“Iris,” Arthur breathes, his eyes widening. “What are you doing here?”
I hold up the flowers awkwardly. “I heard about Selina. I wanted to… I don’t know. Pay my respects? See if you were okay?”
Caleb looks between Arthur and me, his expression darkening. “So this is the human,” he says, with a dismissive once–over. But
there’s a strange look in his eyes as he takes me in, and truthfully, I feel a little strange, too. Somehow, there’s a part of me that
almost seems to… recognize him, even though I’ve never seen this man in my life.
And it’s not just in appearance that I seem to recognize him. It’s on a deeper level. Almost as if we…
But then he turns back to his sister, ignoring me, and the moment passes.
Moving forward, I place the flowers on a side table and approach Selina’s bed. She looks so different unconscious–younger,
more vulnerable. Without the malice animating her features, she could almost be ethereally beautiful.
“I’m sorry this happened to you,” I say softly, although I doubt she can hear me. I glance at Arthur. “What really happened?”
Arthur hesitates. “We were arguing. About you and Miles, actually.” He looks down. “Selina admitted that she was behind the car
accident. That she sent the CPS agent to your apartment.”
My blood runs cold. “She tried to kill me? To take Miles away?”
Arthur nods grimly. “When I confronted her, things got heated. I was angry–furious, actually. She said terrible things about you both. I pushed her, not intending to hurt her, just to create space. But she fell.”
“Accident or not, you put her here,” Caleb says, pulling out his phone. “I’m calling the police.”
“Wait,” I say, surprising myself. “Please don’t.”
Both men stare at me in shock
“Why the hell not?” Caleb demands. “He assaulted my sister!”
I take a deep breath. “Because I know Arthur. He would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially not a woman.” I meet Caleb’s gaze. “What happened was an accident. A tragic one, but still an accident.”
“You’re defending him?” Caleb looks incredulous. “After everything?”
“I’m telling the truth,” I say simply. “Arthur is many things, but he’s not violent. Not like that.”
Arthur is watching me with an expression of complete bewilderment. I can’t blame him–I’m a little surprised by my own defense. But despite all of the lies he’s told over the years, I know in my heart he wouldn’t deliberately harm Selina. Or anyone,
for that matter, unless they truly deserved it.
“Besides,” I continue, “if what Arthur says is true, and Selina was confessing to attempted murder and manipulation of child protective services, that context matters. She was threatening me and my son.” My eyelashes flicker as I look at Arthur. “Our
- 3011.
+20 Bonus
Caleb studies me for a long moment, his nostrils flaring slightly. Then he slowly lowers his phone. “Fine,” he says curtly. “I won’t call the police. Yet. But if Selina’s condition worsens, or if she corroborates a different version of events when she wakes up, all bets are off.”
“Understandable,” Arthur says. He looks relieved, and more than a little grateful.
Caleb ignores him, still staring at me with that odd intensity once more. Now that I’m standing closer, I feel another strange pang in my chest, too, even stronger this time. In fact, this close, I almost feel like I’m looking in a mirror. He’s older and male, his hair graying and his eyes a different color than mine–mine are amber and his are gray–but our facial structure is similar.
They say the average person wouldn’t be able to tell if they met their doppelganger, but I’ve spent enough time painting my own self portraits to know what I look like.
But we’re not related. We definitely can’t be. In fact, the thought of being somehow related to the Willfords, the most powerful werewolf family in Ordan, is almost laughable.
“So you’re the human mate,” he repeats, as if testing each word once more. His nostrils flare again, and he takes a small step toward me, then back, his brow furrowing as his eyes flick over me. “Are you sure she’s a human, Arthur?”
Arthur frowns. “What are you talking about? Of course she’s human.”
I look between them, confused. “What do you mean? Of course I’m human.”
Caleb opens his mouth to respond, but a knock at the door interrupts him. A doctor enters, carrying a folder. She looks solemn as she approaches.
“Mr. Willford, Mr. President,” she acknowledges. “I have Miss Selina’s blood test results.”
“And?” Caleb prompts.
The doctor glances at me and Arthur uncertainly. “I’m sorry, but you two need to leave.”
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