He shook his head slowly. “Not well. I lost friends last night. I… I watched a pup, no more than four years old, get murdered right in front of my eyes. These people are vicious and have nomorals.” Tears streamed from his one good eye. “All they do is hate.”
The pain and grief in his voice cracked me in two. My knee bounced nervously as he spoke. My wolf and I yearned to go to this man, this pack, and help them. To tear and rend and brutalize those responsible.
“Mr. Harris, did these people give any indication who sent them? Most reports say they were working on the belief that Miss Viola Monroe of the disgraced Monroe Group was speaking directly to them through her various online videos and posts. Was this the case?”
The alpha nodded grimly. “They were screaming about how we shouldn’t even be alive. That we were abominations. It was the same damn hate that woman spews. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.” Resolve suddenly formed on his face, his one bright blue eye staring into the camera full of fire and rage. He held up a finger. “I will tell you this, and I hope every anti-shifter in the world is watching. We killed a bunch of you. We killed more of you than you did of us. If you keep following this woman’s orders, this is your fate. My brothers and sisters around the world won’t stand for this. Bear, wolf, panther—any species—won’t lie down and die. We aren’t made that way. If you don’t want to die, you better turn tail and run.”
After a few more words of condolence and thanks, the news anchor ended the interview, and the broadcast went to commercial. I looked around at all the others. The room was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat. Several of them were sniffling and wiping tears from their eyes. Nico nudged me, and I moved so he could stand.
“I’m afraid this won’t be the end. It feels like the start of something,” Nico said.
“What do you mean?” Mom asked.
He pointed at the screen. “Others will see this and try to take things into their own hands. Yes, a bunch of those anti-shifters died, but more people will see this as a call to arms. Instead of being scared to act, they’ll see those dead humans as an act of war by the shifters.”
“That’s bullshit,” Sebastian barked. “Those fuckers attacked them.”
Nico nodded. “I know that, but that won’t be how they justify it. All those people will see is dead humans, and they’ll gnash their teeth and rage about how good clean humans are dead because filthy evil shifters killed them. Fuck the truth.”
It was insane, but he was right. Once people aligned themselves with one side or the other, they were typically blind to the truth. You saw what you wanted to see, and there was no changing their perspective, not without something major and indisputable.
Nico slapped a hand on the wall in anger. “You know, the worst part is that we can’t protect everyone. We’ve got it better than almost any other pack. Between Donatello and Sinthy, we’re better off than others. All I want to do is help everyone, but I can’t. It’s like I’m fucking impotent.” He turned and glared at his three friends. “You all make sure everyone is training every day. Every. Damned. Day. Increase the guards on the fences. And we need to figure out where that bitch, Viola, is. The only way this all stops is if their damned figurehead is taken down.”
He walked over and pressed his lips to my forehead, kissing me, then headed upstairs.
“I’ve gotta make some calls. I’m sure the other alphas have all seen this.” Without another word, he jogged up to his office and slammed the door.
Felipe nodded to Luis and Sebastian. “Come on. Let’s grab some people. Anyone who hasn’t gone through a trainingsession. We need to make sure everyone is ready to fight if it comes to it.”
The three men nodded their goodbyes and left me with my three parents. Mom was wiping at her eyes. Dad had an arm around her, and Gabriella was still standing in the kitchen, a cup of coffee clutched in her hand as she stared at the floor.
Mom looked at me with terror in her eyes. “We were right to hide you all those years,” she said. “These people really are crazy”—she pointed at the TV— “and I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“I know, Mom, this is bad. Nothing can be done now, though. Not until we find Viola.”
She shook her head. “We need to hide you. Like you did with Abi.” She heaved a sigh and slapped the couch. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t taken that stupid ancestry test. I wish you’d just left it all alone.”
It was like I’d been slapped. Was she blaming me for this? All because I took some silly at-home DNA test? There was no way I could have ever known any of this would happen. Never in a million years. Yet here she was, telling me that I’d screwed up. My face twisted into a scowl. Dad leaned toward Mom and whispered angrily into her ear, but before I could open my mouth to defend myself, Gabriella spoke up.
“This isn’t Maddy’s fault. It’s mine. I did this. It goes farther back than that test. I knew exactly what Maddy was and what she could be. I told you to put her on suppressants. I lied and never told you she was my daughter. If Maddy knew what she was from the beginning, things might have turned out better.” She looked into Mom’s eyes. “You can’t blame Maddy for what’s happened.”
Mom looked stricken, both by what Gabriella said and by whatever Dad was hissing into her ear. She shook her head and cried more. “No… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” She looked at me. “Maddy, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m so scared I’mgoing to lose you. I shouldn’t have said it like that. The last thing I want is to lose you—I’d rather die than let that happen.’
I nodded, my breath huffing through my nostrils. I understood. Things were tense. Everyone was afraid. She couldn’t help being terrified.
“Look,” I said. “Nico and the other packs are going to do everything they can to prevent what we saw on the news. We’re going to train, and we’re going to fight. I know, deep down, that everything will be all right.”
“You can’t know that,” Dad said with a sad shake of his head.
“Right,” Mom added. “We can’t assume it will all work out. I’m sure those shifters in Virginia thought things would work out fine too.”
Gabriella sat beside me and put a hand on my knee as she looked at the couple who’d raised me.
“Maddy is strong,” she said, her expression incredibly sad. “You never knew her biological father, but he was the strongest person I ever met. That strength is in Maddy. I can sense it. All she needs to do is believe in herself.”
Inside my mind, my wolf rumbled happily at her words as if she agreed. Was she even stronger than I thought? Was that what my wolf was agreeing with? The idea surprised and frightened me. Even after all this, was I still suppressing my wolf’s true power?
I looked at Gabriella, and she gave me a knowing smile. Mom and Dad still weren’t totally sold on the prospect of Nico and me being safe. The thought still tickled my mind that there might be something more lurking inside me. My wolf had nearly pounded her chest with pride when Gabriella talked about how strong I was.
