Midnight Secrets

“What?” My brain couldn’t understand why he would even suggest such a thing, and the look I gave him as I spun around said as much. Did I enter the Twilight Zone or something? “It’s not his fault either. Why would you think that?”

His focus had been on Cass, but once I spoke, it dropped to me, his sigh barely audible. “I’ve been a part of this world for many years. I know what’s typical of each species and what isn’t. Vampires and werewolves may be enemies, but vampires usually aren’t foolish enough to attack their territory so close to the full moon when most of the pack is there. They usually go after isolated werewolves.”

I continued wordlessly staring at my father, biting my lip as I tried to figure out how this was Cass’ fault. All I was hearing was that these vampires were arrogant dumbasses that thought they could take on a whole pack.

Cass was tense behind me, his hands flexing against my stomach, and I placed a hand on top his.

“These vampires didn’t just so happen to attack packlands the night you were here after a vampire tried abducting you. I don’t care what anyone says; this was no coincidence. It was planned.”

“Everyone, clear out and give us privacy.” Sebastian’s clear and booming voice vibrated with power. I jerked in Cass’ arms as I leaned to the side to look around Cass, finding the Alpha entering the clearing. Thankfully, he was wearing clothes, and other than a bite mark on his forearm, he appeared unharmed. Those lingering outside the house hurried inside at the command from their Alpha, glancing over at us as they did so. Fay hesitated, giving Cass and me lingering looks before following them.

Cass remained where he stood, locked into a stare-off with my dad. I kept glancing back and forth between the two. Out of the two of them, my dad’s emotions were the easiest to read. His anger was palpable, and had I not been standing in front of Cass, I would have been afraid he would try to shoot him.

Cass hid his thoughts and emotions well, and at the moment, I hated it with a passion.

Why was my dad acting like this? It wasn’t like he hadn’t known Cass was a werewolf.

Addie also hesitated, looking torn between remaining with me and following her Alpha’s orders. I met her gaze, silently begging her to stay with me. All of this was so confusing, and with the way my dad was acting, I needed all the support I could get.

It wasn’t until the five of us were the only ones in front of the house that I allowed myself to think about the accusation my father made and fully register the implications. “Are you seriously suggesting the vampires were only here for me?”

“I’m assuming the one I shot was the same one that has been stalking you,” my dad said as he dragged his attention away from Cass instead of explaining himself.

“Wait, you think Ezra set this up so he could get to me?” I hadn’t expected him to nod, figuring I’d misinterpreted his words. So when he did, my jaw dropped as I shook my head in denial, refusing to believe this. I stepped out of Cass’ arms, running my hands over my messy hair, needing to be able to think clearly. Surprisingly, Cass let me, his gaze never leaving me as I began pacing. “You realize how crazy you sound?”

“So stubborn.”

“Where do you think I learned it from?”

A grin broke through my father’s stoic facade for a brief moment before he turned his focus to Sebastian, who stood a few feet away from Cass with his arms crossed as he watched the exchange. “I’m assuming you’ve already caught and began questioning one of them.”

Sebastian nodded, still not saying anything. It seemed he was the strong, silent type.

“He was the one to plan the attack. Wasn’t he?” Again, Sebastian nodded.

My pacing ground to a halt as I struggled to keep my churning emotions under control. I dropped my face in my hands, wanting to both laugh and cry at this whole situation. This couldn’t be happening to me. Was I seriously meant to believe all of this was for me? “Why?”

Sebastian wasn’t the only one who had yet to speak; Cass had been quiet as well, his focus still single-mindedly on me. But the way neither of them scoffed at my dad’s claims and had both shared a glance spoke volumes. Addie wasn’t saying anything either, pursing her lips as she frowned at Cass.

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Addie finally asked, tearing her focus from Cass and looking at my father.

“Tell me I’m wrong—I’d love to be wrong.”

Addie came closer to me, and all I could do was stare at her in confusion as she leaned toward me and smelled my neck. “Addie, tell me what’s going on,” I begged when she pulled away. She tried to hide the worry in her expression, but I could see it in her eyes and the way she bit her lip.

“The way you’ve been singled out by Ezra is unusual and not just Ezra. I watched those vampires tonight. The way they single-mindedly went after you wasn’t normal. They were seeking you out. Then there’s the fact that Ezra—a vampire without rank—was able to get so many to launch a suicide mission against us. And that’s not even mentioning the way the one reacted to tasting your blood.”

“Just spit it out, Addie.” I hadn’t meant to snap at her, but my neck was throbbing, my feet were still sore from last night, and nothing in my life seemed to make sense anymore. I wasn’t in the mood for riddles or long drawn-out answers.

Addie bit her lip again as she glanced at Cass, almost like she was hoping he’d take over the explanation, but he remained silent, his gaze never leaving me. “Vampires prefer human blood rather than other supernaturals, but there’s a specific kind of human that is their favorite. Think of them as catnip to vampires.”

“Addie, I swear if you don’t start making sense—”

“It’s human mates.”

My threats died in my throat as I took processed her words, thinking back to what Fay said in the locker room. It’s incredibly dangerous for the human and more often than not results in their death. The poor women are lucky if they make it to their twenty-first birthday.

“You’ve heard that term before,” Addie said, noticing the way I had gone still, my breathing picking up as well as my heart rate.

I nodded, unable to speak as Addie’s and Fay’s words bounced around in my head. My first instinct was denial. This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t have another bombshell dropped on me. Not one that Fay made sound like a death sentence.

My gaze darted to Cass, finding his expression still blank. The only indication of his emotions was the muscle thrumming in his jaw and how rigid his body appeared. We were only a few feet apart, but at the moment, the distance between us felt like miles as I tried to sort through everything.

From what Fay said, they knew their mate right away from their scent. If I were to believe this wild and out-of-pocket theory, that would mean there was no way Cass didn’t know. Based on how Fay said the wolf was the one to know who their mate was, I assumed he wouldn’t have known when we were kids. I wracked my brain, trying to think of when we were close enough for him to catch my scent. The first time we were in the same vicinity of each other after he shifted would have to be the brief “interaction” in the library.

My entire body stiffened and went numb as I took several steps back from him, remembering the way he froze, his eyes wide with recognition. At the time, I’d assumed it was because he realized who I was, but what if that hadn’t been the case?

No. That was crazy. I couldn’t be his human mate. That happened over two years ago and would mean he’d kept this to himself for two whole fucking years. Keeping me in the dark when it came to the supernatural world was one thing, but for him to keep this from me was another thing entirely.

The knowledge that my blood was basically a fine bottle of wine to vampires changed everything. No wonder Ezra had been so obsessed with me. That was probably what he promised to the other vampires to get them to attack packlands.

Breathing became near impossible as my chest clenched in despair, my legs feeling weak. Him knowing about this and not telling me was a betrayal worse than not telling me he was a werewolf or about my dad. With that, I could at least understand his reasoning and saw that it was to keep me safe, but this was different. If I had known I was, as Addie said, catnip to vampires, I would’ve done things differently, starting with staying the fuck inside during nighttime. And I never would’ve even considered taking a night class.

By not telling me, he put me in danger. This was one of those things I had every right to know about right away.

“Please, tell me they’re wrong,” I begged, my voice breaking as my chest clenched, looking up into Cass’ eyes.

“I can’t.” A hint of pain bled into his expression, and my stomach clenched. “You’re my mate.”