by Eve Vaughn
“That’s because I’m, half human. My mother was a shifter and my father was human. At least I thought my father was human but there’s some debate around that.”
“It’s very rare for a human to successfully mate with a shifter or at the very least produce offspring. You say that your father was human? Perhaps there was an ancestor in his genes that gave him special abilities.”
“You sound so sure that it couldn’t be possible. But I’m living proof that it is.”
“I meant no offense. I’m not saying that it’s not possible. Anything is possible I suppose. What I meant was that it’s just extremely rare. Humans started a settlement close to my pack’s land and one of my members fell in love with a human. They mated, but no offspring ever came from that union.”
“It’s my understanding that immortals aren’t exactly the most fertile bunch.”
“Perhaps not but usually these unions produce one or two pups. I guess it doesn’t matter.” Nina narrowed her gaze and stared at Sarah taking in all her features. Sarah was nearly as tall as Nina. She had large brown eyes, full lips and a round nose that tilted slightly up. Nina couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d seen Sarah before. Something compelled her to ask. “You spoke of your parents in the past tense. Are they dead?”
Sarah opened her mouth and then closed it again as if she was formulating what she wanted to say. “Well, I’m almost certain that my father is dead but my mother I’m not so sure anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I was younger, my parents were attacked by large dogs. Or at least that’s what I believed at the time. I know now that they were shifters. They killed my father almost immediately. My mother shifted and fought them off long enough for me to get away. I didn’t see her die but I always thought she had because she never came for me. I was all alone.”
Nina felt a twinge in her chest. Sarah was a kindred spirit. It sounded like she’d lost a lot all at once just like Nina had. “I’m sorry to hear about that. But now you believe that there’s a possibility that your mother could be alive. Why do you think that?”
Before Constantine and Aries found me, I was an artist by trade. I’m known for my nature paintings and particularly ones of wolves. But it was one particular wolf that I painted that caught their eyes. I’d dreamed of that wolf from the time I was a child. That wolf apparently was my mother. I had no reason to think it was her because when she’d shifted, I didn’t actually see her do it but now that I’m older I’m positive that it was her.”
“And because of this painting Constantine and Aries, tracked you down. Did they perhaps know her?”
“No, but Paris did. Paris recognized my mother right away. But perhaps you’d recognize her as well.”
“Why would I know who your mother is?”
“Because the form you claim that you’d been locked in for all these years, was my mother’s.”
“Anisa?” Nina whispered. Now she knew why Sarah looked so familiar. She looked a lot like her mother but taller and not as petite. But there was someone else this woman reminded Nina of and…it couldn’t be.
“Sarah, what was your father’s name?”
Sarah frowned at the question. “Roland Devereaux.”
Nina gasped taking a step backward. “You’re the half-breed that Gage has been looking for. He’s the one who attacked your parents. Your father wasn’t human at all. He worked for Gage.”
Chapter Seven
Despite her dark complexion Sarah nearly lost all color. Her mouth fell open. “But my father was just a regular handyman. I remember him going to work every day with his toolbox and my mother was a homemaker. We were a normal family. He was a good man. I have no reason to believe that he would work for someone as reprehensible as Gage. That can’t be possible.”
The sympathy Nina felt for this woman surprised her. She never thought she could feel compassion toward one of the men who had been the source of her greatest pain yet she had the sudden impulse to give Sarah a hug. She didn’t however. It was simply an impulse that she managed to push away. “It’s not unheard of for an immortal to live among humans. Unlike shifters and vampire, witches and warlocks have no physical transformation so they have an easier time of blending in with humans. Your father, however, was a hunter, a descendant of bound warlocks, most hunters are. That basically does render them as human, but they still carry that dormant gene within them.”
Sarah’s gaze drifted off into space. “This is a lot to wrap my head around. I was lead to believe that hunters hate our kind. How…how could he marry my mother and have me if he hated us. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Your mother was, not like the others.”
“Others?”
“Whenever Gage captured a shifter, he would either enslave them or use them as his mindless minions. Others he just killed to strengthen his black magic. And then there were the special ones. I wasn’t the first all-black he’d captured and I wasn’t the last. I just happened to be the only one who managed to survive what he’d put us through. Your mother was one of the special ones. Gage usually kept all the unique shifters like me away from the regular ones but Anisa…was even more special. I didn’t know what she was or what her abilities were exactly and I’m not sure that even she knew but Gage did. There was something different about her, something ethereal. She seemed to handle just about anything Gage could through her way and I believe it frustrated him. He kept her cordoned off from everyone. Only he dealt with her along with his most trusted lieutenants. One of those men was your father. Devereaux. That’s what he was called. I didn’t know him by any other name. And then it happened. One day Anisa had managed to escape and Devereaux was also missing. It wasn’t hard to figure out that he had helped her escape. Seeing that you’re the product of their union, I’m guessing he fell in love with her and helped her escape.”
“I suppose that makes sense, but this changes everything I believed about him. Even though he died a long time ago, my father was still my hero. To know that he hunted innocent shifters and for what? Power to serve this madman?”
“I don’t know what his motives were. Most of the people who served Gage was just as power hungry as he was. But if it’s any consolation, out of all of Gage’s underlings, Devereaux was the most lenient. I mean some of the other hunters seemed to take pleasure when we were tortured. Not him. It seemed like the only time he did something was when he deemed it necessary or when he was simply following orders. I don’t think he took pleasure in our pain.”
“You were just a means to an end. That’s just as bad.” Sarah wiped away a tear that slid down her cheek.”
Unable to ignore Sarah’s pain any longer, Nina patted her on the shoulder. “I’m sorry that I had to be the one to tell you this.”
“It’s okay. I probably would have found out eventually, after all we can’t take down Gage without putting all the pieces in the puzzle together. It’s just a little disheartening to know that everything I thought about my parents was a lie. It took me a while to accept that we weren’t this average human family. I’ve come to terms with that but I’d always believed my parents were happy together. I was very young when they died, so some of my memories of them aren’t as clear as I’d like them to be but I could feel their love for each other, or at least what I perceived as love.”
“From my recollection, most of the people who came in contact with her seemed to fall in love with her a little, maybe not in the romantic sense but she just seemed to have an air about her. They were nicer to her. Even Gage wasn’t as harsh toward her as he was to the rest of us. He didn’t even make Anisa stay in her wolf form most of the time. It was odd. It was almost like she had some kind of hold on him. I think the same went for Devereaux. Maybe he genuinely fell in love with her. I can’t think of any other reason he’d help her if that wasn’t the case. As you already pointed out, the fact that you even exist should be a testament to whatever it was they shared.”
Sarah sighed. “I suppose
you’re right.” She stood up abruptly. “Well, this was all a lot to take in but I think I’ll get going so I can process this. Do you need anything else?”
Nina shook her head. “Like you, I have a lot to process as well.”
“Are you going to spend the rest of your time on the island cooped up in this room? I’m sure Paris wouldn’t object to you roaming the island at your leisure.”
“Except he won’t allow me to leave it.”
“That’s for your protection.”
Nina crossed her arms over her chest. “For my protection or to protect his own interests. I am an all-black after all.”
Sarah raised a brow, obviously taken aback by Nina’s stance. “I don’t even know what that means and while Paris hasn’t been in my life for very long, I can vouch for his character. He would never do anything that he didn’t deem necessary nor would he put you in harm’s way. That’s why you were brought back to the island. No one comes and goes without him knowing about it. I don’t know what your capabilities are but I can assure you, Paris has no need of them.”
Nina shrugged. “So you say.”
“So I know. Look, I don’t want to start an argument with you. I hope you will eventually learn to trust us. We want to help you.”
Nina didn’t say anything as Sarah lingered, probably waiting for her to respond. When she didn’t the other woman bowed her head slightly before walking out the room and leaving Nina alone.
Nina fell against the bed, frustrated. She could tell that’s she’d hurt Sarah’s feelings but that couldn’t be helped. How could she be expected to trust anyone’s motives when she’d spent most of her life being used in some capacity or another? Maybe the Kyriakis Alpha meant well but whatever their intentions were, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down. That had happened to her before and she’d ended up losing something very precious to her.
Besides, the dilemma of figuring out how to get off this island undetected, Nina had the complication of Aries to worry about. It was hard to reconcile how overcome with lust she’d been for him. She simply put it down to the fact that she’d been forced to suppress herself for so long that when she was able to feel again, her emotions had manifested into an insatiable lust.
Nina was determined now more than ever to get off this island and get away from Aries before it was too late.
<><><>
Paris paced his office back and forth unable to concentrate on any business matters he had to take care of. His most pressing concern at the moment was ending the threat of Gage and his minions. And he was almost certain that Nina was somehow the key but there was something she was hiding. But he needed to handle this matter with as much finesse as possible, after all, she was his nephew’s mate. When she’d returned from her run in human form, he was more surprised that the scent of Aries clung to her more than her actual transformation.
He wanted nothing more for his pups to be happy and settled and though he hadn’t actually sired Aries, he was like a second son to Paris. Watching out for his nephew was the least he could do to honor his brother’s memory. Whenever he saw Aries, he could see Eros. Paris remembered when he and Eros were pups without a care in the world. There was no discussion of Alphas, Betas or the responsibilities they would both take on when they became of age. Aries looked so much like his father that sometimes Paris had to stop himself from calling his nephew by Eros’s name.
Paris never had cause for complaint of Aries’s performance as Beta in this pack.
Now that Constantine and Persephone had found their mates he had intended to nudge Aries in the direction of finding a mate. But it didn’t seem as if that was no longer necessary. It was clear that the mysterious Pe—Nina was Aries’s mate. Considering some of the missteps Paris had had with his own mate in the past, he didn’t feel he was in the position to judge who the fates decided to give to Aries. But a part of him felt cautious about the whole situation.
The fact that Nina was a rare breed of wolf he’d long believed to be extinct tied to the mystery surrounding Gage. It was clear Nina had lived for a very long time. She was possibly older than him which would make her quite a powerful being. But her presence left him with so many questions. Why had she been in Anisa’s form and why was she unable to shift until this point. And most importantly, why did Gage let her go free?
The latter question had been plaguing his thoughts since her arrival. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this situation. When his daughter Persephone had been captured by Gage, she said that she’d been kept in the same cell with Nina. Gage had to know that they would come for Persephone and there was no way they’d leave someone in Nina’s state behind. It was almost as if he wanted them to take her, but why?
He cocked his head to the side when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. It sounded like Sarah had finished her visit with Nina. He hoped that she’d learned some pertinent information. Paris intercepted his son’s mate before she could leave his house.
“Sarah, may I have a moment of your time.”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Follow me to my office.”
“This sounds ominous.”
“It’s nothing serious…well not very serious.”
Once they were inside the privacy of his office, he shut the door and indicated that Sarah sit down.
“I hope you didn’t call me in here to relay my discussion with Nina,” Sarah said as she took the chair in front of his desk.
Paris had no intention of pretending that it wasn’t exactly what he’d called her in here for. “Look, Sarah, no one in this pack any pack for that matter is safe unless we figure out what Gage is up to. And the only one on this island who has an inkling what he’s up to is Nina. If she told you anything that you feel could be of assistance to us taking Gage down then you have to tell me.”
“I feel like, some of the things she told me was in confidence because she trusts me for some reason.”
Paris noticed that she wouldn’t look him in the eyes and instantly know that Sarah wasn’t telling him something. “Sarah, look at me.” Though he spoke the words softly, he injected enough authority in his tone to let her know it wasn’t a request.
When she raised her head, she stared at him with big brown eyes that looked so much like her mother’s he was temporarily rendered speechless.
“Paris?” she prompted.
He shook his head. “Sorry. It’s just…you look so much like her.” Sarah’s mother was destined to be his mate but he’d destroyed that opportunity with his arrogance. Sarah was a living reminder of what he’d lost but he didn’t hold that against her. It wasn’t her fault. Besides, she made his son happy and for that, he cared about her as if she were his own.
Her lips twisted into a half smile. “So I’ve been told, but I’m sure my likeness to my mother isn’t why you called me into your office.”
“It’s not. The way you rushed toward the door before I caught up with you made me think something was bothering you. Whatever it was Nina told you, you have to tell me. Please, Sarah.”
“It’s just…lot to process right now.”
“What did she say, Sarah?”
Sarah shrugged. “Just that everything I’ve ever known about myself was a lie. My father…I thought he was just an ordinary man. He wasn’t. He worked for Gage.”
“What? How did she even know who your father was?”
“We were just talking about general things and the conversation veered toward the subject of my mother. I needed to know why she had taken my mother’s form. And I guess it clicked for her because she told me I’d reminded her of someone but she couldn’t place it. She knew my mother. Apparently, Gage had my mother. I don’t know for how long but she was his prisoner. My father was one of his followers, and according to Nina, highly ranked. He might have fallen in love with her. I can’t be sure but from what I gather he helped her escape. If we put the pieces of the puzzle together with the ones we already have, I can only
assume the two of them went into hiding and they lived as a regular human couple. At the time I had no reason to believe they were anything but that. But now some of the things I didn’t understand then make sense.”
Paris felt as if he was punched in the chest. Gage had captured Anisa at one point. Knowing how sadistic that fucker was, he couldn’t imagine what she must have gone through and it was all his fault. He should have been there to protect her. Instead, she’d ended up with a hunter. As much as it pained him, he needed to know more. “What do you mean by things you didn’t understand then? Like you said, you lived a normal happy childhood.”
“Normal for me. We moved a lot. I thought that was what families did, but it was always to places where there weren’t a lot of neighbors. Even when I made friends my father always seemed to be a bit apprehensive. I was so young I didn’t consider my circumstances that strange because it was all I knew.”
“I know you were very young when your parents were attacked but you were at the age where you would have started school, correct?”
Sarah shook her head. “No. My father taught me how to read and write and basic math. I never went to an actual school until I was placed in the foster care system.”
“It must have been very lonely for you.”
“It was. As I told you before, I did have a couple of friends briefly. We lived next to a family who had two daughters. The oldest girl was around my age but the little sister was a few years younger. Her name was…Sydney and her sister was Tara. It was a long time ago but I remember their names because they were the only two friends I had. And then we moved and I was sad. It’s odd because I haven’t thought about them in years. But thinking about them now makes me realize how isolated I was. And now that I know my father used to work with Gage maybe he had to keep moving us to keep us safe.”
