They stared at me silently. Maybe I should’ve insisted on changing clothes before meeting them. But neither David nor Devon was dressed either. My hand tightened in his. His father looked at me as if he wanted to kill me, and his mother, her face was completely blank, but I could see the curiosity in her eyes as she watched us. Her eyes darted from David to me, and then to Devon.
“Let me get this clear,” his father muttered. “Both of you are planning on mating this . . . girl?”
“Yes.”
David moved closer until our sides were pressed together. “It’s obvious that you aren’t happy with our decision. You—”
“She’s human!” he yelled.
The sudden loudness of his voice made me jump. So Devon’s parents were like the members of my pack. They saw me as weak. It hurt. I should’ve been used to it by now, but it still hurt. It hurt, even more, coming from someone who was going to be my future father-in-law. I tried to tug my hands free from theirs, but they held on.
“Val is a half-breed. She has more Lycan blood in her than human.”
“Half-breed. Have you forgotten what we suffered by the hands of her kind?” He pointed a finger at me. “She’s one of them, not one of us. If I was still the leader I wouldn’t have allowed her to step foot on this land! I would’ve snapped her—”
A loud growl cut off his sentence. Devon moved fast and grabbed his father by his neck and pushed him against the wall hard enough to make plaster crack. His lips parted inches from his father’s face to flash sharp fangs. My eyes widened when I saw hair sprouting along his arms and back.
“Devon, please,” Meredith begged, grabbing hold of his arm. “Let him go.”
“He threatened my mate. Our mate!” he growled. “You think I’m going to let him walk away after that? I should punish him for disrespecting and threatening her.”
“He didn’t mean it, son,” she said softly. “We’re happy that you finally found someone. She just isn’t—”
“Get out!” Devon roared as he stepped back from his father. “I don’t want you inside my house again without an invitation.”
“Son—”
He growled. His mother glanced at me and David as she grabbed hold of Jackson’s hand. I took a step back when he glared at me as he passed. He really hates you. If looks could kill I’d be six feet underground. Questions flashed through my mind. What did he mean about my kind? I glanced at Devon. He was breathing harshly. His back was turned towards us with his fists clenched at his side. Slipping my hand out of David’s, I walked towards him. I hesitated, and then placed my hand against his back. He tensed, and a low growl rumbled from his chest—it was a warning—one that I completely ignored.
I moved my hand higher and then lower to the top of the towel. With a small tug, it fell to the floor. I moved to step around him but Devon turned away from me. My shoulders sagged when he picked up the towel and wrapped it around his waist again.
“Make sure she eats something,” he ordered David before walking out of the room.
He rejected me. Tears filled my eyes. I knew it wouldn’t last. Nothing ever does. An arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me against a solid chest. His chin rested on the top of my head.
“Don’t look so sad, doll. Devon is angry.”
“He walked away. I wanted to comfort him but it feels like he rejected me.”
“He knows that and that’s why he walked away. You don’t know much about us, Val, but in time you will learn. We’re aggressive by nature, doll. It’s mating season which means our aggression levels are higher than normal.” He pulled back slightly to glance down at me. “You agreed to be our mate and the urge to claim you is strong. The fact that you’re also being affected by it isn’t helping at all. If you had continued to touch Devon, he would’ve taken you, regardless of anything else.”
“You’re still here with me,” I whispered.
He smiled. “It doesn’t mean that I’m not affected.” To proof his point he tugged my hips against his. “I’m not as emotional as Devon. I’m in control, so there’s no risk of me giving over to the urge to bend you over the couch and fuck you.”
Heat flooded my cheeks at his crude words. The thought of him taking me roughly made my toes curl. Maybe once my first time was over and done with we could try it. I read that losing your virginity could hurt. Of course, it depended on the person. The heat in my body slowly started to fade as I thought about it. Fear came next. Aunt Geraldine had explained everything to me n detail. I wasn’t going to have sex with one man, but two. I had two mates to keep happy.
Fingers brushed my cheek, making my eyes snap up to his. “Don’t overthink it. We will be taking things slowly. One baby step at a time, doll.”
Right. Baby steps. I can do that.
***
“I have the results for the test you wanted, Alpha. It’s really alarming.”
David’s frown deepened. He held out his hand for the file which the doctor instantly handed over. I took another bite of the pasta but kept my eyes focused on his face. His eyes narrowed. I watched the different emotions play across his face as he turned page after page. When he finished reading the last page, he quietly closed the file. He glanced up at me. I waited for him to speak.
“Remember that theory I told you about?” I nodded. “I was right. I knew you had more Lycan blood in you than everyone believed. It’s rare to find someone like you. I asked around and checked some books we had in the library. You don’t know anything about our history, do you?”
“No.”
He nodded and stood. “Finish your food and meet us in the library when you’re done.”
I watched them disappear. Within a few minutes, I had finished my food. I washed my bowl and placed it in the dishwasher, but I still hesitated. What was written in those reports? Why did he look so worried when he left? He said I had more Lycan blood than human. Was that why I felt so different?
I sighed as I walked out of the kitchen and made my way towards the library. I was about to have a history lesson. It excited me to know I’d be learning more about my father too. Their history—my history. It was one subject I was never taught in school. They didn’t think it was important. A part of me knew that Alpha wanted me to leave the pack and live in the human world amongst the humans, but the elders feared that I would expose them. It was why they never allowed me to leave pack grounds.
Devon was seated in the chair by the fire when I entered the library. He gave me a small smile when he glanced up to find me hovering in the doorway. Devon gestured for me to come closer. My eyes darted between him and the stack of books on the floor next to the couch. They were black leather journals.
“Get comfortable, dove.”
I took a seat on the floor by his legs. Hesitation filled me. My eyes darted up to his to take in his reaction. Devon was watching me silently. I moved closer and pressed my side against his leg. I wanted to be close to him. It felt good touching him, even with clothes between us. Not even five minutes later David entered. He handed the file over to Devon. For some reason, he looked smug.
“Are you ready to start your history lesson, doll?”
“I’m excited,” I told them honestly.
He smiled and took a seat on the couch across from us. “Well, I guess I should start from the beginning.”
“Yes. That’s how you start a lesson.”
David rolled his eyes at me. “Don’t be a smart ass.”
“Or what?” I challenged him.
His eyes darkened. “Bad girls get punished.”
I pressed my thighs together to relieve the ache between my legs. I had an idea of what he meant by punishments. They would tie me up and torture me with that vibrating thing they used in my dreams. My sex clenched. Yeah, I could live with that kind of punishment.
Devon cleared his throat. “Some of our elders and older members weren’t born like us. They were created in laboratories. Humans wanted superior beings who could fight in the war for them. They wanted animals they could control. Animals they could order to kill without asking questions.”
Horror washed through me. “Created?”
“They had donors who donated eggs which they sliced with wolf and other animal DNA. Women who wanted to make money agreed to have the spliced eggs implanted inside them. They carried the babies until full-term.”
“What happened to the babies after they were born?”
“They were given drugs to help them grow and make them stronger. Once they were old enough the experiments started. They were taught how to fight and how to use weapons. Everything they needed them to do.”
“That’s just. . .” I shook my head.
David gave me a small smile. “They learned to read and to communicate like humans. They suffered abuse and were exposed to a lot of cruel things I won’t disgust with you,”—he leaned forward slightly—“the fact is that Lycan’s were created. They managed to escape, but a lot of them were killed before they got to safety. Some of the humans managed to escape. The fear that we would be able to tell on them had the human wanting to kill every one of us.”
“Although some of them started hunting us just for the fun of it,” Devon muttered. “That’s why we went into hiding. We could pass as a human if we really wanted to, but some of the newer generations are flawed.”
“I don’t understand how you can shift from human to wolf form.”
“It was one of the things they thought would give as an advantage. We were created like that, doll. A lot of other DNA’s were spliced with other animal DNA. The world is full of us. I’ve heard of some who live amongst humans and they fit in perfectly.”
“Like my dad,” I said softly. “Aunt told me that he lived with them. Alpha wanted someone on the outside to keep him updated on everything that was happening after the incident at the school—the hunting trips planned and all that. She hated it, but I knew he liked it there. That’s where he met mom.”
“You were born in the human world?” David asked, sounding surprised.
I shook my head. “From what I was told and what I heard them telling the elders, mom got pregnant and the Alpha demanded that dad return with her to the pack. He wasn’t very happy about mom’s pregnancy. I don’t know why. I was born in the pack.”
“I’ll see if I can get more of your history.”
I nodded. Silence fell. I pondered over their words. It made sense why so many of the Lycan packs lived so far away from humanity. They hated them because of all the abuse they suffered. I was half-human, but I knew my mom wasn’t amongst those who hunted Lycan’s. I’ve seen photos of her before Aunt could throw them away. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. That familiar longing filled me. For the hundredth time in years, I wished I had a normal family.