Chapter 20 - History
2209 Words
The soft splashing of the well is the only sound. Nathaniel looks at me thoughtfully. I can tell that he’s trying to figure out what to tell me. What’s safe and what could be too much. Maybe he doesn’t trust me with his history. Maybe he’s not supposed to say anything.
“I really want to know,” I say with a soft plea in my voice. I’ve been desperate to find answers. For the first time, I feel like I am close to a real answer. Something with substance. Something that doesn’t sound like a fairytale.
“I know you do,” he chuckles and runs a hand through his thick, dark hair. It’s tempting. The way it falls back into his face. Tempting to brush it away myself. He raises one brow at me, as he catches me staring.
I quickly clear my throat and look away. Not without noticing the smirk on his lips. “What kind of answers were you looking for?” He asks.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve read all the books the Hunters had to offer. You have been looking for something specific, haven’t you?”
“How do you know that?” I ask stunned. How could he know what I’ve been doing? That I’ve been looking for answers I couldn’t find.
“Your boyfriend said you’ve read a lot,” he says with a bitter tone at the mention of Cillian.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I sigh, “why were you talking about that?”
“It just came up,” he shrugs indifferently, “what were you looking for?”
“If you ask me like that I don’t know, I just wanted answers, because my life suddenly changed. It suddenly made no sense anymore. I survived something I shouldn’t have and they wouldn’t tell me anything about that. I honestly don’t think that they know. Actually, it feels like they know nothing about your kind. Maybe those in charge do, but they keep their Hunters stupid, which also makes no sense at all.”
“Do you know who is in charge of the Hunters?”
“No. I just know that Cillian doesn’t know as much as he thought he did. The Colonel and the men in the white coat knew more than they led on.”
“I’m not sure that’s true. They only know what they want to know. If they knew about Selencity they would have already attacked. To them, we are a threat. A pack of rabid animals.”
“Yet they want your powers,” I add, “or trying to control you. That’s what they have been trying to do to Logan, right?”
“Yes,” he says with a short nod.
“He was vicious,” I say, “they hurt him too, didn’t they?”
Nathaniel doesn’t answer. He just nods. The question doesn’t really require an answer. It’s obvious Logan has been through hell as well.
“I hate that,” I sigh, “I hate everything about those people. I mean, who do they think they are?”
“They believe themselves to be at the top of the food chain.”
“Are they?”
Nathaniel laughs, “no. They would be extinct if we wanted them to be. All it would take would be one gathered attack.”
“Why don’t you attack?” I ask curiously. Not that I want that to happen, but if it would be that easy, why not just end this crazy war.
“They are not the enemy.”
“Rogues are?” I ask.
“Enemy might be too strong of a word. I guess if you want to compare it to your human world it’s like two different religions. Their ways are more violent. Based on beliefs that are out of date. Primal even. We don’t agree with one another.”
“Sounds complicated. Did it start with that pact you’ve been talking about?”
He smiles at my impatience to know, “There have always been packs that were more violent than others. But things got out of hand around that time, yes.” He says it as if he’s leaving out an important detail in the story.
“Why?” I press for more answers.
“It was before our females started to die. Back when each pack functioned on its own. One Alpha, one Alpha female. They were basically the head of a family. Some bigger, some smaller. Only the Alpha was allowed to have children.”
“Why?” I interrupt him, like a little child desperate for information on how the world works. His world.
“Because that’s the way it was,” he shrugs, “sometimes their children would form their own pack. Walk away with their mate,” he briefly glances at me, “only the Alpha, the leader of a pack had a mate. Chosen for him by the Moon Goddess herself.”
“And what was her purpose? Have his children? That’s it?” I ask, feeling a little offended by that idea.
“No,” he shakes his head, “she leads the pack with him. They are equals. Actually, the female wolf has always been cherished in our society. Legend has it, that the first female was created by the Goddess herself. She cut a part out of her flesh and created a mate for the first wolf.”
“Do you believe in these kinds of things?” I ask with a raised brow.
“I lost faith a long time ago,” he says, “but this is what our history describes.”
“Where did the first wolf come from? Did she create him too?”
“No,” he shakes his head, “he was a half god. He was her protector, but at some point, she send him down to earth to protect it. I guess he was lonely,” he shrugs.
“Why not go back to his home?”
“Some say he was banned after he killed humans. Before she made him a protector of the human race, he was the protector of the woods. It is said, that he came across a man felling a tree. He was so enraged about it, that he killed the man.”
“Because of a tree?” I ask in disbelief.
“Yeah, I’m sure there’s more to the story as well, but that’s all I know. It was a very long time ago.”
“Mhm,” I hum, “and what happened then?”
“Our race grew in numbers. Spreading all over the world. Packs were formed and each Alpha was blessed with a mate.”
“Did the Goddess make them all?”
“No,” he shakes his head, “just the one. From there on genetics did the rest,” he says, “We inherited the strength of the Faun-,”
“Who?”
“The first wolf?!” he says as if I should know.
“Right,” I say with a little eye roll.
“We inherited his strength and the wolf within did the rest. We carry his traits too. Sharper senses and whatnot. The bloodline got thinner over the years of course. There is only one direct descendant of Faun left. He’s now King of Selencity.”
“He’s the Alpha of a whole city?”
“Yes, but we call him King because to rule the city he divided it into packs. Each is led by an Alpha. You could call them his council if you like.”
“You’re one of them?” I ask hesitantly. I can’t imagine an Alpha could just leave his pack alone, because he wants to go on a quest to find some random girl.
“No,” he says shaking his head, “my father is.”
“I see,” I guess that means he’s next in line. If it works like that.
“Before he became king he made a pact with humans,” he continues, “it was after a freak accident forced us to step in. Human experiments went wrong, creating something entirely different. Lightning fast, inhuman strength, bloodthirsty. Within a few weeks, they created an army of monsters. Threatening to wipe out humanity.”
“Like a Vampire?” I ask.
“That’s what fiction called them. But there is nothing romantic about those things. They are pure evil. Darkness followed them wherever they went. They moved in herds, quickly overrunning villages and slaughtering humans.”
“But your kind, they fought them, right?”
“They are still out there,” he says, “numbers drastically reduced. We try to keep it that way. Banned them to a dark place. That doesn’t mean that sometimes one tries to slip through. Trying to repeat history.”
“But what happened after you banned them? When did the humans turn against the wolves?”
“Not too much later,” he says, “they felt safe again. They didn’t need us anymore. Slowly but surely, they started to forget what we did for them. We went from friend to foe. Envy played a part in it too. Envy and greed. We kept fighting the Vampires wherever they emerged, but we kept away from humans.”
“And when did the Hunters come into play?” I ask.
“About the same time. At first, they fought alongside us. Then they started to turn against my people. Made us the enemy. Usually, Rogues, since they have a different view on things. They want to keep the bloodline clean. They despise humans. Blame them for what happened to our females.”
“Why did they die?”
“Of age. But there was no female offspring. Girls are either born dead or human. We don’t know why. Maybe it’s some sort of punishment for crimes some wolf committed a long time ago. Maybe it’s punishment for each human life we couldn’t protect. Or one of us killed. I don’t know.”
“Have you ever killed a human?”
“Yes,” he says coolly.
“Why?” I ask in a whisper. I tend to forget that he is dangerous. He spared my life, but that doesn’t mean he’s always that merciful. Maybe he just didn’t kill me, because I am his mate. Maybe that prevented him from hurting me.
“Does it matter?” he challenges.
“I think so,” I say hesitantly, “I’m trying to figure you out.”
“Why?” he quotes my question.
“You tell me,” I say with a little shrug, “am I not made for you or something like that?”
“I don’t even know what that means,” he says stubbornly.
“Me neither,” I say with a shake of my head, “looks like I stumble from one mystery to the next. It’s starting to get annoying,” I say and lift my gaze to the sky. The moon is hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds, but I know she’s watching over me.
“My Grandmother used to say that the moon will protect me and that I have to trust in that. I don’t know if she knew something I didn’t or if she was just crazy.” I tell him? Just because my mind wandered there.
“Which do you think it is?”
“I really don’t know,” I sigh, “she was a little crazy,” I say smiling, “but she was also wise. Maybe she knew more than she led on. I always suspected that she was hiding something, but she never told me.”
“Maybe she did it for a reason,” he says and I just shrug, lifting my gaze to meet his. Suddenly, he turns around, listening to the sounds of footsteps in the snow. A low growl escapes his lips as he takes a protective step closer to me.
“You can’t control this growling thing, can you?” I chuckle and he looks back at me with a questioning look. “You don’t even notice you’re doing it?”
“Mika?” Cillian softly calls out my name.
“Logan growls too, when he doesn’t like something,” I continue softly.
“It’s a wolf thing,” Nathaniel says, his shoulders suddenly tense.
“Mika? Where are you?” Cillian's voice drifts through the air.
I sigh softly and stand up, but Nathaniel grabs my wrist and pulls me back down. “What?” I ask, confused by the force behind his grip.
“Don’t string him along,” he says with a deadly expression, “it’s not fair.”
“I’m not stringing him along,” I say with a frown, “just because you say I’m your mate, doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”
He looks like I just slapped him. Stunned and hurt by my words. “What are you saying?” he growls deeply, sending a cold shiver down my spine.
“Are you rejecting me?”
- Writer
