I narrow my eyes at him.
“Wait. You don’t remember meeting him?” Sodie asks.
Christian shakes his head, “She doesn’t remember me. However, Damien couldn’t leave well enough alone, so they already know each other. Speaking of which, he’s on his way here with our food.”
I tear apart my roll Christian was going to steal and place a piece of it in my mouth, giving myself some time to process this unsaid bullshit. Chewing slowly, I review what Sodie told me so far.
The only Damien I know is the foreman for McLoughlin Construction. Langhlan Construction stayed on to renovate and build new homes for my pack, and Damien’s crew stayed on to help with some of the work the production team needed, so it wasn’t unusual to find him around the set.
Swallowing, I stick another piece of bread in my mouth. When I met Christian yesterday, I asked if we met before. He said,“Nah. I have one of those faces. I probably remind you of a brother, or next-door neighbor, some guy you ran into at a bar, a random guy you went to school with and never talked to.”
During the interview with my parents, Anders stared straight at him when he indicated I would meet my brothers soon. I became so caught up in Anders’s story, I didn’t realize the answer was right in front of my face the entire time. I reach for my drink.
“Figured it out yet?” Christian asks just as Damien opens the door. I pick up the steak knife on my tray and fling it straight athim. His eyes widen as the knife embeds itself into the frame of the door right in front of his nose.
Christian and Sodie roar with laughter. I retrieve another bread roll and toss it at Christian’s head. He catches it and takes a big bite, mumbling his thanks. I throw a spoon at Sodie next, but it just passes through him. “Cheater!”
Damien grabs the knife and places it on the table. “And I thought I was the one with a bad temper,” he mumbles, before finding a place to set the food down. He turns to face Christian,
“You finally told her. Good. It was killing me hanging onto that secret,” he admits, settling against a counter in the room.
I glare at him. How in the world had he kept this a secret from me all this time? I don’t use my mind link capabilities often, but when I did, I never had an inkling that I am somehow related to Damien.
His face crumbles under my hard stare and turns a splotchy red. His shoulders slump forward in defeat.
Crossing my arms, I refuse to soften my accusation because of his shame. “You knew… I trusted you.” He’s just like everyone else who didn’t think I deserved to know who I was and where I came from. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes. My gaze flickers in Sodie’s direction. “Why? Why did it have to be like this?”
Three pairs of eyes stare back at me.
Damien shakes his head sadly. “I never wanted to keep our true relationship a secret. I wanted—we both wanted—to meet you the moment we heard that you existed. But Christian and I…were told to wait for the right time. But I don’t have Christian’s patience. I needed to know my sister. I figured if we met and at least formed a friendship, that would be enough for me until we could tell you the truth.”
I swipe away at a tear. I always cared about Damien, from the moment we met. We just bonded. We developed a fast friendship, and without any doubt, I trusted himwholeheartedly. Now I wonder if he has other secrets he’s keeping from me. “I feel betrayed,” I whisper.
“I’m sorry, little one. These secrets were meant to protect you, not hurt you. You three are the last of the original royal bloodline. We—your family, your pack, and your father—just wanted all of you to be safe,” Sodie explains. “These secrets barely skim the surface of how deep and complicated everything is.”
“Although you think you’re the only one who was kept in the dark, you weren’t. We may know more than you, but we were hidden for most of our lives. No one could know that we are Anders’s sons. We couldn’t leave the Asian Territory. We could only talk to our family on the phone, and even then, it was limited for our protection. It was just Damien and me for a long time, until you came along. So, we both understand how you feel.
“I know it’s hard to grasp and trust us. We had a hard time understanding it, too. We didn’t believe our dad and all his horror stories of what-ifs and how for generations our family was hunted down and murdered by some bad guys we thought were just some villains concocted in a story to keep us in line. But…” Christian sniffs and drops his head.
Damien continues for him, “Six years ago, we learned just how cruel and real the Resistance can be. We almost lost our dad and Shadow. At times, we thought we almost lost you, too. So, we kept those secrets and ingrained ourselves in your life without you fully knowing who and what we are to you. To protect our baby sister.”
Guilt sits like a rock in the pit of my stomach. Here I am, mad at the world because I didn’t know the truth of who I am. This whole time, I was surrounded by family. They were alone, but despite that, they still love me and want to protect me.
I slide off the exam table and walk over to Damien. “I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t try to hit on you or something. That would have been awkward,” I joke, trying to ease some of the heavy emotions hanging in the room.
He scoffs and pulls me into a hug.
“I’m sorry for being a brat earlier,” I add against his chest.
“Sometimes, we keep secrets to protect those we care about the most, and I will give up my life to keep you safe,” he mumbles into my hair.
I should know that better than anyone. I have my own secrets, too, and I am tired of keeping them to myself. I then turn to Christian. Too bad we didn’t get to grow up together. I could see the two of us fighting with each other, but I can also see him being an overly protective brother. I release Damien, and Christian stands from his seat when I approach him.
“It’s nice to officially meet you, brother.” I give him a hug, and he wraps his arms tentatively around me.
“I waited for this for a very long time,” he croaks.
More tears spring to my eyes. I never imagined how this all affected them, more than me. Now that I found them, now that I know, I’m never letting them go.
