Chapter 25: Family Revelations
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Again, that strange emphasis on my last name. "Yes, but as I told Liam, I was adopted. I don't know my birth family."
"Interesting," Ethan murmured. "Very interesting."
"Ethan," Liam warned, his tone suggesting this was a conversation they'd already had.
"She has a right to know, Liam," Ethan replied calmly. "Especially if what you suspect about the tracking device is true."
"Know what?" I asked, looking between them. "What aren't you telling me?"
Liam sighed, gesturing for me to sit at the kitchen table. "The Hayes family has a... history with werewolves."
"What kind of history?"
"They're hunters," Ethan said bluntly. "One of the oldest and most notorious werewolf hunting families in North America."
I stared at them in disbelief. "That's impossible. I would know if my adoptive family hunted werewolves."
"Not your adoptive family," Liam clarified. "Your birth family. The Hayes bloodline has hunted our kind for generations."
The revelation left me speechless. If what they were saying was true, I was descended from people who had dedicated their lives to hunting and killing creatures like Liam and Jackson.
"I don't understand," I finally said, fighting to keep my voice steady. "Why would that matter now? I didn't even know werewolves existed until a few weeks ago."
"Because," Ethan said gently, "if someone has discovered your connection to the Hayes family and your involvement with us, it could be very dangerous—for you and for the pack."
