Nico and I walked over and glanced into the safe. All that was inside was a thick eight-inch by twelve-inch sealed envelope with a piece of paper sitting on top of it. My fingers trembled as I reached inside. This was important. I could feel it in my bones. Every bit of laughter was now a distant memory. The safe was so well hidden that the odds of me finding it accidentally were astronomical. I felt Nico’s presence beside me, but I couldn’t look at him. My eyes were locked on the letter.
Maddy,
I knowyou have so many questions. All I can say is I’m sorry I can’t answer them in person. I know that your wolf has awoken and that the royals have found you. I’m sorry that this is something you’ll have to go through, but I know you're strong enough. My girl can handle anything. I know it.
You need to understand the truth about your lineage and your history. It’s a lot, and I’m sorry, it won’t be easy learning what it is that’s sharing your body with you. It’s all in the envelope. Read it, understand it, and be careful.
I love you.
My entire bodywas shaking by the time I was done reading the letter. Somehow, I managed to reach into the safe and pull theenvelope out. It felt much heavier than it should have. The seam was almost calling out to me, demanding to be torn open. As much as I wanted to, another, stronger part of me was too afraid. All I’d wanted was answers, and now that they were here, in my hand, I was terrified to know.
“We should get out of here, Maddy. It doesn’t feel safe anymore.”
All I did was nod at him and tuck the envelope under my arm. Nico put his arm around me, leading me out. He was on edge, glancing all around, ready for anything. We hustled to the car as quickly as we could. Nico got me into the passenger seat and then walked quickly to his side of the car and got in. Before he could start it, a shadow moved toward the back of the house.
“What is that?” I asked, pointing through the windshield.
Nico leaned forward, squinting. “It looks like a person. They’re running through the woods. I bet that’s who was in the house with us.”
He grabbed his door handle, probably to jump out and go after them, but he froze. I saw it at the same time he did. Black smoke was billowing from the back of the house. Within seconds, flames were licking up toward the shingles of the roof.
“Shit,” Nico hissed. “They lit it up. We gotta go. If we’re here when the cops and fire trucks arrive, they’ll have a shit ton of questions we can’t answer. Buckle up.”
I did as he asked, and within seconds, we were racing down the road back toward the highway. I glanced back one more time before we turned. The roof was already fully engulfed. It was burning fast. There was a momentary pang of sadness. That had been the place my birth mother had called home. In a few minutes, it would be nothing but ashes. A question nagged at the back of my mind. Had she set the fire? The shadow disappearing into the forest—could that have been her?
55
NICO
It didn’t take long before the house fire hit the news. We heard it on a radio traffic report as we drove back home. The drive was mostly in silence as we both tried to process what we’d seen and discovered at the house. I had to admit, I was fairly freaked out by the whole experience. The house had been creepy, and having the shadowy stranger appear and fuck with us at the end was enough to send goosebumps rising all over my skin.
I glanced over at Maddy. She was looking through the windshield, a look of worried concentration on her face. The envelope from the safe was lying flat on her thighs—her fingers curled tightly around it. She hadn’t even attempted to open it. My own curiosity was screaming to know what was in there, but I knew Maddy was going through a lot, and she didn’t need me pressuring her to open it. She would need to do it in her own time.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
Maddy blinked and turned to me. “Not really, but we can stop if you are.”
“No, it’s fine. I do need gas, though, so I may grab a snack at the gas station.”
“Okay.”
I reached over and squeezed her thigh reassuringly, then took her hand in mine. Maddy sighed and relaxed a little bit. I needed to make sure she knew I was there for her. With everything she was going through, it was the least I could do. Honestly, it was pretty much theonlything I could do. If I’d gone through as much as she had and discovered so many earth-shattering revelations, I probably wouldn’t have held up nearly as well as she was. Still, at some point, we would have to open the envelope.
By the time we finally got home, Maddy looked ready to pass out. It was still early afternoon, but I could tell by looking at her that she desperately needed a nap.
“Let’s get you inside and into bed. You can sleep for a couple of hours.”
Maddy opened her car door and nodded. “That sounds great.”
I led her up to the bedroom and helped her get her shoes and pants off before tucking her in. I kissed her forehead once and then her lips. “Rest up. I love you.”
“Love you too.” As Maddy said it, her eyes flicked to the nightstand where the envelope sat.
I didn’t say anything about it. Instead, I turned the light off and closed her door. As I headed back downstairs, I pulled out my phone and texted Luis, Sebastian, and Dad. I wanted them to all come over so I could tell them exactly what had gone down when we were in Naples. It was important for me to keep my inner circle in the loop. The whole situation was becoming overwhelming. There was no way to know if any of them would have any major insight, but if nothing else, it would feel good to share the burden of knowledge with them. I wished Felipe couldbe there, but he was still in Alabama. Hopefully, his trip wouldn’t be for naught.
I headed outside and got our bags out of the car, and Dad was already walking up the street toward my house. It hadn’t taken him long to get my text.
“Well, you look like a wrung-out dish towel, boy,” Dad said as he stepped up and leaned on my car.
