“Who are they?” Alex asks, his arm staying wrapped around my waist as Mason takes my hand. Liam catches my eyes for a second, and it feels wrong to even admit the truth. To say who they are out loud for the world to judge and hear. They shouldn’t be here. I went to their funeral. I cried for them for years, wishing they would just come back to life. Now they are here, but it feels like a betrayal and nothing like what I wanted for all those years.
“Meet Clive Dawn and Diana Violeta. My parents,” I grit out. I can’t stop looking at them, my heart aching to hold them and see if they feel the same about me.
“I thought you looked familiar, Diana,” Alex growls. If she is remotely frightened, she doesn’t show it as my dad takes a step forward in front of her, as if Alex is the threat. It’s almost funny that he thinks that. Diana was Alex’s mum’s best friend, and he mourned her death. “I was a kid, but I remember you. I remember my mum crying for days and wishing things were different when you just left. She always thought you’d come back.”
“How I wish your mother were still alive. I see her in your eyes,” my mum claims. Alex’s hand shakes, and I reach out, touching his shoulder to calm him however I can.
“You have grown up to be a beautiful woman, Anastasia, but I never expected to see you again,” my dad speaks. The words don’t come across like he wants them to; they miss their mark. I can’t see the compliment, I only see him abandoning me.
“Because pretending to die and hiding on an island was a nice gift to me?” I all but spit out. “I hate you both. Nothing you can say will fix this, and I didn’t come here expecting to see you. A friend, a god, sent me for help, but you know what?” I laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t want anything from either of you. It’s best we leave and pretend we never met you.”
“You can’t!” mum protests, rushing forward. “Let us explain what happened. Please…we never wanted to leave you three. You are our children, and we love you.”
“You don’t abandon those you love,” Liam gently interjects, but I can hear the disgust in his voice that he hides so well. “I think we should leave and gather our thoughts.”
“You are not leaving,” my dad coldly states, lifting his hand into the air, and purple energy flickers around his hand almost effortlessly. The ground shakes, knocking us all over as our familiars move closer, protecting us. I look back to see our helicopter sinking into the sand, disappearing from sight until there is nothing left of it, and then the ground stops shaking. Pulling myself to my feet, I smirk at my dad.
“If you think that will keep us here, you are mad. We aren’t normal familiars,” I remind him, holding my own hand out to Shadow. He pushes his head into my hand, and without so much as a thought, purple power blasts out of my hand and into him, turning him into a hawk.
“Try us,” Alex remarks, my guys changing their animals as effortlessly as I do. My dad and mum look between each other, a tiny smile on their lips like they are proud. I hate that I enjoy the look.
“There is a forcefield around the island that we lowered for you to come in, but it is back on now. You would greatly harm yourself and your familiars trying to break through it,” mum warns us. I freeze, my hand going to my stomach and the unborn baby inside it, even as Mason’s eyes find my own.
“We could try,” he whispers. “It isn’t safe here.”
“No,” I reply, closing my eyes and letting Shadow turn back into his normal wolf-like self. The guys eye me with caution, likely wondering what the hell I am doing, but I can’t tell them the truth yet. At the same time, I don’t want to be with my parents after what they have done. Every memory of Bethany, Phoebe and me since their “death” flashes before my eyes until I can’t focus on anything but Bethany attacking me. How she has turned into a killer, a woman who is so hellbent on taking over the world that she would kill her own family.
All of the darkness in her heart started the second our parents died, but I didn’t see it. I only saw my sister, my best friend, and I could never have seen her do this.
“Bethany and Phoebe…and me. Did you ever think about the consequences of what you did to us?” I ask, my words echoing around us like the world wants my parents to hear them one more time. My mum halts, staring at me with a moment of sadness, like her sadness could wipe away all the years of her being alive while her children needed her. I look to my dad, and I see nothing but resolve for what they have done.
“The island and our people needed us. Some things are worth more than family,” dad counters. “I understand your pain like it is my own. When you have your own children, you will realise how far you’d go to protect them.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Nothing means more than those you call family,” I reply, glancing at my guys. “But blood doesn’t make you family. Family is those you would die for.”
“That is your perception, perhaps,” dad sourly replies.
Liam steps forward, catching all our attention. “What is this place? What people are you talking about?”
“On this island, familiars are free and live in peace. Come and see what could be possible for you and your people,” dad suggests, waving his hand behind him at a footpath through the trees and two Jeeps that are parked just at the side of the path. “Come
