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Marcus’ expression softened, though something dark flickered in his eyes. “Your father was Reece Walker. He was one of the last pure First Pack descendants, a powerful but peaceful alpha. Your mother, Sarah Chen…” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “He met her while protecting her from a rogue pack.”

“Protecting her?” My stomach did an uncomfortable flip. “Why would a rogue pack be after my mom?”

“She was aware of our world,” Derek explained, his voice tight with old anger. “She’d discovered some truths about the supernatural, and certain packs… they didn’t like that.”

“So my dad protected her,” I said slowly, “and they fell in love? Like some kind of supernatural bodyguard romance?”

Caleb’s fingers tightened slightly on my neck. “It wasn’t that simple.”

“Of course not,” I muttered. “Because nothing in my life can ever be straight out of a romance novel. It has to be more like a thriller with romantic elements and probably a tragic twist.”

“Your father loved your mother very much,” Marcus said firmly. “And she loved him. But there were those who wanted to claim your father’s power, his bloodline. Rival alphas who…” He stopped, jaw clenching.

“Who what?” I asked, though the sick feeling in my stomach told me I already knew.

“Who killed him,” Derek finished quietly. “Before you were born. Your mother was already pregnant with you. She made a deal with our pack for protection and then… disappeared. To protect you.”

“To protect me,” I echoed, remembering all those times Mom had moved us in the middle of the night, all her warnings about staying away from certain places, certain people. “She wasn’t just being paranoid, was she? She was running. All those years…

“But wait—this doesn’t make sense. Mom spent my entire life running from this world, from supernatural stuff. Why would she want me to come back here?”

The pieces started clicking together, and I turned to Marcus. “The lawyer. The property clause. The fact that you’ve been maintaining the cottage all these years…” My voice trailed off as understanding dawned. “You’ve been orchestrating this whole thing, haven’t you?”

Marcus met my accusing stare steadily. “Yes.”

“Wow. Points for honesty, I guess.” I ran a hand through my hair. “So what, you’ve just been waiting for me to show up?”

“We had to bring you back,” Marcus said, his voice soft but intense. “You’re our mate, Kai. We couldn’t protect you properly when you were out there.”

I barked out a laugh. “Protect me? I was perfectly safe in the city! The scariest thing I dealt with was the weird guy who always hung out by the convenience store talking to pigeons!”

“You were never safe,” Derek growled. “You were just lucky. Wolf packs don’t do well in cities, but they would have found you eventually. As your power grows stronger?—”

“My what now?”

“Your First Pack blood,” Marcus explained. “It’s awakening. The older you get, the stronger your scent becomes, the more it calls to other wolves. What happened last night with the Knox Pack? That’s just the beginning.”

“Oh, great.” I collapsed back onto the couch. “So basically, I’m like a supernatural homing beacon, and the signal’s getting stronger? Perfect. Because being irresistible to three hot werewolves wasn’t complicated enough, now I have to worry about every other wolf in North America showing up for a piece of the action?” I touched my hip where the strange scar had always been, the one Mom would never explain. “And what about this? Because it definitely tingled like crazy when you three showed up, and I’m guessing that’s not a normal scar thing.”

The brothers exchanged another of their looks. Seriously, did they have some kind of telepathic group chat going on?

“That’s… complicated,” Marcus said carefully.

“Everything’s complicated with you three,” I said. “But hey, while we’re sharing family secrets—what exactly am I? Because last night I definitely did some things that normal humans can’t do. I’m pretty sure normal bookstore clerks can’t dodge werewolves or hit them hard enough to make them bleed.”

“You’re quarter-wolf,” Derek said.

“I’m what now?”

“Quarter-wolf,” Caleb explained gently. “Your father was half-wolf with First Pack blood, your mother human.”

“Great. So I’m not even a proper supernatural being. I’m like… supernatural with training wheels.” I slumped farther into the couch. “No wonder those Knox wolves thought they could take me.”

Marcus made a sound that was almost a laugh. “Little mate, being quarter-wolf isn’t a weakness. If anything…” He paused, looking almost excited. “It makes you more special.”

“More special?” I groaned. “Because regular special wasn’t enough? What’s next—am I going to start glowing in the dark? Growing a tail? Please tell me I’m not going to start craving raw meat.”

“Actually,” Marcus leaned forward, his eyes lighting up like he was about to share his favorite theory, “the original werewolves weren’t ‘pure’ wolves at all. The First Pack’s power came from combining different magical bloodlines. Each brought unique abilities, different kinds of magic.”