0141
Dane
'Everwood.' Aero murmurs. 'Why does that sound so familiar?'
'There was a pack called Everwood years ago. Down in the south. But that was a long time ago, before I was even born. They were wiped out.' Part of my training as an Alpha had been to learn what had killed off certain packs.
Everwood was not wiped out by a pack war or anything like that.
It was a disaster. There was massive flooding, followed by a landslide.
My father had said they had either been killed in the process or had been buried alive.
We may be able to heal from a lot of stuff, but things like that take out everything in its path.
Destruction at its finest.
"Everwood were a pack of Wolves." I mutter to Abraxas with a frown.
He smirks at me and shakes his head.
"Lycans?"
He takes another swig of beer and nods. "A lot of packs masqueraded as Wolves. Easier to keep their identity hidden. Wolves can't tell the difference, as you are aware."
Moonshine had done just that. But they had also led Neah to believe she was a Wolf her entire life.
"You've killed packs?" I press.
"I kill Rogues. Though my parents and grandparents did wipe out packs. I decided to focus on the real problems."
"Are you trying to tell me that Blair is from this Everwood pack? Because that can't be possible."
He grins, "My grandparents blew up a dam not too far from their location. Made it look as though the thing cracked and then whoosh everything was gone."
It was impressive. A single act that wiped out so many. But it also made me question how many Lycan packs I had actually dealt with unknowingly.
"You think Blair's mother got away?"
"Maybe or maybe she wasn't there at the time."
"That's why Blair came for your family when she was old enough. Payback."
"In my line of work, every action has a consequence. My grandparents should have made sure everyone was dead. That was their mistake and a mistake that I am now having to clean up." "But why take Dorothy from you, what was the point in that?"
"You can mourn a death. You never get over knowing your child is out there, alive somewhere. You wonder if they are thinking about you or if they evern remember you."
I could only imagine what that must have been like. If someone tried taking one of my boys, I don't think anyone would be safe. Actually, I know they wouldn't be safe. "Mallory ended up in a situation with Blair."
"I heard."
"Blair let slip something about a pack. About being skilled from training before she went Rogue. She caught herself and reacted badly. If Everwood were wiped out, what pack is she talking about?"
"That is something I haven't figured out. There are several packs that still reside in this country. Others moved overseas when the Wolf numbers started growing again. I've watched and never seen them at any of them. I wondered if maybe she led Wolves to believe she was one of them."
It didn't sound ridiculous.
"Did you know about Moonshine?" I challenge
He looks me dead in the eye.
"No, well, not at the time you are thinking of. They were recorded as wiped out." He looks at my annoyed face, "Being a Hunter does not make you suddenly aware of all packs. Yes I can tell the difference. Yes I can smell their strange odour. Yes, training skills are passed down through generations. We do record information on packs, and I can assure you, there is only the one recording of a Moonshine. The one that says deceased."
He taps his empty bottle on the table, "Why did you accept her? Even after you knew what she was, you still let her stay and thrive."
"I was looking for my mate for a long time. When I found her, I knew there was no way I was letting her go."
"She's a Lycan." He stares at me with his hazel eyes.
"Sometimes we can't help who we fall for."
"Did you feel sorry for her? I mean you did save her from a terrible situation."
"She told you about that?" I ask, surprised. It wasn't something she voluntarily discussed. Things would slip out now and again, but mostly, she tried to keep it buried in the past. "She didn't need to, I see it in her soul."
'There's that soul shit again.' Aero mutters. 'I don't understand how someone can see a soul.'
"Are you saying her soul is tainted?" I ask Abraxas. I wasn't sure what to think of him saying he could see souls. At one time, I also didn't think someone could be bound four times. I've learned a lot in the last couple of years. "More like it has cracks in it."
"Cracks?" Aero and I mutter in unison
"Everyone's soul starts off as a small ball of light. It grows as the person grows, gradually taking shape of the person. Sometimes, it gets to a certain size and never grows anymore because a person is trapped in a cycle that they can't get out of. Others, like those who have experienced levels of trauma, develop cracks. When the cracks meet, the soul breaks along with that person."
""How bad are hers?"
"She should have broken long ago."
"Is that how the darkness got in?" "No."
"How can you be sure?"
"It was already there, just waiting to be freed." He laughs to himself. "Do you know, I've never really spoken to Lycans before, or Rogues. I've spent years watching, hunting, killing. Listening to them plead for their petty lives. I have to admit, Neah was not at all what I was expecting."
"So if her soul is cracked. What's keeping her together?"
"Still figuring that out. Got anymore beer?"
"No, limited amount."
"Because of Blondie's issues, gotcha!" He smirks at me with a cocked eyebrow. "You don't believe me, do you Dane?"
He gets to his feet and takes the empty bottle to the bin. "You believe in Witch magic though, don't you?"
"Let's say you are telling the truth. You said her darkness was waiting to be freed. You are talking about her Lycan, right?"
"Bingo. But you've been wondering that for a while, haven't you?" He sits back down opposite me. "Neah has a surprisingly good level of control over her Lycan. I watched her force the darkness back out. Something I have never seen before." "Never?"
""Not once."
He seemed to be fascinated with her. I couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad thing. But if you linked it to how much he hated Lycans and Rogues, it wasn't a good sign. I had to find a way to make sure he was on her side. "How do I help her deal with her Lycan if Nyx is causing the problems?"
"Who knows." He shrugs his shoulders at me. "Her cracks show that she shouldn't be here. She is constantly fighting with her Lycan. Bound four times and survived" He keeps talking to himself. Listing all the things that I already know. He looks at me. "Maybe binding her is what saved her."
"You are deranged if you think I'm binding her." How fucking dare he think that's even an option.
"You are not listening to me Dane. You asked me what was holding her together." He drums his hand on the table, working through things in his mind.
"Humans are full of cracks. Little tiny ones that snake through their soul. None of them ever quite meeting each other." He grabs Dorothy's colouring book from the corner of the table and flips to a blank page, quickly drawing me a body.
"Humans crack all the time. Pressure, stress, money worries. But each of their cracks become a part of them. They learn from it. Basically like putting a plaster on the edges. Some humans end up in psych wards when their cracks start to tumble apart." "Neah isn't human."
"I'm not saying she is. But she almost was. Her body learned to defend itself. To survive. A cracked soul isn't something we can heal from Dane, yet somehow, she has managed to stop the cracks spreading further."
His lips curve up into a smile. "Fascinating."
"Fascinating?"
"Just when I thought I knew everything there is to know with Rogues and Lycans, something new comes along." His hazel eyes are wide with delight, they give him a sinister look. One that I didn't like. ""You won't touch her." I warn him
"I won't touch her, can't say the same about the other two." He winks at me. I assume he means Damien and Mallory, not the twins. Though I have no intention of letting him kill any of them.