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This time, it was Kao who answered. "The night he... became that way... there was a Blood Moon in the sky."
"According to Roxanne, a wolf who prays to the Blood Moon for power in the heat of anger becomes a Berserker Wolf. Which basically means my wolf now has a bloodlust craving for death and blood," Kai explained.
So, there it was, the reason why Kai freaked out when he heard about the Blood Moon's gift from Del. It wasn't the New Moon after all, but it was something just as lethal. I didn't know much about the Blood Moon, or this Berserker Wolf that Kai became. Kai already asked Del about the Blood Moon's Chosen, and it was revealed to be a woman, not him. That meant it wasn't a Moon Chosen situation. Then, what was it? What exactly were we dealing with?
"Do you know anything about the Blood Moon?" I asked Rowan since he was the oldest, therefore he may know something we didn't.
He shook his head. "Not much. I know it's geared more towards vampires, but that's all I know."
"The Blood Moon is the strongest full moon that effects vampires and their thirst for blood." We all turned towards the door where Roxanne was leaning against the wall, watching us as she continued explaining. "Think of it as a vampire version of the Wolf Moon. A vampire feels the Blood Moon calling, its need for blood growing so strongly that even the most sane of vampires are unable to control whose blood they drink from."
"How do you know so much about it?" I asked.
"Books," she stated matter-of-factly. "I told you I did a lot of reading."
"Anything in your books say anything about breaking this curse on my brother?" Kao asked with a scowl.
"Afraid not, pup. Like I told Kai, the effects of the berserker rage are permanent. That's why he came to me wondering if his share of the Wolf Moon's gift would be enough to control his Berserker Wolf."
There went another piece of the puzzle. Kai was hoping that if he couldn't cure himself, that he could maybe control it. Honestly it wasn't a bad idea. The Wolf Moon's gift made its chosen and their mates immune to any and all influences. In theory, it should tame his Berserker Wolf. Taking a sip of the coffee Abuelita brought over, I let the hot liquid settle my anxiety before we continued further with this discussion.
"How did this Berserker Wolf issue come about in the first place?" I asked the twins. "When and why did this happen?"
The twins exchanged a look, mentally preparing themselves to divulge their history. I was stuck on the fact that it was Kai who became a berserker, not Kao. What could've happened to make him so angry that he prayed to the Blood Moon for strength. I had a feeling that whatever they were going to reveal to us, it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Kai and I have been in foster care for as long as we can remember," Kao began. "We never knew our parents, or what happened to them. Heh, we didn't even know we were shifters until the night we shifted for the first time. Remember that, Kai?"
Kai chuckled at the memory. "We were six, and it was the night of a full moon. Long story short, our foster parents at the time found us sleeping in the woods naked and covered in dirt."
"I remember Kao mentioning you guys were adopted," I said, remember the conversation we had, and how I wanted to know more about it. At the time, I left it alone because I could tell that it pained Kao to recall the events of when he was adopted by a human family. Now I was finally getting the opportunity to hear more about it, but I wished it could’ve happened differently.
Kao winced at my words. "It's not something we like talking about. Needless to say, our selection of foster parents wasn’t the best. Some were better than others, but none that we ever got to call home."
"Except for our last foster parents," Kai replied flatly. Something in the tone of his voice told me this was where the root of the problem began.
"What happened?" I asked.
"We were ten," Kai said. "We were selected to stay with this rich couple named Wayne and Bianca. We thought this was our lucky break. We got to stay in a big, beautiful mansion with plenty of room for us to run, play, and get better with shifting. At first Wayne and Bianca seemed nice. They never got to have kids of their own, so they wanted to adopt. I never understood why they wanted us, but when you're a child in the foster system, you never think about why they want you. You're just grateful that someone picked you."
"We were suckers." Kao picked up on the conversation. "We didn't realize what we were walking into until it was too late."
"What happened?" Joaquin asked, listening intently.
"Nothing at first. For the most part, they left us alone to play with our toys and have fun. Wayne worked ridiculous hours in his office, so we rarely got to see him, and Bianca was always out shopping. We didn't mind, since we were so used to it being only the two of us. But then we noticed how easily aggravated Wayne was getting. First it was minor things like toys scattered in the halls, or our beds weren't made. Then he began throwing things, breaking glass, and shouting profanities." Looking to his twin, Kao added, "For some reason, he began singling Kai out for his anger and frustration."
My jaw nearly hit the floor as a stab of pain and fury struck my heart. One look around showed me that the rest of the men who were listening were just as taken aback. All except for Roxanne, whom I guess already knew about this. I doubted Kai told her upfront since he didn't bother to tell me. Which meant she read his mind and saw the events through his eyes. I was glad I couldn't see it, because there was no telling how I would've reacted if I saw a grown man harming a then ten-year-old Kai.
A distant memory of my own came back to me, recalling something Kao told me a while ago.
"I couldn't protect him. Just like when I couldn't protect him when we were kids. I'm weak."
My eyes went to Kao with a new sense of clarity. Was that what he was referring to every time he mentioned being too weak to protect anybody? Did he blame himself for whatever Kai went through by this Wayne guy? He must've sensed the question in my mind and gave me the faintest of nods.
"Your foster dad, did he..." Byron hesitated to finish his sentence. "Had he ever..."
It took a minute to register what he was asking, but when I finally got it, I wanted to throw up. Please don't tell me that bastard forced himself onto Kai. If he did, the fucker better be dead, because if he was still walking this Earth, I was going to massacre him.
Thankfully, Kai shook his head. "He never raped me. He just liked beating me up and having me wear his bruises."
