The Wolf Within

4 - Liam

I led Daniel and Ever through the packland, proudly showing off and not being the least bit ashamed of it. My mother would've scolded me, telling me that it wasn't king-like to be so boastful, but I couldn't help it. I was extremely proud of the work that I had accomplished in the short time that I had been king.

After the tour, we headed back to my house for lunch, which I had asked the cooks to prepare in advance for us. I didn't know if Ever had a special diet because of her condition, but I had several options just in case. She had simply laughed and thanked me, but told me not to worry about it.

After lunch, Daniel and I decided to let our wolves out for a bit. I felt bad leaving Ever by herself, but the feeling lessened after I showed her the game room. One wall was completely covered in movies and video games, and there were plenty of other toys down there. She took one look at my movie collection and I swear she fell in love.

Daniel and I ran through the forest, stretching our legs. Once we stopped for a drink, I finally worked up the courage to ask Danny about what had been on my mind all morning--Ever.

Hey, Danny, I said through the mind link, can I ask you a question?

Always, he replied, what's up?

Well, it's about Ever, I responded, swishing my tail nervously. How did she- I mean why is she- no, what-

How is she an anikanos? Danny guessed. I nodded my head, feeling embarrassed. I obviously knew about anikani and what they were, but I couldn't understand why Ever was one. Some wolves theorized that it was the Moon Goddess's way of punishing a wolf for something they did in a previous life. Others thought it was just a genetic problem, but no one knew for sure. They were most common when a wolf and a human mated, which made sense that sometimes the lycan genes would be skipped, but no one really understood how they happened between two wolves.

Yeah, I answered him. Wasn't her mom a wolf?

Danny sighed, sitting back on his haunches. Yeah, she was. I don't know the whole story, but I can tell you what I do know. Brynne and Luke met when right after she turned eighteen, and they got married very quickly. All of our pack members say that they've never seen a pair of mates as in love as those two. When Brynne got pregnant, they were ecstatic. But she started having complications with the pregnancy, and they went to consult a witch after the pack doctor said he couldn't do anything for them. I don't know what happened with the witch, but I guess they weren't quite the same when they came back. A few months later, Brynne gave birth to Ever. She died a few minutes after delivering. The doc ran the usual tests on Ever and found that she was an anikanos. She had all the signs of it: a poor immune system, slow responses, etcetera. Anyway, it wasn't until Ever was two that they discovered her diabetes and asthma. Shortly after that Luke married my mom. They both agreed that their kids shouldn't have to grow up with only one parent. It sucks that Ever lost her mom, but in the end, I got the best little sister I could ever want, Danny finished.

Do you know who the witch was? The whole situation just seems off to me, I confessed. I mean if Ever's parents had been Omegas or something it would make more sense, but her dad is a Beta, and wasn't her mom the lead warrior's daughter?

Yeah, something like that. I'm not sure who the witch was. Dad doesn't talk about Brynne. I remember once when we were little, Ever tried to bring up her mom and Dad almost lost his shit. Ever looks too much like Dad to think that Brynne cheated, too, even if I was dumb enough to think that she would, after all I've heard about how in love they were.

Oh, there's no doubt she's Luke's kid. It's just so weird.

Danny shrugged, yeah, I get what you're saying, but there's nothing we can do about it. Ever goes to our pack doc once a year for a checkup and physical and they've never said anything - that I know of - alluding to her condition changing.

That sucks, but I know the Moon Goddess has a plan for all of her children. Anyway, we should probably head back.

Yeah, I doubt Ever remembered to check her blood sugar again, so I should probably remind her, Danny said as we turned and started heading back to the palace.

You have to remind her? I asked, a little skeptical that a nineteen or twenty year-old couldn't take care of a very manageable medical condition that she'd had since birth.

No, normally she's really good at keeping on top of it, but Dad got all weird when I asked if she could come with me to visit you and demanded that she check twice as often as she usually does. A bit overkill if you ask me, but maybe he's just worried something will happen. I don't think she's ever been off of pack grounds before.

That's probably why, he's just being an overprotective dad, I laughed. I feel like you and I would be the same way if we had kids with medical conditions. I know I would be terrified. Hell, I'm terrified to be a dad in general!

Yeah, once you start having kids I'll have to stick around so you don't break them! Danny barked.

Oh, you're on, Reeves! I nipped at his flank, letting him know that he better run. He let out a wolfy laugh before taking off.

As we ran home, I pondered what Daniel had said, but I couldn't help the multitude of questions that came to my mind. Why did Brynne have complications with her pregnancy? Werewolves are notorious for being freakishly healthy. The only reason we even have doctors is for injuries and deliveries. Who was the witch, and why did they go to her? What happened while they were there? I shook my head and let out a growl, frustrated that my thoughts were running away from me. I don't know what it was about this girl but Ever seemed to be impossible to forget.