Not that I was complaining.
Across the table from us was the man who’d come to our rescue last night. I didn’t recognize his strong jaw or his nearly-silver hair, but his eyes? I definitely recognized his eyes. Like polished amethysts, cut sharp and glittering. When his gaze landed on me, my stomach clenched.
Harper Fleur. My uncle.
I guess it had never really crossed my mind that Liora could’ve had siblings—or family at all, in that case. Only the children she’d unwillingly conceived and birthed to vicious men who didn’t have any business being fathers.
And now her brother sat at the table, his hands folded neatly in front of him, looking oddly at peace surrounded by a pack of wolves. I assumed he’d explained himself last night, after I’d checked out. Rhine wouldn’t have let him stay if he thought Harper posed a danger to his family.
“How are you feeling, Arias?” Rory asked.
“I’m well. Thanks to you, I’m guessing?”
“Actually, thanks to Harper. I’m just the guy who magically stitched you back together.” He chin-nodded to the witch, who watched us with curious eyes. “Without him, well…” His smile was unusually tight. “Let’s just say I’m glad to see you up and around.”
“Me too,” Dallon agreed, resting his cheek on my shoulder.
I met Harper’s gaze. “Thank you.”
The wrinkles smoothed from his forehead when he smiled, the skin crinkling around his eyes. “You’re very welcome. It’s the least I could do.” He cut a quick glance to the left, where Sawyer sat with his arms crossed over his chest, looking unusually moody. What was his problem?
Remy and Ayla brought platters of food to the table, heaped with crispy bacon and sausage patties, fluffy scrambled eggs and cheese and buttery biscuits served with jam. My stomach gave a small gurgle at the heavenly aroma wafting off those plates. Maybe I was hungry, after all.
But despite the delicious meal, breakfast was tense. Sawyer was glaring daggers at Harper, who pretended not to notice. Remy only finished half his plate before gnawing on his thumbnail. Tegan kept tapping his fork on the edge of his plate in between bites, and Rhine just seemed uneasy. Even the babies were fussy, whimpering in their carriers and kicking their feet.
Rhine cleared his throat, drawing our attention. “I’m going to go ahead and call a pack meeting, just to bring everyone up to date on the situation.” He paused to glance around the table. “Ayla, would you watch the babies for a little while?”
To my surprise, Ayla scowled at him. “Are you dismissing me because I’m a kid?”
Rhine blinked, obviously taken aback. “No, but—”
“No.” Puffing out her chest, she crossed her slim arms in front of her and shook her head. “This is my pack, and if the world’s gonna fall apart, I’ve gotta deal with it, same as anyone else here. I’m staying.”
Tegan smiled. “She’s got a point.”
“Fair enough,” Rhine agreed.
“I’ve got Roslyn.” Remy jumped out of his seat and scooped the grumpy baby into his arms. He joined us at the table, holding a set of colorful plastic keys in one hand.
“And Paxton’s down for the count,” Gage added with a chuff of laughter. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the kid really was mine. I think we’re good, boss.”
“Perfect. Late last night, Dreadhunters attacked a group of humans clubbing in Northpoint. Dallon and Arias happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and in an attempt to keep the Dreads from causing further damage, they took matters into their own hands…and very nearly died.” Rhine frowned. “Not only that, but they were recorded. Shifting. And I won’t even touch on the lightning show.”
Harper had the good grace to look chagrined. I had to hide a smile. I liked him already. Rhine huffed and gestured at us. “You can see where I’m going with this. It’s bad news for shifters everywhere. It’s only a matter of time before the video starts floating around on the internet. Worse? Harper believes that those Dreadhunters attacked the humans on purpose.”
“But why humans? Why expose themselves?” Bastien mused.
“Because,” Harper replied, somber. “I’m afraid my sister has gone mad. Rhine, if I may?”
“We’re all ears.”
“For those of you who don’t know,” Harper began, catching my eye. “Liora Fleur is my sister. My twin sister, to be exact. She disappeared right after our sixteenth birthday. When she went missing, my coven searched high and low, but unfortunately, we never found her.”
“Still, I couldn’t let it go. My parents eventually lost hope and gave up the search, but I couldn’t. She was my sister. My blood. Our magic was born of the same spark, our inner-light connected. Giving up would’ve meant I’d given up on her and I knew I couldn’t live my life in full, knowing she might still be out there.”
“I became a paranormal investigator right out of college, and became well known in the community. I worked for many different branches over the years, but my focus was always on those who needed my help. Lives that had been lost in the system, people who were in dire need of being saved. It didn’t matter who they were, if they were shifter or witch, or somewhere in between. What mattered was that if they needed me, I would be there for them, since I couldn’t be there for my sister.”
“I never gave up looking. I used every opportunity within my power to find Liora, but every trail I’ve ever stumbled across went cold, almost as if she was a ghost. It didn’t occur to me that maybe, she didn’t want to be found.”