The Secrets of the Panther

BLAKE

I stared at the door where Tilly left, and I knew everyone else in the room had their eyes on me.

I sigh and glance to the side. Alpha Dawson was smiling, and so was Drake.

My mum, Aunt Anita, and Anya sat together on the couch. I glanced at my father, who made his way around from the desk and sat near Alpha Dawson.

“You okay, son?” asks my father as he glances at me.

I nod at him but quickly turn to look at Drake. “Did Anya, you, and the guards find out where she was staying when the elder kept her?” I asked him.

Drake nods. “Yeah, after searching a few houses, some people knew Elder Johnson had. There was one in his mate’s name. We went there; Anya showed us around,” he says as he looks at his mate.

Drake moved away from where he was sitting and walked over to the side of the desk. He lifts a box and places it on the coffee table before everyone. He sighs. “Blake, they kept her in horrible conditions, and we found a few things too, which we brought back with us,” he said, looking at me.

I get off the chair and walk over, but something shiny catches my eye when I get near. I glanced in the box. There were books upon books, but the shiny thing caught my eye in the box’s corner.

I lean down and pick it up.

Everyone stared at me as I held a chain with a pendant. I couldn’t help but study it. The necklace was old, but the pendant had two green stones on either side of each other. Around it looked like a circle. My mother came close to me, and I didn’t even realize that she had moved off the couch. She places her hand on the pendant and gasps.

“It looks like a panther,” she says as she glances at me.

I stare at her momentarily but gaze back down at the pendant. My mum was right, and it looked like the shape of a panther.

“There is another one in there, but instead of green eyes, it has gold,” says Anya quietly.

I look up at her. She leans over and rummages through the box. After a few moments, she lifts it and hands it to me. She was right; they were the same but with different colored eyes.

“I think they may be for Allie and Izzy,” she said.

I look up at her once more. “What do you mean?” I ask her.

Anya pulls out a book and turns the pages while Drake speaks, “We found a book that the Elder kept in his room; that’s where we found it. This one has everything on panthers and other cat shifters,” he said.

“Why didn’t you mention this early?” asks my father.

“I think Drake wanted to tell you in secret and not in front of the elders; after all, we all suffered from them over the years,” said Alpha Dawson.

My father nods. “That’s true,” he says. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Find ɴøᴠel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Anya clears her throat and looks at me. “I found this when we returned to the pack,” she said. Drake sits next to her as she looks at the book and then back at me. “I only read a few paragraphs, but those pendants are for Clara’s descendants—the true descendants, which I think are Izzy and Allie. According to this, the pendants help control their power and even hide the fact the power is there,” she said.

She looks at me, “I think we should keep these books here, within this pack, and let Izzy look at them,” she says. “They are technically all about her kind.”

I nod and smile at her. “Thank you,” I say to Drake and Anya.

Everyone looks through the box, but Anita has a confused look. “If those pendants were for Izzy and Allie, how the hell did the Elder have them?” she asks.

That’s a good point.

“I think Helga the witch,” says a voice behind us.

I look over my shoulder and notice Dale walking in with Lena following him. “I mind-linked Dale to come to the office and bring Lena; maybe she can tell us what they all mean,” says my father quietly.

I nod.

Lena walks over to me, and I hand her the pendants to examine them.

After a few seconds, “I think I know what these are,” Lena says as she looks up and stares between us, “I think these are amulets that can hold power, but these are designed for Izzy’s powers. The elder must have had the witch create them, especially if they planned to take Allie.”

I couldn’t help the growl that slipped through. “Why tho?” I asked her. “I mean, I can understand Allie, but there is one for Izzy too.”

Lena shrugs, but Anya speaks. “I think I know more. I just turned the page, and it is what Lena says, but the green is to hold emotion power, and the gold is for an unknown power. Do you know if Allie has powers?” she asks, looking back at me.

I say nothing, but my father nods. “Something is brewing inside of her,” he said.

Anya looks at me. “Has she shown signs of powers?” she asks.

“What are you getting at?” asks Lena.

Anya stares between Lena and me, but her eyes stay on me. “I was wondering because it states here that it will be more intense than the emotion power when the gold power comes,” she says.

Lena stares at her, but I speak. “She has been showing signs, but I think it has to do with Izzy more than anything.”

Lena looked at me. “I think you’re right,” she said. “We just have to monitor her over the next few days.”

“What do we do with all these books?” asks Anita.

I smile at her. “I think we will keep them here in the office, and Izzy can look through them all when she wakes. Hopefully, she can find something useful.”

Anita nods.

We all rifle through the books and place them in the office’s corner.

I glance at the pendants and walk over to the safe we have behind a painting. I open it up and place the pendants to keep them safe and away from prying eyes.

Once the pendants were secure, I walked over and sat back down with the rest.

“What do we do now?” asks Anita.

My father looks at me, and he knows what I will say now.

I just hope all involved will agree to the idea.

I clear my throat as I speak. “I need to announce something, well more like ask all of you something,” I say as I glance at Drake, Anya, Anita, and Alpha Dawson.

“Drake came to me asking for some help to restore the red moon pack,” I said, looking between them all. “And as Alpha Dawson and Anita haven’t got a pack, I wondered if you would help.”

Drake looks at me, but he turns his head to Alpha Dawson, who has a blank expression on his face. “I know my father ruled the pack with an iron fist, but I tried to change it before Elder Johnson got involved. I think it would be a good idea,” Drake said with a little hope. “I know you have many years of experience running a pack, and I need to know how to change the pack for the better.”

Alpha Dawson sighs. “I would be honored to help you, Drake,” he says. “I will help you in any way I can.”

Drake smiles. “That’s good to hear, but also, Anya and I will need more help now that we have a pup on the way,” he says.

Everyone looks at them, shocked but congratulates them. “Wow, a pack to help and to be part of, but also a new baby,” says Anita. She looks at Anya and takes her hand in hers. “I would love to help you.”

Anya smiles, but she looks at me. “Who would be the alpha of the pack?” she asks.

Drake and Alpha Dawson look straight at me, but I give them a smile. “Well, it will be a joint alpha position, especially when the baby is born,” I tell her. “There will be loads of work to do to help rebuild the pack after what the elder did to it.”

She nods.

“I think Alpha Dawson should take charge for now,” says Drake.

I stare back at him, stunned.

“You have many years of experience behind you, and I need a teacher to guide and help me,” he said. “My father never told me how to run a fair and true pack. I know how to enforce punishment and torture, but not the other stuff. Will you show me?”

Alpha Dawson nods. “I will, son,” he says.

“Well, I think you both need to sort out what happens next,” I told them. They both agreed to meet the next day to work out when they would leave for the red moon pack.

After a few minutes, we all finished talking, covering every basis of the meeting with the Elders. Everyone leaves, except for me.

My mother leaves, but my father stays behind when everyone has gone. “Are you staying with Izzy tonight?” he asks.

I nod, but I stare at him. “I will, but I will do some research on panther shifters before I go,” I say, glancing at where the books are.

My father nods but frowns. “Where’s Allie?” he asks.

I look back at him. “Kat has both children,” I say to him. “I think they are the best medicine she can ask for right now until Izzy wakes up.”

My father smiles.

We both say our goodbyes and my father closes the door as he leaves the office.

I walk over to the books, grab the one that Anya was looking at, and walk over to the chair. I opened it up and read.

After a few hours, I could feel my eyes drooping. I place the book on the table before me and lean back in the chair.

Once my head leans back, my eyes instantly close. I was sent into a deep slumber, but I could see Axel in the back of my mind. He was snoring and sleeping soundly.