Chapter 12: Sarah's Demons (Sarah POV)

I'm on my third cup of coffee when I hear the back door slam.

Danny stumbles into the kitchen, and I know immediately. His clothes are filthy, covered in dirt and leaves. There are scratches on his arms. His eyes are wild, panicked.

He killed something.

"Mom." His voice cracks. "Mom, I need you to tell me what's happening. Right now."

I set down my coffee cup. My hands are shaking. "Danny..."

"Don't." He holds up a hand. "Don't tell me it's nothing. Don't tell me I'm imagining things. I woke up in the backyard. There was a dead deer. There was blood everywhere."

My stomach drops. "Did anyone see?"

"What?" He stares at me. "Did anyone... Mom, I killed something! I don't remember doing it, I just woke up and it was dead and I could taste..." He gags, pressing his hand to his mouth. "I could taste blood."

I stand up. "Okay. Okay, sit down. Let me think."

"I don't want to sit down! I want you to tell me what the hell is wrong with me!"

"Nothing is wrong with you," I say, but even I can hear how hollow it sounds. "You're just... you're changing. It's natural."

"Natural?" His laugh is slightly hysterical. "Blacking out and killing animals is natural?"

"For what you are, yes."

The words hang between us. Danny goes very still.

"What I am," he repeats slowly. "And what am I, Mom? Because Dad's letter said werewolf, but that's insane. Werewolves aren't real."

"They're real." I move to the sink, gripping the edge of the counter. I need a drink so badly my teeth ache. "Your father was one. And now you're becoming one too."

"That's not possible."

"You woke up covered in blood from an animal you killed with your bare hands. At this point, what's possible doesn't really matter anymore."

He's quiet for a long moment. When he speaks again, his voice is smaller. "How did Dad die? The letter didn't say."

This is the moment I've been dreading for seven years.

I could tell him the truth. That David was murdered by people who feared what he was. That our son inherited a legacy of violence and persecution. That every day Danny lives is a day someone might decide he's too dangerous to exist.

Or I could lie. Protect him a little longer. Keep him from the worst of it.

"He was killed by his own pack," I say. "For being too powerful."

Danny's face goes pale. "His pack killed him?"

"Werewolf politics are complicated. There are hierarchies, territories, power struggles. Your father was... he was something special. Stronger than the others. They saw him as a threat."

"So they murdered him?"

"They called it an execution. They said he was dangerous. That his bloodline was too powerful, that it needed to be eliminated. He fought back, but there were too many of them."

It's not entirely a lie. David did fight back. There were too many of them. But the rest, the part about why they came for him, about what really happened that night, that I keep locked away.

Danny sinks into a chair, his head in his hands. "And now I'm like him. Which means they'll come for me too."

"Not if they don't know what you are." I move to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "That's why your father bound your wolf. To hide you. To keep you safe."

"But the binding broke."

"Yes."

"Why? Dad's letter said it would only break if I met my fated mate." He looks up at me. "Is it Scarlett? Is that why I can't stop thinking about her?"

I don't answer immediately. I can't. Because if I confirm it, if I tell him that Scarlett Jackson is his mate, then I'm admitting that the one person who could save him is also the one person whose family might destroy him.

"I don't know," I lie. "Maybe."

"You're lying." His voice is flat. "You know something."

"Danny..."

"Stop protecting me! I'm not a kid anymore! I need to know what's happening!"

"You want to know?" I'm shouting now, all the fear and grief and seven years of sobriety breaking apart. "Fine! Yes, she's probably your mate! The timing fits! And if she is, then you're in even more danger than I thought!"

"Why?"

"Because her family..." I catch myself, but it's too late.

"What about her family?"

I turn away, staring at the wall. The calendar hanging there has today's date circled in red. Thursday. AA meeting night. I haven't missed a meeting in seven years.

"Her pack is dangerous," I say finally. "Powerful. If they find out what you are, they'll either try to control you or kill you. There's no in between."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I've been getting letters."

The confession falls out of me before I can stop it. Danny goes very still behind me.

"What letters?"

I walk to the junk drawer and pull out the bundle I've been hiding. Six envelopes, all addressed to me, all with no return address. I drop them on the table.

"They started three weeks ago," I say. "Right around when you met her."

Danny picks up the first letter. His hands shake as he opens it.

I know what your son is. The binding is weakening. When it breaks, there will be consequences.

He opens the second one.

Keep the boy away from the Silvermoon Pack. They cannot know what he is. Not yet.

The third.

The full moon approaches. Has he started dreaming yet? Has he tasted blood?

Danny's face is white. "Who sent these?"

"I don't know. There's no signature, no return address. But whoever it is knows about you. Knows about your father. Knows about the binding."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was hoping..." My voice breaks. "I was hoping I could protect you. That maybe if we just stayed quiet, if you stayed away from that girl, the binding would hold a little longer. That you could have a few more years of being normal."

"I'm not normal, Mom. I never was." He's staring at the letters, reading them over and over. "And now someone out there is watching me. Watching us."

"I'm sorry." The words feel inadequate. "I should have told you sooner. I should have been honest about everything. But I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of losing you." The tears come now, hot and fast. "Your father died trying to protect you. And now you're becoming exactly what got him killed, and I don't know how to keep you safe."

Danny sets down the letters. For a moment, he just stands there, processing. Then he moves around the table and pulls me into a hug.

"You can't keep me safe," he says quietly. "Not from this."

"I can try."

"No." He pulls back, and there's something different in his eyes. Something harder. Older. "I need to figure this out. Learn how to control it. And I can't do that if you're trying to hide me from the world."

"Danny..."

"These letters. Whoever sent them knows things. Maybe they can help."

"Or maybe they're trying to manipulate you." I grip his arms. "Please, just stay away from the werewolves. Especially that girl. Her pack is..."

"Dangerous. You said." He steps back.