Pressing a hand to her stomach, she whispered, “The babe is well, but you must calm yourself.”

While it was surprising to hear that Lara knew Maribel was pregnant—with her gifts, I could only imagine we were in for daily surprises—Daniel gasped at her words like they were a stab to the belly and hurried to the foyer. But my focus shifted from him as a sudden flurry of activity had all the staff surging from out of nowhere. There was a packed crowd who witnessed Eli grinding out, “Seth, explain yourself.”

His mouth was a tight ring as he grimaced first at Eli, then peered down at the floor. “It was only a joke.”

Maribel was still sobbing, but she began shaking her head from side to side—her silence speaking louder than words.

I sensed she didn’t want to get him into trouble, but equally, that she couldn’t stop herself from reacting to his remark.

Watching Eli take in her reaction, he ground out, “Why would you think that was a joke?”

Sabina closed her eyes, cupped the back of Knight’s head, and then whispered, “Speak the truth, Seth. I can sense if you lie.”

Lara, still on her knees and soothing Maribel, twisted around at that and peered over at her sister, arching a brow in apparent surprise at her words.

Either she hadn’t been a truth detector before, or that was a new ability tied to her omega powers.

Only, when Lara stared at my mate, her gaze drifted over Seth in the interim, and I watched her behold him for the first time. Clearly, she’d only had eyes for Maribel, but now she saw Seth, I watched her rear back.

“He has a spirit in him.”

“A wolf?” I asked, because that made sense, but Lara’s eyes glazed over as she shook her head.

“What kind of spirit?” Sabina asked, her voice soft as she moved out of Eli’s hold and wandered over to her. She crouched down, gently touching Lara’s face and forcing those unseeing eyes to look back at her.

Lara didn’t even blink. Though Sabina urged Lara to move, it did little good. Her gaze was fixed on Seth, who stared straight back at her.

Feeling like I was watching a ‘child of the corn’ situation unfold, I cleared my throat and glanced around the foyer, seeing all the staff hovering, wondering and watching what had happened. Their whispers were a nuisance, so I ordered, “Go back to work, please.” I put just enough power into it for them to feel my wolf, which had them ducking their heads with irritated sniffs at my dominance—they still didn’t particularly like me or my twin—which gave them no alternative but to comply.

I didn’t need to be either Lara or Sabina to sense their displeasure at failing to watch the drama unfold, not that I cared.

This was no one’s place except for those who were unfortunate enough to be involved in the situation.

“Lara? What kind of spirit?” Eli asked, his tone harder than Sabina’s, hard enough that our sister-in-law jerked in response.

“I-I don’t know.”

Austin, turning to our woman, asked, “Can’t you sense it, love? I’d have thought you’d be able to connect with him?”

“He’s a dark blur… That’s pretty much all I can see,” she admitted, blowing out a breath, her frustration clear to behold. She pressed a kiss to Knight’s head when he started to fuss, then muttered, “Lara, can you help me see what you see?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“This was why I wanted her to come here. I knew there was a darkness in Seth, but I wanted it to be confirmed because I’ve seen it in no other pack member.”

Before we could reply, even though the three of us were annoyed at her keeping things from us yet again, Sabina rocked down so that she was no longer crouching, but was on her knees beside Maribel. She reached over and touched Lara’s cheek once more, then murmured, “Cyrilo was the one who forced the shift on me, Lara. I know I told you he was the one who tried to kill me when I was a teen, but that was only the first time he did so.”

She gaped at her. “Cyrilo? Our Cyrilo? He was a shifter too?”

Sabina nodded. “He was. He wanted to destroy me, but he didn’t realize he had the power to turn me into a wolf child. If he was special, and I am too, you must be as well. I can see my ties to each of the pack through my gifts, and I could sense Cyrilo. I don’t know if that was because he was a wolf or because he was blood. Can I try with you?”

Wondering why she was asking and not just doing it, I didn’t react when Sabina explained, “She’s sensitive enough to sense me seek her out. It would scare her, maybe even shock her, and I don’t want that. She might pass out, and it would cause her needless pain.”

I didn’t bother replying, because, as always, her reasoning made perfect sense. God, I loved that my mate was so smart.

Something she evidently felt, as she shot me a tender smile before she turned her focus back to her sister. “Do you mind, Lara?”

She bit her lip. “No. But will it hurt?”

“I don’t think so.” Sabina reached over and touched Lara’s temple as she closed her eyes. I had no idea what she was looking for, no idea whatsoever, and I’d admit that it killed me to watch her trying to do something without me being able to help.

I blew out a breath when her hand moved, and I didn’t think it was a coincidence that where her finger stopped, it was where, people who believed in chakras, called it the third eye.

She straightened up some as if she’d reached a connection, and it almost reminded me of the AirDrop features with Apple products, because she touched that ‘button’ and it was like they were wired together. Lara responded the exact opposite way to Sabina—she didn’t straighten up or grow tense. If anything, she relaxed. Not like she was passing out, just like sharing the burden soothed her.

I could feel Sabina’s powers seep into the room, much as I would if Eli’s wolf was dominating the pack, just like I’d felt it back in the forest where we’d all caught up with her.

It surprised me, though, because I’d never felt the tendrils of her power like this. They spread out in a way that was almost misty, like fog crawling along the road on a dull day. But when the tendrils collided with me, it was like a zap to the system. I jerked, feeling the power she was containing, and sensing that she needed to share it with me, with all of us, that she needed us to anchor her.

I sucked down a gulp of air, not overwhelmed by the bewildering sensation, but definitely overcome by it.

Nothing made sense though. It was like, deep in my mind, there was another channel that had been torn open. And that was how as well—torn open. Ripped. Not carefully cut. Not designed with precision like the link we used to communicate with one another. This was forged in a panic, in a fluster.

Whatever Lara could sense was overwhelming her.

The thought had me rushing forward, letting go of Seth, who darted off. I didn’t care, didn’t give a damn if he ran away, but I heard him scamper, then with an ‘oooof,’ fall to the floor, which made me wonder if Austin had tripped him, but I didn’t waste a thought on it. Just grabbed Sabina’s shoulder and jerked them apart.

When Sabina looked at me, my jaw clenched. Her eyes were white, filled with a gold mist. Just like that day back at the clearing. The day we’d claimed her.