Reluctantly, Ares gave Zayn the key and watched him storm out of the room, puling Louis firmly behind him. Telling his sons the truth was only the start; now they had to tell everyone else.
"Liam, take Harry upstairs," Zayn thought as he reached his bedroom.
"Louis, start packing your things. We need to get out of this house for a while." Zayn knew he was too angry to rationalise and didn't want to say more hateful words. Especially when he knew he didn't mean them.
"Where are we going?" Louis asked, just as Liam landed close with Harry. They had heard their mates thoughts and felt their emotions.
"To the cabin." Zayn tugged his mate into his bedroom and rummaged under the bed for a bag to fit their essentials.
"Zayn, stop a minute" Liam spoke carefully. "You're jumping ahead of yourself. You need to calm down-"
Zayn turned to face him. His eyes replaced the warmth with something cold and empty. There was an eerie stillness to the way he stared at his mate, almost like he was looking at a stranger.
"You knew that Louis was related to me, didn't you?"
Liam opened his mouth, but Zayn thought he would lie.
"You know everything about everyone. How could you not know?"
Zayn's stare felt like an intense pressure forming in Liam's head, pushing on his skull, pinching the back of his eyes.
"I- I wasn't sure."
"But you suspected something" Zayn took a step closer. "Didn't you?"
"You have such a strong bond from your friendship I assumed it was only that. Don't get angry at me for not telling you a simple theory. I didn't know!"
Liam watched the guilt ripple through his face like someone dipped a finger in a puddle. It lasted no longer than a few seconds.
"I'm not angry at you. I'm just angry in general."
Zayn turned and started throwing clothes into the bag. "I can't stay here. I need room to think."
Liam then realised that going to the cabin might not be a bad idea after all. Zayn had to be isolated, and the cabin held everything they needed to live on their own for a few days. "I'll get the toiletries."
Five minutes later, they had packed useful belongings and entered the hallway to see Louis and Harry with their heads together and arms around each other. Harry whispered soothing things into Louis' ear who still had tears in his eyes.
"I'll take the bags and Harry. Do you want to run in your wolf form with Louis, or would you prefer it if I came back for you both?" Liam asked, hoping his mate would prefer to run. Being in his wolf form always helped to calm him down.
Zayn stuffed the bag into Liam's arms as Louis approached him. "We'll see you both soon."
Without another glance, Zayn and Louis hurried down the stairs and out of the front door, not wanting to see or hear their parents.
Harry rested a hand on his brother's shoulder. When they shared the same emotions, their eyes looked the same, and their mouths sank into equal unhappy lines.
"I'll be honest and say that I always kind of knew."
Liam looked down, and for the first time, he noticed how Harry had their mother's eyes, assertive and kind.
"I don't think anyone will be surprised. Zayn's not, but he's angry at himself for ignoring the signs."
"I don't know the entire story from Louis' thoughts. We'll just have to wait for them to calm down enough to tell us everything. Louis doesn't blame Ares and Eirene. Apparently, they had a pretty good reason to keep this from them."
