My brother Diego walked up to me before leaving. “What the hell, Nico?”
I glared at him. “Not now, Diego. Not. Fucking. Now.” I hissed the words through gritted teeth.
Diego lifted his hands in surrender. “Got it. Got it. Point taken.”
My eyes locked on Mom while the last few people trickled out. Once the back door was closed, I was free to express my rage. “What is wrong with you?” I asked her.
Her jaw dropped. “Nico? What’s going on here?”
My voice rose an octave. “I said, what is wrong with you?”
She crossed her arms and shook her head. “I was looking out for my boy. That’s all.”
Dad sighed and rubbed at his face. “Julia, what did you do?”
Mom swept a hand toward the house. “Carlos, that girl in there is a human. Nico can’t be allowed to mate with a human. There won’t ever be an alpha to take over the pack. You know that. Everyone does. I was the only one who seemed willing to say anything.”
“I can be with whomever I want, Mother. I’m a grown man. I’m the alpha. I am in charge of my own life.”
Mom shook her head. “No, Nico. It feels that way, I know. You are still my and your father’s son. You have a duty to the pack. I only told Maddy the truth. I couldn’t let her get her hopes up that there could be more with you. There can’t be. Don’t you see that? She can’t??”
“She’s my fated mate!” I bellowed in rage. “Stop talking about her like that.”
Mom’s face went pale, and Dad stepped over and put a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. “Son, easy. Take a breath,” he murmured in my ear.
Mom took two steps toward me and pointed a finger at my chest. “No. I won’t have you lying to us to keep shacking up with some girl. Humans and shifters can’t be fated. You know that. Stop lying. You’re being a child, Nico.”
Dad, finally letting his anger show, turned to her and held up his hand. “Julia, would you stop? Jesus, just stop for a second.”
“You can’t actually be on his side? Carlos, you know what’s at stake here! The future of the Lorenzo pack.”
Dad sighed and looked at me. “I think it’s time you tell your mother everything.”
“Everything what? Oh my God, is she pregnant? Is that what’s happened?”
“Julia,” Dad hissed, “I love you with all my heart, but will you please-and I say this from a place of utmost love-please shut up for one second?”
Mom gasped and put a hand to her mouth, but she stopped talking.
Dad patted me on the back. “She’ll understand once she hears.”
I took a breath and nodded. Calming myself, I unfurled my fists. “Mom? Do you remember all the old stories about Edemas?”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “The Werewolf King? Yes, why?”
“The stories said that when he and his family were slaughtered by the other side of the royal family and his subjects, the entire bloodline was wiped out, correct?”
“Nico, these are scary stories we tell little shifters at Halloween. What does this have to do with that girl in there?”
“A secondary legend tells that he was able to spirit away two of his descendants. Two babies who were full werewolves like he was. They were alphas, too. Two strong blood links to the Hollander line.”
Mom sighed and shook her head. “I’d heard that once or twice, you still aren’t??”
“The stories are all true, Mom. Edemas did get two children out before the assassinations. They passed their genes down through the years. The new royal family has been searching for and killing any child that came from those descendants. That is who Maddy is,” I said, pointing back toward the house.
Mom froze, glancing from me to Dad and back again. “What are you saying?”
Dad took a step toward her, putting his hands out in a pleading gesture. “What he’s saying is true, Julia. Maddy is a descendant of Edemas. She is a shifter, but the blood became so diluted over the centuries that her wolf is dormant. It’s locked inside her, unable to come out.”
“What about Javi? How does he factor into this?” she asked, still looking like she didn’t completely believe us.
“Javi’s family came to America when Dad was a kid. They came from Europe. We think Javi and his entire pack are under the royals’ direct control. They are here, in this country, to hunt down and kill anyone who might be a descendant of Edemas.
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