Page 21

21

KENDALL

T he cabin is too fucking quiet.

I’ve got the windows cracked—to let this grief and sweat linger outside of my body. The wind shifts through the trees just beyond the porch, whistling like it knows something I don’t.

I sit on the edge of the bed, blanket tangled around my legs, phone in hand like it’s some kind of lifeline.

Come back, I whisper into the silence, hoping Callum can hear it wherever he is.

Because every minute he’s gone, I feel it. That ache, like something’s missing from my bones. And then my phone rings.

I jump. Scramble. The screen flashes a name that makes my heart stutter.

Adora .

I answer before I think. “Adora?”

“Kendall.” Her voice is breathless. Tight. Like she ran to make the call.

“I—I wasn’t sure you’d actually pick up.”

“I almost didn’t,” I admit, standing and pacing. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Still in the city,” she says. “But I had to talk to you. I couldn’t sit with it anymore.”

I stop near the window, watching the trees. “Sit with what?”

“The stuff I didn’t say,” she replies. “At the hospital. That day.”

I close my eyes.

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I figured.”

“You already knew, didn’t you?” she asks.

I nod before I realize she can’t see me. “Yeah. I knew.”

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t know how to say it. I thought maybe if I didn’t talk about it, it would go away. That if I ignored it long enough, I could pretend it wasn’t real.”

“Trust me, I get that,” I say with a dry laugh. “Ignoring shit is like my superpower.”

There’s silence for a beat, and then her voice comes back—smaller.

“Can I see you?”

The question slices right through me because I want to say yes, but my instinct knows better.

“I want to,” I say. “So bad. But I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m being hunted, Adora. And if you’re near me… they’ll come for you too.”

“I don’t care,” she snaps. “You’re my sister?—”

“I do care,” I cut in. “You think I can live with myself if something happens to you? After everything we’ve already been through? You think I could survive that?”

She goes quiet.

And then the FaceTime rings.

My screen shifts and suddenly she’s there—blurry, backlit by a crappy apartment lamp. Her hair’s up in a knot. Her eyes are tired and rimmed in something deeper than sleeplessness.

“Kendall,” she says softly, “I talked to Mom.”

My stomach drops.

“Yeah?”

“She didn’t tell me much. She didn’t want to. But I pushed.” Her eyes flick to the side like she’s making sure she’s alone. “She admitted it.”

“Admitted what ?”

“That she knew that it was Dad– Edmund that attacked me. That it wasn’t… normal. That it wasn’t an accident.”

I feel my fingers tighten around the phone.

“She said he shouldn’t have tried ,” Adora continues. “Because I wasn’t like you.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Adora swallows hard. “That he’s not my real father.”

My mouth opens. Then closes. No words come. I knew that but hearing it confirmed by someone other than Dad was a different level.

“And that mine’s here. In the city.”

“Who?” I whisper.

“She didn’t say a name,” Adora says. “But she said he wasn’t human. Not even werewolf. Something else. ”

I feel my skin go cold.

“Shifter?” I ask, the word tasting dangerous.

She doesn’t answer right away.

“She wouldn’t say,” she finally whispers. “But she looked scared when I asked. Like she was remembering something she wished she hadn’t survived.”

My head spins.

My sister. A different bloodline. One tied to something hidden that only my mom may know of.

God, what the hell kind of family is this?

“I don’t know what I am, Kendall,” Adora says suddenly, voice cracking. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be. But it doesn’t feel human. And it doesn’t feel like you either.”

I feel like the world’s tilting.

“Adora, whatever you are, whatever I am— we’re still us . We’re still sisters. That hasn’t changed.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” I say. Fierce now. Solid. “And I don’t care how far we fall or how weird this shit gets. I’ll find you. We’ll figure this out.”

Her lip trembles. “You promise?”

“ Always. ”

She nods, wiping her face quickly. I’ve never seen her this vulnerable, she’s always been my strong older sister. This is all new territory.

“I have to go,” I say. “Callum’s coming back and I—” I pause, swallowing the emotions twisting inside me. “I just know. ”

Adora looks at me for a beat. Her gaze sharpens.

Her mouth presses into a line. “Callum?”

“He’s helping me right now, it’s someone Dad trusts,” I say, knowing it’s only part of the truth but not wanting to explain Stefan and Callum in thirty seconds. That can wait.

She nods once. “Okay. Be safe and… Just be safe.”

There’s something in her voice, something hollow.

“Adora,” I say gently. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“I have to go,” she says too quickly.

“Wait—”

“I’ll call you soon.”

The screen goes black before I can stop her.

I stare at the phone. Heart thudding and gut twisting. Does she know what she actually is? Does anyone ?

The door creaks behind me, and I don’t have to look. I already feel him. Callum’s back.

I turn to him and he offers a weak smile.

“You may need to stay here just a little longer.”

“Seriously?”

“I know,” he says, sounding truly apologetic. “But your dad’s on his way since I have to go back and see what my pack knows and get the intel needed. But, before he comes, he told me some things that he wants me to share with you.” Callum takes a seat and remains still, waiting for me to sit by him.

I do. “What is it?” I ask nervously.

“It’s about your bloodline. What it really means and why everyone is in more of a frenzy than usual.”

“Because we should be extinct?”

He hesitates. “It’s more than that. Here, hang on. Let me get us a drink before I start.”