Nate

I can’t believe my sister told him. Traitress. He knows I played a trick on him.

— Don’t look at your sister with that dark look. She didn’t say anything. I just put the pieces together. You have fun making people’s noses bleed and you just took away my sense of smell. I take it that you manipulate the atoms of the human body to your liking.

My wide—open eyes, as well as Ashley’s, confirm these words. No one has ever guessed before.

— Don’t be so surprised. I know very well fatels powers. Now, please, if you could give me back my abilities.

He knows very well fatels powers? How is it possible? He must approximately have Ashley’s age and fatels don’t mix with other peoples. Simple courtesy visits on occasion, but that was the end of it. He couldn’t have known much with a few visits.

Unless, of course, he was the child of a splinter pack that held fatels prisoner to wrest their knowledge and their lives.

— I hate nosebleeds.

He holds his nasal appendage dripping red between his fingers.

— Stop it, Sam.

I hear the anguish in Ashley’s voice, but a veil of pure rage darkens my mind. He was one of the dissidents, I am sure of it. I increase the pressure and my power grows. His eyes are now crying tears of blood. Yet the shifter remains calm, no sign of panic on his face, and he doesn’t move a muscle. My sister, on the other hand, is in a tizzy. She should know that I would never hurt her.

The reverse is not true. I feel an intense pain in my hand, where she hit me. She didn’t hit me hard, but the pain is burning, and when I lift my hand, I see my skin reddened, as if burned. I lose my focus and at the same time my hold on Sean, who rushes towards Ash.

— Shhh. Everything’s fine. I have nothing serious.

He takes her against him, in his arms, and cradles her like a child, staining her beautiful blond hair and pale skin with red. This scarlet color on her alabaster skin makes me nauseous and I instinctively lean forward.

That’s when I see fire on Ashley’s hands. There are fucking flames on her fingertips, and these two think it’s normal! Sean meets my eyes and explains.

— Your sister acquired pyrokinesis through our union, only she doesn’t have good control over her new gift yet. She didn’t mean to hurt you.

My sister is playing with fire? In every sense of the world! I finally understand Sevana’s words. The bond of union gives the fatels an undeniable advantage over their shifter partners.

My sister is perfectly capable of defending herself against Sean if he had the bad idea of hurting her, something he knew when they bonded because he saw it with Sevana and the alpha. So why did he do it anyway?

— Why did you claim her?

— Because she’s my soul mate and I love her.

No hesitation on his part, just a real certainty.

— How do you know the fatels?

— They raised me.

No sign of trickery. But his answer raises even more questions.

— Look, you don’t trust me and I don’t trust you. I’ll tell you my story when we know each other better.

— That’s never going to happen because you’re leaving. You’re leaving Treat territory.

He sighs and looks Ashley in the eye. My sister looks sad, defeated, and resigned. Determined to get on with her life without me, away from me, even if she doesn’t like it. A meager comfort.

— I have a deal to offer you. Take it or leave it, decision is yours, but the conditions are non—negotiable. In any case, I’m going back home, to the Guardian Angels pack, because I’m the beta and we’re defending a just cause I care about. That’s where I belong, and Ashley is going with me.

If I let loose, I’d make him pee blood, but my sister is tearful enough as it is. So I clench my teeth to answer.

— Go ahead, I’m listening.

— You can come with us and join the Guardian Angels. Like here, you will have your own house away from the others to be quiet. In return, you will follow the treatment that Peter gives you and you will train with me to learn how to channel your gift.

I didn’t expect this proposal. I am speechless. Not Ashley, who throws herself at Sean to kiss him full on the lips.

— You have changed your mind? You agree to let her come with us?

— It’s your sister? Besides, I never said no. I just told you it was going to be complicated.

It’s Ash’s idea. She wants me in her life. I just need one last piece of information before deciding.

— Will I have to bond with a shifter?

— I’d appreciate it if you made friends, or at least didn’t hurt anyone, but no, this isn’t about union. Not in any way. All members of the pack are free to make their own decision and choose their mate, including you.

— So, my choice is made. I accept.

— Good. One last warning: if you attack any one of us, you’re going right back to the Treat.

Ashley’s right, he’s a true beta. But he’s a lot fairer than that creep Nathan. I’m not going to miss that one. I never liked him and I’m not about to mourn his death.

My sister gives me a huge hug before leaving to pack her bags. We leave in two hours. In two hours, I’ll be leaving Treat territory, the only place I’ve known since I was six. I’ve never been anywhere else, never seen anything else. When Peter rescued us, we followed his pack from town to town. I was young, and more than a little confused. I have few memories of that time. When I was six, my powers began to develop, growing along with my anger and fear of strangers. The pack found this place and we moved in. I never left. I’ve never felt the need to, and most of all, I’m too afraid of the world to go exploring it.

My adoptive father also thought it was dangerous for others. I could have attacked the first shifter I came across and I wouldn’t have hesitated for a moment to kill him. And now I’m going to find myself in the middle of an unknown pack, in a foreign territory. It will take me superhuman efforts to keep calm and control my anxiety. It’s a good thing I’m not human, I’m a fatel.

However, I am not kidding myself. I won’t be able to manage my anger overnight, if I ever do, which will not be easy.

In any case, the journey to the Guardian territory is going to be hell. I’d rather had my back or Sean will send me home before we even get there. I need to see Peter. I’ve gotten into the habit of calling him when I need him to make the trip. Only, things are going to change so I might as well start now.

I walk up to my front door and pause. When was the last time I walked through this door? I can’t even remember. I’ve been a recluse for so long, wandering around my house or the back yard when the need for fresh air arises, which is rare.

Without giving myself more time to change my mind, as I would surely find a valid reason not to go, I turn the handle and find myself in the open air, the sun warming my skin with its rays.