“There are writings of the king disappearing and a wolf roaming the land in his place. It is said that he continued his evil way, attacking humans every chance he got. Over time, some of the humans he bit that didn’t die developed an odd illness, or so it was thought. They could change into wolves. Lycaon was furious when he learned that the wolves he had turned did not have the same constraint as he did. He refused to turn any others, and many believe that he hid away until he died.”
Zee had stopped fidgeting. She was leaning forward, listening to the history of my people. Her curiosity was amazing to me. I couldn’t smell the fear that had overwhelmed her scent when she walked in. I quickly continued telling her what I could, picking parts I hoped she would find interesting
“The humans that had been turned came together in packs, so to speak. They discussed the recourse of their actions if they chose to turn more humans. The talks created a huge rift among the wolves. Some believed that becoming a Lycan, as it was called, was a curse brought on by a demon possessed wolf. Others intended to stay in packs, and to turn their families. That is how the great packs of Europe formed, and the Hunters of wolves as well.
The wolves who considered themselves cursed refused to turn ever again. They learned to resist the pull of the moon. They demanded that the other wolves do the same and told them they could not curse any other humans. When the packs refused their orders, they formed a terrifying force that would hunt down the Lycans. They called themselves Hunters.
The Hunters would storm into the homes of known wolves and slaughter entire families, wolf or not. Many wolves were killed during the massacres of the Hunters. The remaining packs went into hiding. They developed laws to keep not only wolves, but also humans safe. Eventually the packs grew, some by turning willing people and others by mating. It wasn’t hard to hide right out in the open. Once a person learns to balance the human and wolf instincts it is pretty simple. Wolves traveled the globe just as humans did, many making their way to the new world.
“So, that in a nutshell is the history of werewolves,” I watched her eyes dart back and forth as she seemed to process. I was thinking, too. The talk of Hunters had me considering that odd scent. A Hunter made sense. The bastards loved to taunt when they found a pack. It was easier to take down a pack when there was strain.
“Are any of the myths true?” Zee’s quiet voice pulled me from my revelation. I raised an eyebrow, curious about which myths she meant. “You talked about the full moon, and from seeing Wyatt and Ryker, I realize you don’t need the moon to change. But can you turn anyone anytime? And do you have to bite them? Will you live forever? What about silver bullets?” She built momentum as she rattled off questions, and I had to force back a chuckle.
“Most myths have a least a small basis in truth,” I told her, “We don’t have to turn for the full moon, but most of us do. If we don’t, we become restless, and it makes it harder to balance our instincts. We do have to bite a person to change them, or at least no other way that I’m aware of has been found. We can turn a person whenever we want, but we do so with great caution. Here is no cure once a person is changed. We age the same as humans but killing us is not easy. Silver can sting, but we heal incredibly fast. The only way to kill a wolf is to cut off its head.”
A shudder rippled through her body at my last revelation. Still I could see more questions in her eyes. I waited to see if she would ask any of them. She may not have been fidgeting anymore, but I could feel the tension building in my muscles. When she didn’t speak, I decided to continue my story with my family’s history.
“My family can trace back to one of the original Greek packs. Some of them split off and crossed the ocean to live here. My family’s pack has been in Colorado for the past 150 years. As the pack has grown wolves have split off to form their own packs. I am the third wolf in my family to break off and start my own pack. So, in answer to your first question, I was born a wolf.”
Zee nodded her head as if she understood but her eyes darted to the door and then back to mine. I could only imagine where her thoughts were. I’d just told her we lived in secret, and she knew our secret. The tension in the room was palpable and it was testing my already wearing nerves. I needed to run off some energy, and soon.
“Will you let me leave?” she asked quietly. The tears shining in her eyes as she silently begged me to let her leave were almost my undoing. She was still afraid, and it felt like my heart crumbled a little. I nodded slowly and she shot from her chair and out the door. It killed me to hear her running from the house, but I didn’t try to stop her. She needed time to get her head around it all. She’d be back. I just had to keep telling myself that.
Jarren stormed into the office, his eyes swirling, and he looked wild. My body stiffened involuntarily at the display of aggression from him. I was ready to confront him, work off some of that energy tearing into someone who could put up a good fight, but I saw Tegan. She stood just outside the doorway, a tear sliding
