Crossing Paths With The White Wolf
Chapter 58

Kassia

POV

I heard the door open behind me and I knew it had to be him. He was the only one missing. I was actually surprised I wasn't asked to leave right off the bat and took that as a good sign. He passed by me and I inhaled. He had the same ancient smell combined with key lime pie as he always had, but it had changed. He had that underlying musky scent of werewolf now. Had he always been a werewolf? He told me he had been a warrior for a god. Mortal, but didn't age. A vampire without the deficits of being a vampire. Now he smelled of wolf. How was he able to mask it from me before?

Whatever, it didn't change anything. I would ask him if I got the chance. He was alive and just looking into his face as he sat down between the Alpha and Gamma Theo, I knew that I still loved him and I would fight to stay by his side. I just had to get through this meeting first. If they kicked me out of this project, more than just my love life would remain destroyed.

"How was your room? Did you replace things to your satisfaction?" Alpha Helios began. There was a certain tense aura around all of them and a little hostility despite their words. No doubt, they knew who I was.

"It was all very generous and thoughtful. Thank you Alpha." I said as pleasantly as I could remember doing back in the day when I was still a princess.

"Your sister is the Queen correct? Why would the queen send her sister to a potentially dangerous situation?" I tried not to gulp at his question. Being the Queen's sister was one of the aces up my sleeve. If I told them the truth, I would lose one. My vision flittered slightly to Gonzalo. I couldn't lose him again.

"I am, and I'm her most trusted ally because of it. Karissa takes what's happening to the shifters and our own people very seriously. She sent me to ensure that the threat is neutralized and the supernatural creatures are safe." I lied through my teeth. "What skills do you offer?" Gamma Sebastian asked.

"I have the usual skills of a vampire. Speed, enthralling, speed healing. I also have proficiency in martial arts. Krav maga, Judo, kick boxing, Jiu-Jitso and Canne de combat. I am proficient with just about any blade, bow and can hold my own with a sniper rifle. I speak 6 languages and can read another 3. I might be forgetting a few, but that's about the gist of it. I have never failed a mission and I'm an adept trainer. I also have contacts all over the world." I managed to change a couple of their faces from hostile scowls to impressed scowls, so that was something. I may have been embellishing a couple of those, mostly that last one, but I could pull a few favors if I found myself in a pinch, so it was really that big a lie. They were silent for a bit, mind linking each other from the glazed looks in their eyes, so I just sat with my hands on the table. After a few minutes, I started getting nervous, so I decided to tell them about Glasgow. I would need to tell them if I wanted access anyway.

"There's something else you should know," I said quietly. Their eyes cleared and everyone's attention was on me. I started getting a little uncomfortable. I hadn't spoken any of this out loud.

"23 years ago, I was on a mission in Liverpool. I went to a vampire bar and I think my blood drink was drugged. I woke up in a cage in some sort of warehouse facility." Everyone's eyebrows appeared to disappear into their hairline. "I was beaten, tested and experimented on for about 6 weeks. One day, I was injected with some sort of substance. I thought I was dead. I must have gotten close enough because I woke up in a dumping field in Glasgow. I've had seizures ever since. For more free novels, visit Ebookex.com I never told anyone, because I had no idea where I had been taken and I couldn't replace the place again. This is personal for me, Alpha Helios. I need answers." Gonzalo stood up and left the room. No one said anything until he returned with a tablet in his hands. I took a whiff of him on the way back to his seat. Definitely my Lalo. Once he found what he was looking for, he passed it to Alpha Helios.

"It looks like there's a lab just outside of Glasgow" Alpha Helios said as he passed the tablet to Gamma Theo after showing Luna Natalia.

They mind linked again for a while and then finally Gonzalo spoke. "We've got one more lab in the states to take down before we move abroad. You will train in the evenings and we will determine if you have the skills to join us. You need to stay on packgrounds until we have the next meeting with the pack next door. We will discuss the next mission next week and if you are joining it. Outside of training, your time is yours. We have discussed it and we're on board with raiding the Glasgow lab next. Perhaps you can get some answers there. You can touch base with Evergreen, Crescent Moon's tech genius. He will give you access to the medical records we currently have to see if you can replace anything that may give you answers to what happened. However, we've found that each lab is its own individual cell, so their research may offer you no answers. Am I missing anything?" Gonzalo turned to Alpha Helios. I heard all of it, but even with them giving me access to the medical records, I was struggling to process anything other than the sound of his voice. Even though it was cold and emotionless, I'd never thought I'd hear it again. It was the same reaction I'd had to hearing his voice earlier tonight when he yelled and laughed happily at Gamma Theo over the food.

"No, I think that's all. It's pretty close to dawn. Your half of the wing is protected, but we keep windows fairly open, so I recommend not wondering too much during the daylight. You should head back to your rooms. If you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to reach out. Gamma Theo will provide you with his phone number so that you can reach out to us if you need anything during the daylight hours. Have a good rest." I nodded and everyone got up and began exiting.

"Gonzalo, could I have a word?" I said nervously.

He froze for a moment. He looked at me, his eyes cold, and said, "Unless it's related to the mission at hand. No. I don't have any reason to speak with you." he pushed past me and left the room. I was going to go after him when I noticed Luna Natalia hanging back to make sure he made it out, a scowl on her face. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was not a threat to him.

I went back to my room. Adrien was waiting there for me.

"So what's the verdict? Are they letting you stay?" he asked. I had told him earlier about everything that happened between Gonzalo and I. He was totally on board with my plan. In fact, I had to fight him into promising not to get involved. I had seen and heard from him how much he liked being friends with Gonzalo. I didn't want him alienated again for being associated with me.

"I can stay, but I have a feeling I'm going to be tested before being allowed anywhere near the labs."

"And Gonzalo?" he asked.

"He made it clear I'm not to speak with him unless it's part of the mission." I sighed before I dumped myself on my bed. "and will you?" He smirked knowingly.

I grinned, "I won't make the same mistake twice. I'm not letting him go again."

"Atta girl. I'm heading to bed. Kisses!" He said as he left the room.

I locked my door, set my alarm, put on my ring and went to sleep. I woke up to a pounding on my door and I was immediately on alert. I opened the door with my knife in hand. "Relax Snow White. We're safe here." He said as he strolled in. "You know I hate the nickname," I said as I sat back on the bed. It was only 3 pm. Much too early for us to be able to leave our wing. "Why did you see the need to wake me up so early?" I asked.

"Well, for one, we're in shifter territory. We'll be so f*g alone if we keep normal sleeping schedules, so I've been waking up at this hour for the past month and hanging out with them. I've got a little safe route to the basement all plotted out with the help of Gonzalo. They keep all the rescued shifters down there and all the new vampires are there until Queen Karissa sends for them. And two! We need to plan how you're going to win your poisoned apple back! Duh!"

"Adrien, I am not discussing any plan because there is no plan. I just want to get to know him again and see if we still have something." I half lied. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, "He doesn't have a mate or girlfriend, does he?"

"No, but the full moon is only a few days away and they are having a celebration with a couple of packs getting together to see if they can replace their mates. You have to get him before then." He explained.

I frowned. I hadn't considered the fact that he was a werewolf now. Did I dare try to take the goddess' gift from him and make him choose me? It didn't feel right. "Maybe this isn't a good idea. Maybe I just need to give myself closure and let him be happy with his mate."

"Girl no! You love him. I know you do. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you haven't taken a Beloved or a lover because of him. Now that you have told me what happened. You two were meant to be together. Maybe you'll be his mate?"

"He wasn't a werewolf back then, Adrien. Which, by the way, do you know how that's possible? I've never heard of someone turning into a werewolf. I thought that was impossible."

"Oh, that's a whole other story but the gist of it is, Alpha Helios is the moon goddess' sibling and when she gave him a wolf, she gave all of his warriors a wolf. This only happened like half a year ago though, so they are all fairly new to the werewolf schtick." I didn't even try to ask questions. Adrien was always a terrible story teller. I just withdrew into myself. Was there a chance that I would be his mate? After 200 years, what were the chances that I found him again just after this huge transition in his life? But I've never heard of a vampire and werewolf being mated. Was it even possible? What would I do if Gonzalo did replace his mate in a few days? I am not sure I could handle losing him again.

"Hey. Where did you go?" Adrien asked, looking down at my hand. I follow his line of sight and my hand is shaking. I grab it and take a few deep breaths until I feel the tremors stop. He stood and grabbed me a cloth to wipe my nose. The nose bleeds were coming sooner than they used to.

"I don't know if I can survive losing him again," I tell him, "but I won't get between him and his mate. I will try to get another chance with him, but if he replaces his mate, I will walk away." I wiped the tear that fell from my eye. "Don't give me that look. You know what it does to me," I say, and he chuckles.

"Let's go get your mind off of love and back on mission then. Let's go down to the basement and see how we can help. Training starts just after sundown. They set them up just for us, so dress to impress. I've talked up your fighting skills, so don't make me look bad." I chuckled at his words.

"I'll shower and change. Give me like 20 minutes." He nodded and left and as I reached for my phone, I realized I was still wearing his ring. I took it off and put it back in its place before I went over to the bathroom. After my shower, I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror. Would he like my new body? It was toned and strong but there was no mistaking the scars I'd gotten during my missions. I grunted and left the bathroom. I was damn proud of my body. I've worked really hard over the last 150 years to make it a lethal weapon. I put some athletic gear on and a loser shirt over the sports bra. If Gonzalo found his mate, I would still need answers to what happened to me, so I needed to earn a spot in the team.

I went over to knock on Adrien's door and he opened it almost immediately. I followed him down the wing and into an elevator. It stopped at the first floor and walked under the awning of the front staircase and through to the back. We passed a few windows that were covered with dark cloth. "Gonzalo set them up for me when I told him what I wanted to do. He made sure no one removes them while we're here. He's a pretty stand-up guy." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes. I already knew he was. He was the most considerate man I've ever known. We walked past and came across an open door. Thankfully, it opened towards us, so we were able to just kick it shut. It would be a bigger issue if we needed to come back this way and found it open. We got to another door and he opened this one to replace a staircase going down.

There was a commotion as we reached the bottom. I can see a few shifters in their animal form and a few others are close to it. There are a few warriors trying to calm them down and then I see Gonzalo in the middle trying to calm down one of the shifters. I can see there's yellow fur already sprouting on his face and arms and a puma behind Gonzalo, ready to pounce. I don't hesitate. I gave a loud whistle, forcing everyone to look my way and let my power outwards. I chose my targets carefully. All of the rescued shifters begin to sit down on their back legs or with their legs crossed and put their hands on their knees, not breaking eye contact. I can feel the strain its causing on my energy and I look at Gonzalo, who's looking at me curiously. "I can only enthrall them for a little while. Can you please take care of the puma behind you? I will let them go one by one. You need to calm them down." I said with a slight lisp. I know what he can see. My eyes would be glowing red and my fangs would be down. He seemed surprised to see the puma behind him and I threw him a small smile as he headed over to him.