The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire. Hanna watched as everyone took in her words. She walked over to the pile of wood that Rowan left and chucked a few more pieces into the fire. The sound jolted everyone out of their thoughts. Wendy took in a deep breath, and then she gagged. “What the fuck?” She wretched again, and then the smell hit the rest of us.
“What the fuck is that?” Micca gagged too. It was only Toya, Hanna, and I that didn’t gag. We looked at each other and then back to the other two.
“That…” Hanna started, but stopped.
“That’s what it smells like when you burn bodies,” I finished for her.
Micca groaned and rushed away, puking closer to the house while Wendy looked at me with wide eyes. “Why are you three okay?”
“Because this isn’t the first time we had to do this.” Toya walked over to Wendy, pulling her away from the fire. Hanna went to grab Micca, and we walked to Carl’s grave, creating space.
“The first time is always the worst,” I offered with a small smile. Over here the air was clearer, the scent of pine and spruce overtaking the smell of the bodies.
Micca gagged again, wiping the sweat on her shirt as she shook her head. “I will never want to smell that again.”
“And hopefully, you will never have to.” Hanna rubbed her back. “But back to my point. The easiest way to take down a king is to get rid of his supporters. The Lycans started going missing over two hundred years ago. The attacks on the packs here around the same time. It’s only been the last fifty years that it picked up pace.”
I nodded. “You’re right.”
“You take away the Lycans, then move on to the biggest packs most loyal to the king, and then when he is isolated,” she clapped her hands together. “You take him out, leaving a space for someone to step in and take over.”
“Holy fuck, you’re right,” Wendy whispered.
“Exactly right. Someone has been planning this for a long time. And he started the attacks in Japan. But why there?” I turned to Hanna, and she looked away. “I wouldn’t ask unless I had to.”
She thought about it for a moment and then agreed. “The Lycans. They were the first creations of the Moon Goddess, and then there was the first family. The first family of wolves that we are all descended from.” Toya looked at me and I nodded. “There was a story that the Japanese wolves were the first family.” She looked up at the moon. “And in a way, we were.”
“What do you mean?” Wendy settled on the ground, and everyone else sat down with her, while I grabbed the shovel. “Wait, are you going to bury Carl?” I nodded, so she got up and ran to the front of the cabin. She came back with an armful of flowers and dropped them on top of him. “Goodbye Carl. I promise we will take care of Carly for you.” Then she turned and nodded to the shovel. “You can finish.”
“Why did you do that?” Micca looked at the flowers. “They are just going to be covered in dirt.”
“I saw a drawing in Carly’s room.” She sat down and smiled. “They planted those flowers together. I wanted him to take a piece of her with him to the other side.” She turned to Hanna. “Okay, go ahead with what you were saying about the first family?”
“The very first family is a well-guarded secret. The Moon Goddess created one line, but other gods grew envious of her creations, and they asked for permission to create their own wolves. She agreed. There was a line in Japan created by the goddess of the moon, Tsukiyomi.”
Toya nodded. “And another in Egypt, by Nut.”
Hanna nodded. “There are at least a few others, gods and goddesses from over the world, who are similar. They oversee the night, the sky, the moon, and, with it, the shifters. The Japanese were open with their stories. They were proud of the lineage and never hid it. A wolf, unknowingly, could have assumed that the Japanese clan was the first family, and they went after them to get rid of them.”
“Why? I mean, we are all descended from them?” Wendy leaned back on her hands, looking to the sky, trying to figure it out.
I had listened as I filled in the grave, but I stopped for a second to meet her eyes. “The first family is stronger than other wolves. They descended from the Moon Goddess’s power, and because of it, they are stronger, faster, and smarter than most wolves.”
Wendy nodded. “So the other first families from the other goddesses should be just as strong.” She pointed to Hanna, but she shook her head.
“No, as they didn’t want to offend the Moon Goddess, their lines were made not weaker, but with less magic, so they tend to be really strong alphas and betas. They aren’t as strong as the actual first family.”