I waited until Dare was out of earshot before finally letting myself cry. I didn't want him or his friends to hear. He'd laugh, then torture me more.

Fury was going to owe me. He owed me big already, he just didn't know it yet.

Oh, the joy. Why can't my brothers just get along? But if it's Fate, I hope those bitches are having fun screwing with our lives.

I twisted my hand, trying to get out of my bonds. Dare'd strung me up by my wrists, my feet were hanging about a foot above the ground. My naked body was covered in cuts and bruises. Dare's friends had wanted to rape me. But he'd put his foot down and for that I was truly grateful. My siblings and I were the result of repeated rape. Our mother hated our father and rightly so.

Rape was a low even Dare wouldn't sink to or condone.

I finally managed to get both my hands free. I dropped to the ground and had to stuff my fist in my mouth to stop from screaming in pain. They'd broken my left knee, leaving me almost entirely crippled. I'd broken my right leg when I was sixteen and never fully recovered from it. I could only walk proper with a great deal of effort and pain.

Unless I got help now, I might never walk without assistance ever again.

I scrambled at the collar around my neck. I had to get it off. It was stopping me flashing out of here – I'd never be able to walk out. And even if I did, they'd track me down fast.

I gave the collar one massive yank and it came away in my hands. I pulled myself together before flashing away.

I landed in a river. The water would disguise my scent and give me a few more minutes to get away from Dare. I broke the surface and flashed away again.

This time I landed in the last cubicle of a set of very grotty public loos. I manifested a towel, dried myself off, then flashed some clothes onto my body. I limped out to the basin where I washed the blood from my face. I looked at the woman in the mirror and hardly knew myself. The only thing I knew was my hair. Rich brown comprised of nearly every colour from black to blonde. Typical Kattalakis Lykos hair. It was my most recognisable feature. I didn't want people to know who I was just yet. Not until after I'd gotten help. I pulled it back into a tight bun and pulled my hood up before flashing away again.

I landed in a stench of bear. It was coming from the Arcadian bear standing at the door of Sanctuary. His hair came down his back in blonde curls. If it weren't for the fact I was nearly fainting from pain, I'd be checking him out. Oh, and the stench. How could I forget?

Dare wouldn't come here, he wouldn't – to use a bad pun – dare.

"Bear," I said. "I need your help. You guys've got a doctor here, ay?"

He looked me up and down. "Yeah. Follow me." He turned to walk inside.

"Wait!" I said.

"What?"

"I can't walk, my knee's been bashed in."

"Here." He bent down, put my arm over his shoulder and flashed us away. We landed in a doctor's office. "Carson!" the Bear yelled.

A young Arcadian Hawk came through the door. "Yeah, Dev, what's up?" Then he saw me and snapped into action. "Lie her down there." He pointed to a gurney.

Dev lay me down and I gasped in pain as he accidentally knocked my leg. "Sorry," he said. "You need anything else, Carson?"

"No, no." Dev left and Carson said to me, "What happened?"

"My brother's a dick. He lives to maim."

He just looked at me, as if wanting more. I wasn't going to give it to him. He didn't need to know that I was the sister of the three most powerful Wolves downstairs, I'd smelt them from the door. Finally Carson said, "What's your name?"

"Star," I whispered, before he put me under.

My throat was parched, as dry as the Sahara. I blinked and the ceiling came into focus above me. I turned my head slightly, amazed at how little it hurt. Carson sat at his desk talking on the phone. "Wa – wa – water," I managed to stutter.

He looked over at me and nodded, then said into the phone. "Hey, my patient's just waking up. I have to go." A pause. "Yeah, ok, bye." He hung up and got me a glass of water. He helped me sit up and then gave me the glass.

I sipped it slowly.

"Listen, will you be ok by yourself for a moment? I have to pop out for a moment, I'll be back real soon."

"Ok."

When he came back, there were four Wolves behind him. Three were my brothers, the other was a woman I'd never expected to see ever again.

"Angelia?" I breathed.

"Star!" She bounded over and hugged me.

I gasped in pain. "Settle down, Angie. I'm still sore."

"Sorry." She stepped back. "After you left, I never thought I see you again."

"Neither." I looked down at her hand where the mating mark was and took a sniff. Fury was Lia's mate?

Oh, Jesus.

I glared at him. "I hope you aren't scaring the living daylights out of my best friend."

"No, bitch, I'm not."

"You bastard. I protected you!"

"You didn't do shit."

"I knew, Fury. I smelt it. I smelt from the moment we were born that you were Katagari. I didn't tell. Did you know that? The only reason I wasn't there when Mum tried to kill you was because I tried to stop Dare going after you too!" I glared at him, then turned to Carson. "Jeez, what the hell happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"Sorry."

I sighed, then glared at my brothers again. "So, do you want to know how I got to be like this?"

Vane said, "It was Dare, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. And do you know why? He damn near killed me when I was saving somebody's arse," I glared at Fury, "and has been trying to do so for the last four hundred years. He got hold of me a month ago and has been torturing me ever since. Now if you don't mind," I glared at my brothers, then said to Carson, "can I borrow your phone?"

Carson went over to his desk and got the phone for me.

"Thanks," I said as he gave it to me. I dialled and it rang four times before being picked up.

"Hello, this is Ariadne," she said.

"Hey," I replied, "it's me. You can flash through. It's safe."

"Ok, see you in a smidge then." She hung up and I handed the phone to Carson.

Three feet from my bed, a young woman flashed into view. She saw me and ran over to me. She seized me in a bone crunching hug. "Oh, Mum." She began to cry.

Fang's jaw dropped. Fury glared. Lia grinned and jabbed Fury with her elbow. Vane cocked his head.

I hugged her back, not caring that it hurt just to hug her. "It's ok, baby," I whispered. "It's ok. I'm fine."

She snorted and pulled back. My daughter could not have looked more unlike me if she tried. She was tall – she had two inches over me – with frizzy black hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her skin was a dark sun-scorched bronze, her eyes a deep brown, almost black. Green Sentinel markings would have covered the left side of her face if she hadn't glamoured herself.

"You just keep telling yourself that, Mum. You look like crap."

I gave her a weak smile. "I know, I know." I pulled her up onto the bed beside me and looked to my brothers. "You hurt her," I said, "and injured or not I will kill you. She is your niece and you will treat her as such."

Vane stepped forward and introduced himself and the others.

Ari's jaw dropped. "You're that Vane Kattalakis? Jesus. Mum never told me you were her brother." She looked at Fury. "And you – Oh my god. Holy hell."

Vane hugged her and I don't think Ari could have been more shocked. "How old are you?" he asked. "Do you need help controlling your Aristo powers?"

Ari shoved him back, her shock showing on her face. "How – how did you know about that?" she sputtered. "Did Mum tell you?"

"No." Vane dropped the glamour from his face to show his own Sentinel markings. "I know because I am one. So is Lia. And Fang's mate and her brother."

This time it was my turn to gape. They had four Aristi under one roof? Four!?

Holy Hell.

Now that was a nuclear explosion just asking to happen.

Lia cocked her head. "I thought you knew," she said to me.

"Yeah," I said. "About you. And Vane in theory." There has been and Aristo in every generation of my mother's family all the way back to our species' birth. I knew it had to be Vane, Fang or Anya because one of them must've switched at puberty just like Fury did but until 2004 I didn't know which. When Vane seized control of the Arcadian Lykos I knew it had to be him. "But what happens when one of you gets pissy? I really wouldn't want to be in the room at the time."

Vane laughed. "Only Kyle lacks control but he's learning fast."

"And Kyle is?"

"Kyle Peltier," Fang said. "My mate's little brother."

My jaw hit the floor again. "You're – you're mated to a Peltier?"

"Yeah. You gotta problem?" He shifted on his feet, hands fisting against his jeans.

"No," I said. "Just surprised. Bears and wolves don't usually mix." I looked up at Lia. "Angie, can you take Ari downstairs and show her around?"

Ari let me see her rolling her eyes. My daughter isn't stupid, she knows when she's being hustled out of a room, but she went without complaint and Lia shut the door with a snap behind them.

Vane looked down at the mating mark on my hand. "Her father?"

"Dead."

"You didn't bond?" Unspoken apology in his tone.

"No, he was human. I explained but" my voice hitched and I swallowed down the lump in my throat, "he was dying. Cancer. He didn't want to chance taking me with him. Leaving Ari..."

Vane nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry."

A silence arose, the only sound the ticking of the clock on the wall, becoming awkward as only the silence of estranged family can be. Fang scuffed his feet on the floor and Fury cleared his throat. "Get on with it, Star. Why are you here?"

"A couple of reasons. Ari tries to hide it but she can't control her powers, she's terrified. She needs help. I can't do it. I wouldn't know where to start."

"I'll do it, Star." Vane – gods love him – was a good man.

"And," I said casually, "Dare has utterly fucking lost it."

I made it downstairs against Carson's protests. Ari sat at the bar, drink in hand, talking to a blonde woman who smelt like Fang.

Aimee Peltier, I assumed.

A shot was fired. A tinkle of glass from the shattered light bulb and everyone in the bar turned to stare.

Aimee charged over, three of her brothers following in her wake, and turned the shooter out. But I only had eyes for Ari.

Her Sentinel markings stood out in green against her skin, proud and unashamed.

She saw me looking and smiled. We would be alright.

Ariadne would show us the way through.