CHAPTER 7

When I finally sat at the breakfast table, waiting numbly, patiently, to hear what they had to tell me, mum was cooking some eggs while Xari buttered some toast. Celeste, like me, had not said a word, sitting by my side frustratingly watching them. None of us touched our phones or spoke, we just sat there—waiting. Come to think about it, I hadn't even seen my phone since yesterday, before everything went down. It was likely that I left it in his bedroom, which, if I really thought about it, was probably a good thing because I didn't want to hear from him. I didn't want him to try to reach me. He knew me enough to know I would need my space right now and he wouldn't dare come to the house in case mum called the cops, even if it killed him inside to stay away. If I had my phone, he would definitely be calling me, coming up with some bullshit excuse to clear his name, one I would most likely believe because this was River. This was my River.

But no more. I would not be taken advantage of again, strung along like some stupid lovesick puppy. It was time for me to be tough—tough like the other females in my life. These females here with me now.

Xari placed the plate of toast at the centre of the table before returning to the kitchen to refill her coffee cup. She was clearly going to need it if her troubled expression was any indication. Thank God I was numb because otherwise I would not be able to handle any big news right now. It was the last thing I needed.

Mum finally bought over the rest of the food, a feast—as if any of us were going to eat it. She quietly rearranged the plates and mugs to make room for the eggs, sausages, beans and platter of fruit. And then proceeded to fill up my plate. I just looked at her blankly.

Xari was now seated on my other side, leaving the space in front of me clear for mum.

"MUM!" Celeste lost her cool first, snapping at mum when she moved on from my plate and onto hers.

Xari carefully grabbed mum"s wrist, urging her to put the plate down. "Maya, just rip the bandaid off," she prompted.

"Yes, please do." Celeste mumbled in agreement. She didn't try to hide her annoyance.

Mum cautiously took her seat, eyeing the two of us nervously before she started. "Girls, I haven't been entirely truthful and I'm afraid it's put you both in danger." She paused, and so did the world it seemed. "I was not technically in the army. I was a soldier though. More accurately, I … I was a hunter," she looked towards her sister who sat quietly with her coffee mug held tightly between her hands. "We both were. Xari still is." I had no words, creasing my brows in confusion as I tried to fathom what she was saying.

The silence was broken by an unamused scoff from Celeste. "A hunter. Really mum? Of what?" She crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze not wavering as she looked at mum, challenging her.

Mum looked between both of us, ringing her fingers anxiously. She took a deep breath and seeing our expressions she expanded on her previous statement. "We were born into an academy that hunts the supernatural; the Gray Knights of Carrington. Our mother … your grandmother … she was one of the original members. Werewolf attacks were prevalent at the time and they killed without consequences, so your grandma, who was in the army, was rallied in by a major named Theodore Gray who founded the operation and became general of the Gray Knights. We were trained like we were in the army, learning how to fight these creatures and protect humans. Myself and Theodore's daughter, Thea, were born in the academy itself in the UK—the first ever compound created by the Knights in Greater Manchester. We grew up together, learning how to fight from the moment we could walk. We became soldiers—warriors—trained to kill the unkillable; to kill wolf shifters and any other creatures that threatened the human existence. Two years later, our family moved to the US so we could bring the Gray Knights across the borders, and that's when Xari was born. By this point, the Knights had a decent following. We were separate from the army, although they knew about us, but we were our own private squad that went under the radar."

I wanted to be shocked at what she was saying but right now, nothing shocked me. Celeste on the other hand looked baffled, staring at mum like she was talking gibberish. In seconds her expression changed, like she finally got the joke.

"Okay mum. Yeah, that makes sense." She snickered sarcastically. "Wolf shifters? Really? Like werewolves? What do you take us for?" Her voice was rising with her frustration, her hands flinging up in the air. She looked at me to chime in but words, thoughts, had escaped me.

"Celeste, just listen to me. I promise baby, this is the truth. I wish I was lying, but I'm not. And you need to know now. I was wrong. The larger danger comes from you being in the dark." Celeste didn't say anything. She just crossed her arms again, slumped into her chair and continued to stare at mum, a silent approval to continue.

"When I was twenty, I met your father and everything changed. I was distracted and in love and I briefly left. But the main reason I did so was because your father was a wolf shifter." My mouth dropped to the floor. Or at least I thought it did, but my body was too frozen to actually move. Celeste was silent so I assumed she was in the same boat. Mum didn't pause to let us react but kept going. It was as if she thought if she didn't get it all out right now, she never would get the chance again.

"When I met him, I realised not all wolves were bad. We were trained to think that way but we only ever attacked ones that attacked humans first. Nevertheless, the Knights would never in a million years have allowed us to be together. So I fled. And your father, being the kind-hearted, caring person that he was, left his pack too. They weren't the most understanding shifters and would never have trusted a former hunter in their presence—let alone their pack. We both left everything behind for each other. We chose each other." Mum's voice cracked with emotion. "Travelling was so ingrained in me that your father and I still moved around constantly, exploring the States, trying to find a place that felt like home for the two of us. Four years later I had you, Venus. And just over two years after that, we had Celeste. We were happy; a perfect little family. I was out for more than a decade, trying to re-establish my life without the Gray Knights. One horrible day, about two years after we had you Celeste, your father, he … he was attacked by a rogue wolf while he was letting his own wolf run in the forest. He found his way back to us, but his injuries were too severe and without an alpha, his healing abilities were not strong enough, especially when they were obtained from another shifter. I tried to nurse him back but he knew it wasn't possible. After he died, I felt this pull to go back. I needed to make the world right again. I needed to fight to protect people from them."

"During my absence, Thea moved to the States at some point and took over, building up the New York compound. I returned and didn't have the mental capacity to run an academy anymore, so I continued on the field, forcing us to keep relocating until my accident." She looked up at us, guilt crumpling her features for the lie she lived. "It wasn't a bomb. I was attacked by another rogue. I was lucky I left with my leg. But after that—after almost dying—I knew I needed to give you girls my full attention. Yes, you had Xari to take care of you, but you needed your mother. So I pulled out of the task force and moved us here so I could keep an eye on things upstate but also give you girls a proper home."

Celeste looked across at our aunt. "And Aunt Xari?" She asked. The fire in her eyes had died down a little. Instead, there was a hint of sadness there.

Xari offered her a small smile. "With your mum gone, I stepped up and took a leadership role as one of the colonels. Since you girls no longer needed me, I moved around, helping establish and train new compounds. I've been at the L.A academy for the last few years but before that I was based in the UK for a stint, continuing my training so I'd be ready for the leadership role that your mum left behind."

"And … you like it? That life?" I finally spoke, gripping my coffee cup impossibly tight but not daring to take a sip, as if any sudden movements would somehow startle them and they'd stop telling us the truth. My aunt had seemed to live this fabulous life all these years, and although some of the details were most definitely a lie, I had to know if the fulfilment she always seemed to have was not. Could it make me feel whole again? Was this my calling?

"I love it. I get to keep people safe but I also get to kick ass. Plus, people look to me for leadership—for direction. And I know I'm making the world a better place." She smiled at me. "After all your parents went through, it felt right for me."

Mum chimed in, looking at her mug as she nervously bit her lip. "You girls are hunters too. It's in your blood and you've been trained, mostly to protect yourself but nevertheless, you've had some training. It's your birthright to be in the Gray Knights, just like me and just like Xari." Her eyes glistened with sadness. "I didn't want that life for you. I thought it was too dangerous. But I see now that keeping you in the dark has been dangerous. There's no hiding your destiny from you, it followed you no matter how hard I tried to stop it."

"What about the shifter blood?" I dared to ask, my voice barely a whisper.

"Well, your father and I were not too sure if it would be passed down to you girls. We were likely the first ever hunter-shifter couple, so we had nothing to go by. But you girls never showed any signs of being shifters. I've watched you over the years, waiting to tell you the second I saw anything. But if either of you would have shifted, it would have happened by now."

"We assume the hunter gene took over, as you can't physically be both. And the existence of us hunters is to protect from shifters, so it makes sense that the hunter gene would be dominant." Xari added.

Guess I wasn't Elena after all. I was Jeremy. And thank fuck for that. Jeremy was a whole lot more interesting. The places my mind wandered to when I was distressed was unbelievable. Really Venus, vampire diaries at a time like this?

At this point, my body was in a state of shock that allowed my brain to hear the information but not fully retain anything. It would take time for the meaning of all this to sink in.

We continued to talk until sundown. There was so much to say, so much to learn and so much to digest. Somehow, some way, mum wasn't a hundred percent certain River was a wolf shifter. She explained that when she stepped down and wanted a quieter life she was sent to this town to monitor nearby wolf activity. River's pack had apparently been very under the radar, so much so that they lived under my mother's nose without her fully catching on. They seemed like wolf shifters based on their appearance and physical abilities, but there were no traces of wolf activity amongst the humans around here. No attacks, no injuries and no deaths, which she explained was odd but didn't warrant any further investigation. I didn't know if that meant mum was just out of touch or if River and his family were just experts at concealing themselves. Considering the subterfuge used to hunt down my friend and deceive me, I was going with the latter. Which was a scary thought. I basically lived with the wolves. And it wasn't some fairytale like I initially believed. Or maybe it was, but he wasn't my prince charming. River was the big bad wolf.

Mum did mention that recently there had been a scatter of activity around the state of New York, with a few human sightings of larger than average wolves in our forests, particularly within Adirondack Park and near us in the Catskills. There were quite a few sightings in Woodstock, which our tiny town bordered, and recently a few minor attacks. She had been keeping an eye on it, reporting her findings to the Gray Knights. But there had been no deaths. And no leads.

A part of me wondered if mum didn't look into things further because this was River.

And then last night happened.

I could sense the guilt radiating from mum, like she hadn't done her job properly; both as a Knight and as a mother. She had failed to warn us of these dangers, assuming that if River could be a shifter, that he wasn't a threat given his lifestyle so far and that I had grown up with him my whole life. She knew him. She had watched him grow from a kind, twelve year old kid to a gentle and caring twenty-three year old who was a sweet and loving boyfriend to her daughter. And boy had her intuition been wrong.

So had mine.

After all the knowledge I had gained, the sadness—that numb feeling that overtook my body—changed into anger.

I was mad. Mad at River beyond a doubt, for obvious reasons. Mad at my mum for never telling me. Mad at Xari for leaving us in the dark and running off. Mad at myself for being so naive. Mad.

Which is why when they told me about the academy in New York, I didn't hesitate to pack my bags. I'd leave in the morning. I needed space and to be away from all the lies of my old life. I needed to learn to fight, to protect myself, so no one could hurt me like this again. Nothing would bring back Amelia, but I sure as hell wasn't letting this happen to anyone else in this town. And avenging her by putting a stop to River and his pack seemed like an added bonus.

I wasn't sure if I was doing this more for Amelia or for myself—for being played and manipulated. But either way, this felt like the right step for me.

Yes, I was being a tad petty.

Okay maybe a lot petty.

Fine, I was being a revenge-seeking, petty bitch.

But I was a bitch on a mission.