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Tasha
Paxton doesn’t manage to stay awake long. When he drifts off, I slide out from under him and go to the bathroom. I gasp when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, though. My eyes are puffy, my skin is splotchy, and my hair is a disheveled mess.
You should clean up.My wolf addresses me dismissively. I can tell my wolf is mad at me, but I can’t figure out why for the life of me.
I came the second I knew Paxton was hurt. I’ve done everything possible to give him the chance to reconcile with his family. Hell, I marked him.What more do you want from me?The words hang silent and heavy in the air. She won’t answer; she’s waiting for me to figure it out.
I feel too vulnerable right now to attempt to untangle the conflict that seems to be lingering between my wolf and me over my mate bond. At this point, I can only sum it up to my wolf not being satisfied with the emotional distance still lingering between Paxton and I. Sure, I showed up, but I’m pretty sure she would prefer me throwing myself at him and professing my love. I’m not ready for that, so for now I focus on what’s easy to fix by trying to clean myself up.
I do what I can with the washcloth and the sink, but I know I still don’t look my best as I step out of the bathroom and turn toward the back of the house. The house is silent, so I know the others must still be trying to figure things out outside, and I know I need to be a part of that. As much as I want to stay with Paxton, I still have duties as the Luna Sovereign.
I don’t understand what the hell happened on Sovereign Pack territory. Where has the pack gone? Who attacked my mate with his back turned?
The answers—some of them anyway—are waiting outside. I walk over to join Dominic and Luca where they’re standing on the opposite side of a black SUV. As soon as I see what they’re looking at, I slap one hand over my mouth and another over my stomach.
“Is that a…?”
“Human,” Luca finishes for me, understanding me even as I muffle my own voice in an attempt to stifle the urge to vomit. “These three and a dozen more in the pack’s bunk house. This one is Brandon.” He nudges the body closest to the car with his foot.
“There was a rogue. He said a guy named Brandon—“
“Was the one offering up the bag of money for someone to collect a Jarreau for him?” Dominic interrupts and reaches into the open window of the SUV. He tosses a duffel bag at my feet. It’s unzipped, giving me a peek at the stacks of money inside. Dominic lets out a growl of disgust. “Paxton’s been updating me on any leads you two find. I don’t think he’s a big fan of mine, but we do have a common goal.”
Protecting their mates,my wolf supplies unnecessarily. Something has drawn her interest and brought her actively back to the surface.Look there.
I let instinct guide me, following my wolf’s lead and turning my head to gaze into the SUV. The backseat looks like a mess, almost as if someone’s been living inside of it. The SUV is expensive, but these men were practically destroying it. There’s trash littering the floorboards and water marks staining the back seat. Someone’s drool-stained pillow is on the seat beside a white, knit blanket bearing a questionable orange stain on it. I start toward the other side.
“What are you doing?” Luca asks as I open the passenger side door.
“Finding out whose car this is.” There has to be a clue somewhere. I can feel it in my gut.
“The obvious answer says it belongs to this guy.” Dominic kicks the guy on the ground harder this time. I think he’s enjoying that a little too much. “Check the glovebox. Anyone that’s done their research knows cops have been pulling people over left and right on the highway. These guys would have to have paperwork on hand.”
“You think the registration will tell us anything? It would be easy to scapegoat that guy.” Luca nods at the body that Dominic kicked.
Dominic shrugs one shoulder. “Maybe, but this whole situation reeks of arrogance. Whoever is responsiblewantsus to know it’s him. So his name has to be somewhere.”
I open the glove box and reach for the papers at the bottom, slipping them out from under a gun I do my best to ignore. “Jeff Langston. Does that ring any bells to anyone?”
Dominic shakes his head. “We’ve checked everybody’s ID. There are no Langstons here.”
That means Dominic could be right. Jeff Langston could be our guy, or at least for now, he’s the best lead we have. Hope blooms in my chest that we might be one step closer to solving who’s been targeting Tess, Tevin, and me.
“Can someone please run me through what exactly happened while I thought everyone was sleeping?” I look around us at the lifeless grounds of the Sovereign Pack. I need to start putting the pieces together of what we know and have found so far. It’s the only way to figure out how we should proceed. “And while you’re at it, could you please explain to me where the Sovereign Pack has gone?”
“I wish I could tell you. I don’t know where they’ve gone,” Dominic admits, “and I don’t like it.”
* * *
Dominic and I spend hours retracing the steps of the Sovereign Pack intruders. We’re so engrossed in what we’re doing that when Paxton limps out of the pack house shouting my name at full volume, we both startle.
“Tasha! What the hell are you doing?” he roars as he starts toward us. I can see him flinching in pain with every step, even from here. I meet him halfway across the expanse of the yard that separates us.
He knocks the wind out of me when I reach him, and he wraps his arms around me in a vise-like grip. “Fuck,” he mutters into my hair. “I thought something happened to you.” He hesitates before adding, “Or that I imagined you.”
“I’m here. Dominic and I have been trying to rebuild everything that’s happened so far—the parts we can figure out, anyway.” I carefully extricate myself from his grip and take his hand.
I feel guilty about the slow way he staggers alongside me as we walk to where Dominic is waiting, but I know he won’t go back inside to sleep knowing I’m out here. He might as well help us if he can.
