“Right, but if it helps figure this out, I’ll even start checking into your old pets. Maybe you had a dog that got Javi’s dogpregnant and he’s looking for child support. Come on, what was the guy’s name?”
Maddy looked up at the sky, her lips pursed. Finally, she shook her head in frustration. “I can barely remember it. Hang on, let me log in.”
I handed her my phone and watched as she typed away at the screen for a few minutes. I knew something was wrong when she frowned. “I don’t understand. It’s gone.”
I sat forward and tilted the phone screen so I could see. The DNA match window showed zero matches. Like there’d never been anything there to begin with.
“That’s bullshit,” Maddy said. “Abi was there, she saw it, she can vouch for it. There was one name there. Now it’s gone? What the hell?”
That didn’t make any sense. Not one single person in the world was linked to her? How was that even possible? A sudden sadness filled me. Maddy had to feel pretty alone. She had her adoptive parents, but not having any idea where you came from had to be a little depressing. “Do you remember any part of the name?” I prompted.
Maddy let out a frustrated sigh. “It was a weird name. I remember that. I can’t be a hundred percent sure but…Udimus? Aidmos…Edemas?” Her eyes brightened. “I think that’s it. Edemas.”
A thousand phantom spiders seemed to be crawling up my spine. That name. What was that name, and why did it send shudders of fear through me as soon as she said it? Something from the past. My mind flitted through all the pack history I’d learned as a kid—thousands of years of lore and legends.
I remembered that name. It was unique. Connections started snapping together in my mind. Fog lifted and memory became certainty. The name had been unique, and the man it belonged to had been a madman.
Oh shit. No way. It couldn’t be. That was…impossible.
“Maddy?” My voice betrayed my fear and wonder. “This Edemas? Was his full name Edemas Hollander?”
The look Maddy gave me sent another bolt of fear into my gut. She looked pleased and relieved. I’d just scratched an itch that had been tickling her mind, and it meant something awful.
She nodded. “That’s it!” The pleasant surprise faded and she frowned at me. “How the hell could you know that?”
My blood ran cold, sending a dark chill up my arms. The puzzle was sliding together, revealing the picture. Her distinct scent? My wolf’s reaction to her? It all made sense now. She didn’t smell quite human because…she wasn’t fully human. She was a descendant of a line of wolves.
Javi’s guys were right. Sheshouldn’texist. All the stories said the bloodline had been fully wiped out down to the roots. Maddy was of the line of Edemas. The Hollander Clan. Sweet Christ.
I put a hand to my head, fighting back dizziness. Royal wolves.A line that was so hated and reviled that all written history of them had been erased and destroyed. I looked at Maddy, and true fear enveloped me. How the fuck could I protect her now?
9
MADDY
Something was wrong. I could tell by the way Nico was acting. Ever since I’d told him the name of my long-lost ancestor, he’d been behaving strangely. I’d finally gotten my phone back that night, and for the next two days, all I’d done was scoured the internet for info on this Edemas guy. It was, however, pointless. I kept getting medical links for pulmonary edema,articles about some nu-metal band from the late nineties, a few dozen people on social media with the last name Edam, but nothing else. Not a single thing that explained Nico’s reaction. No birthdate or even birth country.
I’d pressed him for information as soon as I saw the expression on his face, but that had been pointless. He’d brushed it off as being tired and worried, so I’d tried to keep my distance from him for the last few days. For one, I didn’t want to poke the wolf since he was obviously in a bad mood. Second, I was a guest in his house, and I didn’t want to wear out my welcome by always being underfoot.
I’d managed to forget about EdemasandNico by that afternoon, though. It was Thursday. I was going back to work, and I was nervous. Luis had already let me know that he’d be theone escorting me to the bar that evening. It took the better part of the day for me to work up the courage to go.
Luis arrived early. As we walked to the door, Nico appeared from his room where he’d spent most of his time the last couple days. “Are you sure you’re okay to go?” he asked.
“Yeah, totally,” I said, lying through my teeth.
Nico nodded and glanced at Luis, then back to me. “Make sure you call me if you have any issues. Luis will be able to handle anything, though.”
“Thanks, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Without another word, Luis and I left.
The ride to the bar should have been liberating. I’d been stuck in Nico’s house for days. I was getting out and seeing a place I knew would usually be refreshing. Instead, the drive was filled with flashes of memories. A snarling face. Screams. The flash of a knife. By the time we actually got to the bar, I was almost shaking.
“Here we go,” Luis said, turning his truck off. “I’ll get you inside, then do a few circuits of the outside, make sure it’s all clear. Once that’s good, I’ll be inside the rest of the night.”
“Yeah. Sounds good,” I muttered, fumbling with the door handle.
“Hey?”
I turned and looked at him, clenching my fists to keep my hands from shaking.
