Chapter Fifty-Three

The sun was breaking over the trees as I broke out of the forest. I didn’t realize that the burning took so long. It took the entire night. Megan’s voice sounded tired. I nodded as I ran into the pack house and up the stairs. I needed to see him for myself before I believed he was truly back to his normal self. I made it to the landing and could hear the pack house waking up, but I was only focused on one thing.

“Dad?” I slammed into the office and skidded to a stop. My father was there, sitting behind his desk. He looked like he was normal, but that didn’t mean he was. Ronnie was slumped in his normal chair, and they both looked up to where I was panting in the doorway.

“Yeah, pup.” His smile made me burst into tears.

“You scared the hell out of me, old man. I thought I had lost you.” I ran into his arms as he stood and wrapped them around me.

“I’m sorry, Amy. I should have listened to you sooner. I wouldn’t have hurt you if I had.” He pulled back to look at the faded bruises. His face grew dark, and he pulled me beside him. “Where is Aurora?”

“She’s back in her cell. Beck put her there last night when we were finished with her,” Ronnie yawned.

“Get her here now.” My dad growled, but I heard the command go out to the entire pack. Pack meeting now. Wake up and make your way to the Agora.

“Fuck.” Ronnie stood and slapped himself. “You’re calling a meeting to the Agora?” My dad nodded. “Go get Aurora yourself and bring her.” Ronnie nodded and left.

“The Agora?”

“Come, pup. It’s time you learned more of our pack.” My father stood and grabbed my hand. He grabbed a bag on his way out, and we walked out of the pack house. He took a left, and we followed a pathway cut into the dirt through the trees. “Our family has been here for a very long time, long before the humans of the land came here. We once lived as wolves, under the Moon Goddess’s guidance. We survived off the land and only shifted to make decisions.”

“What?”

“Our pack, our family, descended from the first wolves. From the goddess herself. And the Agora is a magical place.”

“What are you saying?” My mind was trying to catch up with itself. My mother always said we were a direct line from the goddess, but I didn’t really believe her. Now my father was telling me the same.

“The Agora is the very place where the goddess blessed the original wolves with human bodies.” My father looked back at me; I had slowed when he started his story. "It is our blessed circle, where we meet to make the decisions that affect the pack.”

I stumbled over my thoughts. “I thought the goddess blessed humans with a wolf’s form…”

My father laughed and shook his head. “We lived here as wolves for over a thousand years before the humans came here. They started hunting us, even went as far as killing the alpha.” My father turned and started walking backwards. “The goddess saw our destruction. Our people, our wolves, have always worshipped her, so she granted us our salvation. She offered us the ability to shift into human, so we survived. It became easier to survive as humans who shift into wolves, and here we are.”

“Why do other packs believe differently?”

“Because they aren’t from the original pack. Those from our pack keep the truth close, not even telling their mates about other packs. We tell our children when they come of age.”

“But why hide it?”

“Because the Agora holds power, which means our pack holds power. The only pack that is closer to the goddess was the Lycans, and they were wiped out.”

My eyes snapped back to my dad. “Why were they wiped out? Why is the king the only one left?”

My father smiled. “That is a fantastic question. One I wish I had the answer to, but only the King himself knows.” He shook his head slowly. “I have my own ideas.”

“What are your ideas?” I pushed, but he shook his head again.

“If you want to figure out the answer, ask the king himself. I won’t add my own reasons to the mix. But I think it would be around the same reasons that we have been targeted here.”

“Wait, you have been targeted? Dad, what aren’t you telling me?”

“People crave power. They think if they take out the two highest packs that the vacuum left will be easy to step into, but without the goddess, we are nothing.”

“I don’t know what that means…”

“You will.” He turned around and pushed through the last bit of trees, and it opened up to what I could only assume was the Agora.