“No, the records are pretty clear on that,” I tell her. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself to break the news of her conceptionto Maya. This is going to break her heart, and my own chest aches at the thought of delivering such a harsh reality. My fists clench as I try to stop myself from reaching out to her. The fact that her father is already dead is the only thing stopping my wolf from tearing out of here to avenge my mate.
I don’t want to tell her. But Maya wants the truth, and it’s not fair for me to keep it from her. For me to decide what she can handle.
“The Keepers were a trafficking ring who used the shifters they kidnapped in two different ways: as part of their torture and rape dens or as part of a... breeding program. The tiger was in the breeding program before her escape. After that, she was moved to the dens.”
Maya’s face pales, and she slumps back in the seat. Her soft lips are lightly parted, her eyes gaze at nothing, a distant expression painting her beautiful face. I creep closer to her until I can place my palm on her knee. She doesn’t brush me off or push me away this time, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. My wolf whimpers at the idea it could be anything less than her accepting my support, but I feel how rigid Maya’s body is. How she doesn’t gravitate toward me or melt into my arms the way she normally does.
Jackson used to do this after the attack where his mother was killed and Katie went missing but was presumed dead. He would shut down, stare off into space, and be unable to process anything happening around him.
No tears escape Maya’s lash line. Her breathing isn’t sharp and erratic anymore. She’s here, and yet she’s not present at all.
“I’m so sorry, Kitten,” I whisper, pulling her onto my lap and wrapping my arms around her small frame when I can’t hold myself back any longer. I rub circles over her back and press kisses onto her forehead and hair as Maya remains silent and frozen against me. Minutes pass and time stretches, becoming unclear and unimportant. We can stay like this for as long as she needs.
“Is she alive?” Maya’s voice eventually breaks through the silence, although barely.
“No, I’m so sorry,” I tell her, even though it breaks my heart even more to keep sharing the painful truth. “She died a couple of years after you were born. She was killed during one of the events they ran.”
“And my biological father?” she asks, pushing away from my chest where I had her cocooned against my body heat. She moves further down the couch, out of my reach again, and I’m instantly cold without her in my arms.
“Alpha Lo. He was killed during the rescue mission. He was not a good person, Maya.”
“Did either of them have more children?” she asks quietly, refusing to look at me.
“There’s nothing in the records about your mother having any more children. Lo did have two sons with his actual mate. They’re both in their twenties.”
She pushes to her feet and paces away before turning back to me. Her eyes glassy but a little brighter at this information. “You know who they are? Do you know where they are? I want to meet them.”
Bile threatens to rise up my throat at the idea of my mate going anywhere near anything connected to Lo or that fucked-up organization. Even if we did burn it to the ground a couple of months ago. I don’t know if his sons were involved in the Keepers, but I won’t take any chances where Maya is concerned.
“You can’t meet them. It’s not safe,” I say in a tone that sounds much harsher than intended, but I can’t keep my wolf from adding his snarl into my voice. The look Maya gives me could have the power to freeze the blood in my veins. She’s all calm fury, muscles coiled tight and clenched, but her eyes burn with fire.
“That’s not your choice to make,” she says through gritted teeth. “Is this why you wanted to keep it a secret from me? So, you could stop me from speaking to mybrothers?”
“You don’t understand—”
“And whose fault is that?” she snaps, crossing her arms in front of her.
“I was trying to protect you,” I growl back as my wolf pushes against me. I know I should have told her sooner. This isn’t how I wanted it to come out, but Maya is being ridiculous and petulant. She can’t go near them. “You’re acting like they didn’t come from a fucking monster.”
She recoils, and I want to stuff the words back into my mouth. Or go back in time and punch myself in the face to prevent myself from saying something so fucking idiotic.
“Well, apparently so did I,” she says, her tone deceptively calm.
“It’s different. You weren’t raised by him. They were. You can’t see them, I won’t allow it.”
Maya glares at me, and her eyes—yellow with the presence of her tiger—narrow with an intensity that makes my stomach clench. The silence in the room stretches, thick with unspoken accusations and a palpable tension that seems to hum in the air between us. Her jaw is set, a small muscle twitching near her temple betraying the effort she's making to control her emotions as she focuses on her breathing. Her lips are pressed into a thin, hard line, and her sweet scent is drowned out by the bitter tint of anger.
“You won’tallowit?” she hisses. “Who the hell do you think you are? I haven’t given you the power to make decisions like this. I just found out that I have a biological family out there. For all we know, they are victims of our father too. I want to meet them, and you don’t get to have a say in that. You don’t get to manipulate me with mate bonds and promises.”
“What are you saying?” I ask as my mouth goes dry.
“I need some space to process this. Space away from you.”
“Maya, please don’t leave me. I need you.” I want to tell her about the moon madness, how taking space from me isn’t just a break, it could be the end for me. For us. I don’t want to hide anything from her anymore.
“No. I’m not doing this. You don’t get to hide things from me and then say you need me. It’s controlling and manipulative. I would be horrified if one of my clients told me their partner behaved like you have. I should have known better. This isn’t a healthy relationship. It never was.”
My wolf howls, and my world collapses as her words land. She’s rejecting the bond. Rejecting me. No, I can’t let her do this. Mayawalks past me into the bedroom, grabbing her bag and throwing her clothes and belongings into it. She’s not folding them meticulously like usual. She’s not breathing in that way that calms her down. Everything is wrong.
