“Okay,” August answered Elder Andreas, taking a deep breath and blinking several times as she scanned her memory for what would be her first time narrating the events of that night aloud.

“Three classmates and I and our resident advisor decided to explore a small area of suicide forest. Our RA was leading us. I brought my camera and was taking pictures along the way,” August swallowed, remembering. In her mind, the scene had the same eerie silence that she remembered.

“We had probably been walking for two hours or so when Jonathan, our RA, he ran out of rope to… to trace our path. We stopped to take a break and have a snack. After that, I just remember waking up in pain. Jonathan was looking at me. He was surprised,” she closed her eyes and paused, feeling her mouth go dry.

“Uhm. There was a sharp pain in my wrist. I saw my friend Elsie. She was—she was…” she gulped and looked down, furrowing her brows together as she recalled Elsie’s lifeless eyes with their blown pupils. “She was dead.”

The warmth of Graeme’s hand found hers, and she blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. “After that, I think Jonathan injected me with something in my neck. It was painful for a moment, and then I must have passed out. I woke up again some time later and was able to get away.”

The council members were quiet for a few moments. Andreas then asked, “Were you aware of any genetic research regarding the pandemic at Eliade?”

“No, I wasn’t,” she said, shaking her head.

“Did you know you were enrolled in a genetic experiment or an experiment of any kind?” Andreas squinted at her.

“No, sir.”

“Have you noticed changes in yourself since waking up in the forest that day?”

“Pain and fevers have been a problem,” August replied, brows still furrowed.

“And how were you able to overpower Marius at the outpost?” Auden asked.

She paused. “I don’t know. I felt him bite me, and then it was like… instinct.”

“Have you experienced any abnormal strength since?” Andreas asked.

“No, sir,” she said honestly.

“Do you feel different now in any way than prior to that day in the forest?”

“I feel the same,” she put a hand on her chest, “but…”

“But… what?” Andreas asked, brows raised over his glasses.

August allowed herself to scan the council members’ faces that she could see in front of her before looking to Graeme at her side who met her eyes.

“I find the world is quite different than I knew,” she then said, turning back to Andreas. Someone gave an appreciative chuckle behind her.

“I imagine so,” Andreas replied, unamused. “How are the fevers, Greta?” he asked the girl at her side.

“They were getting worse while she was in a coma. She was having them every few days with the last being the most severe at nearly 107 degrees. She had a febrile seizure during that episode. Since she awoke yesterday afternoon, she has not had another,” Greta said. “We of course want to watch her closely.”

“Indeed,” Andreas replied. “How did she awake?”

“She just… did,” Greta replied, shrugging. “Graeme was holding her in the pool after the febrile seizure.”

“Did you mark her?” Andreas’s eyes narrowed, turning now to Graeme.

There was an uneasy silence before Graeme seemed to reluctantly answer, “No.” His voice was deeper, and the hand that was holding August’s tightened around hers.

Andreas removed his glasses and put down his pen. “I will be frank, Graeme. We fear August may be a witch or in the process of becoming one. A powerful one…”

“What?” Greta interrupted, clearly taken aback.

“… That this whole situation may, in fact, be the witches’ doing. That they found a way to target your family once again—this time a powerful heir.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Graeme scoffed. “She’s not even a lycan, much less an alyko.”

“I can’t give you all the details here, but we have reason to believe the alyko, as you prefer to call them, are involved with the human pandemic as well as Eliade’s research.”

Greta started to say something, but Andreas put up his hand to stop her. “As you know, many different creatures have mated with humans for centuries. But their offspring infrequently retain their anomalies. The genes lie dormant. Perhaps until now,” he looked meaningfully at Graeme.

“We’ve already seen what witches can do with their magic alone. Given the pack’s or, more specifically, your family’s history, you can understand why we are hesitant to embrace this idea of you with a product of such experimentation. Experimentation that we know is designed to create some kind of superior creature.”

While these words echoed in August’s mind without their meaning registering, she felt the air suddenly change around Graeme. It was as if whatever warmth he had vanished, and his hand was clenching hers.

“You are far too susceptible to such a rouse, should it exist, given your… sentimentalities,” Andreas’s voice sharpened to emphasize the last word.

“You dare suggest that she is not my mate?” Graeme’s voice was cold and threatening.

“We will not interfere with her nor with your relationship… so as long as you are committed to this compulsion that she is your mate and she shows no more proclivity to harm members of our pack,” Andreas said, as if rehearsed.

“She was attacked,” Graeme growled.

“Marius’s role, which he has executed diligently up until now, is to help enforce our laws and protect our pack. He, like all of us, acts out of these concerns alone,” Pearce replied.

“Not in this case,” Graeme let go of August’s hand, turning to look at the faces of other council members, and she saw him swell to an even larger size. “Marius has a perverse hatred for me, and he recognized her as a vulnerability that could be exploited for his own benefit. You sound as if you intend to let him get away with what he did,” his glare returned to the three elders in disbelief.

“He has already been released,” Andreas replied, his mouth settling into a resolute line.