Chapter seven

Tana must have fallen asleep on the couch because when she finally came to, Sincere was gone and she was alone in Declan’s room once again. Sincere’s scent was fresh, though, which meant she had only just gotten up.

Tana herself felt stiff and sore when she got up. She supposed that that would happen if she had jumped from a balcony, even in her wolf form.

When she got to the bathroom and shut the door behind her, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes still dropped slightly, looking as haunted as ever. Her face and shoulders were slightly sunburnt and her throat still had the ghost of a scar around it, as did most of her body.

After freshening up and changing into new clothes, she glanced over towards the balcony. The doors leading outside now had a padlock installed with an alarm just above it.

She could barely resist the urge to roll her eyes.

The door swung open and Declan walked in. His fists were clenched, his eyes flashing with anger that died down once he turned to look at Tana, who was sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest on the couch. He ran and hand through his hair and shook his head.

“My parents have requested that I bring you to meet them and my siblings. I can try to tell him to piss off if you’re uncomfortable, but he’s not the most patient man. I’ve invited Tuk to join us as well, if that makes you feel better,” he said slowly, which explained the anger in his eyes. It wasn’t rare for those with alpha blood to get into fights.

However, she wasn’t sure how she felt about Tuk being there as well. She knew he was still mad at her but he had stood up for her as well. Perhaps it would be a good chance for her to apologize to him.

“It’s ok. I’ll go. When is it?” She asked. Declan seemed quite surprised by this, taken aback by the fact that she had actually agreed probably.

“Er- he told us to be there in five minutes. My mom is making tea. We have a family sitting room just down the hall because my mom used to have us all play together when we were little,” he explained, to which she nodded slowly.

“How many are there going to be?”

“Just my dad, mom, sister, and my younger brothers. They’re twins, too,” he said, awkwardly gesturing for her to get up and follow him down the hall. She wasn’t exactly wearing “meet your parents” clothes, but they weren’t dirty or obscene, so she figured it would be fine.

When they entered the room, there was a pair of young boys bickering from their spot on the floor. There was also a girl who looked to be Tana’s age with silver-dyed hair and absolutely stunning features. Beside her stood a woman who resembled Declan very closely apart from the eyes and skin colour. Her hair had streaks of silver in it but she seemed to be around middle aged.

Tuk sat in an armchair off to the side of the room, quirking a taunting eyebrow at her when she walked in, probably looking uncomfortable.

“Oh, you’re just stunning, darling! And you look like quite a fighter, too. I hope you give Declan a bit of trouble. He’s always been a handful. He could use a taste of his own medicine,” the older woman, who Declan had told her was named Allura, piped up with a bright grin on her face as Tana walked in. Jade, Declan’s sister, gave her a friendly smile from her mom’s side.

“Trust me, she’s been giving me more than a of trouble,” Declan grumbled, shoving his sister over so that he could sit down as well. Tana sat down in the chair that was right next to Declan’s spot on the couch, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.

“Oh, Deck. You’ve got to work on that attitude. It’s no way to talk about your mate,” Allura huffed, teaching over to ruffle her sons hair, who grumbled and batted her hand away.

“Declan’s just got a stick up his ass,” one of the twins, who had shorter hair so Tana could identify him as Jackson, piped up, causing his brother Julian to laugh.

“Jackson! Watch your language!” Allura growled, narrowing her eyes at her younger son, who just laughed even more.

“Ignore those two. They’re as dumb as rocks. Thank god Declan was born first,” Jade huffed, reaching a hand out to Tana. “I’m Jade. I think you’ve met my bastard of a mate, Blake. He’s a dick but he’s super hot anyway,” she said as Tana shook her hand, returning the other girl’s smile.

“She already punched him in the face, don’t worry,” Declan said, flashing his teeth at his brothers when they tried to growl at him.

“That’s how Tana says hello. She punches you in the face. It’s very affectionate,” Tuk snorted, sticking his tongue out at Tana, who growled lowly at him.

“At least I don’t grovel at the feet of any wolf an inch taller than me,” she retorted.

“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath, earning a small growl from Declan.

“Now, now. Please remain civil,” Allura said just as a taller, stockier male entered the room. Tana immediately recognized him as Lionel Collins, one of the most vicious alphas the Dark Wolves had ever had. Talon had had his fair share of scraps with the man, but Tana never witnessed it. Talon has always kept her hidden, anyway.

“I thought I smelled something sinister,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Tana, who glared at him right back. He could try to intimidate her, but he would inevitably fail.

Declan growled and Allura glared up at her (husband? Forced mate? Tana had no clue) angrily.

“Be nice, Lionel. Tana is Declan’s mate and we invited her here,” Allura said, to which Lionel snorted.

“More like she trespassed on our territory. It shows poor judgement on your part, Declan. She reeks of Blood Wolves. You let the fact that she’s your mate blind you to the simple fact that she could be some sort of spy. I wouldn’t put it past Talon. He’s been planning something. I know it,” Lionel huffed as he sat next to Allura in the chair beside her. He didn’t take his eyes off of Tana.

“Tana is no longer affiliated with them,” was all Declan ground out. Tuk seemed quite tense as well.

“Tana, you say? You wouldn’t happen to be Tana Ingrid, would you?” He inquired, which now set Tana on edge. Had he somehow heard about her? Did he know what she had done?

“I am,” she said quietly, earning a quick look from Declan, who quickly looked back at his father.

“Quite interesting. I was close to your parents, you know. They were my betas. Good warriors, those two. Passionate, too. Their passion is what got them in a lot of trouble,” Lionel said calmly, earning a startled look from Allura and Jade.

“What?” Tuk blurted, his eyes wide. He had always been closest to their parents. He was quite obviously the favourite child so their death hit him the hardest.

“Dad what are you talking about?” Declan huffed, narrowing his eyes at Lionel, who remained calm and collected as if he hadn’t just dropped a massive bomb on them.

“Rayla and Thomas Ingrid, yes? Declan and your eldest brother used to play together all the time. They left soon after the twins were born because Thomas’s sister lived with the Blood Wolves and her mate had just died. They wanted to change the world, those two. I always admired that,” Lionel said, looking quite taken aback by all of it.

Tana and Tuk’s oldest brother, Alec, had died around the time Talon took Tana. It was difficult to even think of him after what she had seen, but it was good to know that he used to be happy.

Tuk, however, who had been quite close to Alec as well, didn’t seem too disturbed by his memory. He didn’t seem emotional about it at all, which was very odd for him.

“Dad, stop,” Declan growled, but Lionel only rolled his eyes.

“It’s unfortunate that you’re keeping the girl in the dark. How do you expect her to open up to you when you won’t even tell her the truth?” Lionel growled right back, eyeing Tana dangerously.

“Declan has always been rather secretive. And so has your brother, it seems,” Lionel said smoothly.

“Dad, cut it out,” Jade now snarled. From the floor, the twins looked back and forth at each other, visibly uncomfortable. Allura remained silent, clutching her cup of tea and keeping her gaze focused on the floor. Declan looked at though he were about to rip his father’s throat out.

Lionel hummed thoughtfully at his daughter before returning his gaze to Tana.

“Your brother Alec is still alive. He’s been alive the whole time. In fact, he lives right in this house,” Lionel drawled. Mischief sparked in his eyes when Tana went dead still and Declan let out a loud snark towards his father.

But Tana didn’t wait to see the outcome. She instead got up and bolted out of the room, down the stairs, and out into the meadow.

They had wanted her to trust them and they had all lied to her.

Maybe Declan wasn’t better than Talon after all.