“But that has to be an error. If his entire bloodline was killed, I can’t possibly be related to him. I can’t.” I was starting to get very scared. What did this all mean?
“Yes, it’s confusing, but it’s what we have to go on. The only thing that makes any sense at all is that someone got away. That a member of his family was able to escape and go into hiding. From there? You follow the family tree branches until they get to you.”
“I still don’t get how a guy who died three-hundred years ago has his DNA on this website. How is that even possible?”
Nico chewed at the inside of his cheek. “I thought about that. I think someone—a shifter family—kept a sample of Edemas’s blood. It had to have been held for centuries. Once these DNA tests became standard, they probably sent it off. If I had to guess? They may be monitoring the sites, waiting for matches.”
“Why, though? That’s what you haven’t answered.”
“I don’t know,” Nico said, his voice barely below a shout. I realized he was as confused as I was. “There’s more to the story.”
“Oh great,” I said, crossing my arms. “What more do I have to look forward to?”
“Edemas was pretty paranoid toward the end. He had a massive fortune. Gold, silver, jewels, everything. Millions and millions of today’s dollars. He had it all hidden, and as far as I know, it was never found. If it was found, it was taken and hoarded by the new royal family. Basically any surviving heir”—he looked at me with a deeper seriousness—“would be entitled to that fortune if it was discovered.”
“So, is this all Javi? Is he some history buff or something? Found out who I was and attacked me?” I asked, not even letting myself think of the mountain of Scrooge McDuck gold he’d mentioned.
“No, I don’t think so. My best guess? For decades, there’s been rumors that the members of the royal family, the ones distantly related to Edemas by marriage, are still alive. I think they’re the ones who kept the blood sample and are trying to find any last descendants and kill them. If I had to guess, they’re in control of Edemas’s profile on that and other DNA test sites.”
Realization started to dawn on me then. If he was right… “I’ve got shifter blood in me?
Nico didn’t answer at first. Instead, he got up and walked across the room and leaned against the wall. He looked deep in thought. “I think so. It would explain your scent. You smell like a cross between a shifter and a human. It’s faint, but there. Something I’ve never experienced before. It’s the only thing that makes any sense whatsoever. It’s very diluted, and I doubt you can shift. At least, I’m ninety-nine percent sure you can’t.” Nico’s head dropped again, severing the eye contact he’d held. “It…uh…also explains my wolf’s reaction to you.”
“What?” I asked dumbly.
“My wolf. From the moment I first saw you, it’s been acting strange.”
“Strange how?”
He sighed and ran a hand across his face. “It’s acting like you’re my fated mate.”
“You’re kidding,” I said. I knew what that meant. Everyone knew shifters had fated mates. It was a magical connection to whatever mate they were supposed to be with forever.
“I’m not, Maddy. I’m really not. As soon as my wolf scented your blood, all I wanted to do was be near you. To take care of you. There’s no denying the feeling. Even my friends noticed it.
“The thing is, if you have even a drop of shifter blood in you? You’re still a shifter. If you take a shifter mate and accept his bite, it will probably strengthen your blood. It could even make it to where you can shift. The mating bond makes both parties stronger. I hate to say it, but I’m a strong shifter. One of the strongest alphas around. I think my bite really could bring out your abilities. If that’s the case, then the royals are going to want you dead. For him to be so hell-bent on taking you down means Javi’s family must have descended from one of the families that revolted and helped kill Edemas and his family.”
“So, he’s trying to kill me because of something that happened hundreds of years ago?” I asked.
“If his family swore a blood oath or something to the royal family? Then yeah. He’d be honor-bound to do their bidding. That’s the only thing that explains why Javi would involve himself. If I know one thing about Javi? He’s a fucking man of his word.”
The whole planet felt like it was spinning off its axis. I walked across the room, not knowing where I was going, only to turn around and walk back. I felt like a cow in a slaughterhouse, waiting for the final blow. There was too much to process. Too much to think about. I hadn’t even started thinking about the fact that Nico had said we were fated mates, destined to be together. How the hell could I think about that when it soundedlike everyone wanted me dead? It was hard to think about the future when every second, it could be ripped away from you.
Everything he’d told me sounded completely impossible. Yet, it all kind of made sense, crazy as it was. Was I really a shifter? It was nothing I’d ever even entertained. Had my parents known? Is that why they’d gotten rid of me? To protect me? Or to be rid of a death sentence?
“Can you find my birth parents with this information?” The words popped out of my mouth before I even knew I was going to say it.
“I’m not sure,” Nico said. “If they’re still alive, I’ll do everything I can to help find them. If nothing else, it would help us get answers. And answers are what we need right now. More than anything.”
The whole crazy story started to crash into me. I was a royal shifter. I was being hunted. I was supposed to inherit a fortune in gold and jewels…maybe. Not only all that, but Nico was my mate? The voice in my head that had been telling me he was mine was making more noise. A definiteI-told-you-sovibe was coming from it. As all that spun through my head, I didn’t even realize I was starting to hyperventilate.
I giggled and turned to look at Nico. “I don’t want to alarm you, but I think I’m gonna—” Everything went dark as I fainted.
10
NICO
“Shit,” I yelped as I jumped forward to catch her, halting her fall right before her injured head could smack into the tile floor.
