**Erick's POV**
We had a really productive day and time flew by. We packed up and hand in hand we headed back to my vehicle to head over to Doc's. When I noticed a peculiar scent in the air.
I looked at Rhian from the paled expression on her face. I could tell she had noticed too. "Do you recognize it?" I instinctively moved closer to her.
"It smells like one of the guards that watched over me when I was locked up. They all had a similar scent, a mix of the salty ocean and rotted fish carcass. It was odd they all shared the same scent as if it wasn't natural but something they sprayed on themselves."
"Why do you think they would wear a scent?" My eyes scanned our surroundings as we hurried to the car. Off in the shadows, a large man was lurking. His eyes seemed to glow with a blueish-green ring. It immediately gave me chills and a sense of doom. "Look," I used my eyes to signal Rhian the direction I was referencing.
She gasped, "That is him. She found us. Shit, what do we do now?"
"If he is solo maybe we can capture and question him. I'm going to sneak behind him so we can trap him. Do you feel like you can confront him head-on? Seeing you come at him may not raise his guard as it would if I did. Don't worry though, I will be right with you." I squeezed her hand, trying to offer as much reassurance as I could muster.
"OK, please hurry in case he isn't alone." She kissed me, "Now go."
I walked away looking back, "See you later!" Hoping the comment would sell the idea that we were indeed separating. As soon as I rounded the corner of the block and was out of sight, I bee-lined to the back of the ally.
I had just made it into position when I saw Rhian come into view. The man stepped directly into her path. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Your stepmother has been worried sick about you. Where did your mutt bodyguard head off to? He shouldn't have let you wander on your own."
I was seething with anger at the way he spoke to her. I moved as quickly as I could, but the need to be stealth so as not to alert him was slowing my efforts.
"My stepmother can go to hell. I know who she is. I refuse to be a pawn in her schemes."
"You can refuse all you want but, I saw you with that dog of yours. You have already served your purpose and Maeve has little use for you now. I was only told to bring you back so she can have a little fun while killing you."
She positioned herself so his back was to me and he couldn't see me when I came up behind him.
"Do you think I am just going to come willingly? You better believe I will be kicking and clawing, making it as difficult as possible." She got into a fighting stance and I saw her claws come out as she partially shifted.
He chuckled, "My pleasure."
She fainted at him, startling him enough to take a step back. As he was trying to recover his stance, I took both my arms under his armpits and looped them together behind his head in a full nelson. "Oh, hello there. I heard you were looking for me."
"Don't think this is over. I have already reported your location and my findings. She is coming for you and she will get what she wants."
Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared, and he disappeared from my hold.
"What the hell was that?" I questioned.
She was frozen in shock, "I.. I.. he's gone, he disappeared."
"I know I am new to all this but no one told me we could just vanish."
She was beginning to recover from the shock, "Yeah, we can't. I don't think he's a werewolf. The question though, if he's not a wolf, what is he?"
Neither of us could believe what happened and we stood in disbelief for a few minutes until I said we should just head to Doc's. Maybe he would have a clue. We drove the short distance in silence.
Arriving at Doc's, we were immediately snapped out of our stupor when his wife came out greeting us exuberantly. She was in her fifties like Doc and the age was beginning to show on her face. She had an auburn bouncy bob, she was on the round side, which made the hug she immediately pulled us into warmer. Her scent was mouthwatering, like the perfect apple pie.
"Oh, come here, come here. I have been so excited about meeting you both. Doc has told me everything. Young love is my favorite. Don't mind me, I am a hugger." She was rambling and squeezing tightly, but instead of feeling awkward like I expected, it made me feel safe and warm like what I imagined a mother's hug would do.
"OK, enough Susan, don't smother them." He laughed as he intercedes on our behalf. "She has made enough food to feed an army. I hope you two brought your appetites."
My stomach began to rumble on cue. We ate before the library but had been too distracted to stop for lunch. "So much for subtle, but my stomach says it's starving." We all laughed as the couple ushered us inside.
They lived in a modest home, the pictures in the entryway depicted a large, happy, loving family. Just the two of them remained in the home as their children had long grown up appearing to be closer to my age. The smells coming from the kitchen were intoxicating, causing my stomach to grumble again.
"Oh young man, you are already so thin you really shouldn't skip meals. Go, go, into the kitchen. The plates are on the counter. Hurry up and help yourself. Not another word until you have eaten." She was just like the doting mother I imagined in my head growing up.
My eyes bulged at the sight of the table when we entered the kitchen. There was fried chicken, pot roast, barbeque ribs, rolls, cornbread, roasted veggies, steamed veggies, two different salads. Over on another table, there was pie, cake, brownies. She wasn't kidding when she said she could feed an army!
She laughed at my reaction, "I may have gone a little overboard. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I wanted to make sure you had options. Besides, Doc always says I show love by feeding people. I want you two to feel welcome!"
"By the looks and smell of everything, I am going to like everything!" I was salivating.
Rhian added, "He's right. This all looks delicious. Thank you so much."
"Stop fussing and just dig in!" Susan ordered. She sat positively beaming as we shoveled food into our mouths. It was the most amazing meal I have ever had."
"Hey Doc, this definitely explains where your love handles come from."
"Ha, Ha, indeed I am well-loved," he grinned at his wife, giving her a wink. It was nice to see a couple that had been together as long as the two of them were still madly in love with each other. I hoped Rhian and I would be the same way one day.
As if she was reading my mind, Rhian reached over and took my hand. I looked at her and she whispered, "me too, me too."
After our feast, we settled into the living room. Doc and I had a drink in hand and the ladies were sipping coffee. Doc broke the silence first. "So, I suppose it's time for the pleasantries to be over. Let's get down to business. Did you learn anything during your research today?"
Rhian spoke up, "Yes, and unfortunately most of it wasn't the best news. This could be more problematic than we ever imagined." She filled him in on all the pertinent details of our investigation. Ending with the incident that occurred just outside the library on our way over.
"Hmm," Doc mused, "I wonder if the guard you ran into was Fae? They tend to be gifted with magic and would be fully capable of that disappearing trick."
"Wait a minute, where's my notebook?" Rhian began shuffling through her bag and scanning the pages of the notebook. "Right, here it is. When I was looking into Maeve, I ran across Queen Maeve. She was a fairy queen. I dismissed the idea earlier, but what if they aren't two separate people? Could the reason she is regarded as a Goddess be because she is a fairy queen? It would explain why the Irish people regarded her so highly."
"Young lady, you are an impressive journalist. I believe you may be exactly correct. As a fairy queen, it would be no surprise she had fae warriors to do her bidding. You mentioned you had seen him before though. That he lived amongst the pack. I am curious how he was never discovered as not being a werewolf."
"Could he have used a masking scent? I always thought it was odd that all the guards smelled the same, but that would explain it. How could we have all been so blind to not notice an entire group of people weren't werewolves? If only we would have noticed maybe my father would still be alive."
"Sweet child, she has had years to plan this out. Unfortunately, what's done is done. There is no need to fret over things we can't change. Let's focus on what we do from here with the information we have." Susan had gone to Rhian, putting her arms around her, offering comfort.
"We need to develop a plan to trap and kill Eliza. Fae are mortal but tend to live multiple lives, nine to be exact. This could be why we are reliving the past. It is curious that she seems to remember and you are unaware. Perhaps she used magic to retain her memories or on you so you would forget." Doc rubbed his chin.
"What if the reason she erased my memories was so I would forget to avenge my mother and kill her," I questioned.
"Perhaps it would mean she could change her own history of a time she was bested. She does seem to be the type to like control."
"Wait a minute," Rhian interrupted. "Does this mean even if we kill her this could all repeat again in her next life?"
"We have no way of knowing what life she is on. I would guess she has lived several times given the multiple legends surrounding her from different areas. I do have a few connections within the Fae world that I trust. I could see what information they can give us."
"Hey Doc, there is one thing we haven't dealt with. What connection does this have to the Alpha prophecy?"
There was a knock on the door that startled all of us except Doc. "Perfect timing," he smiled. "I thought that topic would be best discussed to someone a little closer to the prophecy. I invited Samuel, David, and a few of the other elders."
The four men came inside and introductions were made, hands were shaken before we all returned to our seats. Susan had stepped out to get drinks for the newcomers. Elijah and Gabriel, the two elders, looked as if they could have been well over a hundred years old. Samuel had said they were the historians of the pack. It makes sense. I thought they must have lived through it.
Samuel broke the sudden silence, "Alright, time to get to it. You have a prophecy to fulfill and a fae queen to take down. We had better get started."