Alexander’s POV
“It must be here somewhere,” I growled, shifting the papers from one side of the desk to the other.
I have been going through our archives for hours, not finding a single drop of information that was needed.
My office became a library of books, scrolls, and endless files and piles of papers; my desk was covered in an overflow of old scrolls.
“What the f*ck!” Luke’s bewildered voice echoed through the quiet office.
I briefly lifted my gaze and noticed him standing at the door. He looked startled to see the river of papers flowing off my desk to the floor as I rampaged through the piles and piles of papers around me.
He must have thought I was going crazy. He must think I was becoming mentally unstable.
I ignored his outbursts and quietly returned my attention to the papers in my hand.
Time was at its essence, and I didn’t have much left.
My thoughts raced off toward my unexpected meeting with the goddess.
The goddess did things differently than I expected she would, and the time I spent with her gave me insight into who she really was.
When I woke up, she was standing next to me, waiting patiently for me to gain consciousness.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, her voice soft yet warm.
“Startled, scared,” I answered, pulling myself up on my elbows and looking around. “Where are we? What is this place?”
I was in a field with tall yellow grass all around me. I could see what appeared to be a castle in the distance.
The goddess laughed, reached out to grasp my hand, and hauled me up onto my feet.
“This is where everything started,” the goddess said, and she started toward the direction of the castle.
“What started?” I asked.
The goddess sighed before answering.
“Do you know where the two breeds’ origins started?” she asked casually.
“No,” I answered truthfully. “I assumed we were just created like that.”
“If only,” she chuckled, amused.
We entered the huge golden gates going toward the castle, yet we didn’t go to the castle but stopped at a training area, where we found two Lycan wolves sparring.
“Is that?” I gasped, not believing what I was seeing. “Am I dreaming?”
“You are not dreaming,” the goddess said. “And yes, they are brothers, but not only by blood; they share the same womb too.”
Brothers?
Twins?
But how?
In my historical books, they are known to be two different breeds, a Lycan and a werewolf; here, they were sparring as two Lycans.
“What happened?” I asked curiously. “How was he able to change his DNA from Lycan to Werewolf?”
“It’s a punishment handed down from me,” the goddess exclaimed. “I removed his magic and forced him to run on four legs.”
“Why?” I asked. “What did he do to make you so angry?”
“He tried to murder his brother in cold blood for power and greed,” she explained.
To me, the punishment was not that serious. I was fine with running on all fours, and my magic didn’t control my life. I guess it must have been the biggest humiliation to have your gifts taken away from you.
“He didn’t take the punishment lightly and swore to take revenge and destroy the Lycan bloodline,” the goddess continued. “He went on a killing spree.”
“Thus all the secrecy surrounding the Lycans,” I said. It wasn’t a question, yet the goddess answered and continued.
“Yes,” she said, and her face turned serious. “A hundred and fifty years ago, things got out of hand. His worst murder was the offspring of…”
“He murdered pups in cold blood? Was he insane?” I gasped, interrupting the goddess as a sharp and painful pinch moved through my heart as if a hot silver dagger were forced into my heart.
“Yes,” she said, agreeing. “His youngest victims were two pups.”
I squinted my eyes, trying to understand why the goddess was telling me this. Then it occurred to me that maybe the goddess was referring to Emily and me.
“Am I reincarnated?” I asked.
The question sounded crazy, yet it was the only thing that made sense.
The goddess’s gaze softened.
“Sort of,” she answered.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Basilia,” she explained, and paused. “Her ability is one of the most powerful abilities created in the Lycan world.”
“Then how is he still alive?” I asked, gesturing to the wolf. “He must be hundreds of years old, yet he didn’t age much in my century.”
“Magic,” she said and sighed. “I had such high expectations of him.”
“But you said you had taken his magic,” I reminded her.
“I did,” she replied. “But he allied with the witches.”
“So they are keeping him young?” I asked.
“Sort of,” she replied. “He needs to kill Lycans to keep his youth.”
“Is that the reason why he built the camps and kidnapped Lycans?” I asked. “He is stocking up to keep his youth.”
“Well, sort of,” she said, and for once, the goddess’s eyes seemed tired and sad.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked. “What are you not telling me, and why did he become like this?”
So far, he seemed relaxed and happy, and he was laughing while sparring with his brother. Now and again, I could hear them teasing one another.
The goddess’s face was twisted in sadness.
“His gift was to symphony another Lycan’s ability and use it against them,” she said.
What an impressive gift! No wonder he became so power-hungry.
“He got this idea that the more Lycan he killed, the more abilities he could have and the stronger he would become. He wanted to become the strongest Lycan on earth.”
“Why?” I asked. “What would he gain out of it?”
“He wanted me as a mate,” she replied.
“What?” I gasped, wide-eyed. He was doing this because he was in love with the goddess.
She nodded, confirming what I just heard was true.
“What does it have to do with Emily and me?” I asked.
“You two are the key to unlocking his abilities,” the goddess said.
Luke wouldn’t understand if I tried to explain this to him-no one would!
I internally sighed. People will think I am mad if I tell them the goddess met with me. They would put me in a mental hospital if I told them I had met her personally and received a message.
Luke kept standing frozen at the door, and I could feel his golden eyes following my every move.
Was he trying to read me?
“What are you doing?” He eventually asked, entering the office.
“I’m looking for something,” I responded, carrying on searching.
Luke came closer, carefully sidestepping the huge piles on the floor.
“What exactly are you looking for?” He asked as he casually picked up a pile of files from the visitor’s chair and set them down on the floor. “Maybe I can assist.”
I stopped what I was doing and lifted my gaze.
“I don’t think you can,” I replied.
Luke shifted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows.
“Obviously I wouldn’t be able to help you if you didn’t tell me what you were looking for,” Luke said, frustrated.
I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding and gave in.
“I’m looking for an old family tree,” I replied, holding Luke’s gaze.
Will he help me, or will he believe I have lost the plot?
****