Bennett’s attention returned to Max, and as her eyes changed back to brown, she sat down. “Fine. I’m sitting. Now, why aren’t you in Norway, and why is one of Napoleon’s swine here?”

Max waved Landon over, and once the man sat down, Max began to speak. “I no sooner landed when I received a message from Dr. Prescott. Upon reading it, I bid most of my flock a quick farewell, chose a few who would return with me, and we came back immediately. As for why he’s here, it seems he possesses something that both you and I pride ourselves on.”

“Oh yeah?” Bennett said, draping one leg over the other. “What’s that?”

“Compassion,” Max said, dropping into his chair. “Unlike his previous patriarch, Landon here doesn’t see the need to wipe out civilization merely on a whim, or rather an insane attempt to gain the upper hand over those he loathes.”

“What in the hell are you talking about? You’re being as cryptic as your bloody text.”

Max pulled in a long breath. He had hoped for a better time and place to share these secrets. One would finally answer a question she’d had for centuries, and the other had saved Bennett from the council’s wrath when she’d threatened Napoleon and brought him the heads of his men. Unfortunately, Max had held onto the secrets for far too long. He’d told himself time and time again it didn’t matter, but duplicity between him and Bennett did matter, and Max had been duplicitous for decades on one truth…and for centuries on the other.

Max opened a file folder on his desk, and pulling out some papers, he slid them to Bennett. “That’s a DNA report on you that was in Napoleon’s possession until Landon sought sanctuary here last night.”

“A DNA report?” Bennett said, looking at the data. “How’d he get this?”

“From the blood you left behind after that trap fell on you.”

“Oh. Okay,” Bennett said, putting the report on the desk. “So what? You ran a similar test on me years back when you were trying to trace everyone’s ancestry. It showed my people were Spanish, Welsh, and English, but nothing else showed up. You would have told me.”

Max frowned. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Landon perked up in his chair, looking back and forth between Bennett and Max, before settling on Max. “You knew?”

“My good man, Napoleon has a staff of less than a dozen scientists. I have well over a hundred in my employ. Of course, I knew.”

“All right,” Bennett said, holding up her hands. “Someone needs to tell me what the hell you two are talking about.”