Page 94 of Promise of the Wolf Moon

They’d murdered his son.

Off in the distance, miles away from where we stood dressing, wolf song echoed back.

I glanced at Seff. He’d cocked his head, listening. “Native wolves.”

I nodded. Those were the first words he’d said to me since we’d left Brutus alone to deal with the rogue. I tried to focus on our bond and feel what he felt. Emotionally, he was all over the place, sending confusing messages I didn’t have the experience to interpret.

“Why didn’t those wolves answer when the rogue howled?” Sorrel asked.

“They probably sensed something was off—wrong—and didn’t want to give their location away,” Seff replied.

“I feel bad for Brutus,” Sorrel said as he pulled on his jacket. “That stupid rogue was all,‘yeah, we murdered your son’ like it was just something they did every day, no big deal.”

“They did,” I said. “Rule had his sons murder anyone who broke pack rules.Theymurdered their siblings, mothers, and grandmothers. Other than Rule, there were no wolves over eighty years old. Rule bred an unknown number of offspring and kept his pack so isolated that the other packs never knew what he was doing.”

Sorrel and Carmine stared at me as though they truly didn’t know what had been behind the San Francisco Alpha’s death sentence and why the rogues sought revenge.

“Rule Arwan broke ancient wolf laws. He bred with his own daughters, generation after generation, trying to create a pure-blood pack.”

Carmine’s hands flew to her mouth as she gasped. “Oh, dear.”

“Sick son of a bitch,” Decker mumbled.

“All that inbreeding caused some serious birth defects,” Seff added. “All of Rule’s sons ended up sterile, and not one Breeder in the bunch.”

Sorrel shook his head. “Can you imagine one of those crazy rogues a Breeder? As big as Brutus?” He wrapped an arm around Carmine, whose eyes had grown wide with fear. “Even for a Breeder, Brutus is freaking huge. Our Alpha isn’t even that big.”

“Yep, Breeders are badass in the best possible ways.” Decker had finished dressing and stood gazing into the sky. Snowflakes collected in his white-blond hair. “Honored by every pack, treated like freaking wolf royalty. Traveling the world, spreading their DNA in every Moon Dance they can. Seriously, who wouldn’t want that kind of life?”

“And what you did, Desarae, wow,” Sorrel said.

Ever since we’d found the rogue, the urge to cringe away at what I’d done never surfaced. I’d protected my family. As Seff said, I’d done good.

“Yeah, I have to admit, my sister can be stealthy when she wants to be.” My brother chuckled. “But she sure isn’t a Breeder.”

Seff spoke up before I could reply.

“Yes, she is.”

He knew. He knew before he saw what I’d done.

He’d seen the deep gashes, bite marks, and flesh I’d torn away, and he understood what they meant.

“Right,” Decker shot back, still smiling.

Seff took my face in his hands. His sharp, knowing eyes peered down at me. “Desarae is a Breeder.”

“Seff.” I blinked back the burn of tears. “I wanted to...” My breath caught as his emotions leveled out. “Seff...” His lips touched mine. The scent of orange blossoms and honey bloomed between us. What flowed through our bond—from him to me—was pride and love.

Gods, this male.

A burning hot spike of anger flashed through my body, almost burying mysakanaconnection.

Decker growled. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Seff’s mouth left mine and moved to my ear. “This is not about you, Des. Remember that.”

I nodded and whispered, “I know.”

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