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Myth is true. At least with you being the True Lycan, we know you’re not the
real
Daughter of Cain. I mean, right there, that should calm down some of the wolves, don’t you think?” He raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Right?”
    I shot him a dangerous glare. Devon wasn’t a wolf. He was a human Essential to the Pack, brought in for his technical savvy. He was a nice guy and completely loyal to Pack, but I wasn’t interested. “Yes,” I answered. “Because my new job of
vanquishing all evil
is much easier to swallow. The demons already seem incredibly fond of me, and the Vamp Queen can’t wait to get me back in her clutches. My life is bound to improve now that my
righteous hand
is cocked and ready to kill anyone up to no good, which pretty much describes just about everyone in the entire supernatural race.”

2

    “Devon,” my father ordered. “Leave us now.”
    Devon jumped out of his seat, grabbing his computer and knocking over an empty coffee cup in his haste. The clatter mimicked how my brain felt inside. My wolf gave a low growl.
I know. This is a lot and we need to get moving.
She yipped her agreement.
    When the door shut behind him I let out the long sigh I’d been holding where I stood. “When did you suspect I was different?” I asked my father quietly. “Once I changed, you had to have had some idea I was not like the others.”
    My father turned and walked around the table to a bank of high windows that ran across the conference room wall. He raked one of his hands through his dark hair, his arm flexing tightly, straining his blue work shirt taut, staring straight ahead. “I didn’t know for sure until the night you fought the rogue. Before then I only suspected.”
    I dropped my tired body into a chair. My mind felt like acrowded elevator, unable to squeeze in one more piece of information. The weight of Rourke’s absence pushed down on me, crushing something vital inside. I craved him in a way I couldn’t adequately express. In a way that tested the boundaries of attachment. I had enough to worry about. There was no extra space for fantastical stories about my true freakish identity.
    But instead of a tirade, I said nothing and waited for my father to continue. I needed to hear his side.
    “When the Cain Myth was first delivered to the Compound, there was an uprising,” he began. “You have to understand the safety concerns, Jessica, if nothing else. You were only an infant. I quelled it quickly and with extreme force. I made a vow to protect you. I vowed it to myself and to your mother, rest her soul.” My mother had died in childbirth. Delivering one wolf was tricky, but twins was impossible. I’d been told it’d been amazing she’d been able to carry my brother and me to term. Annie McClain had been a fighter until the end. “To be clear, I never believed for a single second the Cain Myth to be true. You were my daughter, my own flesh and blood. But convincing the wolves had been much harder than I’d ever expected. Fear overwhelmed any rational explanations when it came to you. As you grew up, you were a constant reminder to them that something was wrong.” He turned to me. “I desperately wanted you to stay human. I knew if you ever shifted in to a wolf, it would be something that would turn the supernatural community inside out. You’re my daughter and all I’ve ever wanted was to protect you.”
    I lifted my head and stared at my father. Our irises each glowed a matching violet, bonding us like nothing else in this world could. This was the parent who had raised me, who’d given me unconditional love. I couldn’t argue with that. “Iunderstand what you’re saying,” I said slowly, feeling more resolved. “I know all the decisions you made were made out of love and all of those events have led us here. But if you believe the Prophecy to be true, it has to be founded in something concrete. I need to understand as much as I can before I leave and I only have a