Lycan's unexpected mate

Triton knows Zeus

Atalanta

This lesson is really something else. It makes me think a lot about what I do and what others do when they discuss stuff related to politics.

It doesn't help that Diana is listening attentively in the back of our mind and she even encourages me that I will be just fine. She tries to persuade me to loosen my inner pressure. Well, it's easier said than done. I am worried about my father's reputation and I am afraid that I will never be good enough. That's why Diana has reminded me that even the Moon Goddess herself believes in me.

Once my father starts talking about the party, I know that he will try to lead me to believe that it is a made-up lie. Therefore, I focus on his heartbeat, his breathing and the mimics. I can feel real anger when he describes my presence in uncle Maurice's arms and being beaten by a force field. I can't help but laugh due to it.

But I know that there should also be my turn to tell a story. I wonder what to tell him when Diana beats me to it. I can feel my face contorting in a cheeky smile as she uses my voice to say: "I've found my true Mate."

I am going to smack her and confine her to our mind only, and that for a century!

My father stares at me in shock and then he cries out: "What?"

I have to gather my thoughts as well, because I wasn't prepared for a complete lie.

'You don't have to create much, dear,' comes Diana's amused voice. 'Tell your father about Zeus.'

'Oh, okay. He's a man, right? And he could be our invented mate,' I ramble in my head, then I inhale shortly and look back at my father. He's fuming but he gives me the benefit of doubt because we are supposed to train telling lies. And it seems that he prays for this to be a lie.

I'm glad that I can calm him down after this exercise. I take another deep calming breath and picture Zeus sitting next to me.

My father puffs slightly and apologises: "I'm sorry for my outburst. You have surprised me and this is an important matter."

"I know. And I guess I should have told you earlier," I suggest in return.

My father nods and asks: "So, who is he? Do I know him?"

"Actually, I don't think so. He isn't a ranked werewolf, so you couldn't have met him before." I adjust Johann on my other arm because my left one is falling asleep and I don't want to drop him.

I can sense my father studying me and my actions. I purposefully calm my breathing and my pulse, although the later one is harder to keep even.

When my father doesn't pose any other question, I continue on my own: "But the transition will be easy. He's a werewolf and he knows the pack hierarchy." I force a small smile. "But he doesn't know who I am. What I am."

"Really? How is that possible?" my father wonders with his signature raised eyebrow.

"We saw each other for a really short time and then he disappeared. I haven't seen him since," I finish, feigning ignorance.

My father inclines his head to the right. "Did he reject you?" he asks.

"No," I quickly reply and realise that this was too fast. More slowly, I add: "He didn't. And I also didn't reject him. We didn't discuss this in those few minutes we spent together."

"And what did you do then? Did he force himself on you?" father pushes. I can see that he tries to catch me on an inconsistency in the story. I need to stick to what really happened and not invent things because these details could be costly in terms of me getting nervous and not being able to cover it.

"No, he didn't," I admit, turning my head. If I told him that Zeus cornered me to a wall and I let him, my father wouldn't believe it. I am a Lycan. I can't be weak. But I am trying to lie so maybe I could?

"You see," I continue, "we didn't do much. We spoke a little and he called me a strawberry. I actually forced myself on him then, gave myself a great time and then we saw each other off. He told me his nickname and I returned here to the palace."

My father is giving me a strange look and his lips are pursed. I can't look him in the eyes just now, my mind playing out what happened that night and if maybe things could have played out differently. Therefore, I use the opportunity to coo at Johann who has just opened his eyes and is rubbing his face with his fists. I would like to know what is running through my Dad's head and if I am doing fine. Finally, he wonders: "And what was his nickname again? Irie?"

I gulp when it occurs to me that calling him Zeus would make this unbelievable. However, that was one of the truths in this that I don't want to hide. What's more, I can't readily accept father's proposition. "The man introduced himself as Zeus," I say with a shrug. "And once he did, he changed into his wolf and ran away."

"Really? That's unfortunate," Dad says with a hint of irony.

"Well, maybe not. Maybe he got recalled by a pack member?" I suggest, my breathing betraying me and getting somewhat laboured. I am treading on thin ice here because I have no idea why he left me, but I miss him and his wolf. And this lie of losing my virginity was a difficult one.

My father shakes his head and announces: "Alright, good, I couldn't detect any significant hints that you are lying except for you not meeting my eyes, only now at the end. You have probably made that up at the spur of the moment?"

I cover my eyes with my free hand. Is this good or bad?

"Tali, tell me sincerely, have you or have you not found your true Mate and mated with him?" he demands calmly.

I chuckle. "No, I haven't done either, but I used a real encounter with a man I didn't know."

"So you weren't lying completely?"

"Honestly, the biggest lie was the last sentence," I say, my cheeks getting bright red.

"Oh . . ." my father sighs and caresses my head. "Well, you will need to train some more then. Try it on Thaumas, Tyche or anyone for that matter. You can start with something small and then move to more elaborate lies."

"Yeah, I know I should train," I eat humble pie. "But it happens all the time with you and Mum, I'm unable to lie to you two."

I hang my head but my father lifts it back up with a finger on my chin. "I believe in you and your abilities." He smiles at me and retracts his hand. "So, what was the truth in this story?"

I avoid his question and throw at him another one: "But why do we have to practise telling lies? Why do others lie to us?" I look at him sadly and he sighs.

"It's a difficult question with an uncertain answer. Look at yourself and your experience. Why do you lie?"

I frown and he nods his head understandingly. "You see, we lie mostly when we are afraid." He shrugs tiredly and explains some more: "Afraid of the unknown, afraid of what the others are going to think, afraid of what can be leaked on us. Unfortunately, every other lie just seems to feed the one thing we are afraid of. Come to think of it," he adds thoughtfully, "this is a kind of a spell - maybe the biggest spell to have ever been cast. You need to understand this spell and learn it if you want to understand the basis of power and later the ruling."

Wow, this is so deep! When has this conversation turned this serious? But my father's eyes seem unfocused as if he were walking somewhere in the past or in another reality.

"The most terrifying thing is to be faced with lies," he continues relentlessly and it scares me how hollow his face has become. "And moreover, no charm or amulet are half as powerful as the truth. However, unless someone like you, like us, cares an awful lot about it, nothing is going to get better. And the truth may be stripped naked to walk around the world with the lie wearing the truth's clothes and people will never accept the truth because everyone believes only the image they want to believe. And this image is created mostly by lies, be it our own or somebody else's."

My father blinks slowly as if resurfacing from a huge depth under the water surface. I try very hard to conceal my terror from what I have just heard and seen. My father looked so broken and unhappy . . .

He gives me an encouraging smile as if he didn't just drop a huge piece of horrifying information on me. "So, the truth now? What about the story?"

I find a more comfortable position leaning into the chair before speaking up: "The he-wolf was real. I met him on the last mission in White's pack. It's the Blue Moon pack, I believe."

My father bobs his head and listens intently. He opens his bottle and takes a gulp. I don't trust myself to change my position any more because Johann could slip out of my grip, or I could show how shaky I am after my father's explanation. I don't even trust myself to drink water for fear I could spill it over my chest. I gulp my saliva instead.

"He arrived at night after the fight and I met him near the hospital. He came in his wolf form," I explain further. "He told me that we will surely meet again in the future, really calling me a strawberry, and then he ran off. I haven't seen him since."

"Is he the man you are so desperately trying to find?" Dad prods.

"How do you . . .?"

"My guess, Tali," he admits. "You spend awfully long hours on the internet and in books. I know you look up information about the rogue attacks but I once noticed that you are trying to find a man, too."

"So, I'm busted," I say sadly. How is it possible that he knows all this time? This is so unfair. I also want to have eyes and ears everywhere!

"Do you think he is linked to the attacks?"

I shake my head exasperatedly. "I thought so but all the clues I got led to dead ends. And I can't put his face on the Wanted list not to startle him and lose him for real."

"Maybe I can help," Dad offers and I give him a wry tight-lipped smile.

"I have looked everywhere. No-one knows about a completely white werewolf who uses the name Zeus."

My father blinks rapidly and opens his mouth but no words come out. Then he closes his mouth and rubs his chin several times. Then he gets up and paces around his office until he sits back and looks at me seriously. "Are you sure his wolf was all white?"

I nod and look at him questioningly. He explains right after: "I have heard stories of a big group of rogues travelling through the US. And about a ghostly-white wolf who appears in places of rogue attacks or places where people are exiled from packs and so on. However, no-one has been able to track either of them down, yet. And now that you claim that you have seen a real white werewolf after the mas*acre of the Blue Moon pack, I think that the two are connected to one another."

I widen my eyes in shock. I had no idea about this group of rogues or the relationship with the white werewolf. What have I got myself into? This is bad, really bad. But . . .

"One more thing as to why we should find him asap, is it not?" I suggest, my voice finally breaking and showing my father that I am not okay. I am unhappy with myself for not being strong enough.

"Gosh, sorry, dear," he says and immediately walks over to me to hug me and calm me. This action only fuels my tremors and I shake so much that the chair is moving. I didn't realise that the possible connection could influence me so much. I thought it was a coincidence and now it occurred to me that it could have been planned. But I feel so drawn to the werewolf that I would sell my soul to meet him again, despite him being a criminal.

We stay like this for a long while until I calm down. My father senses it and returns to his chair. "Look, Tali," he says, "we are going to find him and learn his intentions. I swear he won't be a threat to you or any pack for that matter. Just promise me that if he ever tries to contact you, you'll immediately inform me and won't agree to see him alone."

I nod and whisper: "I swear." I take a deep breath and ask: "Can we finish today? I have a lot to think about."

"Of course, darling. But don't forget the dinner," he tells me with a small tight smile.

I get up shakily and leave the office, my world shrinking into the memory of today and of Zeus. I don't know how I get to my room and onto the bed but this is how my mind reacts to almost unfathomable facts. When I come round, there is an empty bottle of formula on the bedside table, Johann is sleeping soundly and it is almost dinner time.