Page 38 of Jayce

Damian thanks him while grabbing his mate’s hand and leading the way.

Cill and I sit in the center of the sofa—more like a loveseat because Jayce and Anjal each have to sit on the arm of the couch on both sides of us.

Damian rolls Nikolaos’ chair from behind his desk for “Mom.” I’m not ready to call her that.

“What do we call you?”

“I’m Emjay.”

Damian slides the other chair next to Emjay. It’s clear he’s smitten.

Me—not so much. I get why she took us from our sperm donor, but why not raise and love us on her own? “If you ran and have remained hidden all those years, why couldn’t you take us with you?”

“I had no skills. No house. No food. Even if I’d tried, humans would have taken you and put you in foster care if I failed.”

I glance at my sister. Her heart’s bigger than mine and finds compassion more easily.

“You dropped me at the firehouse. Where did you leave Shay?”

I hold my breath. Will I finally get the answers to the gnawing questions that have been plaguing me for weeks?

Emjay bows her head. Her hands twist as if what she’s about to say is more awful than anything she’s told us so far.

“The witch who helped me escape my labyrinth knew of a couple trying to have children. She’d been studying her options to give them what they wanted when my herd kidnapped her.”

Emjay pauses when the men jump up—angry at the news that these animals would dare harm someone meant to protect us and others.

“We will rescue her,” Damian promises.

She shakes her head. “She gave up her life so that we might be free.”

The tears start up again, knowing a stranger died so I wouldn’t have to suffer a life of bondage. “We will still find her body and bring her home to her family,” Jayce assures me.

“So, this witch…”

“Hallie.”

“Hallie, she told you my parents would adopt me?”

“No…”

“No, what do you mean, no?” I interrupt her.

Emjay continues. “They believe they conceived you and birthed you.”

Priscilla and I gasp at the same time.

“Hallie knew of no one else. And as your parents were adamantly against adoption, she gave them what they wanted in their hearts without them knowing the whole truth. She was convinced just dropping you on their door wouldn’t have been enough for them to take you in. They needed to believe you were their blood.”

If I tell my parents the truth, will they reject me even now? “My desperation to keep you from the fate staying would ensure I did everything she suggested.”

“Including the heart birthmarks?” Cill asks.

Emjay nods. “She put them on you while you were still in my womb. I have one too.” She slides the front of her shirt down along her collarbone to show us the matching heart.

“Hallie failed to explain the excruciating agony her protection marks would bring about. While I grabbed the nearest stick and shoved it in between my teeth, both of you kicked and flailed about inside of me. Either one or both of you broke two of my ribs through it.”

I want to understand her decisions. I want to accept it. Only I’m not ready to. I stand.

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