Maxwell came a few steps closer, but stopped in his tracks. She had just declared herself to him, and she felt exactly the same feelings for him as he did for her, but her father had put a doubt in his mind. Was she really projecting her brother onto him? He needed to know. Earlier, he'd had the idea of calling Adam over so that she could choose between the brothers. But now he felt a great urgency to know. And he would never give her back to Adam, even if he had to... Do something horrible to her.
"Anna... You've described exactly everything I feel for you... But I think it's even stronger for me. That's why we must leave no doubt between us if we want our relationship to work."
Anna felt her heart fill with hope as she listened to him. She just walked in, closed the door, sat down and looked at him questioningly.
"Do you have any doubts about the sincerity of my feelings?"
Maxwell sat down next to her, took her hands in his, breathing deeply to prepare himself for her answer.
"Anna, are you sure that it is to me that you dedicate this love?"
"Of course I do."
"Aren't you projecting Adam onto me?"
Anna withdrew her hands. Those words were an insult to her.
"If you were projecting him onto you, it wouldn't be love you'd be feeling, but fear, disgust and hatred."
"Is that how you felt about him?" Maxwell asked suspiciously.
"No Maxwell, as you know, I gave your brother true love, and my purity, my virginity, my time, my dedication and my fidelity. These are not things a woman gives to any man. I would only do something like that for a man who was important in my life. If you want to stay with me, you'll have to accept that... And after I ran away, every time I remembered him, I could no longer separate him from my anguish. And finally, I realized that even his sweetest words weren't good. They were humiliating. He always said he wasn't sure how he felt about me. And I brushed it off, believing that we would be happy just like that. But in the hospital, after proving to me that I was nothing, and that his business came first, and that he was willing to use me as if I were his property, I finally understood that he was empty of feelings. When I got here and saw you, and at that moment I believed I was standing in front of him, I wanted to run away. I thought my father had betrayed me... I hope this explanation proves to you that I love you and not your resemblance to Adam, because I only stayed here when I knew you weren't him."
Maxwell stared at her, stunned and proud at the same time. He wished her father were there, hearing those words, and maybe he would change his mind and not let Adam near Anna ever again. Perhaps, when he learned that his brother had raped his daughter more times than he realized, he would understand that he was better for his daughter.
"Anna..." Maxwell began to take her hands again, and she offered no resistance. "Why didn't you ever tell me this before?"
"Because I was afraid you'd pull away from me, knowing how I felt about someone so close... Adam is your younger brother. I don't really know his story, but it seems that your parents didn't want him. They only gave love to you. And I was afraid I'd seem inhuman to you, because I hated him. Your opinion of me has always been important to me."
"My parents never stopped giving love to Adam. Suzy was afraid and resentful, but she never stopped loving him. She... I don't know how much you know, but she's not my biological mother, but she's an exceptional woman. She brought me up after my father sent my mother away and... Suzy is my mother, too. My father... He resented Adam being the real owner of his fortune. He didn't expect the Alpha to be born of him. He warred with the brave warriors of all the tribes, to take care of the Alpha's inheritance, without having any need to do so. As soon as Adam was born, he would inherit the Alpha's fortune."
"Do you know where your mother is? Is she still alive?"
Maxwell smiled thoughtfully.
"She's alive, Anna, but I hope you'll keep that secret."
"Why is it a secret?"
"Well... She wasn't a werewolf and she knew all their secrets, and that's a death sentence, Anna. You can't leave the Lens family, ever, if you know the werewolves' secrets."
"I got out alive."
"You ran away, Anna. It's not the same. Adam didn't use all his resources to find you, and that's still a mystery to me..."
"You're not a werewolf."
"No."
"I don't understand. Ian is a werewolf. He had telepathic conversations with Genevieve."
Maxwell shifted, visibly uncomfortable.
"Yes. And the Alpha probably sensed his birth."
Anna was startled.
"My God, Maxwell! No!"
"Don't worry. He senses the birth of all werewolves, and if he were aware that he was your son, you wouldn't be here right now."
"Can he watch us through Ian's eyes?"
"Yes. But he won't do that. In the history of werewolves, no Alpha ever bothered to find out what happened in the werewolves' childhood. They're usually only sought out by the Alphas after the age of fifteen."
"That's terrible! It means that when he looks through Ian's eyes, when he turns fifteen..."
"...if he's in front of the mirror, Adam will recognize his features, and he'll know where we are and what we're doing."
"Tell me you have a plan not to let that happen, please?"
Maxwell smiled.
"We'd need some kind of witch."
"A witch... Where can we find a witch? At Hogwarts?"
Maxwell laughed amusedly.
"No, Anna. It has to be a mist. I've already found one, but she doesn't know her talents yet. She doesn't know how to use them, but she has fifteen years to learn." He said, staring at Anna mysteriously.