Page 98 of Haze

I guess they probably made the decision together, so it doesn’t matter who we direct our questions to. My heart rate picks up.

Dinah comes from the living room to stand beside me. I’m squished between my... cousins? Siblings? And I’m stuck at the center of it all.

Pain is written on Aunt Alora’s face as she looks at Uncle Elliot. When he shrugs, Aunt Alora hangs her head.

“Why?” Dinah’s voice cracks.

I shake my head. Why do I have to be here for this?

My squiggle of lava is moving more and sloshes back and forth at my core.

Frustrated by the confrontation, I slide out from between Ezra and Dinah.

“Lena,” Uncle Elliot starts, addressing me rather than his daughter, the one he raised, who is asking the questions. His face is soft, and his disarming smile almost works. “You have to know we assumed you’d be safe and cared for. Cade and Robert were thriving. You were with Ardeleans, and it was evident that Cade had a gift from an early age.”

“I don’t care.” I shrug, looking at him.

I had intended to start the coffee pot Ezra had made sure was drained, but somehow, I end up next to Finn as he fries eggs and bacon on the stove. Turning my back on the conversation, I pick up a piece of bacon from the plate before putting it down.

“You gave up your child.” There’s so much anger and pain with Dinah’s words that I feel it quake through my bones.

Empathy hits because, while I’m not one-hundred-percent sure, I have a feeling I know where this will go, and it’ll gut me as much as the idea of giving up a child hurts Dinah.

“Really, Dad?” Ezra scoffs but it turns into a growl, “Why don’t you and Mom tell her the real reason?”

My toes curl against the wood floor, trying to calm everything: my emotions, this squiggle of lava, the tension in the room.

Uncle Elliot pushes an excuse. “I don’t see what good that would do. You know now. We can define our new family and how that looks.”

Finn transfers the spatula from his right to left hand and wraps his arm around my shoulder. He kisses the top of my head and whispers, “Say the word and we leave.”

I never explained or warned him last night about what could happen today, but Finn would rather make sure I’m okay than stay for this.

His care and presence help quell some of the storm raging inside me.

Aunt Alora must be having a staring contest with one of her children. After a long pause, it ends with a huff, and she explains, this time addressing Dinah, “If Lena and you both had a gift, it would be suspicious if Judah didn’t. We needed to be sure that no one would question Judah as a strong contender for Alpha. I wanted the boys to be able to choose their own paths. When Ebenezer and Karina suggested it—the proposal made sense.”

Ezra, who’s sitting somewhere behind me, snorts.

Because boy alphas are worth more than small little girl submissives. It shockingly makes sense, but it doesn’t hurt any less. My stomach clenches with the betrayal. It stings up into my heart.

“I see,” Dinah snarls.

At this point, is it even worth asking? Is this my masochistic side coming through?

Apparently, yes, because I can’t keep the words between my lips. “Why not Dinah?”

I force myself to turn around. Aunt Alora looks to where Dinah has taken a seat on the stool I vacated. Tears threaten to fall from Aunt Alora’s eyes.

“Because, even from a young age, Cade’s aura indicated that he carried a strong wolf within him. He would be better able to protect you than I could.” Aunt Alora sniffles. She draws a deep breath, wipes her teary eyes, and continues. “I knew that Dinah’s temperament, her whole aura, would be a better fit with us. You would need more than I could give. I wanted you to have the best chance to thrive.”

Her words cut like a knife. Another gut-wrenching stab wound.

Does she have any idea what I’ve lived —

Finn wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his chest.

Hot angry tears well in my eyes. Pressed against his T-shirt, I draw a deep breath, forcing back tears. No one thought I was strong enough. No one thought I’d make it.

---