Chapter 29: The Truth About My Parents
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"We believe so," Liam said quietly. "Elizabeth would have been disowned by her family for loving a werewolf. And Nathaniel's pack was... traditional. They wouldn't have accepted a human mate for one of their own."
"So they ran away together," I whispered, the pieces falling into place. "And had me."
"But something happened to them," Ethan continued. "Our records show that Nathaniel was killed in a hunting accident—though we suspect it wasn't an accident at all—around the time you would have been born."
"And my mother? Elizabeth?"
Ethan shook his head. "We don't know for certain. She disappeared after Nathaniel's death. If she left you at that hospital in Seattle..."
"She was probably running for her life," Liam finished grimly. "Trying to protect you from both sides—the hunters who would see you as a betrayal, and the werewolves who might reject a half-human child."
The revelation left me reeling. All my life, I'd wondered about my birth parents—who they were, why they'd given me up. Now I had answers, but they only led to more questions.
"If what you're saying is true," I said slowly, "then I'm..."
"Half werewolf," Liam confirmed, watching me carefully. "Though it seems the trait remained dormant in you."
"That's not possible," I argued. "Wouldn't I know if I were part werewolf? Wouldn't I feel something?"
"Not necessarily," Ethan explained. "The werewolf gene can remain dormant for generations, especially in those with mixed heritage. It might explain your unusual affinity for plants, though. Many of our kind have special connections to the natural world."
My mind was racing, trying to process this life-altering information. "And you think whoever placed that tracking device knows this? Knows who I really am?"
