I knew the truth. It was supes. Supes had intervened and saved as many as they could. By using a compulsion net, they’d stopped anyone outside it from picking up on what they were doing, while those inside the net were compelled to forget their existence.
I had no proof, but it was the only logical explanation. It was one of just the many examples of when supes concealed their true natures from humans.
“Yes,” Finn said in answer to my question. “Can you not tell?”
I snorted. “I might know all there is to know about shifters, Finn, but I’m still human. I can’t see or feel compulsion nets.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any offence.”
“None taken,” I said breezily, crossing my arms against the wind. Autumn was giving way to winter now, and there was a noticeable chill in the air. “I just wanted to make sure we could talk freely.”
“We can. And let me start by apologising, Reid. I never would’ve asked Evan to come to the shop if I’d realised the two of you shared a history.”
Called it.“He was there on your orders, then.”
Finn ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. “Aye. I’m sorry to have assumed the worst, but what with you working so close to Chester and knowing what you do…”
“It’s fine.” I waved my hand dismissively. “I totallyget it. You wanted to find out how I knew about shifters without being too forward, so you sent Evan.”
He shook his head sadly. “I thought you might find it easier to open up to Evan. People usually do.”
My mind flashed back to that morning a decade ago. To the plea I’d felt comfortable enough to make to someone who was practically a stranger. “I can see that.”
“Naturally, I never would’ve sent him if I’d known what happened.”
I gave him a tight smile. “You’ve said that already.”
“Sorry. Anyway, I just want to reassure you that none of us have any intention of informing the Clarksons of your presence here.”
My spine stiffened. “What makes you think they don’t know?”
Finn gave me a knowing look. “You didn’t choose to settle here accidentally, Reid. I’m assuming you know the…history between our clans?”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat—the one that always formed when I thought about the atrocities that had been committed. “Yes.”
“Then you know about the treaties too. You know that no one, supe or human, can be removed from our lands against their will. Violence also cannot be incited.”
I stayed silent.
Finn sighed. “That’s what I thought. From what Evan told me, I can understand exactly why?—”
“What would Evan know?” I demanded, facing Finn with my hands on my hips. “He didn’t take me seriously. He walked out of there and forgot I even existed.”
“Evan made a mistake. But, Reid, what were you expecting him to do? If he’d taken you from your clan, it would’ve led to open warfare. Your father would’ve beenwithin his rights to demand Evan’s immortality as recompense.”
I knew what he was saying was true, but the hurt was too ingrained. “Maybe so, but I was a desperate kid, Finn. You can’t blame me for searching for an out.”
Finn didn’t attempt to hide the pain that flickered over his face. “For what it’s worth, we would’ve gone to war for you, Reid. We wouldn’t leave a ten-year-old in that situation. No child, for that matter.”
“Evan did,” I said bluntly. “Excuse it all you want, Finn, but the truth is he didn’t just leave me there, he made it worse.”
Finn stilled. “What do you mean?”
I opened my mouth to tell him. To explain how Evan’s conversation with my father had landed more abuse on me than anything I’d gone through before. How he’d punished me for exposing my ‘weakness’ to a shifter from a different clan. The ways he’d worked me harder for daring to dream of escaping. How I’d been further ostracised from the other kids as a reminder of my place in the pack.
But then Evan’s face flashed through my mind. Not the one I’d seen in the shop, but one faded with memory. His kind eyes as he allowed me to join in the football game. The bite in his tone as he’d put Neil in his place. The genuine interest he’d taken in my hyperfixation at the time—dinosaurs.
Those memories blended with the image of his horror-struck face when he’d learned the truth today.
