Crescent Wolves - G. Bailey Page 0,54
lore was lost. It had always been frowned upon, seen as unnatural, but that…” He shakes his head. “That didn’t stop them. They spent years trying to recreate the ritual using modern science, taking newborn shifters and experimenting on them, trying to combine their abilities.”
“But why?” I ask. “Why would they want to do that?”
Silas shrugs. “I don’t know. Power? Control? It could be anything. But what I do know is this,” he continues, putting his hands on my shoulders, “They finally succeeded. Eighteen years ago, with four shifters, one from each clan, and a human child. That child’s name was--”
“Millie Brix,” I breathe.
He nods. “You were their first success,” he says. “The only one who didn’t die from the experiments.”
“What about the others?” I ask. “The shifters from the other clans--what happened to them?”
A grim smile appears on Silas’ face. “I’ll give you a hint: you were in detention with all four of them.”
The news is enough to rock me to the core. How was it possible? It’s almost too perfect, the kind of thing that happens in movies. Then again, when I think about my connection to these guys--how sudden and seemingly out of nowhere it felt wonderful and strange and almost predetermined. I feel a chill go through me. “Are you saying…?”
“Yes. Me, Landon, Hunter, and Shade. We were all taken from our homes, used to give you your powers, and then…” He shakes his head. “I think my parents knew,” he says, more to himself than to me. “I think they figured out what the humans had used me for, and they wanted to take me away. That’s why…” His voice breaks. “That’s why they tried to run away with me.”
“Silas,” I say quietly, looking into his eyes, “are you sure?”
He nods. “It was all there, in your file. Paperwork, notes, lab tests, medical records… Millie, they did this to you, to us. The Academy.”
“I…” I feel like I’m at a loss for words, both numb and overcome with emotion at the same time. All my life I’ve wondered about my past, all my time at the Academy I’ve wondered about my powers, and now… It feels like my world--whatever tenuous version of it I’ve created for myself since arriving at the Academy--has been turned upside-down. They used the guys to create a hybrid shifter. Me. I’m the result of experiments performed by humans. Is that why Hawthorne said I was special? And what about my parents? Did they give me up willingly? Did they know what was going to happen to me? Or what if…
A horrible idea occurs to me. What if my parents, like Silas’, found out about what the humans were doing, and were snuffed out? Could that be what happened to them? And what about the others’? It’s all too much, and I suddenly feel like I want to cry. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Me neither,” Silas says quietly, looking away from me. “And the worst part is--” But he stops himself, and I see a hint of color in his cheeks.
“What is it?” I ask.
“If this was all planned,” he says, voice barely above a whisper, “then how do I know any of it is real?”
“What do you mean?” I find myself reaching out to touch his arm, and a spark passes between us. Silas meets my gaze, his eyes smoldering, and I’m very conscious of how close we are on the bed.
“You,” Silas replies. “Us. Any of this. What if it was all just a plan? Is it all just a game to them? What if the Academy wanted us to meet, to become friends? Did they want me to have feelings for you, too?” There’s a long pause as the meaning of his words hits me. I think back to what Hawthorne said, my heart fluttering in my chest. Silas’ eyes go wide as he realizes what he just said. “I’m sorry,” he says. “That was… forget I… I didn’t mean to--”
“Do you have feelings for me, Silas?” I ask quietly, my hand still resting on his arm. The thought of breaking the contact seems impossible.
The silence in the room grows almost unbearable, and I’m unable to tear my gaze away from Silas’. A truth I’ve been dancing around for a while--possibly since the beginning--is looming over me, and I feel like I’m on the brink of something.
“Yes,” Silas replies, his voice heady. “Ever since that first day in the dorms. But I couldn’t--I mean, I didn’t want