The sudden reveal that magic and werecreatures existed was definitely a lot to take in for some people, especially Alex Harper. He had grown up with a passion for science and believed that there was nothing that science couldn’t explain. At least until a few minutes ago, that is. It was quite hard for science to explain a woman turning into an anthropomorphic lion before your very eyes.
As a young, 19-year-old college freshman, Alex had gone into college with high hopes. He’d finished high school with a 3.9 GPA and was accepted into college with a scholarship that required him to keep above a 2.7 GPA. It seemed like a simple enough task. Unfortunately, college proved to be harder than the young man thought. He struggled through his classes and only barely passed his freshman year, though he finished both his fall and spring semesters with a GPA just below 2.7, meaning his scholarship was revoked. This caused Alex to begin questioning himself; wondering if he was even college material. He needed to get away from everything for a while.
Someone up there must have been looking out for him, because around the end of his spring semester, Alex happened to get an email from an old high school friend of his. Unlike Alex, his friend had decided to take a year off after high school and went on a trip up to Norway. Apparently, his friend liked it up there, because he decided to stay year-round. Having not heard from his old friend in over a few months, Alex replied and even got to have a video call with him after a couple more emails. It was during their last video call that something…interesting…happened.
— — — — —
“Hey, so I know this is really out of the blue, but the company my older brother is working for is opening a new resort down in Greece in early June. Given that you have some Greek heritage, I was wondering if you’d want to travel there for a month this summer. You seem like you could really use a break after that shitshow of a freshman year.”
“Uh…wow,” was all Alex could say. “I…I’m really flattered, man, but I don’t think I can afford that. You know that money has been tight for my dad ever since my mom died five years ago. I can’t just ask my dad for the money to send me to a resort for a month.”
“Oh I know,” his friend said with a grin. “That’s why I pulled some strings to get you a full trip there. You don’t have to pay a dime!”
“A-are you serious?!” Alex asked as he stared at his friend in disbelief. “Th-that must have cost you a fortune! How did you even afford that?!”
His friend laughed. “Like I said, I pulled some strings, and besides, you’re one of my oldest friends. Plus, you’ve always told me how you’ve wanted to visit Greece, and something tells me you’ll really enjoy this resort.”
“God…thank you so much! I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you!”
“You don’t need to repay me at all. Just go and have a good time. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to swing by at some point during your trip. Anyways, I’ve got to go. Gotta help out my husband. I’ll talk to you later…Alexios.”
Alex groaned. “Haha, very funny,” he said sarcastically. “You know I hate my full name.”
“Which is exactly why I’m calling you that,” his friend responded, a sly grin on his face. “See ya!”
— — — — —
Alex shook his head as he finished thinking about the events leading up to his arrival at the resort. As he looked around at all the werecreatures walking around the resort, he found himself reaching into his pocket and pulling out his plane ticket. He stared at the ticket for a minute before tucking it back into his pocket.
"How much of this did you know about Eric?” Alex thought to himself as he walked towards the main building that Leandra had pointed out just minutes ago. With one hand on his suitcase, the young man walked up the steps of the building and walked inside.
The inside of the main building was a bit different than Alex had imagined it. Directly in front of the door was a red carpet walkway that was lined with massive marble columns on either side. At the end of the walkway was a massive golden statue of a satyr playing the pan pipes. He had massive curled horns resembling those of a ram rather than a goat, and his head was covered with a mop of shaggy neck-length hair. Alex didn’t have to be an expert in Ancient Greek mythology to know that the statue was a depiction of Pan. Clearly, the inhabitants took the imagery of the god very seriously if the statue was anything to go by.
Just in front of the statue at its base was a large, wooden desk. Sitting behind it was a female anthropomorphic fox, completely in the nude. Alex made his way down the walkway, admiring the architecture of the building, before stopping in front of the desk. The fox was preoccupied, writing something down on a piece of paper before she clicked her pen and looked up at Alex with a smile.
“Khaire sir, and welcome to Mt. Lykaion Resort and Spa. Are you checking in with us today?”
“Yes ma’am, I am.”
“Wonderful. And what was the name of your reservation?”
"Alex..." the young man stopped himself and let out a sigh when he remembered who made his reservations. "Alexios Harper."
“Not a fan of using your full name, huh?” the fox asked, laughing a little at Alex’s reaction. “Ah, here we are! You’re going to be in villa 25.” She opened a drawer to her left and pulled out a key with a tag labeled “25”. Alex extended his hand and the fox dropped the key into his palm.
“Now, is there anything else I can help you with?” the fox asked.
“Um…yes actually,” Alex said. “The lady…I mean, lioness, on the train. She mentioned something about…becoming a creature for the duration of our stay…was she serious?”
The fox laughed. “Of course she was!” she responded. “Was there a particular species you were interested in?”
“No…not at the moment,” Alex said. “I…uh…I think I want to get a little settled in first and see all the options that are offered to me.”
The vixen nodded in understanding. “That’s perfectly understandable sir. Take all the time you need. I hope you settle in nicely!”
“Thank you, have a nice day.” Alex tucked the key to his villa in his right pocket and wheeled his suitcase out the side door to the right. However, it was only when Alex stepped outside that he realized he had no idea where villa 25 actually was. Sighing, Alex turned around to go back inside when he caught sight of the rather long line that had built up in front of the reception desk.
“Damn, I don’t want to wait in line to ask for directions…” Alex muttered to himself. “God, I should have thought ahead and asked how to get to my villa or even a map!”
Then, he had a bright idea: the resort had to have a map online, right? He could just search for a map and use that! Alex quickly pulled out his phone and began walking, opening the phone’s internet browser as he did. Unfortunately, for him, there seemed to be no available cell service, which meant no access to data. Alex wasn’t content to give up that easily, however. He held his phone up and moved it around, hoping he could get a signal. All the while, he was still walking forward, completely engrossed with his phone. If he could just get one…
“Hey, kid?” a voice behind him asked. Turning off his phone, Alex turned around to see who was talking to him…only to be met with a furry neck. The young man had to take a step back in order to better see who was talking to him.
Standing behind him was an anthropomorphic wolf covered in snowy white fur. They had a rather muscular build, complete with a set of washboard abs and impressive biceps. Behind them was a bushy white tail that occasionally moved from side to side with the wind. Alex was speechless as he stared at the creature in front of him, trying to examine every little detail. What really gave away the wolf’s gender was the large, furry sheath in between their legs.
“Uh…you do know it’s rude to stare, right?” the wolf asked in a deep, masculine voice with a Greek accent.
Alex quickly shook himself out of his stupor and looked the wolf in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, I was just…amazed…” The werewolf grinned, showing off a set of sharp fangs. “First time seeing a werewolf, huh koutávi?”
“I…uh…yes? I’m sorry, I’m not entirely sure what the last thing you said was.”
The werewolf laughed. “Koutávi” he repeated. “It means ‘pup’. Werewolves refer to anyone younger than them as ‘pup.’”
“Hey, I’m not a kid! I’m 19 years old!” Alex snapped. The werewolf laughed. “And I’m 22, which means you’re still younger than me.” The werewolf proceeded to hold out a paw-like hand out. “The name’s Orion.”
Alex took the wolf’s hand in his and shook it. “Alex.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Alex,” Orion said. “And, you are aware that you aren’t going to get any cell service here, correct?”
Shit, he’d forgotten about that.
“I was trying to see if there was a map of the resort online,” Alex explained. “I forgot to ask how to get to my villa.”
“Oh, maybe I can be of some assistance. I know this resort inside and out. After all, I grew up on these lands.”
“Oh, that’d be really helpful!” Alex said. “I'm in villa 25.”
“Oh, that’s not too far from here,” Orion said. “It’s actually just up the hill.” The wolf pointed towards a path leading up the mountain. At the end of the path was a small villa like all the others. “I’m actually headed up that way, so we could walk together.”
“Uh…sure. I don’t mind at all. You can lead the way.”
Orion nodded and began walking forward with Alex following close behind. “So…uh…you said you grew up here?”
“Hmm? Oh. Yes, I was raised on these lands, as was my father, and my father’s father. These lands are sacred to all werewolves, and my pack has been bestowed the honor of keeping these lands safe.”
“Why are these lands sacred to you people?” Alex asked curiously. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he found himself intrigued by the history of Orion and his people.
“For two reasons mainly,” Orion explained. “Firstly, it’s the homeland of Pan, the God of the Wild. As we werewolves don’t technically have a God, Pan is the closest we have to a deity as our own. Secondly, it’s because this is the land where all werewolves come from.”
“Really? How so?”
“Have you ever heard the story of King Lycaon?”
“The name sounds vaguely familiar…though I’m not sure I’m entirely familiar with the story behind it.”
“Well, Lycaon was the king of the Arcadia region back in ancient times. One day, in order to test if Zeus was truly omnipotent, the king killed his son, Nyctimus, roasted his flesh, and fed it to Zeus. Upon learning what the king had done, Zeus cursed Lycaon and turned him into a wolf.”
“Huh…so that means that all werewolves are descended from royalty?” Alex asked.
“Well…no, not exactly,” Orion said. “You see, what most versions of the myth leave out is how Lycaon was able to spread the curse to other individuals through scratches and bites. While many people sought to cure the illness, others embraced it; learned to control it. Those people then taught their children, who taught their children, and it’s been like that for thousands of years.”
“So that makes your pack…the original pack?” Alex asked.
“Many of the other packs around here would beg to differ, but yes, my pack comes from the first few people who were cursed by Lycaon.”
“So, is there a line of werewolves that can trace their lineage back to Lycaon?”
Orion shook his head. “No, I don’t believe there is, nor do I think there could be. For that to be possible, Lycaon would have had to have a child or children after he was cursed since none of his 50 children were cursed. If there was a werewolf that could trace their lineage back to Lycaon after he had been cursed, I would imagine that many of the packs around here would fight over who’s pack they joined. After all, these lands are sacred to werewolves, and the pack with a member who descends directly from the original werewolf himself would undoubtedly have control of the land. Anyways, this is your stop.”
“Huh?” Alex looked and realized that they had stopped in front of villa 25. He turned his head and looked down the rather long path they had just walked up. “Did we…did we just walk up here that fast?”
The werewolf grinned. “Sounds like you were rather engrossed in our conversation,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk to someone about werewolf heritage without them getting bored and changing the topic.”
“Really? But it seems so fascinating! I’d love to learn more about you and your people some time.”
“Well, how about tonight?” Orion suggested. “My patrol duty ends around 6 PM, so I could stop by and tell you some more. Maybe we could even go out for a bite to eat.”
“Umm…sure! Sure, I’d like that!”
“Sounds like a plan then,” the werewolf said. “I need to get back to work now. It was great meeting you, Alex. I’ll stop by tonight at 6 PM sharp. Be ready!” And with that, Orion turned and began jogging back down the path towards the entrance to the resort. While Alex was excited to see Orion again later that night, a small part of him wondered just what he’d gotten himself into.