Page 102 of Vicious Luna

Well, Madd might catch one or two, judging by the way he quickly breaks up our happy reunion.

“We have to move,” my brother growls, shifting aside to grab for my elbow and help me to my feet. Cam’s arm snakes around my waist to guide me to stand, and I yelp as it presses in against my sore ribs, both men immediately flinching back in alarm.

“Are you hurt?” Cam questions, brows knitting together as his concerned gaze washes over me. He reaches out to trail his fingertips over my skin gently, cataloging every visible injury on my body. I’m all scraped up, but honestly, I’m lucky it isn’t worse.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” I breathe, grabbing for his hands. That’s when I realize they’re stained with blood, drawing asharp gasp as I give him a once-over and see that the left side of his shirt is saturated with crimson, the fabric torn.

“Wait, did you get shot?!” I screech.

“Can we please move the fuck away from this house before it collapses on top of us?” Madd asks gruffly, pressing a hand to my back and urging me forward.

“I’m fine,” Cam reassures, shifting to my opposite side and slipping an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go, Luna.”

A crash sounds behind me, heat flaring at my back, and that’s the kick in the ass I need to finally get moving, the three of us scrambling toward the edge of the forest. As soon as we breach the treeline, Sloane comes rushing over, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh my gosh, Aves!” she cries, crashing into me and flinging her arms around my middle. A pained whimper slips from my throat and she jumps back, wide-eyed. “Are you hurt?”

“Think I just cracked a couple ribs,” I grit out, wincing.

Madd swivels around to step in front of me, his jaw tight and the vein in his forehead protruding angrily. “The fuck were you thinking?” he demands, a raw edge of hurt bleeding through his words. In his eyes, I see the real meaning behind them.I love you. I was scared I’d lose you.

A low growl rumbles in Cam’s chest as he shoulders in front of me protectively while Sloane grabs for my brother’s arm, aiming to calm his storm. “Madd, take it easy,” she placates, her voice low and soothing. “It’s over now, she’s fine…”

“She could’ve fucking died in there,” he snarls, whipping his head sideways to meet his mate’s eyes and throwing out an arm to gesture in Cam’s direction. “If your dumbass cousin hadn’t fucked around and gotten himself shot…”

“Herwhat?!” I choke, my brain short-circuiting.

Sloane’s lips twist in a scowl and she whacks Madd on the chest with the back of a hand, giving him a scathing look.Meanwhile, Cam just blinks at her in bewilderment while my mind trips over itself in a struggle to comprehend what the fuck is even going on right now.

Madd lifts his gaze, meeting Cam’s dumbstruck stare for a second before shaking his head and averting his eyes. “Read the fucking file she gave you, hunter boy,” he mutters, turning on a heel and stalking off into the trees.

45

Cole Bauer. That’s my biological father’s name. He’s fifty-five years old, he’s the Alpha of a shifter pack in Denver, and he’s got a mate and three children; two boys and a girl. He runs a portfolio of businesses. He’s well-known in the city as a philanthropist. Sloane’s mom, Astrid, is his younger sister, and their parents live abroad.

I’ve gone through the file so many times that I’ve practically memorized it, but there’s nothing in the pages to adequately prepare me for actually meeting the man. A list of facts can’t convey what type of person he really is.

On paper, Jonathan Knox seemed like an upstanding guy, but I know better than anyone how many secrets he kept. I might’ve been the only one who knew the true depth of his cruelty; cemented by our last conversation. Now, his body’s buried beneath the smoldering remains of the safehouse, along with the rest of the active soldiers in The Guild’s ranks.

I couldn’t draw a deep breath until the team of squad fighters who stuck around until the cabin stopped burning verified it, picking through the rubble to count the bodies. I thought I’d feel guilty or mournful when I received theconfirmation of his demise, but instead, all I felt was an overwhelming sense of relief.

Jonathan Knox was the only father I knew. When he found out what I am, he discarded me like a piece of trash- so needless to say, I don’t have high hopes for any relationship with my bio-dad. Jonathan hated me because I’m a shifter. Cole may very well hate me because I was a hunter. The fact that Jonathan raised me didn’t stop him from aiming his gun and pulling the trigger, so I doubt sharing blood with Cole Bauer would stop him from doing the same, if it came down to it.

I guess I’ve got a warped sense of familial bonds at this point.

Not only do I have a father out there that I didn’t know about, but I also have three half-siblings in Denver. Not to mention an aunt, an uncle, and three cousins here. In one flip of a file, I suddenly went from having no family to more than I know what to do with, and although a few days have passed since I found out, I’m still trying to process it all.

I suppose there’s a silver lining to the timing. Rather than replaying my last conversation with Jonathan Knox over and over again in my mind, wondering if there was anything I could’ve done differently to change the outcome, my obsessive tendencies have honed in on trying to understand my lineage instead.

The first night, I just sat with the file, re-reading it countless times as I pored over the details with Avery.

The next day, Sloane took me to Riverton to meet the rest of her family.

And now, I’m posted up on a park bench, about to come face to face with my sperm donor for the first time.

Fuck, what if this all goes horribly wrong?

Sloane lived with her uncle in Denver for almost a decade, and she described him as being stern, but fair. Astrid said he can be a little stand-offish at times, but other than that, shehad nothing but glowing things to say about her older brother. When we met yesterday, she couldn’t get over the fact that her psychic abilities never tipped her off to my existence- especially since she knew who I was the moment I walked through the door of the Riverton packhouse.Intuition. Too bad it wasn'therI ran into when I first showed up here, or I could’ve solved the mystery of my origins a hell of a lot sooner.

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