Chapter 13
Qiana’s anxious Howlnet messages went unanswered. The Riverview Pack House felt as desolate as the Blood Moon Pack’s territory.
Location didn’t matter; the emptiness was pervasive. Late into the night, the chill of the Blood Moon intensified, and they finally abandoned their vigil, returning to the Pack House. Opening the door, they found Qiana asleep on the sofa. The villa was bathed in the warm glow of strategically placed moonstones, but Benjamin and Adam were too consumed by worry to notice.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” Adam’s voice was rough with exhaustion and irritation. He wasn’t in the mood for tending to an Omega.
Benjamin headed toward his room, leaving a curt statement behind.”Go to bed when it’s time. Don’t wait up for us again.”.
Qiana, curled on the sofa, looked stunned. What had happened? Benjamin and Adam had always been kind to her before. Had their coldness stemmed from Lanie’s sudden departure?
She paced in their rooms, her resolve hardening. Back in her own room, she swiftly deleted the taunting messages she’d sent Lanie.
Lanie could leave willingly, but she couldn’t be forced out by Qiana’s manipulations.
Benjamin lay in bed, unable to sleep. His mind was a blank canvas of worry.
Lanie was gone, but she’d never told them the location of her family’s ancestral home in the Sunstone Pack.
The Hale family was prominent in the Los Angeles high society; finding her would not be difficult. But…had she hidden her departure plans to prevent them from finding her? A sharp pang of pain-the echo of their fated mate connection- pierced Benjamin’s heart.
His wolf, the Guardian Wolf, felt an unbearable ache.
Adam couldn’t sit still. He contacted Lanie’s aunt, hoping to learn why she’d left, why she’d disappeared without a word. She answered, still in scrubs after a late-night surgery. Her hands were still gloved; an intern held the phone for her.
“Hello? Adam, what’s up?”
They’d grown up together; Adam and Benjamin both called her “Aunt.”
Adam asked urgently, “Aunt, do you know Lanie’s location in the Sunstone Pack? Why did she leave so suddenly? I need to find her!”
A pause. Then, hesitantly, “You… you guys don’t know why she left? When she told me, she said you and Benjamin knew…”
They realized she’d lied. Lanie’s aunt, sensing her slip, quickly backpedaled.”Oh, that. Adam, I’m getting old and forgetful. Lanie just wanted to
visit her parents in the Sunstone Pack; it’s been so long. You two are so busy, so she didn’t tell you.”
That explanation didn’t satisfy Adam.”Really?” Even if he didn’t believe her, he knew he wouldn’t get the truth from her. But he hadn’t expected her to hide this from both of them!
Visiting her parents was a weak excuse. If that were all, why the secrecy? Something more significant must have happened!
Adam rushed out. As he stepped out of the Pack House, he saw Benjamin leaning against a vehicle, a pile of ash at his feet. Benjamin stubbed out his smokestick.
“Here? I’ve booked the next flight to the Sunstone Pack. Let’s find her.
More wolves, more hope.”
Benjamin’s Guardian Wolf sensed the urgency, his usual calm replaced by desperate determination.
