Chapter Twenty-Six
“Iwant to know whothose mutts were and how they passed through our defenses!”yelled Connor on the phone.“Either they take their heads out of their asses, or I’ll serve them on a platter!”He threw the headset off sharply.Connor was many things, but calm and controlled wasn’t one of them.Especially when the patrols hadn’t spotted even a trace of rogues, but the howls heard in the village the previous day had raised the alarm.The scents in the air weren’t familiar to the villagers, and one of them even had a foul smell, as if the time he’d spent away from a pack had somehow damaged him.It smelled ...sick.Rotten.
At their uncle’s office, the twins were seated, waiting for his fury to be focused on them.Not by choice, but Connor was still the Alpha, and his command made their wolves submit.The fury that emanated from him in violent waves caused their wolves to whine and hide inside their minds but did nothing to appease them.They wanted to be at the hospital, near their mate, but Corbin had forbidden it.
“Was I or was I not clear when I said I wanted that child to be left alone?”he asked, in a deceptively calm tone.A vein pulsed in his forehead, indicating an impending storm.
“She’s our mate,” growled Declan.“What would you do if it was yours?”
“Do not bring your aunt into this conversation!”boomed Connor.“You knew who she was and what was asked of us.Do you think the High King will look kindly upon us when he hears about this?For all he knows, she tried to commit suicide when she discovered she’d been shacking up with wolves!”
“She’s not...”Ciaran paused.Their uncle had that distant look that werewolves had when they communicated through the mind-link.His eyes were unfocused, and he flinched before cutting the link.The twins exchanged a glance, tensing their muscles.Connor had a tense expression, and the way he opened and closed his fist did not bode well.Finally, he blinked and looked at the desk phone, as if expecting it to ring at any moment.
“A couple is at the border, requesting permission to enter our pack lands,” he said, in a slow voice.
“And...?”
“It’s Dane Blueriver and his mate.”Connor cleared his throat before adding, “She’s the woman Lewis kidnapped and tried to forcefully mate.”
“What do they want?”asked Ciaran abruptly.The last thing their mate needed was more stress on top of her shoulders.
“It seems the woman, Lily, was raised as a human and drugged all her life to keep her wolf at bay.Her wolf emerged after the kidnapping.”
“And?She got out before being assaulted.”
“No, she didn’t...Apparently, she was also assaulted.But because she’s been dealing with her own issues, she thinks meeting Freya could help them both.”
“What she wants is to heal at Freya’s expense!I forbid it!”barked Declan and immediately knew he’d done it when his uncle’s gaze zeroed on him.
“Youforbid it?”he asked, silkily.Damn, his uncle was even worse when he was speaking calmly than when he was shouting.
“Uncle...”
“I do love family reunions,” said Evelyn drily.They all turned and watched when Evelyn entered the office, the guard at the door clearly conflicted about barring his former Luna from entering.
“Matháir.Welcome.Don’t let the closed door stop you.”Sarcasm was dripping from Connor’s voice, but Evelyn was impervious to it.
“I didn’t.And you sit down before you have a stroke.”
She sat unceremoniously and looked at the guard, who was still looking at his Alpha and ordered, snapping her fingers.
