Page 73 of Shattered

“And you’re a shifter, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Can you tell me exactly what classification shifter you are?”

Hayden’s brow furrowed, and Mackenzie wondered if his niece was thinking the same thing he was. Where was this asshole going with his line of questioning?

“I’m a wolf shifter. Alpha female, to be exact.” Hayden locked her gaze on the man in front of her. “But my ranking doesn’t matter within the pack, since I follow my uncle and his laws.”

“Yet, you weren’t aware of what you were until you came to Window Rock, is that correct?”

“That is correct. I knew growing up I was different from others, although I never understood why.”

The line of questions confused Mackenzie. Everything had been quick and simple when Charles asked Hayden questions. This guy, however, seemed to be baiting Hayden in. To what end or what for, Mackenzie didn’t know, and the knot in his stomach cinched down a bit more.

“You didn’t know who your dad was, or about your twin brother, or the fact your entire extended family held an iron fist on all of Window Rock.”

“No,” she answered.

Mackenzie winced, grateful Kalkin wasn’t here. He knew his younger brother would take exception to the lawyer’s snide comment. The Rafertys, hell the entire pack and the pride protected the town, even with their own lives. Everett’s scars should have proved that. The same with Danielle’s and Loraine’s.

“As a matter of fact, until the age of fourteen, your entire family was your aunt, Holly Geithner.”

Hayden looked at the other man as if bored.

“Mrs. Lopez?”

“Yes?” She blinked, batting her lashes at the man.

“You didn’t answer the question. Do you need me to repeat it?”

Hayden’s hand went to her chest in fake distress, and Mackenzie bit back a grin. The twinkle of mischief in her eyes had him ready to burst in a fit of laughter. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was one, between rehashing my teenage years and bashing my family’s supposed tight hold on the town.” She arched a brow. “Yes. Holly was my only family.”

“And did you love her?”

Sorrow filled Hayden’s features and her cobalt-colored eyes. Hayden had loved and respected her aunt all of her life. Nevertheless, Holly’s determination to keep Nico and Hayden apart had started to slowly chip at the respect his niece had for her aunt. Mackenzie saw it, the first cracks creating a rift between them. Then when all the evidence against Holly came to light, Hayden had done the same thing he’d done—cut all ties with the woman she’d loved. Hayden and Mackenzie were forced to see the truth for what it was. Even if was painful.

Holly was a user. She’d used him, Hayden, hell the entire pack and pride while she waited for Hayden to mature, so she could hand Hayden off to that sick fuck of a brother of hers to be used as a breeder. And, for all intents and purposes, Mackenzie had facilitated the sham by keeping Holly in Window Rock and allowing her to help raise Hayden.

Guilt rode him hard at the part he’d played in Hayden’s life.

“Idid,” Hayden admitted, keeping her answer simple.

He nodded. “Why did you come to Window Rock?”

Hayden shrugged. “As far as I always knew, it was by chance. We were on the run, hiding from those who had already kidnapped me once. At least, it’s the story Holly always told me as I was growing up and she wanted me to believe. It worked, too, because it’s all I knew.”

“You have doubts it wasn’t by chance?”

“Ahh, yeah. That’s one hell of a coincidence to stumble into thesametown where my father, my twin brother, and the rest of my family lived, don’t you think?” She held up her hand. “Sorry, you’re asking the questions here, not me.

Alexander grinned. “But you never asked?”

Hayden sighed. “I was fourteen. A child. I didn’t fully understand or even realize how impossible those odds were.”

“What about as you got older? Surely, you had to realize that two and two didn’t make five?”

“I had doubts. But I knew there was no point in asking. Holly would’ve never told me the truth of why she did what she did.”

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