Page 19 of Pack Rage
“She should never have had so much magic. So much power. My blood and my wife Anya’s would be so diluted…” I blinked, a chill moving through me as the lights sputtered out. No, that was power. He was feeding electricity into himself, and then to me. “I never knew one of my descendants came to this world. I never imagined a coven existed who would know how to pull the power from the blood…”
I felt something, almost like wet kindling, trying to spark to life inside me, before he let his hand drop.
“What was that?”
“Me being a fool. When I have regained my strength, though, I will give you back your birthright.” Our gazes locked, and I knew what he meant.
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to throw up, or weep, or pass out. “She’s one of your descendants. My mother.”
He nodded slightly. “And you as well.”
For what could have been a minute, or an hour, I merely stared at him. “I’m… You’re…” I couldn’t get the words out. It seemed preposterous, but there was no hint of a lie in the air, and none in his gaze. “We’re family.”
The shifter who sat with me was infamous for being cruel. But the dark eyes that glinted with flecks of red and blue in their depths wore the kindest expression I’d ever seen directed at me. “I’m afraid so. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you choose not to. Unless our little queen asks me directly, I will even keep it from her.” One side of his mouth turned up in a rueful smile as my own jaw worked, trying to put my emotions into words. “I can imagine you are feeling horrified right now.”
I wasn’t horrified. I washopeful.
I reached out and laid my hand over his, looking for some resemblance in the shapes of our fingers. There wasn’t any, but the slight zing of energy that arced between us like a strong static charge, felt comforting again, not frightening. Finally, I let out a breath and sat against the wall next to him, not sure if I could stay upright either. It felt as if my whole world had tilted on its axis, and I was relearning the horizon.
“I was a little boy when she first started… draining me, I suppose. They called it lessons, for when I was Alpha someday. I was to stay still while she or Father… did things. Hurt me, or others in front of me. I was not to react, but keep all my emotions hidden. Never to cry. When they were done torturing me or their victim, Mother would comfort me. Well, she’d lay her hands on me for a few moments. She never helped me up. Never promised to make the pain stop.”
He let out a soft growl. “She was feeding on your pain as well as your magic.”
I thought for a moment. “That makes sense. She never loved me. Neither did he. They never said it, and they never pretended. I learned to disassociate, to distance myself from what was happening. When I was very small, I would daydream about what it would be like, to have a different mother or father. To have a family who was strong, but good. Who didn’t think I needed to learn to hurt others in order to be a strong Alpha.”
“Truly strong Alphas only hurt those who would attack the innocent, the vulnerable. They don’t need to prove their power. Theyarepower.”
“I’ve seen that with Samuel, and Brand. I used to wish I really was his brother. I wondered what it would be like to be a Becker, or a Hillier.” I let out a short laugh. “I was whipped once, when I was twelve, for writing my first name with other last names in the back of a notebook, dreaming of being someone else’s child. I thought Finnick Becker had a nice ring to it.”
“It does.” He went silent, his eyelids closing. I thought he might be sleeping until he said, “I wish I had known of your presence in the world. I wish I could have… been there, for you.”
“I wish I could help you now,” I replied. “If you won’t take my blood, can’t we do something else? You have a bond with Glen, and Luke. I’m strong. I can help you heal, help you escape.”
“We don’t need a bond, pup. We already have one.”
“We have… a bond?”
He smiled then, for a moment, his eyes still closed. “Of course we do. You’re my blood, my descendant. We have the deepest kind of connection that exists outside of a mate bond. We are already bonded. We’re family.”
I swallowed to ease the tightening in my throat. “Not that just saying it out loud does us much good.”
His eyes opened as he sucked in a sharp breath. “It could do some good, actually.”
“How?”
He managed to turn his head toward me. “Words have a magic of their own. You know this?”
I frowned. “Words like?—”
“The vows shifters take. Alpha commands. The words uttered when a pack is joined, or left. When a mate is?—”
“Rejected,” I finished for him. “Words do have power.”
He took a moment to breathe, then said, “Take my hand, Finnick, son of my bloodline.” I did, turning until I was on my knees, facing him. “I said I would restore your birthright, and I will when I am able. But for now, I can give you one thing. A new name.”
“A name?” My heart was in my throat. “What do you mean?”
“You could still be Finnick Becker someday. But I would offer you mine, though I am ashamed to say it might be as bad as your own.”
