Page 72 of Rejected By Wolves

“Our father was hiding here, pretending to be a shifter,” Fox says. “What else is there to know?”

Snake hisses in agreement, showing he is listening, even if it looks like he is just basking under the warmth of the lamp.

“For one thing, why aren’t we like him?” Scratch answers before I can.

“Yes,” I agree. “How can we be stuck in these forms when we came from two different species who can transform? Perhaps we have some of his abilities that we do not know about.”

“Or perhaps something cancels out in that mix,” Fox suggests. “Meaning that each of our father’s matings with shifter partners resulted in children unable to shift forms.”

“I do not know who my mother was,” Scratch murmurs.

“But my mother might,” I tell him.

He blinks at me. “Really?”

I nod. “She knows everyone here. She should know who your mothers are.”

Scratch seems stunned by this information. I should have realized it was something I could do for them. We’ve spent so long on our own that I didn’t even think about it, despite enjoying the chance to spend time again with my own mother.

“Who cares?” Fox blurts. “Those women abandoned us. We don’t need them.”

Snake gives out a few hisses, none of which are easy to decipher.

Fox frowns at him. “You seriously think it wasn’t their fault?”

He hisses again, and turns his head up to the light, closing his eyes.

“It wasn’t their fault,” Scratch says. “Didn’t you listen when Scar told us about this place? His own mother fought for him, but she wasn’t able to stop his father and his men from taking him away. I have always believed our mothers would have been just as devastated as she was.”

“Then you are a fool,” Fox tells him. “Look at us, Scratch. Then look at them. Humans look very different than we do. If they’d had time to feel anything when we were born, before we were thrown away, it would have been revulsion. Scar was lucky. He got the sweet mother who kept him hidden, not because she thought he was an abomination, but because she was trying to keep him safe. Our mothers did nothing. They let us be taken.”

“We do not know that,” I warn him.

“I know it,” Fox grumbles.

Snake hisses in disagreement.

“Well, I don’t,” Scratch says.

“There will be no talking about this in my mother’s house,” I tell them. “If you are not well behaved, I will make you stay outside.”

“We will not talk about this,” Scratch says.

“What are we allowed to talk about, then?” Fox asks.

“I will introduce you and I will ask about chimera,” I explain. “You are allowed to listen, and you will remain polite if my mother asks you questions.”

I did my best to teach them everything my mother taught me, but certain things never made much sense while we were living outside of society and its rules. Scratch could understand why he would need to know these things, and he was quick to adapt his behavior, but Snake and Fox think differently than we do. They can be unpredictable, and they are more likely to take risks.

That worked in our favor with the chimera.

I let out a sigh. I cannot fault them for their natures.

“We’re almost there. Just remember we are here to learn what we can about the chimera.”

Fox frowns at me. “It is dead. What more do we really need to know?”

It is a fair question, but I don’t have the answer.

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