Page 12 of Pack: Posy 3

He was dead.

My parents had killed him with an overdose of wolfsbane.

Luna bunny only called King Julian over here to officially confirm it.

He did, too. We managed to get Reau away from the dirt bikes long enough for the king to look inside him for any evidence that Tanner survived.

"Thanks, Reau." King Julian ran a hand through my baby brother's curls. "You can go back to playing now if you want."

Say, Thank you, your majesty,I coached Reau through the link.

"Thank you, your majesty." He gave the king an adorable smile that melted my heart, and Idreadedhaving to tell him the truth later.

"Leo, can you go out with him, please?" asked my luna bunny. "I'm not sure how much I trust three teens with two dirt bikes and a mile-long driveway."

"Sure thing." Leo smiled and draped an arm around Reau's shoulders.

As soon as they left, she broke down in tears, and I wasn't far behind. Angelo wrapped me up in a hug, and the king did the same with luna. The alphas and other betas picked up on her distress and linked me, frantic to know what was wrong. I told them about Reau's wolf before Angelo joined in and told them all to link him instead of me for the moment.

By the moon, I don't know what I would do if he wasn't here right now!

"I'm sorry," I muttered into his neck as I tried to stop the flood of tears staining his shirt.

"Oh, my darling, let out the pain," he whispered and hugged me tighter.

"That is freaking heartbreaking," I heard King Julian mutter over luna's sobbing. "I bet his wolf was one of the mature ones, too, and could balance Reau's child-like nature. "

"I don't know. I never met Tanner," I said. "My dad kicked me out before Reau's twelfth birthday."

A low rumble vibrated out of King Julian's chest as Onyx stirred.

"Yeah, I know, Nyx. Third time in less than a month I've gotten news of an alpha abusing a pack member, and this is the second case of it being family. I need to send out undercover investigators again."

I was suddenly glad Leo had left the room. The guilt he carried crippled him most days. Even something as small as the king's comment would have set back his recovery.

Luna bunny knew Leo was uncomfy with the king,Cove murmured. She sent him away on purpose.

Sounds like our compassionate little sister,I agreed with a halfhearted smile, too gutted at the moment for anything more.

Finally getting myself under control, I wiped my eyes with my t-shirt and looked around for a tissue. Angelo reached in his back pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to me. I blew my nose and sent him a wave of love, which he immediately reciprocated.

I noticed luna was still huddled next to the king and felt guilty. It was my job as her beta to comfort and help her in any way I could.

The mighty king of werewolves himself is comforting your luna,Angelo linked me, picking up on my feelings through our mate bond.She understands, orsacchiotto(teddy bear).Don't add the weight of unwarranted guilt to your grief.

"I might have a suggestion to help Reau. I need to talk to some people first." King Julian kept his arm around luna's shoulders as her crying tapered off to a few sniffles. "In the meantime, Gelo, see if one of your witches will look into Reau's memories. I doubt he'll be able to articulate himself well enough for me to get a clear picture of what happened at Gray Shadows."

"I think Beatrix would be best for that," Angelo told him. "Sara can be obnoxiously blunt, and I don't think Reau would respond well to her. Ariel and Maria would do it with more kindness, but they get flighty and off-task so easily, and Reau might not have the patience for them."

"Let him enjoy the party tomorrow and see if Beatrix will do it on Friday. I want to know the details as soon as possible." King Julian let out a heavy sigh. "Depending on what she discovers, Gray Shadows also might be in need of a new alpha."

After the king departed, luna bunny asked Angelo if he'd take her into town for some things. I was surprised she asked him and not me - or even Leo, although he was still too fragile to trust in public with humans. She was afraid of Angelo, which is why we'd been keeping our distance, yet here she was asking to spend time alone with him.

She misses us, my smart wolf said.She wants to get over her fear of him because she misses us.

Thinking about it, I realized Cove was right.

Such a brave luna we have, I told him.

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