Wade gave me a long, measured look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Then he laid it on me. “I’m guessing they sought protection from the alpha because of you.”
The rock in my gut rolled over. “She was pregnant.”
“That’s my thought.”
“They left. I guess they hid from Harlan in the Wolf Ranch pack with her parents. That’s where you were born.”
“They were that afraid of him?”
He nodded, grimly. “Apparently.”
I glanced at Cord, who said, “I’ve never heard of a shifter behaving like this before. The instinct is to protect your mate and pup. Never to harm them.”
“Why didn’t he go to Wolf Ranch pack and bring them back?”
Wade shrugged. “He did.”
I couldn’t breathe. The air in the diner felt thick and hot. My hands were clenched into clammy fists, and I wanted to kill Harlan. “So, what happened?” I barely got the words out over my rusty windpipe.
Wade took a sip of his coffee. “Apparently there was an accident. Their car ran off the cliffs.”
So at least that much was true. That was the story I’d been told growing up, that they’d died in a car accident.
Wade went on. “There was much speculation about them being run off the road, but local law enforcement couldn’t prove anything. As I said, Jack West didn’t banish Harlan from the pack, but word is he’s been living alone a couple hours from here ever since. He’s probably feral by now.”
Banishment was a serious punishment for a wolf shifter, as we were pack animals. We craved and thrived in communities of our own kind. Lone wolves often went crazy living amongst humans or worse—totally on their own. But he hadn’t been banished officially. He’d done it himself.
Wait. I caught on to something Wade had said. “You’re telling me he’s not dead?”
This guy… who’d probably killed my parents, who was an asshole, was alive?
Wade nodded.
“He needs to be put down,” I growled.
“He’s never been back here in all this time. Gibson knew nothing about you,” Cord said to me. “Your parents, Noble and Cathryn, their plan worked. Harlan never learned about you.”
And I’d never known about him. “My parents died to save me,” I said, more to myself than Cord and Wade. “From him.”
I pushed my coffee mug away, because the scent suddenly made me sick. My parents had died because of their own mate, or whatever he would be called. They’d been killed and their death had gone unavenged.
I supposed without proof, I couldn’t very well avenge them either, but I was going to try. I was going to find this Harlan character and beat the truth out of him.
Rachel came our way carrying a tray covered in dishes. My eyes widened as it tipped. Cord must have seen my reaction because his head whipped around and he stood quickly, taking it from her. He held it as she set down the plates, heavy with our lunch orders.
“Thanks,” she said, going up on her tiptoes and giving Cord a kiss on the cheek when he handed her the empty tray.
She looked to me, then frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Fuck. My jaw was clenched and I was seething with anger. And hurt. I couldn’t explain any of it to Rachel. Hell, I could barely process it all, and I knew Wade wasn’t done.
“I can’t eat my fries without ketchup, beautiful,” I managed to say.
Cord laughed. “I think we just figured out he gets hangry.”
I wanted to tell him I didn’t get angry when I was hungry, but he was helping me explain away my bad mood.
She grinned and went to grab the bottle and set it in front of me. She was sweet. Innocent. Untouched by all this. Except I had touched her the night before. Greedily. Aggressively.
Cord sat down and tucked into his meal. As if nothing was wrong.
When she was called away, I grabbed the ketchup bottle and doused my fries in it even though I hated the stuff. “Anything else?” I grumbled, trying to deal with everything I’d just learned about myself.
Wade pulled a small photograph from his shirt pocket. “This.”
I took it and stared. The photo was old, and of three people together. A dark-haired man had his arm slung around a woman’s shoulders. They were clearly happy. Standing awkwardly beside them was another man… who looked exactly like me. Blond hair. Light eyes. The same angled jaw. Lips. Wide shoulders. Even close to the same age. It was as if I’d been computer-added to an old photo.
It all became clear then. I tossed the photo down on the table like it had burned me. “Fuck,” I murmured.
Cord snagged it.
“I’m Harlan’s kid,” I choked out.
Wade nodded. “Cord’s the expert on shifter DNA and gene study, but I’d say the fact that you look exactly like the guy is enough proof of that for me.”