Page 188 of Moon Cursed

“It’s a pretend friend,” I tell him. “We’re not pretend friends. We’re real friends, right?”

“Right! Felia’s my friend too. She made me this cake.”

He starts eating it again. There’s no way he’ll be able to finish it.

He swings his legs, feet hitting the cupboard lightly every time they swing back.

“Ophelia makes cakes?” I ask, looking at Oscar’s sister and wondering what her life was like where she was. She looks like one of the typical rich kids from the academy.

She shrugs. “I mean if I’d ever used an oven in my life, I could probably figure it out.”

I snort. It’s a typical rich kid response. Doesn’t know but it can’t be that hard, right?

“I only started learning to cook a couple of years ago,” I admit. “I can do the basics, but it’s Ivy and Vi who do the baking around here. They’re usually up kind of early. You’ll probably meet them soon.”

“So, are Ivy and Vi also mates of Cheryl?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

I laugh. “No, they’re mated to each other. They’re part of the pack though.”

Rachel stands up and looks at me. “Hey, Everett. Can we talk in the hall for a sec?”

She must want to talk out of earshot of Leo.

“Don’t worry about us,” Ophelia says. “We’ll just be here eating cake.”

“Cake,” Leo murmurs.

Rachel leaves the room and I follow her out.

We go stand outside the lounge.

“What’s up?” I ask, knowing it must be about the Witches Council. She’s the one who called them last night. They were going to call back after they assessed things. They’ve had a fair bit of time now.

Rachel tucks her hair behind her ear before she starts. “The Council of Witches need you and Cheryl over at Limestone Ridge as soon as possible. They’re disbanding the pack, sending a lot of the people into counselling. Most of them will be placed in more established packs after that or offered the chance to live as if they’re human. The youngest kids left in town want to join your pack.”

“Makes sense,” I mutter. “But don’t the kids want to stay with their parents?”

“Well,” she says, smiling wryly. “The youngest kids in town are nineteen, and their mom died a few years ago. They claim Liam wasn’t their dad. That their mom was already pregnant before Mercer came to town. It seems to check out.”

“Are we talking twins, or triplets?”

“Twins,” she tells me. “James and Jennifer Delaney. I’m not really sure why they’re determined to join the pack when they don’t share a father with Oscar, but they’re both Betas and you could probably use more Betas with all the Omegas you’ve got under this roof now.”

She’s not wrong, but it does seem weird.

“They didn’t need counselling?”

She shakes her head. “Mercer left them alone when it became obvious they were Betas. He never darkened their doorstep again, thinking their mother might not be capable of having an Omega.”

“What about Georgia?”

She takes in a slow breath, and I can tell before she speaks that it’s not going to be good news.

“I asked about her, and they didn’t have anyone with her name. I told them her address. They went back out there and broke down the door. She wasn’t there. There was a note on the table.”

“Another note?”

“This one said she couldn’t cope with what she’d gone through. She had to get away. It didn’t sound like she had any intention of coming back here for Leo.”

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