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Deacon did the same thing. We needed to help them while they regained what they had lost.
“You’re so warm,” Pearl murmured, her head resting on my chest while her eyes blinked sleepily. “Did I do it?”
“Yes.” I turned my body so she could see that Ledger was awake and looking around.
“Oh good.” She let out a relieved sigh, and my chest tightened with worry.
“What happened?”
“A lot.” Pearl suppressed a yawn and snuggled against me. “I’m exhausted.”
“It took a toll on me last time,” Estella said, her voice muffled slightly from the blanket that she was wrapped up in.
“True,” Pearl agreed, and I remembered how Estella arrived then immediately fell unconscious.
“We should take them back to the house.” I slid my arm under my mate’s knees.
“I think that’s a good idea.” Deacon mirrored my movements.
“Wait. No. I have questions,” Pearl protested.
“You can get them later.” I stood quickly, ready to get her to a warm place.
“No, I want them now.” Her persistence was endearing most of the time, but I was losing patience the more she argued.
“You need to rest first,” I commanded, not taking her no as an answer.
“I can rest later.” Her cheeks grew red as her chin jutted out.
“Best listen to her, cousin,” Ledger chimed in, making my wolf’s hackles raise.
“You shut up,” I growled, not in the mood for any of his ribbing. “I’m the alpha, and it’s my duty to take care of my pack.”
“Are you going to order me to rest too?” Estella asked coolly.
I glanced at Deacon for help, but all I found was him biting his lip to keep from grinning ear to ear. Damn him.
“A couple of questions, then you’ll rest,” I conceded, mentally smiling as Pearl reluctantly agreed.
“Fine.” Pearl scowled at me, but I felt through the bond that she didn’t really mean it.
“Tell us what happened first.” I changed the subject so she wouldn’t dwell on her irritation.
“The first thing I noticed was the tunnel,” Pearl began, quickly filling me and Deacon in on all that had happened inside Ledger’s mind.
“That’s…” Deacon trailed off, seemingly lost for words.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I agreed, puzzled by her explanation.
When I’d brought her and Estella back from the Between before, I remembered walking through my mind. It was dark, but there weren’t any tunnels. I remembered my wolf walking beside us, my chest clenching at the thought of him or myself in cages.
I guess that was what it looked like when you’d been manipulated your whole life. As much as I disliked my cousin, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. Had he ever had a private thought? Had my aunt controlled everything he did?
“So, light shone from your arm, showing you the way,” I reiterated, concluding that it had to have been the Moon Spirit lending its light. “Tell me again about the room with the wolf in it.”
Pearl repeated the story from when she stepped into the room. I couldn’t make sense of who or what the voice of the darkness had been. All wolf shifters had darkness inside from the wildness of the animal we were bonded with. I could feel it in my head right this second, but it had never spoken to me. I knew from experience the urge and hunger for more power, but that was completely different from what Pearl had witnessed.
I turned to address my cousin. “Why was your wolf locked up?”
