Enigma

Chapter 36

Noah felt Lillian inch closer to him, as if sensing him slip away into the memories.

"My memories of my mother are foggy," he said, putting his mug on the bedside table. "She was gone when I was nine. Back then human poaching was very common."

"Poaching? As in poaching animals?"

"As in poaching shapeshifters," Noah replied.

"Oh God." Lillian covered her mouth, her eyes horrified. "I had no idea it happened."

Noah shrugged. "Media has a way of showing only the side they want to show. And not just for immortals, they do it to other human groups as well. People who are different, whether it's religion or skin color or race, the people they want to be viewed as enemies are vilified by the media first. They do that so the general public supports their government when they decide to wage wars on those groups."

Lillian gave a thoughtful nod. "Yeah, immortals aren't the only target for smearing campaigns."

"Anyway," Noah said, "Humans poaching shapeshifters has been going on for as long as we both have existed. It's not something new. Shapeshifter bodies are used as hunting trophies, preserved through taxidermy. Animals aren't the only victims of humans who hunt for the simple pleasure of the kill.

"But as times grew more advanced and we developed more relationships with humans, they put in place laws that prohibit poaching. But human laws, more often than not, are ink on paper until one of their rich and powerful have need of them, and then they're rigorously enacted."

"That's horrible," Lillian frowned, anger and horror clear on her face. "I never would've thought- You guys are so invulnerable..."

"Silver kills us, Lillian," Noah said. "We might be called immortal, but no one truly is immortal. We simply have longer lifespans compared to humans and less weaknesses, but we die, just like anything else that walks this earth.

"The hunters move in groups and use silver. Right now, silver mines all over the world are controlled by the Five, but there are always new mines being discovered and used illegally by humans, until the Five hear of it."

Lillian nodded. "Your mother?"

"She was on patrol near the border," Noah said. "My mother was a warrior in her old pack, she joined Dad's pack after they became mates. She insisted on retaining part of her previous duty even after becoming the alpha female. Anyway, she was on patrol and the humans caught her unaware."

He shook his head. "She was killed, but the humans didn't escape before wolves caught up to them. By then it was too late." Goosebumps broke over his skin. "I remember that day with such clarity, my father was with Sean and me when he felt the bond break. I remember seeing the insanity in his eyes. Something broke in him that day, and he was never the same afterward.

"He killed all the captured humans, and after that, my father became obsessed."

"With what?"

"With security, making the pack invulnerable. The following years were a grueling time of continuous training and intense border surveillance. He closed off our pack from other packs. I used to sneak off to meet Benjamin and Jensen, one time he caught me and..." He shook his head, shoving away the memories of the beating. "It's like the only way to deal with his wolf's insistent anger was by working his pack to the ground. But then it became more than an obsession, he became cruel.

"Anyone over the age of twelve participated in tough duels with warriors twice their age. The submissives of the pack were forced to fight beyond their wolves' instincts. Submissives are gentle by nature, if you force too much violence on them, they break.