Moon Child (The Year of the Wolf #2) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,81

that.

And for the life of me, I had no idea how to answer, because the truth of my heritage wasn’t something she was supposed to learn until she was my mate.

Until we were bound.

Until I’d gifted her with the knowledge.

“Don’t lie to me,” she rasped. “I can see you want to.”

I shook my head. “No. Not at all. I don’t want to lie to you. I-I, well, you have to see I can’t answer that here.”

She nodded her understanding. “But you’ll tell me?”

“Of course I will,” I vowed, even though the truth might have her running for the hills, she deserved the truth. The full truth.

Mother help me.

Thirteen

Eli

“We can’t just keep him locked up in there all the time. Christ, prisoners get more freedom,” Austin rumbled.

“What are we supposed to do?” Ethan questioned. “I swear to you, he took over my mind somehow.”

“You realize that changes what Leon did, don’t you?” I replied, my voice pensive, soft with reflexive thought.

“Yes. It does. We thought he attacked Maribel because he was a dipshit,” Austin answered. “What if Seth made him do it? What if he triggered the attack?”

“I swear, I’ve never wanted to hurt someone as much as I wanted to hurt him, guys,” Ethan rasped, and I could hear the torment in his voice at that. Could hear the pain and anguish.

Sabina, who was sitting on his lap, evidently aware that he needed her the most right now, turned into him and nuzzled her face against his throat.

Watching her, watching Knight feed, I lifted my legs so that I could rest them on my desk, then plunked my hands on my belly as I contemplated what I was learning.

It had been a shit day. What with Ethan’s attack, my useless conference with the Mother, learning the Kinsdale Alpha had let hyenas into his territory and that Lara hadn’t known she’d been at the center of a hyena manhunt… things couldn’t be worse.

Then there was Sabina.

Lara had somehow managed to offend her, which meant she was quieter than usual, and at a time when I needed her at full working order because what we were discussing was unprecedented.

On top of that, she didn’t have to say a word for me to know she was missing Berry. Hell, I missed the she-wolf too. Before things had grown so complicated, she’d been a good companion, and I’d always known my woman was safe with her around.

Without the pups and Berry, things were different. I was used to the pups managing to knock all the furniture over and causing chaos wherever they were, Berry nipping at them and her low growls rumbling through the packhouse as she tried and failed to corral them…

It was boring without them, I realized. And my life was anything but boring. They just broke things up, I guessed. Lightened a shitty situation, and if ever we’d needed that, it was now.

Austin’s next question was a wrecking ball to my thoughts. “If he’s possessed, then we have to take into account that none of this is his fault. The spirit is the one making him act.” He shared a look with Sabina that I didn’t understand, but his words had me pointing out:

“That doesn’t take away the fact that he’s a danger to Maribel.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Ethan agreed. “I wish there was more information about possessions and spiritual invocations in the history books, but they’re rare.”

“Thank the Mother for that,” Sabina muttered.

Austin winced in agreement. “True dat.”

“Whoever it is, whatever spirit,” Ethan rumbled, “I’d never have thought I could feel that way. He’s powerful. Incredibly so. I can’t even imagine what will happen when Seth grows up. Maybe the spirit will get stronger too?”

“And Daniel has set himself up as his appointed guardian?” Sabina asked warily. “I’m not sure I like that.”

“He controlled him, with ease,” Ethan appeased, his hand smoothing over her back. The attempt at soothing didn’t work—she looked just as ruffled as before. “If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d never have believed it.”

“Is it fair to Daniel to allow that to continue?” she questioned.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of that. I think it’s something he was told to do at his covenant.”

My shoulders stiffened. “You’re joking?”

“No. I’m not,” he replied. “Daniel admitted as much without admitting anything.”

“Well, that’s helpful,” Sabina muttered.

Austin snorted. “It’s as helpful as we can be. We never speak of what we learn from the covenant—we only share one detail—if we’re mated. That’s it. Because it’s a cause for celebration. A continuance