Chapter 164

I felt as though I was standing on the precipice of something big.

The very air in the room felt as though it had gone still as we all waited patiently for my grandfather to speak.

This sort of information that this man possessed could very well be the last of its kind to be known. I knew from the bottom of my gut that whatever was going to be said was going to, undoubtedly, alter the future for Ella.

I was practically sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for his answer.

“Before I really get into this mystical power business, it is important for you to understand the rather unique dynamic of this pack’s genetic condition.”

Condition?!

I couldn’t keep my brows from pulling together, not liking the bitter tone in the old man’s voice. It made it sound as though there was something wrong with Ella.

“What sort of condition,” I said through my teeth.

“Only the females carried the werewolf gene,” the man explained. I sank back into my seat in disbelief as he went on. “Should a male be born, they were inherently wolf-less.”

“So, would that make them, technically, human?” I asked.

My grandfather titled his head as though he were taking the chance to choose his words carefully.

“In a certain manner of speaking...No. Should a Moon Wolf male bear the special mark of their pack, that essentially means they are able to pass down the werewolf gene to their offspring, should they be female.”

I stole a glance in the mother’s direction to see how she was reacting to this new information. She seemed exceedingly enticed by all of this.

“You mentioned a ‘special mark’. What exactly does it look like?” she asked.

The old man tapped the tip of his chin and pondered for a moment. “I believe it resembles the shape of a crescent moon.”

I felt my heart skip several beats. Nope. There was not a single further doubt in my mind that Ella belonged to the Moon Wolf Pack. This notion caused me to think back to when Ella’s mother spoke to us about her late husband.

She claimed his death was due to a work-related incident...But why do I find that so hard to believe now? What if he carried the same special mark and someone found out about it?

My stomach churned and a wave of nausea hit me like a wall. I suddenly noticed the odd way my mother’s eyes narrowed. It was as if she came into some sense of realization herself. I didn’t like it.

I quietly cleared my throat. “Now, what were you saying earlier about this certain power?”

“Ah, yes. As I was saying before, these female wolves were able to enhance the status of their fated mates. Once the two were truly bonded, the Alpha would become something called an ‘Enigma’.”

“And what exactly would this mean for the Alpha in question,” my mother asked.

“With this enhancement, they would have the power to command other Alphas to do their bidding.”

Oh my God...

So much for trying to keep my emotions under wraps. I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening in shock. I’d never heard of such a thing. Had I read about it in a book, it would have surely fallen under that miraculous fairytale column, for sure.

My mother let out a stunned gasp. Her eyes lit up with pure enthusiasm. “That sounds incredible,” she harped. “Imagine having the power to control every Alpha that comes your way.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course, she would fawn over this sort of thing. If Cecilia wasn’t involved in some sort of influential social event, then she was finding ways to boost the family’s power and status.

Suddenly, my grandfather let a venomous snarl tear through the room, causing us both to turn our heads. My mother fell silent while the man rubbed a rough hand over his face.

“Incredible? No. It was dangerous,” he hissed. “No one deserves that sort of power over others. Can you imagine, Alphas—real leaders of their family and pack—unable to properly make decisions and lead them because of a possible threat of an existing Enigma?”

“But...Is that true?” I countered lightly.

As incredible as it sounded, such a possibility was too far-fetched to believe.

My grandfather gave a curt nod. “It’s true. It happened over fifty years ago, over in Europe.”

“You’re saying that the Enigma would have some kind of conscious authority over the Alpha,” I clarified.

The man nodded his head solemnly. “The Enigma could go as far as to command the Alpha to tear his entire family apart with his bare hands...And he would. Because the compulsion the Enigma has over the Alpha would leave him with no choice but to carry the orders out.”

Jesus Christ...

“Well, now one can see why the Moon Wolves needed to be wiped out,” Cecilia said.

A not-so-subtle growl slipped from the back of my throat. This was utter insanity.

“How could you possibly make such a harsh assumption?” I snapped impatiently. “That can only be said if every single Enigma was a malicious, evil entity. So, what? You’re telling me that they were slaughtered under the mere possibility that they would try and command another Alpha to do their bidding?”

I ignored my mother’s stunned look while glaring at my grandfather for answers. The man slipped into a depressive resolve with himself.

“Arthur, merely knowing that it was possible, was enough to have them be taken out,” he remarked coldly.

“They were killed because of fear,” I spat out.

The tension had become so triflingly thick, that I was amazed I could still breathe. I took a short moment to collect myself.

My mother must have noticed the shift in my emotions and turned to face me. “Why the sudden interest in all of this, dear? You seem rather impassioned by this.”

I shrugged my shoulders back and shook off her question. “No particular reason. I’ve just never heard of this pack. Consider me plainly curious.”

Yes, and thoroughly disgusted with the people I’m unfortunately related to.

“Understandable, it is rather fascinating when viewing it from an outside perspective,” my grandfather said.

Problem was, I wasn’t coming from an outside perspective. My relationship with Ella made this entire situation very personal.

“But they’re all gone aren’t they?” I inquired with false dubiousness.

“Oh, yes. It’s very unlikely that there should be a member of that pack still around.”

I slowly nodded my head and got up from my chair. I said a brief goodbye to my grandfather and practically ignored my mother who kept up her list of questions as I tried making my way out.

I got into my car and felt like I was on the verge of an anxiety attack which was shocking enough in itself. Normally, I was a very calm and collected person. It took a lot for me to truly lose my cool.

However, coming into my new role as Ella’s other mate must have changed me in more ways than anticipated.

Before I even started the engine back up, I rested my hands against the wheel and let my head drop. What the hell was I going to do?

Part of me was really hoping that the connection between the Winslow family and the Moon Wolf Pack wasn’t going to be as bad as I initially thought.

Holy shit, was I wrong!

I took out my phone and sent a quick text to Liam. He and I needed to meet up to discuss everything that I had just uncovered. Hopefully, he would have a better capability of figuring out how the three of us were going to move forward.