Healing Kisses (Sophia and Santiago) novel Chapter 204

203

As the car pulls into the front of the massive building, I try to calm myself enough to keep an open.mind. Oliver and Liliann agreed to meet me here to take a closer look at what happens in this place. It's not going to be easy to change my mind about this. I want to, but the history might be a little too rich to let go of.

Liliann is a very pretty girl. Her hair is the longest I've ever seen it on a Lycan before. It nearly reaches the back of her calves. The first time we met, it looked like she had just stepped off an equestrian track. Today, she's wearing a lab coat. Under the coat, she's wearing a pencil skirt and a silky loose button-up blouse. With the pretty red bottom pumps she's wearing, she reaches Oliver's shoulder.

Her eyes are almost the same shade of pink as her mother's. They re softer. Her eyes have a more gentle gleam to them than hers did, but it might be because we're around the same age.

"Good morning," I greet them. Oliver looks back at Xavier, who comes around to take Anna's hand.

"You're friends with the former Rogue King?" Oliver asks, amused.

"Best friends," Anna scoffs. I smile and look back at her to see her roll her eyes.

"He's cool, I shrug. Oliver laughs and extends his hand out for Xavier.

"Wow," Xavier glances at me and shakes his hand.

. "You

look just like him, Kid."

"Thanks. This is my brother Oliver."

"Pleasure," Xavier nods. "My mate, Anna."

"We've met," Oliver nods, but shakes her hand anyway before turning to Kaylee. He gives her a nod of acknowledgement. "It makes sense that you kept Kaylee around."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"She was always in Gavin's business," he says with no regard to how she might feel. I stop and look up at him, annoyed. "What? She was. Even after he found his mate."

"Kaylee is Gavin's sister. They share the same father," | inform him. He stops and looks back at us.

"What are you talking about?" he looks between the two of us.

"It's a really long story, Oliver. Kaylee is a part of our family. I dont remember you being a fucking snob," | look over at his so-called sister and then back to him. He doesn't like that any more than I like him talking shit about Kaylee.

"I didn't know," he says. "That doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense. Why grandma never got along with mom and why he was always so different from us.

He was an alpha."

I can see him trying to piece everything together in his head, but, in all honesty, our parents kept everything so well hidden that questioning them was never something we would have thought of. Our father loved Gavin as much as he did us. In fact, he always seemed like he was their favorite as the eldest of the three. Like in most families.

"I can be a little snobby," Liliann laughs off my snide. She has to be a middle child. "Even if it weren't the case, Oliver. Kaylee Axel is a Duchess as the second Prince's mate. And shes older than you, which puts her at a higher rank than you as well. Dad would have reprimanded you for trying to snide her too."

"Who's this?" Xavier asks.

"This is Liliann Kingston. She's the daughter of the family that adopted Oliver," I explain.

"Kingston?" Xavier snorts.

"Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while. How is the great General?"

"You know my father?" she asks him, surprised.

"You're working on a cure for Feralism?" I ask. She looks up at me and nods.

There's a pretty iridescent shimmer on her skin today.

Something that wasn't visible before. Her short hair is still damp, from a shower or maybe a swim. When she turns around, I notice that there's gauze wrapped around her leg. I take a deep breath and catch the scent of what might be siren blood.

Last night, in my deep dive into siren research, I learned a few things about them. One being that it's not easy to get through their skin. I may not be able to see them, but there is a layer of protective scales that makes them nearly impervious to hand-to-hand wounds and bruises.

"Feralism is one of the biggest causes of census decline all around the world, she states as if it saddens her.

"What does that matter to your kind?" Kaylee asks.

"Wolves are the last of the mortal bloodlines. After humans attempted their very best to destroy our planet, and nearly pushed their species into extinction, wolves became the dominating species. 

"As you all know, there are those of us that require mortal flesh to survive. Vampires, Sirens, other bottom-feeder lineages. The maintenance of mortals is imperative to our survival. If the wolf census continues to decline as it is, the packlands will simply repeat the same mistakes humans have made. In the next hundred years, by our estimate."

"So, you're making medicine for your cattle," Kaylee scoffs.

"Your adoptive family makes their money from their slaughterhouses, Duchess. Just because wolves don't moo doesnt mean they can't be preyed upon. The world is not as black and white as it seems. It has always and will always be red. Survival of the strongest. By nature, we are beasts."

"I'm more interested in what was done to me," I say, knowing that Kaylee is beyond livid at the moment.

"Of course," she bows. "Allow me to show you how it should be done. We so happen to have a survivor of the proper procedure here," she looks up at Oliver and then over at me. "Forgive me, but are you of the Kingston bloodline as well?"

"She is," we both look back to see General Kingston making his way over to us from the entrance. I sigh when I see Ragnar and Ivar standing behind him. They both smile at us as if they've won some high prize. "I do hope you're treating my niece with the respect she is owed.

Her mate doesn't take disrespect kindly."