Chapter Eighty-Three

Chapter Eighty-Three
Cassandra's POV

On days like this, it made me feel more and more part of a life I hadn't been around as often as I liked.

And because sometimes Camryn's adoptive parents worked late, on those days they would drop her off at the pack house until they could pick her up after work. They trusted us. Trusted me.

At first, I worried they were only doing it because they felt obligated. After all, they knew I was Camryn's biological mother. They had found that out shortly after adopting her and could have easily pulled away from me instead.

Instead, they did the opposite. They made room for me. Made room for us. And for that, I would always be grateful.

The arrangement had actually started because Camryn hated being alone. Not in the way most teenagers complained about being bored. She genuinely hated it.

More than thirty minutes by herself and her anxiety would start creeping in. After everything she'd endured during the first ten years of her life, none of us blamed her. Too much time alone with her thoughts often led to old memories resurfacing.

So when her parents occasionally worked late, the pack house became her second home. At first, she'd barely spoken more than two words to me during those visits.

Now she'd sometimes sit beside me on the couch and tell me about school. Sometimes she'd complain about teachers she didn't like. Other times she'd argue with me about music, movies, or why she thought pineapple belonged on pizza.

It wasn't much. But it was something. And I'd take every scrap she was willing to give me.

Today was one of those afternoons. Usually, Silas disappeared to Beau's house the moment school ended. Today he couldn't because he was grounded. Which meant both of my children were currently sitting in the living room.

Ignoring each other.

Silas sprawled across one end of the couch with a history book open in his lap. Every few minutes he'd glare at the pages as though they had personally offended him.

Camryn sat in an armchair near the window reading. Or pretending to.

The late afternoon sun poured through the large windows overlooking the Georgia forest beyond the pack house. Cicadas hummed outside while a warm breeze rattled the leaves of the oak trees.

The two of them were only ten months apart, and both had George's brown eyes. Silas had inherited George's brown hair. Camryn had inherited mine.

They looked like siblings. However, they acted like strangers. A familiar ache settled inside my chest. One day. Maybe one day.

I swallowed hard. This was as good a time as any. "Silas?"

He looked up. "Hm?"

"I need to tell you something."

His expression immediately changed. "Am I in more trouble?"

"No."

"Did somebody die?"

"What? No."

"Then why do you sound like that?" Camryn lowered her book. I hadn't realized she was listening.

My stomach tightened. Because suddenly this wasn't just Silas. It was both of them.

I sat down across from them. My palms were sweating. Goddess, why was this harder than telling my mates?

Silas slowly sat upright. Now he looked worried. "Mom?"

I inhaled. Then exhaled. Then finally forced the words out. "I'm pregnant."

Silence. Absolute silence. Neither of them moved. Neither of them blinked.

Then—"What?" Silas practically shouted.

I laughed nervously. "That's usually the reaction."

His eyes widened. "Like... pregnant pregnant?"

"Yes."

"With an actual baby?"

I stared at him. "How many other kinds are there?"

His mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. Then suddenly he was grinning. Actually grinning. "Oh my goddess."

He jumped off the couch. "Oh my goddess!"

I laughed despite the tears threatening my eyes.

Silas immediately started pacing. "A baby?"

"Yes."

"A real baby?"

"Still yes."

"A tiny one?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "That's generally how babies start."

He laughed. Actually laughed. And just like that every fear I'd carried about telling him disappeared.

Then I heard it. A quiet scoff. My smile faltered.

Camryn had gone completely still. Her book sat forgotten in her lap. Her face had gone pale. "Camryn?"

She stood slowly. Her jaw tightened. "A baby."

The words sounded wrong. Sharp and bitter.

I felt my heart sink. "Cam—"

"So you wanted this one?" The room froze. Silas's smile vanished.

Camryn laughed. A harsh sound that didn't belong coming from a fourteen-year-old girl. "That's nice."

"Camryn—"

"No." Tears appeared in her eyes. "They get a family." Her voice cracked. "They get brothers." Another crack. "They get fathers." The room suddenly felt too small. Too hot and too painful. "They get everything."

My heart shattered. "Camryn."

"You didn't even want me."

Silas immediately stood. "Don't." His voice was sharp. Dangerously sharp.

Camryn ignored him. Her eyes locked onto mine. "You kept him." She pointed at Silas. "But not me." The tears she'd been fighting spilled over. "You kept him."

Silas took a step forward. "Stop talking to her like that."

"Why?" Camryn snapped.

"Because she's our mother!" The words echoed through the room.

Camryn flinched.

Silas looked ready to explode. Years of loyalty. Years of protectiveness. Years of watching me suffer. All colliding at once.

I stood quickly. "Silas."

His jaw tightened. "But—"

"Silas." He stopped. Barely.

Camryn looked between us.

Then shook her head. "You didn't want me." The tears running down her face broke something inside me.

"Oh sweetheart..."

"No." She backed away. "You wanted him." Her voice cracked again. "And now you're having another one."

I crossed the room. She tried to move away, but I caught her hands and she froze. "Look at me." She didn't. "Camryn." Slowly and reluctantly. She lifted her eyes.

I could barely see through my own tears. "I wanted you."

She immediately shook her head. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes." The force of my answer stunned her.

My voice broke. "Do you know what your father told me after you were born?"

She blinked. "What?"

A horrible sickness settled in my stomach. Because judging by her face...nobody had ever told her. Not even her adoptive parents.

"He told me you died." The room went silent.

Camryn stared. "What?"

My tears finally fell. "George told me you died."

Her face drained of color. "No."

"He told me you were gone." Silas looked horrified and I could barely breathe. "For years I believed you were dead."

Camryn's lips trembled. "What happened?"

The question was barely a whisper. I closed my eyes.

Because even after all these years saying it still hurt. "George sold you." The words tasted like poison. "He sold you to the hunters."

The book slipped from her fingers and hit the floor.

Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. "That's not true."

I nodded. "It is."

Fresh tears flooded her eyes. "He told me you died."

My voice shook violently now. "I held you." My chest tightened. "You were perfect." A sob escaped me. "You had my hair." Camryn's eyes widened. "You had your father's eyes."

I smiled sadly through tears. "And I loved you from the second I saw you." The room blurred. "But George told me you died."

My knees felt weak. "I begged to see you." My voice cracked. "I begged him."

Memories flooded back. Bruises and fear, the blood, and worse of all, the pain.

"He hit me for asking questions." Silas froze. Camryn stared. "He told me to stop crying. Told me to stop asking where you were." Tears streamed down my face. "I spent years mourning you."

Camryn covered her mouth. "I thought I buried a daughter I never got to raise."

A sob escaped her. I squeezed her hands tighter. "George wasn't a good man, Camryn."

"No..." she whispered.

"No."

My voice hardened. "He hurt me." The words felt small compared to what he'd done. "He broke bones."

Silas looked down with his fists clenched. "He humiliated me." I swallowed. "He made me believe I was worthless." My voice shattered. "But I survived it because I had Silas."

Silas's head lifted. The room fell silent. Then I spoke the truth I'd never hidden. "The day I killed George wasn't because he hit me."

Camryn's eyes widened. "It wasn't because of everything he did to me." My heart thundered. "It was because he put his hands on your brother."

Silas looked away, pain flashing across his face. The memory still hurt him. "He hurt Silas."

My voice broke completely. "And I couldn't survive that." Fresh tears poured down my cheeks. "I could endure anything he did to me." I looked directly at Camryn. "But not my children."

The room became deathly quiet. "I would have died for both of you."

Camryn broke. Completely. The anger vanished. The bitterness vanished. Only heartbreak remained. And suddenly she was crying. Not angry crying. Heartbroken crying.

The kind that comes from discovering your entire life had been built on lies.

I pulled her against me before she could pull away. This time she didn't fight it. For the first time since I'd found her, Camryn hugged me back. The force of it nearly knocked the breath from my lungs.

She buried her face against my shoulder and sobbed. And I held her tighter.

Silas stood frozen for several seconds before slowly walking over. Awkward and unsure. Like he didn't know what to do. Then he placed one hand on Camryn's shoulder.

A simple gesture. A small one.

But it was the first time he'd willingly reached for her.

Camryn noticed.

So did I.

And for a brief moment, standing there together, it felt like maybe...just maybe... we could finally start healing.

Because no matter how old they became. No matter who raised them. No matter how much time had been stolen from us. They were my children.

And I would spend the rest of my life proving that they had always been wanted.