7

Ian

I couldn't believe what they were telling me.

I looked exactly like the boy in the photo, but I could easily be some kind of doppelganger. Nothing proved that I was the son of that Alpha, so I would stand my ground to the end.

“I'm sorry to tell you this, but this photo album doesn't prove anything,” I said firmly.

“The only thing that would prove it would be a magical blood test with your grandmother Gloryn, your father's mother,” said the Archibald. “That's why we want to ask you to look at the possibility of you taking the test to rule everything out and that—”

I shook my head immediately without letting him finish a sentence.

It was unheard of.

Not only was the request going outside my boundaries, but it felt like a complete transgression. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what had happened to those people, let alone what was behind the vision or the centuries-old prophecy. I was not the person they were looking for.

“I'm done here,” I said immediately. “I'm not going to get my hopes up for a woman who is surely waiting for someone dead. I'm not that cruel. Please take me home.”

Archer looked at me earnestly as I made the request.

“You're afraid to face the truth,” Archibald said and I looked at him with raised eyebrows. “I understand, you are very conflicted about it; it is obvious that you feel disbelief when you have digested nothing for us. But the truth is that you are part of these lands and at any moment, perhaps in the distant future, the seal that hides your powers will break and you will feel out of place. Possibly you have felt it before, but you never saw it as something supernatural, as something completely out of place. However, if you analyze the difficult and high-impact moments in your life, you will realize that there are things that are not normal—”

“Enough!” I said loudly. “You know nothing about me; you have no idea who I am or what I have lived through. Don't speak freely about it; I haven't allowed you to.”

Archibald looked at his grandson with a frown.

“You allow that to your father?” The old man asked in a bad tone. “If you don't believe me, ask your father, Will De Santis. He knows all about the reservation; he was a friend of your biological parents and he understands very well what I'm talking about. Ask him everything, because unlike us, who want to help you discover the truth so you can finally accept who you really are, your father has never brought you to the reservation. If there's one person who could have known you, it's him.”

That information was like a bomb dropping on me.

I knew my father had worked as a teacher on the reservation; possibly people knew him, but this was too much to take in. And I couldn't believe the old man would be so cruel about it, so I left the house.

Seconds later, I listened as Archer berated his grandfather for telling me that information in such a rude way. I took a deep breath to keep from crying and when Archer came out, I didn't say a word.

“I'm sorry my grandfather was so rude,” Archer said by way of apology. “He's stressed about everything going on and seeing that you don't want to know he rushed—”

“I could care less what your grandfather thinks,” I replied immediately. “But I'm not going to let him talk that way about the person who has taken such great care of me.”

“I know,” Archer said. “My grandfather didn't want to be—”

“Don't speak for your grandfather; he knew full well what he was doing.”

“We know who Will De Santis is,” Archer said. “He was one of the most beloved teachers on the Reservation; he taught me for a while and left shortly after the deaths of the Alpha and Luna. Upon investigation, we found it very suspicious that he is your foster father.”

“That's something I have to talk to my father about; it's not something you guys have to tell me to get me to agree to take a magical blood test,” I said, annoyed. “I trust my father more than I trust your true intentions. Now take me home.”

Archer pursed his lips but said nothing.

We got into his pickup truck in silence and I kept my composure until we arrived home very late. I quickly got out, which caused Archer to follow me and just then, my father opened the door to the house.

My father looked at Archer with confusion and then I saw recognition in his eyes. That turned to surprise.

“Archer?” my father asked.

“You know him?” I asked my father with a frown.

“I taught him in the reservation,” my father said before clearing his throat. “How do you two know each other?”

“We're coworkers,” Archer said and my father nodded with understanding.

“Is he the co-worker you told me about?” my father asked and I nodded.

“He is,” I said and squeezed his hand. “I need to talk to you.”

My father eyed me seriously and met Archer's gaze.

“You were sent by whom?” my father asked and I opened my mouth in surprise. “You have no need to work at the local library, so you must be there for Ian; how did they track him down?”

“It's true what they told me,” I whispered in disbelief.

“Don't believe everything they tell you." My father said and opened the door. “Come in for a chat with both of us.”

I stormed in and they followed in my footsteps.

“Am I the son of the couple they say?” I asked my father directly and he clenched his hands.

“If you want me to talk to you, you must be quiet and remain calm,” my father said firmly. “Your mother has had a bad day, so I don't think it's wise for her to listen to us argue.”

“Mr. Will—”

“Archer, this conversation is something I should have with my son in private, but I'm letting you in to give you a vote of confidence,” my father said and I sat down annoyed on the couch. “I'm asking you not to break into our dynamic.”

Archer nodded and sat down next to me.

It wasn't hard for me to understand why he did that.

“I want the truth, Dad,” I told my father firmly. “I don't want sugarcoated situations; I want to know everything raw and ugly about the situation.”

My father sighed and nodded before sitting down.

“About 30 years ago I started teaching on the reservation,” my father said sadly. “They asked for history teachers who knew about their culture and would fit in. I volunteered myself when no one wanted to fill the vacancy; that's how I met Quill.”

I clenched my hands in fear.

“He took you in?” I asked.

“Yes, he was one of the few people who was kind and introduced me to his wife,” my mother said with a smile. “They were a very close and solid couple. They were well respected by everyone, in a way that I didn't understand. They introduced me to your mother.”

“Mom knew them?” I asked incredulously.

“Mare was the daughter of a human family that lived on the reservation,” my father said. “She knew everything, so she was charged with seeing to it that I didn't discover the reservation's biggest secret. One that you seem to have already seen.”

“Archer helped me with something, and let's just say I saw his wolf form,” I admitted in a high-pitched voice, and Archer didn't hesitate to shake my hand.

“Well, that makes it easier what I'll say,” my father said humorously. “One day I had a date with your mother at the deepest river in the forest, so we stayed over there on account of it having gotten too late to go back. In the middle of the night, I heard some growling, so I woke up scared; instead, Mare, without a drop of fear, went over to see what was going on and we found a shovelful of wolves. Mare mediated the situation in an incredible way and then those wolves turned into teenagers right under my nose. At that point I threw up, got a fever, and felt a body ailment. That's a typical human reaction to seeing ancestral magic like that.”

I frowned.

Even though it had been scary, I hadn't reacted so violently at the sight of Archer.

“The Alpha Quill showed up in his wolf form, chastised the boys, and talked to me about the legends of the tribes and families of the reservation,” my father said in disbelief. “It was hard for me to digest it all, but Mare helped me as much as the Alpha and his Moon.”

“Were they good friends?” asked Archer. “Alpha Quill was very careful with his inner circle.”

“I had to earn her trust and Mare helped with that,” my father said with a smile. “Mare and Amelia were very good friends, so that helped too. It was easy for me to integrate once I knew the basics of working properly with everyone. Then I took a vow of silence; that means I can't talk to another human about what was going on in the reservation; just limit myself to educational progress reports.”

“Am I or am I not a child of Alpha Quill and his wife?” I asked pointedly.

“Yes,” my father said and my body trembled. “We thought you were dead. You had been poisoned and we went to your funeral. It was a shock to everyone, then Quill and Amelia died. We came to make our lives in Veltonne; Mare couldn't bear to stay in the Reservation any longer.”

“How did you hit on Ian?” asked Archer.

“Mare started working as a helper at the orphanage. And being Ian's godmother, it was easy for her to recognize him,” my father replied to Archer before looking me in the eye. “You were the same child with the same gestures, the same questions, and the same gestures. Yet you didn't remember anything. Mare realized that someone had cast a spell on you. We did what was humanly possible to adopt you and take care of you; however, we decided not to reveal anything due to the complexity of your parents' deaths and the power struggle in the Reserve. We knew about the prophecy; that's why you were attacked and we didn't plan to put you in danger again.”

I could not believe what I had just heard.