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“Just listen,” my father snapped. “At first, Kali didn’t know who he was. She thought he was human. Then after a few months, Kali got pregnant. No one else in the pack knew who the father was. But I knew it was the demon.” I sucked in a sharp breath. “When she told the demon about her pregnancy, he tried to have her killed. So, she hid behind the barrier and never went out again.”
“That was why you didn’t allow us to leave,” Raika whispered. “It wasn’t because you wanted to punish us. You were protecting us.”
I stared from Raika to my father, back to Raika. “You’re buying all of this.”
Raika shifted her blue eyes to me, her gaze downcast. “Shane, I think … I think it’s true.”
It was like being punched in the gut. “What?” But then … that would make her half-wolf, half-demon.
Just like Conri had been.
12
RAIKA
A lightning boltcut down the cliff’s face, too close for comfort. I jumped back. When the thunder followed, I pressed my hands over my ears.
“The barrier and the crystals neutralized your demon side,” Franc continued as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on us. “And, if your father ever tried finding you, he couldn’t. At least, he wouldn’t be able to cross the barrier to get to you. But now that the crystals were disrupted, I imagine your demon side isn’t so quiet anymore.”
I stared at my hands. It was better than looking at Shane and seeing the hurt in his eyes. “The first time was when Conri first attacked.” There was no reason to lie anymore. “Phell killed my mother, but when he threw his shadows at me, I was able to deflect them. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I thought it had been his magic failing.”
Shane went still. He seemed to be barely breathing.
“Maybe the situation was so intense, and being among darkfire, you were able to tap into it yourself,” Franc said. “Darkfire is what a demon’s dark magic is called.”
My magic even had a special name.
I lowered my hands and stared at him. “I did it again, during the last attack, when Shane killed Conri. Dixon had stolen the crystals and I ran after him. But Phell stopped me. He tried killing me, and I turned the darkfire against him. I killed him.”
That made so much sense now, but it still made me sick to my stomach.
Franc nodded. “I had several problems with your mother, but I had made her a promise that I would keep you both safe inside the barrier. That is gone now.”
A realization came to me. I tilted my head. “You hate me. You always treated me like dirt. But it wasn’t because I was the omega, was it?” Franc’s jaw ticked, just like Shane did when he was upset or enraged. “It was because I’m half-demon.”
Franc stared at me. That was confirmation enough.
“You lied to me,” Shane whispered.
I flinched. Dear moon, I wasn’t ready to face him. I looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry.”
He scoffed. “Sorry doesn’t really cut it, does it?”
No, it probably didn’t. And I knew that no matter what I said, Shane’s anger wouldn’t dissipate easily.
I glanced at him. “Shane, we can argue about this later. Right now, focus on your father. We only have a couple more minutes with him.”
Shane stared at me for a few seconds, his eyes dark and hard. My heart wilted inside my chest. Then he faced his father, his body coiled, ready to explode. “We have the crystals back, but no barrier, and a sleeping dragon. What’s your advice?”
“I … I don’t have any,” Franc said simply. “If I knew who the original witch coven was, I would tell you to contact them and ask them to redo the spell. Keep the dragon sleeping, redo the barrier, and contain Raika’s magic.”
“Could we try that with another witch coven?” I asked.
Franc shrugged. “If they are powerful enough and okay with keeping the dragon down there, it could work.”
Shane frowned. “This witch coven, is there any clue about them? Any hidden pack archive, or whatever?”
Franc shook his head. “If there is, my father didn’t tell me about it.”
