Page 53 of Conner's Luna

"I-"

"They'll go wherever it's easy," Dad immediately soothes me as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking. "I don't think they'll keep it up at Caluna. The only lone females there are associated with the LaNus and have protection."

"But here it's a clusterfuck, thanks to RedMoon," I finish the thought for him.

"Yeah," he agrees in a clipped tone.

"Dad." I stop, not sure what to say.

"Conner, I want you to be tested again. This weekend," Dad knows precisely what he wants to say.

"No," I immediately protest. It's a reflex. Not because the tests are invasive and painful, which they are, but because it's so fucking humiliating. An alphason, from a lineage of alphas of the toughest, baddest fuckers on the planet, and my wolf is falling apart because of some bitch.

My mate.

It leaves a sour taste in my mouth. My wolf rises to his feet, agitation ruffling his fur. He starts to pace, his incessant walking, back and forth, beginning again. It makes me want to scream and cry, to basically pitch a fit that would make the pups proud. He finally was calm, because of Bailey, and now he's started up again.

"Dad-" I stop, trying to control the trembling pitch and tone of my voice.

"This was the deal, Conner. I won't let this break you," he says as if he has complete control of this shit. Of course, Teague Grim always has to have control.

"You can come home, or I can send Mattie there," he snaps.

I bury my face in the couch cushions, growling. My claws sink into the fabric. I can hear the ripping and tearing, but I don't give a shit about the cheap piece of shit. We got shitty furniture for a reason.

"Conner," Dad growls out my name.

"Dad. I can't go home right now," I whisper. Weekends are so fucking hard. Lydia and Trey have all the time in the world to torment my wolf on the weekends. I'm a little surprised that it's... eleven o'clock in the morning and they haven't started.

"That's why they're already on their way," Dad says smoothly.

This fucker. He knew I wasn't coming home.

"There's a killer on campus."

"And Mattie won't be alone," Dad scoffs.

No, Uncle Mattie won't be alone. He's never left alone. I just hope Carmichael isn't the one escorting his mate here. Cassie is pregnant again, so hopefully, he stays in LoboGris with her and sends someone else. I don't want another alpha, no matter how close he is to our family, to see me so...weak.

"Carm's wolves left early this morning," I say dully. I think the rejection is messing with my head, not that I'll admit that to Dad. He's already worried enough.

My memory isn't as sharp and I feel like I'm on the verge of fucking up all the time, now. The only time I feel myself is when I'm teasing my little science nerd with my superior math facts.

"They are meeting up with Mattie's escort."

I groan and sit back up. "When are they arriving?" I ask him as I hear the distant sound of motorcycles roaring down the road.

"Fuck my life."

"Let me know the results, immediately," Dad orders.

I open the door to the loud, raucous sound of wolves arguing in a mixture of English and Spanish. Most of the words are filthy curse words.

"Oy!" Carmichael's Beta, Rique, slaps me on the shoulder, his dark eyes glinting with happy mischief. Fucker. "Lobito loco," he croons, patting my cheek.

I slap his hand away. "Asshole," I mutter. A second later I'm engulfed in a hug. I wrap my arms around my Uncle Mattie and feel his omega essence seep into my pores, soothing me and my wolf. I'm a full head taller than he is, so I close my eyes so that I don't have to see Rique smirk at me.

"How are you feeling, Conner?" Uncle Mattie asks me as he pulls away. I step to the side, letting a stream of wolves enter the house. One of them hands me a cold six-pack as they walk past.

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