Chapter 22-A Visitor in the Night

“Wake up, bitch,” a voice whispers in my ear. 

My eyes flutter open, and I feel something sharp at my neck. 

“What the fu…,” I start to say, but a hand covers my mouth. 

“Say another word, and you’re dead. Got it?” the voice warns.

I nod as my eyes adjust to the dark, and I realize Catherine’s face is only inches away from mine. 

“My dad is being banished because of you,” she spits, the anger in her voice like venom.

‘Shift, Athena,’ Enyo growls.

‘Not yet,’ I tell her. 

“I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to my family,” she whispers as she trails a knife down my throat. I try not to make a sound as wolfsbane burns my skin anywhere the blade touches. “But first, I’m going to make you suffer.”

A sick smile forms on her face as she cuts my arm, and I gasp in pain as wolfsbane enters my system, the burning sensation is excruciating. She cuts me again, but this time on my stomach, and I try not to scream as tears fill my eyes.

“Look at you writhe in pain. The big, tough chosen one can’t even handle a little wolfsbane,” she snorts as she cuts my leg.

A low, deep growl escapes my throat, and I feel Enyo come forward, her eyes casting a blue glow over the dark room. “You’re going to regret this,” she snarls.

“I told you to keep your mouth shut,” Catherine growls, and slaps me hard across the face. She brings the knife to my eye, pressing its tip against my lower lid.

“I’m going to rip your throat out,” Enyo growls.

“You’re not going to do anything. Do you feel a difference in the wolfsbane? It’s a special blend, the same one used on your father,” Catherine smirks.

My body stiffens as I process her words. The same wolfsbane used on my father. “How do you have the same wolfsbane that was used on my father?” I ask, trying not to panic.

“My father wasn’t the only one working with the Doc, bitch. And now, you can meet your father in hell.”

Enyo tries to take over and force the shift, but she’s too weak. We can’t shift. Just like Daddy and Alpha Niko couldn’t.

Catherine climbs on top of me, her knees digging into my arms to hold me in place. Then she moves the knife up to my eyebrow and presses down. I close my eyes as she glides the blade down over my right eye and I feel blood flow down my temple. I scream in pain, and I try to push her off me, but my entire body feels heavy, as if I’m being held down by more than just Catherines’ weight. I look up at Catherine, my vision filled with blood, and her face is twisted with hate and anger.

She raises the large knife above her head. A sob escapes my throat as prepare for her to stab me.

This is it. I’m going to die.

I feel her move, but before she can plunge the knife into my chest, a giant wolf crashes through my bedroom window.

“GET OUT!” she screams, jumping off me and waving the knife at the wolf.

He’s pure white; the colour of fresh snow. His eyes glow a bright green, and the smell of butterscotch fills the room.

‘Mate,’ Enyo says weakly. 

All I can do is watch as Catherine tries to attack my mate. She tries to slash him with the knife, but he’s too quick for her and dodges her attacks. He gets low to the ground and growls deeply at her. It’s then that I see the black crescent moon on his forehead. 

“ABOMINATION!” she screams and lunges at him. He bites down hard on her wrist, and she drops the knife with a scream. 

I try to move, but all I can move is my arm. I try to wipe the blood from my eye, but the pain causes me to scream again, accidentally distracting my mate. Catherine pulls her arm from his mouth and shifts, then bites him hard on the neck. He yelps as she tries to get her jaw around his throat, but he’s too big, and he knocks her to the ground. He places an enormous paw on her throat to keep her down as my bedroom door bursts open and Carol, Jason, and his mate run into the room. Jason and his mate shift, growling at my mate as they see him holding down Catherine. 

“No! Please!” I yell weakly, trying to sit up. “He’s trying to help!” 

My mate looks at me with a look of longing and hesitation in his eyes, and then at Jason. Before Jason or his mate can do anything, my mate quickly jumps back through the broken window.

Jason shifts back and runs to Catherine’s side. “What the fuck happened here, Athena?!” He yells. 

Carol turns on the light in the room, and Jason gasps when he sees my face. 

“She attacked me,” I say weakly as the room spins and everything fades to black. 

*

“She’s lucky she didn’t lose her eye. But she’s going to be permanently scarred because of the wolfsbane.”

Who is that? 

“Do you think she’s lost her eyesight?” 

Is that Jason? Goddess, my head hurts. I try to raise my hand to my head, but everything feels numb. 

“We won’t know until she wakes up. Even though it was her right eye that was cut with the knife dipped in wolfsbane, when it bled, it went into her left eye. It’s possible the wolfsbane damaged that eye as well.”

Um, hello. I’m awake, I groan. 

“Athena?” 

Uncle Alex? 

“Athena, can you hear us?” 

I groan again as I feel someone holding my hand. My whole-body hurts. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. 

“Miss Argos, your right eyes bandaged. Can you open your left eye?” 

I try to open my eye, but I groan from the bright light above me and quickly close it again.

I hear a sob next to me. “Athena, it’s Mom. Please open your eye, sweetheart.”

I turn my head towards her and slowly open my eyes. “Owww,” I say groggily, trying to focus on Mom.

“Oh, sweetheart! You scared me half to death,” she sobs again. 

“Miss Argos, please look at me and try to follow the light,” the unknown voice tells me. 

I turn my head, and a bright light shines in my eye. I try to follow it, but my vision is blurred, and it hurts, so I close my eyes again.

“Can you see the light, Athena?” Uncle Alex asks.

I nod my head. “Uncle Alex?” 

“It’s me, Athena,” he says and rubs my leg reassuringly.

I open my eye again, trying to focus on his face. “Everything is blurry,” I say as I gently touch the bandage covering my right eye. 

“Your eyes need to heal, Miss Argos. We’re not sure yet what permanent damage has been caused by the wolfsbane on the knife.”

“Who are you?” I ask the stranger.

“I’m the other pack doctor. Well, the only pack doctor now. I’m Doctor Connors,” she introduces herself. 

“Can I have some water?” I ask as I try to sit up. 

“Here, let me help.” Mom presses a button on the side of the bed, and it slowly lifts my head up.

“How long have I been out?” I ask.

“About ten hours,” Jason answers, and I find him standing at the end of the bed.

“Where’s Catherine?” I ask.

He pours me a glass of water and hands it to me. “She’s in the cells. Alpha Peter is questioning her,” he says. 

“He needs to be questioning Doctor Shields again. Catherine used the same wolfsbane that killed my father. Shields gave it to her,” I whisper. 

“WHAT!” Uncle Alex erupts. 

All I can do is nod as I take a small mouthful of water, trying to stop the tears threatening to fall. 

“I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!” Uncle Alex screams and goes to leave the room. 

“Stand down, Gamma,” Jason says to him as he places a hand on Uncle Alex’s shoulder. 

“I WILL NOT STAND DOWN! THAT FUCKER IS INVOLVED IN MY BEST FRIEND’S DEATH! I WILL HAVE HIS HEAD!” 

“AND HE WAS INVOLVED IN MY FATHER’S DEATH! THIS IS OUR TERRITORY, GAMMA! STAND DOWN OR LEAVE!” Jason stands in front of Uncle Alex, both men breathing heavily. 

After a moment, Uncle Alex takes a step back and nods, returning his attention to me.

“What are you talking about? What wolfsbane?” Doctor Connors asks, confused.

 “The wolfsbane that was used in the attack against us,” Jason tells her, and she gasps.

“Aconitum Anthora… That explains why she’s taking so long to heal. She should be dead…” Doctor Connors trails off.

“You know what it’s called?” Uncle Alex asks.

Doctor Connors nods her head. “I studied it after the attack. It’s rare. I had a lot of trouble even studying it because I had nothing to compare it with. I shared everything I could about it with the Elder council, and they were stunned that it was used, considering they banned it about a century ago. It was all supposed to be destroyed.”

“How the hell did Shields get a hold of it then?” Mom asks.

“They didn’t know,” Doctors Conners answers.

“It can’t be a coincidence that it was used in our attack as well. Shields had to be a part of it,” Uncle Alex says angrily.

“Is there anything I can get you, Athena?” Mom asks.

“Mate,” Enyo comes forward and says groggily, “Where’s my mate?” She asks.

“Mate?” Mom and Uncle Alex ask in unison. “Who’s your mate?” Uncle Alex asks.

“He came through the window and stopped Catherine from killing us,” she tells them.

“That was your mate?” Jason asks, a look of bewilderment on his face. 

Enyo nods, then I feel her retreat, curl up, and go back to sleep.

“We recognized his scent. It was the same one at the edge of the territory when Nick and I went for a run,” I tell him. “The one we told Alpha Peter about after he questioned the doctor.”

“No one knows who he is. We’ve never seen him before, and we don’t recognize his scent. We have no idea why he is in our territory,” Jason explains to mum and Uncle Alex. “We’ve had patrols out all night looking for him, but we’ve found nothing so far,” he explains to me.

I yawn, feeling groggy again. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep,” I say, unable to stay awake any longer.