My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

"Tell me about Andreas," August finally spoke, drawing Zoe out of her silent reverie.

Zoe cackled so suddenly that August startled in surprise.

"Oh, Andreas. Hmmm… where to begin," the girl hummed mischievously to herself, still staring into the space above her as she laid on her back on the floor. What could she disclose first that would harm him significantly and yet not send August immediately running off to tell her mate?

"Graeme believes the pup who went missing recently, Livvy, was… disappeared in some way because she is alyko. Is that true?" August ventured.

There was a moment of silence in which Zoe seemed to be weighing her response. "Yes, it is true," she finally replied.

August blinked. Had she really just confirmed it? It couldn't be this easy, could it? Getting the answers they were seeking? She opened her mouth to say something, but she was suddenly overwhelmed with how unprepared she was for this conversation. She needed a list of questions or something. She needed paper to write things down!

Zoe giggled, as if mocking her silence. "How could anyone in this pack truly believe no alyko has existed here since they did away with the others? What would that be, the best luck ever? To not have any 'witches' to shelter or fear? The odds of that are ridiculously low. Clearly no lycan here is a statistician."

"How many have been taken?" August asked quickly before Zoe could get started on another dense scientific explanation of something.

"Are we counting those that were never born?" Zoe replied, amused about something. Probably still the ignorance of the pack members.

"You… made it so that they were never born? Do you mean… miscarriages?" August's eyes grew wide in horror. Her mind went to Greta and the pup that she had lost.

"Oh yes. It's much easier to control the alyko population that way," the girl confirmed matter-of-factly.

"How… how did you know they would be alyko before they were even born? How did you do it?"

"We calculated the likelihood. We didn't know for certain. But every mated pair has had their DNA sequenced as a precaution, and then statistical probabilities made the decisions for us," Zoe said proudly. "Science is very reliable when it comes to this sort of thing. But there will inevitably be those that slip by. And then we take other measures."

Grief and rage and shock were all warring for control over August as she sat there, horrified into silence. She had to keep it together. She had to get more information out of this monster.

But the image of Zoe as an abused, neglected child who could be coaxed out of the twisted shelter Andreas had given her—the Zoe that could be saved and liberated through care and love—was incinerated in August's mind. She didn't want to help this girl anymore.

"How did you make the miscarriages happen?" she asked, the warmth dead in her voice, leaving a cold, brittle husk of what was left.

"Oh, pfff. That was easy. Misoprostol. Although there was one instance when it didn't work, and we had to wait until the pregnancy was further along to stage a pretty significant accident…"

"You are a monster!" August screamed, pounding the door with her fist and causing Zoe to rise in surprise. "A monster, Zoe, do you hear me?! How could you do that to those families and those females?! Are you truly that dead inside?" She continued pounding the wood with her fist, roaring with an anger and outrage that escalated each time her hand connected with the solid resistance of the door.

"I—I don't know what you mean!" Zoe cried, scrambling away from the sudden outburst. "I only did what he asked of me! That was my job. That was my whole purpose! I thought it would please him that I am good at what I do!"

August roared as she hit the door one final time. "How can you not see it?! I'm sure Andreas even felt guilt for what you were doing. How can you have so much pity for yourself and none for others?!"

Zoe gaped at the door. A monster? That's truly what she thought of her?

"You deserve to be in there, Zoe!" She huffed, the anger still so full within her that she had to walk away.

Zoe's shocked eyes began glistening in the silence that had suddenly pooled back around her. August was leaving. Her chest heaved at the realization and she scrambled back up, pressing herself against the door.

"Don't leave me! Please don't leave me down here!" she cried. "Luna! There's more. I'll tell you all of it!"

August froze in place and buried her head in her hands. Would she be able to stomach this? What other nightmares would be uncovered? Her skin pebbled with goosebumps at the thought of just how deep this may go.

She reluctantly returned to the cell. "Where is Livvy? How many other pups have disappeared?"

"Livvy is the second. I-I c-can't tell you where," Zoe stumbled over the words. "It's something I can't, I just can't…"

"You can't tell me, I get it," August growled in frustration. "What else then? What can you tell me?"

"There is something really big—the biggest—th-that you need to know about the elders. There is still a lot that I c-can't tell you about it, but I think I can help you prove it. I'm just—I'm afraid, that will be it for me, and I don't know what will happen. What your mate will do…" she went on.

The truth was striving for release from inside the girl but her words were coming out as stumbling blocks, tripping it in its escape. August groaned. She touched the door that Zoe's head was resting against on the other side and imagined giving the words wings, allowing them flight free of the fear that was blocking them.

Zoe's troubled eyes eased and she sighed in relief. This was it. She was just going to tell her.

"The elders were responsible for the Alpha and Luna's deaths. They struck a deal with someone who wanted the pack's alyko, and that entity organized a team of strays to kill Derek and Genevieve Hallowell. The elders gained the power they sought and eliminated the witches they dreaded in one swift move."

******

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