Aesira

With one hand, Evander turns my face to his. The turquoise of his eyes seems to sparkle as his lips move. By now, I thought nothing could surprise me, but here I am, stunned into silence once more, because somehow, the news of my mother had ripped my world apart.

Mum knew I had been bitten, and yet she left me to suffer. She would have known I was in pain; she would have known I was close to death. And that knowledge makes this news so much worse.

Evander is facing forward, though my chin still rests in the crook between his thumb and his forefinger. His mouth continues to move, his eyebrows dip and raise, and still the words don’t even make it to my eardrums over the rush of my blood.

In the rearview mirror, I can see Mum talking. Her cheeks are flushed red as she uses one hand to steer and the other to help flourish her words—whatever they may be.

Mum’s reactions had all been for show, and now it makes perfect sense why she wasn’t against Evander. Dad saw him as a threat; Mum saw him as potential help, but for what? Me? Garret? The villagers?

Evander presses his lips to mine; they are a little cold from the rain, but it works and snaps me out of my haze.

“You killed Dad.” Is the only sentence I can get out.

“He was planning on killing you, honey,” Mum replies without batting an eyelid. “Once he realised what was happening, he was making plans. I was not going to allow that to happen.”

Deep breaths, Evander’s soothing tone enters my head.

“Dan?” I scoff. “What really happened? He would have…”

Mum sighs. “Dan was not a wolf. He followed in your father’s footsteps. In a similar way to how I will only create female alphas. Those who inherit the role by birthright, not some stupid ballot.” She glances at Evander in the rearview mirror. “Not all genes get passed on in the way we expect, like your sister.”

Evander shuffles and leans forward between the two front seats. “You know about my sister?”

“Zella and I were friends, though I would not have known you were Zella’s until you mentioned your surname.” Mum is so casual with her words, it’s baffling, and my head is exploding with fireworks.

“How… how did you know my mother?” It’s odd to hear Evander stumbling over his words.

“We grew up next door to one another.” Mum turns around another corner. We are almost out of Roseglen.

“She wasn’t born a wolf,” Evander states.

“I know, but she knew about me. She was one of the rare humans who could handle the truth. Then she disappeared one night. Her parents were slaughtered, and after that, I only saw her on two occasions. I offered to help her. I saw how desperate she was to get out, but she was pregnant.”

“With me?” Evander asks.

Mum shakes her head. “Ellie. Zella had a feeling that Ellie wouldn’t be born as expected. She feared what Henry would do. She never told me about you, Evander. It was only hearing your name and watching Alan’s reaction that I could make the connection. She never mentioned a son.”

“I’m glad you figured that out,” I snap. “As long as there are answers surrounding others, I guess that’s okay and gives a perfect reason to lie to me for years.”

“I didn’t lie, honey.”

“Pretty big fucking secret you have been keeping. I’m guessing all your actions were for show. What about Jackson? Did you know what he was doing to me? Did you know he was slowly killing me?” I rub my eyes, the blanket slipping from my shoulders, and Evander is quick to put it back into place.

One question at a time, Evander tells me, but I’m so mad, and I have a right to be. I have been lied to my whole life.

“And what about the stupid things?” I continue. “I’ve seen you with your silver trays and no reaction!”

Mum has both her hands on the steering wheel and no longer looks at me in the mirror. “We will talk about this when we get to a safe location.”

“Mum, I need answers.” My heart swells, the beat echoing throughout my entire body.

“You are angry. I understand, honey.” Mum veers around parked cars.

“Stop calling me honey as if it will somehow calm my mind. You lied to me, Mum. You have lied just as Dad did. And now you are expecting me to accept your responses as though there is a good reason for them. No! Stop the Landy, I’m getting out.”

“Aesira, honey, this is—”

“Molly, let her out.” I am so relieved to hear Evander backing me. He hated lies just as much as I did.

“We need to get to a safe zone,” Mum repeats. “Honey, I can explain everything. Just give me a few moments; we are almost there.”

“Mum, if you don’t let me out, I will throw myself out, and you won’t see me again.” It was harsh; I knew it as soon as the words left my lips, but I’m not hiding how I feel.

The brakes scream as she skids us to a stop. I throw the blanket from my shoulders and jump out into the rain. It doesn’t matter that I’m naked; I will shift.