“It was Lazarus, wasn’t it?” Morgan’s voice was hushed, her eyes wide.
He shook his head. “No, the man who was once destined to be with Alkaia was called Lycaon. Their affair caused a war. A man and his army fighting for his love, pitted against a powerful race of female warriors who believed it would be better for Alkaia to die with honor than to succumb to her heart’s desires. To the Amazons, men were only good for one thing: propagating the Amazon race with female babes and nothing more. Love had no place in their thinking.”
He cleared his throat again. It was not an easy tale to tell. “The story goes that Zeus didn’t like it, that he wanted the war to end. His daughter Artemis, the goddess primarily worshipped by the Amazons, was very unhappy with her warriors fighting such a senseless battle. But they were so crazed to save Alkaia that they wouldn’t stop at her command. Zeus went to Lycaon and demanded that he give up the girl, but Lycaon would have none of it. He was so angry with Zeus for even suggesting it that he went so far as to attempt to trick Zeus into eating human flesh—a horrible desecration that he knew would dishonor Zeus if he succeeded. The god realized Lycaon’s plan and was suitably pissed. As punishment, he condemned Lycaon to live the life of a beast, turning him into the first werewolf and, ironically, dooming the human race to an unending war.
“Lycaon went after his love, determined to claim his bride, despite the fact that he was cursed to transform into a beast without warning. When he found her, in the forest where her tribe lived, he was crazed, overcome by the beast within. He captured her and raped her, brutalizing her body in a frenzy of aggression and passion. He dragged her deeper into the woods and ravaged her body over and over while the moon was high, his body transforming from man to beast over the course of the night. When morning finally came, he left her to die, broken and bloody.
“The hunter found her, a lone man who made the forest his home. He tended to her wounds and vowed to avenge her. Over the months of her recovery, she fell in love with her savior. She confided in him, told him of her attacker, of the beast and Zeus’s curse, of her heritage, and the Amazons who had vowed to kill her before they allowed her to fall in love with a man. It wasn’t long after that she discovered she was with child. The hunter vowed to do whatever was necessary to help her, no matter what the outcome would be. When the child was born, it was obviously touched by the same affliction that Lycaon had been marked with. Born larger than any human child, it was capable of walking on its four legs from birth, mewling and crying for her to nurse it while at the same time growling and clawing at her flesh. It was an abomination. A beast. A monster.”
“Lazarus?”
Cal nodded. “She left it in the forest to die—as was the Amazon way with male babes—in tribute to her goddess, Artemis, and with a vow to hunt Lycaon until she killed him or he killed her. That vow is why you have been chosen. Artemis heard Alkaia’s cries and accepted her vow to hunt the beast. She imbued Alkaia and her hunter with power and strength beyond anything they’d ever known, giving them the tools to battle the werewolf, thus marking her as the first Huntress. It is said in the texts that the Huntress is chosen to continue the battle. They are woman marked at birth to fight against the darkest evil. And it is only with her Hunter, her true protector, that she is endowed with the strength and power to fight the beast.” Unless a Huntress was willing to bare her throat for the bite of her wolf, get her powers that way—a disgusting option, in Cal’s opinion. He gave his head a shake then continued with what he was saying, letting the wolf bite information slide away.
“But there is a twist to the story, one that makes it just as much a curse as a blessing. Alkaia was true to her vow—she did hunt Lycaon and she battled with him, almost to death. But her love for Lycaon was too strong, even with all that he had done to her. So she spared his life, instead using a magical spell to cast him into a hell dimension called Tatarus. As a punishment for breaking her vow, Artemis cursed all Huntresses to lust after the beast as Alkaia once lusted after Lycaon, effectively condemning the Huntress to a weakness in the most vulnerable place a warrior has, her heart. If a werewolf finds his Huntress first, he has the power to win her heart before the Hunter can.
“Lazarus is able to identify those Huntresses who are his brides. We don’t know if it is some kind of genetic marker that you carry or if it is a case of divine providence. But over the generations, there have been a few of you, and his goal is always to breed with that woman. You are the only woman who can carry his child.”