“What the hell? Let me go!” I screeched and I tried to break his grip. He ignored me and before I knew it, he had me across the lawn and up the steps. There was no way I was going in the house with him, so I kicked at his leg. He whipped around and growled at me. It was definitely not a sexy growl. I would have fainted right there if I wasn’t so hell bent on survival. He pulled me into the house where Wyatt and Ryker were laughing. They both looked shocked to see me.
“Whoa, Jarren, what are you doing with Zee?” Wyatt stood slowly and held his hands out in a calming gesture in front of him. Ryker stood, too and edged around to our other side. I looked closely at them, thinking of how they had just been wolves. Now that I thought about it, it wasn’t all that odd of an idea. They were a group of unrelated people living in the woods together. I read books, sure this sounded more like fiction, but at least they weren’t some creepy cult.
“She saw you two outside a minute ago,” the man who held me, Jarren I guess, responded. I watched the look of understanding dawn on the other two’s faces. Well there went my rescuers. Wyatt looked worried as he tracked our progress to the room, I knew was Alex’s office. Jarren knocked and then opened the door, yanking me in after him. This guy was not a people person. I was suddenly face to face with a very surprised Alex, who jumped to his feet snarling, and lunged at us. I guess the wolf was out of the bag.
Chapter Twelve
Alex
I had smelled Zee when she came in the house, but I knew Tegan was nearby and would keep her company while I worked. It didn’t occur to me that she hadn’t knocked. Subconsciously I guess I could have been thinking that she belonged here and didn’t need to knock. Either way, nothing excused missing the fear in her scent. It hit me like a truck when the office door opened though.
Jarren dragged her through the door and I had a moment of shock at her appearance. Her eyes were wide and shiny with tears. She was pale, like she’d just seen a ghost. Her little hand was trying to dig into Jarren’s arm to get him to release her arm. There wasn’t a single thought in my head aside from ripping him to pieces when I jumped to my feet snarling. She cowered away from me, and it dawned on me how I must look to her.
“She saw Wyatt and Ryker change,” was Jarren’s simple explanation before he forced her into a chair and walked out, shutting the door with a sharp snap. Aw hell, this was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. That scared look in her eyes as she looked at me. I dropped into my chair and shook my head. What could I say that would make any of this okay?
“I bet you’re wondering if you’re going crazy,” I looked up at her. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking as she stared at me. If only I’d been born a mind reader instead of a wolf. It would definitely help me judge how this conversation would end. “You aren’t crazy. Wyatt, Ryker, Tegan, me, all of us here are werewolves. I know it might be hard to believe, but I can explain as much as you want if it helps.” I watched her, waiting to see if she would even speak.
“How did you become a,” she swallowed hard, “a werewolf?” I had to admire her. Other than the slight stutter, she was being very brave. Maybe this would go better than I expected.
“Me personally, or all wolves?” I wondered just how far into this world she would be willing to venture. She seemed to consider for a moment.
“Everything,” she finally answered with resolve. I looked her over, taking in her ramrod straight back, her hands twisting nervously in her lap, and her brown eyes. I knew she was afraid, but her eyes spoke of curiosity, too. She wanted to know about the world of monsters that had previously only belonged in movies and storybooks for her.
“I’ll tell you as much as I know,” maybe if I was honest with her, she wouldn’t run away. “Werewolves are known worldwide. Different countries have different names, but it is all the same species. The history is equally as different. Our historians have done a lot of research into our origins. They’ve come as far as finding a common link in a king named Lycaon of Greek Mythology.
The story goes that Lycaon fed a boy, presumably his son, to Zeus to test him. Zeus is said to have turned Lycaon into a wolf as punishment and killed his many sons with a bolt of lightning. From that moment on Lycaon was to live the life of a wolf, he would never be a man again. That is the myth, and while there may be some truth, no one can be certain what happened to make Lycaon a wolf. We know it was him though that started the lineage.” I could see the questions in her eyes. I was dreading my hatred of history at that moment. I could easily tell her the basics, and I even knew my ancestors, right up to Lycaon, but I had never ventured into all of the
