Page 84 of Black Moon

“Absolutely. Take all the time you need.”

Ugh, it’d be nice iffor oncehe’d be a stereotypical alpha and growl over me while my attention wasn’t on him. Instead, he left me in privacy to talk to my—ugh—family.

Chase picked up on the second ring.

“Where the hellareyou?” he demanded.

I’d gotten so caught up in the pack politics of Grovetown that I’d forgotten how much the haughty tone in my brother’s voice set me on edge.

“I’m in Virginia. Doing my job.”

“Well, Father needs you back here. Pronto. The senator from Mississippi’s trying to make a case Dad doesn’t know how to lead when he doesn’t get his way, so we need, like—you know. Just come back and say how great he is with people. Omegas and humans and all that.”

“I’m not done with my article.”

He huffed. “You cannot tell me there’s honestly more to learn from those rubes. Colt, this work is important. He needs us around him.”

“Actually, he has you. And Cait. And Mom. Dad’s got plenty of support, so I’m—I think I’m going to stay out here for a while. See where this all takes me.”

“Colt—”

I didn’t let him finish before I hung up the phone. Sure, Dad’s work was important. But so was mine—and there was more to life than getting the scoop or playing politics.

Grovetown was where I was needed, and maybe, I needed this pack as much as they needed me.

43

Linden

Iwas still thinking about Colt’s family after dinner that night.

There had to be a reason they’d been blowing up his phone that morning. So many calls and texts, all in a row, and so...demanding.

Not that I’d intended to read the messages, but I’d picked up his phone and there they’d been on the screen. A stream of terse, demanding texts, treating Colt more like an employee than a son.

They’d all been of a similar bent: return to Washington, right this minute.

Washington, not “home.” Not “call us” or “let us know you’re okay.” Nothing personal at all.

It was little wonder Colt hadn’t seemed enthusiastic about calling them back. I’d done my best not to listen in when he’d gone off to call his brother, but the tone of the call had drifted through the whole house, as had the scent of Colt’s dissatisfaction.

Apparently, it was bad enough that it got Rowan’s attention as he arrived home for the afternoon. He’d poked his head into the kitchen where I sat, concern on his face.

“You’re not fighting with Colt, are you?” His voice was tinged with accusation, like if we were fighting, it had to be my fault. And well...fair enough.

I shook my head. “He had to call his brother.”

Rowan winced, and at the sound of Colt stomping toward us, beat a quick retreat through the kitchen and back yard to hang out with Juniper in the guest house.

“Sorry about that,” Colt said when he came in, face and voice filled with a false brightness that jangled against my nerves asno-bad-wrong.

I wasn’t going to call him on it, though, and if he wanted to pretend he wasn’t irritated, I’d give him that choice. “I think today’s been eventful enough,” I announced. “Don’t you?”

His snort was answer enough, so I nodded, clapped my hands down on my knees, and pushed up from the chair at the kitchen island. “In that case, why don’t we play vacation?”

He quirked a brow. “Play vacation? Is that anything like playing doctor?”

“I mean, if you want it to be. I’ll check your reflexes anytime. I just meant that because I’m the only actual doctor within twenty miles, playing is as close as I get to an actual vacation, so I go to my room, lock the door, turn on some music, and read a book.” It was probably a little sad as weekend plans went, but I liked it. Honestly, I liked it better than I’d ever enjoyed real vacations—they required me to leave the pack behind, and that had always felt wrong.

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