Page 6 of Frayed Owner

“Yeah, we all agree on that,” he muttered. “I never thought I could ever…” He cleared his throat.

And shot me another look.

Seriously, what was going on?

Bevin came inside with Councilman and Mrs. Moon joking around like they were old friends. Mrs. Moon caught sight of me and moved in front of Bevin protectively, anger and worry in her eyes.

“Sorry, I should have warned you,” Bevin said before they could jump on me. “There was a situation and—”

“She’s not part of your father showing up here?” Mrs. Moon asked.

My eyes went too wide. “Father found you? How—is that—did he hurt you?” I looked her over, but she seemed fine. “Are we safe here?”

“Yes, no, yes,” she said too easily which annoyed me, but then I saw she was tired. “It’s complicated and I’ll explain. Let me show the Moons out.”

“If you’re sure it’s fine,” Councilman Moon hedged. “If it’s safe for her to visit.”

Bevin and I shared a look, but she was kind and didn’t call out that this wasn’t a visit. I’d chosen a side by calling her and we both knew it. But she assured them it was fine and thanked them for the food they’d brought?

What the hell was going on that a council family brought food to my baby sister and she had some kind of “session” with them?

“Please think about what I said,” Mrs. Moon begged Bevin, rubbing her arm. “I know it’s all too sensitive, but you’re a strong woman, and just as we’re getting help from you, you know you cannot do everything on your own.”

“I’ll call her, I promise,” Bevin agreed, both of the Moons looking relaxed at hearing that.

They left and Bevin filled me in on what happened while eating a plate of food that they’d brought. I was floored at what she said, but one thing stuck out to me.

“Are you sure you heard Father right? You’re not mistaken?” I pushed. I ignored when people gave me annoyed looks and looked ready to jump on me.

Bevin flinched and shot Taylor a guilty look. “I was going to tell you, but—we’ve been busy.” She seemed relieved when averyattractive man with longer red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail walked into the room with Derek Wyatt and several other men.

I did a double take at seeing Derek so I didn’t notice who else was in the group… And he was just as shocked to see me.

“This cannot be a coincidence,” he worried, focused on Bevin. “You cannot trust this.”

“I do because—you know why,” she told him but then looked back to Taylor. “Fath—Charles said he was on his way to his hunting cabin and that made him realize he didn’t have this property or to look here—whatever he said.”

“This property?” I muttered, not hiding my confusion but nodding when she waved me off. “Father doesn’t hunt during the week. Ever. And early October isn’t the right time for where his cabin is. I don’t think he hasevergone in October.”

“Exactly. Something is going on,” Bevin confirmed. “What did Alex tell you?”

“Oh, I have his phone,” one of Taylor’s guys said with a smirk. “I scooped it up when you knocked him out before the council guards could.”

“You knocked out Alex?” Derek asked her with a shocked look.

“Punching hurts. No one warns you of that,” she grumbled, rubbing her hand even if it was healed. “Kicking is way better.”

The large kitchen filled with over a dozen men burst out laughing and I didn’t blame them. She was actually fairly amusing if I ignored my resentment of her.

“Alex said Father left home for a business trip but had to handle something first and gave him the orders he did,” I told Bevin.

She blinked at me. “Since when does he need to take ‘business trips’ like that? If he has to pretend in front of humans, he flies in and out that same day because he can’t stand accommodations that humans deal with and not having his own people to fear him and feed into his ego.”

I snorted. She had Father pegged. “Agreed. Alex is just too stupid to realize that because Father dangled the carrot of taking over but—something is going on.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Or it’s some sort of setup. Father isn’t stupid.”

“He just assumes everyone else is,” Bevin muttered.

“Yes, but he normally has contingencies.” I frowned when she looked at my familiar, immediately wanting to hide the crow like always. In my day of shocking, Bevin glanced at me with a look of pity that I didn’t understand. “What else did—”

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