‘Is now a good time to say I told you so?’ Enyo asks, her hackles raised.

‘Not helpful,’ I tell her, my heart hammering in my chest as I turn slowly to face the house, finding an old man standing at the front door with a pump-action shotgun aimed at us.

“Mr Stokes?” I call out, “My name is Athena Argos. I’m just here to talk to you.”

“I know who you are, mutt. And you’re not welcome here,” he says coldly. “How did you even find me?”

“Derek Williams gave me your address,” I say calmly, and the old man looks surprised by that. I raise my hands above my head and step around the front of the truck. “Mr Stokes, if you know who I am, then can you please tell me what you know about what happened to my pack? Derek said that you might be able to help me.”

He studies me for a moment before responding. “Arrogant, little she-wolf. Just like that Alpha of yours,” he says as he spits on the ground. “Niko thought he was above it all. But we showed him,” he says as a cruel grin spreads across his old, weathered face.

“We? You were involved?” I ask him, slowly taking a step towards him.

“I was there. The entire pack should have been wiped out of existence. But I’ll give your father one thing: he trained his warriors well. Too bad he wasn’t up to the task himself, though,” he says with a cruel sneer, and he laughs.

I tremble with rage as I slowly move towards the old hunter. A low growl escapes my throat, and he stops laughing, his cold eyes locking with mine, as I struggle to keep Enyo at bay.

“That’s close enough, mutt. Now get out of here before I put you down too,” he points the shotgun back at me.

‘Calm down, Enyo!’

‘If he says one more thing about Dad, I’ll rip his throat out!’

‘We can’t hurt him. We need whatever information he has.’

“How do you know anything about me or my father?” I ask, in an attempt to get him to talk more.

“We studied your pack for nearly three years before we attacked. We had to make sure we were ready.”

“Who’s we?”

He scoffs. “I was involved in one of the greatest operations to occur in over a century,” he says proudly.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, growing more and more confused.

“There was a job to complete, and we were tasked with completing it.”

“None of this makes sense. It was a rival pack that attacked us.”

“A rival pack that used wolfsbane bullets?” He smirks, and I freeze. “It was a rival pack alright, just one you have never heard of before. One that included rogue lycans, werewolves, and hunters, all working side by side.”

“You’re lying… There’s no way lycans and werewolves would work together, let alone if they were rogues. And there’s no way in hell hunters would work with the very things you loathe and hunt,” I say with a low growl. “Tell me the truth.”

“Your pack was a threat. And we had to take you down before… Well. Let’s just say that the threat was so great that it couldn’t be ignored, and we were able to put our differences aside to work together,” he says with a shrug.

“What threat?” I ask angrily. “We weren’t a threat to anyone!” I yell, losing my temper, as my world starts crashing down around me. “And doesn’t that mean you failed? You said yourself that our warriors were trained too well. Our pack survived.”

“I’ve said enough. Now fuck off,” he says and shoots the shotgun in the air above my head. “Last warn…”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as I scream with rage and charge him, knocking him to the ground. The shotgun gets knocked out of his hands, and I land on top of him. I extend my sharp claws and dig them into the side of his chest as I growl in his shocked face.

“Please, don’t kill me,” he begs, his eyes wide with panic.

“WHY DID YOU ATTACK US?” I growl and dig my claws deeper into his chest, the smell of his blood reaching my nostrils.

“I already told you! Please! We were just following orders!” He cries in pain, his eyes pleading with me as he coughs, and blood fills his mouth.

“ORDERS FROM WHO?”

“I don’t know who! It wasn’t just your pack that we attacked. It was all set up by a third party. Ask Derek. He knows,” he says.

I pull back slightly, shocked by what he said about Derek.

‘SEE! I told you he was no good!’ Enyo growls.

I yelp when I feel a sharp pain in the side of my chest, and I whip my head around and see a knife in his hand, covered in blood.

‘He stabbed us!’ Enyo growls.

She takes over, pushing herself forward, and we shift completely. I try to take control back, but she blocks me out. Everything feels like it’s happening in slow motion, as Enyo grabs him by the throat, her teeth tearing into his carotid artery, and she shakes her head and snaps his neck. Enyo steps back and stares down at his lifeless body. I quickly take control of Enyo while she’s distracted and shift back.

‘Enyo… What have you done?!’ I yell, shocked. I wipe the blood from around my mouth with the back of my hand. The metallic taste of his blood in my mouth makes me gag as I stare down at Bill Stokes’ lifeless body.

‘He stabbed us, and he was there! Anyone involved in killing Dad needs to die!’ She snarls.

‘We’re not killers, Enyo!’

‘We’ve killed before!’ She says aggressively.

“That was different,” I mumble. ‘What the hell do I do now?’ I think to myself.

‘You wanted revenge? THIS is our revenge! How else did you think we were going to avenge Dad?’

“Not like this!” I yell as I shiver, a cool breeze washing over me, and I remember my clothes were shredded when we shifted. “We need to take them to the council,” I say as I run over to my truck, get the backpack out that I carry spare clothes in, and grab a pair of boots off the floor.

‘The council is useless, Athena! If what the hunter said is true, this is so much bigger than what we thought!’ she says as I quickly get dressed in a pair of track pants and a t-shirt. I slide the boots on and find a spare jumper in the bag, then I put the bag back in the truck and head back to the body.

‘I know you’re scared, Athena, but we need to be on the same page on this,’ Enyo says softly. ‘We left our pack to find the truth and to avenge Dad. How else did you think we were going to do that?’

‘I told you. By finding out who was behind it and taking them to the council,’ I say as I cross my arms, trying to keep myself warm.

‘The council will never believe any of this. We have to do this ourselves.’

“Maybe…” I sigh as I look down at Bill Stokes, his blood spreading on the porch from the gaping wound in his neck.

‘Just leave him. We need to speak to Derek,’ Enyo says with a growl.

‘Why, so you can kill him too?’ I say harshly as I look around, trying to figure out a plan. Derek said he lives alone, so maybe I should just leave him.

‘Look, Derek knows more than he is telling us. He clearly sent us here, hoping the hunter would kill us. I know you’re pissed, but we need to find out what he knows.’

She has a point. Derek has clearly been playing me. We need answers. I lean down and pick up the knife the hunter stabbed me with and walk back to my truck, getting in. Digging through my bag, I find a towel to wrap the knife in, then put it back in my bag. I start the truck and drive back around the circular driveway. Looking in my rear-view mirror as I drive away from the house, I can see Bill Stokes’ body lying on the porch as the snow falls again.

The drive back to the city feels like it’s taking hours. I can feel Enyo pacing back and forth in my mind, and I’m trembling with rage and fear. Maybe I should go back and move his body. What if someone finds him or saw me and my truck there?

‘Goddess, I did not see today going this way,’ I think to myself as I check my rear-view mirror again to make sure no one is following us.

I finally turn onto Hilltop Road from Main Street, and easily find a parking spot on the quiet street. I take a deep breath and try to compose myself. I move the rear-view mirror to fix my hair back into a ponytail and realize I still have blood on my neck and hands. My face pales as I reach into my backpack and grab out the wet wipes I have in there and start cleaning myself up.

My phone suddenly rings on the seat, making me jump, and my heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest as I look down and see that it’s Mom again.

‘You can’t keep ignoring her, Athena. She’ll worry,’ Enyo says.

I sigh and answer the phone. “Hi Mom, how are you?” I ask, trying to sound cheerful.

“Athena! Happy Birthday!” Mom squeals.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Have you noticed anything different? Any sign of a mate?” She asks excitedly.

“No, Mom, nothing yet. How are you? How’s the pack?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

She sighs. “The pack is fine, Athena. Alpha Damon has been visiting other packs to go over the new peace treaties. Did you hear he found his mate?”

“He’s stopped trying to find the pack that attacked us?” I ask in disbelief.

“No one knows anything, Athena. Everyone is just trying to move on. You should too, sweetheart,” she says as she lets out a small sob.

“Sorry, but I can’t do that, Mom. I will not stop until I find out the truth. I owe it to Dad,” I say as tears well up in my eyes. “I left him alone that day. I should have been there to protect him…”

“That wasn’t your job, and your father wouldn’t want this, Athena. He would want you to take your place as our Gamma. Please come home. I need you here.”

“I have to do this, Mom. I’m sorry,” I mutter as I pick at a thread on my sweats.

Mom sighs again. “Okay, Athena. Just promise me you will take care of yourself. I couldn’t bear to lose you, too.”

“I promise, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

I end the call and cry, releasing everything I’ve been holding in since we left the pack.

‘You didn’t tell her what the hunter said,’ Enyo says quietly.

I sniff and wipe my eyes. ‘What’s the point? It doesn’t change anything until we have more information,’ I say.

‘I guess you’re right. Let’s find out what Derek knows.’

I nod and finish cleaning myself up, ensuring there is no more blood on me, and I put my hair back up into a ponytail. Then I step out of the truck and walk over to the small building where Derek’s office is. I walk through the main door, along the hallway, and stop outside Derek’s office door. Enyo is on high alert as I knock on the door and try to turn the handle to enter, but it’s locked. So, I knock on the door louder. “Derek! Are you in there?” I yell.

I press my ear against the door, but I can’t hear anyone inside. So, I go back outside to my truck and get my phone out. I lean up against the door of my truck and call Derek, but it goes straight to voicemail.

“Derek, it’s Athena. Where the hell are you? We need to talk. Ring me back asap.”