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What did she just say? Wyatt’s voice filters through our pack link, breathy and stunned.
What the hell is even happening? All this time, she has had inside information about the organization that is trying to harm us and the girls and decided to keep it to herself, despite knowing it could help?
Makes you wonder what other secrets she’s keeping, right? This comes from Sawyer, who sounds ticked off.
I ignore the silent conversation, focusing only on the dramatic change in the air as suspicion mounts against Hester.
“You share DNA with that fucker?” Sawyer asks, this time out loud. “I guess that explains a lot. This is a family vendetta, right? Sibling rivalry? Did he steal your toys when you were babies and decide to eradicate every single person who is like you?”
For once, Sawyer’s attitude doesn’t rub me the wrong way. Betrayal burns through me nearly as hard as the anger racing through my veins. Fucking bitch. How could she withhold this?
“My brother is not jealous of me, nor am I of him. The only thing that exists between us is pure hate.”
I glance toward Callum and his group. What are they making of this? I can’t read him at all, but the others seem pissed.
“You’re going to tell us everything you know about him.” Cade steps toward her. The look on his face should scare her, but she straightens her shoulders, meeting his angry glare head-on.
“I’m not part of your pack, little wolf. I don’t have to answer to you.”
“No, you don’t.” These rasped words don’t come from Cade, but from Apryle. She’s always supported Hester, but right now she looks as if she is considering wrapping her fingers around her neck and squeezing the life out of her. “But you do owe it to us. We fought at your side. Treated you like family. I can’t believe you would keep something like this—something so important—from us.”
I don’t know if her words have any impact because Hester’s expression is blank. Nothing penetrates the walls she has erected around her.
“All this time you’ve been lying to us,” Apryle hisses, her façade dropping as her anger takes control.
Hester looks contrite, but she doesn’t offer any apology. “It was for your own good. If you’d known, what would you have done with that information anyway?”
Apryle scoffs at her. “I don’t know. Maybe used it to understand the man trying to fucking annihilate us?”
Sawyer smirks. “I knew there was fire in you. I mean, it’s well hidden beneath the acerbic tongue, but I knew it.”
She ignores him, focusing only on Hester. “We trusted you. We came here because you told us it was safe, but all this time you were linked to the enemy. Were you feeding him information about us? Were you just biding your time until you could pass us over to him?” I didn’t even consider that as a possibility. “Is that what this place is? You pretend it’s a safe space while grooming us for your brother?”
Hester squares up to her, her face a mask of rage. I’m a little concerned they might try to kill each other.
“All I have done has been for you and the others. How dare you accuse me of doing anything but that?”
“You knew about him all along. I stood between you and the others, defended you even when your behavior didn’t make sense.” Her lip curls into a disgusted snarl. “How could you do this? How could you lie about something so big? You had no right to keep that from us.”
“The fact that he's my brother doesn’t change anything, Apryle. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m here, not with him. I despise everything he stands for. I will never defend him. He can rot in hell for all I care.”
“It changes everything.” Apryle doesn’t take her eyes off Hester as she says to the rest of us, “Whatever you’re doing, I’m in.”
She steps back, and Roux wraps an arm around her shoulders.
“Tell us what you know,” Halle presses. “We can try and find out for ourselves, but the last time we messed with someone’s mind, it didn’t go so well.”
Dove flinches in my arms, and I run my thumb over the back of her hand, soothing her. It works, because she relaxes into my touch.
“You want to test me? I taught you everything you know.”
Roux steps up behind Halle in a show of solidarity, and Dove slips out of my grasp to stand with them. I keep my wits about me, but I’m ready to protect her if necessary, even though I don’t think she’ll need it.
“Please tell us. There are people out there suffering at the hands of your brother and his hunters. I don’t remember much from the facility, but I do remember the overwhelming fear.” Dove grabs her hand, and I step closer, in case Hester decides to unleash on my woman, but she just looks down at their joined hands before lifting her gaze back to her. “They hurt me, Hester. They used torture devices to keep me in line. And now there is a chance I might have been pregnant and that my baby is out there somewhere. If you know anything, you have to tell us.”
There is a war waging within her eyes, terrible pain rippling across her expression. For the briefest of seconds, I feel bad for her, but then I remember she's been lying to us for months.
“It’s a long and complicated story, but my darling brother has always felt inferior to me and our sister. It didn’t help that our father despised our mother and tried to end her life in every way he could.”
