Page 42 of Cursed

“What answers were you trying to get?” Arden steps forward. “Is it about the council?”

“Very astute.” Quade nods. “I suspected one of their parents had leaked the incubus-warding spell to them. And it appears I was correct. Millie’s father gave it to her to test Shayla’s abilities—to see what she might do to escape. But Chara and Millie took it much further than he wanted. They weren’t supposed to bring you that close to death. Or trap you with Landis.”

“So you confirmed that Millie’s father is also part of the council’s magic draining?” I conclude, but this doesn’t seem like a shocking revelation that would have Quade on edge. “That’s not a surprise.”

“No. But we discovered two other huge secrets while probing around.” He sits next to me and takes my free hand.

“You’re scaring me.” I squeeze his fingers to get him to just say it already.

“We learned from them, and I confirmed it with your mother… that Tate Mannyx is your biological father.”

“Uh, what? My father? Oh my Goddess! That means…Millieis my half-sister?” I lean away from Quade and collide with Rourke’s shoulder. His hand braces my shoulder, keeping me anchored. I’m grateful for the support. “Hold on… my mother? How did youconfirmit with her? Did she know who my father was all this time?”

“Well, that kind of dovetails into the other secret.” Quade sighs and glances around the room as if reading them for their loyalty. “No. She didn’t know about his true identity. Mannyx is not a typical shifter—a wolf—as most believe. He also has something he cannot hide when he shifts… a crescent mark on his neck. Your mother recognized the mark when I showed her a picture.”

“You went to my house?” My mouth is dry. I hate that he saw the cesspool where I came from. But I know he loves me despite my past, so I dismiss that upset for the real revelation. “What kind of shifter is he?”

Before he can answer, I remember the first day of class.Shape-shifters—dangerous and with unknown powers. If I’m his daughter, then I might be similar to him. “He’s a shape-shifter, isn’t he?”

“It appears so,” Quade answers. “Although I don’t know how many people know his secret. I’m guessing only a chosen few. It doesn’t appear that your mother ever knew who she was with.”

“But my father…Mannyxknew about me all this time?” I whisper, feeling the sting of rejection and abandonment.

“You aren’t his only secret child either.” Quade frowns.

“What?” My mouth falls open.I have siblings?

An overwhelming need to find them and protect them slams into me.

“It gets worse.” My mate continues, “From what my friend was able to dig out of Millie’s brain, Mannyx was looking to create a new kind of power. I expect he means to steal it from you. Or from your siblings if they have what he’s looking for.”

“Wait… He thought someone from the original mage lineage, like my mother, would be a good test subject. I’m just an experiment. A freak.” I turn my face to the ceiling, unable to look at my mates. I don’t want to see their pity.

Then I remember I’m not the only one in jeopardy. “We have to find the others. They’re in danger.”

“We will,” Rourke promises.

Quade ignores him. He leans in and grasps the side of my face, making me stare into his golden eyes. “You arenota freak. You arenotjustanything.” He bumps my nose with his. “You’re our beautiful mate. But yes, you are a new kind of power. A power that you can turn against him for daring to abandon you to the likes of your mother.”

“But my siblings… they might have it too.”

Quade sighs heavily. “The reason I was delayed… I was investigating who might be your brothers and sisters. I looked for anyone in our paper records known to be from the Fae Queen’s direct lineage. I cross referenced by their ages for those I suspected to be one of his offspring…” He rubs his face. “They’re all missing. Probably drained. It’s why when I showed up here, I was out of my mind, thinking you are next on his list.”

“My siblings are all…gone?” I ask, my voice sounding empty. “He needs to pay for this.”

“I’ll help you to seek revenge for your siblings. But first we need to make sure you’re prepared to do that.”

“But my power… it doesn’t make sense,” I protest.

“Now that we know what your father is, we can begin to figure that out.” Quade’s grip on my hands tighten. “There’s something else.”

The weight of something else feels like it might throw me in a full spin. And I already want to collapse.

“Your mother was arrested for attacking me.” When my eyes widen and look at his body, he says, “I wasn’t hurt. But my sources say she was taken to the asylum.”

Through my mate bonds, I feel the others are thrilled with the idea of my torturer on death’s doorstep.

I don’t know how I feel about it. So much information is hitting me all at once, and I’m still processing.

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