CHAPTER 3 - Dangerous Familiarity

He found me before dawn, as if he knew where I would be.

 It was quiet by the river when I heard his voice. My mind was still on what happened last night.

 "You've been turned down," Kieran said as he came out of the darkness.  "However, you're still there."  "Good job."

 No, I didn't turn.  I said in a soft voice, "I've always stood."  "Not like some."

 He laughed, and the sound was low and funny.  “So the broken girl has claws.  I was afraid that the Moonlight pack had taken away all of your fire.

 I faced him then.  His grin was lazy, but his storm-gray eyes studied me like I was a puzzle he meant to solve.

 “Why are you here, Kieran? ” I asked.  “What do you want from me? ”

 He took a slow step closer.  “Maybe I came to see the girl who survived my cousin’s cruelty.”

 “I don’t need your pity.”

 “I wasn’t offering pity.” His voice dropped.  “I was offering curiosity.”

 I scoffed.  “Then be curious somewhere else.”

 But he didn’t move.  “You’re angry,” he said quietly.  “Good.  Anger is better than hopelessness.  Despair makes you weak.  Anger keeps you alive.”

 I looked at him.  “Is that your wisdom after being gone for years? ”

 He smiled weakly.  “Part of it.  The rest would scare you.”

 “Try me.”

 He tilted his head, observing me. “You really have no idea who you are, do you? ”

 The words scared me. “What are you talking about? ”

 He leaned against a tree, arms crossed, fully at ease.  “I’m talking about your parents.  About the lies you were raised on.”

 My breath caught.  “Don’t.”

 “Don’t what? ” he asked, voice smooth.  “Don’t tell you the truth?  Or don’t tell you that nothing in this pack happens by accident? ”

 I clenched my hands.  “You’re trying to mess with my head.”

 “Am I? ” His eyes softened, but there was a sharpness beneath.  “Tell me something, Nova.  Why do you think Adrian’s father hates you so much?  Why do you think he pushed his son to reject you in front of everyone? ”

 “Because I’m not good enough for them,” I said angrily.  “Because I was born an Omega”

 “No.” His tone cut through mine.  “Because you were never supposed to be one of them.”

 The world turned.  “What? ”

 He took a step forward, closing the space between us.  “You don’t belong to this pack, Nova.  You never did.”

 I shook my head.  “You’re lying.”

 “Am I? ” he asked again, quiet but sure.  “Ask yourself why your wolf reacts to me the way she does.  Why does she shake when I’m near?  You feel it, don’t you? ”

 I opened my mouth to deny it, but my body failed me.  My heart raced, my skin prickled, and my wolf stirred inside, restless and alert.

 “I don’t know what you’ve done,” I whispered, “but you need to stop.”

 He smiled, slow and knowing.  “You can’t stop what was written before either of us was born.”

 From the edge of the trees, I felt movement.  My instincts flared.  Someone was watching.

 Kieran’s gaze moved briefly over my shoulder, and his jaw tightened.  “He’s here,” he muttered.

 I turned.  Adrian stood a few yards away, quiet, rigid, his eyes locked on us.

 The sight of him twisted something inside me.  He looked furioushis lips pressed into a hard line, his hands clenched at his sides.

 “What are you doing here? ” Adrian’s voice was low but dangerous.

 Kieran didn’t even move.  “Taking a walk.”

 “With her? ”

 “Do you own the air she breathes now? ” Kieran asked lightly.  “Or are you just jealous that someone else dared to speak to her? ”

 Adrian’s face darkened.  “Watch your mouth.”

 “Funny,” Kieran said.  “That’s what your father told me once.  Right before he exiled me.”

 Adrian’s eyes narrowed.  “You deserved it.”

 “Maybe,” Kieran said.  “Or maybe I took the fall for someone else’s sins.”

 Their stares locked two Alphas, same blood, different fire.

 I stepped between them.  “Enough.  Both of you.”

 Adrian’s eyes flicked to me. “He’s dangerous, Nova.”

 “And you’re what? ” I said coldly.  “Safe? ”

 He flinched.  “I did what I had to.”

 “No,” I said.  “You did what you were told.”

 Kieran smiled weakly, amused.  “Smart girl.”

 “Stay out of this,” Adrian snapped.

 “I’d love to,” Kieran said, “but unfortunately, she’s involved in something much bigger than your bruised ego.”

 Adrian turned on him.  “What are you talking about? ”

 Kieran’s voice dropped.  “The truth your father’s been hiding from both of us.”

 Adrian stiffened.  “You always have a story, don’t you?  Always twisting things to make yourself look noble.”

 “This isn’t about me,” Kieran said.  “It’s about her.”

 Both of them looked at me.  The tension between them was overwhelming.

 “What do I have to do with your family secrets? ” I asked quietly.

 Kieran’s gaze relaxed.  “Everything.”

 Adrian exhaled sharply.  “Don’t listen to him, Nova.  He’s controlling you.”

 Kieran’s smile disappeared.  “You really think she’s that naïve?  She deserves to know who she is.”

 I looked between them.  “Then tell me.  Now.”

 Neither spoke for a long moment.

 Finally, Kieran said, “Your parents weren’t who you think they were.”

Adrian’s voice rose.  “Enough!”

 “She deserves the truth!”  Kieran shouted back.

 “What truth?”  I asked.

 Kieran’s eyes met mine.  “The woman who raised you wasn’t your real mother.  The Moonlight pack took you in after your real parents were killed.  Your family doesn’t belong here.”

 My world stopped.

 “You’re lying,” I whispered.  “She loved me.  She”

 “She did,” Kieran said kindly.  “But love doesn’t change blood.  You were hidden here because of what you are.”

 “What am I?”  My voice broke.

 Adrian’s face twisted with guilt, and that was all the proof I needed.

 “You knew,” I said, looking at him.  “You knew something.”

 He didn’t deny it.  “I wanted to tell you, but my father”

 I stepped back, shaking.  “You let me believe I belonged.  You let me fight for a place that was never mine.”

 “Nova”

 “Don’t.”

 Kieran’s voice was quieter now.  “They were afraid, Nova.  Because your bloodline could test theirs.”

 “What are you saying?”

 He paused.  “Your father was Alpha of the Silver Moon pack.  The true blood foe of the Moonlight Crown.  Your existence threatened everything Adrian’s family built.”

 My heart pounded so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.  “That’s impossible.”

 Adrian’s face was pale.  “Kieran, stop.”

 Kieran looked at me, ignoring him.  “You are the daughter of the Alpha they killed.”

 I felt sick.  “Killed?”

 Adrian closed his eyes.  “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

 I turned on him.  “You knew.”

 “I didn’t know until later,” he said quickly.  “I swear it.”

 “You still rejected me knowing I had no one!”  My voice cracked.  “You still stood there and called me weak.”

 He looked broken, but I didn’t care.

 Kieran reached out, but I stepped back.  “Don’t touch me.”

 He dropped his hand but his eyes never left mine.  “You needed to know.  The lies end now.”

 I was shaking.  Everything I’d ever believed had broken.