Page 60 of Protected by the Fallen
“But she fought with demons,” I point out, glancing at Joey, “and wolves. They attacked the embassy.”
“All so we could get you out of there,” Joey speaks up. He steps closer, and it takes all my strength not to back away.
He’s your friend,I remind myself.Even if he can turn into a hairy beast, you trust him.
“Will someone please explain?” I look between them, overwhelmed and confused.
My best friend obliges. “We’re part of The Alliance,” Joey explains, “a group of supernaturals, demons and Fallen who work to keep The Darkness at bay.”
“An alliance?” I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. “Supernaturals? Like… humans who can turn into wolves?”
Joey grins, and the expression is so familiar it makes me relax. “Yeah, werewolves. And vampires, sorcerers, and other Earth demons.”
“Earth demons?”
“Demons who aren’t evil like the yancor demons who attacked us on your birthday.”
I gasp. “You remember that?”
“Not at first,” Joey shoots my soulmates a glare, “but after my brother lifted the concealment, yeah. I remembered.”
I don’t bother telling Joey my other two soulmates are actually the ones responsible for his mind wipe.
I connect the dots. “So… your entire family are… werewolves?”
“Yes.”
“And they can remove Fallen concealments?”
“Most of us can. Though, the hard part is sensing there’s a concealment in the first place. I’m glad I went to visit California after graduation, otherwise there is no telling how long I might’ve had my head messed up.”
“I am so sorry,” I feel the need to apologize. “Honestly, I thought it would be better if you didn’t remember. I had no idea you were…”
“Like you.” Joey’s grin remains. “Well… not exactly like you. I was so surprised when they told me my best friend was The Cursed One. I’ve known you for years, and I had no idea what you are.”
“That would be thanks to me,” Odette speaks up with a smirk, waggling her fingers in the air.
I frown. “You told Lukas it was another sorcerer.”
“I lied,” she says. “And Lukas knew it.”
“So it was all an act for me? So I wouldn’t know?”
“Bingo.” She winks, as if she didn’t just admit to deceiving me on purpose.
“Wait.” I’m remembering the first time I met Odette, and another thought hits me. “If you enacted the ward on my powers, that means you know my…”
“Parents,” Odette finishes for me. “No. I only know your mother. She is the one who commissioned me for the spell.” I’d really underestimated what the sorceress knows about me. She’d played it so cool when we first met.
The ground tilts beneath me. Joseph reaches out and holds onto my elbow, helping me stay on my feet.
“Who is she?” I whisper, not realizing I’ve been curious about her identity for a while now. In the past, I would push aside any thoughts about my birth parents. Not only because it was hard to consider the fact they left me on my own, but because it also felt like a betrayal to my mom and dad in Texas. Oliver and Janet Messenger raised me as their own, and I felt I owed them my loyalty. It’s only now that I realize my parents would never begrudge me for wanting to know more about my birth parents. It changes nothing about how much I love them, and it doesn’t change the fact they will always be my family.
“Maybe she should tell you herself,” Odette says, losing some of her amusement, recognizing the seriousness of the moment.
“She’s here?” Thank goodness for Joseph’s hand, otherwise my legs would’ve collapsed from under me.
Odette glances hesitantly at my soulmates. “She leads The Alliance. Lukas is her second in command, though many believe he is the sole leader. Your mother prefers it that way.”
