Page 13 of Kodiak's Heart

“I’m sorry.” The words were from Sidia, but Emersyn saw the nods of agreement from the others in the room.

“Ruby was almost four weeks before Malachi held her. He…” She shook her head, remembering the way Malachi had been after Amber’s death. A man possessed. A dead man walking. He’d cared for nothing. “It was a devastating blow to a man already mourning the loss of his entire family. Your brother has a way of wrapping himself in blame for circumstances out of his control.”

Xandra nodded. “He’s always been that way.”

“You said the den he was with was attacked.” The comment came from another man. One standing off to the side by himself. Though he carried the scent of Jaeda Blackstone, he was human. “How do you fit in with that den?”

“As Amber’s cousin and next of kin,” Emersyn said. Truth wrapped in a lie. She was exactly what she said and so much more.

“How many were lost in the attacks?” Koby asked.

“Thirty.” Their strongest males had been targeted. Anyone who would have challenged for alpha. Or at least, that was how it seemed to her. Twenty males, as well as her father, the alpha. And nine females, including Amber. Malachi would have been lost also, if help hadn’t arrived in time to save him.

“Females?” Laramie asked.

“Mostly males,” she corrected. “Malachi thought they’d been targeted. The attacks were too well prepared.”

“As if they had inside help?” Declan asked.

“I… Yes, Malachi thought so.” She flicked her gaze up to Laramie. “It was the same in the attacks here?”

“We were betrayed,” he admitted. “The attack here was mostly centered on the women in our pack. Until recently, we thought they’d succeeded in wiping every female bear from our pack.”

“How do we contact Malachi?” This from the human.

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” Emersyn questioned.

“Holt Reynolds. He’s Jaeda’s mate and an honorary member of our family,” Laramie stated.

She nodded. “Malachi will be happy to meet you. I can’t tell you what it will mean to him when he finds out three of his sisters survived. Or? Did anyone else from your family survive? Is Saphira alive, as well?”

Xandra’s gaze shuttered, her eyes going cold. “No one else survived.”

“I…I’m sorry.”

“How do I reach my brother?” Xandra demanded.

“You don’t,” Emersyn replied, and Xandra exploded up and surged across the room. Her mate leapt after her as Emersyn came to her feet. What she planned to do, she wasn’t sure. There wasn’t much she could do without giving herself away. Then she found herself picked up and placed behind a broad back. Laramie. The man took his vow to protect her seriously.

“Stand down.” The command shot from the man in front of her, and it wasn’t until he reached back and pressed his palm over her hand that Emersyn realized she’d pressed her fingers against his back. Christ, she wasn’t a cowering woman and refused to play one for anyone. She stepped out to his side, without breaking the touch.

“She comes waltzing in here, smelling of my brother, claiming Ruby is his daughter, and we’re just supposed to accept it as gospel,” Xandra yelled. “Stop thinking with your dick, Laramie. We have no idea who this woman is.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, little sister, but I strongly urge you to take a walk and clear your head before you say anything else you might regret,” he warned.

“I don’t—”

“Xandra.” It was her mate who interrupted as he moved into her. They shared a look that had Xandra snapping her mouth shut with a growl before she turned and walked away, Declan right behind her.

“Anyone else?” Laramie thundered, and Em watched him meet and hold the gazes of everyone else in the room before turning to her. “There’s no denying Ruby is Malachi’s daughter. Xandra knows that as well as every other bear in this room. We also know Ruby’s marked you as her mother. I gave you my word earlier that I would protect the two of you as Malachi asked. I’m giving it to you again, so no one in this room will question it again. Am I clear?”

His gaze never left her as his brothers all gave verbal agreement. “Sidia?”

“Yes.”

The reply was tight, clipped, almost hostile, but Emersyn took no offense. These women had lost their parents and youngest sibling. Malachi hadn’t been here. Who knew what hell they’d lived through. Plus, Laramie had mentioned he and his brothers had believed all the females in their den had been killed. Emersyn was curious to hear the rest of that story.

“Holt, you’ll make sure Jaeda knows.”

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