Page 60 of Pack Ruin
He hummed a yes.
“I’m not sure how Mama ended up here, though.”
“Once the eradication began during the war, I would imagine that all of the shifters who could leave, did. Especially those of the ruling bloodline, like your Sergeant and your mother,” he murmured, his hands gentle in my hair. “That pack’s destruction was a great loss to the world. I’d heard of Occidens—what you call the Western pack—when they formed two hundred… No,threehundred years ago. They were the only shifters who welcomed witches inside their borders. Well, the onlywolfshifters.”
“What the fairy tale fuck—” Glen began, but Grigor tsked.
“A sad story for another time. When I arrived, this shifter Torran had taken over, searching for a killer.”
Glen scoffed. “Searching for whoever was slaughtering all the males of the pack.”
“They earned their deaths,” Grigor replied calmly. “My only regret is that I was unable to locate the younger Blackside. And Callaway himself, of course.” Grigor sounded more than pissed about that, and I patted his arm. Shocks of power, like static electricity, ran from his skin to my fingers. “He was also torturing Luke at the request of a female I cannot identify. Someone he spoke to on the phone.”
“Someone from Eastern. Finn’s mother?” Glen breathed.
“I do not know. Now, we need to get water and food for young Luke, and find a way out of the compound before the sun rises.” He went silent, as if he were listening for something. “I am much revived, thank you, my queen. I will go outside and gather provisions.” He pressed a kiss to my hairline that felt more intimate than it should have, and rose. “You could share your energy with Luke, if you feel compassionate. It may give him enough strength to stand on his own.”
Share my what now?
Before I could ask, in a rush, he was gone. All at once, the noises from outside filtered in, though they were still muffled. Shouting, the sounds of running feet and the metallic clank of weapons.
“That is one spooky fucker,” Glen whispered after a moment. “Let’s leave while he’s gone.”
I almost laughed again, but when Luke said, “Can’t. Little shit’s still inside me,” I lost it. Luckily, I slapped a hand over my mouth and kept the sound from traveling. Or at least, I hoped I had.
Glen cleared his throat. “I’ll, ah, go check out the tunnel back here. You two catch up.”
Luke and I let out matching sighs. “So, sharing energy, huh?” I moved toward him, wishing I could see his face, but kind of glad he couldn’t see mine.
“I’m not sure what he meant by that,” Luke murmured as I crouched next to him, and found his arm with my hand. His muscles had atrophied in the months I’d been away, and his arm trembled as I touched him. I slid an arm around his narrow waist, until we were sitting on the hard ground side by side. “You don’t… I can sit on my own.”
“I know you can. And I know what he meant.” I thought I did, anyway. I wasn’t sure how to do it, but I could almost feel some of my strength moving into Luke now. It felt like spitting on desert sand, though. It wasn’t nearly enough. “I should probably tell you everything that’s been going on while you napped. Mind if I rest my head?”
“Please.” He was naked, but I ignored that as best I could, letting my forehead fall against his shoulder as I got ready to tell a long-ass story.
I started at the beginning, with the car ride to Northern, and Vanessa’s welcome. When I got to the part where Brand saved me from dying, I swallowed. “Pretty sure that’s what Grigor meant. About the, ah, compassion or whatever. If we mated?—”
Luke let out a soft curse. “No, Flor. I won’t do that. I won’t allow you to do that.”
For a second, I was offended. “Why not?”
I felt his hand in my hair, stroking it behind one ear. He felt the metal tag and hesitated. My wolf took that moment to rise up just enough to whine.
Luke chuckled almost silently, and kept stroking. “Not because I don’t want you. Or want a bond with you.”
“You do want to be with me, like, ah… even though I’ve got a, a?—”
“A plethora of mates,” Glen muttered loud enough to hear, still moving away. Luke cleared his throat.
I shot the finger in Glen’s direction. “More than my fair share, though if Glen pisses me off anymore, there might be one less by morning.”
Luke’s voice was raw when he answered me. “Yes, Florida Wills, I want to be your mate. I’ve always wanted it. I’ve loved you from the time I was a child myself.”
“I don’t get that,” I admitted. “I heard that before. Brand said it, but wouldn’t tell me the story. What did you mean? That you knew I was your mate.”
“When I was ten…” He told his own story then, of Van Blackside beating me. How Callaway had been late for the pack run, and Van took out his anger on me, then Luke. How Callaway had forced Luke to shift before he bled out.
“I don’t remember any of that,” I whispered. “That’s when you shifted for the first time?”
