Page 6 of Secret Wolf Baby

Walking out of the office, I gave a short nod to Rose, then tilted my head. “How many of them were listening in?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.

“Three of them,” she said with a knowing quirk on her lips. “Will was the only one who didn’t.”

I sighed. “Sounds about right.”

“They ran off that way.” She pointed down the hall in the direction of an open door. “Dipped into the break room.”

Snorting, I strolled in that direction. When I rounded the corner to enter the break room, the remaining ex-members of the Gold Wolves looked up at me.

“What’s going on?” Trent asked with wide-eyed innocence.

“Funny,” I said, giving him a look.

“We’re serious,” Chris grunted, though he couldn’t help but smirk. “We didn’t overhear a word.”

I groan. “How the hell did you guys succeed in spec ops all those years? You’re all terrible liars. Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“In that case, does Declan know what the word ‘retirement’ means?” Nolan complained. “I can give him a dictionary for Christmas.”

“This is coming from higher up,” I told him.

Chris’s eyebrows shot up, his head tilting. “Really? That part we missed. The council’s dragging us into this?”

When I nodded, there was a collective groan from the others, save for Will, who kept lounging on the couch, watching us with silent interest.

“Honestly, we could probably tell The Council no if we really want,” Trent commented. “It isn’t as though they can do much about it if we do.”

“Feels wrong, though,” Will countered. He turned toward me. “Are you going to take it?”

Letting out a puff of air, I ran my fingers through my hair. “Hell if I know. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“Well, if you do, feel free to volunteer me to come along,” Will said. “Or if you don’t, I can lead the mission.”

I nodded, not surprised that Will was the one who volunteered to take over. He had always been the one most duty-sworn.

“I’ll let you know when I’ve decided,” I said, already planning on throwing out the suggestion to Declan. It sure as hell would make my life easier. I happened to enjoy retirement.

***

By the end of the day, I was fully prepared to tell Will to have at it. He and the others were more than capable of handling the situation without me looking over their shoulder. Hell, the only reason Declan had told me about it first was because I was his second-in-command. No one would judge me for sticking behind.

Except that every time I told myself I had decided not to do it, something stopped me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Blood Moon pack was familiar. Not just familiar—important. As if it meant something to me. Only, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what.

It was for that nagging reason that I didn’t give Declan an answer before I left, and the reason I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I arrived at my sister’s house.

I was still trying to uncover what was nagging at my memory while I sat on the couch, playing with my nephew while Dani, Declan’s kid and Mira’s stepdaughter, played on the floor.

I bounced Alex up and down on my leg as he giggled.

“You all right?” Mira asked, studying me. “You seem off.”

I blinked, pulling myself back to the present. “Yeah, I’m fine… we just have to go on a mission soon.”

Her brow furrowed. “Aren’t you guys retired?”

My lip quirked upward as I smirked at her. “Apparently not,” I quipped. “But that’s not what’s bothering me. Does the name Blood Moon pack ring a bell? Or the town Rowen?”

I had expected her to shake her head. To my surprise, she nodded. “Yeah.”

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