***Eliana***

 

What did I just do?

“I have to go,” I croak, and try to stand up but Alastair keeps me pinned on his lap.

“None of that. Explain what just happened.” His voice isn’t filled with anger. Something I strangely expected because...

“I think I might have tried to make him choke on fire? Boil him from the inside out?” The words tumble from my mouth in a whisper.

Yet with all of them having enhanced hearing, a whisper might as well be a full-blown screaming party.

“That’s exactly what it felt like,” Zigmund states, with somewhat of awe in his voice.

My gaze hits his, I don’t understand...shouldn’t he be angry with me?

Zigmund gives me a tight smile. “Purple fire, darling. Purple. Damn. Fire. Not showing on the outside, yet all your power lights up on the inside. Who fucking knew? Our Prez’s Old Lady is a unique paranormal in her own way.”

“We really need to fucking dive into the archives. She’s a half-blood and mated with a Hellhound. There are two bloodstreams inside her body that clearly have merged into something new and unique.” Alastair’s words fade because I can’t control the laughter that erupts from my throat.

Velma shifts uncomfortably, as if she wants to speak up but instead she’s slowly shaking her head.

All eyes are on me when I’ve wiped mine from my tears of laughter. “Sorry. It’s just ironic, you know? My father dismissing me because I’m nothing, that guy over there and Alastair calling me unique.”

I try to keep a straight face, because in all seriousness? This is insane and...shit.

“I know, gorgeous,” Alastair tells me in his soothing voice that flows through my head, letting me know he heard my unsaid fears. “Don’t worry, we will keep you safe. Not one word about your ability leaves this room.” His gaze slides around the table. “Am I clear?” he growls.

Hands slap hard on the table along with fierce growls.

Alastair’s fingers slide over my skin, a touch of comfort. “We have a few other things to take care of before I give everyone a task. Why don’t you take your sister and...”

Before he can say something as crude as ‘show her the kitchen, get some cooking done so you can feed us,’ because we’re clearly being dismissed at this point in their meeting, I jump up and smile at him before I turn to Velma. “You coming, sis? We have loads to discuss, just like our guys need to discuss some things.”

Velma follows me out the door while wearing a devilish grin. Gosh, I love how we’re always in tune with our thoughts. Not like the solid link Alastair and I have, but close enough. She knows I’m dismissing them before they dismiss us.

It wasn’t a complete lie, we need to discuss a lot of things. It’s going to be heated enough because it’s her family. Okay, he’s my father too, but that man is only genetically connected to me. But for Velma…even if she wasn’t treated right…it’s still all she’s ever known.

I follow her to the room that Os and Velma are staying in. Velma closes the door. She starts to pace and it’s then that all her worry starts to flow. Or maybe it’s anger by the look on her face, I’m not quite sure.

“Okay. Spit it out already, it’s just you and me in here, the rest of those guys have their ears locked on the stuff that’s going on in Church,” I tell her with my hands on my hips.

She releases a deep breath and comes to a stop right in front of me. “I don’t know about anything anymore. And you…you’re the Prez’s Old Lady. You’re devoted to him now. Anything I say to you will end up in his head, or easy enough for him to pick right from yours.”

My head rears back. “What the hell, sis? Are you telling me straight to my face that you don’t trust me? Because that’s all I’m hearing right now.”

“Shit. That totally came out wrong.” Velma’s voice softens and is now filled with defeat. “Like I said, I don’t know…a patch over? That’s some serious stuff when it’s from the same Charter…but from opposite sides? We’re caught in the middle here…and it’s not just you and me. Some of those guys are as sweet as they come but only follow their Prez’s direct orders. What if those sweet souls end up with the short end of the stick, huh? That shit tips the balance and will have consequences.”

 “Well…what would you do?” I hold out my arms, stretching wide in question. “I mean, it’s not like we have a manual we can grab and follow some three step plan to success. This is some serious MC stuff. They wouldn’t even let you in on club business. And the way Kagan treated you? And our Dad? There’s no way you, me, or us together can make a change. It’s out of our hands. And somehow, I don’t think Alastair would just kill everyone in that MC. Remember he got the all clear at the station but didn’t kill me? These guys have a nose for who’s bad, and most definitely who’s not.”

“You’re laying a whole lot of faith in that man of yours, Eliana.” Velma sighs and shakes her head.

“Yes,” I snap, getting angry because my gut tells me this is the only way. “He’s my mate. I will have his back in whatever his decision might be. Because I know he will chose wisely and not go all guns blazing without thinking things through.”

“You just met the guy!” Velma seethes.

I close my eyes and inhale deeply to calm myself down before I pop my question. “What’s really bugging you, Velma? Because you’re acting weird.”

Velma’s eyes bounce around the room. She stalks over to a desk and grabs a pen and a piece of paper. “Okay. So…this is one thing I overheard lots of times with these asshole bikers. A mate can get into your thoughts, but the brain locks some parts out that are private…like stuff that involves…I dunno…like peeing, farting, needing to change underwear, you know, private discussions with yourself, or things so routine it’s automatic to think about that stuff that makes it static to your mate, skipping over those parts. It takes some training but you can do it…place information in that working section of your brain that’s out of reach for your partner.”

“You do realize that farting can make noise or smell and then he’ll still know about it, right? Because holding stuff back is close to lying.” I bite my nail because she’s making me very nervous.

A little noise slips over her lips that sounds like she’s getting frustrated with me. “Pay attention, Eliana, this is important.”

Christ. Sometimes I think she’s the oldest, not me. I roll my eyes, yeah…I know, still not a very mature action. “Okay, okay…so I have to, what? Think it’s personal hygiene or something before I hear or spill a secret? What’s the trick in concealing something?”

“Just concentrate, emphasis the fact that this is between us.” She gives me a stern look.

One that makes me swallow, dammit. “This is between us.”

Velma nods. “Ready?”

“Yes,” I answer.

Except…I’m not following this shit. I can’t see the point in keeping anything from Alastair and I don’t think I like the idea of him keeping stuff from me. Well, other than club business because there are some things in life I don’t need to know. Work is work and there is a thing called oversharing.

Velma starts to write on the piece of paper. When she’s done, she keeps it clutched to her chest, eyeing me. I close my eyes and give a shake with my head as if to say…come on, throw it out already and stop with the bullshit. I mean, I know these guys have highly sensitive hearing…that’s the whole reason for her writing it down instead of…she turns the paper…then she writes another note…

I take in every single letter she’s written down and with that my heart beat speeds up. This cannot be happening. It’s a lie. It’s…

“No,” I gasp.

“Yeah. I haven’t told you about it because you didn’t know and it never came up. I heard him talk about it the night I found out about you…it didn’t make sense then, but it does now. Understand why I wanted you to shield this from our Prez?” Velma quips.

The door swings open. “Keep what from your Prez, exactly?”

We both gasp as Alastair fills the doorway, he’s got a thunderous look on his face.

I squeeze my eyes shut while I chant, “Pee, farts, dirty underwear, pee, farts, dirty underwear.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Alastair’s growl is close, his breath a heated lash on my mouth.

“I should have known you guys would eavesdrop. How could I have been so stupid?” Velma mutters.

Alastair glares her way. It’s then that I notice Os leaning against the wall. His arms are locked in front of his chest and he’s got a disappointed look on his face. No. That’s not exactly it. Betrayal. Shit. He thinks Velma betrayed him…okay, I have to admit it does look like that…except…

I step toward Os. “She didn’t betray you or the club.”

His upper lip tips up in disgust, yet he doesn’t give me one word. He just glares at me.

“Hey,” I snap. “You don’t get to act like this when you don’t know shit. Just barging in here all judgmental.” I spin on my heels. “You too!” I add, making sure to pin Alastair with a fierce stare. “Remember who kicked who out of Church a moment ago. And I damn well said Velma and I had things to discuss.”

“So that little talk she gave you about hiding thoughts from me was, what? Just a sisterly lesson you weren’t gonna use?” Alastair sneers while he gives Velma a dirty look.

“As if you are a saint who gives up every single piece of information. Oh, no…wait, you’re not sharing any shit with her, that concerns us either,” Velma snaps at Alastair.

Sisters in one corner, brothers in the other, mated couples…yet we’re all standing on opposite sides at this moment. I have to follow my gut, I always follow it and it hasn’t failed me yet. I connect my gaze with Velma, giving her a slight nod. She releases a deep breath and shrugs, as if she’s giving me a silent okay.

“We all have our priorities, concerns, and speculations. All of this is new to us. It might not seem logical to you guys, but we need girl time to discuss things. All kind of things. And that means without guys’ ears around because clearly…you guys can take things the wrong way in the blink of a freaking eye. Velma was concerned. About me, about another possible half-sister we might have, about her father’s intentions. She’s been ripped away from the world she’s been living in her whole life and the only thing that’s familiar is me. So yes, we wanted a private discussion. But mostly…”

“No matter what, I’m here for you. You know that, right? I get you two need girl time, but we’re in a situation here where every detail is crucial.” Alastair plows a hand through his hair. “We’re going in blind as it is, none of us know what the fuck is going on exactly. It’s like all we have is a handful of pieces from a complex puzzle.”

“You know what? Here.” I flash the piece of paper Velma wrote on in front of Alastair’s face.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “You’re not half human? That’s not…”

“Don’t even say it,” I snap.

Alastair steps forward and grabs my hair, pulling my head back. There’s fire swirling in his eyes, a rumble coming from deep in his chest. I feel the heat vibrating from his body and I can feel that his Hellhound is close. I keep staring at him, waiting for him to lash out, telling me the same words my father said to my face…

“You fucking think I would…what, walk away?” he growls.

I have to swallow hard, because that might have crossed my mind.

“I am not your fucking father who would dismiss you, or…fuck, Eliana, tell me. Because the blocking thoughts shit? It’s fucking working.” Alastair is growing angrier with each word.

Os curses behind us, making the both of us look his way. Velma is standing in front of him, her hands on each side of his face. I’m pretty sure she told him what she told me just now, sharing her thoughts with her mate.

“Velma remembered something from the night she found out I existed, when our father was drunk and mumbling in his sleep. Words that didn’t make sense then, yet put in perspective with what we know now, do.” I close my eyes before I add the rest. “My mother was half witch. He basically said that I was an accident that slipped into a trial version for what he set his mind to perfecting. See what could be combined, create a new paranormal, stronger, more powerful one.”

The bellow that bounces off the walls rumble through me. The grip on my hair is gone.

“Prez. No!” Os yells.

My eyes flash open right before a sea of flames erupts around me.