argos. I’m Alpha Peter. What can I do for you today?” He asks, leaning forward and folding his hands on top of the desk.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Alpha Peter. As I told your assistant last week, I’m from the Blood-Moon pack, and I am here to find out what happened to the packs down here five years ago,” I explain.
“I see,” he sighs. “And why is a young she-wolf from Blood-Moon interested in what happened here?” He asks.
“As you may or may not know, Alpha, my pack was attacked too.”
“I know about the attack on your pack. Your father was a good friend of mine. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” I say with a small smile. “I was working with a private investigator to try to find out why my pack was attacked and by whom. Three weeks ago, the investigator sent me to a hunter who he thought could have information about the attack. When I confronted the hunter, I found out that not only was he involved, but that the private investigator may have also been involved. When I went to confront the investigator, he had disappeared.” I explain. “However, in his office, I found documents that led me here.”
“And what were these documents, exactly?” Alpha Peter asks.
“They seem to be profiles of lycans. However, they were redacted for some reason, so I could only see certain information. That information is what has led me to your pack, Alpha, as well as the other packs in the area.”
“How did they lead you here?” Beta Jason asks.
I reach down to my backpack, open it up, and pull out the manila folder containing the files. I open it and take out the paper with the information about Leo Watkins, and hand it to the Alpha. He takes it from me and looks over the document. He raises an eyebrow, looks at me, and then gives the paper to Beta Jason.
“As you can see, it lists the name of Leo Watkins and states that he is deceased. There are others from different packs, and because of these files, I discovered what happened to your pack and the others. Everyone I have spoken to, though, refuses to tell me anything about what happened.”
“As I’m sure you can understand, Miss Argos, this is a very sensitive topic for our pack. As I am sure it is for the others,” he states.
“I understand how delicate this subject is, Alpha, and I respect your feelings. My pack was also attacked, and no one has ever determined what happened or why, so I understand your feelings. According to what I’ve heard, no one has ever found those responsible for the attacks down here, either. I believe the investigator I was working with had this information for a reason. There’s a possibility that if he was involved in the attack on my pack, he might have been involved in the ones down here,” I explain. “And please, call me Athena.”
“What exactly are you after, Athena?”
“I would like for us to work together. If we share what we know, we might get to the bottom of this once and for all.”
He sits back in his chair with a thoughtful look on his face. After a few moments, he says, “okay, Athena. I will share with you what we know about the attacks. But only because your father was a loyal friend to me and my pack. He was a great warrior and even sent Gamma Alex to us to help us rebuild after what happened.”
I almost weep with joy. “Thank you, Alpha. You have no idea how much your words mean to me and that you are willing to help me,” I say. “I didn’t realize Gamma Alex came to help you, though. He didn’t tell me.”
“He was with us for a few months, helping with training and building the wall that now surrounds parts of our community. However, don’t thank me just yet, because there really isn’t a lot we know about the attacks down here either. Just our suspicions and opinions.”
“What are your suspicions?”
He leans forward and folds his hands on the desk again. “We always had a feeling that someone inside the pack may have been involved, but we could never prove it.”
“What makes you think that?” I ask.
“Because of the timing of when they attacked us,” he states. “We were vulnerable. Because of the attacks, we had organized a training conference for local packs to send their warriors to so they could better their training.”
My face pales. “Many of our pack members, including a large group of our warriors, were visiting the Moon-Valley pack, who were holding the annual mate meeting for our area,” I tell them. “What about Rock River? I was told there were no survivors.”
“They were a small pack and the most vulnerable, with only about fifty members, many of them women and children. They didn’t stand a chance. The problem with all the attacks here is that they came out of nowhere. We didn’t know why it was happening or who would be hit next,” he says in frustration. “It’s funny that you mentioned a hunter being involved, though. We believed hunters were a part of the attack on us as well.”
“And why is that?” I ask.
“Because lycans don’t need guns,” Beta Jason says, his eyes filled with pain.
“Members of your pack were shot?” I ask in disbelief.
Alpha Peter nods. “The Watkins child was one of them.”
“My father was shot with a bullet covered in a rare form of wolfsbane. It was so potent that he couldn’t shift to his lycan form or heal,” I tell them.
“It was the same for those shot here as well,” Alpha Peter says.
I sit back, stunned.
‘*We should tell them what the hunter said about the rogues and werewolves*.’ Enyo says.
“Alpha Peter, was your pack attacked during the day?” I ask.
He nods. “It was. Why do you ask?”
“There’s more that the hunter told me,” I say, but I hesitate, looking down at my hands.
After a moment of silence, Alpha Peter leans forwards and says, “You can trust us, Athena. We want to know what happened as much as you do.”
I take a deep breath and continue. “He told me he was a part of one of the biggest operations to happen in over a century, and that we weren’t the only pack that was attacked. So, I believe there’s a real possibility that the attacks on our packs are connected. I just can’t find the connection,” I explain. “But the most troubling thing he told me is that it wasn’t just another pack. He told me it was a pack of rogues. And not just lycan rogues, but werewolf rogues as well, and they were working side by side with hunters…” I trail off.
The Alpha and Beta exchange glances. After a moment, the Alpha asks, “Do you believe what he said?”
“He wasn’t in a position to lie, and to be honest, a lot of it makes sense. As you said, Beta, lycans don’t need guns. I just can’t work out how the werewolves could have been involved, because our pack was also attacked during the day.”
“The hunters could have armed them in their human forms,” Alpha Peter suggests, looking at Beta Jason.
“They wouldn’t have stood a chance in their human forms if they were caught,” Beta Jason says.
“There’s more. He told me that the reason they could work together, is that there was a threat that was too great to ignore. That our pack posed a threat, and that’s why they attacked us.”
“What threat? How could any of our packs have been a threat?” Alpha Peter asks angrily.
“I don’t know. But can you imagine what it would have taken to get not only rogues, but lycans and werewolves to trust each other? And the hunters as well? If the old man was telling the truth, there’s potentially a pack out there with lycans, werewolves, and hunters all working together.”
“Goddess…” Alpha Peter mutters and Beta Jason sits on the corner of the desk, worry filling his eyes.
“What happened to this hunter? Could we get more information out of him?”
Enyo pushes herself forward and says, “Let’s just say, Alpha, that he will never hurt anyone again.”
The Beta looks at me with a surprised expression. “Your wolf’s eyes are blue,” he says. “They’re not yellow like a regular wolf.”
‘*Good one, Enyo*,’ I say to her angrily.
‘*Sorry*,’ she says with a huff.
“Erm, no, they’re not. No one has ever worked out why,” I say.
The Alpha and Beta exchange a glance again. “Leo Watkins was the same,” the Alpha says.
My mouth drops open in shock. “What?” I ask.
“You said there were others that brought you down here. Do you have those names as well?” Alpha Peter asks.
I hand him the manila folder, and he goes through the rest of the papers and then hands them to Beta Jason.
“Athena, would you be okay with me holding on to these temporarily so that I can compare them to some files our pack doctor and historian has?” The Alpha asks.
“What? Why?”
“We were working on something before they attacked our pack. So, I’d like to compare the names in these files to the names in our files. I have a feeling they’re going to match.”
“But what does it have to do with the attacks?” I ask.
“I would like to compare the files first before I go into this further, but it could be the connection between the attacks on our packs,” he explains. “You can stay here tonight if you’d like, and tomorrow I will organize a meeting with our pack doctor and historian to discuss this further.”
“Okay,” I say with an eyebrow raised. “If you think that is best, then thank you. Yes, I’d like to stay.”
“Thank you, Athena,” Alpha Peter says.
“Wait, your Beta seemed surprised by my eyes, but not you. Why’s that?” I ask him.
“I have known you were different for some time. But I will get into all of that tomorrow,” Alpha Peter says as he stands from behind his desk and walks around to me. He offers his hand for me to shake it, so I stand and return the handshake. “Come. Beta Jason can show you to a room while I take these to the pack doctor. I will meet with you tomorrow morning after our training session.”
“Thank you, Alpha.”
I follow the men out of the office and then follow Beta Jason up the flight of stairs to the second floor. He leads me down the hallway and to a room at the end of the hall. He opens the door for me, and I step inside the room. Like most pack houses, the room is large, with a kingsize bed to one side, a small, round dining table and two chairs, a desk, and a large wardrobe. There’s a small leather couch under the windows and a door that probably leads to a bathroom.
“If you need anything, please see Carol in the kitchen. Lunch is at 1 pm in the dining room downstairs, and dinner is at 6:30. You’re also more than welcome to join us for training tomorrow morning if you wish. I will meet you downstairs at 5:20 if you choose to come. Until then, please feel free to explore the compound.”
I place my backpack on the bed. “Thank you, Beta Jason. If it’s okay, I’d like to take a nap. It’s been a long three weeks,” I say.
“Of course. Again, if you need anything, please see Carol downstairs.”
I nod and smile as he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him. I lie down on the bed, not bothering to change, and fall asleep quickly.