“Technically, I’m the one who called you a shit show,” Silas corrects.
I gasp and slap his firm chest. “That’s right! That was you!”
Silas pulls me closer, his lips brushing my neck. “My deepest apologies, mate. I wouldn’t trade this shit show for anything else in the world.”
I laugh.
Grayson’s shoulders drop as he visibly relaxes, then he reaches out and takes my foot in his hands. His thumb digs into my arch, which is a good start to an apology.
“About Ghost...” he says, kneading deeper. “We already knew. He told us. Showed us, really.”
So, not an apology. They knew about Ghost and didn’t tell me that either.
I think I should be mad, but I’m not. I just feel… sad.
Ghost will always be the missing piece.
“Did he tell you… does he still want to leave?”
Orion leans back in his chair. “I don’t think it’s that simple for him. But, to be fair, he didn’t say one way or another. He’s surprisingly efficient at evading topics.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” I mutter. I stare at the darkened silhouette of the mountains for a moment before asking, “So… why didn’t you tell me about Kendrick?”
No one jumps to answer right away. Then Orion shifts in his seat. “He asked us not to say anything yet. And honestly, with everything else happening, I thought you were dealing with enough already.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since he arrived, right after you were taken. He took one step inside the cabin and knew. Andrea and Eli only knew because they overheard him call you his daughter.”
It feels weird to know we’re related. I don’t think of Kendrick as a father—I mean, how could I? I don’t even know the man. He’s been gone all my life.
I have questions. A lot of them. But I want to ask him, not the guys. I want to know if I have a mother out there. Where he’s been, why I grew up with Paulie fucking Gresser as a father figure.
The wolfsbane alcohol is burning off even faster now. That weight of the world, the one I felt earlier, feels heavier now. Like a boulder sitting on my chest.
As if he can sense it—to be fair, through the bond, he probably can—Silas hugs me closer, letting his purr rumble softly against my shoulder.
He mutters, “You know, Deidre said you were the daughter of the most powerful shifter. I probably should have put two and two together, but my head was just… busy. I should havetold you that, though, and we could have figured it out sooner, together.”
I smile into him. “It’s okay, Silas. It doesn’t matter now.” My fingers trace the jagged scar on his hand, a pale distortion cutting through the midnight ink of the wolf silhouette tattoo.
His anxiety spikes the more attention I draw to it, his purr coming out in choppy bursts like a stalling engine. He tries so hard to be normal. Tries to pretend he’s okay, like that haunted look in his green eyes isn’t there. Turning in his arms, I frame his stubbled face with my hands, feeling the nerves and heat radiate from his skin. My thumbs brush over his high cheekbones, fingers digging softly around his ears. “I love you, Silas.”
It shouldn’t be a shock, yet he acts like it is. Emotions pass over his face—like always, smoke behind glass, constant and unsettled—unease, joy. And love, warm as honey. He leans in and our lips brush in the barest of kisses.
“I love you too, Mona,” he whispers against my lips.
When he pulls away, I turn again, this time climbing awkwardly into Grayson’s lap, forgetting momentarily that Silas is still naked, though none of the guys seem to notice or care. Gray tugs me faster than I move, his calloused hands firm on my waist, and I land against his hard body.
“I don’t want to be mad at you.”
He sighs. And because Grayson just can’t help himself, he says tightly, “We did what we thought was best for you. I won’t apologize for making decisions on your behalf, even if that upsets you.”
I’m still just buzzed enough to laugh. “Why do you have to ruin it?”
He grumbles under his breath, but I grip his ears, less adoringly than I did to Silas. “Grayson, the man is my father. I mean, my fuckingfather. You should have told me.”
He squirms as much as a man as dominant and large as he can. “My job is to keep you safe—”
