He stiffened. Atlas couldn’t help it. When he closed his eyes, he could still see that fucking house. “The ones that killed my family?”
“They didn’t,” Jason responded.
Atlas opened his mouth to argue but Jason held up a hand.
“I assure you that they didn’t,” Jason told him. “They knew that you were watching them. Had heard rumors about the human that had the gift of sight. Those were the words they used.”
“You spoke to them?” Atlas demanded.
“We tracked them down to a territory in New Mexico. After fleeing their home, they connected with a bigger pack who took them in,” Jason explained.
“You believe that they had nothing to do with my family’s murder?”
“We do.” Jason leaned back to cuddle against his mate’s chest. “Nice family. They’ve never hurt anyone.”
“How could you know that for sure?”
“I know,” Tristan told him. “I could see it in their auras.”
Atlas’s stomach rolled. He’d been wrong? The shifters hadn’t killed his family? “But then…who?”
“The other pack,” Jason answered. “The ones that forced the family pack out of town.”
Those men had been scary. They’d watched Atlas. Almost stalked him. “Why? We didn’t do anything to them. Why?” Saliva pooled at the back of his throat and Atlas had to swallow hard.
Bel removed the mug from his hand, sending it away before pulling Atlas onto his lap to wrap both arms around him. Atlas soaked up the comfort offered by his mate.
“We think they heard the rumors about you. The lynx shifters. The family pack that lived in town said it was common knowledge in the paranormal community in the area that you were different,” Jason said.
Atlas looked to Bel. “We never told anyone.”
“No one?” Bel asked quietly. “Didn’t you say that your parents had you tested?”
“Yes but—”
“Your grandmother contacted a witch in the area,” Jason said. “That’s what the pack told us.”
“She did?” Atlas was shocked. “Wait! She knew about witches too?”
Bel rubbed his back. “I think she knew more than you realize.”
“What about my mom?” Atlas asked. It was something he couldn’t figure out after learning that he was a quarter demon. “Wouldn’t she have been half demon?”
Bel shook his head. “She would have had demon blood. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t fully human in appearance or biologically.”
“I don’t understand,” Atlas admitted.
“Me either,” Jason said before meeting Atlas’s gaze. “I tend to leave the thinking to my twin. I’m more the action sibling.”
Atlas was going to like Jason. He nodded.
“Demon biology is complicated,” Bel offered.
Atlas snorted. “No kidding.”
“It has also evolved since the creation of demonkind,” Mammon added.
“Of course it has,” Atlas said unhappily. “Nothing is simple with you guys.”
