the truth of this situation. The truth of what they had done.
Hunter’s dominant voice rang through our private connection. “Colette, look at the car they arrived in. It has a plate on it now so we didn’t realize it at first, but it's one of the unmarked SUVs.” My eyes flickered out the window to where a dark SUV was parked in the driveway. Ah, yep. That would be it.
I blinked and my breathing halted as I focused back down on my parents. “You sent them after me? The unmarked cars were following me because of you? Why?”
“You have commitments.” My mother whispered, confirming the horrible conclusion I’d come to, as tears stained her eyes. “If you don’t go, Mommy and Daddy can’t pay their debts to HAF--”
I let out a sharp laugh. “You fucking sold me to HAF? Michael, assumingly who is part of the organization, purchased me from you in order to pay off a debt? Am I fucking understanding this right?”
My mother turned mean, her eyes sharpening as she realized she would get no sympathy from me. “We didn’t fucking want you, anyway. Why not cut our losses and kill two birds with one stone?’
“You are so much like my brother it’s fucking disgusting.” My father spit. “That self-righteous bullshit. He was so damn blinded by it that he couldn’t see what we took right in front of his own face.”
“What?” Static ran through my ears as I tried to focus on his words, wanting to pick them apart but needed him to clarify.
My mother cackled. “You didn’t think you were actually ours, did you? No, you are such a little freak. A by-product of your father sleeping with some whore that had mutated magic. When he forced us from his skulk’s land, we kidnapped you and raised you so we could make a profit one day. We hit a real fucking lucky streak when a year or so later the entire supernatural community came forward. Now everyone wants a shifter for a pet.” I could hear the cruelty coming off her and I swallowed, trying to keep my cool and process what exactly they were saying.
It felt like everything inside of me froze for a moment. My parents weren’t my parents. My uncle was my father, and I’d been taken away from my family because these bastards had wanted to make money off of me. They had sold me to Michael who was part of a human hate group and had been trying to track me down to fulfill the contract. Did I have that right? Was I fucking missing anything?
I was in such shock that I didn’t even register what occurred around me at first.
Glass shattered, wood broke, and a roar sounded as Dylan’s temper snapped. Shifting, he lunged across the table towards my parents.
Michael ducked as bullets flew through the glass and towards my other two mates.
Another man, the one who had pulled us over, began shooting through the window as Luca’s body slammed into mine so I hit the ground. All hell broke loose.
I lost it when I saw blood coming from Hunter’s shoulder, having gotten hit. My magic broke loose as my eyes fluttered shut and the entire building shook. I let out a cry as my temple pulsed, feeling as though it was going to fucking explode. I could hear Michael and my parents screaming as Luca tucked me into his chest, saying something I couldn’t quite hear.
Then after what felt like hours… everything went absolutely silent.
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and my eyes hurt to open as I came nose to nose with Luca whose face was filled with pain. My magic was making a slow retreat, but it was clear damage had been done. I turned my head to the side to see both of my ‘parents’ unconscious and Michael a few feet away, a heavy beam from the ceiling had fallen on him.
Well, fuck.
“Colette, angel,” Luca’s voice was rough. “You gotta tell me you’re alright.”
I nodded and cupped his jaw. “I’m fine. Really.”
Hunter was shouting something as I watched the unconscious bodies get dragged away and Dylan approached, licking my face gently. I let Luca help me stand as I immediately sought out Hunter. I breathed out in relief as he tugged off his shirt, making it obvious the wound had already started to heal. Thank the Maker.
I looked over my other two mates, breathing out a sigh of relief that they were fine as