The sting registered before I realized my mother's hand had cracked against my cheek.
Dad gripped her arm and jerked her back.“What are you doing?”
“He kept the fact that my daughter was alive from me!”
“He's your son!”
Mom jerked out of his hold, glaring at me. “I don't care what you saw in those journals at the facility. My Lily would never do anything without a purpose.”
“I knew you'd understand, Mom.” Lily's voice hit the air, and we turned.
Tears welled up in both of my parents’ eyes, but Mom was the one who flung herself at my sister.
“I wassoworried! I can't believe you're here.” Mom sobbed as she held her. “How did you find us?”
“It's time!” Alpha announced, and we paused our little family reunion to stare at him. “Let's go.”
Our pack started to move from the camp toward the facility, but we stayed put.
Air stalled in my lungs as I stared at the reunion unfolding in front of me.
“All I wanted was for our family to be together again.” Lily’s voice was soft, and her gaze held hope. “The humans promised me that they would always leave us alone as long as I gave them his mate.”
“His mate?” Dad’s gaze narrowed at her, and my chest tightened.
Hearing that my very own sister, mytwin,wanted to do away with my mate hurt.
“Iloveher, Lily. I am nothing without her. If you hurt her, you hurt me.”
“ButI'myour twin. I'm a piece of you. Not her!” Tears poured down her face as Mom shook her head at me.
“How could you?”
“We aren’t going into war. They won’t hurt us,” Lily said cryptically. “But I am sorry for this.” She raised her hand before letting out a piercing howl.
Then chaos ensued.
Human specimens started rushing out of nowhere, and I had no idea how we didn't notice them before.
The specimens grabbed our pack members and tore into them.
“What did you do?”I bellowed.
“She didn't do anything!” Mom defended her, hate sizzling from her gaze.
“She just ordered an attack on our entire pack!”
“But not on us,” Mom said, certainty in her tone. Dad shook his head slowly, stepping beside me.
“You're still acting on the human's behalf, but you have your family back. You don't have to act like this,” Dad said. “You didn't have to sacrifice our pack like this.”
“It's a fair fight.” She shrugged, watching our pack members fight against the specimens without blinking.
Even I couldn't say that they were holding their own very well. My skin felt prickly listening to my sister and the delusions she spread.
“We can go back to the village now and just live together as a big happy family.” Lily’s face spread with happiness as she smiled at us.
“We're never going to be a family again,” I snarled. The person in front of me looked just like my sweet sister, but she was completely different. There was none of the old Lily within her.
