“Nico? I’m here. What was the big rush?”
I sighed, and for the third time in less than two hours, I relayed all my theories about Maddy and everything we’d learned about her. By the time I was done, my throat was sore from talking so much.
Dad took a seat and held his chin in his hand. It was the typicalDad’s thinkinglook I’d seen from him all throughout my life.
“I was worried this might happen one day,” Dad finally said.
All of us froze, unsure what he was saying. Had he known all along? Was this something shifters had been preparing for? If so, why didn’t I know about it? I was the alpha, after all.
Sebastian raised his hand like he was still in school. “Hi, yeah, Carlos…er…Mister Lorenzo, Nico’s dad, sir? I think I speak for all of us when I so eloquently ask…what the fuck?”
Dad snorted a humorless laugh. “There have been rumors for as long as I can remember that Edemas had been warned of the coming attack. In one of his very few moments of clarity, he understood that there was no way he’d survive. He found two of his children, babies who had both been born alphas, and sent them with a servant into hiding. This story is less known simply because it is so damned dangerous. Even mentioning this story to the wrong shifter could get you killed. In many circles, there is almost a religious fear of the Edemas lineage. We all know what religious fanatics are capable of.”
That was true. Everyone knew of the Christian and Muslim attacks and the wars on shifters in the early centuries. To this day, there were certain villages in Asia where shifters were killed on sight due to the belief that they were demons. Religion was great when it helped the poor and needy. Once religious zealots started having opinions on things, it tended to get hairy pretty quickly.
“Anyway,” Dad continued, “the children were small, only a couple months old. A boy and a girl, both pure-bred from Edemas and his shifter concubine. If this story is true, it could explain how Maddy came to be.”
“There’s something else I need to tell you, Dad. All of you.” They all turned to look at me, waiting to hear what other bombshell I was about to drop. “I think Maddy is my fated mate.”
“Called it!” Sebastian shouted, standing up and pointing at me, a massive grin on his face. “I knew it.”
Dad ignored Sebastian and came over to stand in front of me. He put his hands on my shoulders. “This explains everything. It’s why you’ve been so protective of her. This settles it. The Lorenzo clan is in full agreement. She is under our protection, regardless of who her ancestor was.”
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate the support. I’ve got a bad feeling that this is gonna get messy.”
Luis cleared his throat. “Count us in, too. That was probably implied, but I wanted it on the record.”
Felipe and Sebastian nodded. I’d always assumed my friends and family had my back through thick and thin. Seeing it actually happening was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.
“We need more information,” Luis said. “What about her birth family? Does Maddy have anything to go on? Some way of finding them?”
I shook my head. “No. Her whole adoption seems sketchy as hell. Some social worker dropped her off, but there’s no trace of this guy before or after that day. Her adoptive parents were desperate for a baby, so they didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Dad cleared his throat to get my attention. “If Maddy is who we think she is, her parents may have known of their ancestry. Perhaps they gave her up to protect her. They hoped dumping her into the system with no connection to them would ensure she survived. I would have done the same for my children. Never knowing them would be better than seeing them killed in front of my eyes. It’s a God-awful choice to make, but I would have made it.”
“We are forgetting something pretty important here,” Felipe said. “Javi. What the hell is his involvement? Why is he going for Maddy?”
“I think Javi and his clan are working for the royals,” I said. “This extended family of Edemas who have been hiding throughout the centuries and searching for any offspring. If what my father is saying is true, they surely heard the stories of the two escaped Edemas babies. They want that line dead.”
“But all this stuff happened back in, like, Europe or whatever. How does that get to America?” Felipe asked.
“Javi and his clan didn’t always live in Florida,” Dad said, grabbing our attention again. “He and his father got here back when I was a kid. I was maybe seven or eight. Javi was a few years older. I specifically remember that they had strange accents when they first got here. Those slowly disappeared over a couple years as they grew their pack and tried to fit in more. Now? You can’t even tell Javi isn’t a native. I think they came from the old countries. That could be how they’re connected.”
“Christ. We need to keep tabs on Javi,” I said, looking at Luis.
“On it. We’ll see what we can find. We’ll have someone watching his movements. I was already going to do that, but now it’s gonna need to be more intense.”
“Thanks for coming over so late, guys. Go on home, get some sleep,” I said, my own exhaustion starting to seep in.
The guys trickled out, eventually leaving me and Dad alone in the foyer. He wrapped me in a hug and pounded me on the back, then pulled away and looked at me. “If Maddy is your mate, I’m glad you’re the one who found her. No one would have taken care of her the way you have.” Dad winced and shook his head. “Your mother, though? Oof, she’s going to lose her shit.”
I groaned, knowing he was telling the truth. “Can you hold off on telling her? I know she’ll try to pressure us into something Maddy’s not ready for.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“We’ve got to make sure she’s safe before any talk of claiming happens.”
“Son, you don’t have to persuade me. I wholeheartedly agree. Some things need to come first. I understand that. Your mother, however?” He made a face that told me all I needed to know.
