Isla

 

Sitting in the front of Balt’s truck, sipping a hot mug of tea and wrapped in a blanket, I watched as Tina was helped into another truck by Isiah, smiling back at him. All the weight and grief on her shoulders was gone. Relief swam through me.

Everyone I cared about was okay.

It had turned out TLO had promised Tina that Isiah would be there if the treatment was a success. And when he didn’t show, they’d told her that he wanted nothing to do with her. That his family considered her an abomination – a freak – and Tina had been petrified they were right.

Of course, none of that was true, including what Tina had told me about Isiah’s family – wanting only a shifter for their son. Lilian Frost had befriended Tina two years ago and fed her those little lies, ensuring that Tina went running to the TLO.

Watching Tina run into Isiah’s arms earlier, his face lighting up and then full of laughter as she sobbed into his shirt had made my heart sing. However, once she was done, she’d run over to me, crying again and apologizing, even though I tried to tell her she had nothing to apologize for.

“Be well, Tina,” I murmured as Isiah hopped in after her and shut the door.

Sitting there, I marveled at the sharpness of sound and sight around me. Everything was so clear and shimmery. My senses seemed to be on overdrive and I could hear Balt coming before he opened the door and swung into the truck.

“You okay?” he asked. “Kai said after he shifted for the first time it was a bit like an acid trip.”

“I’m okay,” I said, clearing my throat. I could only think about what had happened in bits and pieces. Otherwise, I’d sink underneath it all.

It’s okay. I have Kai, Piper…

“So, you probably have questions for me,” Balt said. “I honestly didn’t know you were alive, Isla. I would have come to find you – you have no idea…”

And Balt.

Tears pricked my eyes as I looked at him. “I’m just so happy – I have a family again.”

An uneasy look crossed Balt’s face. “There aren’t many of us in the United States. And I don’t talk to many of our family back in Greece.” He paused. “I moved over here when I was about six to live with my uncle. Right up the street from the Weslarks – Elias was my uncle’s best friend.”

“Why did you move?” I asked.

“Complications,” Balt said. “It’s too much to get into here, Isla.”

I nodded, my head spinning a little as I tried to process what he’d said about the Weslarks. “What about your parents?” I asked.

“Dead,” he said briefly, then he paused, struggling as he went on. “I don’t really remember them – but I do remember my uncle. He was young, handsome and debonair. So, it wasn’t long after we moved here that Uncle Kyros found a girl and fell in love. Maria Aventi. Then, they had you.”

I swallowed, looking down and Balt took my hand. Maria and Kyros. My parent’s names.

“How – what happened?” I asked.

“Well, for four years everything was happy as could be. Piper had a baby brother, I had a baby sister and Soraya had two. We were like a little family, toting the babies around and playing house.” He laughed lightly. “I don’t know if you know this, but both of your parents were SoA agents. I babysat a lot.”

I digested this slowly, realizing the man sitting next to me had held me as a baby. Watched over and cared for me. It was a comforting, warm feeling. “But, wait, Dr. Crane told me the Kazan’s were ousted from the SoA,” I said.

Balt hesitated, then nodded. “Your father was the first accepted in over a century. He secured a spot for me and you, as well.” Frowning, he continued. “You parents did good, hard work. They were two of the best, but…” He made a soft, sad sound. “When I was fourteen and you were four, they were killed under mysterious circumstances.”

“What?” I asked, my heart leaping into my throat.

“Isla, I’ve looked into it, I still don’t know what happened,” Balt said. “I’m sorry.”

“Four,” I murmured. “That’s older than I thought – why don’t I remember any of this?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because there was so much upheaval after – your grandmother began getting threatening letters. She’d taken you in, but was hesitant to take me away from LA – she’d moved to Long Beach with her son – so the Weslarks took me in. And then she vanished one day, along with you. Elias looked into it but he couldn’t find her – we didn’t know her maiden name. Then a report came that you’d both died in a car crash.”

“She didn’t…?” I looked at Balt in astonishment. I’d known my grandmother was intense, but this was a bit much. “Damn, Gran. She faked our deaths?”

“It appears that way. She had good reason to go into hiding, though” Balt said. “A young non-shifter girl with Kazan blood – you were in danger, Isla.”

“I don’t understand, what is it with Kazan blood?” I snorted. “Crane said it was cursed or something.” I watched as Balt’s face fell. “Balt? No, curses aren’t real!”

“Any more than men who can become beasts?” Balt asked.

I had nothing to say to that and sat back against my seat, mind racing. He didn’t say anything either and the silence was fraught with too many questions.

“We’re cursed?” I asked quietly. Does this mean I shouldn’t be with Kai?

“No, only the men. The women are considered blessed – if you can call it a blessing.” He hesitated. “Maybe I should wait to tell you all of this.”

“Tell me now, Balt, I don’t think I could take the suspense of not knowing,” I told him, thinking about Kai.

“Some centuries ago, the Kazan family came into a great and incredible power. I’m not sure what it was or if this story is even true. Already lion shifters – now they had increased speed, strength, and agility. But in exchange for that power, the Kazan family had to give something up.

“And this gist of it is this. Male Kazan's went from being considered great men to ill-omened and greedy, always after riches. That’s what got them ousted out of the SoA – they were using shifting for their own ends and getting into trouble with the Tribunal.

“Meanwhile, the females grew in beauty and power as well, carrying the strong bloodline, along with magic and healing. But they became targets for men seeking power and several of our female ancestors were sold off to the highest bidder looking to bed a lioness.”

Blood running cold, I stared at Balt who gave me a weak smile. “And this is true?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think so. It does seem like a lot of the males die young and the female Kazan's are still highly sought after. It's made our family filthy rich. But my father hated it and wanted nothing to do with it.

“So, on his deathbed, he asked my uncle to take me away from Greece and raise me as far away as possible. So, Kyros went to go live near his college friend in California, Elias Weslark.”

“Do you think the Kazan curse has something to do with why my parents were killed?”

“I don’t know,” Balt said. “Perhaps. They were also in a dangerous line of work.”

Silence fell, then Balt spoke again.

“Isla, I owe you an apology. When I first met you, I thought you looked familiar, but I dismissed it. Didn’t even consider it or want to think about it. I’d buried that part of myself and the past. I had to – the pain of losing you all… I’m sorry – maybe if I’d realized…”

“Balt,” I said, smiling over at him. “Please don’t apologize.”

I bit my lip. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him what my name had been. And I had so many other questions. But I could see the pain in Balt's eyes like he knew what I wanted to ask and was bracing himself for it. He'd been through enough – I'd been through enough.

He sighed when I didn’t ask anything else, giving me a tight smile back. “You’re going to have to be careful, though. Someone is risking a lot to go after the Kazan bloodline.” Balt’s jaw set and his eyes flashed gold. “But don’t worry, I’m going to find them and make them regret it.”

“Hmm,” I murmured. “Well, do you think Maui is a good place to lay low?”

Letting out a sigh, Balt glanced up and outside of the windshield, where Kai was following Piper around and she kept swatting at him to leave her alone.

“Kai might be family, but you’re blood, Isla. He better make you happy,” Balt growled. “You let me know if I need to put that goofball in his place.”

Laughing, I looped my arm through Balt’s and lay my head on his shoulder. He patted my head clumsily and I told him softly, “You know, I always wanted a big brother.”