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8
I drove through town as fast as I could without breaking the law or driving off a cliff as the rain poured from the clouds. I needed to get somewhere I could be alone. Once I couldn’t take it anymore, I pulled over to the side of the road and ripped open my father’s letter.
The paper had yellowed with age, but the handwriting on the envelope matched the words inside. It looked as if my father had ripped the paper from his journal after he wrote them. The ink was smudged in places from his fingers. My hands trembled as I read.
Hey Peanut,
If you’re reading this, I am gone, and you finally know the truth. So, please let me start by saying, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for every lie, every secret, every time I yelled, or chastised you.
Evie, I am so damn proud of you. There aren’t words for how much I love you. I’m writing this now as you sleep on my office couch, curled up like a pup before the fire. I can only hope I get to see you grow. To see your first love, your first car, your first turn. But I fear I won’t get anywhere near that. So, I’m writing this to tell you the only advice I have that I know will last.
First, you may not be the daughter of Veronica Bishop, but you aremydaughter. You havemyblood in your veins, and one day that blood will make you the Alpha of our pack. A job I know you will conquer with ease. So be brave, hold your head high, and never let anyone, not even your stepmother hold you back. You were born to be a queen.
The second thing isn’t actually advice but is something I think you’ll want to hear. Selene Beaumont. I’ve searched for her off and on for years. I don’t know why she never told me she was pregnant. I don’t know why she left you on my doorstep all alone. All I know is that she’s out there, she’s alive, and I loved her just as much as I love you. Even now, when I look at you, you remind me of her.
Peanut, please forgive me. Everything I’ve ever done was to protect you, and when I’m gone, I know Grandma Annie will do the same. You can trust her.
I love you, My Darling.
Love Always,
Dad
Hot tears burned in my eyes as I laid my head back against the seat rest. His voice echoed through my mind with every word. He’d lied to me. They all had. He let me think my own mother hated me. He let me think that I’d done something wrong, and I didn’t. It was him. He’d slept with someone else. He’d forced Ronnie to take me in, to claim me. No wonder she’d despised me. I was proof of his infidelity.
Anger and an overwhelming pain ripped through my chest, as my fingers tightened around the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. The wolf inside me ragged, it wanted out it want to…
The haze before my eyes cleared and I realized I wasn’t parked in the middle of nowhere. My instincts had carried me to the one place I was supposed to be safe. The one place I was supposed to have a refuge.
Getting out of the car into the deluge, I shoved my way into Annie’s front garden. Tears and rain blurred my vision. I felt claws rip from my fingertips, and I snarled. Annie had lied to me. Everyone had lied to me.
Roses, and leaves slipped through my fingers. Screams of fury ripped through my throat. My arms throbbed with the effort of tearing the hedges apart. I felt the hot blood spraying over my fingers as the thorns and brambles cut my skin.
Turning around, I spotted the fountain, and my hands found the edge of the stone basin. I shoved once, and the structure rocked. I growled and pushed again.
“Eve!” Someone shouted in the distance, but I ignored them trying a third time to topple the fountain.
“Stop,” the voice said, speaking again. This time it was closer. I could feel his warmth behind me, and as he reached for my shoulder, I whirled around slamming my hands into Jamie’s chest.
“Don’t touch me,” I snarled, shoving him to the ground.
“What is going on?” He roared, getting back to his feet.
A growl rumbled out of me instead of an answer and I swung at him with my claws extended. He batted my hand aside, and I lost my balance, stumbling forward into his arms. He caught my wrists, and suddenly I was enveloped in his embrace.
“Eve, stop. Please you’re mid-turn. You have to breathe,” he hissed in my ear.
“No! She lied to me,” I wailed, trying to break free. “She lied to me.”
“Okay, but you can’t change, the neighbors are too close. If they see you, Adrian will make me kill you,” he spat, dragging me down into the dirt. “Please, calm down.”
I closed my eyes, trying to take a breath, to figure out how to get away, but I couldn’t. The energy pulsing through my limbs wanted out. I was going to change whether I wanted to or not.
“Listen to me,” Jamie hissed, grabbing a hold of my biceps, and yanking me around to face him. “You have to breathe. There are too many humans in this area. You cannot turn.”
“I can’t help it,” I whimpered, grabbing at his chest, balling his soaking shirt in my hands. “It wants out. My energy is too wild.”
“Shhhh.” He touched his forehead to mine. “Just breathe. You’re stronger than this. You can control it. Just breathe.”
