Alpha Gideon’s deception

Research findings

Location: Crescent pack (Sam’s home)

************

Samuel spends the next few days visiting the lake where he met Jesse on a daily basis, riding there early morning and staying until afternoon. It does make him uncomfortable to spend so much time at another pack’s territory, without their express permission. While he is on good terms with the pack’s Alpha and Luna and he often trades with them, he knows his actions will still be perceived as offensive if the pack guards spot him there; it could cause tensions. Still, the urge to see his mate makes it hard not to return there. If there is even a slight chance he will bump into her, he has to take it.

Jesse never shows up during his first week visiting the forest. While it’s disappointing, it was the result Sam was expecting. Her last encounter in the forest put her in danger, so it makes sense for her to avoid it for a while. The forest doesn't seem to be frequented often. He never runs into anyone from her pack while sitting there by himself, reading a book.

After his forest visits turn out to be fruitless, he does consider alternative methods to see her again, like setting up a trade visit with their pack. Normally, this would be a no-brainer — their packs are on good terms, so a visit would really not be that out of the ordinary, even though he’s mostly spoken to them over the phone rather than face to face. However, the presence of the other man is giving Sam pause.

Jesse’s so-called ‘mate’ is an Alpha, that much is clear from his physique and his attitude, but Sam has never encountered him during any of the Alpha Summits or pack meetups. He knows almost all pack leaders in the area, save for one: the elusive Gideon Carmichael, leader of the Riverstone pack, famed for cutting off contact with all nearby packs. None of them have meet Gideon before; most packs are unsure what to make of the group of people that’s chosen voluntary isolation.

Sam is fairly certain this Gideon is the man he saw with Jesse. That means the situation is particularly tenuous: the Alpha, or others in his pack, could respond badly to the unannounced arrival of another pack leader, right around the time they’ve decided to come out of hiding, and Sam doesn’t want to ruin matters for Alpha Charles and Luna Isabel if they’ve successfully managed to secure a relationship with the Riverstone pack.

No, a public visit would be ill-advised right now. He’s keen to meet Jesse alone, without involving the rest of her pack. Forest visits are the best way to do so, but they don’t appear to be paying off. Sam can't help but feel like a failure, coming back empty handed each time.

Sam knows how little Nigel has to go upon and doesn’t have much faith in the process. As a week passes and he still receives no news from the doctor, he starts to suspect the investigation might prove fruitless.

Then, after eight days, he gets a call from his friend. Nigel wants to share his findings.

That evening, his heart is pounding as he knocks on the door. Any news is good news, he tries to convince himself, but he doesn't fully believe that. What if there’s nothing to be found, nothing to uncover without him meeting Jesse again? What if that never happens? Or worse, what if Nigel can conclusively tell him she’s not his mate after all? What if his instincts were completely wrong? Jesse hasn't left his mind all week, her memory still firmly planted in his heart, and he's not sure how well he will cope if he is forced to let go and move on from her.

Nigel smiles as he opens the door, welcoming him in. Chase has coffee and tea brewing and snacks on the coffee table. The couple always make great hosts, regardless of the circumstances. Sam sits down in their living room, making small talk while sipping coffee and enjoying homemade carrot cake. Once they have finished pleasantries, Chase makes himself sparse, giving Sam and Nigel the opportunity to get to business. Sam smiles as Nigel brings out a binder. It's just like him to come fully prepared.

Sam curiously eyes the binder. “So… you find anything?”

Nigel nods seriously. “I can shed light on a few things, certainly. But I must stress that I can't draw any definite conclusions just yet. We have very little to go on, so we can speculate at most. I don't want you to leave here tonight thinking you have all the facts. Your job of finding her and gaining more information remains relevant.”

Samuel nods. “I understand. I am just grateful for anything you can add to clear this up.”

Nigel gives him a self-effacing smile, trying to mask his pride in his research. “Well, I can certainly help you with that. We can start by ruling out some possibilities.”

He grabs his binder and leafes through it until he reaches a yellow tab.

“Let's start with the most pressing issue. Dual mateships.”

He coughs gently. “I have spent most of this week trying to unearth solid evidence that it’s possible for a werewolf to have two unrelated mates at the same time. I extended my research to the past four decades and I even translated foreign papers, but haven’t found any known or researched cases. The closest I got to it was this.”

He removes a plastic folder from the binder and hands it to Sam. It’s filled with around ten to twenty pages that are stencilled together. It looks like a research paper.

“It’s a rare case of a woman who found a second mate while her first mate was brain dead. After an accident he was reduced to a comatose, vegetative state. While he was still technically alive, she met her second mate, and established a mating connection.”

“It’s a fascinating case, it sheds light on what exactly can trigger a second chance mateship; that said, it doesn't exactly tell help us make any more sense of your particular situation.”

He sighs. “Of course, I also found many cases worldwide regarding twin mateships. I stumbled upon one case of mateship with fraternal twins, which was fascinating as well, but it still doesn't bring us any further. The familial connection seems to be imperative for a person to have two mates.”

Sam frowns. “So what does that mean? Does it mean he’s not her mate? Or are you saying I’m not?”

Nigel takes a while to consider his answer.

“There are two distinct possibilities. The first is that Jesse is the first case in medical history of a dual mateship. I have no way to verify that without meeting her and organising a full clinical study. It's not impossible, but the odds are against it.”

He pauses, trying to gauge Sam’s reaction before gently and carefully continuing on.

“The second possibility is that this man lied to her and led her to believe that he was her true mate. If their mateship was established after she lost her wolf, she would really have no way to know for sure. She could have simply taken his word for it.”

He pauses again, silence hanging heavy in the air. “Without more information all we can do is make assumptions, rather than establish facts. But if I had to wager a guess, I would apply Occam's Razor. I believe that man lied to her.”

Samuel frowns, feeling anger rising. “That’s terrible! Who would deceive someone like that on purpose? Why would they sink so low?!”

Nigel shrugs. “Who knows? Maybe he had a crush on her and wanted to seduce her. Maybe he had something to gain from dating her. Regardless of his reasons, it's a foul and deceptive thing to do.”

Sam feels his temper rising. He is not a violent person at all — often praised by others for his calm, collected temperament — but the thought of someone deliberately misleading his mate makes the wolf in him go crazy. He wishes he could go back to that exact moment a week ago and scream at the stranger manipulating his mate.

Nigel appraises him; he can tell his friend is in emotional turmoil, so he decides to switch to a lighter topic of conversation.

“Let’s talk about your mate losing her wolf. There are a lot more available resources around this area; I also have a solid baseline knowledge around this particular topic. There are basically three main causes that could cause a werewolf to lose the ability to shift.”

Samuel takes a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He can’t be distracted by his temper while his friend is sharing valuable information. He listens with interest as Nigel continues.

“The first cause is hereditary. In some cases, a werewolf is born without a wolf, without the ability to shift and without the traits most of us get from our wolves. They have limited smell, hearing or strength. For all intents and purposes, these are ordinary humans born to wolf parents. Most commonly, such people are born to mixed couples, meaning one werewolf and one human parent, but I came across a few papers regarding two werewolf parents with a wolf-less child. It’s rare, but certainly not unheard of.”

Nigel takes out another folder from his binder and hands it over.

“I could find no evidence of such people experiencing a mating connection. The common consensus within the community is that without a wolf, it would be impossible for them to have a mate. I think we can safely assume Jesse was born with a wolf, but she is simply unable to shift. Which brings me onto the next, more likely causes.”

He rifles through the binder, scanning more paperwork.

“Trauma, mental or physical, can cause problems with shifting. This is more common than you might think. In order to heal from severe injuries, sometimes the wolf withdraws and remains hidden until its wounds are mostly healed. This speeds up the healing process. The body focuses all energy inwards and none of the wolf's strength is wasted on the shifting process. In these cases, shifting problems are almost always temporary. The person will be able to shift again once the wolf has healed sufficiently.”

“Mental health can cause shifting disorders as well. Anxiety, severe PTSD and mood disorders can have a significant impact on the wolf, similar to what the human is experiencing, which can create distress and make it harder for the human and wolf to connect. This lack of connection can cause a number of problems, ranging from inability to shift to hyper shifting. In extreme cases some wolves struggle to return to their regular human form.”

He gives Sam a reassuring smile. “If that is what is causing her problems, I am quite confident we can help her. I have seen cases during my medical residency. Some patients couldn’t shift for years, some shifted accidentally or while they were asleep. But with therapy, medication and the right treatment plan all returned to normalcy within a year or two at most.”

Sam gives him a faint smile. While he isn't thrilled about the possibility his mate may be hurt, mentally or physically, it's good to know her fragile state will most likely be temporary. He hopes Nigel will be able to help her.

Nigel moves around in his chair uncomfortably, looking anxious.

“There is a third option we need to discuss.”

“A wolf could be injured or paralysed through deliberate poisoning.”

Sam’s head yerks up, his mouth slightly agape. He wasn't expecting this.

The doctor continues solemnly.

“Most folks aren't aware that it’s possible to purposefully stop someone from shifting, but it's a pretty well known phenomenon within the medical community — I found plenty of reports of poisoning used in war zones. Werewolves were injected with Acolite and killed in their human forms. It's illegal, naturally, but that doesn't stop corrupt leaders from utilising it.

He pauses, considering his next words.

“In most cases, legal prescription drugs are used. Acolite is beneficial in cases where a wolf cannot shift back to its human form. It's used to paralyse the wolf and force it to withdraw, so the human can undergo medical treatment for the shifting issue.”

“There is a variety of less invasive drugs as well. Benefezine numbs the wolf senses, it weakens strength, smell, etcetera. Caffezenil doesn't prevent shifting from happening, but weakens the wolf significantly. They can all be useful for the treatment of those with trauma related shifting issues, but you can imagine what happens if they fall into the wrong hands. I found some reports… ”

He hands over another folder to Sam.

“... of Acolite, Benefezine, and Caffezenil getting sold on the black market. They are mostly used in illegal wolf fights from what I can tell in police reports, but the data is very limited.”

Nigel looks Sam straight into his eyes.

“I need you to be aware of this. A combination of Acolite and Benefezine would paralyse a wolf and numb all wolf senses. It would feel like being human, your wolf wouldn’t be present at all. Anyone with nefarious intentions could buy it on the black market and achieve an effect not unlike what your mate is experiencing.”

Sam tries to take it all in. An uneasy feeling settles into his stomach.

“Do you think that is what is happening to Jesse? Do you think someone is poisoning her?”

Nigel shakes his head with determination.

“I don't. I can't rule it out until we have spoken to her, but I would mark this as a worst case scenario, not a likely cause; we have no evidence whatsoever pointing to foul play. It’s more likely she has a mental or physical health condition that affected her wolf and her so-called ‘mate’ took advantage of her fragile state.”

Samuel nods slowly. “That makes sense.” He isn’t entirely convinced, but he doesn’t want to argue with the expert. Nigel is guided by logic, he is led by emotion.

Nigel gives him a faint smile. “Keep in mind, these drugs are temporary. They wear off after a while. In order to poison her, this man would have to maintain continual access to her and drug her every other day without her or her pack noticing it. It seems a little far-fetched.”

It's somewhat reassuring to Sam, but the knot in his stomach is still there.

“What do we do next? Is there anything I can do other than waiting for her to show up?”

Nigel nods. “You could start by doing some research on her pack. If she was wounded or traumatised there will likely be some event that triggered it. If she is of Alpha Blood as you suspect, there has to be something for you to find about the Alpha’s daughter getting hurt.”

With that note, Nigel’s part in this investigation comes to an end; there is no more research to be done, no more findings to get until he’s spoken to Jesse.

The evening wraps to a graceful close. That evening, Sam leaves the house feeling both hopeful and anxious. He knows Nigel gave him the best he possibly could have, but the lack of certainty is gnawing away at him. Could some maniac be poisoning his mate, manipulating and lying to her? Is that idea really as far-fetched as the doctor claims? If so, why can't he stop fearing the possibility?

That night, his sleep is plagued with dreams. He dreams of meeting Jesse for the first time, fighting the bear while she holds the stick in her hands; she is fighting alongside him. Then, right as he kills the bear and watches it fall limb into the water, the vision changes. Jesse is gone and in her place, on the shoreline next to the lake, a large snowy white wolf has appeared. It is paralysed but awake. Beautiful bright purple eyes stare at him, pleading with him. Help me, the wolf urges via mind link, Colby, I need you.

His wolf starts to run, climbing up the shore to reach the white wolf, but just as he gets closer to her, mere meters away from reaching her, she fades away, slowly becoming more and more translucent. By the time he gets to her, she's gone, and Colby howls in agony.

Samuel wakes up drenched in sweat the next morning.