F I F T Y - T W O

KASSIAN

"Wake up Wolf..." A strange voice whispered in my unconscious mind "Our Mate is in danger."

Those words had my eyes snapping open as a much needed breath made its way through my body.

I blinked...then I blinked again.

Unlike where I was expecting to be, in the hands of the enemy, I was safe.

In one of the panic rooms...back at the Academy.

It wasn't the Lykos panic room, considering the different room orientation, but it was a panic room based on the familiar walls.

"Shhh..." A familiar hand gently patted my cheek "It's okay baby boy, you're safe now."

"Mom?"

"Just rest son" My father's voice rang from somewhere in the room "We're protected from the chaos."

"What?" I pushed myself up into a sitting position "We need to help the others."

"It's too late for them" Mom patted my cheek again "It's almost done."

"What's almost done?" I asked in frustration "What are you talking about? And how the hell did I get here?"

"What do you remember?" Mom asked calmly, her face unusually blank as she stared intensely at me.

My eyes swept past my mom and locked gazes with my dad, who was intently listening in on our conversation and awaiting my answer.

My hackles suddenly rose, my Wolf fidgeting and snarling in a way he's never done before in the presence of my parents.

"I asked you a question first."

My father sighed as he stood up, holding a hand out to my mother who looked at me in equal parts regret and disappointment.

"All you had to do was stay away from her" My mother stated in a tone I've only ever heard her use with her students and lab personnel "All you had to do was do your duty as our Heir, stay in line, and focus on your studies."

My head snapped back at her words, the next sentence out of my father's mouth confirming my wolf's suspicions.

"But I supposed we should have expected it" My father said on a sigh "Its in our nature as  natural Hunters and red blooded men to fancy a pretty girl."

"From the stories they told us, her mother was very beautiful" My mother commented nonchalantly as she fiddled with something on the wall "It's a shame that she'll die the same way her mother did."

Before I could respond, familiar tempered glass slammed down around me.

"What the fuck?" I snarled, slamming my fists down on the reinforced walls "What the fuck did you two do?"

"We did what we needed to do in order for our Pack to survive" Mother caressed the glass as if she was caressing my face "To have a Lupine mate with one of them..."

She trailed off, shaking her head.

"YOU FUCKING TRAITORS!" I spat at them, banging on the glass "YOU TURNED ON ONE OF YOUR OWN!"

"Sacrifices needed to be made" My father stated, genuine sorrow lacing his tone "We've all made sacrifices for the greater good...For the survival of The Packs and the people we care for."

"So you went after a fellow Heir and his pregnant wife?" I shouted "You murder your 'so called friend' in cold blood! You took away someone's parents! How could murder benefit our Packs?"

"Wolfe would have understood" They repeated like fucking brainwashed cult members "Sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good..."

"What fucking sacrifices did you make?" I snarled at them "Because it seems like the only one who was forced to make sacrifices was Wolfe Lupine!"

"All of us made fucking sacrifices!" Father roared at me "EVERY.SINGLE.ONE OF US SACRIFICED SOMETHING IN ORDER TO BE WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY!"

My mother's expression turned despondent "Your brother..."

"Brother?" My head reared back in yet more shock "What the hell are you talking about? I don't have a brother?"

"You had a brother" My father clarified "A twin actually."

"What?" My jaw slacked at the bomb they just detonated "What are you talking about?"

"Statistically, he wasn't going to make it" Mother stated like a robot "You were the first twin, the stronger of the two. And he was...sick. Even if he did make it, his life would be full of deficiencies. He'd never live up to his full potential and contribute to the Pack the way he needed to as a son of ours."

I stared at them for a full minute, my poor brain trying to comprehend what the hell I'm hearing.

Because the people in front of me were not my parents...they were not the people I remember coming home from long research trips and showering me with so much love, I'd never question or doubt their intentions for both me and our Pack.

Hell, I've even defended them against one of my best friends who clearly saw something wrong with them I didn't.

These people in front of me were cold-hearted strangers who had absolutely no rational thoughts left in their brain, which was ironic considering they were the two most renown scientists in the supernatural world.

"What did the others give up?" I croaked "Did they murder their children too?"

"Don't think about it as murder," Mother waved my words away "Think about it as Natural Selection."

My eyes widened.

"The Lupine girl wasn't the only one who lost a parent" Dad stated "The new Lobo Luna was forced to choose between her sister and nephew."

My eyes widened in shock, not only because at the news of Atlas' stepmom and aunt being involved in this clusterfuck but the fact that this whole heinous scheme has been going on for so long.

"You're insane" I whispered "You're all insane. Why would you do this? How could you do this to your fellow wolves and loved ones?"

"We did if for you baby boy" Mom spoke softly, like she often did when I was a child "We did it to secure your position as our Heir."

"What are you talking about?" I snarled "Don't blame this mess on me. Don't try to ease the guilt of murdering your fellow Heir and friend by saying you did all of this for me."

"That's what you don't understand son" My dad shook his head "Our positions were never ours to begin with."

"Of course they were" I said "We were apart of the first Packs created. The Lykos position was secured the moment the Gods blessed us."

"That's where you're wrong Kassian" My parents said, shaking their heads "That's what the Heirs and Penta's before us, wanted everyone to believe."

"It wasn't until your father became an Heir, as well as the others, did they learn the truth" My mom said "And then he shared that truth with me."

"What truth?"

"The Gods never created us" Dad said grimly "The Gods we worship, the Gods we prayed too were nothing but a myth created by the original Heirs in order to conceal our origins."

"And we think it's about time that you knew the truth too" My mother said "We think it's time that you knew the truth about who created the Supernatural world."