Page 31 of Forbidden Moon
Chapter 13
THE NEXT DAY (THURSDAY)
Ben opened the mind-link to share something with his mate and got no response. Either Evan locked it down or wasn’t close by at the moment. Curious, Ben left his main office in the packhouse and went to see for himself. Things seemed quieter than usual, and he found Lance watching over his charges as they put away clean laundry. All the children performed daily chores, and he observed with pride as they followed their Nanny’s instructions. Oddly, Evie Rae wasn’t among them.
“Hey Lance, where are Evan and Evie?”
Lance looked up in surprise, not expecting to see Ben until lunchtime.
“Didn’t he tell you? Robyn called and wanted to know if he could come and re-record something for the training module they’ve been working on. When Evie found out where he was going, she begged to go along and visit Jonah. He hasn’t stopped by for a few days, and she missed him.”
Something about this sounded off, and Ben couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Will they be back before lunch?”
“Pretty sure. Evan said it wouldn’t take long.”
“Speaking of Jonah, have you seen him lately?”
Lance frowned.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t. Not even around packlands. He must be swamped because I can’t think of anything else that would keep Jonah away from his favorite niece.”
Ben’s unease remained, even as the kids surrounded him for hugs and kisses. He reminded them all to be good, waved at Cody on the way out, and returned to his office. After lunch, he’d talk to his mate and find out what was going on. Perhaps it involved Evan’s upcoming birthday party, but they’d agreed on those plans ages ago. With both his mateandbrother acting strangely, there must besomethinghe’d missed.
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EVAN WASN’T TRULY NEEDEDat the LRC office—at least, not for any business purposes. It was all a ruse, designed to give him a chance to talk to Jonah and Robyn without being overheard. Bringing Evie should satisfy her longing to see Jonah for a while and stop her daily inquiries concerning his whereabouts. They arrived, and Evan followed Robyn to the studio while Evie Rae ran to Jonah’s arms and buried her face in his neck.
“I missed you, Uncle Jonah! Why haven’t you come to see us?”
Jonah hugged her a little tighter, breathing in her comforting scent. It pained him to lie to her, even by omission.
“I’m sorry, little one. I’ve been busy with grown-up things for a while, and you go to bed earlier than I do. I promise to visit more soon.”
Evie leaned back with a puzzled look on her face as Jonah’s scent didn’t quite match his words.
“Papa told me on the way here that some things areprivate. Is it like a secret?”
Jonah silently thanked Evan for trying to stop Evie from asking questions he could not yet answer.
“Itcanbe, or it might be something only you need to know and no one else.”
Seemingly satisfied, the pixie dragged Jonah to the gift shop to see all the interesting items. He breathed a sigh of relief and focused on enjoying her company—a welcome distraction, even if it didn’t last long.
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JONAH’S OFFICE, FIFTEENminutes later
