Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series (11 page)

“What do Lycan parents do for their kids?”

“Well, it depends. Lycan parents have to explain everything to their children from early on, so as to prepare them. There are very few families who live outside Lycan society so there’s always support. All children must attend after-school activities that teach them about Lycan life and what happens during a shift. And if they are taught that if they start to feel the change is coming, to immediately call their parents or run home. Safety of others is the first priority here and with the measures we have in place, we have yet to have any public incidents in the last hundred years or so. Once the first shift happens, then kids have to go to special schools or programs, like summer camp.”

“And is it easy to gain control?”

“With the practice, yes. It’s an instinct, but you do have to develop it. And shifting to wolf form should only be done in special circumstances, like protecting yourself, protecting other Lycans or humans, but only if there’s no other choice. You don’t do it to show off or as a party trick,” his voice was serious and grave as he spoke. “For hundred of years, we have kept our existence a secret.”

“Then how do stories and movies of werewolves get written?” she asked.

“Well,” the old man put his glasses back on. “Back in the dark ages, we couldn’t quite control everyone as we do now and there were a few bad ones or a couple of public incidents. Perhaps a few writers had heard of the stories and since there are few humans who really know about Lycans, they had to fill in the details themselves, like werewolves only turning during the full moon or that only silver bullets can kill us.”

“So silver bullets can’t kill us?”

“I’m afraid they can – rather, any bullet can. We’re not invincible or immortal. In wolf form, you’ll be stronger and faster, and as a Lycan, you do have a faster healing process, but any mortal wound will kill you,” he said in a serious voice. “Speaking of the full moon, there is one instance when Lycans have no control over their shifts – the Blood Moon or total lunar eclipse. And it happens quite frequently enough that we have protocols put into place. Lycan homes have to be built with special rooms to contain the occupants during the shift, even if it’s just a reinforced bathroom or closet. For example, every apartment in the Enclave has one and there are Blood Moon safe houses all over the world just in case. The problem is, when you enter the Blood Moon shift, you don’t have complete control of yourself, like the first few times you shift.”

“And I’ll know when the Blood Moon is coming?”

He nodded. “We set up alerts and everything. Here in New York, we have a system in place and as technology changes, we’ve adapted. We know when a Blood Moon is coming weeks and even months in advanced and we’ll send out reminders via email, text and phone calls. I’m told we’re even developing an app. But, you must know that anyone who willfully disobeys a Blood Moon warning is severely punished and for my entire life, there have only been a handful of incidents when a Lycan gets stuck outside during the Blood Moon, usually not by his or her own doing.”

Alynna sighed in relief. “Well, thank god for that!”
 

“Indeed. Things have really changed with technology, but we all still abide by the old rules. Humans simple cannot know about our existence. Perhaps, if in the beginning, hundreds of years ago, we learned to co-exist with them, things might be better, but it’s simply too complicated to come out now.”

“I know we don’t have much time,” Alynna glanced at the watch on Dr. Faulkner’s desk. “Can I ask one more question, not medical or biological related?”

Dr. Faulkner leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his middle. “Of course, I’ll do my best to answer.”

“You said humans don’t know about us, but how come we have people like Cady working here?”

“Ah yes. Well, there’s not many of us, so we still need reinforcements from humans. There are certain families of humans that have been our servants for generations. I mean, we don’t consider or call them servants anymore, of course. Now we call them Alliance families, like Cady’s and it’s a special position that comes with responsibilities and perks. The Grays have been an Alliance family since the first group of Romanian wolves came to America in the 17th century. Cady’s father, Luther Gray was also a Human Liaison, but for Michael and myself as Alpha Regent, and the first few years of Grant’s rule. He passed away a few years ago and Cady was the natural replacement. She and Grant grew up together in The Enclave, you know and I’m sure if she was Lycan, she’d have been first in line for Lupa.”

Alynna wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t imagine Cady and Grant together. They seemed more like brother and sister to her. “But didn’t she want to do anything else? And what about her mother?”

“Well,” Dr. Faulkner stood up. “That’s rather personal, isn’t it? You should ask her about that, I’m not sure it’s my place.”

“Of course,” Alynna got to her feet. “I’m sorry for asking, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s ok. You’re naturally curious and you’ve not been around as long as us oldies have been,” he said, giving her a bright smile. “But it’s about that time and I need to get back home and have lunch with my wife. Just read those books and call me for questions or we can have another session like this ok?”

Alynna nodded. “Thank you so much Dr. Faulkner, I appreciate it,” she stood up and shook his hand cordially. They exited his office, which was located one floor below the penthouse.
 

“I’ll be on my way dear, and leave you with your companions,” he said, motioning to Cady and Alex who were sitting on the plush couch in the waiting room. With that, he headed towards the elevators.

Alynna gave him a last wave and turned towards the waiting area.

“Oh stop it Alex, you’re being a tease!” Cady laughed, and slapped Alex playfully in the arm.
 

“I’m serious, Cades,” he smiled at her. “He totally did that!”

“Who did what?” Alynna asked, coming up behind them.

Cady looked up at Alynna. “Oh hey, all done?”

“Yes. And you, are you done?” Alynna wasn’t sure how the tone in her voice changed. It seemed almost snippy. “Hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all. Alex here was keeping me entertained.”

“I’m sure he was,” Alynna could hardly keep the tone of her voice even and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from saying any more.

“Yeah, he’s always teasing me. He said that Tate Miller was checking out my legs while we were performing a check on your rooms when Nick saw him and gave him the patented Vrost ‘I’m-going-to-eat-you-for-dinner’ look,” Cady explained.

“And then beat the living crap out of him during the next training exercise,” Alex added, a twinkle in his eye.
 

“Right,” Alynna said. “Well perhaps now that story time is over, we can get going, since I’m not allowed to go anywhere without my babysitter here.”

Cady’s face faltered for a moment, but seemed to brush it off. “Of course Alynna, I didn’t mean to keep Alex,” she stood up, her face bright and friendly. “I know you guys have your first training session later. But, how about lunch? I know this great Italian place-”

“No thanks,” she cut off the other woman. “I have to go back to the hotel and change into gym clothes. I think I’d rather eat in my room.”

“Oh…next time then?” Cady gathered her purse and slipped her ever-present phone back inside. “I’m headed up to Grant’s office for now. I’ll see you Monday when we’re back from California!” she turned and headed towards the private elevators on the other side of the room.

“Are you ok?” Alex asked quizzically.

“I’m fine,” she snapped. “Let’s get out of here, ok?”

“Whatever you say, Miss Chase.”

***

“Do another 10 laps. This time, you’ll have to do it faster.”

“I swear, I’m trying my best!” Alynna huffed, sweat pouring down her neck.

“Well you’re not trying hard enough,” Alex crossed him arms over his chest.

“I’m not exactly out of shape, you know!” she hissed. “But what you’re asking me to do is hard. Why aren’t we starting with the easy stuff? And what does this have to do with my shifting and controlling myself?” They’d been in the gym at Fenrir for an hour and after some grueling stretching exercises, Alex started her off with floor exercises and then running laps. They hadn’t even started with weights yet and she was already tired.
 

“Your body is a tool, Alynna. What you are as a human, you are as a wolf. The only magic transformation that’s happening is turning human parts into wolf parts. You still have to develop your human body, so you can be a strong wolf. Since you can’t learn defense techniques as a wolf, much less control your shift, for now we have to focus on you being able to get away from attackers.”

“I know how to defend myself,” Alynna grumbled. “You’re just being mean!”

“I’m not. Why would I be mean to you on purpose?” Alex asked.

“Because of what happened today!”

“Oh?” Alex asked in a piqued voice. “What happened today?” He walked closer to her.

“You…you know what I mean,” Alynna shot back. She tried to walk away from him, but his arm shot out, blocking her way. “Get that arm out of my way or I swear to god, I’ll--”

“You’ll what, Alynna? You’ll throw a tantrum? Snipe at me like you did Cady?”

Alynna was practically seeing red at his words. “How dare you?”

“C’mon Alynna, tell me what’s really got your panties in a twist and why you treated Cady – a sweet and lovely person who’s been nothing but kind to you – like she was your worst enemy?”

“I did not!” she screamed at him. She was shaking with anger, her fists balling at her sides.
 

“Well, you’re either dense or a liar!” He grabbed her and pulled her closer to him. “What was it? Were you jealous?”

“What? You stupid sonafa-” she spat out at him and pulled away. “You’re insane and an idiot to think that! What would I be jealous of? You and Cady can do whatever you want, I don’t give a shit!” Her vision began to swim in front of him, but she refused to lose control and prove Alex right. She was not jealous. She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

Alex watched her intently, staying silent as his eyes looked her up and down.

Finally, Alynna broke the silence. “What are you looking at?”

“I’m glad to see you’re learning some control,” he smirked at her.
 

“Control? What? Wait, were you messing with me?” she asked. He didn’t say anything, just turned away from her and walked to one of the benches. She stomped over to him. “Seriously, Alex, what the hell is going on?”

He tossed her a towel and a bottle of water. “Here, sit down and take a break, you deserve it.”

She caught the towel and bottle effortlessly. “Fine, but you have to tell me what that was about!”

Alex wiped the sweat of his face, then tossed the used towel to the side. “You’re starting to take control of your wolf side. I saw you – your eyes were blazing, your body started shifting – but you controlled it, instead of letting it control you. I say that was a good first lesson.”

“Lesson?” Alynna’s face suddenly changed. “You jerk!” she tossed the towel at him, which smacked him right in the chest. “You did all of this on purpose! Making me do these stupid exercises, running me around, making me--” she stopped suddenly.
 

“Jealous?” he said in a teasing voice, giving her a wry smile.
 

“Asshole!” she answered, this time chucking her bottle at him. He didn’t anticipate that and the bottle bounced right off his shoulder. She turned around and walked away.

“Hey, we’re not done yet,” Alex called out.

“I know!” she said, turning around just as she reached the middle of the room where the training mats were. “You said I didn’t know how to defend myself. Why don’t you come over here and start the real training, huh?” she challenged.

He smiled again and walked over to her. “Alright, fine, if that’s what you want, Ms. Chase.”

She guffawed. “At least you’re using the right name. Now let’s get on with it.”

“Fine. Now, the key to defending yourself is to first try and disable your attacker. You’ll have to hit him-”

“Or her,” she countered, giving him a sweet smile.

“Or her,” he continued. “in the right places. Sensitive areas, like the nose, the neck, stomach and, uh,” he faltered.

“The babymaker?” she continued.

“Right. And the foot. So, if someone comes at you without any weapons, I mean, and tries to reach for you, look for the nearest sensitive spot you can reach with your hands or feet.”

“Sure,” she said. “So why don’t we give it a try? Go ahead and try and grab me?”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I’ll be slow for now, just to give you some time to prepare. Hopefully once we do this regularly, you’ll get faster.”

“Well, if you stop yapping, maybe we’ll get to do this more than once,” Alynna said wryly.

“Haha. Now just try to reach out to me – try not to hit me too hard, but don’t worry, I can take it.” Alex stalked towards her, extending his arms as if to grab her. He lunged at her, closing him arms to try and catch her, but came up empty. He wasn’t quite sure what happened next, but all of a sudden, he found himself on the floor, staring up into Alynna’s face.

“How was that?” she asked sweetly, as she stood above him.

“Something you care to tell me?” Alex asked, as he slowly got up.

“I’ve been going to self-defense classes since I was 15,” Alynna declared proudly. “You and my brother and Nick seem to forget that I’m also a private investigator. Things can get sticky for me—ahhh!” Alynna cried out in surprise as Alex turned the tables on her – sweeping her legs so she lay flat on her behind. Alex grabbed her arm and rolled her under him.

“Still need to learn a few more things,” he whispered into her ear as he leaned down.

Alynna felt dizzy, his earthy scent enveloping her, her skin tingling where it touched him. Memories from that night when he was in her bed flooded her mind and a low moan escaped her mouth. “Don’t…”

Alex pressed his body down lower to hers, his semi-hard cock pressing against her stomach. “Don’t what?” he teased, his lips ghosting over the shell of her ear.