Cassie stared at the two men standing in front of her. Both had black hair and brown eyes. The one she'd thrown the water on was more built and rugged, and he seemed more stern than the guy next to him, who looked more laid-back.
Kai wasn't around, but she wouldn't put it past him to try and get some of his friends to talk to her, to plead on his behalf. Although, she'd never seen these friends before, and they looked older.
"Cassie, my name is Blake, and this is Jace. It's important that we come inside and chat. I'd prefer that we speak indoors."
Cassie stepped forward into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"Whatever you have to say, say it here. I'm not dumb enough to let two men I don't know from Adam into my apartment."
The men shared a look.
"I'm your uncle. Your father is my older brother. We've come to take you home. We believe that you're in danger."
She stared at him blankly. "And where is he? My father?"
"He's at home."
She raised an eyebrow. "So he sent you? Why couldn't he come himself?"
"He wanted to but he was unable to leave his home due to unforeseeable circumstances."
"Hmm. Interesting." Her tone was icy as she continued. "So he abandoned me, and instead of facing me, he sent his two stooges? I guess he didn't get his father's Alpha genes. He's a coward."
Jace's expression shifted. Blake tensed, his eyes darkening. She didn't let him speak.
"Since I have two protectors, I'll make the educated guess that I've been in danger all my life. I'll also guess that once I'm here, they'll keep doing their job. So why should I go with you?"
"Cassie, this is different," Blake said, his voice strained with a hint of anger. "Mr. Therion told us that you've started to…" Blake lowered his voice, "transform. It means that the magic that protected others from picking up your scent and identifying who you are is wearing off. It won't take long before they realize who you are. What you are."
"Mr. Therion already told me. I'm a werewolf. Big whoop."
"Your father is a werewolf, your mother was a vampire. You're the first of your kind to…survive. In other words you're a hybrid."
Cassie caught the past tense - was. Maybe she should've felt something. Grief. Anger. Something. Instead, the hollowness within her deepened.
At this point, she was so detached from her feelings that she chuckled.
The moment she opened her eyes that morning, it had been one hit after another.
Voices in her head. A fated mate. Turns out she was a werewolf. Kai's betrayal.
And now this?
They wanted her to walk away from everything she'd ever known, because she was some freak of nature?
It wasn't enough to be a freak in the human world, oh no, the universe had to double down. She didn't fit in with monsters either.
At least that explains Siren's thirst for blood. And why she was hearing two voices instead of one.
But seriously…she had to deal with all of this in under twenty-four hours? It was too much. Besides detaching, she could feel herself shutting down again.
"Do you have proof of who you say you are?" Cassie asked, folding her arms.
Blake stared at her, confused.
"When a family member is found, the orphanage usually gives that member a letter so us poor orphan children aren't swindled and shipped off to God-knows-where, missing a kidney."
Jace cleared his throat beside Blake and turned away, shoulders twitching like he was stifling a laugh. It was the first sound he'd made since they showed up, she'd nearly forgotten he was there. Her focus snapped back to Blake.
"I don't have a letter from the orphanage, but I do have something else," Blake said.
She watched as he pulled a baby blanket from the bag on his shoulder. It was navy blue, with silver moons.
"A blanket? That's your big reveal? Your confirmation?" she asked flatly.
"Just humour me. Smell it."
She rolled her eyes, took the blanket, and sniffed it. Immediately, a scent came to her, and a flashback of the nightmares she'd been having…her protector…his scent was on it, mingled with hers.
She looked at Blake and shoved the blanket back into his arms.
"A baby blanket doesn't confirm who you are," her voice faltered. "And if you are who you say you are, you don't get to vanish for twenty-one years and show up like the past two decades never happened. And just to make it clear…I'm not coming with you. Have a good day, gentlemen."
Cassie stepped into her apartment and closed the door in the faces of the surprised men. She locked the door and curled up on the sofa.
After everything, she didn't want comfort. Or answers. Or family. Or friends.
She just wanted the chaos to stop, just long enough to catch her breath. And be left the hell alone.