He’s early teens, if even that, and it’s clear as day that they’re siblings. Their features are incredibly similar. Their eyes are the exact same shade of crystalline blue, though his have a harder edge to them, and his hair is a few shades lighter. It doesn’t take a genius for it to click that he’s shouldered the burden of trying to protect his little sister; it’s wondering from what exactly, that has my heart aching.
She pouts, but stops talking, though she doesn’t stop staring while she returns to her food. Hunter continues to scrutinize me like I’m a threat, his fork clutched tightly in his grip. All three of us jump as Zane claps his hands together sharply, drawing our attention.
“That’s enough of that now, Hunt. Risa’s family, and she needs us now more than ever,” he declares.
Hunter nods, his features morphing from defensive to purposeful. “You’re right, sorry.”
Zane smiles sadly. “Been a hot minute since you’ve seen anyone beyond my ugly mug, I don’t blame you. It’s good to have your guard up, especially around strangers.” He turns to me, beaming. “But Risa’s not a stranger, she’s my cousin.” As his words sink in, things starting to make sense as I fill in the blanks, he turns to the kids. “We’re all that’s left, and all each other has.”
In tandem, the two parrot back, “So we have to look out for each other, because nobody else will.”
As the others start eating, I do too, though hesitantly. I use the small moment of silence to mentally assess myself, to search for that tug that connects me to the guys, but it’s gone. There isn’t so much as a blip to indicate the sire bond exists at all, and I have to force myself to keep from freaking out about it so that I don’t tip off Zane.
He's a shifter, so he can’t be an incorruptible. But what about the kids? At least one of them has to be, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.My mind whirls, trying to catch up.No, wait; Mason.
Mason was turned because someone was probably tearing through family lines looking for incorruptibles. Which means being related is a death sentence. If you aren’t someone they can use, you’re disposable. It got his entire family slaughtered, all because none of them are what James was looking for.
I subtly glance at Zane while I eat, mind racing. He brushes his dark brown hair out of his face as he takes a drink, his light grey eyes less hostile than they were in the car. He seems... relieved, content, but there’s still something off about him.
“I’m not sure how much you know,” he starts, taking another bite, not commenting on the way I was staring at him. “But the incorruptible gene is recessive. Still, it’s passed down the bloodline, sometimes not cropping back up for several generations. Mom was one, and I was turned when dad and I failed to protect her, left for dead.” Pausing to take a drink, he meets my eye. “By the time I found her, she was drained dry, her captors losing control and unable to stop.” A haunted, faraway look overtakes his features. “Used and abused. However long it took for her to die, it wasn’t soon enough, and I don’t like to imagine what she suffered in those months before I tracked her down.”
The kids are quiet, and I assume it’s not the first time they’ve heard this story, or some variation of it. Tense, awkward silence is only broken up when I can’t stand it anymore.
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugs before plastering on a fake, happy mask. “Bright side, they made me strong enough that I’d never be a victim again.” Releasing a slow, deep breath, he shakes himself out of his funk, determination shining in his pale eyes. “And that I could protect my family.”
Hunter’s voice is accusatory as he interjects, “What’s left of it.” Turning away from him, he glares me down with hard determination. “I took care of Addie for two years before Uncle Zane found us, even without extra abilities. I’ll protect you, too, don’t worry.”
Eyes burning, I blink several times before trying to speak. “You guys don’t understand. I already have a home, mates to protect me. As soon as we track down my parents and kill them, things will be easier; I’ll be okay. I appreciate the offer, but... I want to go home.”
Adelaide focuses on picking at her food while Hunter looks genuinely confused. Zane, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to tell me I have a terminal diagnosis. “They’re using you, Risa. I get it; the sire thing makes itfeellike love, but I swear to you, it’s just a trick to make you compliant. They’ve fed off of you, right?”
At my lack of response, he shakes his head. “Exactly. Of course they’re going to keep you close, safe from other people; they want to keep you for themselves. You’re a battery pack to them, nothing more. They twist that bond to their advantage to make you their slave, to confuse you. They don’t loveyou,they love the power high that your blood gives them.”
My skin prickles. “You’re wrong, they aren’t like that.”
He scoffs. “They’re men that want to fuck you. Of course they’re like that.”
You could hear a pin drop with as silent as it becomes in the face of his words, my cheeks heating as the temperature in the room seems to plummet. “I appreciate that you want to protect me because you feel obligated if we’re related, but I think I’ll take my chances on my own. Thanks for lunch.”
Chair sliding back with an obnoxiously loud screech on the cement, I get to my feet. Leaving the way we came behind me, I cross the room to the far hallway. There’s a door to my right, and one straight ahead, and that makes up the entirety of the hidden bunker. Trying the door in front of me because it’s closest, I wind up in a room with hundreds of news articles tacked to a cork board on the wall, the space a chaotic mess of papers coating a desk and in stacks on the floor.
When I leave to try the next door, Zane is standing in the doorway, all humor drained from his face. “The monsters have brainwashed you into sympathizing with them. You need help, Risa, whether you realize it or not.” Behind his shoulder, Hunter lunges forward, covering Adelaide’s eyes.
“I’m going to save you, even if that’s from yourself.” The fist that drives into my temple only hurts for a moment, everything going dark before I can blink.
