The Prey (LGBT+)

Chapter 18: Transference

Kohl

Parker was gone this morning.

I panic but decide that I need to trust Parker. He has proven himself to me time and time again. He seems affected by Faust's betrayal. The two were not extremely close but Faust was a mentor to him. Faust was the only person on the pack land that he could identify with. It blows my mind that he played all of us all this time.

How did Gaius miss it?

Gaius didn't miss a step yet he missed this huge secret. It makes me wonder how good Faust is at deception. I wonder if there is more that we don't know about him. He's been a friend to the pack for as long as I can remember. It makes me wonder if this was a set-up all along.

This thought plagues me. It moves me to visit him in the absence of my mate. I take a stroll on the way to the holding cells. The pack seems to be recovering from Gaius' death. Kids and their parents are enjoying the day. The Elders are even enjoying the sun. It makes me feel like I'm a better Alpha than I thought.

As I enter the holding area, the wolves nod to me and lead me into Faust's cell. Faust is chained to the wall, not unlike Mickey was. The same chains he enchanted he is bound in. It's poetic. He seems calmer than usual. He seems complacent, if possible.

I approach him cautiously but he stares straight ahead. I stand by the door, careful not to get too close to the Sorcerer. He laughs, as if he is aware of what I'm thinking. I wonder if he can hear my thoughts.

"I didn't think wolves got scared. Satan knows Gaius didn't." His accent falters as his eyes flicker, "Gaius was a better man than me. Salt of the Earth."

"You're not—"

"I've spoken in many tongues, Alpha Kohl. My accent is true but I learned a long time ago to disguise when I needed." He chuckles, "Seems like so long ago."

"You killed Gaius. You sound guilty."

"I've done a lot of things in my life, most directly. Gaius' demise was unintentional but it is on my hands, though I never told dead-head to murder him."

"Doesn't matter. He died and it's on your hands."

"Do you trust him?" Faust asks breaking his gaze from the wall to look at me, "Of course you do. You don't have a choice. You trust him not to harm you and to be the apple of your eye."

I know we've switched topics. I'm not sure I like the new topic.

"He almost makes me doubt my anger. Almost."

"Have you ever thought that your anger with one God clouds your ideology of other Gods?" I ask, "Every God can't be the same."

"Can't they?"

"Parker isn't."

"He's half-human. Your pack reminds him every chance they get, his words not mine. You were there." Faust gestures into the air, "Do you know why I originally sent you? No? I'll tell you. I'll tell you the history of your previous life."

"Spare me."

"The Goddess Hecate. She had two suitors-"

"I know the story."

"The two fought furiously over the Goddess. She pit them against each other for her own amusement, for which God doesn't love the adoration of their followers? The men eventually lost their splendor to her and she used her powers to turn them to wolves, assisted by a spell she learned from another Goddess. The two men mastered the art of their transformation. They began transforming at will, unlike their lycanthropic brothers. They became her hounds. They lived for her and would die just as easily for her. She gave them strength and vigor, extended youth and they gave her what she treasured most: attention. So much so that she tied her destiny to theirs." Faust says whimsically, "She was a Goddess, you see. Immortal and ageless. Though the wolves aged slowly, they still aged. As time went on, the wolves hungered for more. The Goddess, vengeful as she was, allowed the wolves to leave her side, meaning to sever ties with them. Imagine a wolf with no mate. The wolves were lost without their Goddess but soon created families, though still connected by fate."