Page 82 of Conner's Luna

I can't stop giggling like a loon. "What if I'm actually a horrible person and the only reason for why people pretended to like me in Durham was because Mom died and they felt sorry for me?"

Both men stare at me. Pity swells in their eyes. "No,chica," Luis says quietly just as Braxton chimes in with an "aw, Bails. That isn't true."

"How do you know?" I poke Luis in his chest. I turn around to poke Braxton in his chest, too. When I do, I can't find him, so I spin in the other direction as the world spins and lurches with me.

My stomach heaves as I vomit at Braxton's feet. The yummy-rum doesn't taste so fabulous now.

"Shit!" Curses fill the air as Braxton, who is prettyandhas an iron stomach, scoops me into his arms. "Get her a water," he snaps at Luis. I close my eyes, resting my head against Braxton. I'll be embarrassed tomorrow. Right now the priority is not throwing up again. I feel the earth shifting and smack Braxton's chest a little, silently urging him to stop moving.

"Bailey?!" Conner's voice immediately soothes me. I let out a sigh and hold out my arms for Conner to take me. He lifts me against his chest and I sigh in relief. "Ahh, baby. How much did you drink?"

"Around twenty-two-point-five ounces," I tell him seriously.

"Oh, yeah? That's a lot for my tiny girl."

"Not tiny. Luis said that, too, but my BMI is 25.1. That is oh-point-two points over what doctors consider normal weight for women my age. You should ask Doctor-Uncle Mattie's perfect nose."

"I should ask Uncle Mattie's nose, huh?" Conner sounds like he's smiling. I open my eyes to glare at him. He's fuzzy.

"Where are your glasses, baby?" he asks me.

I poke my eyes. "Gone," I announce.

Conner waits, then he smiles at me again. "I leave you with my sister for an hour and this is what happens?"

"Who is this?" Braxton asks quietly.

I turn to look, but the world isn't cooperating with my myopia. I think I see a girl, sleeping on the backseat of Conner's pick-up truck. She's just a lump covered in a thick blue blanket, with long dark hair spilling over the seat. I squint, remembering that Conner isn't cheating on me with her. Or was he? I can't remember.

I hear Conner mutter something under his breath. It sounds like, "Ariana." I don't know an Ariana, do I? Something presses into my neck. It feels like a vaccine without the needle and makes my heavy head that much more sluggish. Braxton says something in a harsh voice, but my eyes are too heavy to keep open.

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Conner

"Bailey? Honeygirl, can you hear me?" I murmur in her ear softly. Her head lolls against my chest, but her breathing is slow and steady. I take my thumb away from her pulse point, ignoring my little brother's heavy glare.

"We're taking her," I nod to the unconscious Ariana, "straight through to Uncle Dev or Uncle Alex. I've already called ahead. We have clearance all the way through."

"This is a massive clusterfuck. This female is here and alive? Shit. She left her pup behind, Con. Does she know about any of the other females?" Braxton mutters. His glare quickly transfers from me to Ariana. I understand his frustration. This female was supposedly kidnapped and murdered by a group of fanatical serial killers, and yet here she is, perfectly fine.

"Let's head out before the LaNu's realize she's gone. I'll fill you in later. Text Velia and tell her to get her ass over here."

"Bad idea," Braxton says as he swings into the backseat.

I buckle Bailey in as he explains, "she and Georgie got into a fight with fur and teeth. If Velia leaves now, chances are Georgie will follow."

"I don't want that bitch anywhere near Bailey," I agree with a low growl, stroking Bailey's cheek gently.

Braxton hesitates before his low suggestion echoes in the dark interior of the truck, "do you think Georgie would hurt her? We know how ambitious she is."

I frown as I start the engine. "She's not that bad, Braxton. She's been our friend for years. Yeah, she's ambitious, what bitch isn't?" Then, it occurs to me and I grin, "except my girl."

"Three o'clock," Braxton says. I pull away from the house and nod casually at the LoboGris wolf watching us. He can't see Ariana in the backseat and I made sure to cover our tracks out of the LaNu house. The magic alarm is tripped, so the faster we get off campus the better.

We are at the edge of campus when the sound of motorcycles revving is accompanied by my cell ringing with Carmichael Reyes' number.

"Yo," I answer.

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