Balance of Light and Shadow

Chapter 6

Michelle POV

We are all on edge after what Eve had told us. She was leaving on Saturday for her camping trip. We kept telling her not to go and that it would be safer to stay in the house. She kept telling us that it’s not her safety she was worried about but with one of my world-renowned death glares she shut up. We made it clear we are in this together.

I’m chilling on the couch with the girls while Eve does another late shift. “Alright. Operation keep Eve here is underway. Where are we up to”.

Willow shows me her phone. “I ordered these online and they came today. They’re tracking devices. I have hidden one in her car and in her camping gear. That way if she does run we at least know where she is”.

“Excellent. I have also hidden her passport so at least we know she can’t leave the country. Kimberly, any thoughts”.

She just shakes her head and hugs the pillow tighter. She has been a mess since all this came out.

We’re all jolted out of the conversation when we heard a knock at the door.

“Are we expecting anyone”. I look at the other girls and they shake their heads no.

Kimberly is instantly terrified and trembled out, “what if it’s them. Eve’s not here to defend us. Do we pretend we’re not here”.

Willow rolls her eyes. “They know we’re in here. They can see us through the window. And if they were going to harm us they wouldn’t knock”. We got up to answer the door and figure with all three of us we could quickly slam it shut if need be.

We open the door just to the point the door chain allows and see him standing there. Conrad in his design suit and amazing smile. He brought another guy with him who was wearing sweats for some reason but with his singlet you could see his define muscular arms. Conrad smiles when he sees all of us looking through the crack of the door.

“Evening ladies. I’ve brought some wine and pizza as a peace offering if you will let me in to talk”.

Kimberly snaps back “Eve’s not here so go away”.

“I know she’s not here. I want to talk to you. I’m trying to get her to trust me and realise I’m not a threat. I’m hoping if I can get you to trust me, she might be more open to the idea of at least talking to me”. He really is laying on the charm.

We shut the door to talk among ourselves but ultimately Kimberly is outnumbered as Willow and I want to know what’s going on.

“We will let you in but try anything and we will scream so loud we will be heard at the police station 2 kilometres away”.

He just laughs and nods. “Understood”.

We all move to living room with Conrad in the chair near the open entrance to the dining room and the other man in the corner chair. We all sit on the couch to share note during our interrogation.

I start first while Willow studies them. “Firstly, who is he. Secondly what do you want with Eve”.

“This is my assistant, Liam. I’m concerned Eve needs some support and I just want to make sure she has the opportunity to receive it”.

That was too calm to not be rehearsed. “YOU LIAR”.

“Excuse me”. He just stared in shock.

“Eve told us she is considered a deserter to you. She chose to leave and doesn’t want to go back so giving her support is a bullshit answer”.

He looked stunned at this. He looked over to his assistance like they were trying to work out what to do next. Like they’re going to get anything past us.

“It’s true, Eve is considered a deserter. But did she tell you when she left”. He seems nervous now. Right where I want him.

“Yes. At 13”.

“Did she tell you who she left or why”.

They can see my face change to one of sadness. How do they know something about her that I don’t.

“She left her family. She was horribly abused by them so had to escape to survive. She still went back to see them and support when she could. We met her when the government hired us to arrest the leader. She thought we were attacking the innocents in her family and so fought back. When we realised, she wasn’t part of the leadership we wanted to offer her the same support we did to the rest of her family but, she disappeared before we could”.

Then I ask the question all of us want answered and I don’t think there is a way to tactfully ask this.

“She told us you weren’t human. That your like her”.

Both men look at each other and laugh.

“We were wondering if she told you or not. What exactly did she say”. He is smiling at this and seems almost excited.

Willow speaks up as this is the only question she really wanted the answer to. “She just said she wasn’t exactly human”.

“No, we’re not. Do you want to know what we are and what is really going on here. Are you sure you can handle it”.

I sit straight up and excitedly yell “yes”. I have been just as curious as Willow, but she thinks of this as the resolution to a problem, I’m just upset I’ve been left out of gossip.

“We’re werewolves” he states with a straight face.

“Honestly think we are going to believe that without proof”, Willow states and rolls her eyes while crossing her arms.

“Why do you think I brought him”, Conrad points to Liam in the corner. “Werewolves live in packs and that is the family I was talking about. The person who runs the pack is called an Alpha. The person who runs all packs is called Alpha King, which is me. If you want proof of all this, he can transform into his wolf for you”.

Me being very suspicious ask, “why don’t YOU transform if you want us to believe you”.

Conrad just awkwardly grins. “My wolf can be a bit confronting so when we introduce humans to wolves, it’s better to start with his”.

Willow picks up on something he said. “You have shown other humans”.

“Yes. Mainly government officials we work with. Previous Alpha King’s have wanted to stay secret or worse, hunt humans. I’m working towards having both our societies operate together without fear or persecution of the other”.

We look at each other and decide we want to do this. We want to be in Eve’s life and help her like she has helped all of us.

“Ok. We will watch you transform”.

Liam stands up with a proud look on his face. “Just to warn you there will be some clicking sounds like crackling knuckles but that is normal. My wolf is called Valen and may look scary at first but honestly, he is very friendly and basically a Labrador so love hugs, pats and any form of attention he can get”.

I look around the room at the other girls and each gives a nod that they are ready.

Liam smirks “and one more thing. I have to be naked to transform so my clothes don’t rip. Still OK with that”.

“WAIT”. I go get the wine to fill up my glass and get comfortable in my chair so I have the best view. “Now you may continue”. If a smoking hot muscled man is getting naked in my house, I’m going to fully enjoy the show.

Liam starts laughing and turns to Conrad and states “I like that one” before he starts stripping.

Singlet first to reveal his impressively chiselled torso. Pecs and ab’s are pure perfection. My eyes quickly flick to the other girls who are hiding behind their hands, but I can tell they’re peaking. My eyes continue to drop down to the V that dips below his pants line and gasp as he drops his sweatpants to reveal his very impressive manhood. He instantly smiles at this. I will have to ask later about interspecies relations.

“You ready ladies”.