The Secrets of the Panther
Epilogue

UNKNOWN

The silence in the car was magic to my ears.

Hearing that elder leader keep on at me drove me nuts, but I knew I had to keep my head down. I needed to be in with that stupid crowd and figure out how to regain what Johnson had. We were all so close before that Elder leader butted her nose in. She thinks she knows what’s right. Many of us followed Johnson and believed in everything that he stood for; only a matter of time until we ruled again.

“We will be approaching soon, sir,” said the driver, pulling me from my thoughts.

I glanced at him but said nothing to him.

The way I acted in front of the new Alpha and Luna was uncalled for, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around the whole thing. I couldn’t sense any power coming from her. How the hell did she kill Nell and Amir?

The driver turned the corner and drove up the road. Being in the middle of nowhere has its perks, but we must be further away from everything, as we don’t want people to know what we are doing.

The house came into view, but I knew he was waiting for me to return. He wanted to know what I had learned since arriving at that stupid pack.

The car comes to a stop right outside the house. The driver got out, walked over to my side, opened the door for me, and I climbed out. I headed straight inside the house and found him waiting for me. He looked up from the stairs where he was perched.

“Your home?” he said, looking up to meet my eyes.

I nodded but said nothing to him.

I walked past him and headed toward the living area. I knew we needed to leave in the next few days, but he had been lost since he lost his parents. He felt everything that the stupid panther did to them.

As he walked in, I sat on the couch, and he took the chair opposite me.

We sat silently for a moment, and I couldn’t help but think about the whole situation. The house was where we stayed when he was a baby. I had to look after him; he was only a newborn. Amir thought having an Elder bring up his son was wrong, but Nell had other ideas. She wanted him to be protected. What else could we have done? Nell wanted the power to become more powerful than before, and she wanted what we all wanted, control and dominance over the other shifters.

“Well,” he said. “Are you going to tell me what you found out?”

I glanced at him and sighed. “The panther indeed killed them, but I still don’t know what Elder Johnson was on about before he left that compound. She has no power now, and if she did, where the hell is it?” I said, feeling slightly confused.

“So you found out nothing then,” he said, disappointed.

I scrunched up my nose. “I found out something. Did you know the panther had another auntie?” I said. “It surprised me to see her there.”

He looked at me, his face blank. He says nothing.

After a few moments, I got impatient. “Amos,” I said. “What did you do?”

Amos looked at me, and a slow grin formed on his face.

“Oh, I thought sending her back was right,” he said. “It seemed right, considering you came back with no other information. At least now she can come back and tell us everything.”

I stared at him. “Can we trust her?” I asked. Amos looked at me and frowned. “Casey has it all under control,” Amos said as he exited the chair and walked over to the window. He stared out.

I had a weird feeling suddenly.

“Did you persuade the old headmaster of the retirement package we could offer him?” Amos asked without looking back at me. I couldn’t help the grin on his face. “Oh, he was more than willing to take it after a few lengthening moments with him alone,” I said.

Amos turned to look back at me and smiled.

“So the new teacher will be in place before that little brat goes to school,” he said.

I nodded.

Amos smirked. “We will set everything up, and we will get our revenge on those who turned on us, but also that pathetic panther, too,” he said. “We will ruin the one thing she holds dear, and that brat will be the center of everything.”

I grinned.

“She will not know what will happen,” I said.

Amos nodded. I looked toward the window. A car pulled up outside the house and stopped.

“Casey is here,” he said, looking back toward the window. I got up from the couch and walked over to look.

“Are you sure you know how to do this?” I asked him, my eyes never leaving the big guy exiting the car. But I could see his reflection in the window as he looked around.

“You think I can’t do it,” said Amos, with a mocked expression. But it soon changes into a grin. “Patrick, you must know by now I can do anything. After my mother and Helga showed me how to use my magic, I can do anything, and I am probably better than both combined.”

I looked over my shoulder and stared at him. “I never doubted you, Amos,” I said.

“I know,” he said.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked Casey.

I turned around and faced the two of them. We all stood around the lounge in silence for a few moments. “Are you ready to go?” Casey asked, looking between the both of us.

“We are,” said Amos. Casey grins.

Amos turns to look at me. “I know what I’m doing,” he said. “I know the ancestors are here and where to replace them. They will help us, especially when they know what that brat looks like.”

I smirked.

“We monitor that brat,” Amos says. “Then we will strike when they least expect it. Everything will fall into place, and as Eve is there, we can learn more about the brat and mother’s powers, too.”

I nodded.

“Eve will be an asset,” said Casey with a smug smile. “She hates the sisters more. Especially with everything that Elder Johnson told her about them. She may be a panther, but she will be useful to us.”

Amos nodded.

Casey glanced at me. “Is our boy ready to be a headmaster?” he asked.

“Oh, he is more than willing to teach that pathetic panther a few things,” I said. “Dean Boland may be there for a year, but I think we can take care of that problem when it comes to it.”

Casey nodded but sighed. “Why are we taking it out on a child?” he asked, looking between us.

Amos glared at him. “That brat is why we are here in the first place,” he said. “It intrigued my mother to learn more about her toward the end. Something about the light within her is more powerful, she said. I want to make the brat suffer as her mother did to me. Mother-daughter relationship will never be the same after we are through with them, and hopefully, that brat will be on our side too. If not, there may be more fun to torment and torture her instead.”

I nodded.

Casey grinned. I glanced at the clock. “We need to leave,” I said.

Amos looked at the clock and walked toward the door.

I followed him.

We all left the house, headed to the car, and climbed in.

Casey took to the driver’s side while Amos and I sat in the back seat. Casey started the engine and drove away.

We only recently learned about the panther’s ancestors. I overheard Elder Tilly talk on the phone. I was on the phone with Amos once I found the folder she had on the new Luna. There was not much information, but it was even for Amos to know what to do. We have a plan to tear them apart, and we will.

We have time to do it until the child turns sixteen, and that’s when the fun will begin.

Now we need to get away and stay hidden. Well, Amos and Casey have to. I have another plan up my sleeve, and nothing will stop me in what I want.