Telling Ghosts

Oliver

After the meeting, I let Adair take over. We needed a run, and to blow off some steam. I told one of the warriors on patrol to take a couple hours off, and filled in for him.

Meetings like that never brought good news. The previous night when I mindlinked Cody, he had made sure to remind me that he had told me so regarding the information Lya had shared. We all knew she knew something, even if she didn’t realize she did. It was my idiotic mindset that my mate would never do me wrong that blinded me from pursuing that information.

Adair growled. 'It wasn’t intentional,' he insisted.

I knew he was right there. Since Tala had been more present with Lya, Adair had been able to maintain more of a connection with her. That gave us the privilege of at least getting an idea of her intentions. Adair would be able to pick up on if they were dark and sinister. Right now, he only saw innocence and misunderstanding.

Something in my mind flickered and Adair perked up. He started to head off away from our patrol location, but I pulled him back.

'We’re on duty,' I reminded him.

By the time the warrior returned to resume his spot, whatever had piqued Adair’s interest was long gone. So, I trudged over to my grandmother’s cottage, shifted, found some of the clothes I left stashed over here, and let myself in. Dr. Whitledge, my grandmother, and I had a meeting arranged for this afternoon, and I was desperately hoping this one would go better than the one this morning.

“Ollie, how are you?” my grandmother greeted with a warm smile.

I took a muffin from the plate she offered. “Just hoping you guys have good news, I’m a little tapped out on bad today.”

“Your lucky day, then,” she said, patting my cheek.

Dr. Whitledge cleared his throat, drawing my attention to where he sat at the table with my grandmother’s book in front of him. “I believe I was able to identify enough markers to confirm that your mate is from this pack, but not the exact parentage, I’m afraid.”

“Well, that’s a start,” I said, encouraged by a step in the right direction. Admittedly, this particular side venture did not matter too much right now; it could be figured out later. But I’d take any good news at this point.

“A start, yes,” Dr. Whitledge agreed, “so I am returning your book to allow you and your mate to do some further research on her supposed lineage. I am still not certain, as I did not have much to go off of, but I believe it is probable. Is there any way we could get a sample and some history from her parents?”

I shook my head. “Lya’s mother is a human and knew nothing of werewolves. She thinks her father is a wolf, but she didn’t see him again really after she was fourteen or fifteen. No way to contact him now.”

“We need to try and dig something up,” Dr. Whitledge insisted, cutting me off. “The last known traces of this bloodline died out nearly a century ago.”

“What pack are we even talking about?” I demanded. “And how the hell is she from that pack if they are gone?”

“Come now, Oliver, I know Thom was the historian, but you have read your books,” my grandmother sighed. “Lya is of the Wulver Pack.”

I racked my brain for any information I could remember of them, but not much was known. They were one of the original packs, but they were eradicated so early on which caused an extreme loss of knowledge.

“The pack I mentioned to you before giving you that book. It’s the Wulver Pack,” my grandmother clarified. “It is believed that before the entire pack could be destroyed, the remaining members escaped and found solace living amongst humans.”

“Oh.” That did strike a chord. Any remains of the Wulver Pack was more of a rumor than anything. They didn’t exactly have territory, but they stayed connected after their dispersal. Supposedly, they had blended quite well into the human society, and especially in the region their territory used to be, were widely accepted due to the standing with the local population the pack had. I looked down at my untouched muffin. I didn’t know if this information even mattered much at the moment, and if it was worth spending time on it given other matters at hand. I tucked this information away for a rainy day. Something to deal with after the hunters were dealt with.

“You need to talk to Lya, Oliver,” my grandmother said. “They were initially discovered because they were the protectors, the peacekeepers, and that they still are, even from the shadows. Hunters originally came into existence to take down this pack, and the members mutated to resist their tactics. Then, they went against their natural ways of living to camouflage themselves from them. The Wulver Pack may no longer have a territory they call their own, but they are the strongest among us. The reason there has been peace for so long? It’s because the remnants of the Wulvers are behind the scenes, keeping any threats at bay.”

“Why would people form a coalition to destroy a group of us that were deemed protectors and peacekeepers?” I asked my grandmother in confusion. “And how do you know so much about this pack if everyone else seems to think they were successfully eradicated?”

She gave me a wan smile. “Not everyone understood that something most considered to be a monster could be good. Only the bad our kind have done gets recorded for humans to know - never the good. You know this.”

I left my grandmother’s cottage with the book securely wrapped in its cloth and tucked under my arm. I promised her that I’d bring Lya by soon. It was easy to see that Lya trusted my grandmother, and I wasn’t so certain she trusted me. We needed to talk to her wolf and get answers from Tala, which would hopefully provide confirmation that
Lya was actually from this pack. Truth be told, I hoped she wasn’t. It would put a target on her head.

I wasn’t quite certain how all this new information fit into the whole equation of what was going on, but I was sure it had to. Truth be told, in the time I had been alpha, my pack had not seen much turmoil. Some disagreements with other packs, aggressive rogues, and random hunters here and there had been the extent of any upheaval. It wasn’t a surprise to me that something finally came knocking on our door, but I still had absolutely no desire to put my pack through the risks of war. If they were still unaware of the location of the pack, it would be easy enough to keep in hiding and wait them out. And yet, amidst it all, Gregory was right. We would be remiss if we did not do something about them now, even if just laying low was the easier - and safer - option.

I didn’t even realize how long I had been walking when I ended up back at the packhouse. I made my way in, and knocked on Lya’s door. When there was no answer, I ducked inside and placed the book on her bed. She had been reading a lot, and I hoped this one would grab her attention.

Adair perked up again once back in the kitchen, and I glanced around, trying to find what caught his attention. I spotted two wolves outside, dashing toward the packhouse. I recognized one as Rose’s light blonde wolf. The deep red one wasn’t as familiar, but Adair knew immediately it was Tala. I strolled out of the patio doors just as they were emerging from the treeline fully dressed.

“So how’d you do it?” I asked, slinging my arm over Lya’s shoulder. She just looked down and blushed, keeping her arms crossed.

“I had to get her angry,” Rose giggled. “The whole relax and release thing doesn’t seem to work.”

I cocked an eyebrow. I wasn’t surprised - it took a long time to learn to shift without an overpowering emotion alongside it. Most forgot about that part of the learning curve. “So what got you so angry it was worth shifting?”

“Nothing,” Lya grumbled, keeping her eyes on the ground.

“Well it can’t be nothing if even Tala got mad about it,” I chided.

Lya let out a low growl, encouraging me to drop it. Clearly, whatever it was, she was still quite upset about. I shot a look over to Rose, but she just shook her head once. Apparently, I wouldn’t be getting answers from her, either.

I steered Lya inside, Rose closely following. I glanced over at the clock on the microwave to confirm I had enough time to chat before my next meeting. I wanted to hear all about how Lya finally tapped into shifting, but she was quick to head off to her room, avoiding all my attempts to start a conversation.

“What’s up with her now?” I asked Rose, trying to keep the exasperation out of my voice.

Rose looked a little guilty. “I don’t think Tala is upset, but Rose might still be a bit angry with you. I am sorry, Alpha.” She put her head down and was out the door before I could ask another question.

I looked over in the direction Lya went, but another glance at the clock reminded me I had just a few minutes before I needed to be at the school. With a heavy sigh, I headed out of the packhouse instead.