The Ripple Effect

By the time I had my fill of frolicking, Orion and Jonathan were ready to retire for the night. But Daniel, Brian, and my little Rein were still going strong. I asked...Aster...if he would give control back to Rein, but he refused so fervently and nudged at Daniel's wolf (whom I had come to know as Aric) until they broke into another brisk run. Briendel reluctantly gave back control to my little brother after the two had gone.

It did make me a bit nervous to leave Rein on his own like that, but...

"He has my Beta with him, Sophie. Daniel would give up his life for your son, so there's no need to worry. Besides, you sat through all those lectures about border patrol today," Orion teased, grabbing one of Jonathan's hands.

I grabbed the other, and Jonathan giggled in delight as we swung him gently back and forth.

"I guess," I muttered, casting a look back at the forest.

"I'll tell them to only be out for an hour at the most. Will that make you feel better?"

I smiled. "It would."

"Maman, Rein and I look a lot alike as wolves," Jonathan told me, smiling innocently despite the way the blood rushed from my face. "It's like we were brothers even before you and Dad became mates!"

I opened my mouth, but Orion's murmur caught my attention and stopped me dead in my tracks.

"You know, you two do look a lot alike." His eyes slid to me. "Sophie, do you not have any idea who Rein's father is? My pack is home to a lot of red-heads, if you didn't notice. I'd hate to have to kill one of my pack mates... But if it's one of them, I can't have them running around free."

I shook my head before I even thought about the screaming Regina who was attacking me with insults.

"No, I don't have a clue," I whispered, looking away quickly. "I mean, surely there are a lot of auburn wolves in the world. I don't really care to know Rein's father anyway."

Orion made a thoughtful face but seemed to drop the subject altogether. Only then did I allow myself to breathe.

Brian was asleep the second he dropped onto his mattress, so I followed Orion into Jonathan's room.

"Goodnight," Jonathan mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes as Orion tucked him safely into bed.

"Night, buddy," Orion cooed, kissing his forehead gently before herding me out of the room.

"I can't believe it's already so late!" I told Orion as he kept herding me—right into our bedroom.

But then he shut the door. I watched him, horribly confused, as he leaned against the door until it clicked shut.

"Orion, what are you doing?"

His arms were crossed firmly over his chest, and his poker face was perfect. I felt sweat forming on my brow. My tongue twisted over itself.

"Sophie. Tell me the truth."

I'm pretty sure that my heart stopped.

"I don't know what you mean," I muttered, but I couldn't even keep my eyes on him.

Stop lying to our mates! Rex knows you're a filthy liar, too, you know!

Stuff it!

She growled, but she didn’t say much else on the subject.

"Do you honestly not know who Rein's father is? I know you still have the nightmares, and you keep crying out this garbled name that I just can't decipher for the life of me. I just want to help, Sophie." I could have cried at the desperate look on his face as he pulled me into his arms. "Let me help you. Have I done something to betray your trust? Why can't you tell me?"

"I'm protecting you," I whispered, slamming my eyes shut so I didn't have to see that surely disgusted look on his face. "So it's someone I know... Sophie, I won't be upset. It's not like it's your fault or anything."

I stayed silent.

"If you don't say anything, I'm going to think it was Luca or something," he said with a chuckle.

My blood ran cold, and his grip on me tightened.

"Sophie, say something." I could hear Rex in his voice, so I shook my head wildly. "Sophie!"

I cried out when he pushed me fr om him. Surely enough, his eyes were that horribly bright blue. And his body was shaking. Was Rex trying to take over?

"Tell me that it wasn't my own damn brother!"

"I—I can't!" I whimpered, grabbing his arm. "Please be quiet! Jonathan and Brian are sleeping!"

Well, surely not anymore...

"I won't 'be quiet,' Sophie! You're standing here telling me that my own brother was the one that raped you! How is that even possible! He... Rein and Jonathan are practically the same age!"

"I don't know," I muttered, dropping my hold on him and collapsing on the bed.

"That would mean that..." His eyes changed back to their normal colour, but he looked so tormented. "Sophie... That means that he ran out on Lorena before Jonathan was even born. He disappeared sometimes, but I didn't think that he was... I'm going to be sick."

"This is why I didn't want to tell you..."

"How long have you known?"

"Orion, I—"

His eyes cut to me, and I cringed under the weight of his glare.

"Since the first time we had lunch with your mother."

He looked down, and I thought it was over. But then he whimpered, "What did you find in Luca's room?"

"Pictures of me...and Rein," I choked. "I found it when I tripped and knocked down one of Luca's frames from the wall."

"You... Why didn't you tell me?" It was obvious that he was hurt. But...

"How could I tell you? I didn't think it even mattered; Luca was gone! I didn't think I'd ever see him again, so there was no point in hurting you like this."

"You didn't think you'd see him again?" I didn’t dare look at him! "So that... That is to say that you did see him."

"Orion, wait! I—!"

"Show me where he was, Sophie." He sounded so strained... "I'm not going to yell." His eyes were dead when he looked at me. "Just show me. Where. He. Was."

"I don't know if it's a good idea—"

"You're not the best judge of good ideas, now, are you?" he snarled, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to the door. "You're going to show me. Right now."