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understand why,” Lillah said as she wiped away her tears.
    Even with Roan’s hand on her arm, Rivera snapped. In a blink, she had her hand around Lillah’s throat, pushing her back into the sofa.
    “ Understand? What I understand is that on two separate occasions, two so called doctors wanted to open my skull and poke around in my brain. What I understand is that I was nearly bled to death numerous times. What I understand is that I was electrocuted, starved, and basically tortured for the first twenty-five years of my life while the two people who gave birth to me and professed to love me stood by and let it happen. Let those atrocities go on for years when they could have stopped them with one word. But to keep your family, you kept your mouth shut and let a child pay for that silence with her blood, pain, and tears.”
    “Is this true, Ian?” Roan’s voice was a deep rum ble . T he bond they shared convey ed shocked disbelief.
    “You knew we’d taken her to countless doctors. Especially in the beginning. We almost lost her a few times.”
    Letting the woman go who gave birth to her with a disgusted shove, Rivera went to her True Mate s side. She was shaking with rage and the need to vent it.
    “Yes, but even then, there were reputable doctors. How could you have put your own daughter through such horrors when you knew the truth? Christ, Ian, why?”
    There was no answer from the two, but Rivera knew just the same. Had known, in a way, for years, but didn’t want to admit it to herself.
    “They were afraid to let their little secret get out. And if I had really died along the way, well, a loss, but children died back then. And they had tried to find a solution after all. Didn’t matter if the doctors had been questionable, it would still look like the concerned parents tried.”
    When their heads bowed low and the scent of shame and guilt permeated the air, Roan exploded. He grabbed the pair by their necks with each hand, lifted them up, then slammed them down on the floor. Rivera didn’t even have time to react before they were cowering and whimpering with distress under Roan’s angry power. She didn’t move from where she stood though. It was more than they deserved.
    “That was it, wasn’t it? All those quacks, the tests, and procedures you told me about were nothing more than ways to kill your own child. To remove the evidence of your crime.” When they didn’t answer, Rivera felt Roan blast them with his power, making them shake with fear. “Wasn’t it?” He shouted.
    Lillah started sobbing. “She was so frail, we…we didn’t think she would live anyway.”
    “But I did. I lived despite everything that was done to me.” To say that she was numb would have been an understatement. After, when she was alone and could lick her wounds, she was quite sure a breakdown would happen. Not now though. Now was for enduring and getting it all out in the open. “I  always wondered when I was little why I was never encouraged to be around the other Pack members. Why I was one of the few to be allowed to attend human schools. As I got older, I thought it was because I was different from the Pack. Now I see it as your way of further hiding your secret. With me still alive, there was the greater chance your crime would be discovered. But pushing me away and keeping me in the dark saved you both. F eeding my dislike of the Pack due to my differences must have seemed like a bonus when I ate it up at every turn.” She shook her head. “I wonder though, wh y you didn’t just kill me outright.”
    Roan growled at that. His eyes glowed nearly white and his fangs had lowered. And the power coming from him , it was primal. It was also very strong. He certainly didn’t get to be Alpha by being weak . But from what Ian and Lillah had said, he was the most powerful Alpha in generations. She could well believe it. He was also her True Mate , the man and the wolf. He was glorious and Rivera felt blessed that she had