Page 10 of Hunted

I hadn’t believed him or Penny when, months before, Penny had baked a cake, frosted it, and driven down to Bennett’s auto repair shop to smash a cake in his face when he messed things up with Helena and let her leave town.

I’d laughed for a solid five minutes as I’d pictured Bennett scraping frosting out of his eye, and I haven’t let him forget it since then.

He blows out a heavy sigh. “You’re tempting me to tip you over,” he warns. “And in these rickety loungers, it won’t be hard. Have you spoken to Aerin about the potential move yet?”

I lift a finger to my lips and peer back at the dark house, so he knows to keep his voice down. Aerin is asleep, and shesleeps deeply, but I’d rather she didn’t find out about that until I have some clue about where we would be moving to. “Have you spoken to the rest of the pack about it?”

He nods. “Helena liked the thought of having our own compound. It’s probably the only thing she misses about living with the Boones. It’s nice to have everywhere around you just be yours. I texted Tina and Warren. They seemed up to it. Not spoken to Chris and Zoe yet, but they’re even more private than me and Helena, so I don’t think they’d have a problem with it.”

I quietly asked Adela and Aerin’s grandparents. They were ready to pack tomorrow, which is not the reaction I’d expected. If I’d known everyone was up for this, I’d have mentioned this before now.

Fear of the unknown has tempered all this excitement. First, we have to figure out whatever is making my dad and Aerin’s aunt so closed-mouthed, then we can have a pack meeting and figure out this new future for the pack together.

He reclines in his lounger and crosses his arms. “Go inside and sleep. I’ll watch over you and Aerin.”

“And Helena? How does she feel about you camping out on my lounger all night?” I get to my feet, not just exhausted by my overactive fears lately, but eager to get back to Aerin.

In the near distance, I hear a car door open and I smile as I glance at the side of the house, guessing who's about to walk this way.

“She insisted on coming with me.” Bennett shoots me a wry look. “Maybe I can convince her to share this lounger with me.”

“Doubtful.” Helena snorts as she comes into view, wearing a pair of jeans, a blue sweater, and her hair braided. “Have you seen the size of Bennett? We’d be on the grass the second I put one leg on that lounger. I’m surprised he’s not fallen through it yet.”

Helena is still too early in her pregnancy to be showing any hint of a baby bump yet. She was an enforcer for the Boones, one of the biggest and most respected packs in the country. She can more than look after herself, which is why Bennett won’t have a problem with her guarding with him.

“Why does it sound like you’re calling me fat?” Bennett grumbles, but I spot a hint of a smile curving his lip as he holds a hand out to her. “Come here, baby. It’s cold. Maybe some of this fat can keep you warm.”

In the darkness, she’s a little paler than usual, but she looks a lot less green than I’ve seen her before. “How’s the morning sickness?”

She swallows. “Okay. Now. But I wish someone had told me it is not reserved for mornings only. I’d have known to keep a bucket with me and not just beside my bed.”

“Ask Adela for ginger tea. She has a tea for everything,” I suggest.

Helena glances at Bennett. “He already has. It helps. Doesn’t get rid of all the sickness, but a little is better than not at all.”

Bennett helps Helena onto the lounger, and despite her comment about his weight, they do not crash to the ground or tip the lounger over.

Bennett is wrapping his arms around her as she rests her head on his shoulder when I swallow a yawn. “Don’t stay out here all night.”

“Won’t,” Bennett says, already sounding so content, I wouldn’t be surprised to find him snoring out here tomorrow morning. “I’m sure my fat can only keep this one warm for so long.”

Helena sounds like she’s smiling when she mutters. “Shut it. I wasn’t calling you fat.”

5

AERIN

It’s the next morning and I’m sitting on the grass in the backyard with Adela, working on practicing my powers. Usually I’d have been up earlier, but it’s fast approaching mid-morning because of my struggle to sleep last night.

I’d have called off this practice completely since getting my powers to do anything is becoming an exercise in futility, but Adela insisted. So here I am.

“It’s not working, Adela.” I glare at her for good measure, so she knows I mean it when I say I tried, tried again, and it isstillnot working.

Adela is as calm as ever. She sits perched on the lounger, wearing a floral sea green-turquoise dress, and doesn’t seem to even notice my glare as she gazes off into the distance. “You’re not focusing.”

“I am.” My tone is indignant.

Soon, probably very soon, I’m going to regret sitting on the grass instead of a lounger because I have a feeling getting up is going to require two people, if not a crane.

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