The last part came out in a whisper, full of shame.
Heiko shook his head.
“Don’t be ashamed. That’s not your fault.”
He leaned forward, his mind processing faster than he could speak.
“How did they come to this conclusion? Your parents—what made them think you were an empath?”
River hesitated, then said softly,
“It runs through blood. My father said his grandmother was believed to be one. But she could feel things too. Predict things and feel intentions. Soothe wolves on the edge of madness. She could walk into a room and know what no one else could. Who was lying. Who meant harm. Who was hiding pain. She was a mystery, but she kept her pack safe”
Heiko went silent, folding the new knowledge into what he already knew.
A hidden bloodline. A vanished ancestor. A dormant ability—until
