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Memories rushed through my head. Memories of the day she had cursed me with her spell.

My father was completely focused on her, and the entire pack seemed to hold its breath.

“What is your name?”

“Bayla... Adams,” she stammered, and I tried to make sense of how she was supposed to be a Senseque.

Her mother was a witch.

Father turned to Alarik.

“How come we didn't know anything about her?”

Father sounded unenthusiastic, almost as if he knew something no one but him and my uncle did. And I hated it when I wasn't as well-informed as everyone else in a discussion.

I couldn't take my eyes off Bayla, who hadn't missed this.

Was she looking at me... apologetically?

“Well, she didn't grow up here. She grew up in the States,” my uncle replied curtly.

Of course, my father wasn't satisfied with that.

“And how did she end up with the Quatura?”

Alarik was silent for a few seconds, then looked my father straight in the eye.

“Her mother is one of them.”

Disbelieving murmurs broke out. The tension that hung in the air was crisp.

The Russian Alpha even seemed disturbed as his expression darkened and he opened his mouth in protest. “That’s not possible!”

“Yes, it is. Here’s the proof. Look at her eyes. She’s one of us.”

What on earth was Alarik doing? Had he lost his mind?

He was lying not only to our guest, but also to his own brother, his Alpha.

My father raised a hand, and our pack fell silent immediately.

Dimitrio and Mica's men hadn't said a word. As always, they stood like iron statues, watching the events unfold as if they expected an assassination attempt at any moment. Each of them looked like a former soldier who now worked as a bodyguard for the Rolanows, and from what Tania had told me, that thought wasn’t even far-fetched.

Father scrutinized Bayla, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but also exhaustion.

“How is that possible...”

He paused, and one could tell from the murmurs that began to rise that no one here couldn't come to terms with the fact that her mother was one of them.

“How did you survive? The last Quatura who had a forbidden affair with one of us lost her life.”

Some of those around us, including Mica, gasped audibly.

There had been a relationship? Between a Quatura and a Senseque?

Even though I tried not to, my gaze slipped to Alarik, who was staring at Father, and for a moment Father stared back.

His jaw tightened, before he looked back at Bayla.