Excerpt - Covenant - Enna

“Toni, you still believe Elena is alive?”

“She is! I have seen her, but she is unable to shift into her human form. I have been in communication with her, and last night we were able to share our thoughts and those of the pack. She is their alpha.”

“Have you stopped taking your medication?”

“I never started. There is nothing wrong with me!”

“Toni, I just want to help, but you are not a shape-shifter.”

“You were there in the cave when I came out of my wolf form. You saw it then, as you saw it before in February. You cannot tell me that you are so hung up on your science and tangible proof that you will not allow yourself a belief in the supernatural.”

“I believe in many things, Toni. It is why I wanted us to meet again, and it has nothing to do with my relationship with Regan. Neither one of us would ever hurt you. Besides she is in love with you.”

“No, she is in love with what I am!”

“And what exactly is that?”

My anger soon boiled over, and I lost control. I shifted to my wolf form, jumped on Enna’s desk, knocking things everywhere, and stared her down. I growled. She accidentally fell backward from her chair and hit the floor with a crash. Good thing her floor was carpeted. She lay there for a second before reaching for the letter opener thrown from the desk along with her papers, readers, notepad, and pen. She stabbed me in the shoulder blade, but I hardly felt it through my thick fur. It only distracted me temporarily. I grabbed the letter opener with my mouth and spit it out, and it harmlessly fell to the floor. She quickly ran into the breakroom, slamming the door behind her, screaming “Holy Shit! What the Fuck!”

I suppose I could have stopped her. After a while, I heard her voice.  It was quiet, meek. “Toni?” She was sobbing. I could sense her trembling with fear. I shifted back again.

“Do you believe me now, Dr. Weber?” I said in my most whimsical tone. “I told you so.” There was no response, right away. I paused. 

 “Hey, while you are in there, could you bring me something to wear? Ah, and I might need a Band-Aid.”

She opened the door slightly and handed me what looked like a lab coat, then closed the door, almost crushing the damn thing before I could grab it.

“Doc, open the door. I promise I will not hurt you,” I said, musing about Little Red Riding Hood.

The door slowly opened as she hesitantly peeked at my now human form dressed in the lab coat and came out of the breakroom. I observed her movements as she slowly backed up toward her fallen chair while she kept a watchful eye on me. I was trying not to chuckle at the thought of her logical mind trying to process what happened. I know that may sound somewhat childish of me, but damn it, enough is enough! I honestly did not think I would shift, or could, but I was just plain, damn tired of all the secrecy. My ability to transition must be getting stronger, I thought.

Once she collected herself and straightened up her desk, Enna put the chair right side up and sat down, while keeping an eye on me. I was trying to squash my exuberance as I took a seat across from her with the desk conveniently in between us. She opened her desk drawer, and her hand nervously shook as she pulled out a bandage and handed it to me. I waited for her to speak because I refused to explain why I did what I did, but frankly, it was about time she pulled her head full of scientific theories and bullshit out of her ass.

“You need a minute?” I asked. “I can go outside for a while.”

“No, no, well, yes, maybe, kind of, sort of.”

“Why, Dr. Weber, a loss for words?” I challenged.

“Okay, first off,” she scolded. “You cannot just spring this shit on someone!” Then she leaned across her desk and touched my shoulder.

“Did I, ah, hurt you?”

“No, the cut has probably healed. I honestly did not plan on this, but I am glad it happened. You needed to see.”

“A little warning next time, please?”

“Sorry. I am surprised at how well you are taking this.”

“Believe me, it is not as easy as you perceive. In seconds, I had to reevaluate everything I learned about biology, genetics, science, and nature while you were acting like a smartass.”

“Sorry, Doc.”

“Whew,” she took a deep breath and then spoke. “Okay, my eyesight must be fucked. I know what I saw, even without my readers, whether my mind wants to acknowledge it or not.”

“Okay, good start, Doc.”

“So, you are a shape-shifter?”

I briefly opened the lab coat and showed her where she stuck me and the gash that was now just a blemish. “Now you’ve got it,” I said.

“I’m not sure I got it . . . . How is this even possible?”

“Evolution,” I answered. “I am a descendant of Aradia."

"Excuse Me?"

"Yes Enna. I know it's hard to believe. In Italian mythology, she went by many names, the Great Goddess, the Moon Goddess, and even, "Queen of the Witches" but she was also known as Lilith in other circles.”