”What was that?” The nurse asked and stepped back until her back hit the machine behind her.
”Layla?” My father asked and tapped my shoulder.
”It wasn’t rogues that attacked the pack,” I said and looked at Kade. His face went from confused to stale in a split second and he looked around the room.
”We need to go.” He said and turned around taking the car keys out of his pocket.
”Wait no! we can’t leave yet,” he turned around and I saw the hurry in his eyes.
‘It’s too dangerous for you too stay,”
”They knew i’d come here to see Tracey.”
”Exactly, which is why we need to go. They already know you’re here.”
”So let’s find out what they want,”
”You want to gamble on your life?” He asked and i took a step back as he walked toward me.
”I want to find out the truth. They obviously wanted me here for some reason and being here with everyone they wouldn’t dare make a move.”
”Layla they don’t give a shit who you’re surrounded by, they will take what they want and won’t bat an eye,”
”Not if it’s you!”
”How would you know?” He asked in frustration and the words slipped out.
”Becuase they’re afraid of you!”
”Oh no,” Cara gasped and looked at her brother.
His face contorted in anger and he lowered his head as his eyes held a predatory gaze.
”How do you know that, Layla?” I squirmed and dropped my gaze to the floor.
”What is going on?” My mother stepped forward and she looked between me and Kade.
‘We shouldn’t talk about this here,”
All of us headed back to the house in complete silence and I was wracking my head trying to come up with a good anser to Kades earlier question. If I told him about the memory I had seen I was fucked.
Inside the house my mom brewed coffee and put out a tray of cookies.
Anna was silently chewing down on her cookie and looking with an uncomfortable gaze around at everyone.
”Layla, tell us what has happened,’ my father gave me a stern gaze.
Kade was standing and watching me and I couldn’t help the shiver that shot through my body.
”Have you guys ever noticed anything different about me?” I asked my parents and watched as they shared a silent message.
”In what way, sweetheart?” They both held fear and guilt. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward.
”You already know.” I said.
My mom licked her lips and nodded her head.
”When you were younger there would be these instances where we weren’t sure how you knew certain things. we would tell you something and you would look at us with those big brown eyes and you would call us out on our lies.”
”Once, after we’d gotten home from an attack on the pack, we told you we couldn’t go to the park because they were renovating it. You looked at us, you were about four years old, and you asked why there was so much blood there. You said there were dead bodies at the park and that the swing was broken, you couldn’t have known that.”
”Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
”Because we were afraid of what the others might do to you if they found out. We couldn’t risk you getting in the middle of something if the truth got out so we thought it’d be better that you never know. Eventually it stopped and we thought it was just a phase.”
”But it wasn’t, was it.” My dad said and stared deep into my eyes with a heavy heart hanging him down.
”No,” i shook my head and a chair was pulled out. Kade sat down beside me and pulled my chair out to the side so that we were facing each other. He leaned his arms on his knees and stared me down.
”How do you know that the Emberclaws are afraid of me?”
”Emberclaws?” My mom gasped in shock.
”Do you know of them?” Kade asked her and she nodded her head.
”Most older werewolves do. It’s the younger ones who were told. The Emberclaws were different from us, they were manipulative and hurtful in more ways than one. her gaze turned on me and she breathed out as her hand covered her mouth.
”Are you one them?” She asked and the fear in her eyes had me shaking my head in a lie.
”Yes she is,” my head jerked to the side and I looked at Anna who was smiling faintly.
”They’re your parents, Layla. You don’t have to be afraid of telling them the truth. They deserve to know,”
I looked back at my mom whose hand slowly dropped to her lap and she smiled as a tear ran down her cheek.
”Honey no, no you don’t need to be afraid of us. It’s just a shock okay?” i pushed back my own tears and looked down into the coffee. Kade grabbed the sugar tray and poured in two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee. I raised the cup and the smell of freshly brewed coffee brought me back to reality even though I would much rather have been somewhere else. I took a sip and smiled at him as I turned to face him again.
”The flower was a memory from one of them, he was an Emberclaw. He said that he wanted to talk to me but that it was hard because I was under your protection. He said I’d hear from him again,” A loud growl rumbled from Kade but another reality set in and my eyes widened. The smell of the coffee and the heated cookies spred their scents throughout the house. Everything moved so slowly and I was the tick on the clock moving and with each tick my eyes grew wider.
”Kade you need to go,” I said and looked around frantically until I locked eyes with Cara.
”Both of you need to go right now.”
”I’m not leaving you.”
”Why do we have to go?” Cara asked and I choked on the air. I was under Kades protection. The only way for them to get to me was to go through him first.
”Because i don’t think they’re here for me.” I breathed.
