28. Ryan

Chapter twenty-eight

Ryan

" W e'll look into Tristan's potential ripple connections," Michael continued. "Your theory makes sense. He's shown himself capable of great duplicity."

"Thank you." Mai's eyes followed a group of children on the other side of the study windows, playing tag on the back lawn. "I was wondering if you'd seen any more of AJ?"

"AJ?"

"The bear Shifter that attacked Tucker."

AJ had been working for Tristan. His family had been cursed by witches, so that their bear forms were insane. There was no rational thought when they Shifted, they just wanted to destroy and kill. From what Mai had told me, AJ was haunted by it, but Tristan was holding his mate hostage, forcing AJ to do whatever Tristan wanted.

"No," Camille said. "We have regular patrols in the forest now, and none have picked up his scent."

"Good. That's good." Despite her words, Mai looked troubled.

"So," Michael leaned back in his chair, "how are you finding Alphahood? Settling in okay?"

"Yes, thank you." Mai glanced at me. I knew what she wanted to ask, so gave a slight nod. "Would you mind if we picked your brains about the partial Shifts?"

Camille glanced between us. "Of course. Here, the knowledge is passed down from one generation to the next, but your Pack has had many disruptions in recent years. It must be confusing for you both, learning about all the powers you now have access to on the fly, as it were."

I smiled wryly. "It's one of the disadvantages to having your succession determined by combat. When there is a change in Alpha, the one with that knowledge is either dead or not feeling particularly inclined to pass it on."

"Well, anytime you have questions, we're more than happy to answer them for you."

A soft knock sounded at the door. It cracked open to reveal Shya, her curly auburn hair framing sharp green eyes. She slipped inside without waiting for a response, Tucker in her arms.

"Sorry to interrupt, Father," she began. "Hello Ryan, hello, Mai." She smiled broadly at Mai. Like her brother, she completely ignored Mason.

"Tucker fell while trying to climb the bookshelf in Henry's room. He wanted to get to the top, where Henry had hidden his book." She quickly added, "He's fine, just a little shaken up, but he wanted you, Mom."

Camille opened her arms, and Shya placed Tucker on Camille's lap.

"How are you doing?" she asked softly .

"I just wanted the book! I don't understand what's so good about it. Why does he prefer a book to me? A book, Mom! I'm fun. More than words on stupid dead wood!"

"You are fun, buddy. Too much fun. Henry gets Tucker-overload. Just like you get sugar overload, right? You still love sugar, you still want sugar, you just need a time-out from sugar every now and again."

"Tucker-overload?"

"Yes, honey, Tucker-overload."

Tucker seemed to think about this. "Okay, I can help him manage his Tucker-overload. But only if you tell me a story."

Camille smiled. "Ah, blackmail is it?"

"No, negotiation. Dad says it's important to be a good negotiator."

Camille shot a look at her mate. "Did he now? Very well. A short story, then you go and apologize to your brother."

Tucker grinned widely and settled in on his mom's lap.

"Have you heard the myth about the True Shift?"

Tucker shook his head. I frowned; I hadn't heard this one. I glanced over at Mai, and she shook her head; she hadn't heard it either. Oliver had a lot to answer for. So many of our tales and history had been lost when he took over the Pack. It was something we had to try to get back. I'd need to talk to some of the elder Pack members, see what we could put together.

"In ancient times, the True Shift was given as both a gift and a test from the Dark Goddess. It was the perfect blend of wolf and human, a colossal being of immense power. It was said that the gift would come to you when you most needed it—whether out of survival, or love, or revenge, the Dark Goddess would respond to all calls. Over time, an elite Pack was created from all those who had been given the gift. They were called the Lunar Guardians. They protected all werewolves. Fought wars against other Shifters. Patrolled our boundaries and kept us all safe. But one Guardian, Madrick, used this gift against his own people. He wanted to be the Alpha of all Alphas, the King of the Wolves, and he used his gift to take over Pack after Pack. The other Guardians were complacent. They had grown lazy, only coming to help when there was a big battle for which they knew they'd be honored as heroes. They thought many issues were now beneath them, and they let smaller problems fester and poison the Packs. They did not see the danger, and failed to protect those that needed it the most. Too late, the rest of the Guardians realized what Madrick was doing. They rallied for a final battle and managed to kill Madrick. But the Dark Goddess, furious at what the Guardians had become, removed her gift. She aged them until their backs were bent and their teeth had fallen out as punishment for failing her. And the Lunar Guardians were no more."

My wolf paced restlessly inside of me. There was something about this story that he didn't like, but I couldn't work out what.

"So, the Guardians were evil?" Tucker asked.

Camille shook her head. "No. No more than you or me. Unlike the Moon Goddess, the Dark Goddess likes to test us. She bestowed the gift on any who needed it badly enough, but it was what they did with it that counted. An evil werewolf might use the gift for good, and a good one might use it for evil. She is one who judges your deeds, not what is in your heart."

"But the Moon Goddess, she judges what is in your heart, not your deeds?"

"So it is said. "

Tucker frowned. "But then you get judged twice! One judges you for what you want to do, and the other for what you actually do! That's not fair!"

Michael laughed. "Yes, they'll get you coming and going, Tucker. Let that be a lesson for you to stop trying to steal your brother's books!"

Mai leaned forward. "You know, we don't follow the Dark One, just the Moon Goddess. I don't think I've heard about the True Shift before. Do you believe it's possible? To shift into a true werewolf, and not just our human and wolf forms?"

"My grandmother told me that when she was little, her parents found the bones of a True Shifter," Michael said. "It was supposed to be ten feet tall, with a huge skull and jaws that could crush a bear in one bite!"

"Yes, but your grandmother had the gift for exaggeration," teased Camille. "Right up to her deathbed when she insisted that the brownies she cooked were so good that the Dark Goddess herself had come to visit and traded the recipe for the secret to eternal youth. And your grandmother claimed to have misplaced the piece of paper where she wrote down the secret."

Mai laughed as Michael sighed. "Those were some damn fine brownies."

I didn't laugh. I couldn't. I'd just worked out what about the story had my wolf so agitated. Bradford had called Brock the True Werewolf. At the time, I'd assumed he'd meant the rightful Alpha, but what if he'd meant it in this sense? What if Brock had made a deal with the Dark Goddess and could shift into the True Werewolf form? It would explain why so many followed him. And if I was right, we were fucked.