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"We all have reasons to dislike Xyletians," said Gan. "Each one of us has suffered a loss at the hands of your people."

"And yet... you've mated with me. The three of you."

"When I first learned that I would be mated to an enemy, I didn't want to believe it," Gan said. "How could I mate with someone I hated? After a time, I realize that my destiny was greater than anything else. Seeing you in my dreams every night, I no longer saw you as an enemy, just as my mate. Understand that for my priests, the experience is different. They were not given the luxury of years to come to the same conclusions that I did."

Nugai sprinkled a handful of herbs onto the flames and whispered a prayer. "For Munok and I," he said, "our fates have always been to serve Gan. We are part of him. Extensions of him, helping him to fulfill his purpose as Shaman. We act in service of his greater destiny. But do not worry. I have no hatred for you. I serve Gan. And to serve Gan, I mate with you."

Hearing all of this gave Bryan an empty, sinking feeling. Was his only purpose in life to be a tool used by Alphas to serve their own agendas? He was used to it. And at least Gan, Munok and Nugai were different from Josef. But what did that matter? The psychic bond had been cut, but he was still chained to the Minister.

"The Uridimm raids when I was young," Bryan said. "And all the fighting before that. We've suffered a lot on our side, too."

"Who started the fighting, Bryan?" Gan asked.

"The Uridimm."

"Is that so? This was our home until the Xyletians came and forced us out."

"We didn't force you out," said Bryan. "We settled nearby and the Uridimm began attacking us and raiding the colonies. So, we pushed back. If the Uridimm didn't stay on the border and send raids to attack us, we could have both lived in peace."

"Is that really what you've been told? That we were the first to attack?"

"Yes, the Uridimm Raids.."

Gan shook his head. "Why should we have been expected to leave this place? It's our home and has been for thousands of generations. Look to the edge of the forest. Who is the one encroaching?" He gestured with his hand. "Our village wasn't always like this. Little shacks, as you call them. Dark and surrounded by wild, overgrown forest. We lived in the light before the Xyletians came, in grand lodges open to the sun, carved from the mightiest trees. There were hundreds. A beautiful, thriving village. The Xyletians burned it all to the ground. Some of the men responsible are still alive today. Your former mate may not have thrown the torch himself, but he was certainly old enough to remember it."

"I can't believe it," Bryan said, horrified. It was all against everything he'd grown up learning.

"I witnessed it myself," Gan said darkly.

"I'll show you." Munok had come back inside, cradling a bundle of firewood in his arms. He placed two of the logs into the fire and sat back down next to them. "I can show it all to you."

"How?" Bryan asked.

"Uri granted me the ability to touch minds. I can show you Gan's memories."

"Munok," said Gan. "It's too much."

"Let him see the truth. He should see it. Why do you protect him from it?"

"Don't question me," Gan boomed. "He is our mate."

"No," Bryan said. "Show me. Please. I want to know."

Gan rubbed his face, sighing. He looked tired. Pale. "Yes, Munok, of course you're right." He nodded towards Nugai, who then began to go through a series of clay pots lined up on a wooden bench by the wall, pulling out various herbs and mixing them into a stone bowl. Gan pointed to the space in front of him. "Sit here."

Bryan obeyed, sitting cross-legged in front of the Alpha. Gan reached out and grasped both of his hands, enveloping them into his huge palms. Chanting quietly, Nugai tossed the contents of the bowl into the fire, and it filled the room with a pungent smell. Munok knelt next to Gan and Bryan and placed his open hands on the sides of both of their heads. Bryan closed his eyes. Then, without warning, he felt like he'd been yanked forward by a rope around his neck. His vision shook with vertigo and he felt his stomach turn, and suddenly his mind was filled with memories that weren't his. They overwhelmed him, slamming into him like an onslaught of punches to the skull.

He saw visions of a quiet village occupying a landscape he recognized—it was where New Pixia stood now, only it was surrounded and touched by virgin forest. Roads and pathways wound through the trees, some of which were painted in ornate red patterns and beautifully carved with the shapes of wolves. He was in wolf form, though not his own, running through the forest with a pack of young Alphas. He knew he was seeing Gan's memories. He felt it intuitively—he was sharing the Alpha's self. HewasGan. They ran and played and hunted, exploring the forest around the village. In a flash the memory changed. He felt fear, fury, confusion. Everything was burning. Uridimm wolves were fleeing as deafening machinery rolled down trees, the sounds of their snapping trunks echoing like thunderbolts. Through Gan's eyes, Bryan saw a wolf running with his fur ablaze. His name was Vor, and Gan had known him since childhood. In his panicked frenzy, Vor smashed headfirst into a tree trunk and collapsed into a smoldering heap.

The memory shifted. Ignoring the pleading of the others, Gan left the safety of the deep forest and stalked to the edge of what used to be the Uridimm village. Everything was blackened and burnt. He witnessed the huge tractors ripping up the ground with their treading as they bulldozed the remains of the village while armed soldiers patrolled the area.

Time whirled by. The surviving Uridimm had developed a small settlement inside the forest, eking out a meager existence, but the people found a way to be happy. They could tame the wild forest and rebuild and grow.

The rumble of machinery broke through the quiet of a peaceful afternoon as Gan was receiving lessons from his mother, Emi, the head shaman. He rushed outside and saw smoke rising from the edge of the forest and heard the terrifying cracks of felled trees. They were here again.

Their machines flattened the forest as men used flame weapons to torch the village. Xyletian wolves prowled through, rooting out the hiding Uridimm. Gan watched them slaughter his mother.

Years passed and again they rebuilt. When the Xyletians spread further into the forest, this time Gan and his warriors were ready to spill blood. They barely fended off the encroaching soldiers and loggers as they made their way through, again using fire and machines to push the Uridimm out. The faces of those responsible flashed through Bryan's mind as Gan fought them. He saw people he knew. Gan was struck down and nearly crushed by a tractor as it plowed through the village before Nugai and Munok dragged him to safety. His body was mangled and on the verge of death, and they performed a healing ritual, asking for Uri's help to recover him. The face of Uri had gone dark—she demanded sacrifice, so the captured Xyletians were summarily executed, their blood offered to the dire wolf goddess, and three days later, Gan's strength returned. He knew his fate. He wasn't destined to die yet.