The Hidden Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 2)

“Milla was a pure blood fox-shifter. She was never married to your father, and they were never able to build a real family because they were always on the run, especially after she got pregnant… with you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Yeah, I’m with her,” said Blake. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that Amelia’s mother might have been the only female shape-shifter in the world who could have children. We haven’t heard of female shape-shifters who could procreate in centuries! If Milla was a vixen and Amelia is her daughter, which I know she is, then Amelia might be the only born hybrid in the world.”

“I don’t… How does that even work? Why would I be a hybrid? Shape-shifters have children with humans all the time, and the children are always shifters.”

“No, it’s different in this case,” intervened Blake. “Seth is right. I came across this in many books. If a male shifter has a baby with a human female, then the baby will always be a shifter because the male’s shifter gene is stronger. However, if a female shifter has a baby with a human male, then her shifter gene is still stronger, but not strong enough to make the baby entirely a shifter. So, the baby ends up being a hybrid. The traits he or she inherits from the mother can’t really be predicted. All we know is that hybrids don’t have the ability to turn. They may, however, have better senses, be more resistant, heal faster, and even live longer. But, given that the world hasn’t seen a hybrid in ages, no one knows for sure.”

Amelia wondered if her body had ever given her any clues that she might possess the things Blake mentioned. Well, she couldn’t remember the last time she had caught a cold… Still, a good immune system hardly made one supernatural.

“Why were my parents on the run?”

“It’s hard to say,” said Seth. “All I was able to find out is that Milla had stolen something from the clan she belonged to. She had destroyed it too, because the two assassins who were sent after her walked out of your house empty handed.”

“Assassins, you say… Paid assassins.”

“Not only paid, but trained. Few people know this, but the fox-shifter faction is the proud owner of its own assassins’ guild. The Council of the Six Factions decided to keep it a secret and try to eliminate it without causing panic among the human population. The guild calls itself the Tricksters. It’s small and very well hidden. The assassins make an appearance only when a powerful or wealthy member of the faction has the money to pay them to get rid of someone, or when they believe their actions contribute to their cause.”

“Which is?”

“To make the fox-shifters the most numerous and powerful faction in the world so that they can throw the peace treaty out the window, start a new war, and take back what they presume it’s theirs by right.”

“What right? This is insane!” Amelia pulled her hands free, jumped to her feet and started pacing the room. This was ridiculous! She had always known the fox-shifters were quite delusional and fucked up, but what Seth was saying went way over any acceptable limits.

“The right given by the fact that they’re superior to humans.”

Amelia noticed how Seth used “they” not “we”, thus distancing himself and Blake from the whole nonsense, but it wasn’t enough to calm down the rage which was slowly growing inside her chest. Her parents were murdered by two assassins. Why? Because her mother stole and destroyed something the foxes wanted? Amelia couldn’t care less about that. They were murdered because some crazy-ass fox-shifters out there believed they were better than everyone else and could do whatever they wanted.

“These fox-shifters Seth is talking about aren’t the majority, but they are there, waiting for an opportunity to strike,” said Blake. Her voice was low and well-measured. “This is what my father fought for all his life. We can never know for sure who they are, because they are clever enough to keep to themselves and not make their opinions public, but we know that their numbers are growing. My father did his best to keep the situation under control, and I can only follow in his steps. But we have been trying to catch the Tricksters for years with no success.” She threw a glance towards her Yako, but his eyes were fixed on Amelia. He hadn’t mentioned anything about his own father being a Trickster, and she made a mental note to avoid the topic. Maybe he wanted to tell Amelia that part of the story when they would be alone.

“Okay, okay…” Amelia waved her off. “Right now, I don’t care what these psychos think or want. Why did they kill my parents? That’s all I want to know.”

“They wanted whatever Milla had stolen,” answered Seth. “Apparently, it was some kind of old book.”

Blake furrowed her brows in concentration. It was the first time she heard that theory.

“An old book… Interesting.”

“A book? Are you kiddin’ me?” Amelia’s small hands turned into fists at her sides. “They killed them for a book?”

“It must’ve been important,” said Blake. “What clan did Milla belong to?”

“Clan Kushva, in the Ural Mountains.”

“I see…” Her mind worked fast. She knew everything there was to know about the biggest and most important fox-shifter clans in the world, and Kushva certainly was one of them. “A numerous clan,” she said. “Strong, influential, their Inaris never had less than three tails, and they support education and the study of old texts. If my memory serves me right, they have one of the largest private collections of rare books. Yes, it all makes sense now. An awful lot of sense.”

“So, you don’t think this is stupid.” It was clear Amelia was barely holding back her anger.

“No, Amelia, I don’t think it’s stupid.” Blake fixed her with her purple eyes. “I think it’s horrible. Unacceptable. I think whoever did this to your parents should pay. It has nothing to do with the reason why they did it. It was about a book, but it could have been about anything. I’m just trying to put two and two together and figure out the connection between your mother and the power these fox-shifters who think they should rule the world seek. It’s possible that the book she stole contained valuable information. It’s also possible that your mother destroyed it because she didn’t want it to fall in the wrong hands. But, with so little information, all we can do is hypothesize.”

Amelia closed her eyes and breathed in and out a couple of times. She tried to relax, resting her palms on her baby bump. The small shifter she carried in her womb always had a calming effect on her nerves. Every time the child kicked, she felt like she could do anything, defeat anyone, deal with any situation, no matter how weird or dangerous.

“I need some fresh air,” she said.

Seth was on his feet before she finished saying the last word. He grabbed her coat and helped her put it on.