• The • Rise • Of • The • Shapeshifters •

Chapter Eighteen~ Untold Secrets.

"You... You murdered an innocent because she had your belongings? For any other human, it wouldn't have been so bad but you're a shapeshifter! You could have transformed into something and just take it back! You didn't have to kill her! First you killed my godmother, now you want to chase Lucien out of my life too. Did you kill my father Aunt Jessica? Because the Venatores didn't!"

Her head snapped up. "What did you say about Isaiah?"

I gritted my teeth. "The Venatores did not kill him, Lucien told me."

"You truly believe him?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I believe him."

She wiped her eyes. I didn't even realize she was crying. "Rathbones have their own agenda Alecia, they always have, don't trust them."

"Don't change the subject! Who killed my father!" I was shaking now.

"I... I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Just calm down, you've only heard a part of the story, withold your anger and pain until you know everything."

You need to know the story. The whole story. I remembered Lucien's words.

I folded my arms tightly so I wouldn't reach over and take her skin off.

"Let's hear it."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Let's start with when Nova and I first shifted. I was 16 and she was 18. We were by the river when hunters came out of nowhere and aimed arrows at us.  Before they even tried anything, Nova grabbed my arm and we started running. But as we were under the shelter of the trees, two of them dropped on our backs and started to bash our heads in the ground. That triggered the change. We fought them and escaped."

I nodded.

"After that things were pretty calm, but mama and dad kept us on our toes. Trained us. Everything was just fine. Until Cora showed up." She scowled. "Cora is a... No one's really sure. She's not an exact member but when needed she comes running. She befriended us and introduced us to some others. Ingrid was one and your father was another. The longer Cora stayed in Kingswood the more paranoid Nova and I became. Her presence brought a darkness. You felt so claimed by her when she was around, and when she wasn't it was like she still saw you. Eventually, Cora left and the earth itself sighed with relief."

She ran a hand through her hair.

"Time passed and everyone started to pair off. Venatores and Shapeshifters. It was peaceful, we thought it was going to be alright. Then Cora returned... She was furious with The Venatores. I'm not sure what caused the feud but it was ugly. Cora and the Captain at the time, were so angry, They fought tirelessly. With guns, arrows, knives. The Venatores cowered and sought refuge with a family, we're not sure who they were. After a few days. Cora and the Captain both disappeared. Without a trace. They just vanished. And the culprits were naturally the Shapeshifters."

"With the feeling of a brewing war. I convinced Nova and Isaiah to leave. For two reasons, one I knew they would target Isaiah to make us hurt and two, Nova was carrying a priceless cargo. You. Sending them away was a mistake. The Venatores were convinced they were the ones who took their Captain. They spent years searching for them. I doubt you remember all the moving around."

She kicked a pebble.

"Someone... He came to me one afternoon. He kept repeating that my sister was in danger. He gave me a compass, said it was designed by the Venatores and if I found them, I'd find Nova. I didn't wait for a second I took it and started for the exit of Kingswood. But when I was about to leave, Ingrid stopped me and took the compass."

I gasped.

"She called me a traitor. She said I was working for the people who were trying to kill her best friend. She threatened to break the compass and tell everyone what I was doing. When she said that I was nothing but an abomination... I snapped... I killed her. Right there in the street. By the time I morphed back I saw the little boy hiding in the bushes. I knew he saw everything, there was this wild and scared look in his eye. But I didn't have time to approach him or take him home. I raced out of Kingswood with the compass leaving Ingrid's body in the street."

Aunt Jessica put her face in her hands and her body started to shake violently from her crying.

I reached over and hugged her.

"There's a beast inside all Shapeshifters Ally. Believe me, no matter how hard we try to stifle it, it comes out when our minds are clouded." She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Don't ever let the beast inside you rip your humanity to shreds."

"You still have your humanity aunt Jessica..."

She shook her head. "There's something else you should know-" Her eyes were gazing at something behind me. I turned around to see a marking on the trees. A diamond with the letter P inside. The same marking was on every tree. It was at that moment I realized the place was absolutely quiet.

"What is that...?"

"It's a symbol."

"Well I can see that... What does it mean?"

"I remember seeing it when Cora was coming." She started to look around. "We have to go."

"I'm not coming. I'm already here." We turned around to see a woman dressed in full black step out from behind the trees. "And you are not going anywhere." Before either of us could transform to defend ourselves, I felt a prick on my neck. My legs turned to jelly and little black spots dotted my eye sight.

"It's so good to see you again darling." Was the last thing I heard before I plunged into darkness.

~KimZee ✨💜✨

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