36 Wait, What?

I blink at him in silence before opening my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. I shut my mouth and awkwardly pick up my coffee, taking a sip as I try to gather my thoughts. I watch him over the rim of my cup as I try to think of what to do with him.

"That's right... why were you killing Vampires?" I suddenly ask taking him by surprise. He blinks a few times before saying "They wanted my blood... I decided to rip them to pieces." My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline before choking on the coffee.

He quickly hands me a napkin and I nod to him in thanks as I wipe my chin and table saying "I see... I would have killed them too." He suddenly frowns and asks "How do you know their leader?" I lick my lips and say "I'm currently working on a case for him..."

Liam's frown grows as he asks "Why are you doing something so dangerous? What are you working on?" I nervously laugh and sip the coffee again only to realize that I'm out. I get up and refill my cup as I ask "What do you do for work?"

He watches me closely as he says "I work as my father's second-hand man. His Beta but when he steps down, I'll be the new Alpha." I turn back to look at him and nod as he asks "What are you working on for the Vampire?"

You know what... I'm just going to answer honestly. There's no reason to hide anything... "He hired me to look into a large number of Vampires being killed. Lately, a large number of witches have been killed too so I was going to be looking into it as well but at least I get paid this way."

I lean against the counter and watch my frozen brother with a little smile. I take a sip of my fresh coffee and say "That's my job though. I hunt down anything from banshees, wendigos, vampires, and a lot of possessions lately but I think that's because someone has found out what I am and wants my head."

I shrug and say "I'll just have to catch the next Demon and get him to talk." The cup in his hand shatters making my eyebrows shoot up once again. He doesn't even look at the mess as he says "And your mother is aware of all this?"

My smile grows as I nod and say "Of course!" I swipe my hand and watch as the cup pieces itself back together before the coffee goes back with a little splash. He watches everything with wide eyes before slowly releasing his breath and leaning back in the chair.

"You seem to forget, I'm half-witch and a very powerful one at that," I say as I use my magic to place a muffin in front of him. "I know that male shifters are very protective of their females but I'm the kind that can protect herself. I've been doing it for years, Liam." I give him a kind smile as the house suddenly shakes a little.

Liam braces himself on the table and looks around with confusion before I say "Someone's here." I say looking towards the front door. Liam looks to the door and lets out a sigh as he says "That's our father..."

My head snaps to him in confusion before he points to himself and says "Pack members can always find each other." I slowly nod as if I understand. When I hear the knock, I take a deep breath and walk over to the door. Where the hell is my mother!??

I unlock the door with my magic and open the door to a man who looks like an older version of Liam. He looks at me in shock before quickly stepping into the house and wrapping me into a fierce hug. I turn stiff and awkwardly stand still as he reaches up and starts stroking my hair.

"Dad, she's uncomfortable," Liam says from behind me. My father finally releases me and steps back to look me over with a million emotions running through his silver eyes. "You look so much like your mother... I... I had no idea you even existed. I would have come for you if I had..."

I awkwardly smile and say "It's okay... really. My mother is... she was here earlier but she went out. I don't know when she'll be back but I'm guessing she won't be long." He suddenly sobers up and asks "She... does she have someone else?"

I bite my lip and say "Not that I'm aware of... I've never seen her with anyone..." His instant relief makes my heart hurt a little as I silently curse my mom for leaving me in this mess all alone. After I have my father and Liam both sitting at the table with coffee, Liam suddenly says "Eris has demons after her. Someone seems to know what she is."

I nearly drop my cup and send him a look but he ignores it as my father suddenly stands up and says "You need to come back to our pack so we can keep you safe." I sigh and proceed to tell him the same thing I told Liam.

I'm just not meant to sleep... We talk for hours and slowly get to know each other a little, but at nearly four in the morning, my mother finally walks in through the front door saying "Eris! I met with a Voodoo priestess and she told me that if we can catch the next Demon, we can find out who's sending them." I sigh and roll my eyes, I could have told her that...

When she walks into the kitchen, she drops a bunch of candles and what looks like raw stones. She was probably wanting to set up a protection ward but she doesn't know what I already have several in place.

My father slowly stands up and stares at my mother with eyes full of history and love. I awkwardly say "I think I should leave you two to catch up." The two don't even look at me as I get up and walk out. Liam follows me out and says "Don't worry Eris, we may have missed out on a lot growing up but we can now be a proper family. They both still love each other."

I slightly frown at his words and say "Love isn't going to fix everything, Liam. It's more complicated than that." This time he frowns as he asks "What are you not saying? What else are you hiding?"