mouth agape. Shook her head. “I’ve been drugged?”
“All Wylfens are. Think back. When you got your first period, your mother took you to the doctor. A Wylfen doctor.”
“Any mother would do that. Take her daughter to the doctor at the onset of puberty. And I am Wylfen. So of course, Mom took me to a Wylfen doctor.” She squared her shoulders and dared him to contradict her statement.
Axe hated having to bust her Wylfen safety-net. “That’s when you started taking the vitamins. If you didn’t take the vitamins voluntarily, they would have placed an implant in you.”
“An implant? How do you know about this? How does Jaz?” She barked the questions, her tone both defensive and aggressive.
“Eva. When she started her first year as a medical student, she ran her blood through a lab analysis. Discovered chemical discrepancies between her blood and those of her human classmates.” Axe clenched his jaw when Tania’s complexion went wan.
She swayed and grabbed the handrail.
He flexed his fingers and kept his feet planted though his wolf howled in protest. Protect her, soothe her, the raw primeval need to shield his mate surged through him.
“Eva.” Tania fisted a hand over her lips. “Eva was exiled months ago. Some say she’s dead.”
Chapter Ten
Her whole life had been a lie.
Tania struggled to contain her rage.
“Jaz?” She appealed to her twin. Inherent in that one word question was a fervent plea that he refute everything Axe had just told her.
“It’s the truth, Tania. Eva didn’t believe it at first. She ran the test results three times.” Jaz grasped her hand and idly rubbed her fingertips.
“You’ve spoken to Eva? After her exile?” Eva had been the closest thing she’d had to a BFF. She’d been the only female Wylfen who’d understood Tania’s internal torment. The only person she’d ever told about not wanting to be mated. The acute sense of betrayal roiling her belly mushroomed.
“Yes.” Jaz refused to let go her hand when she tried to wrench out of his hold.
Tania studied the three men. “Go ahead. Tell me everything.”
“Eva’s the first Wylfen female to attend college. Like you, she didn’t want to be mate allianced.” Jaz squeezed her fingers before releasing his grasp.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Tania crossed her arms and seethed at her brother.
“Eva identified the chemicals that were unique to her blood. She recreated the chemical mix and tested the cocktail on her lab rats. Determined that it changed behavior. Basically made the rats extremely docile, but also almost asexual.” Jaz’s serious mien and his grave expression had Tania’s stomach sinking through her feet.
A brisk breeze whisked across the grass. Tania shivered and hugged her arms.
Axe glanced at her. “Let’s take this inside. Jaz, grab our steaks for me. I’ll heat them up in the micro.”
He ushered Tania through the open back door.
Five minutes later, all four of them sat at the rectangular table in the center of the kitchen.
Though the steak in her plate gave off a delish aroma, Tania’s appetite had vanished. She cut a small cube while keeping her gaze fixed on her twin.
“Eva’s curiosity was spiked. She drew samples from her siblings and friends and tested those too. Long story short, she discovered that Wylfen females and males have high levels of unusual chemicals in their blood, but only after they begin to show signs of puberty.”
The tequila Tania’d drunk curdled her stomach. “She asked to test mine. At first, I said no, but then I gave in.”
“Eva tested my blood too,” Jaz declared, the sympathy in his eyes, the exact hue of her father’s, only served to deepen the looming shadow of impending doom that had her seeing black spots.
Jaz covered her hand with his. “It’s going to be okay, sis.”
“Is it?” She didn’t believe anything would ever be okay again.
Lycus cleared his throat. “Eva somehow managed to make
“All Wylfens are. Think back. When you got your first period, your mother took you to the doctor. A Wylfen doctor.”
“Any mother would do that. Take her daughter to the doctor at the onset of puberty. And I am Wylfen. So of course, Mom took me to a Wylfen doctor.” She squared her shoulders and dared him to contradict her statement.
Axe hated having to bust her Wylfen safety-net. “That’s when you started taking the vitamins. If you didn’t take the vitamins voluntarily, they would have placed an implant in you.”
“An implant? How do you know about this? How does Jaz?” She barked the questions, her tone both defensive and aggressive.
“Eva. When she started her first year as a medical student, she ran her blood through a lab analysis. Discovered chemical discrepancies between her blood and those of her human classmates.” Axe clenched his jaw when Tania’s complexion went wan.
She swayed and grabbed the handrail.
He flexed his fingers and kept his feet planted though his wolf howled in protest. Protect her, soothe her, the raw primeval need to shield his mate surged through him.
“Eva.” Tania fisted a hand over her lips. “Eva was exiled months ago. Some say she’s dead.”
Chapter Ten
Her whole life had been a lie.
Tania struggled to contain her rage.
“Jaz?” She appealed to her twin. Inherent in that one word question was a fervent plea that he refute everything Axe had just told her.
“It’s the truth, Tania. Eva didn’t believe it at first. She ran the test results three times.” Jaz grasped her hand and idly rubbed her fingertips.
“You’ve spoken to Eva? After her exile?” Eva had been the closest thing she’d had to a BFF. She’d been the only female Wylfen who’d understood Tania’s internal torment. The only person she’d ever told about not wanting to be mated. The acute sense of betrayal roiling her belly mushroomed.
“Yes.” Jaz refused to let go her hand when she tried to wrench out of his hold.
Tania studied the three men. “Go ahead. Tell me everything.”
“Eva’s the first Wylfen female to attend college. Like you, she didn’t want to be mate allianced.” Jaz squeezed her fingers before releasing his grasp.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Tania crossed her arms and seethed at her brother.
“Eva identified the chemicals that were unique to her blood. She recreated the chemical mix and tested the cocktail on her lab rats. Determined that it changed behavior. Basically made the rats extremely docile, but also almost asexual.” Jaz’s serious mien and his grave expression had Tania’s stomach sinking through her feet.
A brisk breeze whisked across the grass. Tania shivered and hugged her arms.
Axe glanced at her. “Let’s take this inside. Jaz, grab our steaks for me. I’ll heat them up in the micro.”
He ushered Tania through the open back door.
Five minutes later, all four of them sat at the rectangular table in the center of the kitchen.
Though the steak in her plate gave off a delish aroma, Tania’s appetite had vanished. She cut a small cube while keeping her gaze fixed on her twin.
“Eva’s curiosity was spiked. She drew samples from her siblings and friends and tested those too. Long story short, she discovered that Wylfen females and males have high levels of unusual chemicals in their blood, but only after they begin to show signs of puberty.”
The tequila Tania’d drunk curdled her stomach. “She asked to test mine. At first, I said no, but then I gave in.”
“Eva tested my blood too,” Jaz declared, the sympathy in his eyes, the exact hue of her father’s, only served to deepen the looming shadow of impending doom that had her seeing black spots.
Jaz covered her hand with his. “It’s going to be okay, sis.”
“Is it?” She didn’t believe anything would ever be okay again.
Lycus cleared his throat. “Eva somehow managed to make
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