Chapter 9.-1
Rhyson
“All I’m saying is that if you’re going to mope about it, you should have never let her go,” Juniper said with a shrug. “I’m not here to follow a grumpy werewolf into the forbidden forest.”
Clam
I scowled. “I’m not grumpy, and this is not the forbidden forest. And you’re here because of loyalty,
not because of any personality trait of mine.”
“So true.”
When I snarled at her, she just laughed. Juniper was the youngest of my entourage at only twenty years old, but she’d been Marrow’s second-in-command since she was fifteen. Reckless and impulsive, she was the last wolf I’d expected to be by my side, but when push came to shove, her wolf was one of the best. As my Gamma, she would spend a lot of time traveling from pack to
pack and identifying problems.
If she survived that long.
Her loyalty to my brother meant she wouldn’t back down on the revenge mission, and we both knew the jokes were just a front. She would be here until the bitter end.
“Grumpy is his main personality trait,” Dante said with a shrug. “You should be used to it by now.”
“Usually it’s just your ugly face making him grumpy,” she said cheerfully. “Not a pretty little redhead.
“You’re just jealous,” Dante shot back.
To that, Juniper started faking some gagging noises with a look of pure horror on her face. Everyone laughed, and I just rolled my eyes. This was how they dealt with tense situations.
And like it or not, we were all tense.
It was hard to research Shadowed Moon Mountain without getting into Shadowed Moon Mountain. From what I could tell, my predecessor had some contacts, but he’d lost touch with them. I was walking my strongest wolves into a dark place practically blind. I had no idea how to even begin to look for someone named Morven, but I knew how wolves worked. They might be wild and free here, but there would be a network. There would be connections.
I just had to talk to the right person. Even if I couldn’t find Morven, he would no doubt find me, if for no other reason than curiosity.
Juniper was right about one thing. I’d been feeling a little off since Nyx appeared.
1.2
Chapter 9-1
Was she carrying my child?
Clar
Marrow used to talk about fatherhood. He’d become one early, without the benefit of a mate or even the mother sticking around, and he’d raised a good kid. Rune was a strong wolf and a grounded and fair man. He took after Marrow, although Marrow often said he took after me.
We both knew it was a lie. I’d look at the love Marrow had for Rune and know there wasn’t the same kind of love in me. He believed in second chances and saw the good in people.
And I saw the world for all of its cruelty and harshness.
Now I was king of that world. Oh, the irony.
But to be a father? The crown was nothing more than a stepping stone toward my vengeance.
Fatherhood was no stepping stone.
Of course, there was also a chance I was not the father. There was no point in dwelling on it until Nyx gave birth. Her father would keep her safe until then, and if I was still alive I’d deal with it just
as I said I would.
I did my best to push the thoughts aside as we continued to walk. So far, there wasn’t a hint of a wolf in our vicinity, but I knew that could change any minute. Just because I couldn’t sense a wolf didn’t mean that one wasn’t tracking us from far away. We were in their element.
“Her bruises were recent,” Tessa said suddenly. My healer was a small woman, normally very soft-spoken. Her wolf was just as submissive as the human, but she was the best damn healer I’d ever met. Despite her submissive nature, she could calm any wolf.
And she rarely spoke.
“Whose?” Dante asked.
“The woman you sent away. Her bruises were fresh. Not more than two days old, I suspect.”
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