Chapter 63 You're Wrong
What? I’m so beyond confused, and I feel like a horribly planned joke is being played on me. I’m sure my face shows my confusion as I don’t even try to hide my dismay at his words.
“Your parents are werewolf hunters. They killed Garrett and almost killed me.” He says again, slower as though it’ll make me believe him.
“Oh my gosh, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you saying that? Is this some kind of sick joke? That’s really fucked up to use your dead friend like that.” I’m beyond annoyed at his accusations, which I can’t seem to make sense of.
He steps closer to me, putting one of his hands on my shoulder. The look he’s giving me makes me feel sick. He’s not laughing, he’s not saying that I found him out. No, he’s looking at me with pure, undeniable pity. Pity. I furrow my brows, my eyes widen as I nearly recoil back at his pity.
“What?” My voice is so quiet I barely hear it myself.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize them until your dad picked up the axe. But I remember them. It was them.”
My eyes focus on his. I can’t feel my own body. I don’t blink, stuck in the absolute terror of his words. “No,” I don’t even mean to say i,t but I can’t help it.
“You have to be wrong.” I pull away from him, making his arm drop to his side. He doesn’t make any move to come closer, allowing me to put distance between us. “That’s impossible. You don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re just confused.”
He shakes his head. “I know it’s hard to believe, but-”
“Hard to believe!? It’s impossible to believe! You met my mom; she’s the kindest person on earth. She would never hurt an animal, let alone a human being. And how would you know it’s hard? It doesn’t look to be too difficult for you right now.” I yell at him, not caring that he may not deserve it.
“It is hard for me. It’s hard for me to fully trust that you didn’t know anything about them. It’s hard for me to convince everyone that you aren’t a hunter like them. It’s hard for me to have to tell you the truth.” He doesn’t raise his voice when talking to me calmly, even though I yelled at him.
“How do you know for sure? You could be wrong; it’s not like my parents are the most unique-looking people on earth. How can you say for certain it’s them?” I plead with him, tears streaming down my face. I have no control over my body right now.
“Everything adds up to it being them, their job, your living history, even that damn perfume they made for you. It’s a werewolf repellent. I smelt it once when I fought your mom off.”
My stomach drops, and I feel like I can’t breathe. My legs feel numb as they give out, making me thump onto the ground. He rushes to me, kneeling where I sit. I look at him through my teary eyes. He’s telling the truth. And what he says makes sense.
My parents are murderers.
They murdered an innocent kid.
I try to blink to clear my tears, but it does little to help. “I didn’t know Alec, I swear I really didn’t.” I grab his hand in mine, trying to get him to believe me.
“I know Anneliese. I know.” He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him.
I don’t mean to cry so much. I don’t mean to sob loudly. But it hurts to know that my whole life, my parents have lied to me. They aren’t the people I thought they were. They are cold blooded mruderers. They killed Garrett, a sixteen-year-old boy. They lied about everything. Every time we moved, it wasn’t for their work. It was to kill more people. Every private investigation client that was so valuable in another state was a bounty on another person’s life.
My sweet angelic mom. How could she be so kind to me but kill kids my age? How could she be so wonderful to strangers but kill others because of them being werewolves?
My father, who always taught me to defend myself, used those same skills on innocent, unsuspecting people. They almost killed Alec. They almost took my soulmate away from me.
Oh my gosh, is that why we’re here? Is that why they put me into the camp so they could hunt his pack? I stop crying at the thought.
“Is the pack okay?” My voice is hoarse and broken from the crying.
“Yes, we’re okay. It doesn’t seem like they’ve found us yet.”
So that is why I’m here. We came to this place so that they could kill a pack. So they could kill a group of innocent people.
“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, Alec.” I repeat over and over. I feel so guilty knowing if I had just paid more attention, maybe I would’ve realized it sooner. Maybe I could’ve saved people.
“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.” He pulls me away enough to look me in the eyes.
“There is nothing you could’ve done. Don’t blame yourself for something they did.”
He’s right, I didn’t know back then. I couldn’t have done much back then, but I know now. I can do something now. I have to do something now. My soulmate’s life is on the line. His family, his pack, my friends. But what could I possibly do? They’re my parents. I’m only a human.
“Are you calmer now?” He asks, pulling away from me.
I don’t think I’ll ever be fully calm again, but I nod, I feel better than I did a few minutes ago. My life has been changed because of some stupid parents' day at the camp.
“I know it’s a lot right now, and I’m sorry we can’t take this slower, but I think it’d be best if you could meet my parents right now so we can all talk about this.”
I would much prefer just lying in bed alone for the next week, but I want to help in any way I can. I can’t sit back now that I know.
“Sure, can I go to the bathroom first?”