chapter 3 The Truth Hurts

The knock on her bedroom door came just after midnight.

Haley had been lying awake, staring at the ceiling of her childhood room, listening to the twins' soft breathing from the air mattress her mother had set up beside her bed. She'd known this was coming. Had felt it building all evening through the tense family dinner, through the careful small talk that avoided everything that mattered.

"Come in," she said quietly, sitting up.

Chris slipped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He looked exhausted, his dark hair disheveled like he'd been running his hands through it. In the dim light from her bedside lamp, she could see the conflict written across his face—the same face that used to comfort her after nightmares when they were kids, that had taught her to fight, to be strong.

"We need to talk," he said, his voice low. "Really talk. No more bullshit."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Haley." He moved closer, but didn't sit. Stood at the foot of her bed like he was reporting to a superior officer. "Those kids have his eyes. Everyone saw it. Mom, Dad, me, Ethan—we all saw it the second they walked through that door."

"Lots of wolves have blue eyes."

"Not like that." Chris's jaw tightened. "Not that exact shade of ice blue. Not with that same intensity. Jesus, Haley, Ryder even has his jawline. And Hazel—she tilts her head the same way Adam does when she's thinking."

Haley's hands fisted in her blanket. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about." He finally sat, perching on the edge of her bed, and his voice gentled. "Sis, I'm not trying to hurt you. But you can't keep this secret. Not here. Not in the pack."

"Watch me."

"I can't lie to my alpha." The words came out sharp, pained. "You know I can't. It goes against everything—the bond, the oath I took. If Adam asks me directly if those kids are his, I won't be able to lie. My wolf won't let me."

"Then don't let him ask." Haley's voice cracked despite her best efforts. "Just—don't say anything. Don't bring it up. It's not lying if he doesn't ask."

"That's not how this works and you know it." Chris leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and she could see the genuine anguish in his eyes. "He's going to find out you're back. Probably already knows—you know how fast pack gossip travels. And the second he sees those kids, he's going to know. Those eyes, Haley. There's no hiding them."

"He doesn't deserve to know." The words burst out of her, hot and bitter. "He doesn't deserve anything from me. Not after what he did."

"He did not do what you think he did. You are just way too stubborn to listen to anybody," Chris agreed, and there was anger there too—old anger, protective anger. "When you left and I figured out why, I wanted to rip his throat out. He was my best friend and I wanted to kill him for hurting you,then I found out the truth, Hales."

"I know what I saw, you're only defending him because you're his beta."

"Haley, listen to me, that girl laced him with wolfsbane, she even admitted it and has since been punished, you're the one who avoided phone calls, emails, everything so one of us could explain it to you." Chris's voice was quiet, heavy with the weight of divided loyalty. "And those children—Haley, they're not just yours. They're his heirs. The future of this pack. You can't just pretend that doesn't matter."

"I can do whatever I want with my children."

"Not when they're alpha blood." He reached out, caught her hand before she could pull away. His grip was gentle but firm. "I love you. You're my sister. I would do anything for you—I have done anything for you,but not this."

"Just avoid all subjects that involve me and he will never know."

"I can't." The words seemed to cost him. "Not anymore. Not now that you're here, now that they're here. Somebody will see them, somebody will tell him, it honestly needs to be you, princess."

Haley jerked her hand away. "Don't call me that. Go ahead and betray me Chris. What does Ethan think? He's my twin and he's barely spoken to me"

"Don't." Chris's voice hardened. "Don't you dare make this about betrayal. I have been loyal to you beyond what anyone could ask. But I also have a duty—to Adam, to the pack, to the laws we live by. And those laws say that an alpha has a right to know about his heirs.and don't pretend you care about your twin bond with Ethan, you ditched him, and you were too damn stubborn to listen to anybody. He's hurting Hales, I'm sure Cassie will have a lot to say to you when she finds out you're back."

"Those laws didn't protect me when he was fucking Veronica in his office." The words came out venomous, and she saw Chris flinch. "Those laws didn't stop him from touching her, kissing her, breaking our bond before it was even fully formed. So forgive me if I don't give a damn about pack law. As far as Ethan goes it hurt me to leave him but I couldn't stay after what Adam did, Ethan needs to understand that."

"He didn't sleep with her, why won't you just accept you were wrong!."

Haley laughed, sharp and bitter. "I saw them, Chris. I saw his hands on her, his mouth on hers. I felt it through the bond—the desire, the want. Don't tell me what I saw."

"I'm not saying you didn't see things. I'm saying it wasn't—" Chris stopped, ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, I'm not arguing with you. TALK TO ADAM OR I WILL HALEY. He stopped before it went too far, his sister found him and Veronica and helped him out of the situation. I'm sorry you're so hurt but you should of talked to somebody before leaving—"

"I don't care if he stopped." Haley's voice shook. "I don't care about his excuses or his reasons. He made his choice. And I made mine. I chose my children. I chose to protect them from a father who would betray his mate before they were even born."

"That's not fair."

"Fair?" She stood up, needing to move, to pace. "You want to talk about fair? Is it fair that I had to leave my home, my family, my entire life because I couldn't stand to be near him? Is it fair that I've raised two children alone for four years while he got to stay here, got to be alpha, got to pretend nothing happened?"

"He didn't pretend nothing happened and you chose to leave because you're too stubborn for your own good. " Chris stood too, and there was something in his voice—something that made her pause. "He's been a mess, Haley. Ever since you left. He tried to find you. Hired trackers, called in favors from other packs. He's been—"

"I don't want to hear this."

"Too bad." Chris moved closer, and now there was steel in his voice—the voice of an enforcer, of a future beta. "You're going to hear it because you need to understand what's at stake. Adam has been barely holding it together. The pack has been worried about him. And now you're back, with his children, and you think you can just hide them? You think that's going to work?"

"It has to work."

"It won't." He caught her shoulders, made her look at him. "Sis, I'm trying to help you here. I'm trying to give you a chance to do this on your own terms. But if you don't tell him—if you make me lie to my alpha about something this important—you're going to force my hand."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm warning you." His grip tightened slightly. "Tell him. Soon. Before someone else does. Before he sees them and figures it out himself. Because if that happens, if he finds out you've been hiding his children from him, it's going to be so much worse."

"Worse than what? Worse than seeing him with another woman? Worse than feeling my heart break through a bond that was supposed to be sacred?"

"Worse than losing your children." The words fell between them like stones. "Pack law is clear, Haley. An alpha has rights to his heirs. If he challenges you for custody, if he takes it to the pack council—"

"He wouldn't."

"He would." Chris's voice was grim. "Not because he wants to hurt you. But because those kids are his blood, his legacy. And if you've been keeping them from him, if you've been denying him his right as their father—the council will side with him. They'll have to."

Haley felt something cold settle in her stomach. "You're saying he could take them from me."

"I'm saying you need to be smart about this." Chris's hands gentled on her shoulders. "Tell him yourself. Explain why you left, why you stayed away. Give him a chance to understand. Maybe—maybe you two can figure something out. Some kind of arrangement that works for everyone. In fact Haley try listening for once in your life."

"I don't want an arrangement with him. I don't want anything to do with him."

"Then you shouldn't have come back." The words were harsh but not unkind. "But you did. You're here now. And that means facing this. Facing him."

Haley pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. Behind her, she could hear Hazel murmur something in her sleep, and the sound made her chest ache. Everything she'd done—leaving, hiding, building a life away from the pack—had been to protect them. To keep them safe from the pain she'd felt, from a father who might not want them, who might choose someone else over them the way he'd chosen Veronica over her, unless her big brother was right, then she just made everything more complicated.

But looking at Chris's face, at the conflict and concern and unwavering duty written there, she realized he was right about one thing: she couldn't hide forever. Not here. Not in the pack.

"How long?" she asked quietly. "How long do I have before you—before you have to tell him?"

Chris was quiet for a long moment. "I'll give you a week. Seven days to figure out how you want to handle this, to tell him yourself. But Haley—if you don't, if you try to run again or keep hiding them—I'll have to report it. I won't have a choice."

"A week." She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "That's generous of you."

"It's more than I should give." He moved toward the door, then paused, looking back at her. "For what it's worth, I think he deserves to know. Not because of pack law or alpha rights or any of that. But because those kids deserve to know their father."

"And if he's not? If he hurts them the way he hurt me?"

"He won't ." Chris's voice was quiet but absolutely certain. "However if for any reason he choose to hurt Hazel or Ryder. Alpha or not, best friend or not—if he hurts those kids, I'll stand with you. Always."

He left, closing the door softly behind him.

Haley stood in the darkness, listening to her children breathe, and felt the walls closing in. Seven days. She had seven days to figure out how to tell Adam Thorne that he was a father.

Seven days before her carefully constructed world came crashing down.