In the precedent chapter :

"Adam," I called, uncomfortably.

He released me without removing the arms around me. He looked me straight in the eyes. And I did the same. I was subdued by his gray eyes just as he was by mine.

Conflicting feelings raged inside me while Lulu enjoyed this moment of intimacy shared with her mate.

"Our mate," she said.

I could have groan at him if I wasn't so afraid of myself and my reactions. This little plague of Lulu was amused by my situation. I was certain by listening her chuckles ravaging my head.

An exaggerated throat scratching surprised both of us. Again, because of Adam, I was no longer on the lookout for those around me. This man really had the gift of distracting me. This was to cease at all costs.

***

Surprised, I turned my head to see who had interrupted us. Three men were in the room. Luke the Beta, and two others who didn't spare themselves to look at us with their laughing eyes. In a flash of lucidity, I remembered that I was always in Adam's arms, which had become possessive and protective.

I could feel my cheeks coloring with the pinkish color caused by the embarrassment. I lowered my head and let myself slip out of his arms. Fortunately, he released me, but not without letting go a grunt of discontent. Always bowed down, I took the plate of my breakfast which I had placed on the coffee table, then slipped into the kitchen under the discreet laughter of the strangers.

I heard the men's words moving towards the stairs. Realizing that I had only prepared Adam's breakfast, I made other pancakes for the newcomers. Before, I loved to cook with my mother and spend time with her.

Shouts of voice came back into the living room. They had apparently come back downstairs. The kitchen door opened on the fly.

"It smells good here!" Luke exclaimed. "These are pancakes. For us?"

His curious and incredulous look was funny.

"You weren't obliged..." Adam began with a hint of anger.

I stared at him with a shrug. His frowning brows and tight fists were useless.

" It doesn't bother me. I like cooking," I replied forcefully.

It was out of the question that he would control all my actions. I am an adult, if I wanted to cook or clean the toilet I would do it of my own free will.

"When I think about it, the living room looks different," Luke whispered thoughtfully as he tasted his plate without paying attention to the anger of his Alpha. "It's so good."

"Thanks, and I cleaned up," I said.

Everyone could feel the wrath of Adam mounted a notch. The tension in the room became heavier. His gaze was black and penetrating. To tell the truth, it was even scary.

" When?" Adam whispered in a quiet but dangerous voice.

"At three o'clock in the morning," I replied calmly, apprehending any reaction on his part.

Adam wanted to reply, but a man who had been silent until now spoke.

"She sleeps only three hours a night, Alpha," explained the handsome, brown-haired man.

The eyes of Adam, Luke and the other man whose I didn't know the name grew in surprise. I was as much astonished that he revealed with so much ease one of my secrets. I kept my gaze fixed on the man who had just spoken. His sturdy body was surrounded by a powerful, but soothing blue sky. His aura meant the very incarnation of calm and serenity. But it was dark because he had killed and claimed revenge like all those who had managed to survive from the "black prison." Vengeance, to do justice to other innocent people who have died unfairly.

"Tim," I said in a sigh.

Hermes. Messenger of the Gods.

"Lucy," he replied with a gentle smile.

I stepped forward to be in his embrace and burst out laughing when he lifted me from the ground. A big hug. It had been a long time since I had been taken in his arms. Apart from Adam, but it was different with him.

Tim had become my big brother when we were stuck behind the cage bars. The last time I had seen him, he had revealed to me that he was married but had no children yet. I wondered if he could still give a kid to his mate after all the tortures he had suffered.

We stood there for a long time.

"You were together in the..."

The mystery man didn't continue his sentence. Stretched like a bow, I forced myself to relax my muscles. The icy silence turned around us.

"You're alive," Tim whispered, his head on my neck to smell me, proving that way that I was really there.

"Yeah you too."

We burst into a joyous laugh, as it was rare to hear. He let me on the ground. I then looked at the mystery man, who was blond just like Luke. I stared at his sparkling blue eyes and saw his aura.

"I'm Max Carter," he said.

"My little brother!" Luke added, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

"So?" Tim asked, pulling me out of my trance.

I nodded briefly and smiled. Tim nodded, crossing his arms, giving him a serious look.

"They can be trusted."

I rolled my eyes at his words. Another question of trust...

"You talk like my wolf," I murmured, crossing my arms.

"Speaking of her, she forced you to come here, right?" Tim asked as I felt Adam holding his breath.

"She didn't force me!" I exclaimed. "I agreed to come."

My little voice, which only the werewolves could hear, showed that I was embarrassed to admit it. My answer relaxed Adam.

When I think about it, my wolf, since we had arrived here, was very silent. Less talkative with me than usual, it was troubling. I'd have to have a conversation with her tonight.

"I saw Dede yesterday, but I couldn't speak to him," I announced.

Aside from Tim, nobody knew who Dede was, because it was the abbreviation of a codename that was used between us, the tortured.

"Um... can we get into the conversation," Luke asked hesitantly.

My gaze plunged into Tim's brown eyes. We couldn't speak to them. We had to be isolated so that he could give me information, if he had any. Yesterday Adam had said that I could see and talk with the other people who had been in the "black prison" as most of us called that place.
All of sudden, we both turned to Adam and opened our mouth. But he silenced us with his hand raised.

"Tim, you can go around the territory, but I want you to come back here before sunset," Adam said in a low voice as she looked at Hermes in the eyes.

Joyous, I rushed to the floor to Adam's room. As I went up the stairs I heard him shouting that my things were in the room. Now that I thought of it, I remembered glimpsing suitcases in the living room.

I grabbed clothes and took the make-up remover for my special foundation. This one was in the form of thick cream, which could cover any imperfections as well as tattoos. The cream couldn't fade with water. Only a special product could remove this foundation to reveal my tattoos.

Flowers essentially. Their colors and beauties played and harmonized with my hideous scars. Just as I concealed my murders and my thirst for vengeance behind the superficial smile I displayed; they hid my wounds.

Shame. At the age of sixteen, a friend had agreed to draw me tattoos that would cover my scars and, above all, my disgust with myself. I think that if these tattoos weren't present, I wouldn't even look at myself in a mirror and wouldn't dare go out to confront others. Faces of pity. I didn't want them. They could keep them. That was what I was thinking at that time.

Now, instead of ravaging my body even more with self harm, I had learned to accept that I had only one body like every living being on earth. And that it was necessary to take care of it in spite of the shame, the disgust and the look of the others. In the end, everything was in the mind. A mind that I had managed to forge to avoid hurting myself by the demons.

Dressed in a simple blue top and jeans, I walked downstairs for my walk with Tim. Werewolves naturally possessed a higher body heat than humans, enabling me to dress without excess clothing. Moreover, they would hinder me during a transformation.

I heard the voices of Luke, Mark and Tim outside the house. Only Adam was in the living room. From the smell that escaped from the kitchen, he had done the dishes and visibly waited for me before going out.

Arrived at the bottom of the stairs, I watched him open his mouth to speak to me, but stopped as soon as he saw my arm tattooed. His eyebrows frowned and he looked at me, surely waiting for an answer of how tattoos had appeared on my arm in less than half an hour.

"Are they real?" He asked, pointing at my arm.

I nodded my head in response. I could have explained that I had put on makeup and that was why we didn't see my tattoos earlier, but I wanted to see his reaction. And, it was rather amusing. Adam Stone, one of the most powerful werewolf, had the features of the face frozen by total unbelief.

Without realizing it, I had become curious to discover these different faces. Maybe I could make him blush?
Unlike me, he didn't hide these emotions from people he trusted. But he had a mask of indifference when he put on his Alpha coat. I wanted to live like him without hiding, but with my baggage, I could not. First of all, I had to finish avenging my family and friends.

"Why do you smile? Are you mocking at me?" He asked with a malicious gleam in his gray eyes.

Yes.

"No," I answered a little too quickly to be the truth.

I walked toward the front door, but with his werewolf speed, Adam grabbed my hand. I faced him and his forehead fell on mine. I frowned at his gestures. I was convinced that we had evoked that we wouldn't touch each other, unless it were necessary, that is, in front of other werewolves.

I didn't know what to do so I stood frozen on the spot, incredulous. On one hand, I wanted to run away and on the other hand, I wanted to stay with him. Unable to move, my little hand began to squeeze his in my growing anger.

"You should always smile," he whispered.

His warm breath caressed my lips like the slight brushing of a butterfly's wings. Looking at my face, which I supposed to be bewildered, he gave me a tender smile. I swallowed my saliva and closed my eyes.

"I can't... not after rethinking at my past," I surprised.

"I'll help you. We can do it. Together," he breathed, kissing me on my forehead.

He was wrong. He couldn't help me, nobody could.

Head down, I watched the ring adorning my left major. Horizontally, a small flame of red color decorated the gold ring. This discreet, but important object allowed us to recognize ourselves among ourselves. The others also owned an object or a tattoo that meant who we were. Tim had that white wing, which he wore on a chain, hanging on his neck. Like Hermes and his winged shoes.

Adam didn't even know a quarter of my story. He didn't know that a traitor was hiding in our ranks justifying my need for vengeance. He didn't know that the group of werewolves who had been kidnapped made a promise before separating three years ago. And that promise was above all.

If he knew, would he help me? Or would he abandon me? Perhaps he was a friend of that traitor. Or at least an acquaintance? According to these actions towards me, I would tend to think that he could help me, but I was betrayed a number of times in the past that I was determined not to let anyone be that close to me again.

Hand in hand, we left his house. I let Adam go first. I took Tim's hand and forced him to move forward. Surprised, he let himself go with me.

We walked for an hour while he showed me the boundaries of the territory. To be frank, it was huge. We were outside the protective dome, but for the time being my friend hadn't revealed any information about the traitor or the hunters.

I quickly understood why. Other werewolves followed us from a distance. They were so discreet that because of Tim's explanations or mere presence, I hadn't heard them. His silence about the traitor was justified. The werewolves possessed a developed hearing. And from the distance at which they were stationed, they could hear us. Except if we whispered, but it wouldn't be a good idea, they would find the suspect whispers and tell Adam.

"Deme, Aphro and Hepha are there too," he announced, breaking the whistle of the wind and the sounds of animals. "Aphro told me that the traitor would be present at the celebration of our three years of liberation."

These code-names allowed us not to reveal our real names in case other traitors would spot us. The simple fact that they found me near the hunters proves to them that I am their enemy. I had managed to be discreet in Jake's pack, but here I would be more exposed to danger.

Now that I thought about it, it had been three years since the other tortured had returned home, in their respective packs or new packs.

"When?" I asked, bending my head.

"Next week."

"Already," I murmured. "Tell the others that nothing should be attempted. Not for the moment, at least... We have to watch him and spot his allies and even his enemies. You have to find the maximum amount of information about him," I demanded in a low voice to prevent my bodyguards from hearing too much.

"I agree with you," Tim said, folding his arms.

We stopped walking to admire the view from the top of a hill. The warm sun was still close to the Goddess in heaven. I could see the blurry, transparent dome that contained the pack territory. I had also spotted some smells that could have helped me if I lost myself one day in the forest, but the imposing barrier was for me like a lighthouse on a cliff. It was impossible to miss it for those who saw it.

"You know where Ath is?" I asked.

"Unfortunetely not," he said, sighing as we headed near the dome.

I bit my lower lip under the frustration. She was an excellent warrior and strategist. She was the one who had planned our escape. I hoped, deep down, that she was still alive.

"How are you?" He asked seriously.

An innocent question for those who listened to our exchange, but this "how are you?" took on quite a different meaning for us.

"Adam knows I've been tortured and it doesn't put any pression on me about it. He leaves me time and I really appreciate it, but I don't know if I could stay with him for the rest of my days," I explained without hiding.

"What are you afraid of?"

"That he doesn't want me anymore after seeing my scars, that he betray me... I don't know," I said, sighing defeatistly.

"Spend time with him, get to know him, I'm convinced he could help you feel better."

Seeing me pinch my lips as a sign of reflection, he continued.

"Lucy, I know you don't trust him yet, but I spent two years with him and he is really an exemplary Alpha and looks after his pack very well... And he could be a very useful ally."

"No! It's our fight, not his," I said, staring at him with a threatening gleam.

"Then why did you decide that we could tell our secret to anyone we thought was trustworthy? Are not they somehow allies too?" He asked with a smile on his face.

This time, he got me.

All the tortured had been ordered not to reveal in detail what had happened, but to give just a few clues which demonstrated our savage aggressions. As a result, only a handful of relatives knew our little secret organization. And so, knew for the traitor who live in a pack. From him, I knew only his infamous odor. A characteristic presence that I will recognize among many others.

"All right, I understand," I answered, sulky. "But that doesn't mean I'll tell him anything."

He sighed before bursting into his grave and soothing laughter. I let a gentle laugh too. It was the Tim effect. As soon as he was near me, he appeased me, and helped me to think. He was the careful head of our secret organization. Always calm the ardor of other warm-blooded wolves.

We finally crossed the magic barrier and headed for Adam's house. Some people greeted Tim while others looked at us curiously. I did not like being in the center of attention, I felt like I was being judged. Uncomfortable, I stepped forward, avoiding the eyes of the inhabitants.

With a long red hair, a woman stood in the distance. Her thin face and pale complexion brings out her two green eyes and her small freckles on her nose. Her pink and full mouth mocked the women and invited the men to taste it. A natural and seductive woman.

A beautiful aura of brilliant and luminous gold enveloped her perfect body. This woman wasn't just beautiful, but filled with wisdom. Her posture, straight and proud, revealed her refinement. But only people who weren't interested only in her physique could detect her wise words.

Standing alone, the passers-by couldn't help casting their eyes on her before turning away quickly before someone else notice. The men continued their roads in front of her, hoping that no one would realize their views on this red beauty. Perhaps it was their wives who had told them to ignore her, too jealous of her beauty? Or maybe it was because they felt ashamed, to have been able to sleep with her knowing that she was doing it with different men?

She seemed to accept the solitude of which she was a prisoner, because she had made this choice of life. I knew who she was, it was her who satisfied the desires of men without a mate. She only shared their beds, for the ignorant, but not only.

She got secret information or not, and passed it on to Tim, our messenger. And this woman of stunning beauty was codenamed Aphrodite, goddess of beauty.

Everyone saw her as an easy girl, but she was much more than a simple doll that men dragged in their shadow. She was the image of a mother for me.

Her back to me, she went away gracefully. Turning around, I saw that several people stared at me as if I had committed a wrongdoing. As soon as they realized that I fixed them, they went back to their business.

Tim was posted further and chatted with a blonde woman. They were very close to each other so I assumed she was his wife Olivia. Tim saw me and smiled. I walked towards them hoping that the evening could get me out of my thoughts. But only names constantly jostled each other in these.

People I absolutely had to talk to before next week.

The woman captured yesterday. Demeter. Aphrodite. Hephaestus.