I swallowed hard. “So who killed them?”

He sighed. “Your mother’s labor was progressing, so I went with them to the castle. It was only a short distance from Crescent lands.”

My father was silent for a long moment. The silence stretched until I thought I might go mad. Jumping from the sofa, I shouted, “Dad! What happened?”

My father shook himself.

“Valor offered to help. I was floored. The alpha king hid us in his guest house, but a moment later, Declan arrived, pounding on the door and screaming about a high crime. I don’t know how he knew, but he did. Valor said he’d talk sense into his brother.” My dad swallowed, and his voice dropped. “Val said to wait, and then he slipped out the door.”

Nausea rolled into me.

My dad closed his eyes and seemed to be holding back tears before he continued. “Elia was in full-on labor. Valor and Declan were both fire elementals, but Mackay didn’t think either would fight each other over this, nor would they use their magic so close to the castle and the school. When Valor screamed, and we smelled … smoke … Mackay told me to stay and help Elia with the labor before he left to try and help his friend…” My dad opened his eyes and looked at Rage. “Your dad. Mackay was a water elemental. That’s why…” His voice cracked, and my dad forced a swallow. Shaking his head, he continued, “I’m sorry, while Elia silently gave birth to Nai, Declan slaughtered Valor and then Mackay, burning them alive in the garden.”

“No!” Rage jumped up and grabbed at his face.

The pained expression my father wore looked like he’d swallowed acid. “I wanted to help, but … I was literally delivering a child. By the time Nai took her first breath, I knew Mackay was gone. I felt it through the pack bond.”

Rage’s hands shook, and I stepped over to the couch, sinking to my mate’s side to rub his back. The entire time, my mind raced a mile a minute.

That mother freaking asshole deserved to be burned alive—a thousand times over!

“And my mother?” I asked.

My dad dropped his chin, covering his face with his hands. “I don’t know if it was a cruel twist of fate or if the trauma of hearing her mate be brutally murdered caused the hemorrhage. When I tried to give you to her, she pushed you back and weakly told me she was dying. That I needed to flee—take you to safety. That’s when the floor became covered in blood.” My father frowned, his eyes glistening with tears, and salty tracks cut through whiskers, dripping to the floor unchecked. “The blood … there was so much blood. What more could I do?”

Oh my mage. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision until I couldn’t see. How could I blame my father? And for what? Listening to my dying mother’s last wish to keep me safe? As a wolf shifter, to flee would be going against his very nature. Emotion clogged my throat, and I blinked to clear the tears, but more came as I rushed into his arms, and he wrapped me in a tight hug.

“She collapsed, died right there on the bed,” my father said as I pulled away and looked up at him.

Anguish wrenched my chest—for him because the pain of that night still tortured him.

“Her chest was wet with blood, and her belly was still so swollen. She hadn’t even delivered the placenta yet … she still looked pregnant.” My dad closed his eyes and sighed. “I thought of all the carnage and destruction Declan had caused, knowing I could do nothing to change it, and then—” he raised his gaze and met mine. “—I saw you, Nai, and knew, for you, I could do everything. I hid in the woods for an hour … maybe more, but not much, trying to come up with a story. By the time I returned to Crescent Pack land, I discovered Declan had already attacked. Half of our pack was … destroyed … and the rest of us were exiled.”

A growl ripped from Rage’s throat, and I mirrored that anger. My father nodded. “In all the confusion of exile, I hid you with Lona and Mack—who was two months old at the time—in a secluded cabin at the back edge of our new Montana land.”

My heart swelled at his words. No wonder I’d always had such a close bond with that woman and her son.

“About a year later, I returned with you and told everyone you were mine and that your mother had died. I, like Mackay, had become well known for my long weekends away. I was off seeing you, Lona, and little Mack, but they didn’t know that. So I let them believe I had a lover. Lona went back to the pack with Mack in tow, and no one was the wiser. It was a crazy first year, fending for ourselves in exile.”

I tried to wrap my mind around it all.

“So the king killed my father and slaughtered half your pack?” Rage’s voice was barely-contained fury.

My father sighed. “Yes, son.”

Onyx fur ran down Rage’s arms, and his body twisted and contorted as he lost control. Not even a breath later, the black Midnight wolf tipped his head back and howled, the long, anguished sound the only adequate vocalization of how my dad’s haunting tale had shredded my heart.

Chapter 10

After talking to my father, we cleaned up and ate. Declan was already on my stab-to-death list, but knowing the truth moved him to the top spot.

Top douchebag who deserves to be cut into a million pieces and fed to the selkies.

After dinner, we moved our tension-filled vigil to the living room while Rage’s watch counted down on Honor’s life.

Come on, Grandpa! Where are you? I knew he wouldn’t let me down, but if he didn’t show up in the next hour, I was going to freak out. I excused myself for a quick trip to the restroom, and Kaja followed me down the hallway.

“You hardly ate anything,” Kaja said, giving me a sad look. “And that was the best food I’ve eaten in years.”

I shrugged. What could I say? The ache of my father’s story was still raw like my chest had been scraped empty and the very fibers of my soul oozed from the brutality of the injury.

“Between Declan … Honor … and then finding out my parents…” I struggled to form a complete sentence, to somehow explain all the horror and what it meant…

Once again, for like the thousandth time, she proved why she was my bestie. Pulling me in for a tight hug in the hallway, she murmured, “Go take a few minutes. We’ve got two hours on your ticking save-Honor-clock. I’ll come get you if hell breaks loose.”

I pulled back with fresh tears in my eyes. “Promise?”

“Pinky promise,” she said with a wink, but her eyes glistened too—as if she could feel my pain. The smile slipped from her face, and she whispered, “I’m sorry, Nai. I can see you’re hurting … and I wish I could fix it, but I probably can’t—and I don’t even know the right thing to say, so … I’m sorry.”

She tugged me back into her embrace, and letting the tears fall, I choked out, “That was pretty much perfect.”

The dam of emotion burst, silently at first, but instead of waning, the emotions I’d stuffed away for the last few days all bubbled up. When the first sob tore from my lips, I felt Kaja move, and then Rage’s warmth enveloped me.

“Come on, love,” he murmured, guiding me down the hall toward our room.