A COURT OF SHIFTERS AND SECRETS

F I F T Y - T W O

KASSIAN 

"Wake up Wolf..." A strange voice whispered in my unconscious mind "Our Mate is in danger." 

Those words had my eyes snapping open as a much needed breath made its way through my body. 

I blinked...then I blinked again. 

Unlike where I was expecting to be, in the hands of the enemy, I was safe.

In one of the panic rooms...back at the Academy. 

It wasn't the Lykos panic room, considering the different room orientation, but it was a panic room based on the familiar walls. 

"Shhh..." A familiar hand gently patted my cheek "It's okay baby boy, you're safe now." 

"Mom?" 

"Just rest son" My father's voice rang from somewhere in the room "We're protected from the chaos." 

"What?" I pushed myself up into a sitting position "We need to help the others." 

"It's too late for them" Mom patted my cheek again "It's almost done." 

"What's almost done?" I asked in frustration "What are you talking about? And how the hell did I get here?" 

"What do you remember?" Mom asked calmly, her face unusually blank as she stared intensely at me. 

My eyes swept past my mom and locked gazes with my dad, who was intently listening in on our conversation and awaiting my answer. 

My hackles suddenly rose, my Wolf fidgeting and snarling in a way he's never done before in the presence of my parents. 

"I asked you a question first." 

My father sighed as he stood up, holding a hand out to my mother who looked at me in equal parts regret and disappointment. 

"All you had to do was stay away from her" My mother stated in a tone I've only ever heard her use with her students and lab personnel "All you had to do was do your duty as our Heir, stay in line, and focus on your studies."

My head snapped back at her words, the next sentence out of my father's mouth confirming my wolf's suspicions. 

"But I supposed we should have expected it" My father said on a sigh "Its in our nature as  natural Hunters and red blooded men to fancy a pretty girl." 

"From the stories they told us, her mother was very beautiful" My mother commented nonchalantly as she fiddled with something on the wall "It's a shame that she'll die the same way her mother did."