The Truth About Their Daughters
1490 Words
The front door opened.
Remi’s heart immediately tightened.
Layla and David stepped inside first.
The moment Layla saw Remi, everything else disappeared.
“My baby.”
Remi barely had time to smile before her mother crossed the room and wrapped her in a tight hug.
“Mom.”
Layla held her even tighter.
“You scared me.”
“I’m okay.”
David came up behind them and pulled Remi into his arms.
“You look different.”
Remi laughed softly.
“I’ve been told that a lot lately.”
David pulled back and studied her face.
“Different in a good way.”
Remi smiled.
“I think so.”
Layla looked around the room.
Then her eyes landed on Will.
Her expression changed.
“So…”
Will straightened.
Layla crossed her arms.
“You’re the reason my daughter left Bayou Falls with a broken heart.”
The room went silent.
Will didn’t look away.
“Yes.”
David stepped beside Layla.
“And now?”
Will glanced at Remi.
“Now she’s my mate.”
Layla’s eyes widened.
David’s eyebrows shot up.
Remi closed her eyes.
Here we go.
Layla looked at her daughter.
“Your mate?”
Remi nodded.
“Yes.”
Layla’s expression softened.
Then she looked back at Will.
“You’d better be good to her.”
Will nodded.
“I will.”
“You’d better.”
“I will.”
David gave Will a long look.
“You hurt her once.”
“I know.”
“Don’t do it again.”
Will’s voice was quiet.
“I won’t.”
Before the moment could become any more emotional, another voice came from the doorway.
“Did someone say mates?”
Everyone turned.
Anna and Sam Winters walked inside.
Rae immediately froze.
“Oh, no.”
Del whispered,
“Your parents.”
Rae nodded.
“My parents.”
Anna’s eyes immediately found Rae.
Then Del.
Her face broke into a huge smile.
“There are my girls!”
Rae barely had time to react before Anna hugged her.
“You didn’t tell us!”
Rae laughed.
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“Eventually.”
Sam walked over and hugged Del.
“Congratulations, sweetheart.”
Del smiled.
“Thank you.”
Sam pulled back and looked around the room.
“So which ones?”
Rae pointed.
“Trey.”
Trey smiled.
Del pointed.
“Elijah.”
Elijah nodded.
Anna looked toward Remi.
“And Remi?”
Remi raised her hand.
“Will.”
Anna smiled.
“So all three.”
Marcus nodded.
“All three.”
Sam looked at Marcus.
“You weren’t exaggerating.”
“I never do.”
Rae snorted.
“Yes, you do.”
Marcus laughed.
Anna looked around the room.
“Wait.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Why does everyone look like something else happened?”
Rae suddenly became very interested in the floor.
Del looked at Elijah.
Elijah looked at Trey.
Trey looked at Will.
Will looked at Remi.
Remi sighed.
“We have a lot to explain.”
Anna’s expression immediately became serious.
“Are my daughters safe?”
“Yes,” Trey said.
“Are they hurt?”
“No,” Elijah answered.
“Then what aren’t you telling us?”
Rae slowly raised her hand.
“I may have a little bit of information.”
Sam laughed.
“Of course you do.”
Rae pointed at him.
“Don’t start.”
Anna smiled.
“We know about the fireworks.”
Rae groaned.
“I was hoping that story had died.”
“No,” Sam said.
“It lives forever.”
Del started laughing.
Rae glared at her.
“You’re not helping.”
Then Will stepped forward.
“There is something everyone needs to know.”
The room became quiet.
Will looked at Remi.
Then Rae.
Then Del.
“Their mates aren’t the only thing that changed.”
Layla frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Trey stepped beside Rae.
“Rae isn’t human.”
Anna’s eyes widened.
“What?”
Rae sighed.
“Here we go.”
Trey continued.
“She’s a witch.”
Silence.
Anna stared at Rae.
Sam stared at Rae.
Remi blinked.
Layla looked completely stunned.
David looked at Marcus.
Marcus simply nodded.
Rae lifted both hands.
“Before anyone panics, I’m still me.”
Anna slowly walked toward her daughter.
“A witch?”
Rae nodded.
“Apparently.”
“Since when?”
Rae shrugged.
“Apparently always.”
Sam stared at her.
“Does that explain the fireworks?”
Rae’s mouth fell open.
“No.”
Everyone laughed.
Even Anna.
Trey smiled.
“She has powers.”
Rae shot him a look.
“I know.”
Trey continued.
“She can see things before they happen.”
Anna’s smile faded.
“What?”
“She had a vision during the attack.”
Rae nodded.
“I saw the attackers before anyone else did.”
“And her magic has already awakened,” Trey added.
A faint shimmer of energy danced across Rae’s fingers.
Anna gasped.
“Oh.”
Rae looked down.
“I’m still getting used to that.”
Sam smiled slowly.
“That explains a lot.”
Rae narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t.”
⸻
Elijah stepped forward next.
“Del isn’t human either.”
Del sighed.
“Why does everyone keep announcing this for me?”
Elijah smiled.
“Because you’re my mate.”
Anna looked at Del.
“What are you?”
Del hesitated.
Then golden light flickered across her fingertips.
“A Phoenix.”
Layla gasped.
David stared.
Sam’s expression became one of complete surprise.
Anna whispered,
“A Phoenix?”
Del nodded.
“I can heal.”
Golden fire danced briefly across her palm.
“I can regenerate.”
The flame disappeared.
“And apparently…”
She looked at Elijah.
“I can do a lot more than I knew.”
Elijah’s eyes softened.
“She awakened when our bond completed.”
Anna walked over and gently touched Del’s shoulder.
“My goodness.”
Del smiled.
“I’m still Del.”
Anna hugged her.
“And that’s all I care about.”
Del’s eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you.”
⸻
Then everyone looked at Remi.
Remi’s stomach twisted.
Will stepped closer.
“And Remi…”
He paused.
“She isn’t human either.”
Layla’s face went pale.
David stared at his daughter.
“What?”
Remi swallowed.
“I’m a wolf.”
Silence.
Layla shook her head.
“No.”
Remi reached for her mother’s hand.
“I know this is a lot.”
Layla looked at David.
“But she couldn’t shift.”
“I couldn’t.”
Will spoke softly.
“Her wolf was dormant.”
David looked at him.
“And now?”
Will looked at Remi with a tenderness that made her chest tighten.
“Now she’s awake.”
A soft growl sounded from somewhere deep inside Remi.
Her eyes briefly flashed.
Layla covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
Remi gave a nervous laugh.
“Yeah.”
David stared at her.
“You’re a werewolf.”
Remi nodded.
“Apparently.”
David looked at Layla.
Then at the three Carter brothers.
Then back at Remi.
“All these years…”
Will stepped forward.
“She was never truly human.”
Layla’s eyes filled with tears.
“But we raised her.”
Remi immediately answered.
“And you are my parents.”
Layla looked at her.
“Always.”
She pulled Remi into her arms.
“You being a wolf doesn’t change that.”
David wrapped his arms around both of them.
“Nothing changes that.”
Remi closed her eyes.
The words she had needed her entire life settled somewhere deep inside her.
Nothing changes that.
⸻
Anna looked at her three daughters-by-mate.
“So…”
She wiped her eyes.
“One werewolf.”
Remi smiled.
“One witch.”
Rae lifted her hand.
“And one Phoenix.”
Del smiled.
Anna looked at Marcus.
“You knew?”
Marcus nodded.
“I knew they were connected to something supernatural.”
“But not exactly what?”
“Not until tonight.”
Sam looked at his daughters.
“You three really know how to make an entrance.”
Rae grinned.
“We’ve always been talented.”
Del laughed.
Remi shook her head.
“You two are impossible.”
Anna smiled.
“No.”
She looked around the room.
“You’re family.”
Trey slipped his arm around Rae.
Elijah reached for Del’s hand.
Will took Remi’s.
Three women.
Three Alphas.
Three awakened supernatural identities.
And now—
Two families who had finally learned the truth.
But somewhere beyond the walls of the pack house…
Something dark stirred.
Nightshade had felt the awakening.
And now it knew exactly what had awakened.
The Wolf.
The Witch.
The Phoenix.
And their mates.
The real war was about to begin.
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