“Cursed? In what way? What’s the name of his pack?” I made a mental note to ask my father since he knew most of the major packs in the world.
“I’m not sure what kind of curse, but it’s said to be very unnatural. The name of the pack is Olympus Blood Moon, their territory is in the central part of Greece and a few of the islands belong to them.” She informed me.
“The man I was dancing with at the club said that the beast was watching me.” I told her anxiously.
She nearly dropped her ice cream and gave me a shocked look. “I saw a man dancing with you, but I didn’t get a look at his face.”
“He said his name was Eros, he was a wolf.” I added.
“Eros? As in the Greek under boss?” She asked.
“I have no idea. Wait, underboss? As in mafia? There’s a Greek Mafia?” I asked in complete shock.
“Whom better to run human mafias? Arms, drugs, trafficking, sex, all of it. The black market is run by the lowest unethical wolves, the corruption runs deep.”
Goddess what kind of world have I been living in? I thought to myself. No wonder my father wanted to keep me close to home.
“The beast may have noticed you, you have a strong aura” she said.
“Does he actually have a name?”
“Yes, but most are afraid to even say it.” She looked over her shoulders and then whispered, “Dimitri Theodorus.”
I felt a sensational chill run through my spin at the mere mention of his name. “Dimitri,” I heard his name roll off my lips. Rae tensed up and I thought maybe she could use a run.
“Rocky, is there a safe place to let my wolf out for a run?”
“Yes, Athens has some forest lands that are neutral. Leo and I will usually run once a week near the Kaisariani Monastery. We’re actually going tonight.”
“Would it be okay if I joined you?”
“Sure, we run in human form to the forest, it’s about a thirty minute run east of here. Then we let the wolves out.” She said.
We headed back to the dorms and I spent some time looking through my university schedule and class syllabus. I was sitting at my desk when I noticed a small binder in the top drawer that contained take out menus for local restaurants that delivered.
“Sweet, let’s order something.” Rae yipped.
I might be small, but Rae is an Alpha born wolf and she’s bigger than most wolves. We burn a lot more calories quicker. My fingers dialed a local Greek restaurant and I placed the order. I plopped down on my bed and flipped through the tourist guide I had picked up. I was reading up on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and felt an instinctive pull to visit since mom was a descendant of Apollo.
I was lost in thought looking through the guide when I heard the elevator door open and a knock at my door. There was a handsome young delivery guy holding my bag of food. “Kalispera.” He smiled.
“Umm, hello.” I smiled back. He had said good evening, but my Greek was terrible and I wasn’t about to make a fool out of myself.
“I have a leg of lamb specialty plate and fresh baklava for Ms. Raven.” He held out the bag.
“Thank you.” I smiled. I had already paid over the phone but tipped him five euros.
Three hours later, I was dressed in yoga pants, shirt and running shoes, running with Leo and Rocky. We looked like normal college students out for a run. The cool night air felt wonderful on my skin as we jogged east towards the forest.
We finally reached the forest and went in a little deeper before we found a spot to shift. I removed my clothes and hid them in a bush next to the tree before stepping out in my black Alpha wolf. Rocky and Leo both turned to me and bowed their heads in submission at Rae who emanated a strong power. Rocky was a dark brown wolf with hazel eyes and Leo had light brown fur with brown eyes.
Leo let out a bark and we took off running. Rocky and I followed behind and I had no idea where we were going. The night was clear, the air was crisp, and the forest felt still. I wondered if other predators lived in the forest. It certainly did not feel like we were alone.
Rae kept trying to pick up scents, but we couldn’t even pick up Leo and Rocky who were running along with us. The Mediterranean climate was so much different than the Canadian Rockies I was used to. We stopped at a small stream to lap some water up, the moving water was the only sound that could be heard.
We started to run back in the same direction and a loud howl pierced through the air. Leo, Rocky and I started running with great urgency to our starting point. Leo and Rocky were from the same pack so they could still mind link, but I was completely in the dark. I thought this was neutral territory.
We reached our starting point and I shifted back. I reached into the bush for my clothes and found they had been scattered around. I picked them up, put them on and quickly ran out of the forest tree line to meet Leo and Rocky.
