Sloane shrank away and shook her head.
“Don’t talk to her like that.” His gut twisted at the hurt on his almost-sister’s face. “She doesn’t know anything. No one does.”
Never let anyone know, little bird. Promise me.
“Wait, wait.” Olivia brushed Eli’s hands away when he tried to stop her from sitting up on her own. “Know what?” She shook her head. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”
“What do you remember?” Jacob asked.
“I …” She inhaled a quick breath. “I was shot—no, I don’t know who did it, but I did see a dark blur. Lycan. And then there was pain.” Her expression shifted. “The wounds wouldn’t close up.”
“You were shot in the heart and stomach,” Sloane said. “And from the blood on your temples, probably in the head too, but that bullet likely went through so that closed up right away. And Eli … helped.”
“How?”
“With a potion,” he finished. “A dissolving potion.”
“You carry a dissolving potion with you?” Olivia asked.
The question hung in the air, as Eli weighed his options. But there was no other choice now, except to tell them the whole truth. “No, I don’t carry them. I made them.”
Violet eyes blinked. “Made them?”
“I’m a hybrid.” He shot Jacob a look. “Like you.”
“And like me, your mother was a witch, not a human,” Jacob stated. “What can you do?”
“I can activate any liquid into a potion.” That night at Blood Moon, when Devon Hale lost control of his wolf, Eli concocted a stunning potion to knock him out. “Provided I know the ingredients and the process.”
“Who taught—” Olivia clamped her mouth shut.
“My mother was a talented potion maker. The best in her coven, probably the world. A lot of people came to her for her brews. I don’t know how, but she just knew I was a hybrid. When my powers started manifesting, she began teaching me.”
“So, you lived with your mother’s coven until she died?” Sloane asked.
A bitter taste coated his mouth. “No. When her coven found out she was having a True Mate child with a Lycan, they tossed her out.”
“But why?” Jacob frowned. “The animosity between the Lycans and witches has been over for decades.”
Eli snorted. “Not for everyone. My mother’s clan were purists. They even avoided marrying humans so they don’t dilute the power in their bloodline.”
Jacob huffed. “Magic doesn’t work that way. My mother was a powerless witch, but both her children have magic.”
“They believe whatever they want to believe.” Eli shrugged. “So they kicked her out and we moved away on our own.”
“So your mother …” Olivia reached over and placed her hand over his, giving it a squeeze as she searched his face. The fact that there was no trace of anger from her allowed him to relax and continue.
“She died. Cancer. Then Garret showed up, said he was my father and brought me to the Boston clan. But before that, while she was dying, she made me promise never to reveal what I was.So I never told anyone, not even Garret. To him, I was just a Lycan.”
“Why not?” Sloane asked.
“What do you think Ronan would have done if he found out what I could do?”
She swallowed audibly. “He would have exploited you and your powers.”
“He would have turned me into a weapon, an assassin who could kill without raising a hand or pulling a trigger.” They hadn’t even seen the extent of his abilities. The stunning and dissolving potions were nothing compared to what he could do and make. “I’m sorry I never told you either, Sloane. The knowledge could have put you in danger too.”
“Does your mother’s coven know about you?” Olivia asked.
