Lycan's unexpected mate

Confirming information

Atalanta

I sit in the car gloomily. Tyche has a point that the potion will prevent any help from reaching me in time. But I have already made a promise and I can't go back on my word. There aren't many options on how to modify the said promise. One occurs to me - I could hide my scent thanks to my Lycan abilities and pretend to be human without the potion. That way, anyone will be able to scent me if I let them, but I won't know the dynamics of the potion which may reveal that something is different with me. I doubt Carson would want to murder me, much less someone from his group who doesn't even know me.

My thoughts are in turmoil. Diana makes herself known with: 'Dear, we don't need this second-guessing. We should ask a reliable source of information about Carson and his group, hmm?'

I look at the phone a make up my mind to call Evans and Adrianna. I search the list for the Midnight pack and dial the number. Then I put the phone on speaker and wait. After a while, a woman answers the call: "Midnight Pack, Luna Elizabeth Witek speaking."

"Good afternoon, Luna," I greet her politely. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak to your Beta Evans. Is it possible?" I add the last bit to give her some space for manoeuvring without it being an order.

Luna Elizabeth sounds surprised as she says: "Of course. Just one question, who's looking for him?"

Then it occurs to me that I haven't introduced myself in the beginning. A big error. Therefore, I reply sincerely: "Pardon me, please, Luna. My name is Atalanta Summons, I'm . . ."

". . . Alpha's daughter from Silent Heights Pack. Greetings, Alpha," Luna Elizabeth finishes for me. I can hear her voice trembles. "I will get hold of him in a sec, I need to page him," she then adds quickly.

I smile gently because I remember that she's human. It came as a shock that this pack has a human Luna. What with Alpha John duelling his father to death shortly before she appeared. I suspect that all that is linked somehow. And their Beta family is a bonus. I had known all that before Carson and David talked about it, I just didn't know that the world is so small.

"Don't worry about it, I can wait," I decide to project a relaxed aura through my speech.

"He's coming now. Give him a minute or two," Luna Elizabeth says. "You see, he's spending more time with his Mate now that they have found out she's expecting."

I chuckle. So Carson wasn't lying about this, either, and she has to be less than four months along if he was worried about her well-being.

There is a nervous pause before Luna Elizabeth asks: "What do you need to discuss with Evans? Is there something I can help with?"

"No, not really, Luna," I refuse her offer. "Actually, I would like to ask about his Mate and them leaving your Pack for a few years."

I inhale calmly while Luna Elizabeth produces a sound similar to 'ohh'. Another pause stretches between us, filled with her deep breathing and I allow myself to look at Tyche. She's focused on driving, but she looks back at me because we have stopped at traffic lights. She whispers: "Human Luna in one of the largest packs?"

I nod quickly and put my index finger in front of my mouth to keep her quiet. She blinks at me in surprise, then shrugs and continues driving. I know that there is a lot we have to discuss so I'm thankful that the drive is so long.

Then I can hear Luna Elizabeth again: "Alpha Summons, are you still there?"

"Yes, Luna," I answer immediately.

"Evans has arrived. I will give you your privacy," she informs me and I can hear some strange sounds and a silent dialogue: "It's Alpha Summons' daughter."

"Royal Guardian pack?"

"Uh huh."

Then a strong male voice is heard on the phone: "Good afternoon, Alpha Summons, this is Beta Evans Weir speaking. What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, Beta Evans," I greet him with a smile on my lips. "I have a few questions about a person you should be familiar with." I inhale and wait for him to say something. However, he waits for me to finish the sentence myself so I do just that: "His name is Carson Gillion."

There is a shocked inhale in the phone and my heartbeat accelerates. Please, please, let him say yes and confirm everything Carson has told me!

Beta Evans coughs and carefully responds: "Yes, I do know him."

"I'm glad to hear he didn't make it up," I say smoothly, playing with the hem of my dress, and it makes Evans worried, I can hear it.

"Has he done anything . . .?" He doesn't finish the sentence, but the worry is etched in those few words.

"We had a long unexpected chat." I look at the road, then back at the phone. "He claimed to be a good guy despite being rogue. And he gave me your and your Mate's name to testify. She's Adrianna, right?" I navigate myself through the conversation as if I were in a big meeting. And I think it's paying off.

Beta Evans clears his throat and admits: "Yes, that's right. Uh . . . Where have you met Carson, Alpha? Usually, he's busy with his group of rogues . . ." He stops and quickly explains in a reassuring voice: "I mean, the group around him are all innocent people who were abandoned by their Alpha in one way or another. At one point, Adrianna and I were part of his group, too. They aren't bad rogues, trust me."

The last sentence ends up an octave higher than the rest. However, while I'm looking at Tyche meaningfully, his babbling reassures me that Carson doesn't have any ill intentions about me going to his pack. I'm so glad I would like to yip around happily, but I compose myself with a few deep breaths. Nevertheless, Beta Evans presumably takes it as my impatience due to his rant because he quickly coughs and adds: "What I meant to say is that he's a great person who had bad luck in his previous pack. So, if he has trespassed on your territory, I plead on his behalf to let him go. I know rogues aren't well seen in a pack territory but he must have been merely passing through."

Evans really seems to know Carson well. I might as well milk him for more details about . . . well, about anything related to Carson. But I need to tell Beta Evans how I met Carson in the first place. I think a tiny lie won't hurt and it could help with the realistic concept of my call.

"He wasn't just passing through in the sense you mean," I tell Beta Evans and Tyche's ears perk up. She's waiting for my explanation, too, so I have to choose something plausible. I sigh and reluctantly add: "I found him in our pack hospital stealing."

Beta Evans sighs deeply and says more to himself than me: "I've told the stubborn fool to accept the medical supplies from us." Then he returns to our conversation: "Look, Alpha, I'm really sorry you had to meet him under such conditions. He's not a thief in nature. Witches can't help cure the wounds when the wolf is weak and the person seriously injured. . ." There is another sigh coming from Beta Evans. "I'm going to pay for all the things he took from your hospital, just be so kind and let him go. His people need him and some even need those supplies."

I'm shocked to hear this and even Tyche sucks in a breath. He has to be really close to Carson to offer such a thing and he probably knows something we aren't aware of, yet. There is a moment in Beta Evans' speech before he asks tentatively: "Alpha Summons?"

I gulp and feel sorry for my little lie. And there I promised Carson not to scare Adrianna by being imprisoned. . . I try to find a means of making the lie less hurting. "Yes, Beta Evans, I'm still here. I was just surprised by your offer." I close my eyes, thinking of a solution. "Well, he didn't take much and my father doesn't even know about it so we don't need to make a big affair from this situation." I make up my mind and add seriously: "All sides will keep quiet about it but I want to know everything about the rogues you once belonged to and about mister Gillion, lest I confirm what he has told me already."

Beta Evans sounds defeated. "Okay, okay, I will tell you, just don't punish him. You'll understand soon."

With that, I know that we are going to find out a lot. He may keep some information to himself but he wants to save Carson. I brace myself for what is to come and hope I will be able to remember it all. If not, I know that Diana is listening attentively in my mind.

Carson

I'm still shell-shocked about the fact that Tyche was able to mindlink me. And even her werewolf spoke to me! How the hell is that even possible?! I mean, I know that the Royal Guardian pack has better abilities than any other pack but being able to mindlink werewolves outside of their pack is unexpected for me. Come to think about it, perhaps it's not so unexpected in general because they need to protect the Royal Pack, which consists of only the extended royal family, at all costs, which can also be done by asking other packs' werewolves to help them.

David touches my shoulder and I jerk in his direction. "You okay?" he asks.

I laugh out loud shortly. "As okay as I can be, David."

David looks me up and down in concern, then speaks up uncertainly: "Are you angry that I didn't tell you in advance? That I hid it all from you?"

I shake my head. "Of course not. I'm just slightly taken aback by all that information." I purse my lips in thought. "Maybe it's even better that you didn't tell me because if she hadn't arrived, I would certainly feel depressed." I look at him and he grants me a small smile.

"Let's clean the dishes and wait for Amanda," David offers and I nod in agreement. My first steps are for Atalanta's hair, though. I check that I still have them and then I place the sack into my pocket. Standing behind the counter, I notice that there is a roll that wasn't there when we greeted Atalanta and Tyche. I pick it up and unfold it. My eyes widen when I make a quick count of banknotes in the roll. There are ten ten-dollar banknotes in it, which covers all of the lunch for the four of us and even includes a nice tip.

"David?" I call at him still in awe. He looks up from the table and I wave the money in front of him. "She even paid for the lunch," I inform him.

David laughs and continues stacking the dishes. "She's better off than our whole clan. This is nothing for her."

"But it's a nice gesture," I argue and decide to count the cash register. The paper for writing the number of each value is in the first drawer. I put it on the counter and then I pull all the bills out in stacks. Meanwhile, David starts walking to the kitchen and calls at me: "Remember that she doesn't know that you're her mate. Imagine how she's gonna react when she finds out."

I grit my teeth. He doesn't need to remind me. I've been playing all different kinds of scenarios in my head but all of them are useless right now. I need to get on her good side and then she won't murder me on the spot. Hopefully.

And her wish to see our group is playing right into my cards. Suppose she can learn more about me and my people. In that case, there is not only the possibility of being accepted as her mate but also the possibility of gaining some understanding for all the other rogues. I know that it's too farfetched to hope that maybe my group can be proclaimed as a true pack. However, my previous fear is still valid because there will be my scent all around the place and my disguise could be shattered or, what would be worse, she could make the wrong assumption that her mate was there and that the smell isn't even mine! I wouldn't survive that.

I sigh and note down the number of different nominal values. Another important issue is my transition if the best of the best happens. Tyche already finds me suspicious and she's Atalanta's guardian. I really don't understand how it works with the Royal Pack. To me, something doesn't add up. There is the Princess, Atalanta is her lady-in-waiting being also the Alpha's daughter and she has Tyche as her protector. There seem to be too many people for me in this succession. There has to be something I'm not aware of because, surely, when there is an official function, Tyche wouldn't lag behind the Princess, too, would she? But perhaps my common sense is wrong, which has never happened before. However, everything has the first time. . .

I rub my right hand and hiss in pain. A bruise is forming and it feels as if the bones have shifted a bit. And the touch hurts quite a lot. I didn't notice it prior, but it will take a while to heal so Zeus must have diminished the pain for me. I shake my head in disbelief and place all the extra money in an envelope together with the sheet of counts. I seal it closed just when David comes out of the kitchen.

He whistles. "Wow, where have you placed your hand? In a vice?"

I chuckle. "Yeah, and that vice's name was Tyche." David looks at me in disbelief while I leave the counter and sit down on a chair. I turn my head in his direction and beckon to him to come to me. "Anyway, who did you send to find Atalanta? She seemed to take it easy that someone entered her privacy but I'm sure it wasn't like that at first."

David sits in front of me and scratches the back of his neck. "Well, about that. . ." he starts and pauses just as quickly. He looks at me for a second and then opts to watch the wall behind my shoulder instead of me. "I asked Amy to find her and deliver the letter."

He closes his eyes and scrunches up his forehead, anticipating my outburst. However, his admission doesn't surprise me much. Amy is my Servus and she is the most trusted vampire in our group. She's very skilled in tracking down people. She used to be a very important vampire in her coven until she found out too much and her Dominus decided that she was a danger to his plans. I've done my own research and her former coven has been eradicated and she's one of the few known survivors.

I sigh and ask: "What else has she found out?"

David blinks in astonishment and looks me straight in the eyes. I project as much calmness as I can as he nods his head for a bit before answering. "She found out that Atalanta has a room in the actual werewolf castle but she's training a lot with her father nowadays. Oh, and she looks after a baby."

"A baby?" I cry out just when the door opens and Amanda walks in.

She sticks a tongue at us and says strangely: "Yes, I know it now, too. You could have saved me from the embarrassment in front of the doctor when you could smell it."

I blink at her, then move my eyes to David who begins snickering. Then it finally makes sense and I start laughing. I get up and walk over to Amanda to give her a hug. "That's great, congratulations, Amanda!"

Her expression isn't very happy, though. I can sense her unease and even David sobers up. "What's wrong?" I almost whisper the question.

"I can't afford to have a hybrid child," she admits painfully. "And it's too late for an abortion."

Now I understand. She has entertained quite a number of partners lately because her former lover was killed due to being a rogue. I'm surprised she knows who the father is with all these one-night stands. And one thing is sure - the father isn't human, otherwise, she wouldn't be this distraught.

"Don't worry," I try to calm her down. "You'll be fine, the baby will be fine and everyone is going to help you. We're one big family, okay." She nods sadly and sits down on my chair. "How far along are you?" I add as soon as she's seated.

"E-eight. . ." she begins and her voice breaks.

"Eight weeks?" David suggests and she turns her head no tearfully.

"Eight months, then?" I finish for her uncertainly. She nods and focuses her eyes on the floor between her legs. We are left speechless. She's so far along but no-one has noticed anything. But eight months also means that her child belongs to her lover, who she barely speaks about.

She sniffs and finds the courage to speak up. "It has to be John's. And he was a vampire so . . . so I don't know what this child will be like. I know that vampires can only have one biological offspring but I thought . . . I thought that. . ." She doesn't finish before she bursts into tears.

Suddenly, my personal problems with Atalanta seem insignificant. This child will be unique in their generation because of their heritage. Immortal witches or wizards aren't common and when they appear, they are usually hunted down because of dark practices to reach immortality. I pat Amanda's shoulder awkwardly and I hug her from the side. "The baby will be alright. No-one has to know the tiny detail about their father and when they are old enough to know, they will also be powerful enough to protect you both."

Amanda sniffles and looks at me thankfully. "Oh, Carson," she sniffles again, "you make it sound so easy . . . that I . . . that I long to believe it."

I squeeze her some more during her hiccups and add: "I vow to protect you both with all my possibilities and abilities for the rest of my life. Even if I had to put a petition to the Alpha King to persuade royal Covens on your behalf."

She smiles gratefully and wipes her tears on her sleeve. She even seems to relax after my promise.

"Don't promise something like this. They won't listen to you," she counters with a sigh. She doesn't know that I'm mated to the Royal Guardian pack so she naturally believes that I'm exaggerating.

I look at David fiercely and make up my mind - I have to persuade Atalanta to accept me and help my people in front of the Alpha King. She will surely have more influence than an average werewolf thanks to her being the lady-in-waiting and the future Luna of Silent Heights Pack.