At First Sight by Heather Todd Page B

is something big and he is far too young,” explained Matthew.
                  “He is my son, Matthew. He is eighteen years old. He deserves to know that he is supposed to lead our species in this war you have planned,” said Frankie, his voice taking on an angry tone.
                  Dean’s foot caught against the door as he reacted to the news, causing both Matthew and Frankie to look at him in surprise. All three men were silent as the air grew thick with tension.
                  Frankie closed his laptop, ending the video call. He stared at his son, feeling lost for words. “Dean…”
                  Dean’s brows furrowed with anger as he stared at his father. “Are you fucking kidding me, dad?! I’m supposed to lead us in a war ?! Why are we even going to war?!”
                  Frankie stood up from his chair and put his hands up in defense. “Dean, I know this is hard to take in. But, we can’t change this.”
                  “Why does it have to be me?!” demanded Dean.
                  His heart was pounding as his anger grew. He didn’t want to lead his species in some battle that seemed completely unnecessary. Why were they going to war in the first place?
                  “You should sit down,” said his father, sitting down on the couch next to his desk.
                  “No, I’ll stand.”
                  It was silent and tense until Frankie decided to break the silence and come clean.
                  “When your mother and I met, we were completely different. She was not a Manifester,” he started.
                  “She was human?” asked Dean. He didn’t know that much about his mother’s life before she met his dad.
                  Frankie shook his head. “No. She was a Reader.”
                  Dean furrowed his brows. “A Reader? What is that”
                  “Before we met, your mom was a part of a species called the Readers. They have psychic abilities and they can see things even when they are not present to see it in person. Is any of this making sense?”
                  Dean shook his head. “No.”
                  “You know how your mom’s imprint allows her to see things without you knowing?” he asked.
                  “Yeah. Like, she has eyes in the back of her head?”
                  Frankie nodded. “She has that imprint because of her past life. We still don’t know how it happened. But, when we met, she chose to stay with me. In doing that, it caused the Readers to lose their abilities. They became normal humans while your mother still kept her powers.”
                  “How is that possible, though?” asked Dean, confused.
                  “Your mother was their leader,” said Frankie. “Because she was who she was, her race lost the gift. Combining different supernatural races can be very risky.”
                  Dean looked away from his father, feeling like he was talking to stranger. His parents had been keeping so many secrets from him. What else were they hiding?
                  “So, why am I in this? Why do I need to lead a war? Why are we going to war?” asked Dean, his heart beating faster.
                  “Dean?”
                  He knew that Lola could hear his thoughts racing. “I’ll tell you later.”
                  “The Readers have been threatening us with war ever since the gift was lost. Matthew had it always set in his mind that, if the gift were ever to come back, then we would go to war. Whoever brought back the gift would lead our race in that war,” explained Frankie, looking away with shame.
                  Dean rubbed his head vigorously. “I can’t… I can’t lead us in a war.