Wolf Lake Ch. 07

It was late when Nafarius let himself into Thomas' office. He had hoped to arrive earlier but the late hour guaranteed privacy.

Thomas rose as Nafarius entered; after shaking hands he offered the pack leader a seat in the chair across from his desk. Weighed down with books and paper, the desk itself was buried and looked as if it might collapse at any moment. Nafarius wasn't surprised however when Thomas was able to lay his hands on the very book he wanted. "What did you find?"

Thomas looked over his glasses at Nafarius. "I'm afraid the new isn't good."

Nafarius felt a cold fist of dread settle in the pit of his stomach. "Tell me."

"When you first told me of your mates...ability...I was surprised." Thomas gave a brief wave of his hand, "not of the ability itself but by the fact that I remember reading of it once before. When I first started my position here as a historian I sought to read the lycanthropes' entire history. Not a small undertaking, mind you. I quickly realized that wasn't possible, nor was it my primary function. As you know, the historians are here to observe and record all lycan history - not just the werewolves. Still, in those early days I came across some very old, very obscure text that referred to an extinct breed of lycanthrope. My curiosity was peaked but other responsibilities quickly took me away from any further research. Unfortunately, I never got back to it but it was something I never forgot."

"I don't see what this has to do with Sam."

Thomas smiled, his excitement at what he found, overshadowing his earlier warning. "Ah, but it does. You see, it's why they were rendered extinct that is so interesting. Apparently, several thousand years ago there was a race of lycans that wasn't actually lycans - they were shape-shifters."

Nafarius frowned, "what's the difference?"

Thomas turned the book around and pointed to several sections. "As you know, lycanthrope originally referred to a werewolf. Eventually the term came to refer to a man or woman that could change into any animal form - not just that of a wolf. Werewolves are by far the most common of the lycans but they aren't the only ones." At Nafarius' nod, he continued. "Shapeshifter, or just Shifters as they came to be known, could change into any animal."

Nafarius stared down at the book. It was an ancient text and depicted several men and women changing into various exotic animals, a few of them had changed into some sort of hybrid with the head of one animal and the body of another. Looking up at Thomas, he said, "I still don't see what this has to do with Sam."

"I'm getting to that. Shifters considered themselves to be the elite of the species but not because of their ability to take on many forms but because of what they referred to as their "God like power" to control and prevent others from change."

"Sam," Nafarius whispered.

Thomas nodded. "It didn't take long before the Shifters set themselves up as Gods. They used their powers to enslave lycans, mainly by preventing them from changing or forcing them to remain in animal form."

Nafarius rested his elbows on his knees and stared down at the floor between his feet. It didn't take much to figure out what happened. He couldn't imagine anything worse then being cut off from either part of himself. To be forced to stay in human form, never able to touch the wolf would surely drive him mad. The same could be said for remaining in animal form. To never be able to take human form would slowly eat away at what self-awareness a lycan had while in animal form. Eventually, there would be very little of the human left. "What happened?"

Thomas shrugged, "what always happens when one race seeks to enslave another - the lycans revolted. A Shifter's ability was not limitless; an individual Shifter could only control a few lycans at a time. Once the lycans realized this, they worked to gather their numbers and over powered the Shifters. Most of the Shifters fled but they were systematically hunted down and destroyed."

Thomas closed the book and went to set it back on the shelf. "It wasn't hard to do; Shifters feared that breeding with anyone other then another pure bred Shifter would dilute their race. In the end, there were very few of them and most of those were either very young or very old."

"If they were hunted to extinction, how do you explain Sam's ability? She can't be a Shifter; she's only ever changed into a wolf." Nafarius couldn't stop the shiver of fear that slid up his spin.

"You want my theory? Because that is all it is," Thomas said. "I suspect that more then one Shifter escaped the slaughter and went into hiding. It would have been possible for them to pick one form as their animal and stick to it, blending into whatever pack they could find. I also suspect that, despite their fears, many of the Shifters took lycan lovers with pregnancy a likely result. Who's to say that those offspring didn't acquire the ability to control other lycans? As for your mate, I think that if you look back far enough you'll find either a lycan or a descendant of a Shifter in her family tree."

"So, when I infected her?" Nafarius asked.

"More then likely you didn't infect her so much as wake up a dormant gene." Thomas watched as the pack leader absorbed that bit of information. The chances of such a thing were astronomical yet here they sat. The history books had been clear, though it was hard to separate truth from fiction when something was so old. "Nafarius," Thomas called softly. "I assume from your request that I keep your inquiry and my research private that you comprehend the seriousness of the situation."

"I am well aware of what this could mean." Nafarius said.

Thomas shook his head, "with all due respect, I don't think you do. From everything I read, Shifters were not just feared, they were despised. They thought of themselves as the next step on the evolutionary chain while the rest of the lycans saw them as abominations."

"Sam is not an abomination!" Nafarius snarled.

Thomas held up his hands, a gesture of peace. "Of course not," he said. "Nafarius, we've known each other for a very long time. I consider myself lucky to call you a friend despite our differences." Nafarius smiled at the reference to their animals. "But my position here is neutral, my job is to gather information and report it, without censor."

"I know," Nafarius said. "How long do I have?"

"My next report to the Archives isn't for another six weeks. I can avoid adding this information to the public records here until right before I make my report. However, once the Archives have my report, the Council will see it. Even without the background history, your mate's ability is something the Council will want investigated."

The Council was made up of members from all of the lycan groups while the Archives was their central repository where all knowledge was gathered and stored. The Council was charged with protecting the existence of all lycans and the information in the Archives was an integral part of that.

"Six weeks?" Nafarius asked.

"Seven, at the most." Thomas confirmed. "I wish I could do more..."

"No," Nafarius cut him off and stood. "You've done enough. I wouldn't want to see any of this fall back on you. I appreciate you keeping this confidential as long as possible. If something changes, if others come asking after Sam, or anything out of the ordinary happens, I would appreciate it if you would send word."

"Of course," Thomas stood and took the hand Nafarius offered. "Good luck."

Nafarius nodded and left. There was little he could do tonight except return to his mate and get ready to return home. He had to admit that he would feel better once they were home. The Council had a long reach and it wouldn't take them long to find him and Sam. Still, he would feel better facing that situation on his turf as opposed to in the city.

The next morning Nafarius decided not to tell Sam what he'd discovered. She had enough to worry about with her pregnancy and having twins. He had six weeks before the Council was likely to arrive, plenty of time to talk to her.

Sam was surprised when the day came for them to start for home to find that she was more then ready to go. She loved the city and would definitely be coming back, but she loved home more and right now that was where she wanted to be.

The drive back to town seemed to speed by, Seth and Jake were full of stories, several of which made Maddie blush and Sam roll her eyes. Alex filled them in on his family and their reaction to the news of his 'marriage'. Sam had to admit that he'd done well by Maddie and was glad to hear that his family had accepted the young woman. Nafarius was again quiet which surprised Sam. She thought for sure his happiness at returning home, mate in tow, would have lightened his mood.

Nafarius concentrated on getting them home, knowing that one of the first things he would need to do would be to sit down with Roland and start making plans. Things were going to heat up once the Council arrived and they needed to be prepared.

It was mid morning when Nafarius pulled the SUV into storage. Relieved to see several pack members already waiting for them, he quickly issued orders that sent everyone scurrying.

Sam watched in fascination as her packages were unloaded, distributed and disappeared into the woods. A second group would be coming down in a week to meet the delivery of the rest of their supplies. For now, there was nothing left for them to do but head home.

Two days later, Sam stepped into the clearing surrounding the entrance to their home and breathed a sigh of relief. The walk hadn't taxed her overmuch but it had been a long ten days and she was glad to be home.

Home. The entire pack was there to greet them, everyone milling around, eager to reassure themselves that their leaders were back safe. Roland was particularly enthusiastic at their return. He had been reminded, once again, why he never wanted to be pack leader. The past ten days had worn his patience thin with everything from petty squabbling to a sparring accident that left one young pup unconscious for two days. He was more then ready to hand back the mantel of leadership and go back to his (relatively) quiet days with his mate.

That night the pack celebrated their return with food, drinking and even some dancing. There were shouts of joy at the news that Sam was expecting twins followed by some good-natured ribbing at the amount of stuff had been hauled in. It wasn't until later that Nafarius realized that Sam had been quietly moving from group to group handing out packages that he understood. Most of what she'd brought back were for the pack members. There were new books, lightly scented soap and even chocolates. Each piece had been hand picked with a particular member in mind. Nafarius didn't think Sam realized just how much the gesture meant to each member. She didn't forget a single one and there wasn't one person that didn't cherish what she had given them.

Nafarius looked up at Roland's hand on his shoulder. Lowering himself to the floor beside his leader, Roland took a swing of beer. Werewolves didn't become intoxicated the way humans did but he still enjoyed the taste of a good beer and Sam had brought him back a six-pack of his favorite. "Did you learn anything," he asked.

Nafarius quickly and quietly filled his second-in-command in, ignoring it when Roland paled at the mention of the Council.

"How long?" He asked.

"Six, maybe seven, weeks." Nafarius answered.

Roland followed Nafarius' gaze and watched as Sam chatted with several other women. He noted that all of them were mothers and could guess at the topic of conversation. "Have you told her yet?"

Nafarius shook her head. "Did you know that I'd never seen Sam carefree until this past week? She lights up, from inside, and you can't help but be drawn to it."

Roland was surprised to hear Nafarius sharing so openly about his mate.

"I almost hated to bring her back, knowing that the weight of her responsibilities would cause that light to dim." Nafarius shrugged, almost embarrassed. "I guess I wanted to give her tonight before burdening her with the rest."

Roland nodded, "If it counts for anything, I know she's happy here. She may not be 'carefree' but she takes a lot of pride, a lot of pleasure, in taking care of the pack."

Later, Nafarius stared up into the dark, Sam tucked in next to him. "Sam."

"Hmmm..." Sam was nearly half asleep.

"We need to talk," Nafarius said.

To be continued...