More than Secrets

Betrayal

TYLER'S P. O. V.

"So let me get this straight, Dani is actually the biological daughter of Alpha Henry Stone of Half-Moon pack and his Luna, Lorna Reynolds, so she has the Blood Curse running through her veins too, and that would explain why she was able to get Sierra to submit to her tonight, am I right?" my mother asks me and my father while pacing up and down my father's office like a mad woman.

The party's still going on, but most of the guests have already taken their leave.

I gulp and nod slowly, knowing how much my mother loathes secrets.

She stops pacing and faces us, hands placed on her hips and glowering at both of us.

I already know what's coming next.

My mother moves towards us, using her wolf speed, and smacks us both upside our heads.

My father and I both bend forward in our chairs, rubbing our stinging scalps and cursing under our breaths.

"You two are fools to keep this a secret from me! And from her!" my mom yells. "That poor girl doesn't even know that she's adopted or a werewolf or that she's an Alpha's daughter... Everyone she loves and trusts in this world is hiding something from her, and you-" she jabs her finger into my chest, "-should be ashamed of yourself for not being honest with her. Dani is your mate!"

I hang my head as the truth of her words pierce right through my soul.

Your mother is right, my wolf chimes in.

Shut it, Hunter! I growl back.

"Celia, please don't be so hard on him. It's not his fault," my father says, standing to his feet. "We've sent a spy. We've tried to get in touch with Lorna, hoping that maybe she could reach out to Dani and tell her about who she truly is, but..." he sighs and hangs his head in defeat, "...our spy says Lorna is not allowed out of the packhouse grounds and is constantly being guarded because nearly eighteen years ago she ran away, and when their trackers finally caught up to her, they noticed she was no longer with child."

I have to fight back the tears. My mate's mother tried to save her from Alpha Henry, her ruthless father, and was now a prisoner in her own home because of it.

My mother's face softens. She too looks close to tears. I watch as her hand moves and touches her stomach lightly, probably thinking about the many pups she lost before finally conceiving me. It still pains her to this day.

"We still have to tell Dani," she says. Her voice is soft and shaky, but also determined.

"I'll tell her tomorrow," I say firmly, but inside, I'm already dreading her reaction.

My eyes cloud over with the emergency mind-link being sent.

"Alphas! Luna! We are being attacked. They're ROGUES!"

JANE'S P. O. V.

"You know, you don't always have to sing that song whenever you call Tree-house Time?" El says to Dani, who's securing her flashlight to the rope hanging from the ceiling of our tree house.

Technically, it's Ryan's tree house (he and dad built it together when Ryan was about 12 years old), but he stopped playing in it after he started high school and then it just stood empty and collecting dust for a couple of years.

When he left for college, Dani came up with the idea to turn it into our clubhouse. We use it as a space to vent and be silly and just connect as sisters again, especially if one of us is going through something difficult.

"I know, but I want to," Dani replies, sticking her tongue out at El. She unscrews the cork of the wine bottle then pours some into 3 paper cups, filling the cups to the brim.

I hook my phone up to the Bluetooth speaker to play some music as Dani hands a cup to me an El.

"Jane, please recite the first rule of Tree-house Time," Dani says, holding her cup up in the air.

"Rule number one: What's said in the tree house, stays in the tree house," I reply, holding up my cup too.

"El, the second rule?" Dani turns to her.

El lifts her cup up to us. "Rule number two: No puking in the tree house,"

"Good," Dani sits up on her knees (we can't stand up straight because the tree house is so small), "and rule number three: No judging!"

"No judging!" El and I repeat in unison.

We all cheers and down our first cups (It's customary to do so, so we're all on the same buzz).

"Okay, so I've called Tree-house Time tonight because I really needed a distraction," Dani says, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"From?" I ask her with a small hiccup, while El takes our cups and goes to fill them again (only halfway, this time).

Dani sighs. "Tyler... sort of rejected me tonight...in the bedroom... If you get wha-"

El covers her ears, "Yes, we get it!"

I have to laugh at her. "When did you of all people, become such a prude?"

El puts a hand over her heart and scoffs in mock offense. "I'll have you two, Mother Theresa's, know that I'm still a virgin!"

"Ew, don't say that name!" Dani says, scrunching her face in disgust.

She goes on to explain her "almost" disaster date, all of the drama that's been going on with her, starting with her punching Brian in the nose, how Tyler had threatened the boys in our school to not ask her out, and how she's been struggling to keep her rage under control recently.

My poor sister is going through so much right now. I feel so sorry for her.

"Hey, since we're being honest," El says, "I kind of had a feeling Liam was gonna break up with me. He'd been avoiding me almost all summer, around the time of his 18th birthday in July. He would always make up excuses why he couldn't come over - his family needed him, or he was feeling tired - blah, blah, blah," she sighs. "I mean, I get it. I can take a hint... I'm not an idiot."

Her and Dani cheers and take a sip of their wine while I sit here, the guilt of kissing Liam eating me up inside. Oh god, I feel physically ill.

Dani's eyes go wide when she sees me put my hand over my my mouth. "Rule number two!" she shouts, and backs up in a panic.

I crawl over to the door and throw it open wide. I puke onto the grass below, until I'm just dry heaving.

El taps me gently on my back and hands me a bottle of water. I mouth a "thanks" before using the water to rinse my mouth.

"When did you become such a lightweight?" Dani asks me with a chuckle as I close the door and lean against it.

I sigh and look at El. "It's not the wine... I feel guilty about something and it's making me sick."

They both look at me and nod for me continue. It's now or never.

"Liam kissed me. The day before school... the day before he broke up with you, El."

Music is the only thing you can hear right now as El and Dani stare at me in silence before El lunges at me with murder in her eyes.