Page 66 of Wolf's Endgame

“I was.” Clearing my throat, I said with more conviction, “I am. You can ask me anything.”

“Dad hit you?”

“Yeah.” We lay in silence while she digested it. I didn’t think she would speak, but I felt her move until she was on her side, facing me.

“What happened to him?” Her voice was a soft whisper, causing me to turn on my side too.

“You’re pregnant?” Her eyes widened in shock that I knew, but she couldn’t hide the smile. “Does Kris know?” When she shook her head, I bit back a sigh. “Your dad does.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. Tell me what happened.”

She lay on her back, her turn to stare at the ceiling. “It was all so…odd,” she began. “Landon was acting so weird. I mean, even for my brother, he was being extra.” Cass pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “I can’t forget the feel of the silver clicking around my neck.” Tears ran down the sides of her face, and I wanted to comfort her, but I knew it was best to let her get it out. “They came for us at night. Kris was downstairs. He was making me a tea. I felt nauseous, and I wanted something to soothe my tummy. I was in the bathroom, and I just knew what was wrong with me. I opened the door to tell him, and I heard him shout. I ran to the stairs and there was a male on the stairs, someone I didn’t know. I heard Kris shout for me to run, but I had nowhere to go.” Cass took a deep breath. “Where would I even go?” she asked me bitterly. “I would never leave him.”

I hated to admit that I really needed to hear her say that, and when she did, a knot in my chest I wasn’t aware I had, loosened.

“You’ve never seen the guy before?”

“No. I stupidly thought we were under attack.” She snorted with contempt. “I couldn’t speak when I realized he was with my dad. I still thought he was there to protect us, and then…” Her face crumpled as emotion overcame her, and through much sniffling, sobbing and inability to speak, I figured out she realized how bad things were when she saw Kris.

“They beat him?” I asked quietly. “You realized that you were being taken prisoner when you saw my brother?”

“He was on the floor, and there was so much bl?—”

Cass dissolved into tears again, and I had no option but to let her sob. I knew hormones had a lot to do with women’s emotions during pregnancy, and I had no doubt that a shifter would experience the same. It was a long time later when the door cracked open and Kris poked his head around the door.

Cass was on her side, but her head was on my shoulder, and when he saw her fast asleep, he opened the door fully, coming into the room, his face tired. But when he gave me a soft smile, I returned it.

“Is she okay?”

Was she? I had no clue. “She will be.” I eased myself away from her, both of us waiting for her to wake when I moved her head onto the pillow. “She has you.”

Getting off the bed, I welcomed the hug my brother gave me. “She has you too,” he reminded me. Kris motioned for me to follow him, and in the hall, I waited until the door was closed and he faced me. “I need to know about Landon.”

“Cannon told you.”

“Kez…” I hadn’t missed that look of reprimand at all. “Tell me.”

With a sigh, I pulled his arm, taking him to Cannon’s room and closing the door firmly behind us. Kris felt the soundproof spell the moment the door was closed and looked at me in surprise.

“He’s full of surprises, your mate.” Kris looked around the room, taking in the simple décor, eyes lingering on the hole in the wall. “Do I want to know?” he asked me with a rueful look.

“Always so quick to assume that it’s my fault.” I didn’t add that it could have been my fault. I wasn’t sure why there was a hole in the wall either.

“Known you all your life, Kezia,” Kris joked as he took the seat across from the bed. “I’m going to say there’s a strong possibility you were the reason the alpha wanted to punch something.”

“Unfair.” Sitting on Cannon’s bed, I pushed myself back until I had enough room to cross my legs and wait for my brother’s questions. “What do you need to know?”

“I’d like to know how you are.” I hadn’t expected that, and it was obvious that my reaction had told my brother that when Kris laughed. “You’re my sister,” he said, turning serious again. “You’ve been beaten, kept a prisoner, thought your mate was dead, and been through hell. Yes, you’re mated now, but you’re still my little sister.”

Turning my head, I tried to hide the emotion from my brother. He had Cass; he didn’t need to see my emotion too. “I’m better now that I’m back with my pack.”

“Your pack.” Kris looked thoughtful. “I never thought of that. Of course they would be.” His expression remained neutral. “How do you feel about that?”

“I belong here,” I told him simply. “I wanted to be here before I ever accepted who Cannon was to me. Everyone’s treated equally, they all contribute to the system in place, and, Kris…they’re happy. It’s so refreshing. They fight, they train, they stack dishwashers wrongly…” I saw his puzzled frown and I gave a light laugh. “I’ll explain another time.”

“I tried to make Anterrio that for you,” Kris said, his focus on his hands. “But they are stubborn, single-minded and…stupid.”

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