“You two were supposed to protect her!” Sebastian’s voice sliced through the room, filled with rage, jolting me awake.
“What did you expect us to do?” Ethan retorted sharply. “You might have wanted to tie her up and lock her away, but we protected her with everything we had-more than you’ve ever done.”
“Yes, I would have locked her away,” Sebastian shot back, his anger wavering as his voice cracked. “My own daughter, a white wolf. Can you possibly understand the danger this puts her in? You both are nothing more than children playing at being Alpha.”
“Do not overstep your authority here, Sebastian,” Kieran’s voice was icy, colder than I had ever heard it. Fear tingled down my spine, worrying for Sebastian. I could taste Kieran’s anger like my own, a metallic tang in my mouth. “While you may be her father, we are her mates. You are in our pack, and you will treat us with respect. Children or not, we can dismantle your pack.”
“All of us understand the danger she is in, Sebastian. She is your daughter. Show some compassion. We can’t just lock her away and hope the world forgets,” Ethan and Kieran’s father interjected calmly. “Now that the world knows, word will spread. All we can do is work together to keep her safe. Could you put aside your differences for Sophia’s sake?”
“I will never agree with the position your children hold in my daughter’s life, but yes, for Sophia, I will,” Sebastian responded after a pause, resignation and worry evident in his voice.
Sebastian was not the father figure I had imagined, but I was beginning to understand him better. Feeling his emotions gave me more insight than I had before. Where I once resented him-even hated him-I now understood his concern. Sebastian cared in his own way, albeit superficially based on my position in his pack. He worried that my status as a white wolf would put me in danger. Despite his fear, worry, and anxiety, I could feel his pride too. He was proud a white wolf had come from him, that one lived within his family.
“You do not seem surprised by this revelation, Williams,” Ethan remarked.
Ethan’s words drew my attention to Williams. His emotions washed over me, and my body stiffened as my eyes snapped open. Shock surged through me, forcing a groan from my throat.
Light flooded my vision, and I winced against the pain behind my eyes. I lay on a couch, feeling smooth fabric against my skin. Glancing down, embarrassment flushed my cheeks-someone had dressed me. Ethan or Kieran, I hoped.
Standing a few feet away were Sebastian, Williams, Ethan, Kieran, and their parents. My mouth moved, words raspy but understood perfectly.
“He already knows. Don’t you, Uncle?” I managed to speak.
All eyes snapped to me, and I felt Williams’s guilt wash over me in waves. He had known and said nothing. Their surprised looks confirmed he had kept the truth from his own brother.
The pieces clicked into place. I now understood how Williams had known. I had shifted only once before, during my escape. If I couldn’t sense emotions, I would have been furious.
Williams had betrayed his family, tried to have his own niece captured. Despite that, I sensed no malice or ill intentions from Williams, only intense guilt.
Ethan and Kieran surged forward, pinning Williams against the wall with enough force to shatter hanging pictures. Kieran’s voice was low, a guttural snarl.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”
I pulled myself up from the couch, legs wobbling. Still weak, I managed to hobble over to Ethan and Kieran. Placing a hand on each shoulder, I fought against the rage that threatened to consume me.
“Don’t kill him,” I pleaded. “Let him go, please.”
“Let him go?” Kieran growled, turning to meet my gaze, his rage subsiding slightly. “We can piece this together ourselves. You shifted before, the time you were almost captured. Looks like Williams’s been trying to screw over his family.”
“He did try to capture me, but not for the reasons you think,” I interjected. “Guys, you know I can feel what he feels. I don’t know why he did it, but he didn’t do it to harm me. I can tell you that much.”
“You can feel emotions?” Sebastian scoffed, running a hand down his face. “Well, that explains what you did on the battlefield.”
“Please, let him go,” I repeated, ignoring Sebastian momentarily. “I want to hear his explanation.”
Reluctantly, Ethan and Kieran released Williams but remained close beside me, protective and vigilant. They flanked me like towering, slightly overbearing bodyguards. I didn’t mind their protectiveness; it was the only thing that truly made me feel safe.
“Thanks for that, kid,” Williams grunted, straightening his shirt.
“Explain,” Ethan demanded sharply. “You’ll find we’re not as kind or patient as Sophia.”
“When I was your age, I didn’t know what I was either. Sebastian and I are half-brothers. Our father was a despicable man. He didn’t want a half-breed bastard sullying the family name, so he cast me aside as a child. Unlike you, I wasn’t the firstborn. Half-breeds have a thirty percent chance of shifting. As an Alpha’s son, my odds were higher. When I finally shifted at eighteen, he found me useful.” Williams’s tone was bitter, his disdain for his father clear.
“I ran like you did. The difference is, no one came looking for me. I shifted alone and stayed alone. It was sheer luck that made me Alpha of a band of rogues. I nearly died a dozen times. I wanted to spare you from that fate. You didn’t know me, so you wouldn’t listen. My methods were questionable, but I couldn’t let you make the same mistakes I did.”
Ethan and Kieran looked at me, and I nodded in confirmation. “He’s telling the truth.”
I wanted to remain angry at Williams, but feeling the emotions of others made it difficult. I sensed only concern and sincerity from him. While I’d never consider him family, he acted with what he thought was best at the time. Now that Ethan and Kieran were by my side, no one would dare threaten me again.
“You know what you did was wrong, right?” I raised an eyebrow at Williams, who shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.
“No need to scold me like a child, kid,” he grumbled, brushing back his long hair. “I messed up. Didn’t count on you having two Alpha mates. It would have been nice to know, Sebastian.”
“It wasn’t your concern then,” Sebastian snapped at his half-brother before turning to me. “Now that Williams’s life isn’t in immediate danger, we need to discuss the consequences of your actions, Sophia.”
“Don’t even try that, Sebastian,” I snapped back, narrowing my eyes. Despite feeling others’ emotions, I wouldn’t become a pushover.
Sebastian had no right to blame me. Ethan and Kieran were in trouble, and I knew he would have done the same for his mate. “I could feel Ethan’s pain. I didn’t know what happened, and given the choice, I’d do it all over again.”
“You’re not just any white wolf, Sophia,” Sebastian shot back. “You’re heir to not one but two packs. Moreover, you’re the mate of two Alphas. You may not grasp your place in our world, but let me enlighten you. Once you inherit all three packs, you’ll become the most powerful werewolf in millennia.”
“I understand; I’ll be the Luna of the largest pack in the country,” I replied wearily, sighing deeply. “Ethan and Kieran already told me this, Sebastian.”
“Did they mention the High Table?” Sebastian scoffed, his gaze flicking to Ethan and Kieran.
“The High Table?” I asked, frowning at the three of them. “What does the High Table have to do with anything?”
“I hoped they might overlook Sophia, but now that she’s a white wolf, I’m afraid there’s no avoiding it,” Ethan and Kieran’s father sighed.
“No, there’s no avoiding it,” Sebastian agreed bitterly. “They’ll want to meet her, analyze her abilities, and when the time comes, there will be an open seat at the table.”