I’m stunned. An Alpha werewolf took my mother, and no one knows what happened to her while she was gone.
Breathe, baby.
“But…” My words die on my lips when Calix reaches for my hand, crouching before me.
“She doesn’t know,” he says, gazing at me. “Her sister was taken, and that’s all she knew.”
I lift my gaze from his and address my aunt, the woman who raised me and my brother after my parents were killed.
“How did they die? Wolves, right? What wolves?”
My aunt sighs. “I don’t know. I purposefully distanced myself from any mountain men—I knew what they were, but they didn’t know about me.”
“It wasn’t any of us,” Calix snaps, pacing the room. “My family was attacked, too. More packs are being attacked as we speak.”
My aunt looks horrified, and suddenly, I feel the need to protect her.
“Calix.” I rise to my feet, and he comes to me. I cup his face in mine. “Calm.”
“Are you…” my aunt whispers, her eyes wide. “Are you his mate?”
I nod, and she sucks in a breath.
“Goodness me. Goodness me,” she repeats, but I focus on Calix.
I should be looking after you.Calix rasps in my head.
Says who?
You’ve just found out your mother was a werewolf, for fuck’s sake.
And my aunt.
He exhales heavily and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close.
“Let’s rest.” He shoots a glare at my aunt, who bows her head submissively.
Does she know he’s an Alpha?
But Calix is right. Weallneed to rest.
“Are we okay to sleep here tonight?” I ask, and my aunt nods almost frantically, like allowing us to stay here tonight will make up for years of hiding this from me. That a random pack killed my mother and father. My poor father. Did he know his wife was a werewolf? A Seer?
My head aches as Calix lifts me into his arms, and I wrap my limbs around him, suddenly exhausted.
“Rest, mate,” he whispers, stroking my hair as he ascends the stairs.
I close my eyes and let the movement of him climbing the stairs lull me into a sleep I didn’t realize I needed so badly.
“Sleep, baby,” my Alpha commands, and I do.
Chapter Thirty-Three
CALIX
Blair sleeps in my arms on the tiny bed, and I stretch my limbs to keep the blood flowing. I miss our bed back home, but Blair needs to be near her family right now, and I get it. I wonder if this is the room she grew up in; judging by the books lining the shelves, I can only assume it is. The pale pink paint on the walls must’ve once been bright, but the years of sunlight had done a number on it.
The books range from Nancy Drew to saucy-sounding titles likeThe Vampire’s Vixen. I wonder if she’s got any werewolf romances on there—I bet she does, the naughty little minx. My dick hardens at the thought of her playing with herself while reading these books, and I wonder what she’d have done a few years back if someone had told her she’d have her own Alpha one day to use and abuse as she pleased.