Page 5 of Hunter Moon

Lin slugging me wasn’t a surprise. Hell, a big part of me had wanted him to hit me. The only real surprise there was how much muscle my little brother had packed on over the years we were separated.

So had I, and it wasn’t like he knocked me on my ass or anything, but when he socked me, Ifeltit.

I reached up and rubbed my jaw, impressed, and even more impressed when Lin, face contorted in fury, hissed, “You absolute fucking bastard.”

Don’t get me wrong, I know my brother is capable of holding his own in a fight. But I never in a million years expected him to go cussing like a... well, you know. Like me.

“Okay,” I answered, still rubbing my jaw. “I probably deserved that. Can we move past it now?”

Everyone cringed. Well hell, I’ve never pretended I’m a sweet talker, but I figured letting Lin take a free shot at me was something. Wasn’t it?

Lin looked at me like I’d spit on Mom’s grave. “Move past it?Which part do you want to move past, Asp? The part where you abandoned us, or the part where you were unavailable when Dad was murdered?”

Everything happened too damn fast after that, especially when Lin hit on the one thing I really wanted to hear about: Brook.

Yeah, I needed to do a lot of explaining about why I’d left and what I’d been doing—if they cared. And I had to learn about what was going on in the pack—if Lin was going to let me stay. But somehow, just someone saying his name got my brain all off track, and I couldn’t think of anything else.

Then Alexis was between me and Lin, frowning like we’d pissed in his Wheaties. “Okay guys. Time to take this private,” he announced, loud enough for everyone on the street to hear. He looked over at the garage, then leaned toward the blond who’d arrived with my brother. “Do you have his sister’s number?”

His sister? Whose sister?

Brook’s. They were still talking about Brook. And for some reason, they were doing it in little meaningless half-sentences. “Brook? Dammit, someone tell me what’s happening with Brook.”

Lin glared at me, but the guy with him put a hand on his shoulder, soft and calming, and the tension immediately started to seep out of him. That wasn’t just a man reacting to a friend or a random omega. Holy hell, my little brother was mated.

“Alexis is right,” Lin’s mate said. “It’s time to take this home. At the very least, we can have enough respect for Brook not to air out his problems on a public street.”

Goddammit. Brook again and still. I knew the Reids had kidnapped him, but I didn’t know a fucking thing about it, and no one would tell me. I didn’t have the right to go bothering Brook, and I wouldn’t want to bring up bad memories for him even if I did, but I had no idea what had happened.

Had Reid had him for ten minutes? A day? Longer? Had he—Alexis stepped into my space, voice low and warm. “For Brook’s sake. Go with Linden and Colt. You’re doing great, but don’t hurt Brook by making this a public discussion.”

My claws were tickling at my fingertips again, so I balled my hands into fists, closed my eyes, and breathed deep. When I had it under control, I turned to Lin. “Can we talk at the house?”

He responded with a curt nod. “We’ll meet you back at Grove House.” And he took his mate and got back in his car. It shouldn’t have hurt that he hadn’t introduced me—we had much bigger things to deal with—but hell if it didn’t stab me in the heart anyway.

My brother was mated, and I barely even knew the guy’s name.

* * *

The drivefrom the bar to the house hadn’t changed at all. Every business, every house, every tree, was exactly the same. It was like finding your favorite jeans at the bottom of a drawer, sliding them on, and remembering why they’re the best. Soft and comfortable, shaped just to fit you.

I was home.

I hoped.

The shudder that ran through me at the thought of Lin sending me away had a life of its own. It felt the same as the wolf rippling over my skin, like at any moment I was going to burst into my fur and race off on four legs, as fast as they’d carry me.

Once again, when I parked on the street outside Grove House, I stopped and took deep, calming breaths, eyes squeezed shut, trying to slow my racing heart.

My father’s disapproving scowl swam up in my mind, glaring at me when I was twelve and struggling with the change.If you don’t have control over yourself, you don’t have anything. A good alpha can control every single heartbeat. Aren’t you going to be a good alpha, Aspen?

For the first time in my life, Dad’s disapproving face didn’t help much. Because really,wasI a good alpha?

There was a soft knock on the window, and when I glanced up, Lin’s mate was looking down at me with concern. “Are you feeling all right?”

I nodded, a little jerkily, but got it together. For Lin’s mate, I couldn’t be some out-of-control beast. I climbed out of the car, ducking my head and not meeting his eye. “Just trying to psych myself up, you know?”

“Mhmm,” he said, sounding a little dubious, but not unkindly so. “It’s going to take him a while, but I think you know that. You just really have to stop saying flippant things like, ‘What about Brook,’ okay?”

---