Page 87 of Raised By Wolves

Dunham leans forward and lowers his voice. “You can rest soon. But first I think it’s time for me to tell you what I know about your life,” he says.

Wendy looks up at him, startled. “But I don’tknowyou. I’ve never seen you before. How do y—”

“That man wasn’t your father, Wendy,” Dunham interrupts. “He was yourkidnapper. He stole you from your parents’ yard when you were three years old, and he took you into the woods. From that day until the moment he died, he kept you hidden from everything you knew and everyone who loved you.”

A black hole seems to open in my stomach. Wendy waskidnapped?Stolen?I can’t believe it. I see the way the news hits Wendy—not quickly, like a blow, but like a weight slowly pressing down, harder and harder, until it threatens to crush her.

“That isn’t true,” she gasps. “It can’t be.”

“You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you,” Dunham says. “I wasn’t the only one, either. For years it seemed like the whole world was looking for little Wendy. They could never find you. And then, eventually, they gave up. They forgot about you.” He stands up again. Crosses his arms across his barrel chest. “But not me,” he says. “I never did.”

CHAPTER 66

MY HEARTBEAT POUNDS like a drum in my ears.The woman who raised us is a lost child, too.

Wendy’s gripping the sides of her metal chair and trembling. Her head starts shaking back and forth, faster and faster. “No,” she says, “no no no.” She looks like she’s about to have a fit.

“Wendy,” I say, moving toward her. “Wendy, can you hear me? Wendy, it’s okay.”

But she can’t answer me, because she’s starting to hyperventilate. Dunham looks worried; Rollins watches her like this is just another normal Thursday morning. When Officer Randall shows up with the coffee, he tries to offer her some, but she’s shuddering so hard she knocks it right out of his hand. The cup goes spinning into the corner. A puddle spreads slowly across the floor.

I’ve never seen Wendy like this—never seen her so helpless—and it terrifies me. It tears my heart in two. I try to put my arms around her but Dunham stops me. Pulls me back.

“Give her space,” he says. “Let her work through this.”

“You did this to her!” I yell.

I know this isn’t really true, but I have to blamesomeonefor the way she’s crumbling before my eyes. Didn’t he stop to consider how this information would affect her? Did he honestly think she’d take this earth-shattering revelation in stride?

Randall says, “Should I call Dr. Meyer?”

No, not that old piece of driftwood!

“There’s nothing life-threatening about a panic attack,” Rollins says condescendingly.

Before anyone can stop him, Holo slips off his chair and curls up around Wendy’s feet—the way Beast sometimes would. The alpha female could always tell when we were sad or hurt, and she understood how to comfort us. Because we werefamily.

My throat tightens and my eyes start to sting. Suddenly I can’t breathe through my nose.

“You’re lying to me,” Wendy gasps.

“No, that’s whathedid,” Dunham says. “Every single day of your life.”

CHAPTER 67

I START TO cry again. Twice in one day! Holo looks up at me, likeDo you need me onyourfeet now?I shake my head. Draw in ragged breaths as the tears slide down my cheeks.

Poor Wendy.She knows her real, full name. She knows that the man she thought was her father was a criminal. And now she realizes that somewhere out there are people who missed her—mournedher—for over three decades.

Everything Wendy ever believed in was wrong. It’s like losing two whole lives at once. No wonder she’s panicking.

I make a decision that very instant: if there’s a truth about my past—and of course there is—I don’t want to know it. Ever.

Holo’s hand reaches out and closes softly around my ankle. He’s crying now, too.

Randall comes into the cell with a wad of toilet paper in his hand. “Sorry,” he says. “This is all we got.”

Rollins grabs the wad and thrusts it toward my face. I take a few crumpled sheets and wipe my eyes. Holo does the same.

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