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“People? Are you talking about Marshall and Mackenzie?”
“Yes.”
William snarled, “Are you the reason they were in that accident?”
“Yes.”
Kenzie gasped. Marshall almost died because of her. She held tighter to Aiden, using his warmth to keep from launching herself at Corine.
She was starting to realize she had a very violent streak when people hurt the ones she loved.
“Why?” Colin asked.
Corine sighed, “Because Andre promised that he could increase the power of the werewolves. That he could make them the strongest supernaturals. He just needed Marshall and Mackenzie. Their power is the key.”
She felt a sudden rush of anger fill the room. She couldn’t tell who it was coming from, but it was almost suffocating. The strength of the emotions made her think it was coming from more than one person. She tried to block it out, but it was too powerful.
She took deep breaths and tried to calm the storm in her mind. She would not allow other people’s emotions to affect her.
There was a pause before Colin continued, “The key to what?”
“I swear I don’t know. But…” She paused, coughed, “I don’t think the prophecy is true. At least, not all of it. The witch, Aster, was a very close friend of his. I think he has been planning this for a very long time. And that prophecy is meant to cause discord with the council, with the packs. It’s to make you not trust the ones it’s about. It’s like he knew they would be born or something.”
Kenzie finally glanced up and looked at Marshall and Chris. They both appeared as confused as she felt. None of this made any sense.
She turned to watch Corine. Her face was red and streaked with tears, but other than that, you would never know she’d been tortured. Physical or not, pain is pain.
The vampires had remained quiet up until this point, but now Nikolai stepped up to Corine, “Aster lived almost six hundred years ago. Even werewolves do not live that long. You are lying.”
Corine’s face morphed into fear, terror that she would be tortured again, “I’m not! I swear I am not lying. I heard him talking about her with one of his men.”
Sabine glared at her, “It is not possible.” She turned to look at Raven, “You have done extensive research on the Beaumont family tree. What have you discovered about Andre’s origins? Do you have the year of his birth?”
Raven shook her head, “Actually no. And I could only find a record as far back as Andre’s grandfather Sebastian Olivier Beaumont. The only dates I found start in nineteen fifty-nine, when Andre married Lila Conte. Rhiannon’s mother.”
No one spoke for a moment.
Nikolai said something quietly to his sister, so low that even with her enhanced hearing, she couldn’t understand what he said. When Arabella nodded, he turned back to the group, “Olivier was the name of one of the original werewolf families.”
William growled, “How do you know that?”
Nikolai shrugged, “Our great-grandfather killed the first patriarch of the line.”
Everyone stared at the vampire for a moment, unsure what to say. William made a frustrated sound before he started to pace, “I know it is said that after the first war, some of the families changed their name to try to hide from the humans. If this Sebastien character was an Olivier originally, maybe he added the name Beaumont.
Sabine nodded in agreement, “That is a reasonable explanation. It was easier back then to hide. Move a few towns over and change your name, and you could disappear. Start over.”
“Sebastien’s wife was infected by a vampire. Could that give future generations longer life?” Raven asked.
For a moment, Kenzie was shocked. She thought they were going to keep that part of the past to themselves. But maybe now wasn’t the time for secrets. It sounded like they might be on to something, so she kept her mouth shut and continued to listen.
Nikolai and Arabella exchanged a look, then Arabella replied, “Yes. It would definitely be possible.”
Sabine gave Raven a side-eyed look, “You kept this information from us.”
Raven squirmed, but nodded, “It did not seem pertinent that you knew at the time.”
“Hm.” Sabine looked back to Corine, “All of this is fascinating really, but it does not tell us what Andre is planning. So, he is very possibly older than dirt, but that does not explain why he needs the Alpha and his sister.”
