Stronger as One (#1, Completed)

3. Revelations

My dad paused, the anguish in his eyes evident. Like whatever he was seeing was happening right in front of him. No matter how crazy what he was telling me sounded, the possibility that even a fragment of it could be true made every fibre of my being come to a standstill.

"The people who killed your parents," he continued with a heavy sigh, "they came to get your family once your car had stopped tumbling."

A cold shiver ran down my spine, the horror of the scene he described slowly sinking in.

"Your mum and dad... they didn't survive the crash. But you were alive and terrified. And there was a boy with you. He was just as scared, trying desperately to reach you through the debris as you sat strapped into your car seat."

A boy? Confusion swirled within me, mingling with the growing sense of dread. Who was he? The authorities never mentioned finding anyone else. Just me and my biological parents.

"His instinct to survive must have kicked in," Dad said, a note of understanding in his voice, "because his wolf took over for self-preservation. He shifted and ran away."

Now it was Lucien's turn to look shocked and pained, like he understood what my dad was talking about.

"The men who attacked, they found you in the wreckage," Dad explained, pacing the room with a restless energy. "They wanted to take you, but first, they had to neutralise your wolf." He stopped, running a hand through his hair, his expression fraught. "You see, shifter children typically start shifting later in life. But extreme danger or trauma can trigger an early shift as a primal defence mechanism."

I tried to wrap my head around his crazy talk, but my head was spinning. Every next thing he said was more insane than the previous ones.

"That's what saved your brother–he managed to shift and escape. But before you could do the same, those lowlives hurt your wolf, incapacitating it." His voice broke, and he turned away, his body tense with barely contained rage. "Luckily, the paramedics' arrival forced them to abandon their plan, so they had to flee. The rest of the story you know."

Before I could process it all, Mum took over again.

"After we accessed your memories, we realised the danger you were still in—from those who killed your parents, those who sent them, even from innocent humans who might notice something... different about you." Anguish creased her face. "We had to protect you, darling. It was our only thought."

"What are you talking about?"

She gestured to the bracelet on my wrist. "This wasn't just a piece of jewellery; it was a shield, a spell to conceal your true nature. A protection bracelet. For twenty-four years, it's kept you safe from our world's dangers. Aside from a few minor incidents at your work, you were unharmed."

Blinking, I grappled with the ludicrous revelations. Warlocks, shifters, missing brother, murdered parents, magic... This had to be a hallucination; too bizarre and vivid to be anything but a nightmare.

The tension that had been building inside me snapped, and all I could do was burst out laughing.

"Let's say I believe you," I said, my tone laced with sarcasm and mockery, neither of which escaped my mum and dad's attention, both of them lacking their usual confidence. "You went through my memories, witnessed my birth parents' murder, and chose never to tell me?"

"We were trying to give you a fresh start," Dad pleaded. "A chance at a normal, happy life."

"Happy? How could you expect happiness when you've kept the truth from me?" I spat, temper flaring fast before reason reined it in.