“About the blood on your hands.”
I roll my eyes as the timer to the oven goes off. I spin, pulling open the door and reaching for the pan. But I miscalculate my grip on the potholder, and my fingers press against the burning tray of lasagna.
“Mother-effer,” I groan, my hand seared and the lasagna falls to the ground. As I moan about the burn, a force from within me pushes outward from my fingertips. The oven door slams shut, and everyone jumps back, scared of getting hurt. The oven itself seems to short circuit and smoke begins to billow from it.
“Holy shit,” Crew says, pushing open the back door so the smoke can dissipate. Cal flips on the exhaust hood, but whatever I did to the oven seems to have affected the fan.
The pan of lasagna was somehow saved, and I use the potholder to lift it off the floor, setting it on the island.
“Okay, so what was that all about?” Harlow asks.
I smirk, “Well, according to you, that’s the power that I seemed to have inherited from our father.”
She shakes her head though. “That doesn’t make sense. Our father is Poseidon, God of the sea. Not whatever that was.”
“I’m not even going to comment on the whole God thing because it’s too insane. But I have no clue about what keeps happening. Apparently because of me? I’m either making an earthquake or a starting a fire or ….”
“Or what?” she says.
I shake my head. “If I say it, I’ll lose all of this.”
“Not true,” East tells me. “We’re here, for good or bad, in sickness or in health.”
I raise my eyebrows, somehow smiling in the midst of this fucked-up situation. “Are those wedding vows? Because I know we’re moving fast—but that’s a whole different level.”
“Fine,” River says. “Delay the inevitable. But the point is, we’re here.”
“And so am I,” Harlow says.
“You literally have no proof we are family. And you’re claiming to be a demi-god or something. This is all out of a Percy Jackson novel.”
“Or, it could just be the story your life,” she tells me.
“Well, if I’m the daughter of a Greek god, it wouldn’t be Poseidon,” I laugh. “Is there a Greek god famous for screwing stuff up… or being a hothead?”
“Why do you say that?” Harlow asks.
“Because I’m angry all the time. A textbook example of a girl with abandonment issues. For as long as I can remember I’ve fought back. Is that the same as you, because, no judgment, but from the looks of it, we aren’t the same.”
She looks down at herself, puzzled. “I’m not angry. I’ve always felt alone, but that’s not the same. I’ve always, ever since I was little, been drawn to the ocean. Could hold my breath and swim for hours. Can you?”
I shake my head. “I can hardly doggy paddle.”
She looks deflated as if I ruined her only chance at happiness.
“Sorry to ruin the family reunion you had planned.”
Feeling tenderness for her I didn’t expect, I press a hand to her shoulder. When we touch, a current runs between us. She twists her lips. “But the ring, and the birthday. And my dad told me I had sisters.”
I swallow, remembering the bear's words. “I have sisters too,” I tell her. “Three of them. At least, I do if I’m going to trust a bear in the woods.”
“Bear?” Harlow asks, her nose scrunched up.
I explain to her the bear attacks and how I misunderstood the bear’s intent. I tell her, knowing I have an additional audience of six men, that the bear told me I was enough. That although I am finally home, I have three sisters I need to find.
“Was the bear gentle? Like, comforting?” Harlow asks.
I nod, remembering the bear’s tears, the way her paw pressed against my heart.
“I think it was Gaia,” Harlow says in a hushed voice. “Mother Earth. She found me in the ocean, tried to save me and protect me. She tried to warn me.”
“And did you listen?”
She shakes her head. “Not as fast as I should have. And it cost me Eric. The other love of my life.” She briefly tells us how her father was after her, luring her to him, in the form of a seal.
“What is she warning me of?” I ask, my pulse quickening. As crazy as all of this is, it feels true. “I don’t have a seal hunting me down.”
“No,” Callum says gravely. “But you do have Malik.”
The room goes silent as we absorb this possibility.
“How well does anyone actually know Malik?” West asks. “Because I remember him from when I was a kid. He hates women, or at least, the idea of men sharing them.”
“It’s like he has a vendetta against the old ways,” Cal says.
“Then he came into power,” River says. “Twenty years ago, and took that away. Refused to let it be a part of our culture.”
Harlow’s partner, Kai speaks up. “What if you don’t have the same dad? What if you have the same mother?”
“It would make more sense than me being the daughter of a Greek god,” I snort.
Harlow shakes her head. “No. I still think you are. But not Poseidon’s daughter.”
I narrow my eyes. Confused. “Then whose?”
Before she can answer, the sound of a hundred howling wolves cause our eyes to go wide.
Malik is here. And he’s ready to fight.
Chapter 22
Callum
The howling is fierce and relentless, a battle cry. The wolves are here and ready to fight.
“Why does Malik hate us so damn much?” Rem asks. “I get that he’s pissed about you guys not following his rules––but this feels like something else. Something more.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “But we have to get you and Harlow safe,” I think aloud. It’s the only thing that matters.
East runs a hand through his hair. “Fuck, we never should have come back here.”
“No way. I’m staying,” Rem says defiantly. “This is my fight.”
“No, it’s mine,” I say, feeling guilty for my part in this. “I’m the one who was so intent on taking you to the pack meeting.”
Rem raises her hands as if pushing away my idea. “No. You all need to leave. You need to get somewhere safe. I don’t want you near me.”
“Why not, Rem?” I ask, stepping toward her. “Let us keep you safe.”
But she presses out her hands and the force pushes me away. It’s a cold blow, and it feels like a gut punch. “I can’t control myself,” she says looking at her hands. “And I’m too dangerous. I’ll end up ruining everything.”
“Hey,” River says, setting a hand on her arm. “If it’s the fire or the earthquake— it’s okay. No one has been hurt. And maybe Harlow can help you learn how to use your power.”