Page 49 of Ashes of Honor

Hunter laughed, and for a moment that flared and vanished like a spark, I thought I imagined it. His eyes lit with the warmth I remembered. “I believe it. There’s gotta be one hell of a story in there. Serenity and I found each other not long after I left the state. It was an accident—a lot of spiteful tension too. One day I’ll tell you. She was already with a group, and I fit in well enough.” He paused, glancing away as if lost in thought. “And then our daughter…”

My heart skipped. “I have a nieceypoo?” I blurted out, barely containing the rush of excitement.

Amaia stumbled in her step, and Serenity paused at the words. Her head ticked to the side twice as if she were trying to stop herself from causing a scene. She turned back and bore eyes filled with rage at Hunter. Words unspoken passed between the two of them.

Hunter stilled, a faint sadness in his smile as his eyes met mine. “Her name’s Adelaide. She’s just shy of three now. Looks just like you did at that age. Big front teeth, always turning red from laughter.”

I couldn’t smile wider if the sides of my mouth were split. My name. Hunter named her after my middle name. Hushing to a whisper, I asked what I was afraid to hear the answer to. “Do I … will I get the honor of meeting her?”

He stopped, turning fully toward me, hesitation written in his eyes. “I would love that, but it’s not up to me. I made Serenity a promise long ago that Adie’s safety would always come first to me in this world. She’ll need to agree. But if she does … Adie would be over the moon to meet the auntie she’s heard about in bedtime stories.”

Happiness, pure and unfiltered, filled me. “So you and Serenity are together then? She’s your wife?”

“Don’t let her hear you say that.” He stared at her, the yearning clear in his eyes. “I tried for a long time, but no, Serenity’s my best friend. She calls it a drunken accident, though either of us had barely had a sip that night. Adelaide is our world, Reina. She’s the family we never had. And I’m grateful for that, for this family we’re building, even if it’s not exactly what I expected—it’s better than what we ever had.”

I watched him. Hunter was still the boy I’d known, but he’d grown into a man shaped by stories and scars I couldn’t even fathom. He and Seth would have been thirty this year—olderthan James had ever lived to be. James, our oldest brother, the one we lost first, before the world had ended. Now there were only two—Hunter and me.

He and Amaia may not have come to an agreement yet, but this was the start of a new beginning. I knew it deep in my heart and from the peace that had settled over her at hearing the joyful bits of the conversation the two of us shared. She would find a way to work with him, with all of this, if for no other reason than for me.

“Never again,” I reassured him, interlocking our fingers and giving them a squeeze. “I will never leave you again.”

“Hey, we’re Moores. The two of us. You and I.” Hunter said firmly, with pride. “This ends with us, got it? I’ll be damned if my daughter grows up in a world our father envisioned.”

Amaia

“Here is fine,” I said as I turned my back to the rocks. The dampness of the cold, slick moss kissed the skin around the straps of the black tank top tucked into my cargos.

The ocean churned under the setting sun. This corner of Moss Landing State Beach created a natural border of protection from the scariest thing out there; people. With the curve of the beach playing to our favor, anyone coming toward us would have no cover.

“Right, and let you set us up?” Serenity scoffed and turned toward Hunter. “No way. We’ll stop when Hunter says we stop.”

Rubbing my temples, I closed my eyes in irritation. I wasn’t sure the relation between them. If he washerRiley or something more, either way, she was a nuisance. “I’m not going to like you at all, am I?”

Ignoring her protest, I gave her my back and dropped my bag onto the sand. I ruffled through it as I listened for hidden context. Waiting to see how the power dynamics of their group played out. Did Serenity have anyrealsway or was she all whimper no bite?

Would Caleb speak up, or would he sit back and let the two of them figure things out? I never pegged him as an alpha, but I would be a fool to assume the Caleb that lived at Monterey was the same one standing before me.

“Hunter,” Reina’s voice was small against the salty wind. “Please.”

That was all it took. The plea of his baby sister. Hunter sighed, the sound drowned out by Serenity’s groan of disbelief.

“I’ll scope out the perimeter,” Caleb said without pressing further.

The warmth of a palm settled on my shoulder, pressing down with a slight squeeze. “I’ll watch him scope out the perimeter.” Abel proclaimed, earning him a soft but clear snort from the former.

Two tents were erected in half an hour. One for them and one for us. Without ever saying the words, it was clear that one person from each camp would keep watch at the same time throughout the night. Dusk was fast upon us as we settled around the sand in a circle. No fire unless the situation was dire. That was the rule.

Hunter’s crew watched on hungrily as we tore into our dried meats and mixed nuts. Reina offered some to Hunter from her go bag. He stared at the bags for a moment before falling victimto the weakness of starvation, offering some to Serenity. They were a lean bunch, that was for certain.

I tossed over three nutrient bars to Serenity with the smallest of grins. They were for emergencies. Shit out of luck scenarios. The average daily caloric intake was jam-packed into a 2 x 4 bar crammed with proteins, iron, and who knows what the hell else. Obviously, they needed it more than I did.

“Tossing us scraps like a dog,” Serenity snapped. “Should I bark too?”

“Nah, that’s my job,” Alexiares said, voice flat. His stare followed with the clear message that lacked jest. I was under no obligation to divvy out rations we may need in the future, but I did anyway out of goodwill.

Serenity offered a curt nod as she met my eye. Hunter cleared his throat, switching the conversation into small talk with expert ease. Controlling the crowd just as all Moores had been gifted—from nature or nurture, I wasn’t quite sure. Reina’s head fell to her brother’s shoulder as he talked, not stopping to catch a breath. Her vacant stare not matching her appropriately timed chimes of laughter.

If someone had asked me ten months ago who was the strongest emotional tether of my family, the answer would have wholeheartedly been Reina. She was the glue. Our tether to our morals. Evidence of the good that existed in this world. I’d always seen her as an unbreakable spirit. But now, the glass-eyed stare consuming her, I feared the dam was about to break at the thoughts of how much the assumption of Hunter’s death had cost her.

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