Oath Keeper

by Shelley Wilson

  ‘I remember, both you and Lizzie told me that to become a hunter you had to have seen a werewolf. Her sister didn’t see what it was that attacked them, so Lizzie was the only one sent to Hood Academy.’

  ‘Yes, there’s some truth in that, but it’s not altogether correct. I’m fairly sure Elizabeth’s sister did see the werewolf, but her young mind wasn’t open to the possibility of supernatural creatures being real. We recruit the believers because you can’t help what you can’t see.’

  ‘Help? You’ve never wanted to help the wolves! You strapped Terry to a metal trolley and injected him with God knows what.’ I could feel the trickle of anger dancing up my spine as I recalled finding my friend trapped in the school laboratories. ‘You train the students to hunt and fight. I wasn’t at Hood Academy for that long but what I saw during my time there told me you’d do everything in your power to hurt not help the packs.’

  Sebastian shook his head, and for a moment I saw true sadness in his expression. I knew he was trying to turn it around and help us fix what was going on but was he really so delusional that he thought he hadn’t done anything wrong?

  ‘You’re right,’ he whispered. ‘Dr Neale founded Hood Academy with the intention of destroying the local werewolves, but then he met a girl and fell in love.’

  ‘Oh God, you’re not going to get all mushy on me, are you?’

  ‘He fell in love with a werewolf, Mia, like I did when I fell in love with your mother.’

  Silence. Even Ethan’s music seemed to lower in tone and pace.

  ‘How could he? That would have gone against everything he believed in, and against the Queen’s orders.’

  ‘It appears love really can conquer all. The school became a sanctuary and a cover story. He married his sweetheart in secret, and they went on to have a child. A hybrid. The first hybrid.’

  I felt like a bomb had gone off in my head; the noise was horrific. My jaw ached, and I realised with horror that my fangs had slid out. I covered them with my hand and prayed that the claws didn’t shoot into view too.

  ‘There have been three hybrids in the history of our family line, and you’re one of them. The first two wrote about their experiences in that notebook you hold. Perhaps one day you can add your story.’

  For the first time in a while, I was stumped for words. I had always had an answer for Sebastian, whether that was genuine or sarcastic, but this went beyond even my comprehension.

  Three hybrids. I couldn’t help but wonder what they had been like. Had they also felt like outsiders? Had they struggled to separate the parts of themselves that were wolf and hunter?

  ‘Did they stay at Hood Academy?’ I asked, relieved to find my teeth were normal again.

  ‘I believe so. The first was Dr Neale’s daughter, Emma. She was born in 1868. I don’t think the next hybrid appeared until the 1950s when Mary was born.’

  ‘So when you said we were rare you weren’t kidding!’

  Sebastian huffed again.

  ‘There’s certainly been a long time between each hybrid, but perhaps that shows us how the werewolf and hunter communities work.’

  ‘I don’t understand what you mean.’

  ‘Our ancestor, Dr Neale, fell in love with a werewolf and got married, and they went on to have Emma, but it was over eighty years before another hunter and wolf would fall in love, marry, and produce a second hybrid offspring.’

  ‘Then you came along and fell in love with my mum making number three, me!’

  It had an air of the historical romance about it. Like all these pictures I had in my head were coated in a sepia wash or as if I was watching an old movie play out in my head.

  ‘The hostility between the hunters and the packs has meant the oath taken by the new hunters has evolved over the years. It’s this animosity that’s gathered speed rather than the protection in the community that the oath was based on.’

  ‘That’s why you were trying to create the cure.’ It was starting to make sense now. Sebastian’s determination and drive to find a cure for lycanthropy wasn’t done in malice, it was because he had loved my mother so much and wanted to make a better world for her.

  There was a heavy weight in my chest as I thought about all the awful things I’d said to Sebastian over the last few months. I had called him a monster and walked away from him.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered reaching over to lay my hand over his on the steering wheel.

  He turned his palm so he could squeeze my hand in return.

  ‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry about, Mia. I did so many things wrong, and letting your mother down was my biggest failure. That’s why I didn’t want to make the same mistakes with you.’

  I appreciated the sentiment even if he had gone about it in a barbaric manner, but I wondered what he was planning to do next.

  ‘You said Dr Neale used the academy as a cover for his relationship with his werewolf wife. Were you doing the same?’

  ‘In a way,’ he said. ‘I wanted to keep your mum safe, but we had to hide so much of our relationship from Frank, her pack, and the GA. Eventually, I had Mr Parker’s threat hanging over my head, so instead of helping the local pack I ended up being the reason they were captured and tortured.’

  I shook off my memory of finding Terry tied to the silver trolley in the basement, and hearing his screams when Felicity and her goons tortured him. Was she doing the same to Zak right now? If she knew he was my brother, I was certain she’d do more than torture him.

  ‘Parker doesn’t agree with your view of living in harmony with the packs.’

  Sebastian exhaled. ‘That’s an understatement. Mr Parker’s intense hatred of the wolves drives him to destroy the werewolf line. I thought I’d finally got through to him when he approached me about working with Evermore. He wanted to distribute the cure across the country to help the packs. I should have realised what he was really doing.’

  ‘You’re not the first person to be tricked, Sebastian. He was using you to create something that contained werewolf DNA so he could add his poison.’

  ‘I should have known though. As head of Hood Academy, I was responsible for every life in that school. Every student was there to train and learn how to protect themselves. I allowed Mr Parker to pull me away from that mission.’

  ‘I know I wasn’t there for long, but even I saw how much the students loved it there. They learned so much, they laughed with their friends, and they were safe. You created that, Sebastian, and you shouldn’t forget it.’

  ‘Thank you, Mia. I appreciate your words. Unfortunately, it doesn’t detract from the fact that I failed and the GA will no doubt strip me of everything I have.’

  ‘Do the GA know what Parker’s doing?’ It was something I’d wanted to know from the beginning. We all wondered if their sudden appearance was coincidental, but most of us thought not.

  Sebastian shook his head. ‘I honestly don’t know. The GA are reviewing the school after recent events and might grant Mr Parker full headship, but I don’t know if they are aware of the links to Evermore, or what Mr Parker has planned for the packs.’

  A shudder ran up my spine as I thought about Parker’s plans. With help from his evil pharmaceutical company, he had managed to sweep across half of England dishing out his poison. How many had died? How many young children were forced to turn before they were old enough to cope with the pain and hunger? I felt sick thinking about it.

  I looked down at the notebook still in my hand. Everything I needed to know about being a hybrid was within these pages. If being half hunter and half wolf could help my brother and the pack then it was time to embrace my unique abilities.

  We had a big fight ahead of us, not just with the GA and trying to free our friends, but stopping Parker and Evermore Pharmaceuticals before more wolves died.

  I flipped open the book. It was time to find out who I really was.

  THE MILLS FARM was in chaos when we pulled up in the driveway. I saw Terry through the kitchen window and
the weight lifted from my shoulders knowing at least one of my friends was safe.

  The first thing I saw when walking in through the old wooden door was the kitchen table covered with blueprints of Hood Academy and maps of the local area interspersed with numerous cups of coffee. How long had everyone been sitting at this table?

  ‘Mia!’ Terry was out of his chair and at my side in seconds. His embrace almost took my breath away as he squeezed me tight. ‘We were all so worried. Ari arrived with a ton of kids and babbled something about you and Lizzie snooping around the school.’

  Elizabeth came in behind me and Terry released his grip on me and circled her in an equally tight embrace.

  ‘We’re so sorry,’ I said, raising my voice to include everyone gathered in the small kitchen. ‘We never meant to worry you. After finding the children and sending Ari back here, we found information about the serum and had to leave to investigate it further. I should have called. I should have let you know we were safe…’

  My voice trailed off as I spotted Cody in the doorway. Dark smudges ringed his glazed-over eyes, and he rubbed at his upper arm as if to drive away a chill. I rushed to him, and he scooped me up burying his face in my long hair.

  The sound of his sobs ripped a hole in my heart that I didn’t think I’d ever recover from.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered into his ear, trailing kisses along his cheek and blotting the tears that lingered on his face. ‘I’ll never leave you again.’

  He brought his lips to mine and kissed me deeply, oblivious to the watchful eyes of the pack, who began shuffling and moving about in a bid to avoid our intimate exchange.

  The sudden silence in the room tore Cody and me apart, and I turned to see what had muted the pack. Sebastian stood in the doorway clutching the files we’d taken from Parker’s desk drawer. Terry’s shoulders tensed at the sight of the man responsible for his incarceration and torture.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ It was Cody who spoke, stunning me with the venom that dripped from his words. I took a step backward and released my grip on him.

  ‘Sebastian’s with us. He’s been really helpful to our cause, to your cause.’

  ‘That man is only out to help himself; he doesn’t give a shit about the wolves.’

  ‘No, you’re wrong. He helped me and Lizzie burn down the Evermore distribution centre, and he saved the lives of three young wolves in Somerset. He’s on our side.’

  I looked around at the faces of Zak’s pack. Bared teeth, crossed arms, and angry eyes greeted me. They weren’t going to accept Sebastian’s help without an argument, and part of me understood that. It had taken an epic journey to be able to start to bond with the man myself, and he was my own flesh and blood. I was expecting a miracle if I wanted them to open their home and hearts to him.

  I took the files from Sebastian and placed them on the table in front of the pack.

  ‘We have evidence that Parker has modified Sebastian’s serum, which is what’s causing the children to turn or die. He plans to wipe out the werewolf gene by destroying your kids.’

  There was a rumbling of conversation as the files and their contents spilled out across the table.

  ‘If he hadn’t created the serum in the first place none of this would have happened.’

  Sebastian rolled his shoulders and took a step forward, further inside the danger zone.

  ‘I understand your animosity,’ he said, his voice clear and strong. ‘My intentions have always been for the good of the werewolf community. I loved a wolf and would have done anything to keep her safe, but my work has been mutilated by a man hell-bent on destroying all of you.’

  ‘It’s true,’ I said standing at Sebastian’s side. ‘Parker is behind Evermore Pharmaceuticals, and it’s him who’s sent the doctors out into our community with the promise of a cure. No one could have known what he was planning. Even Sebastian thought it was the right serum being sent out to the packs.’

  ‘Are you telling me that you’ve developed a cure for lycanthropy?’ Terry stood at the head of the table, in Zak’s spot, standing in for his alpha who was captive at Sebastian’s old school. How the wolves hadn’t ripped my father’s throat out already amazed me.

  ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. It will only work on the young to avoid them turning, I haven’t been able to create a cure for fully fledged wolves, and I think that’s a fool’s errand that I can’t continue.’

  Sebastian let the information sink in before going on. ‘My serum was tampered with, and I suspect Parker’s staff at Evermore had something to do with that. It explains why he kept me working in the school laboratories instead of at the central pharmaceutical facility.’

  ‘What have the GA got to do with it?’ One of the visiting pack members asked the question that many of us were desperate to know the answer to.

  ‘I don’t believe they’ve got anything to do with it,’ Sebastian answered. ‘I don’t even think they know Mr Parker is connected to Evermore Pharmaceuticals. The GA are at Hood Academy to review my recent misdemeanours.’

  ‘You mean they’re here to find out why you captured and tortured us and tried to kill your own daughter,’ Terry added.

  Sebastian hung his head, and I felt a mix of anger and loyalty towards my friend.

  ‘Leave him alone,’ I said. ‘Yes, he messed up, big time, but he’s here to help us get Zak, Byron, and the others back. He knows Hood Academy better than any of us. Let him help.’

  I HADN’T EXPECTED to be banished from the kitchen with Sebastian in tow. In all fairness, they’d done it so they could discuss our rescue plan in private, but I was fuming at Terry for kicking me out of the inner circle.

  Sebastian had taken himself off to sit in his SUV for safety and Elizabeth was checking in on Ari. I’d almost forgotten about our hunter guest until Ethan sauntered over to where I was sitting on the bonnet of a car in the driveway.

  ‘When I came with you I thought you’d be taking me to Hood Academy, not to another wolf den.’ He crossed his arms over his chest and settled his dark gaze on me. ‘You do know that your hairy friends have been growling at me ever since I arrived.’

  ‘It’s a pit stop, we’ll be heading to the academy soon enough, although you might not want to join us for that trip.’

  ‘Yeah, I gathered from the raised voices that your pets were planning to attack the school.’

  ‘It’s not an attack,’ I snapped, annoyed at both his assumptions and disrespect for my pack. ‘The GA are holding some of our friends, and the alpha, and we want to get them back.’

  He unfolded his arms and leaned against the car watching me with a predatory glance that made me feel uncomfortable. It was the kind of look that made your skin crawl. So far, the infuriating hunter had tagged along with a half-hearted offer of help, but I didn’t know if I should trust Ethan yet. He was arrogant but loyal to the hunters’ oath and in my eyes that made him unpredictable.

  ‘You think you’re going to get past the GA? Jeez, you’re stupider than you look.’

  I jumped off the car and stood nose to nose with the hunter.

  ‘What’s your problem with me, Ethan?’

  He snarled, actually snarled, and I had to pull on all my reserves not to slap him hard across his smarmy face.

  ‘You say you’re half hunter, but you live with wolves. It’s like I told you in Somerset, you could never understand the hunters’ oath if you don’t respect it enough to honour it.’

  I was speechless. I’d come to expect a personal attack about my claws or living with a pack, but Ethan still sounded genuinely angry that I’d not upheld the oath.

  ‘I took the oath with every intention of being a hunter, but a lot of stuff happened that was out of my control. Other people weren’t happy about me being at the academy, and it made it hard.’

  ‘Oh, my heart bleeds for you. So what, Felicity goes all crazy bitch on you, and you decide to turn to the wolves?’

  I took a step back and
studied the boy properly for the first time. He was my age with pale skin, which made his dark hair stand out even more. A dusting of pimples on his chin told me he’d recently started shaving and it had irritated his skin. At about five foot ten he was a few inches taller than me, and it annoyed me that I had to look up at him.

  ‘How do you know about Felicity?’ Suspicion bubbled in my gut as I waited for his answer.

  ‘Everyone knows about Felicity, she’s a legend among the academies.’

  I huffed and rolled my eyes. ‘A legend! The girl’s a freak.’

  ‘Maybe, but she’s still badass.’

  I laughed out loud, and Ethan flinched at the sudden outburst.

  ‘Did you also hear that I beat her at the last assessment? Thrashed her to take the gold medal and humiliated her in front of her precious daddy.’

  There was the briefest spark of appreciation in Ethan’s expression before he shrugged and walked away.

  ‘Perhaps Hood Academy has two legends then,’ he called over his shoulder.

  Was that a compliment? Maybe there was hope for the hunter after all.

  TERRY CAME AND found me a little while later with the news that our rescue attempt would happen after dark.

  ‘I suppose if I asked you to stay here you wouldn’t listen,’ said Terry.

  ‘You suppose right, it’s my brother that’s in trouble, and I’m going to help save him.’

  ‘Hmm, thought as much. I’ve asked Lizzie to stay and watch the kids, and your weird friend Ethan has offered to help us too.

  ‘He’s not my friend, but I appreciate that he’s trying to help. What about Sebastian?’

  Terry ran his fingers through his hair and in that moment he reminded me so much of Zak. Without my brother and Byron around it fell on Terry to hold the pack together. He’d never struck me as the sort to relish leadership. Terry was the funny one, the caring one, the loyal, strong, and daring one. What if it all went horribly wrong and we couldn’t get Zak back? Would Terry snap under the pressure?