Beastly novel Chapter 52

Marcus was no fool. Xander had intentionally put him on the spot to raise the level of caution in the meeting. It seems that he didn't fully trust him enough to allow the atmosphere to be lax. He didn't blame him though. A lot was being put on the line for Xander. The same went for Marcus. The only thing that was allowing them to have a compromise was the woman staring intently between them.

Heaving a sigh, he looked back at Xander, dropping his smile "I'm a hybrid."

"A hybrid?" Sterling asked then chuckled, "What does that even mean?"

"Simply put Commander, it means although I am a werewolf, I have no wolf. I cannot fit into the order of any pack because of this. I feel no connection to ranks and I do not easily submit to Alphas."

"That means you're exactly like-!" Sterling's hostility rose and displayed in his stance

"That maniac we have down in the prison." Xander finished, "Which brings me back to the question I first asked; why are you here? I don't take it as a coincidence that you suddenly showed up here, after the attack and want to rekindle a relationship with my mate."

"Your mate who happens to be my long lost sister."

"Your sister only by blood."

"At least it's better than only being a mate by wishful thinking, Alpha Xander."

Xander's wicked grin stretched out across his face and Ava swore she saw the wheels turning in his head. This wasn't the time to rile anyone up. Marcus was the only one who understood just what the hell he was trying to achieve, but then again, she liked that he didn't back down from Xander's dreadful aura and words.

"I should kill you right now, don't you think?" Xander asked, his tone emotionless

"Alexander!" Ava shouted, getting annoyed by how they were going at each other's throats now "If you try anything, I won't go out to dinner with you. Ever. And Marcus..." her brother looked like he had a triumphant smile on his face but she glared at him making his smile to drop "Stop trying to rile him up."

Both men looked back at each other and Marcus raised his hands in surrender.

"The man you have in your prison is a product of what they call 'The Induction'." Marcus started "Before I go into detail of that. I want you to understand something about Ava and I." At his last sentence, he directed a gentle smile at her, then took a deep breath

"I am a natural-born hybrid, a guardian of the gifted. Although we were born to the same parents, we have no similar characteristics and could be mistaken to be utter strangers. This is because I was born to protect her and she was born to fulfil a destiny assigned to her by the heavenly beings and the orders of fate. In layman's terms, your mate is a superhero and I'm the one who has to help her get there." he said

Cole was usually playful about these kinds of topics but Ava noticed that he was very attentive. The room was dead silent as Marcus relayed what she knew to the rest of them. He spoke about 'The Induction' and of how the people that had captured him had run multiple tests on him and had extracted his DNA, using it on their followers to get rid of their wolves.

Most died in the process. Some had survived and had developed few powers that could be likened to his, although everything came at a price and the price of his DNA infused with their normal werewolf DNA was complete and utter insanity. The cult glorified themselves as people who could stand next to The gifted in the aftermath of the war and were dying to get their hands on her as soon as possible.

The reason for the death of the many women across the country was not because Ava was Xander's mate. It was because after she had suddenly vanished, no one had been able to trace her at all. The cult had caught wind of it and had suspicions of her being the one they had been waiting for. They had started to search for women with the description Xander had given out and when they were not satisfied, they killed them off. Most times, they subjected them to torture before they died. It was really sickening and only increased the anger of the men in the room. It was even more aggravating that others would take advantage of what this cult was doing and try to raid the pack in the absence of their leader.

"My God." Sterling said lowly "Just what the hell is happening?"

"I need to start her training at once." Marcus said, concluding

Xander stared back at him, not believing what he was hearing. Heavenly beings? Things that controlled fate? A war? Everything sounded so grave that he imagined the world crashing and burning in its wake.

"What exactly..." he started, organising his thoughts "What exactly does this war mean?"

Marcus' stance became rigid as his eyes narrowed even further "I'm not sure, but I can tell you one thing, nobody will be able to stop it. This cult has been gathering up a large number of followers. They know she exists and they'll keep trying to get to her because she'll be the turning point for everything."

"Isn't this too much responsibility for one person to bear?" Cole asked "She's barely trying to deal with these cult guys and now you're here, running your mouth about a war!"

"I agree with Beta Cole. This is too much for her to burden on her own. What kind of training does this even entail? Is it something we the warriors of the pack can't handle?" Sterling chipped in, agitated as well

"She's not on her own. Although this pack is linked to a lot of trauma for her, you all are here for her. I am here for her. This cult has been digging for information, sending off spies and eventually triggered a large wave of power from her. Expect for this pack to be more under attack than usual." Marcus said "I'm not childish enough to believe they fear here just because of what happened last time. They are also aware that she can barely control her powers."