Page 118 of Family: Posy 4

Ezra Ikhlassi.

He was one of very few shifters who had more moon magic than normal. His wolf had died in a freak accident only a year after he got him, and he went a little crazy and did some sketchy shit that was hushed up since he was just a kid. Ever since, the king kept him around the palace as a precaution. A 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' sort of thing.

Huh!I grunted, not really surprised.I always did get a bad feeling around that dude. Now it makes sense why I wanted to punch him in the face every time I saw him.

And Wyatt joked that I only disliked him because his hair was sexier than mine!

As if, I scoffed.

Usually, I would have gone down the rabbit hole thinking about how he let his curls get stringy and frizzy while mine werealwayswell kept, but for once, my brain decided to stay focused.

Hmm. Wonder if Gelo knows him?

Knowing all hell was about to break loose, I took a few seconds to decide who to contact first.

The king? I mean, the least we could do was let him know we were about to kill one of his wolves, right? Or Gelo, who hopefully has some insider intel on this soon-to-be-dead man?

As I dithered, Sid got sick of waiting and took over without warning, and my favorite black suit became $5,000 worth of fabric confetti.

He bolted, and I screamed at my brothers to get Posy and let the king know what was going on. There was no stopping Sid now, which was fine, but that left our mate all alone - and that was far from fine.

Cole and Wyatt are already on their way,Mase linked back. I'm still with the king. He wants Ikhlassi alive to question. We need to know what he knows and if there were others working with Briggs.

Good ol' Mase. He was always two steps ahead, thank the Goddess.

Cole will stay in human form and get our mate to safety,he continued. Granite, too. He's ascendant, but he wants to be with Lark. You-know-who has already shifted, of course, and is on the hunt.

Aww, man! Jay looked great in that pink vest!I groaned.I suppose it's in ribbons now like my whole suit?

It is. Good thing we took our conversation to the king's study before he shifted,Mase said with his usual deadpan humor.Quartz and Sid, I know you heard us. King Julian wants him alive.

Dead silence.

Hello?I sing-sang to both of them.The king wants him alive.

Then the king better stop us,Quartz grunted,because nothing else will.

Knowing that was true enough, I left it. If King Julian wantedIkhlassi alive badly enough, he'd see it done.

I had other matters to attend to.

Did you know?I asked Posy cautiously, ninety percent certain she didn't solely based on the fact that she hadn't recognized his scent.

Know what?

Did you see anything Lark linked us?I frowned.

No. Tell me what's going on, Ash! Sid told me to wait here, then shifted and took off. It's dark and I'm scared and alone and—

The boys are on their way, princess, but if anything happens, use your Ultimate Luna Voice and protect yourself at all costs. They should be there any second, but you are strong enough to make and keep yourself safe. You shovedtheking, baby!

Um, that was an accident. I didn't mean to.

Well, you did,I teased her with a grin, hoping to distract her.

The betas were lighting up the link with demands to know what was going on with their luna, and I asked Wyatt to give them the bare bones while I kept Posy calm.

Just keep talking to me until they get here,she requested with a tremor in her voice.

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