Page 22 of Bitten, Marked, Obsessed

“But youdid it.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“And I’ll carry that guilt until the day I die. But you, Kendall—you’re mine. You werebornfor this. And you need to understand what that means before it kills you.”

I don’t know whether to scream or cry or punch a wall.

“So wait, if Adora isn’t what… everweare, but still could feel it, then–”

He cuts me off with a growl. “I don’t know. She’s something, whatever her real father is, just notmine.”

I can tell that’s as far as I’m going to get with him on that but my mind spins. Does Adora know she’s not his? Does mom? But then I realize none of the questions matter right now and can be answered by my own father. So, I take a moment and try to wrap my head around what he can tell me.

“So help me understand,” I say slowly. “Because right now, I’m just a girl who got jumped by her werewolf father in the dark and now hears rats scuttling under buildings like they’re whispering secrets.”

He sighs, but I can tell he’s happy I dropped the Adora topic. “The Bolvi line didn’t just survive the old purges. Wethrivedunder them. Because we didn’t need packs. We didn’t need the old laws. We’re built different. Stronger. Wilder. And harder to control.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

“To them? No. To humans? Definitely not. But to us? It’s a gift.”

My head spins.

He steps closer, his voice low now.

“There are factions, Kendall. Ones that want our kind registered, locked up, or worse. They’re already watching us. And now that you’ve awakened, they’ll be looking for you.”

“Then I won’t let them find me.”

“Not without training, you won’t. And not alone.”

I stare at him. My father. The man who vanished for days, pretended to be a drunk, and then bit me like an animal—and now says he’s my only shot at surviving.

God help me.

“I don’t trust you,” I say quietly.

“You don’t have to. You just have tolisten.”

I hate how much that makes sense.

“So what, you’re gonna teach me to fight now?”

“Fight. Shift. Hide. Control it. Blend when you need to, run when you can’t. Andneverlet them scent you before you scent them.”

He glances toward the street, then back.

“I’ll introduce you to the underground. Quietly. It’s not just wolf shifters and werewolves anymore. There are dragons, witches, fae—everyone’s scrambling now that the Veil’s down. But if we move right, if we stay quiet, they won’t see you coming.”

“And if they do?”

His eyes darken.

“Then we make sure they regret it.”

10

CALLUM

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