The Golden Prodigies

Chapter 42

When Sam stopped sobbing into Hunter's shoulder, he sat down at the other end of the living room, avoiding eye contact with Margo and Anthony. Mixed emotions flared inside him. Anger, sadness, confusion. These only scratched the surface. Deep down, there was an entire house on fire from things he hadn't felt in a long time.

Hunter sat with him, trying not to glare at his parents but a deep wound of hatred was building up inside of him. They wouldn't joke about something so serious, but why have they decided to blurt the truth now, especially after they've lived under the same roof for six thousand years.

"The shoebox," Anthony mumbled, and Margo leaned forwards to hand it to Sam, who fought hard not to snatch it from her grip. "Look inside it."

Sam lifted the lid to see documents and a photograph taken by a Polaroid. He watched Hunter hold the picture, examining it with a deepening frown.

"I've seen this before," Hunter said. In the picture, a younger looking Margo sat on what looked like a hospital bed, holding two newborn babies in each arm, both wrapped in white cotton blankets with purple hats and gloves.

"You once sneaked into our room when you were little. I caught you sitting on the floor, ready to draw all over Sams birth certificate with my lipstick," Margo said, shivering at the memory of how she yelled at Hunter until he cried.

"I did wonder why you were holding two children. I guess I was too young to understand." Hunter passed the picture to Sam, glancing at what else was in the box, apart from his birth certificate. A tiny purple hat from the picture was there, along with only one glove and a small wristband with the name Samuel. R on the side in blue ink. Hunter watched Sam's eyes well up with another round of tears. "I just- I don't get any of this." Hunter stood up and started pacing. "I don't get why this even had to be a secret. Why didn't you tell us we were brothers?"

"Is-Is it because I'm not an Alpha?" Sam asked, desperately wiping his tears away so he could see Margo and Anthony's reaction. They looked horrified that he asked.

"Of course it wasn't! We love you both equally-"

"Then why give him away?" Hunter's tone was cold and blunt. He didn't care. "Why give him to those people? Then tell everyone they were his parents?"

"Because-" Anthony rubbed his forehead, thinking of unwanted memories. "Sit down Hunter. I'll tell you both everything from the very beginning. It'll take a while."

Hunter threw himself on the couch, not attempting to hide his outrage. "Start talking because my temper is about to snap."

The air was thick and tense. It was like an invisible fog filled the room, clinging to everyone's skin. Sam felt suffocated, but Hunter's immediate acceptance was keeping him together.

"A week before you both were born, Margo and I were looking after Ryan and Naomi's baby." Sam flinched at the mention of his parent's names. "Their child was only a month old, and just like any new parents, they wanted one night off, so Margo and I said we'd look after their baby girl for the night. At the time, Naomi and Ryan were our closest friends. They were almost like family to us, and we couldn't wait to have our children grow up together. They knew we were having twins and we knew your genders, and we had already picked your names. We were so excited to have twins, even though it would be hard to juggle two babies without previous experience, which is why we wanted to look after their newborn for a night. We needed all the experience we could get." Anthony stared at one spot on the floor as he spoke, almost as if he was reliving the one day that changed their lives forever. "That night, Naomi came over with Tilly, which was their child's name." Hunter noticed how his dad spoke about their daughter with past tenses and a shiver ran down his spine. "We put Tilly in one of the cots we got for you boys, and everything was going so well." Anthony dropped his head, feeling the familiar lump of guilt forming in the back of his throat. He opened his mouth to continue, but he couldn't bring himself to talk.