Becoming the Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 2)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  For all she knew, this could have been another part of their culture. A rite of passage might have been to take a captive and feast on the human with the help of companions. Katey could have just interrupted an important part of vampire traditions, but she couldn’t sit by and watch a defenseless human suffer that kind of fate.

  Katey had no idea where such audacity came from all of the sudden, but Lord Michael seemed to be impressed by it.

  He gave her a pleased smirk and then gave a dismissive wave to Helga. The maid hurried from the dining hall as fast as she could carry herself, still shaking from the traumatizing experience.

  Once she was gone, Katey felt another wave of faintness swamp over her. She braced herself on the back of one of the chairs and took deep breaths through her mouth. Lord Michael peered curiously at her and took a step forward.

  “Are you well?” he asked with a note of sentiment.

  “I’m just really hungry,” Katey muttered as she pressed her fingers against her forehead, willing the sickness to pass. If she didn’t get food quickly, the wolf was going to press through whether she liked it or not and Lord Michael would be the first to know her secret.

  A moment of silence passed and Katey wondered why Lord Michael was still standing there. She could feel his eyes focused attentively upon her, studying her with such concentration that it unnerved Katey.

  Then, the male servant entered with a glass of water and a plate piled with slices of deli meats. Katy inhaled the delicious aroma and graciously took the plate and water from the servant as her hands quivered.

  Lord Michael eyed her choice of food questionably and took a deep breath, his chest expanding under his arms as Katey stuffed slices of ham, roast beef, and turkey into her mouth.

  “Come with me, Katey... You can bring your food with you.”

  Katey felt a hot flash of anxiety skitter down her back.

  Lord Michael turned on the balls of his feet and made his way out of the dining room. Katey swiftly grabbed her glass of water and followed him out into the foyer, up the stairs, and toward another wing of the castle that she hadn’t explored yet. The rest of the castle seemed deserted since every guest and servant was down in the ballroom.

  Katey obeyed him out of respect rather than fear of punishment if she disobeyed. Out of all the vampires she had met, she felt like she could trust him, but there wasn’t a single point in their brief acquaintanceship that would give her cause to believe that. All she knew was the aura he put off, and even if she were human, she would have been able to detect that credibility.

  He led Katey to a large oak door and held it open for her to walk through into a vast, baroque library with bookcases lining the walls on all sides. Katey saw absolutely no windows, but a few kerosene lanterns were lit on side tables scattered amongst comfortable looking armchairs and sofas that were upholstered in velvet fabric.

  The room was warm, filled with the aroma of old parchment and dust. It reminded her of the old bookstore that she and Logan visited the other day. The memory sent a wrench of loneliness to her heart, wishing that she were with Logan in that moment instead of Lord Michael. Not even Martel’s mystic attraction could taint the undying need to be close to her future mate.

  Their footsteps were muffled under the low-pile burgundy carpet as they crossed the floor to a pair of armchairs near the center of the room.

  “Take a seat,” he said, motioning to one of the plush wingback chairs.

  They were completely alone in the library and she had a feeling as long as Lord Michael wanted it that way, it would stay that way. She saw the fearful reverence in the boys’ eyes when they realized their lord had walked in on them. Lord Michael could probably command as much deference as Lord Yaverik. They were the alphas of their community, that was certain, but they were not her alphas. They were the ones who put her alphas in cages and if she held onto that fact, then she could stay focused on her mission to help them escape.

  Katey sat herself down clumsily, grappling with the fluffy skirt of her gown and set her plate and glass on the end table next to her. Lord Michael twitched his finger at an adjacent armchair and it slid itself closer so the vampire lord could ease himself down without having to drag the chair forward himself.

  She froze in amazement as he gingerly lowered himself into the chair, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary. It shouldn’t have been surprising that a vampire could have such power over inanimate objects, just like Martel had held sway over her the night before. The idea that every vampire, no matter how young or old, could do such impossible things, did nothing to comfort her.

  Lord Michael settled himself into the chair and laced his fingers over his lap, turning his stare across to Katey. “Please, eat if you need to. Don’t worry about ruining the carpet or upholstery,” he said with a reassuring smile.

  Katey gave a nod and began shoveling the meat into her mouth again. Slowly, the dizziness faded away and the wolf within was put to rest once more. She took a long swig of the water and set the glass down before looking up to Lord Michael again. He was steadily watching, as if reading her thoughts or seeing something peculiar that interested him.

  “Why have you been staring at me like that?” Katey asked coarsely, brave enough to speak brashly to her host.

  Lord Michael smiled and shook his head. “You remind me of someone... Especially in that dress,” he replied softly, sadness feathering his words.

  Normally, Katey would not give into such baited replies, but the heaviness in his countenance prompted her to ask, “Who?”

  “My daughter...” His voice seemed to drift into the air with a melancholy fluidity that surprised Katey. She blinked and felt her full stomach turn hard. “Oh, don’t worry, I know that you aren’t her. It’s just you have a very similar disposition. You both have a fiery spirit and a similar face.” Lord Michael’s gaze lowered to the floor and the jovial smile faded from his lips.

  Katey couldn’t help but notice that it was the identical look that Julia gave when she made a comment about how the dress reminded her of an old friend. It was possible that they were the same woman.

  “What happened to her?” Katey asked, suddenly intrigued.

  “She was killed eighteen years ago.” The words seemed to take on a life of their own and inundated the room with its own haunting energy that gave Katey chills.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, wishing she hadn’t asked.

  She knew what it was like to be asked such questions about a deceased loved one. It was the same sorrow she saw in Logan’s eyes when she asked about his mother and the same expression she might have given when asked about the parents she had never met.

  “It’s all right... Does anyone else know?” he questioned, looking back up to Katey with a new determination to carry on their conversation, despite the bleeding heart within his chest for his daughter.

  “Know what?” Katey gulped and a cold sweat began to form at the nape of her neck.

  “That you’re not human like they all believe?”

  Her heart fell to the floor between her shoes. She expected guards to come barging into the library to cart her down to the dungeon, at least she would be with Logan, but no one came and the silence between them stretched for a hard moment as Katey neither agreed or refuted his statement.

  “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” Michael continued. “A person is a person, no matter their race or species.” Katey let out a breath of relief that she had a vamp on her side for once. “This little feud is the most foolish thing I have known and I can’t wait for the day when it ends.” The disdain in his voice was keenly felt in her soul.

  It occurred to Katey that perhaps he would be unbiased enough to know more about the feud than anyone else. It was clear he knew something and didn’t agree with whatever had caused the feud. He did look to be the eldest out of both races that she had seen besides John. In fact, he looked much older than the great alpha, boasting deeper lines in his forehead and around his eye
s.

  “Do you know how the feud started?” she asked silently, leaning in closer to hear what the vampire had to say.

  “Just how every feud starts,” Michael began, leaning back in his chair. “Close to four thousand years ago, before the time of Christ, a werewolf killed a vampire.”

  Katey wanted to groan in disappointment. So, it was the loups-garous that started the feud.

  “Of course, the werewolf didn’t know what he was doing,” Michael said with a shrug of his shoulders. “He was a new pup and the vampire shouldn’t have been anywhere near that region in the first place because it was a restricted area for vampires.

  “Back then, the two species lived in relative harmony, but had specific territory agreements and neither were to cross those boundary lines. There was only one place where both races co-existed and that was the capital city of Annua, which doesn’t exist anymore. The vamp was found dead on werewolf ground, so it was supposedly the vamp’s fault in the first place, but the whole confusion was with the identity of the vamp. He was a diplomat; an important political figure and he had great influence over a new territory agreement.

  “The piece of land was discovered by the vampires, but rumor had it that the werewolves were going to be given an unequal amount of land in this new territory compared to the vampires and they weren’t happy with that. The conspiracy was that the werewolf knew perfectly well what he was doing, wasn’t alone, and they were the ones that crossed the lines to kidnap the vamp and murder him before the treaty could be agreed upon. They said the vamp was the one who made the proposal about the uneven distribution of the land.

  “Of course, this is insanity because the treaty stated that both species would get an equal portion of land and the other werewolves on the council showed no hesitance to the pact in the first place. I, personally, think it was all a big misunderstanding and an accident but, the only one who witnessed the murder was the werewolf that allegedly did it and he was too young to remember anything during the change. Up to that point, tension had already been mounting between the two races and a break was inevitable.”

  Michael saw her entranced expression and chuckled. “I’m sorry if this is a little long winded and confusing. After the accident, both sides took up their weapons and declared war against the other. Relations got out of control. Over a few thousand years of peace between the vampires and werewolves was shattered and both sides became vindictive to one another, claiming that they were in the right and the other was wrong and deserved death for their transgressions.

  “When I was a young lad, I witnessed the horrors of the war. From what my father told me of the early days, the werewolves were simply on the defensive against the vampires, killing when needed and protecting their families. What tipped them over the edge was when the vamps systematically began killing off the female werewolves.”

  Katey gasped and held out her hand for the old vampire to pause. “Wait, there were females?”

  He nodded gravely. “Yes, there were but the vampires in their search for retribution against the injustice done to them, completely wiped out the females and crippled the werewolf population. Now, as I’m sure you know, only the male gender of the species can be born as a werewolf, and no female can be changed because of their biology. The female body is too fragile for the werewolf venom. When the werewolves lost their women, they fought back with just as much unforgiving fervor as the vampires did.”

  Katey shook her head in disbelief. All this time, she had thought there had never been another female. The fact was that they had simply been killed off thousands of years ago and the knowledge of why had been lost, just as easily as the reason for why the feud started in the first place. She was not the first female loup-garou in history, but she was the first one for ages and a light of hope for their race.

  “It’s a tragedy, pure and simple,” he said with a wave of his hand. “The world may have been a very different place with less conflict, murders, war, and chaos... It sickens me to think how both sides are completely opposed to making peace with one another and it’s been going on for so long.” Michael finished his speech and veiled his hand over his eyes.

  Katey couldn’t believe there was such a long, drawn out history of loups-garous and vampires hating each other. She completely agreed with Michael and was thankful she had chosen to trust him above all the others. “But what can be done to stop it? If both sides don’t want to even try to make peace, then how will they stop the fighting?” she asked, hearing the earnestness in her own voice.

  Michael looked up to Katey and stroked his beard. “The only way is for either someone to come up with undeniable evidence of what really happened or...” his voice trailed off thoughtfully. “Or, she has to step forward and fulfill the prophecy.”

  Ancient civilizations, a pointless war, and age-old prophecy. Katey couldn’t believe that this was truly happening.

  “What prophecy?”

  Michael took a deep breath once more and closed his eyes. “Long ago, a prophecy was made concerning the unrest between the two species. The prophecy said that the product of the two species would come forward at an unlikely time, incarnating the spirit of peace and settle all disputes between werewolves and vampires and there would be armistice.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  A secretive smile crawled across his face. “I met the spirit centuries ago and she told me. She appeared to a few others and myself one night in Russia. She was beautiful; the spirit of a princess during the height of peace between the two species.”

  “So, this princess is the same thing as the spirit of peace?” Katey was engrossed.

  “Yes. She, herself, was a product of a vampire queen and a werewolf king of the old civilization. She was neither werewolf, nor vampire, but a half breed that shared the positive traits of both her parents. Prejudice raged among certain members of the council and they assassinated her because of her uniqueness. They were afraid of her power and what she would become. Instead of it bringing about even more hatred, she became revered as a spirit of peace. One tradition was to welcome her to the hall at the beginning of each council meeting and let her have influence over whatever decision they made.”

  Katey was in awe at the history and lore behind these two races that she knew so little about. This went beyond culture, packs, and covens. This was an intricate history that had been lost except by those who were old enough to know, like Michael.

  “But you said the one who would fulfill the prophecy is a ‘she’. How do you know it’s a girl?” Katey asked, finding herself perched on the edge of the seat.

  The vampire shifted in his chair and crossed his legs with a grunt. “About a century ago, there was hope that the prophecy would be fulfilled... My daughter, a vampire, fell in love with a werewolf... Everyone opposed the union on both sides. They thought the affair was a scheme to make the races drop their guard, but it wasn’t. It was true love. They didn’t even know about the prophecy. I supported my daughter, knowing the union could result in peace for everyone. I arranged for their clandestine meetings, I covered for her when she was missing from the castle, all with the thought in my mind that my daughter and her lover could somehow bring this feud to an end...”

  Katey waited as she watched Michael’s eyes glaze over. “But, what happened? You said she died. Something must have happened.”

  “Something did happen,” Michael replied. “She conceived. The three of us were overjoyed, but we had to keep it a secret. I made arrangements for them to escape to mountains in the states where they could hide until the child came of age to understand the responsibility and come forward to make peace... It was shortly after the child was born when it happened. It was a baby girl. A beautiful child, the most beautiful I’d ever seen... And I’m not just saying that because she is my granddaughter,” he said with a short chuckle.

  “A few of my maidservants at the time traveled with me all the way to help her with the delivery. There were no complications. A perfect b
irth.” Michael smiled nostalgically, “I remember my granddaughter’s first laugh was like music.

  “The child was neither werewolf nor vampire, I could tell. She was human, but she had a special spark in her.” His words echoed something that Darren had told her what seemed like a lifetime ago. “That spark would sway one way or the other if she was bitten. Therefore, she could change into werewolf or vampire if she was bitten, regardless of her gender, and wouldn’t reject the change.

  “It was a short while after she was born when my daughter and her husband were found. I had connections with a few, but they couldn’t hold off the search for much longer. A band of assassins sent by the vampire council led the ambush upon their home in the mountains. They captured both my daughter and her husband and brought them back here. My daughter endured the sight of her lover being experimented on with the new invention of the liquid silver bullet and she was burned alive in the sun.”

  A moment of silence passed between them in reverence for his daughter and her lover for their bravery against insurmountable opposition. Even though it was many years ago, Katey could still sense the pain and sorrow within the old vampire. “What happened to the baby?” she asked, almost in a whisper, as if speaking any louder would disrupt the balance of the room.

  Michael sighed heavily. “I was there when my daughter and her husband were taken. When I got the call that the assassins were coming, I wanted to steal them away somewhere else so my family would be safe. But, my daughter refused to leave. Instead, she led me into a hiding cellar in their home and gave me the child. She made me promise to take care of her...” Michael blinked hard as her last words reverberated in his mind. He opened his eyes once more, keeping his stare steady upon the captivated Katey.

  “Moments later, I heard the assassins storm in and take them away. I waited until it was close to sunrise before coming out of the cellar... I had no idea of what to do with a child. I was - and am still - too old to take care of one. I knew if I took the child back with me to the castle then questions would be raised and the child would be killed; I would have been, too, for treason against our race, just as my daughter was. They would have called the child an abomination. I couldn’t allow that.