Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(73)

She smiled, but there was no happiness in her expression. His heart sank to his feet. Something was wrong. He glanced to Hayden where he perched in an armchair across from them with his mate in his lap. “What is it?”

“I’m concerned for Cora,” Luna finally said after a long pause.

Torin ran a hand over his face and sat back on the couch. “Her wolf is suffocating, I know. I’m working on it.”

“How are you handling it?”

He sighed and rolled his neck. “I’m not sure yet. I just found out myself. Her wolf responds to me, a little.”

“You’re her mate. It makes sense she would.” Luna unfolded her legs from beneath her and stared at him as if in thought. “Take her for a run. Try to get the wolf to come out.”

He gave a nod. “I can do that. What else is up?”

Luna looked away while Hayden spoke.

“Jared found my uncle alive and sent word to him about my father’s death.”

“As his twin, would he know this?”

Hayden closed his eyes. The male looked tired. They all did. The war with Onyx had worn them down. With the rebuild of Ashwood, they had stretched their resources thin.

“Not necessarily. They weren’t close as kids, and, when Royce turned on his family and Pack, Raff took off. No one has heard from him since.”

“Until Jared found him.”

“Yes. I’m hoping he will return and aid in stopping Onyx permanently.”

Torin raised a brow at his adopted brother and best friend. “Why would he and how?”

Luna stood and answered his question. “Because Raff knew what Royce was doing and hated him for it. Felix stole his mate, raped, and killed her right after Sable was born.”

“Fuck.”

Sable was not only Felix’s daughter, but also Jared’s fated mate. The one he broke the mating bond with, which damn near drove him insane. To top off everything, the female had recently turned against her father to lead a shifter rebel group.

“Does Jared know?”

Hayden nodded. “It is why he convinced Mom to allow Raff back into the Pack.”

“Look, this isn’t public knowledge. We are only alerting the senior enforcers and a few sentries. I’ll deal with Raff if and when he arrives.” Luna turned to the kitchen. “Anyone hungry? I’m in the mood to cook lunch.”

Torin met Hayden’s gaze and shook his head. Luna either cleaned or cooked when bothered by something. When she was pissed, she let her wolf out and went hunting. She was definitely bothered by the mention of Raff. He tried to search his memories of the male and couldn’t remember any tension between him and Luna.

Then again, seeing him again could bring up a past she’d buried with her mate. “She’ll need us to stay close.”

Hayden glanced to the kitchen. “Yeah. I know.”





Chapter Five


Cora walked through the door of the apartment she shared with Jasmine and her seven-year-old twin brothers. After a great planning session, Alec called it a day about an hour earlier than expected, so Ana drove her home to MoonRiver since she had dinner plans with her new family.

“Jas?” Cora called as she entered the living room, which was half the size of the Russell family home in Ashwood. In MoonRiver, they occupied the limited housing because the Pack thought it would be a good idea to leave the den in ruins in an effort to keep Onyx’s attention away from the area.

Cora guessed it made some sense. But it also left them vulnerable in the event they needed to retreat to the den—like now.

The sound of small feet rushing down the hall drew her attention, and Cora glanced left to find the Russell twins racing toward her. She laughed and squatted down so they could surround her in hugs.

“Where is your sister?”

“She’s on the balcony with a boy,” the twins said in unison, then giggled.

Cora stood and studied the double-trouble team. “Who is this boy?”

Cole smiled shyly while Kyle grinned and said, “Dane.”

Interesting. A moment later, Jasmine entered the living room and regarded Cora with a shake of her head. Dane, however, offered a slight smile and nodded.

“Hi, Cora. Thanks so much for heading the team. Alec briefed me on your design, and it’s brilliant.”

Her cheeks heated, and she lowered her gaze at the Beta’s praise. “You’re welcome.”

Dane nodded, shifted nervously on his feet, and shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “Did you go into the field?”

“No, just planning and mapping today.”

He gave another nod and paced to the door. “Let me know if you want to brainstorm or something.”

“I will, thanks.”

Dane held the door open and glanced at the twins. “You two don’t look ready to go.”

They squealed and ran down the hall, skidding into their shared room. After a few moments of arguing, they raced back and right out the door, backpacks swung over their shoulders. Dane laughed as he shut the door.

Cora glanced to Jasmine and raised a brow. Jasmine rolled her eyes and turned to the kitchen.

“He stopped by to take the twins to Luna. They’re having a sleepover at the nursery.”

“Oh, yeah. I thought they stopped those until we returned to Ashwood.”