âWhat was that?â The nurse asked and stepped back until her back hit the machine behind her.
âLayla?â My father asked and tapped my shoulder.
âIt wasnât rogues that attacked the pack,â I said and looked at Kade. His face went from confused to stale in a split second and he looked around the room.
âWe need to go.â He said and turned around taking the car keys out of his pocket.
âWait no! we canât leave yet,â he turned around and I saw the hurry in his eyes.
âItâs too dangerous for you too stay,â
âThey knew iâd come here to see Tracey.â
âExactly, which is why we need to go. They already know youâre here.â
âSo letâs find out what they want,â
âYou want to gamble on your life?â He asked and i took a step back as he walked toward me.
âI want to find out the truth. They obviously wanted me here for some reason and being here with everyone they wouldnât dare make a move.â
âLayla they donât give a shit who youâre surrounded by, they will take what they want and wonât bat an eye,â
âNot if itâs you!â
âHow would you know?â He asked in frustration and the words slipped out.
âBecuase theyâre afraid of you!â
âOh no,â Cara gasped and looked at her brother.
His face contorted in anger and he lowered his head as his eyes held a predatory gaze.
âHow do you know that, Layla?â I squirmed and dropped my gaze to the floor.
âWhat is going on?â My mother stepped forward and she looked between me and Kade.
âWe shouldnât talk about this here,â
All of us headed back to the house in complete silence and I was wracking my head trying to come up with a good anser to Kades earlier question. If I told him about the memory I had seen I was fucked.
Inside the house my mom brewed coffee and put out a tray of cookies.
Anna was silently chewing down on her cookie and looking with an uncomfortable gaze around at everyone.
âLayla, tell us what has happened,â my father gave me a stern gaze.
Kade was standing and watching me and I couldnât help the shiver that shot through my body.
âHave you guys ever noticed anything different about me?â I asked my parents and watched as they shared a silent message.
âIn what way, sweetheart?â They both held fear and guilt. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward.
âYou already know.â I said.
My mom licked her lips and nodded her head.
âWhen you were younger there would be these instances where we werenât sure how you knew certain things. we would tell you something and you would look at us with those big brown eyes and you would call us out on our lies.â
âOnce, after weâd gotten home from an attack on the pack, we told you we couldnât go to the park because they were renovating it. You looked at us, you were about four years old, and you asked why there was so much blood there. You said there were dead bodies at the park and that the swing was broken, you couldnât have known that.â
âWhy didnât you ever tell me?â
âBecause we were afraid of what the others might do to you if they found out. We couldnât risk you getting in the middle of something if the truth got out so we thought itâd be better that you never know. Eventually it stopped and we thought it was just a phase.â
âBut it wasnât, was it.â My dad said and stared deep into my eyes with a heavy heart hanging him down.
âNo,â i shook my head and a chair was pulled out. Kade sat down beside me and pulled my chair out to the side so that we were facing each other. He leaned his arms on his knees and stared me down.
âHow do you know that the Emberclaws are afraid of me?â
âEmberclaws?â My mom gasped in shock.
âDo you know of them?â Kade asked her and she nodded her head.
âMost older werewolves do. Itâs the younger ones who were told. The Emberclaws were different from us, they were manipulative and hurtful in more ways than one. her gaze turned on me and she breathed out as her hand covered her mouth.
âAre you one them?â She asked and the fear in her eyes had me shaking my head in a lie.
âYes she is,â my head jerked to the side and I looked at Anna who was smiling faintly.
âTheyâre your parents, Layla. You donât have to be afraid of telling them the truth. They deserve to know,â
I looked back at my mom whose hand slowly dropped to her lap and she smiled as a tear ran down her cheek.
âHoney no, no you donât need to be afraid of us. Itâs just a shock okay?â i pushed back my own tears and looked down into the coffee. Kade grabbed the sugar tray and poured in two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee. I raised the cup and the smell of freshly brewed coffee brought me back to reality even though I would much rather have been somewhere else. I took a sip and smiled at him as I turned to face him again.
âThe flower was a memory from one of them, he was an Emberclaw. He said that he wanted to talk to me but that it was hard because I was under your protection. He said Iâd hear from him again,â A loud growl rumbled from Kade but another reality set in and my eyes widened. The smell of the coffee and the heated cookies spred their scents throughout the house. Everything moved so slowly and I was the tick on the clock moving and with each tick my eyes grew wider.
âKade you need to go,â I said and looked around frantically until I locked eyes with Cara.
âBoth of you need to go right now.â
âIâm not leaving you.â
âWhy do we have to go?â Cara asked and I choked on the air. I was under Kades protection. The only way for them to get to me was to go through him first.
âBecause i donât think theyâre here for me.â I breathed.