~ Ajag ~
"He's Sy's father?"
I glanced at Rad when he asked that. I'd never told another living soul about Sy's parentage, so this was a big thing for me. I was terrified to say more, but if Rad was right, he and Val might be able to help me save Sy from a monster.
"Have you ever heard of a place called the Greenville Academy?"
"It's some fancy private academy for shifters in Maryland, isn't it?" Val asked.
"It is." I nodded. "It's funded by Payne and a bunch of his cronies. It caters to the shifter elite. It's also run like a military academy."
Val's eyebrows lifted. "A military academy?"
"The social elite send their pups there when they act out and don't behave like they believe shifters should and they pay through the nose for this privilege."
"What does this have to do with Payne being Sy's biological father?" Rad asked.
"At last count, nine of the students at Greenville Academy were all biological children of Elder Payne."
Val sat forward, his lifted eyebrows instantly snapping together as he frowned. "How can that be? Elder Payne isn't even mated."
"Well, as we all know, you don't need to be mated in order to have a kid. However, in Payne's case, he convinced women all over the United States that they were mates. He even bit them. Once they had a kid, he waited until they were five years old and then took custody or simply took the kid and then sent them to the academy to be trained to be the perfect little wolves, ones totally loyal to him."
Neither Val or Rad said anything for several minutes, both mulling over what I'd said until Rad asked, "How do you know this?"
"My mother was one of those women. Unfortunately for her, she was one of the smarter ones and figured out Payne's game early on."
"Why unfortunately?" Rad asked.
I swallowed tightly before answering, "Because he killed her."
"He killed her?"
I nodded. "Sy and I don't have the same father. Mine passed away when I was about ten years old. I was away at college when she met Payne and he convinced her that they were mates. After Sy was born, Payne moved on to his next victim, leaving my mom to deal with pregnancy and raising a kid all on her own."
"But you said—"
"The pups can't attend the academy until they are at least five years old. Payne's game plan is to show up for their fifth birthday and either pay off the mothers and take the kid, threaten them, or simply take the kid. Since he's on the council, he can squash any complaints filed against him."
"Sy is three," Rad insisted. "If what you are saying is true, Payne wouldn't even be coming for him for another two years."
True, but there was more to my story and it involved things Rad had no concept of. I wasn't sure whether he was going to be shocked or horrified when I shared the rest with him.
"I was happy for my mother when she told me she had found someone, but I wanted to know who he was so I started investigating him. That's how I knew about the Greenville Academy. When Sy was about ten months old, I took everything I had found on Payne to my mother. To say she was pissed is an understatement."
Val snorted. "Wouldn't you be?"
"Oh, I was plenty pissed, but not as much as my mother. She asked me to take Sy to the park while she called him and basically handed him his head. When I got back I..." Tears sprouted to my eyes. "I found my mother dead on the floor. She's been stabbed."
"How do you know it was Payne that did it?"
"Because he was still there."
Rad's eyes widened. "Did he hurt you?"
"Yes and no."
"Which is it?" Rad asked in a rather heated tone. "Either he hurt you or he didn't."
