The Golden Prodigies

Chapter 43

Reluctantly, Anthony gave Hunter the key and watched him storm out of the room, pulling Sam firmly behind him. Telling his sons the truth was only the start; now they had to tell everyone else.

"Jacota, take William upstairs," Hunter thought as he reached his bedroom. "Sam, start packing your things. We need to get out of this house for a while." Hunter 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?" Sam asked, just as Jacota landed close with William. They had heard their mates thoughts and felt their emotions.

"To the cabin." Hunter tugged his mate into his bedroom and rummaged under the bed for a bag to fit their essentials.

"Hunter, stop a minute," Jacota spoke carefully. "You're jumping ahead of yourself. You need to calm down-"

Hunter 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 Sam was related to me, didn't you?" Jacota opened his mouth, but Hunter thought he would lie. "You know everything about everyone. How could you not know?"

Hunter's stare felt like an intense pressure forming in Jacota's head, pushing on his skull, pinching the back of his eyes. "I-I wasn't sure."

"But you suspected something." Hunter 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!" Jacota 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." Hunter turned and started throwing clothes into the bag. "I can't stay here. I need room to think."

Jacota then realised that going to the cabin might not be a bad idea after all. Hunter 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 Sam and William with their heads together and arms around each other. William whispered soothing things into Sam's ear who still had tears in his eyes.

"I'll take the bags and William. Do you want to run in your wolf form with Sam, or would you prefer it if I came back for you both?" Jacota asked, hoping his mate would prefer to run. Being in his wolf form always helped to calm him down.

Hunter stuffed the bag into Jacota's arms as Sam approached him. "We'll see you both soon." Without another glance, Hunter and Sam hurried down the stairs and out of the front door, not wanting to see or hear their parents.

William 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."

Jacota looked down, and for the first time, he noticed how William had their mother's eyes, assertive and kind. "I don't think anyone will be surprised. Hunter's not, but he's angry at himself for ignoring the signs."

"I don't know the entire story from Sam's thoughts. We'll just have to wait for them to calm down enough to tell us everything. Sam doesn't blame Anthony and Margo. Apparently, they had a pretty good reason to keep this from them."

"Hunter doesn't agree." Jacota sighed and flung the bags over each shoulder. "But he will when he starts to feel vulnerable."

As Jacota teleported his brother to the cabin, Kaiden and Milokan sat by the tear in the werewolf world, enjoying the sun on their skin.