Page 143 of Claimed

I know who I am. I know what I deserve. This man right here. He’s mine and though he’s angry with me, I think he’ll understand once I tell him.

“Wyatt’s my half-brother,” I begin. “Different mothers. But it sounds like we would’ve been related anyway. When Wyatt’s mother died, Father took a second wife. His first wife’s cousin. This was my mother.”

Grey’s face changes, and I keep going.

“Stick with me here, I’ll get there. He was able to mate with them and produce the both of us so it must have been fated, right?”

“Your father was alpha, so yeah,” Grey agrees.

“There are a few situations in the pack that had me concerned. Rumor is that Kimmy, one of the little kids who’s sick right now, the one with just one arm… rumor is that her sire was her great-uncle.”

Grey’s expression darkens.

I go on, “Her mother’s uncle got drunk and forced himself on her.Wyatt put him to death for it, but Kimmy’s mother denied that he was Kimmy’s father. Said she’d been with two othermen that month of conception so any of them could have been Kimmy’s sire, but I think she was afraid Wyatt would put Kimmy to death, so she made that up. It’s stuck with me that maybe Kimmy was born missing an arm because of incest. And… Wyatt has never been right in the head, and I found out about five years back through finding unfiled census records for The Collective from before Wyatt was born that Father was first cousins with Wyatt’s mom. I can’t find records about my own mom, how she was related to Wyatt’s mom, and it could be that she was related on the other side of her family, but she could also have been another first cousin. To both Wyatt’s mom and my father.”

I shrug and continue. “I asked Aunt Shea if our mothers were related and she said she didn’t think so, but she was acting weird about it. Changed the subject. I tried to bring it up again a day later and again… she deflected. Aunt Shea is one of Father’s sisters so I feel like she should know, they’d be her first cousins, too. Nobody really told me much about my mother when I was a kid. Just that Father brought her from some other village to look after Wy when his mom died and wound up taking her as his. My mother disappeared when I was a baby, so my grandparents came from their village to look after me. I stayed with them until I was six when my grandmother died, and I then moved in with Father and Wyatt. And… no one really knows much about where any of them are from. Or they didn’t want to tell me. Maybe I’m not right in the head either. Or maybe our offspring, if I’m healthy enough to carry and deliver them… w-won’t be.”

Grey is looking at me with sorrow in his eyes.

I ask, “How can a pairing like Father had with both our mothers be fated?”

He blows out a long exhale but doesn’t speak so I keep going.

“I don’t get it. And maybe that’s part of why Wyatt doesn’t believe in fated mates, and I had trouble with the notion. Because why would Fate pair up an alpha with a relative? How could I spill all these concerns to you when we first met, Grey? There’s so much going on. So much. And I’m… I’m trying to come to grips with it all while being in a relationship for the first time and … and… not wanting to upset you. Wanting everything to be perfect.”

Grey takes a step back and my heart sinks.

He frowns. “Things can’t always be perfect, Stacy. That’s life.”

I feel myself slump. “I’ve been afraid you’d reject me.”

As if I didn’t even say that, he says, “Take it Kimmy’s mother’s uncle wasn’t an alpha?”

“No…”

“Well, we’ll have to look into all of that, I suppose.” He’s looking at me with a very guarded, still hurt expression. “Wyatt born before your father became alpha of this pack?”

“Yeah,” I say. “We both were.”

“Your father may have been considered beta until he took over for your grandfather. Was he the firstborn son?”

I shake my head. “No. He had an older brother that got killed by human hunters.”

“That’s likely it,” Grey reasons. “Traditional shifter packs often have strong betas that’ll become alphas in the right environment. Your grandfather’s firstborn was likely intended to be the alpha of this pack, but your father took on traits when your grandfather died.”

I absorb this.

“Our pack is unique,” he reminds me. “The way our pack operates is a little different. Since most packs have one alpha, the rest betas and omegas, the strong betas can transition to alphas. Usurped alphas can eventually transition to beta, lose their alpha traits. It’s conceivable a shifter could become a father before he takes on alpha traits.”

“Oh?”

His eyes work over my face, and I can tell he’s not okay with all this information. Even less okay with the fact I didn’t share it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Grey. I’m ashamed. Ashamed of who I am, where I come from, how I grew up and what my life looks like. Especially compared to looking at who you are, where you come from. I was going to ask your sister to help me find out the truth through her genealogy project, but I was going to wait until all this was over with Wyatt.”

“So youweregoing to tell me?” he asks acidly.

“I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. Or upset you, if I’m honest. I really don’t like upsetting you.”

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