The Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 1)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  Darren took a deep breath, knowing that such a question was inevitable. “Our beginning was long ago, even before Christ. No one is exactly sure because our origins have been lost to the ravages of time. There are many legends and myths and theories, but no one really is certain.”

  “Is not eating humans a common thing among you or are you guys kind of an oddity?” she asked, hoping for a favorable answer.

  “There are many loups-garous that don’t eat human flesh. We aren’t what most fairy tales make us out to be,” Darren reassured.

  “Speak for yourself,” Dustin piped in with an accent that she recognized from the day before when he was speaking with the others in the classroom in secret. “Where I come from, we’re the good guys.”

  Katey squinted in bewilderment at Dustin. “Where are you really from?”

  “Ireland, lass,” Dustin replied with a wink and a coy grin. Katey smiled and looked back to Darren who was eyeing Dustin in amusement.

  “The point is that we’re not cold blooded killers. Only if a loup-garou feeds on human flesh too much, they begin to crave it and have an appetite for it over anything else. If not tempered, they can become very bad, very quickly. And with such an appetite comes an assortment of mental problems as well.”

  “In Crestucky, there are three different packs,” Dustin added. “There is our pack, which other packs call ‘the Brothers’ which I’m not sure where that term came from exactly. Those who we call the Blood Pack live on the south side of town and then the Devia Refugees on the north side of town. They eat kosher too.”

  “Who are the Devia Refugees?”

  “They are what is left of a colony established by loups-garous for loups-garous,” Ben replied.

  “They fled all over the country when their town was attacked and leveled by hunters,” Darren finished.

  “Hunters?” Katey asked in a panic.

  “As long as there have been people like us,” Dustin said, “there have been people to kill us. They are the main reason that we don’t live forever.”

  She was startled by Logan’s voice cutting into the conversation. “That small town I took you to was once Devia.”

  Katey turned to look at him with nothing but wonderment. “Morrisville? So that graveyard…?”

  “He took you to Devia?” Darren asked, a hint of alarm in his words.

  “Yes, I did. Yesterday. The graveyard was for those who were murdered in the raid.”

  Somehow, she felt a sliver of grief streak through her. She’d walked through a piece of loup-garou history and she didn’t even know it. The graves of the martyrs flashed in her mind, especially the one that Logan lingered by the longest with that look of regret. He must have known that man who died.

  She was overwhelmed with the tragedy of loup-garou life. To make friends and watch them die, to be hunted and feared by everyone. Katey couldn’t imagine living with the burden of such a secret. All at once, she had a new respect for these men and the centuries they had to endure such struggles.

  “So, what can you do?” she asked, eager to learn more and immerse herself deeper into this universe she never knew existed.

  Dustin counted off on his fingers as he mentioned them, “Super strength, keen senses, fast healing, agility, great balance, quick thinking and intelligence, and of course, the whole changing thing.”

  Katey almost forgot about the turning into a wolf aspect. “So, you change into monsters in the moonlight or something different?”

  “That’s only a third of the truth,” Darren explained. “We have four forms we can take and it depends on what king of loup-garou you are which determines what you can change into.”

  “Since Darren and I were born this way,” Dustin said, “we can change into human form, dog, wolf or the loup-garou form.”

  “But since I was only bitten,” Ben added, “I can only change into human, wolf or loup-garou form.”

  “What about the whole full moon thing?” Katey asked.

  “Not fully true,” Darren answered. “What actually happens is that once a loup-garou can hone their skills, they can change into any of the forms at will. Human is always the default and most comfortable. It’s only once a month, or approximately every four weeks that we don’t have a choice and change into our loup-garou forms. Our first change normally occurs around the time of our birthday, then it’s every four weeks after. It’s not an exact science, but the body lets us know very clearly when it’s close to our time. There is no way to avoid it. Believe me, we’ve tried.”

  “So yesterday when you didn’t feel well, was that your day?” Katey asked. She felt like she was finally able to connect the dots between their behaviors.

  Darren smiled and nodded. “You catch on pretty quickly. Yes, it was. Normally I’m not as grumpy, but yesterday was a little less enjoyable.”

  She didn’t want to think about the fact that last night was Darren’s night to change and go streaking through the woods as a beast. Instead, she turned to Logan, who then glanced up at her with the same apologetic eyes. “And that bite I gave you yesterday, it’s totally gone?”

  Logan held up his arm and rotated for her to see with a weak smile. “Yes, it’s gone. No rabies.”

  “Which reminds me, Darren. Did we want to tell her about that meeting from yesterday?” Ben asked.

  Chapter 14

  Katey’s lips parted a bit when she remembered that meeting. And the topic of their conversation came back to her. She would have given anything to keep talking about them and their interesting lives.

  “I know… I was actually eavesdropping for most of it,” Katey said softly, lowering her eyes to her lap.

  Darren’s countenance fell and he sighed. “How much of it did you hear?”

  Katey took a deep breath and looked up to him. “That you wanted to change me into what you are.”

  The room was filled with a hush once more, but was also filled with a tense expectation of her reaction.

  Logan, especially, was impatient to hear what she thought.

  “We know it’s a lot to ask of you are such a young age to make this kind of decision,” Darren began, his voice heavy with the severity of the subject. “There has never been a female loup-garou in all of existence, at least none that we are aware of. We have heard of loups-garous that try to change their girlfriends or wives and have failed.”

  “Even I have failed a couple of times trying to do that,” Dustin added.

  “And when we fail,” Darren continued, “we don’t mean that we bite and it just doesn’t take and the girl can walk away… It fails and the girl dies. They never survive.”

  Katey grimaced and shook her head. “Then why even bring it up with me if you know it won’t work?”

  Darren stepped closer and shoved his hands in his pockets. They locked eyes for moment. The intensity of his gaze made the very breath in her lungs freeze and she felt mesmerized by their soft brown hue. Did all loups-garous have this kind of hypnotic charm, or was it just the ones she knew so far?

  “Because we all see something in you, Katey, that you may not see in yourself. But, we would never force a decision on you that you don’t want. We believe that you have the free will to decide if you want to try it or not.”

  Katey looked away and nodded her understanding. It was a terrifying decision to make. To live as she did now, or take the risk of dying to live an extraordinary life as they did. There was no time to think of it now, but heaven knew she would have to give it some serious consideration.

  “Do you have any more questions for us?” Dustin asked.

  Katey thought for a moment, then looked up to her teachers in puzzlement. “If you have traveled all over the world and have lived for so long, then why are you teachers here? You could be anything, do anything, go anywhere and you stay in this town. Why?”

  Darren beamed at her question. “I have always had a fondness for teaching, whether it be other loups-garous or humans. I’ve been teaching for over fifty years now in var
ious places. This just happens to be where we are at right now. Dustin normally skips around jobs and dabbles into various professions.”

  “But,” Dustin interjected, “I have never tried teaching. So, I thought I’d take a shot at it.”

  “And with both of us being out of the house,” Darren continued, “I thought it best for Ben to try and take a job as well. He hasn’t worked before and having him just down the hall enables me to keep a good eye on him to make sure nothing goes sour.”

  “Sour?”

  Ben cleared his throat. “That’s a discussing for another time.”

  Katey let out a deep breath and nodded that she was satisfied with their answers.

  The burden of not knowing had been lifted, but another weight had been laid upon her shoulders. The secret and decision that she now bore was almost as heavy as the last. But, she knew now that she was not alone with it. She had four amazing men to help her carry the load.

  “What happens now?” she asked, looking up to the alpha male.

  Darren sighed and shrugged. “Life will go on as usual. We’ve done a good job of hiding who we are and don’t expect any change in that. If you do have any questions, feel free to consult Logan or us any time you wish.”

  Katey let her eyes fall once more, silently debating her decision already.

  Ben, seeing that the conference was over, stood up and excused himself from the classroom.

  Darren and Dustin stood side-by-side and waited. Logan slowly stood up and approached Katey, his thumbs hooked in his pockets and appearing nervous now that she knew the truth.

  “Would you mind if we went to the park to talk a little more?”

  Katey gave him a genuine smile and nodded. If there was anyone in the world she could have picked to be with this afternoon, it was Logan. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  Logan turned to his alpha for approval and was given the nod.

  They rose together and started towards the door to leave.

  Katey gave one last glance to her two teachers, a little more peace in her heart as she left than when she had come in.

  Once the door shut behind the two youngsters, Dustin looked to Darren.

  “Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

  Darren raised an eyebrow to his longtime friend. “What? Did you expect her to faint and scream?”

  Dustin chuckled. “Kind of… Didn’t you?”

  “Actually, yes,” he said with a nod. “But I’m glad she seemed to take it well.”

  “And you’re really going to trust Logan with her? You know how adamant he is to try something stupid.”

  Darren stared out the classroom windows. “He knows the risks and knows better than to do something without my permission.”

  “Since when has he ever asked permission from you to do anything?”

  Darren sighed. “Good point… We’ll just keep a closer eye on him than usual.”

  After a pause of silence, Dustin rubbed his forehead. “I do believe I might need a drink.”

  Darren laughed heartily and slapped Dustin on the back. “Nope, you just need something to eat. Come. I have a couple of pounds in my classroom refrigerator.”

  Dustin and Darren then turned and walked out of the classroom together.

  ***

  Katey gazed out over the pristine lake, watching the ducks and geese skim along the surface and dive for bugs. Logan sat next to her under the shady oak tree. He was silent, but she could feel his tenseness just inches from her. They hadn’t spoken a word yet since they arrived.

  “So, you lied to me?” she finally said, not knowing if that was the right thing to say or not. His being what he is didn’t change her feelings for him in the least.

  Logan looked to her with sad, regretful eyes. “I had to.”

  “Then you should have told me sooner, I guess.”

  “Would you have believed me?”

  Katey turned to him and found that she couldn’t help but smile a little. “I might have,” she replied with a shrug.

  Logan’s tone turned fierce. “What do you want me to say? That I was a coward and was too scared to tell you the truth?”

  Katey’s smile faded and she turned her eyes away to the grass around her outstretched legs. “No… But you could say that you’re sorry.”

  He sighed and gazed out over the lake in front of them. “Fine, I’m sorry for lying to you.”

  Katey’s faint smile returned. “I forgive you… Now, will you tell me the truth? Your story?”

  He took a deep breath, as if to prepare himself. He never liked telling his story. It was hard enough to remember it every day, let alone share it with someone else and bear the sound of his own voice telling it.

  “I was born in South Carolina. My father was a factory worker. He worked with steel and iron mostly for making railroad tracks. My mom raised me practically by herself. My father was a drunk. There’s no other way to put it. He gambled and wasted his earnings on liquor and women. So, we were poor, but when I became old enough to work, I did as much as I could where I could. My pay alone was helping us survive sometimes.

  “Through it all, my mother was the kindest and most gentle woman I knew. She never complained and never showed how bone-tired she was every single day. My father beat her often, but she never said a word against him. I could hardly stand it, but I felt like there was nothing I could do. I wasn’t as strong then as I am now.”

  Logan steeled himself for the next part as Katey listened attentively. “One night, on my sixteenth birthday, I came home from working as an apprentice at a horse husbandry farm and I walked in on my father beating her one more time. I couldn’t hold it in any more. I remember tackling my father and then it all went black.

  “I woke up nearly a mile away from our home, naked in a woods. It was a beautiful morning, I remember. The birds were singing, sun shining down bright… And I was covered in blood... I went back to our home and it was all but torn down. I went inside and found my mother bleeding out on the floor.” Logan’s voice began to crack a little through the strain of the emotions that roiled inside.

  He cleared his throat and continued. “She told me to find my grandmother’s diary in her hope chest and said that it would explain everything. She said I had turned into a monster before her very eyes. She wasn’t afraid, didn’t turn from me. Even until her last breath she gave all the love she could muster and forgave me. She breathed that last breath in my arms.” His eyes squeezed shut to force back the tears he felt were coming. Even after a century, the pain was fresh, a wound that never quite healed.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” she whispered, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. “I can’t begin to imagine…”

  His eyes opened and Katey removed her hand timidly.

  “I envy you. Yours parents died before you had a chance to know them… I found my grandmother’s journal and read through it faster than I had ever read anything before. That’s part of what Darren told you about our intelligence. My grandmother had apparently met a young man during the Civil War named Dustin Keith. He was an Irishman in the company of Benjamin Myers and they were loups-garous. Dustin slept with my grandmother and fathered my mother.”

  Katey’s eyes went wide. “So, Dustin is your grandfather?”

  Logan looked smug about her surprise and nodded. “Yes… So, I knew that I had to find him somehow. I took a change of clothes and left home, headed south where my grandmother used to live. I met Darren in Devia, what is now Morrisville, before it fell and he trained me. It’s all history from there.”

  The two fell silent, listening to the wind whispering through the leaves above them and the incessant quacking of the ducks along the shore. Katey scooted herself closer and laid her head upon Logan’s shoulder, not sure what else to do or to say.

  Logan’s shoulder tensed at her touch, but he slowly relaxed once more and he gazed down at her. “Are you ok with all of this?”

  Katey looked up at him over
the rim of her glasses. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean if you’re ok with who and what we are.”

  The corner of Katey’s mouth twitched into a smirk and she nodded. “Yeah, I guess I’m ok with it.”

  “You guess?” Logan chuckled.

  “Well, I mean… It’s not like you’re going to kill me or anything, so why would I have a problem with it?”

  “You don’t think it’s going to be awkward at all?”

  Katey grinned. “Well, yeah, it’ll be awkward for a while. But, then I’ll get used to it, I guess. As long as none of you get really weird on me.”

  Logan laughed, his shoulder jumping slightly with the force of it. Katey thought it good to hear him laugh again and hooked her arm around his. “We’re not weird enough already?”

  Katey playfully elbowed his ribs and giggled. “You know what I mean. Like making a big deal out of the fact that I know and everything.” Katey paused and watched two geese fighting over a piece of foliage. “To be honest, it’s kind of a relief now.”

  Logan peered down at her curiously. “How’s that?”

  “I admit that after yesterday afternoon, I was terrified of you and the guys. I didn’t want to come to school today I was so scared. I didn’t know what to expect or what would happen. But, now that I know… it’s like the unknown factor has been eliminated and I’m not afraid anymore.”

  “Not even of me?” Logan questioned, almost in a whisper.

  “No,” she said with a shake of her head. “It almost hasn’t changed anything for me… We’re still friends, right?”

  Logan nodded. “Yes, we’re still friends.” There was a taste of pain in those words as they were muttered from Logan’s lips. “What about being one of us?” he asked after a moment of peaceful silence.

  Katey sighed and shifted a bit. “I don’t know… I think it might be kind of cool, but I also don’t exactly want to sign my own death sentence, you know?”

  “You think it would be cool to be a loup-garou?” Logan had never heard anything more insane in his life.