Chapter 165

[Liam’s POV]

Leaving Ella alone was the very last thing I ever wanted to do. But I knew I had little choice in the matter.

She needed to rest and I needed to mentally prepare myself for the possible hell storm that was going to hit once Arthur returned from the manor. Not that I’m looking to compliment the guy, but if anyone knew how to swindle valuable information out of the Winslows it was him.

I’ll admit, as much as I wanted to be a part of this subtle investigation, I couldn’t trust my emotions for not getting the better of me.

I was too worried about Ella. Her health and wellbeing had become the number one priority in my life. So to potentially hear someone talking backwardly ill about her and the pack she originated from, was enough to send into a feral state of rage.

Yes, I was considered a Winslow by blood but not by temperament. Arthur has been trained for years to keep his emotions under wraps and how to go about asking the right questions without raising suspicions.

While he went off on his own mission, mine was to ensure that I kept Aaron off my back by going to class. Part of me was so tempted to turn my back on everything and tell Aaron to go screw himself and forget about the whole candidacy.

But I knew I couldn’t take that risk.

Of course, trying to focus was earlier said than done. How exactly was I supposed to focus and care about my trivial class subjects when all I could think about was Ella?

She was barely sleeping and now she was actually contemplating leaving Eastwood. No part of me liked the idea of her leaving, but with all that had been going on, how could I blame her?

The problem was, where could she go that would make her untouchable?

When Ella had revealed the startling fact this hunter was being paid to kill her it caused my blood to run cold. If there was money on the line, this hunter would stop at nothing to finish the job.

What are the chances of Arthur uncovering the actual person behind the hired hunter?

I knew better than to get my hopes up over something like that. But, hell, it was worth hoping for.

It was about halfway through class when I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. Without drawing much attention to myself, I saw that it was Arthur wanting to meet up after class.

It sparked my curiosity to no end that I nearly tore out of the classroom the moment I heard the bell ring.

I had every intention of meeting up with Arthur as soon as possible; however, I was immediately stopped when I overheard a rather interesting conversation.

I managed to keep myself hidden when I peered around the corner to find Mrs. Shields and some of the board of directors. Ever since Ella told me about how Mrs. Shields had been intentionally harassing her, I’ve been holding a personal grudge over the woman’s head.

I sneered at the way she was smiling at the other staff members. It was obvious that she was trying to appear innocent and nonchalant, but I could easily see through her facade.

“I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with her. She’s not human,” Shields remarked pointedly.

My stomach flipped. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that she was referring to Ella.

“That’s impossible. Aaron Winslow, insisted on the fact that the girl was nothing but human and shouldn’t be expected to cause any problems,” one of them said.

Mrs. Shields scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, well she is proving to be a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

She pursed her lips and smirked with a knowing grin. “Miss Belmont has displayed inhuman qualities and characteristics on a few occasions.”

Oh, God help. Why did it sound like she was keeping some sort of log on Ella whenever she came to her class?

Regardless, it didn’t matter. This woman had no right to speak about Ella in such an accusing manner.

I was on the verge of giving myself away. The anger that was boiling in my blood was causing my breathing to become ragged and strained. Low, muffled snarls were slipping past my lips.

The group of them all wore indecisive looks on their faces.

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“Are you thinking of going to the Vice President?”

Mrs. Shields shook her head. “I’ve already made inquiries elsewhere,” she said with a sly smile.

“Don’t tell me you reached out to—”

“Aaron Winslow is the only real power that Eastwood has.”

“Him, or his money?” they muttered.

And just what the fuck would an English teacher have anything to do with a man like Aaron Winslow? The mere thought of the two of them ever floating in the same social circles was highly improbable.

Yet, based on the way she sported her confidence, it left very little room for speculation. Did Arthur know about this so-called connection between Shields and Aaron?

Suddenly, the thought hit me like a smack to the face.

Was she the reason why my father brought up the notion of Ella not being human during our last meeting? Had Shields been the one to drop the hint to him?

Perhaps that meant that he hadn’t actually seen the photo that had been posted online of Ella’s shifting then...Although it was a chance for me to feel hopeful, I was too overshadowed by my anger.

Every fiber in my body was screaming at me to confront the group and set them all straight. I would have done it for the sheer look of shock that Shields would have had on her face. But my phone went off again.

Growling under my breath, I saw that it was Arthur trying to reach me again. He made it back to campus and was currently waiting for me by the science building. With what little self-restraint I had left, I tore myself away from the corner I’d been clinging to and made off.

By the time I reached Arthur, I was able to push most of my anger back for the time being.

“Jesus, you look as shitty as I feel right now,” he remarked.

“Yeah, well, I’m really hoping that you had a better day than I did,” I bit out.

“Well, it was informative, to say the least.” I gave him a slight nod to continue. “Have you ever heard of the term ‘Enigma’?”

My brows drew together in question. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“Our—my grandfather just so happened to show up at the manor for an unexpected visit which allowed me to question him about the whole Moon Wolf Pack. In any case, I asked him why the pack was considered to be so dangerous,” he went on. “And as we already know it’s because of this mysterious power.”

I rubbed the side of my head and let out a long breath. “Please tell me that he explained what this power is.”

“Bear with me for a moment. According to what the old man said, the Moon Wolf Pack was mainly made up of females. Only females inherited the werewolf gene and thus this insane power.”

Well, that certainly explained Ella’s father's situation.

“The power that these females possessed involves passing on some kind of status enhancement to their mates. An Alpha will become an Enigma, allowing them to have mental and physical control over any other Alphas in existence.”

My mouth fell open. Nothing could have prepared me for that sort of an answer.

“So what the hell does that mean for us?” I asked timidly.