Chapter Twenty

Cleo,

Your father will be here tomorrow morning. The office is closed on Sunday, but he will meet you in the foyer around ten.

Admin.

"Why is it bad that your father is coming to see you?" Pax looked at me with confusion in his eyes. "Do you not get along?"

Oh my goodness. My sisters and I had spoken and so, presumably, their mates knew the story, but I had not shared my story with these men who I felt such a strong connection to. "How much time do you have?"

"All night." Miles studied me with concern. "However long it takes. We want to know everything about you."

"Then would you like to come in?" I wasn't sure what the rules were for who could be in whose room at what time, but I did not want to have this conversation in the hallway. Father might well have spies here. He'd had plenty of them at the compound. "To talk."

It wasn't until I unlocked my door and led the way into my tiny dorm that I realized my mistake. I didn't exactly have a conversation pit. I had a desk with a chair. And a closet with drawers along one side, like a dresser. And a bed. I could offer the desk chair to one person, but the other three were going to end up on the bed.

"Cleo, would you rather we not be here?" Jude's voice broke into my thoughts. "Are we making you uncomfortable?"

All three of them were standing just inside my doorway, appearing less than confident in themselves for the first time since I'd met them. And I hated that I made it happen. But I had to tell them the whole story at this point, no more pretending to be just one more new student at school. I'd been worried they'd find out about my special ability, but I'd considered my father an adversary for so long, I hadn't even considered that other people might not know that. I tried to think if I'd said anything at all to them, but if I had, I didn't remember.

"I'm fine. Well, not fine, but I for sure don't want you to go. As long as you're ready to listen to the whole sordid thing, I'm ready to tell you."

Miles broke ranks and came to take my hand. "I find it hard to believe there's anything sordid about your life, at least nothing that might be your fault. And I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to hear everything about you. Cleo, our wolves are calling you mate, and we feel the same way. But we need to know your feelings."

I freed my hand, the connection too electric to be able to speak clearly or even think. "Okay. You three sit on the bed, and I will stay way over here on the desk chair and tell you what you need to know. Afterward, if you want to flee, I won't judge."

"That isn't how mating works," Jude asserted. "Whatever is going on that you need help with, we're here for you."

"Sit, guys, and don't make promises you may not want to keep. Being with me is dangerous." I waited until they all sat in a row facing me then took my chair and began. "I'm sure most people here at the Werewolf Academy know my sisters and I don't have the same moms?"

They all nodded.

"But what you may not know is I was the only one raised by or who has even met our father."

"We heard some of this when you spoke to your sisters that day," Miles said. "We weren't eavesdropping but we were reeling because our mate was sitting right there."

"Maybe then, since you did overhear that conversation, you should just ask me questions about what you don't know?"

"No, I think we'd rather hear the whole story from you, and then fill in the blanks? Cleo, everything about you is interesting to us."

So, I launched into the tale of my life, growing up in the compound with only Angie as my companion and my poor education, loneliness, and feeling confined…yearning for anything more than what I lived.

And my escape.

"So you ran away?" Jude confirmed.

"I did. And I came here hoping to build a real life."

"And now your father is on his way. To take you back?"

"I am sure of it. I'm his official heir, and he would never willingly let me be free. I don't know what he'd capable of, but I can't put you in danger. I will have to deal with him tomorrow, and if I manage to still be here after that, which probably won't happen, maybe we can talk about us."

"You are an adult, correct? Over eighteen?"

"Yes, I am over eighteen, but beyond that, I can't say how old I am. Nothing ever changed in the compound. It was always winter, and nobody held birthday parties for me. But he is an original shifter and as such, I presume that gives him authority. He can probably just demand I leave with him."

"Let's see about that." Miles growled. "You are not anyone's possession. Not his and not even ours. You are our fated mate, but you have free will. We will defend your rights to that free will to the death. To make your own choices and live as you please."

"There is one more thing you don't know about me." I swallowed hard. "At least I don't see how you could. And it's the reason he wants me so badly. I share his gift."

"Which is?" Miles spoke this time.

"I'm not sure if you'll still want me to be your mate when you know…"

"Nothing could change that," he said. "Trust us."

"I haven't had a lot of luck with trust, except Angie. At least before I came here. But here goes. I am not a wolf shifter."

They looked at each other then at me. "We've seen you shift," Jude said. "Into a wolf."

"Oh, I can do that, but name another animal." I stood up.

"What?" Jude asked. "Why?"

And then I saw understanding dawn in Pax's beautiful eyes. "Is this related to our conversation in the library? When you were talking about other…oh, Cleo. A rabbit."

I was glad he picked smaller because I was able to make the shift without undressing. It was just too intimate here in my room with them seated on the bed. The whole scene had me feeling shy. I made the shift, shrinking down into one of my very favorite furry forms. Not the arctic hare but the cutest fluffy bunny I had in me. Sweet, adorable, vulnerable, and from the gasps of my possible mates, a total surprise.