Chapter Ten
The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire.
Hanna watched as everyone took in her words.
She walked over to the pile of wood that Rowan left and chucked a few more pieces into the fire.
The sound jolted everyone out of their thoughts.
Wendy took in a deep breath, and then she gagged.
“What the fuck?” She wretched again, and then the smell hit the rest of us.
“What the fuck is that?” Micca gagged too. It was only Toya, Hanna, and I that didn’t gag. We looked at each other and then back to the other two.
“That…” Hanna started, but stopped.
“That’s what it smells like when you burn bodies.” I finished for her.
Micca groaned and rushed away, puking closer to the house, while Wendy looked at me with wide eyes. “Why are you three okay?”
“Because this isn’t the first time we had to do this.” Toya walked over to Wendy, pulling her away from the fire. Hanna went to grab Micca, and we walked to Carl’s grave, creating space.
“The first time is always the worst.” I offered with a small smile. Over by the big oak tree the air was clearer, the scent of pine and spruce overtaking the smell of the bodies.
Micca gagged again, wiping her sweat on her shirt as she shook her head. “I never want to smell that again.”
“And hopefully, you’ll never have to.” Hanna rubbed her back.
“But back to my point. The easiest way to take down a king is to get rid of his supporters. The Lycans started going missing over two hundred years ago. The attacks on the packs here around the same time. It’s only been the last fifty years that it picked up pace. ”
I nodded. “You’re right.”
“You take away the Lycans, then move on to the biggest packs most loyal to the king, and then when he is isolated.” She clapped her hands together. “You take him out. Leaving a space for someone to step in and take over.”
“Holy fuck, you’re right.” Wendy whispered.
“Exactly right. Someone has been planning this for a long time. And he started the attacks in Japan. But why there?” I turned to Hanna, and she looked away. “I wouldn’t ask unless I had to.”
She thought about it for a moment and then agreed.
“The Lycans. They were the first creations of the Moon Goddess, and then there was the first family. The first family of wolves that we are all descended from.” Toya looked at me and I nodded.
“There was a story that the Japanese wolves were the first family.” She looked up at the moon. “And in a way, we were.”
“What do you mean?” Wendy settled on the ground, and everyone else sat down with her, while I grabbed the shovel.
“Wait, are you going to bury Carl?” I nodded, so she got up and ran to the front of the cabin.
She came back with an armful of flowers.
She dropped the flowers on top of him. “Goodbye Carl. I promise we will take care of Carly for you.” Then she turned and nodded to the shovel. “You can finish.”
“Why did you do that?” Micca looked at the flowers. “They are just going to be covered in dirt.”
“I saw a drawing in Carly’s room.” She sat down and smiled. “They planted those flowers together. I wanted him to take a piece of her with him to the other side.” She turned to Hanna. “Okay, go ahead with what were you saying about the first family?”
“The very first family is a well-guarded secret. The Moon Goddess created one line, but other gods grew envious of her creations. And they asked for permission to create their own wolves. She agreed. There was a line in Japan created by the Goddess of the moon, Tsukiyomi.”
Toya nodded. “And another in Egypt, Nut.”
Hanna nodded. “There are at least a few others, gods and goddesses from over the world, who are similar. They oversee the night, the sky, the moon, and, with it, the shifters. The Japanese were open with their stories. They were proud of the lineage and never hid it. A wolf, unknowingly, could have assumed that the Japanese clan was the first family, and they went after them to get rid of them.”
“Why? I mean we are all descended from them?” Wendy leaned back on her hands, looking to the sky, trying to figure it out.
I’d listened as I filled in the grave, but I stopped for a second to meet her eyes. “The first family is stronger than other wolves. They descended from the Moon Goddess’s power, and because of it, they are stronger, faster, and smarter than most wolves.”
Wendy nodded. “So the other first families from the other goddesses should be just as strong.” She pointed to Hanna, but she shook her head.
“No, as they didn’t want to offend the Moon Goddess, their lines were made not weaker, but with less magic, so they tend to be really strong Alphas and Beta. They aren’t as strong as the actual first family.”
“How do you know this stuff?”
“Like I said, the Japanese lines were very proud of their lineage and we all knew who the first family of Tsukiyomi was.” Hanna nodded to Toya. “The real question is, how does Toya know?”
“And how Amy knows about the first family?” Micca pointed to me and I smiled.
“Toya?” Hanna turned to her. “How do you know about the line from Nut?”
“Because she is the one who created my family.” Toya leaned back and looked up at the moon.
“We worship the Moon Goddess and Nut. She who oversees the stars and the sky. She saw the wolves, heard their songs, and wished to hear them in Egypt. So she asked the Moon Goddess for help and permission to create our line. My father is descended from her power.”
“That’s why you’re so fast?” Micca furrowed her brow. “Not cool. I never had a chance of beating you.” We all laughed, remembering the races Micca tried to win for months.
Then, one by one they all turned to me. I turned back to the grave and continued to fill it in.
“I know about the first family because they are descended from the Moon Goddess, as are Lycans. My Lycan line is descended by her blood.” I tossed in shovels of dirt as I told the story of the first Lycan.
How she saw him on the mountain and was stuck in the sky, so she bled to save him.
“My witch is descended from the power of the three-faced witch.” They all nodded. “But my wolf is descended from both.”
“How is that possible?” Hanna leaned in. “Are you sure?”
I nodded as I finished filling in the grave. I dropped the shovel and faced my friends. “I saw it happen.”
“Magic?” Wendy asked, and I nodded again.
“Years before this land was taken over by cities, there was a woman and her son that lived in the forest. She was a witch, descended from the three faced Goddess, and she was teaching her son their ways. Men settled on the land and came into the woods. They found the wolves that lived there and then hunted them. They were watched over by the Moon Goddess herself, and she came down to walk with them, so they were on their guard. The witch’s son was seen by the wolves, and was hunted down, as they thought he was one of the men that killed their own.
” I closed my eyes as I remembered the vision.
“The witch found her son torn apart, yet still alive, and she called to her Goddess. She begged the three faced Goddess to save her son, sadly the Goddess could not. But the Moon Goddess came, as she heard the woman cry. The Moon Goddess realized her creatures’ mistake and offered a chance, and the woman agreed.
She didn’t care if he changed as long as he was alive. That was the birth of our kind.”
“So you’re from the first family.” Micca hopped up to her knees and I just nodded. “So your father…” I nodded again.
“Is that why he was targeted?” Wendy bit her lip, but I shrugged.
“My father has strict rules in place. Not even certain pack members know the whole truth. And there is magic that stops the pack members that know from talking about it with outsiders.”
Toya snorted and pointed at everyone. “And we aren’t outsiders?”
“No.” I shook my head. “You are my sisters. And even if you weren’t, I’m not bound by the magic that stops us from talking. Because I’m the one supposed to be enforcing the magic.”
Hanna dropped her head back. “I’m not from the main branch, but my family is descended from the first family of Japan.
” She looked at Toya. “You’re descended from the first family of Egypt.
” She turned to face Wendy and Micca. “What are the chances you two aren’t descended from another Goddess or God? ”
A new silence overtook us. I looked up at the sky, debating what Hanna had just said. What if we were all descendants of Gods, and somehow we had stumbled into being friends?
Is that even a question? The Goddess said she needed champions. Nix snorted. Do you think she is just going to leave it to you? She is going to want us to have backup.
She wants us to succeed Amy. That includes having backup plans. Megan offered, as she sat down by my magic.
I focused inwardly, weighing their words.
The Goddesses, all of them, would want us to survive.
We were their children, their lines of power here on earth.
When the humans turned their backs on their Gods, we stayed dedicated to our creators.
All of this seemed too coincidental, though. “What if there was a way to check?”
Toya chucked a rock at me. “Be serious.”
I turned and looked at my friends. “I am serious.” I looked at Toya, with her silent strength and Hanna, how far she’s come. It made sense that they were tied to a Goddess. Too much sense. Then I looked at Micca and Wendy. “We were all drawn together. What if there was a reason behind it?”
“There was a reason behind it.” Wendy leaned in, like she was going to whisper a secret. “You collected us, like that kids’ show. Oh Goddess, what is it?”
Hanna snorted. “The one with the weird animal things that say their name?” Wendy pointed to her.
“Exactly. The Poké show. You’re a collector of people.” Hanna shook her head but she was laughing with Wendy.
Toya smiled but just shook her head in defeat. “I am serious.” I stood. “I hate people, to the extreme. I have only ever had one friend my entire life, and she only had to deal with me during the summers. But you guys, you guys stuck around.”
“Amy, I hate to tell you this but you’re in fact a nice person.” Micca finally chimed in.
“I know I am, but I also know that I’m a bitch. I’m also a huge Alphahole. I strong arm my friends, my family, fucking randoms on the street.”
Toya snorted. “You are exaggerating.” She stood, dusting off her pants. She reached down and pulled Wendy up from the ground. “You were sweet, generous, and the only ranked wolf that didn’t look down on any of us because of who we were, or where we came from.”
“Fine.” I stood, dusting myself off. “I need a hot shower, comfy clothes, a glass of wine, and I need to think this over.”
“Think what over?” Hanna and Micca stood together.
“How to find out the truth about everyone?” I was serious.
I was going to figure out a way to see who came from the first families.
I crouched down and patted the soft dirt on the grave.
“Sleep well. I promise we will care for your little girl and she will remember just how much you loved her.” I sent another push of magic into his final resting place and then I headed inside.
“What are you going to do?” Wendy, ever the curious one, caught up with me.
“I don’t know yet. I’m going to try to remember if there was anything that I could use in my book and then we will go from there.
” I sighed. “But first, some wine and a shower.” We trudged into the front room and took off our muddy shoes.
I looked around and then up at my friends. “Carl?” They all nodded.
“He left little notes for us, telling us whose clothes were where. He really thought of everything.” Micca headed into the kitchen as I headed up the stairs. I stopped at Carly’s door and I slid it open silently.
She was curled around the pillow, breathing in her father’s scent, and my heart broke for her. I walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss on her head. She whimpered and curled closer around the pillow. I wiped a stray tear from her cheek and slipped back out with a soft click of the door.
I walked into my room and headed straight for the shower.
I was covered in blood, guts, and dirt. I stripped down as I waited for the water to heat up, and stepped under the hot spray.
The scalding water cascaded down my body, turning me pink.
I knew it was probably hurting me, but I couldn’t feel it. Not one bit.
This night, fuck, this entire day emptied me. My father, Rowan and his fiancée, Carl, each was a fresh slice, and a new cut, until I was hemorrhaging and no one noticed. I reached for the shampoo and stopped, instead I sat down on the ground and hugged my knees.
It’s okay. Nix tried to comfort me and I wanted to laugh. We noticed, if that helps.
I snorted, the laugh bursting from my mouth as I banged my head off my knees.
But the laugh turned to sobs. Tears streamed down my face, blending into the water pouring from the shower head.
I covered my mouth, hoping I was quiet enough for the others to not hear my pain.
I was their Alpha, the leader, and I had to be strong.
Megan pushed against the barrier, rubbing her side against it to calm me down. You don’t have to be strong with us. Talk to us.
I wiped my eyes. “I’ve been a fool.”
No. You haven’t. Nix joined Megan. Your father has his own plans. Rowan is an idiot. The fiancée seems off, but we don’t have to worry about her right now. Carl… Nix trailed off.
We gave Carl the final resting place he wanted, and we did right by him.
“Now I have Carly.”
We have our first pup. Nix sat down, and for the first time in a while, both my wolves looked happy.
Our pup.