“Flora!” he said, scrambling to his feet. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m going home,” she said without looking back.
Camden stood, dumbfounded, unable to understand what had happened and disappointed that Flora once again was shutting him out without an explanation. He had thought they were getting along better lately and had made progress from where they were in the past. Had that all been an act on her part? He had been giving it his all, doing everything he could think of to make her feel safe and happy. If she didn’t want a physical relationship with him, that was one thing, but to lead him on felt harsh.
He stood there, pondering what had gone wrong and wondering whether he should go after her to find out the truth. He wanted to confront her and get to the bottom of their interaction, but before he could make another move, Jasper was there.
“Did you forget something?” Camden asked.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I’m the bearer of bad news, unfortunately.”
Camden could sense that whatever Jasper had to tell him would need his whole attention. He tried to put Flora’s strange behavior out of his mind and focus on the conversation at hand.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Well,” Jasper said, pausing to take a deep breath. “Alpha Hughes has had me keep an eye on Demetrius Sier and theIronbrand pack since we first went there. Things have been escalating since Flora left.”
Camden’s stomach twisted into knots at the mention of his mate. “What do you mean by escalating?”
“At first, her parents pretended they had no idea where Flora could have gone,” Jasper continued. “It seems like they never told him which pack they came from originally because they didn’t want to get caught in between two packs. They probably wanted to have the chance to come back here if it didn’t work out in Ironbrand.”
It made sense to Camden that they would keep information close to their chests. They had always been the kind of people who played both sides, wanting to do whatever was in their own interests regardless of how it affected others.
“What’s changed?” Camden asked.
“Sier has been pressuring them for information,” Jasper explained. “He thinks they know who took Flora and where she is now. I don’t know if they suspect she is back here or not, but it’s possible that they’ll tell him about their past in Silverrose soon. If they do, we should expect them to come sniffing around to see if Flora is here.”
Again, Camden wondered why Demetrius Sier was so hellbent on having Flora as his mate. Surely a powerful alpha would be able to get another luna without much effort. What did she have for him that he was willing to continue to search for her long after her disappearance?
“We need to make a move against Sier and his pack soon so we can keep Flora and Sofia safe,” Camden said. “We need more dirt on him so we can find out what he’s really up to. Alpha Hughes won’t let us make a move without evidence. Have you uncovered anything specific yet?”
Jasper shook his head regretfully. “It’s weird. No matter which angle I play, I keep running into dead ends. I know something is going on there, but I have no idea what it is,” he admitted.
Camden nodded in understanding. He wished Jasper had a different answer for him, but he appreciated his candor. He dismissed him and watched as Jasper headed back to town. When he was alone once more, he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his thumb and pointer finger. He was going to have to tell Flora what was going on. He knew she was going to react badly to the news about Stella, Ben, and Demetrius, but she deserved to know the truth. Slowly, he finished picking up their sparring equipment and headed back to the house.
It was late when he arrived home. The sun was already starting to set, and he found Flora cleaning up from dinner.
“Hey,” he said tentatively, gauging her mood. “Where’s Sofia?”
“In her room,” she replied, not bothering to look at him.
“Can I talk to you?”
“Let’s not,” Flora said quickly. “I’d just…rather not talk about it.”
With the news from Jasper, Camden had nearly forgotten about the moment he and Flora had shared after their sparring session.
“It isn’t about that,” he assured her. “It’s about your parents.”
The dish she was washing clanged loudly into the sink as it slipped through her fingers. She turned her head sharply to look at him. “What about them?”
“They are being pressured by Alpha Sier to tell him where you have run away to,” Camden explained. “So far, they’ve given him nothing, but I wanted you to be prepared.”
“Stella and Ben have no idea where I am, though. Do they?” she asked, fear creeping into her voice.
“No,” Camden answered slowly, trying to reassure her but not wanting to sugarcoat the truth. “They don’t know that you’re here, but the fear is that they will start listing places youcouldbe. This is the only other home you’ve ever known. It won’t take long for them to mention Silverrose if Demetrius pressures them much longer.”
“Oh, goddess,” Flora whispered. She began breathing in shallow breaths, and her eyes were wild. Camden could tell she was panicking as her eyes began to flit from one darkened window to another. “They’re going to find me. He’s going to make me go back there. And Sofia…no. I can’t let them take her. We need to leave!”
