Page 4 of Claiming Xan (Shifters of Greymercy #7)

RIVER

In the morning, there was a knock on our door. Sky jerked away from me with a soft growl and sat bolt upright in bed. I joined him, throwing my legs over the side of the mattress. But before I could stand and head for the door, it opened.

The Alpha from last night stood in the doorway, peering in at us with a guarded expression on her face. Her dark hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, but when her eyes met mine, I had to fight the urge to bear my fangs and snarl at her.

“Good, you’re both awake.” She swung the door open wider. Sunlight poured in through the window at our backs, but the room suddenly felt small and dark. She gestured towards the doorway. “Why don’t you join us in the kitchen and we can have a little chat before breakfast.”

It wasn’t an invitation or even a request. It was a command veiled in kindness, and it made me bristle. Sky’s hand at my back tightened in my shirt, and I knew he felt that same dominant energy wash over him.

Bitch.

When we didn’t immediately jump out of bed to come to heel, she looked me in the eye and smiled, but it was forced. “We’ll be waiting. Whenever you’re ready,” she said before turning and walking away, leaving the door standing open like the gaping maw of a predator.

“River,” Sky whispered, a barely-there sound, but I turned to him. My gaze searched his worried face and I gently ran my fingers through his hair. “I’m scared.”

“I know,” I hushed back. “But she saved your life. We owe her at least this much, as much as I hate it.”

Little did I know, I’d end up hating her even more before breakfast ever hit the table.

Together, we left the sanctum of the guest room and walked down the hall, towards the dining room, which was attached to a spacious kitchen with an island separating the two halves.

Seated at the long dining room table were several shifters, a few I recognized from last night, like the guy I’d attacked, but a few others I didn’t.

Sky clung to my arm as we made our way to the table and sat down on the opposite side, so our adversaries were in sight at all times.

“There we are,” the Alpha said with a smile, a more genuine one this time, before glancing around at the others. “Before we begin, I think we should start with introductions.”

She gestured to the wolves sitting alongside her, then to herself. “My name is Gracie Howell. I’m the Alpha of Rubydawn, and these are a few members of my family. My eldest daughter, Tasha, and eldest son, Kace…who you are already familiar with.”

Right. The guy whose flesh I’d torn up. I glanced over at him to see that his forearm was wrapped in fresh white bandages, resting on the table in front of him. At his side was a youthful blond man cradling a baby in his arms. They both smiled at me.

I didn’t return the gesture.

“Kace is joined by his mate, Nevin, and one of our enforcers, Pike Noble.”

Pike must’ve been the short, stout guy with a head of blond curls sitting opposite Kace. He peered at me with curiosity written all over his face, like I was a puzzle he was trying to figure out. I lifted my lip at him in warning.

He smirked in return. “We got a badass over here,” he joked, but Gracie shot him a look that shut him right up. He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze.

“We aren’t here to play games,” she said sharply. “We’re here to discuss the very harsh reality of this situation.”

“Harsh?” I barked out.

She didn’t back down. “Unfortunately for you, yes.”

My stomach churned. Shit. Beside me, Sky whined and reached over to grab my hand. I squeezed his gently beneath the table, keeping it pinned to my outer thigh, offering him the only comfort I could.

Gracie cleared her throat and continued.

“Alpha-Omega twins are an occurrence that happens very rarely in nature, and for good reason. In the past, before research and studies played a part, Alpha-Omega twins were often put down at birth. A mercy kill, they called it, because as they grew up, their energies would become so skewed, that it would cause their pack nothing but chaos.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat, but kept my silence. Would our mother have rather snuffed us out as infants, if that had been an option? Did she even know what she was getting into when we were born?

“These days, Alpha-Omega twins rarely make it into adulthood. They can’t function in society.

They are twisted, their magic blackened.

They often turn to hard drugs for an escape, but drugs only fuel their rages.

If they don’t end up dying of an overdose, they submit to their violent tendencies and end up either shot down by police, or locked away in prison for life. ”

She looked at me. “I hate to say this, but that’s likely what will happen to you.

You have no job history, no work experience.

No one will hire you. You’ll live on the streets, eating out of dumpsters.

If left to run free, your rage will keep building until you eventually snap and kill someone.

You’ll spend the rest of your life behind bars, while your brother sells his body on the street corner just to survive. ”

Sky whimpered.

“So that’s it?” I asked, bitterness coating my tongue. “You’re writing us off as fuck-ups, end of story.”

Gracie frowned. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to,” I replied with a sneer, standing from the table. “It’s written all over your face. C’mon, Sky. Let’s get out of here.”

She sighed. “River, sit down. This discussion isn’t over.”

“The hell it isn’t!”

“Sit down!” she snapped, and I felt the crack of her words against my skin like a physical bite. Growling loudly, I sat back down with a thump of ass-on-chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “Thank you.”

“Fuck you,” I replied.

Beside me, Sky began to softly weep into his hands.

“Shifters aren’t meant to live alone, especially not wolves.

We need pack to thrive. Rubydawn is a sanctuary, a place for shifters in need to seek help getting back on their feet.

Knowing what I know about Alpha-Omega twins has me very…

hesitant to risk my pack’s safety for the sake of yours.

The way I see it, you two are ticking time bombs that could go off at any second. ”

“Mom.” Kace’s voice was quiet but calm as he stared at the Alpha. “I think you’ve spelled it out, clear as day. Yes, they could be dangerous, but right now, River and Sky need your sympathy, not doomsday prophecies.”

Gracie took a deep breath and let it seep back out between her lips. “You’re right. I just worry. I only want what’s best for the pack.”

“I know,” Kace said. “But you also have a duty, as Alpha, to serve and protect shifters in need. Isn’t that what Rubydawn stands for?”

“Careful, Kace,” the older sister, Tasha, said around a smile. “You’re starting to sound more and more like a responsible leader.”

“Aww, shove it,” he replied, and his mate giggled.

I rolled my eyes. “So, what?” I stared right at Gracie as I spoke the words, my chest tight as my brother cried beside me.

“You’re either willing to let us stay or you aren’t.

It’s obvious you don’t trust us. I don’t blame you.

I wouldn’t trust us either, but you haven’t even looked at it from our perspective. ”

“What is your perspective, River?” Kace asked gently, his attention turning to me.

I ground my teeth together and fought not to snarl at him.

“Let’s see. Our mother sold us off to a facility when we were fourteen.

They claimed they were a rehabilitation center who could help us, but it was all a lie.

Instead, we were turned into test subjects, pumped full of drugs and hormones and forced to breed with one another to try and create god-knows-what. ”

I growled. “We were robbed of everything. We never finished school. Neither of us have any form of identification or know how to drive a car. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Thompson wrote us off as deceased, just to cover his tracks.

If you send us away, we’d be sitting ducks.

He’ll come back for us, and I would rather die at my own hand than go back to that hellhole. ”

Sky gripped my arm and sobbed a little harder. “D-Don’t. Please.”

Gracie and her pack were strangely quiet for a long time. I sat there, stewing in my dark thoughts and stroking Sky’s hand to try and comfort him, but inside, a war was raging. My wolf was agitated and pacing, snarling and snapping at the walls of my mind.

Finally, the Alpha spoke again. “They forced you to breed with your own brother?”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

“The child…” I knew she was thinking about Sky’s condition when she’d found us. The questions she’d asked me last night.

“Was mine. Yes,” I bit out. “And it’s likely dead.” I hated that I had to say that with my sensitive brother right next to me, because Sky’s whimper sliced through my heart.

“I see,” Gracie murmured. “I did a bit of research. I’ve been up all night, in fact, trying to figure out some way to keep both you and my pack safe.

I found a possible solution, one where you can stay in Rubydawn and have the protection of our pack, but I don’t think you’re going to like what will have to happen. ”

“Just tell us.”

She nodded. “I did find a few case studies where Alpha-Omega twins, once separated, their energies were able to stabilize and they were able to live semi-normal lives not ruled by emotion.”

“N-No…” Sky whispered, clinging to me.

My heart began to race. “Define separated,” I said slowly.

“Split up. No contact. Living separate lives within the pack, indefinitely. I have a theory that if you were to find partners and complete the mating bond, that your energies might adhere to your mate, and therefore, you would be able to be around your brother again, but it’s only a theory.”

I stared at her, dumbstruck. Separate from Sky…forever? Did she not know how deep our bond went? But wasn’t that why we were so messed up? Because we didn’t know where I began and he ended?

Anger and pain were like blood red streaks across my vision as I hunkered in my chair and thought about a life without my twin. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. We’d been kept apart at the facility, but we were free now.

Were we, really?

Beside me, Sky began to panic, as if he could sense my coming decision. “River, no. Please, don’t do this to me. I don’t know anyone! I don’t want to be alone!”

I turned to him and cupped his face in my hands. “Shh. I’m sorry, Sky, but what if it’s the only way to stay out of Dr. Thompson’s hands? At least here, we’d be safe.”

“But I’ll never see you again,” he whimpered, fresh tears burbling free. “Where would I even go?”

“You’ll have cellphones, so you can text each other as much as you’d like,” Gracie interjected softly.

“And Sky, one of my friends, Jem Murphy, is an Omega who has experienced similar grief in his life. He’s willing to take you in.

He’s a very sweet young man. He understands how it feels to be alone.

You’ll be in good company and he’ll take care of you. ”

Sky only cried harder. I growled, slamming my fists down on the table. “Fuck! I hate this.”

“It’s not forever,” came Kace’s calm voice from across the table. “Maybe a couple of years. If your energies settle and you find mates, maybe Mom’s theory will prove correct and you can be reunited without issue. Let’s think positive.”

“Right.” I snorted.

“So you’re willing to separate?” Gracie asked, and even as Sky shook his head frantically, I sucked in a deep breath and nodded. We didn’t have any other choice. As much as I hated this, it was our only option.

After another meltdown from Sky, Gracie pulled me aside and told me I would be staying here, in the guest room. I knew why—she was the Alpha, and my wolf would submit to her dominant energies, even if I hated her right now.

The morning passed by in a haze. Anger took the wheel and I spent it pacing and growling. When a large, muscular man who looked more Alpha than Omega came to pick Sky up, I wanted to rip his face off.

Instead, I watched him wrap his arm loosely around my brother’s shoulders and guide him out to his car. Sky got in on the passenger side, but I didn’t miss the way he turned to look back at the house. Seeking me out.

And I’d betrayed him. Anger and pain tore through me, clawing its way out through my chest in bloody streaks. I couldn’t breathe. I buckled over, holding my roiling stomach.

Something inside of me twisted tightly, then snapped. With a snarl, I spun on my heel and stormed into the guest room that was now mine—and I lost it.

Claws out, I thrashed and spun and slashed, shattering everything and anything I could get my hands on. I trashed the room in a fit of anger and frustration until I was utterly exhausted and broken.

Then I collapsed on the bed and dropped my head into my hands. This is why our mother sold us. We were monsters. Nothing less.

For the first time in years, I cried.