Chapter 56
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Jake had woken Lyra far too early, clearly ready for a repeat of the night before. She was all too happy to oblige.
After a long shower together, she went down to Donovan’s room to retrieve her bag and the books about Veriscents, filling Jake in on what she had learned along the way. He brought breakfast up for her in his office, and they ate together at his table as she read different parts of the book aloud to him.
Jake, for his part, listened intently. He didn’t appear upset at learning about what Mary had been or that Lyra also possessed these gifts. Instead, he seemed lost in thought as he
listened to her.
At ten, they made their way to the meeting with the elders, joining Callan and Russ in the hallway before entering the meeting room. The elders were arranged much the same way they had been the first time Lyra had met with them, all seated around the long table.
“Thank you for coming this morning,” Alistair said, adjusting his glasses. “Hopefully cooler heads will prevail today.”
“Hopefully,” agreed Rina. “I, for one, do not want to waste time on pleasantries. I would like answers to the questions from yesterday, specifically regarding Mary Hart and what she was.
”
All eyes turned toward Lyra. She ran her hands nervously along her thighs, moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue. Jake grabbed her hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“I learned last week that my mother was not human as I always thought,” she began carefully. “My father had gotten some of her belongings out of storage, and among them were some journals. In them, my mother wrote that she wasn’t human, but she never elaborated on what she was.”
“Did you
ask your father about this?” Parker asked.
Lyra nodded, glancing at Christian, who stared at her with a cold, stone gaze. She was mildly disappointed to note that all his bruises from Jake’s fists had healed overnight.
“My father was unable to talk about it.”
Alistair frowned. “Why would he be unable?”
Lyra glanced at Jake, who nodded for her to continue. “It seems Alpha Christian used an alpha command to forbid him from speaking about it.”
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All eyes swiveled to Christian.
“Is this true?” Rina asked quietly.
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Christian stared daggers at Lyra for a moment before turning his gaze to the elders. “Yes, it
is.”
“But…” Parker rubbed his chin. “But why?”
you
Christian sighed, shifting uncomfortably. “Mary was poisoned by a witch. All of aware of that. Part of the truce that I negotiated with the witches involved not disclosing what Mary had been, especially to her children.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The witches wanted both Donovan and Lyra dead. They didn’t like the idea of what those two might become. They saw them as a threat, especially Lyra.”
He cut his gaze to her and she saw it. The apology that colored his words. “Lyra is of two different bloodlines, both exceptionally strong. The witches felt she was a threat. They wanted her dead. I negotiated hiding the truth from her and the rest of the pack as long as they let her live. As long as I agreed that she would never pose a threat to them.”
“So you hid the truth from her?” Dylan furrowed his brows.
“I saw no other way,” Christian replied. “Mary was dead. Donovan’s legs were clearly deformed and useless. Lyle was beside himself.” He shook his head, looking at Lyra again. “I was just trying to keep you alive.”
She shifted. His words had a ring of gold like truth, but there was something else. Something dark buried with them, but she couldn’t figure it out.
“So what was Mary?” Alistair asked. “We still haven’t established this.”
“She was a Veriscent.” It was Drew who answered, catching Lyra by surprise.
“You knew this too?” Alistair raised an eyebrow at him.
Drew nodded. “Mary told us herself. Me, Christian, and Royce. She said we could tell our mates but asked that we not tell anyone else.”
“Mary wanted you to hide the truth?” Dylan sounded skeptical.
“That’s true,” Lyra cut in. “I read it in the journals. She didn’t want people in the pack to know. She thought it would make them dislike her more than they already did.”
Drew studied her with a look she couldn’t quite decipher.
“A Veriscent?” Rina leaned forward, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Goddess, Veriscents
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are extremely rare.” She considered Lyra for a moment. “Do you know what a Veriscent even is? They are so rarely spoken of.”
Lyra nodded. “The witch I went to explained it.” She glanced at Jake again, who nodded. “She gave me a book. An old one. I read some of it last night and this morning.”
“Do you…” Parker frowned. “Do you have the gifts of a Veriscent? Do you even know if you
do?”
Lyra hesitated. Suddenly she understood her mother’s fear. Veriscents were hunted and killed simply because the world mistrusted the gifts they possessed. Now she saw it clearly. How difficult it would be for her in this pack once the truth came out.
“She does,” Jake answered for her after a moment. He squeezed her hand again. “She’s just scared you’re not going to accept her if you know the truth.”
She glanced at him, grateful for him putting words to all the turbulent feelings inside her.
“Well,” Alistair said with a sigh, leaning back, “Veriscents have been highly mistrusted throughout history. They have the ability to manipulate the feelings of others. That’s a dangerous skill.”
“Exactly,” exclaimed Drew. “That’s always been my concern. How do we not know that she’s not manipulating Jake right now? Convincing him to feel things that aren’t real?”
Lyra frowned. “I don’t even know how to do that.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me you haven’t manipulated any of his feelings so far?”
She paused, remembering yesterday and Jake’s rage, how the warmth had surged out of her.
“See?” Drew scoffed, correctly reading her hesitation.
Jake turned to face her. “Lyra?”
“I didn’t mean to,” she explained quickly. “You were attacking your father and I just wanted you to calm down. I just said your name, but it…” She looked away, not sure how to explain it.
He blinked. “I felt that. It felt like a warm blanket. I couldn’t explain it.”
“It wasn’t purposeful,” she said, glancing at Drew. “I don’t know how to control that. I don’t know how to control any of it. All I did was calm him down so he wouldn’t hurt his father anymore.”
There was a long silence that filled the room.
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“Well,” Christian cleared his throat. “I, for one, appreciate you stopping him. He did fracture my jaw.” He gave her a faint smile, and some of the tension in her chest uncoiled.
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