"How are you responsible for their death?" Ethan questioned.

Dad swallowed. "Ariana was kidnapped when she was twelve by some Hunters."

"She was led into a trap and then kidnapped," Eva hissed.

"Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't ditched me to hang out with your stupid friends!" I yelled at her.

Eva straightened and pointed a finger at me. "I invited you! Nothing stopped you from coming with us."

"So I could be made fun of?" I asked her. "So you and your friends could laugh at me because I couldn't do the things you could."

"We are getting off topic here," Alpha Grayson said softly. "Answer his question." He nodded over at Ethan.

My eyes darted over to Lucas. Was I ready for him to know everything? Was I ready to unload my baggage on him? Was he going to run when he found out that I had a lot more problems than just eating self-made food?

As if he could feel my gaze on him, he raised his head and looked at me.

What if I lost him? The thought made tears burn my eyes.

Lucas shifted in his chair and a moment later his foot brushed mine. His lips twitched but he didn't smile or say anything to reassure me that he wasn't leaving.

I sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "There were two boys," I said softly. "I knew one of them by name."

"Conner." My eyes snapped up to Lucas in surprise. "You talk about him in your sleep," he explained.

I nodded. "He used to be my friend," I whispered.

"The human boy Wrin found?" Granddad questioned in surprise.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Go on," Dad urged when I fell silent, but Ethan interrupted.

"How did this Conner become your friend?" he asked.

Dad cleared his throat. "Conner was found wandering the forest. When Wrin found him he was extremely dehydrated and starving. We took him back to the pack house and made sure that he was fed."

"He told us that he was involved in a car crash and that he took off searching for help but got lost," Granddad continued. "We didn't find any accident site so we figured that the authorities got there before us."

"You let this boy stay with you?" Alpha Grayson asked. "Without finding his parents?"

Dad frowned at him. "He stayed with us while we searched for his parents. Ariana and Conner became friends which was unavoidable since they were around the same age and Eva was more interested in doing her own thing than playing with her sister."

"Did you find his parents?" Ethan asked.

"Yes and he went back home without trouble."

"I still don't understand how he was involved with your daughter's kidnapping." Alpha Grayson straightened and walked closer to the table.

"We used to go to an abandoned playground in the forest." I answered Alpha Grayson's question. "Conner said that he came across it when he was lost." I swallowed and glanced at Dad from the corner of my eyes. "We use to sneak off to play there. When Conner went home, I snuck off to the playground but I never stayed long."

Dad groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. I knew he was remembering the day I got kidnapped. He knew exactly why I had gone there.

"You and Eva had a bad fight the day before."

I nodded. "I apologized and asked her to go with me." My eyes darted over to Eva. "I waited for her but she never showed so I went on my own. From what I heard when they kidnapped me, I learned that it had all been planned from the start. I didn't expect to see Conner again."

"But you did," Alpha Grayson muttered.

"Yeah." I licked my lips and dropped my eyes. "When you found me, you killed everyone you came across."

"I don't remember seeing Conner or any other kids." Dad frowned down at his hands.

I clutched the hem of the shirt as I fought the urge to get up and crawl onto Lucas's lap. Telling them made memories float around my mind from my kidnapping when I was twelve. I could still feel the way little Oliver had stabbed me with that knife through the wire of the cage they had cramped me in while his father watched on with such pride.

"He could've easily killed you," Lucas pointed out. "Instead he chose to torture you. Why?"

"Killing her would be too easy." Alpha Grayson stared down at me with some unknown emotion flashing through his eyes. "Killing her the first chance he got wouldn't be as satisfying or make up for the pain he suffered by watching you kill his parents." His eyes darted over to Lucas when he said the last part. Why was he looking at him like that?

"What did he do to you when he—"

Lucas interrupted Dad. "You found the container so you know exactly what he fucking did to her."

Dad jumped to his feet and reached out to grab hold of Lucas's neck. He easily pulled him to his feet until their faces were only inches apart.

Fear hit me hard. "D-Daddy."

He ignored me and snarled at Lucas. "I can only imagine what he did to her." Dad growled. "I know for a fucking fact that my daughter wouldn't be healed by now—not with the amount of blood she lost."

"Let him go!" I yelled. "You're hurting him."

Blood seeped from the wounds Dad's claws had inflicted in Lucas's neck.

"What did you give my daughter?" Dad growled. "Answer me! What did you give her?"

"Silas," Ethan said softly. "You're going to kill him."

Dad's hold only tightened, making his claws slip deeper.

Desperate, I jumped to my feet and reached for Dad, but an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. I instantly started struggling and even managed to get an elbow hit in but all it did was earn me a low growl.

"Silas," Ethan warned again.

When Dad only growled at him, Ethan stood and moved closer. He placed his hand on his shoulder and leaned closer to say something in Dad's ear. Whatever he was saying wasn't having an effect on Dad at all.

I sucked in a breath and tried again. "He's my mate!" I screamed.

Dad's hand instantly dropped as his eyes darted over to me. They were wide with shock and...fear? What was he so afraid of?

"W-what did you just say?" he asked so softly that I had to strain my ears to hear him.

I swallowed. "You can't hurt him because he's my mate."

"No." Dad shook his head. "Are you sure?"

I shrugged out of Alpha Grayson's hold and rounded the table to stand next to Lucas who was swaying on his feet. Slipping an arm around his waist, I clutched his arm with my hand and faced Dad, Ethan and Alpha Grayson.

"I'm positive," I told him. "I have no doubt that Lucas is my mate."

Ethan blinked and then turned towards Dad.

"So your grandmother was wrong." Dad sounded way too happy for my liking.

I frowned at him. Grandma was right because Eva and I shared a mate—Lucas.

"Guess she was," Eva exclaimed a little breathlessly.

Turning slightly, I watched her as she moved closer. Eva slipped behind Dad and Ethan to reach Alpha Grayson. Our eyes locked when she pressed her body to the front of his. Reaching up, she gripped the back of his neck and pulled his lips down to hers.

Lucas tensed, making my eyes snap up to his face. He looked like he wanted to rip Alpha Grayson apart.

I gave his arm a squeeze even though I knew that it wasn't offering him any comfort.

Lucas's eyes dropped to mine for a few seconds before he looked away and ignored Eva. Without a word, he pulled away and walked out of the kitchen. A moment later the door slammed shut.

"Jesus," Dad suddenly exclaimed. "I send my daughters to College and before the first months over they both find their mates."

My eyes darted over to Eva and her...mate. Just moments ago, she had admitted to Lucas being her mate but she'd told Dad that Alpha Grayson was her mate. She also pointed out in the bathroom that she didn't want a mate at the moment.

Why was she lying to Dad? How could she have told Dad that Alpha Grayson was her mate?

"I'll go check on Lucas." He pushed Eva away and with a glare, and disappeared in the direction Lucas had.

Granddad cleared his throat. "We should do something about the bodies."

Ethan ran a hand through his hair and walked over to the living room doorway. For a few minutes he stared at the bodies before he turned to look at Granddad.

"We can burn them out back along with the furniture but we'll have to wait for the rain to stop."

I jerked in fright when the door burst open again.

"We have—" Alpha Grayson started saying but he was cut off by sudden gunfire.

A body slammed into mine before I could turn around, and dragged me to the floor. Just a second later the same body covered mine.

"Get down," someone yelled.

Chaos rained down around us. Bullets pierced the walls and windows and lodged into the appliances and walls.

The body above mine shifted. Warm breath fanned my ear as a familiar voice spoke. "I've got you," Lucas whispered. "Just keep breathing and stay as calm as possible. Panic later."

I nodded as much as I could.

As suddenly as the gunfire started, it stopped. Silence surrounded us, making the ringing in my ears intensify. I opened my eyes and blinked at Alpha Grayson who was only a few feet away on his stomach.

"There are four SUV's. Hunters from what I could tell," he said.

"How many?" someone questioned.

"Five Hunters per car," Lucas answered. "Twenty. We're outnumbered."

"Where's the backdoor, Ethan?"

"There isn't one," he answered.

"What about a window?" Eva asked. "We—"

"Too small," Ethan interrupted. "We'd have to break it for us to fit through which would draw attention."

The rest of the conversation was blocked by my loud heartbeat. My worst fear was coming true and there was nothing I could do about it. I should've listened to Lucas. I shouldn't have asked Ethan to call Dad.

"Panic later," Lucas breathed in my ear again.

A whimper fell from my lips before I could stop it. Squeezing my eyes closed, I focused on my breathing. Lucas's lips brushed my ear and then my cheek.

"It's going to be okay, doll," he whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Lucas," Alpha Grayson called. "Take the girls and get them out of here. We'll create a distraction."

"I don't want my girls—"

"Think Silas!" Ethan growled. "It's the best plan we have. We're outnumbered."

"He—"

"Will keep them save."