“Because of what she is,” Ryker answered after a moment. When Dakota huffed, the vampire shook his head with a rueful smile. “I don’t mean that Angel is an omega, nor that I suspected her to be an empathy healer.” Marcus and Rex stiffened, which had me glancing between them curiously. There was more to that than I was aware, there had to be. Or was it something to do with the vampires? “I’m sure Arctic lost his temper and revealed himself as a shifter.”
“Yes, what is that?” Dakota cut in with narrowed eyes and a slight sneer. “Tyger is one, as he proved to Kyler. While it would have been hilarious if he ate him, it raised a few questions. Why are they different animals? Why do they exist? And where do they come from?” Ryker sighed, looking almost miserable when his gaze met mine. Biting my lip, I resisted moving to comfort the vampire lord when his despair wrapped around my soul. I won’t like this, will I?
“Shifters are a dirty secret,” Ryker chuckled, a smile tugging at his lips when I snorted my irritation. “What happens when a werewolf and a human have children?” Dakota furrowed his brow while Marcus looked uncomfortable, and Rex sighed. “You know there aren’t any halflings, because you’ve never heard of one, let alone met them. Hell, Angel is the first child you’ve met that you know comes from mixed parentage. Jeanne and Rex never had children of their own, and you have wondered why. The answer is that these children are born appearing to be human.”
Dakota raised his head to meet first my gaze with alarm filling his eyes, then he stared at Ryker, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. “Yes, Dakota, there’s no such thing as a human omega. They are the offspring of a werewolf and a human. That is not rare, but the child being an omega is. Your elders, and council, know this, thus so do the alphas. However, they refuse to acknowledge it, because it’s easier,” Ryker explained with a touch of anger entering his eyes.
“Well, that’s just bullshit,” Dakota snarled, and a smile tugged at my lips despite the severity of the topic. “Why the hell would they hide them?
“They don’t hide them. Typically, any werewolf who mates with a human, or creates a child with one, tries to hide their offspring. Since they know they have never met a halfling, they don’t know what their child will be, so their instincts encourage them to hide the child. They don’t love them any less, usually, but they don’t know what their alphas will do, so they often let the human raise the pup alone. It hurts them, but they prefer that to the unknown. The reaction of the alpha depends on their personality. Some will give the child to us, while others will sell them. Either way, the child ends up in our clutches. Still, there a few who would let the little one live in their pack. I stumbled across Tyger, having followed the scent of death to find his mother dying of some sickness while he cried beside her. Because of his suppressed wolf blood, he did not catch what killed her. She begged me to take care of him, and I did. It was his idea when he became a shifter, I told him he could die a human if he preferred. I still don’t know who his father was, however. Snow was sold to me as an infant, by her wolf mother, no less. Whereas Arctic was a gift in his toddler years to inspire an amicable agreement,” Ryker explained with cold eyes.
Swallowing nervously, I glanced around the room only to discover none of the adults could meet my eyes. Dakota’s brow was furrowed while grief and anger warred within him. “It takes a vampire to wake the wolf blood in a shifter. We do not understand why, but we take full advantage of it, as a species. Thus, shifters are forcibly turned and enslaved. We unlocked their potential. Therefore, they owe us their lives. I find it sickening and pathetic, but mine is not the popular opinion. Knowing this, I couldn’t alert you to Angel’s existence without knowing how your alpha would react. Because I know what a vampire would do if they stumbled upon Angel and you mutts didn’t protect her from them. That she is an omega would receive mixed responses, albeit most would enjoy having something you dogs covet. But that she is an empathy healer, and a shifter? Her life would be a nightmare,” Ryker’s voice was so cold I shivered. I have a feeling there’s more to the story than what he told me before. Tears spilled down my cheeks again due to Snow and Arctic being denied the love of their families. That wasn’t Ryker’s fault, but I was happy he was the one they were given to. Who knows what another vampire might have done?
“See, werewolves can breed, which is something we vampires have always despised them over. Thus, vampires experiment with trying to have children, using the unwilling shifters. Both awakened and suppressed. So far, no child has made it to term. Something within the mother destroys the baby before it gets too far along. I suppose that’s the powers that be preventing vampires from breeding. However, an empathy healer and an omega to boot? No, a healer of a mother would save her child, especially since omegas love children more than anything. They would adore getting ahold of Angel. I know I implied they would try to understand your gift. I didn’t believe you were ready for the horror of the truth, little one,” Ryker murmured with sorrow pouring from him. Is that why he wants to be my mate? Shaking his head when I must have projected fear and
