“Wolf shifter.” His jaw flexes as he grits his teeth for a minute, and tension further tightens his features when he furrows his brows. “Valor was led to believe that Antonella was going to hurt Kerrianne. He...” Royal scrubs his hand back through his hair. “He was an idiot and put her in a position where she could get hurt.”
“I’m a big girl, Royal. You don’t have to spare me the details. Don’t be like my dad.” I want to be strong, but my voice isn’t exactly steady, just pointed.
“Valor strapped her into his work chair. The one where he tortures people. And because she was in that chair, she was hurt by the chair first and then further when Neil attacked her. She couldn’t defend herself, and the only thing they could do to save her was to give her a wolf.” Royal continues. “Valor knows he fucked up. His blind spot has always been Kerrianne, and I can tell you right now, Antonella is making him pay for his fuckup. But I know you notice —”
“The family secret.” Everything starts falling into place. “We don’t eat people, and he called her pup. Like wolf pup. You’re not cannibals, you’re not human.”
“We’re not human. We’re not cannibals.” Royal nods in agreement.
I stand up and start pacing.Stay calm.I urge myself, but my heart beat is only speeding up, and when I draw deep breaths, they’re shaky and uneven.
“Leticia.” Royal stands and steps into my path, stopping my pacing.
“You’re not human.” I feel like an idiot repeating it, but I can’t for the life of me understand.
“I’m not human. But nothing has changed. I’m the same guy you’ve been getting to know. Antonella is the same person you’ve grown up with. It’s just now you know what makes us different.” He gently rests his hands on my shoulders, reaching his thumb up to brush my jaw.
“Why are you telling me?” I make eye contact with him.
“We knew you’d notice, and Valor promised that he’d let you inon the secret. You’re smart and really in tune with the world around you. If we didn’t tell you, then you’d figure it out. It saves Antonella from lying to you.” He squeezes my shoulders a little. “You’re not in any danger knowing.”
“As long as I don’t tell anyone.” I raise my eyebrows.
“As long as you don’t try to tell anyone.” Royal agrees.
“How would you know if I did?” I look at where I set my phone on the coffee table.
“Uhm.” Royal takes a step back, letting me go.
“Royal?” I try again to infuse my voice with the same tone Antonella uses to get information out of the younger cousins when they’re misbehaving.
“I have live monitoring on your phone.” He drops that information with a guilty wince.
“Youwhat?”
“It’s just a precautionary measure. I wanted to be sure you were safe.” Royal defends himself, raising his voice a little.
“Safe for who?” I argue, my eyes going wide with the question.
“For yourself, for us.” He brings his tone back down, lower than normal, and I can tell Royal is leaving something out. It’s in the way he hangs his head.
“And?” I pressure him for more.
“And because I’ve grown fond of you and wanted to be sure your parents and Berto were treating you alright. Antonella mentioned to Valor that you don’t get along with your parents all that well. I figured there was some big change. Some stressors can change... I’m just digging myself a hole and pleading the fifth.” Royal stops talking, zipping his lips with his fingers.
“You can’t just plead the fifth. You’ve been spying on me?” I want to be mad. I should be mad. “Wait, you said... what was it about my grades...” I close my eyes and try to think back to the conversation at school before we got in the car. “There isn’t a lot you can’t do without motivation.”
I open my eyes, and Royal has a whole new look on his face — sullen with downcast eyes, chewing on his top lip.
“I’ve been getting this feeling of being watched at home. Did you hack into the cameras in the penthouse? I mean, I tried to tell Dad the security company was a Clark Enterprises subsidiary, but hedidn’t believe me. You’ve been watching me.” I’m accusing him and posing it as a question, but my blood is colder than the weather outside.
He doesn’t have to answer because I know.
“I found out we had access at the wedding. But I’ve only been watching you since we started talking. If you had feelings of being watched before that, then it wasn’t me. I can dig back through the system, though, make sure everything is —”
“Stop,” I snap. “The night we —” I swallow hard, trying to hold it together. “The night I...”
Royal nods, and his whole body deflates. “I was there.”
