Page 15 of Broken Moon

“It’s going to be dangerouswhen it happens. You know that. There will have to be some planning andsecurities in place. You’ll have to be protected from yourself, Kaitlyn. Andmaybe for weeks. He wanted to get the evil spirits out of the way first, I’msure, so he could concentrate on you.”

“You really believe this,” I saidslowly. “You think he can bring my wolf.”

“Yes,” she said simply.

“The chances of an alpha beingable to undo what another alpha did to one of his own wolves…” I took a deepbreath then blew it out slowly, but still my voice was watery when I continued.“I would never have believed it. If I had, I’d have gone to every alpha in theworld, trying to find one to set me free.”

She shuddered, and there wereoceans of sorrow in her eyes when she looked at me. “I am so sorry for thehorror of your life, sweetheart.”

“Not your fault,” I said,surprised.

Twelve long, dark years.

“When it happens,” she said,getting to her feet and pulling me to mine, “I’d like to be there, if he’llallow it.”

“He’s not my alpha, mom. Hedoesn’t need to allow anything.”

She said nothing, and I knewshe wasn’t convinced. I also knew she understood things that I didn’t, and thatshe apparently believed it was best to keep her secrets. It didn’t matter. Itonly mattered that she believed Jared Walker could break my chains.

She was worried, I could see itin her eyes, even though during lunch and the rest of our visit she acted likenothing at all was wrong. She couldn’t hide it from me. I knew her too well.

Before we left, I needed togive her something more to worry about. I pulled her outside so we could walk offour meal in the cold sunshine and I could tell her one more thing and again,hope she could offer me some advice.

“I killed a demon,” I told herabruptly. “A powerful demon. I’ve sent lesser demons back to hell before, but Inever actually killed one.” I showed her the demon blade. “I took this fromhim. I’m not sure what’ll happen now. Will others come for me?”

She stopped to stare at me,shock in her eyes. “Dear God, Kaity. What is going on with you? Twenty-sixyears of quiet and now your life is blowing up with alphas and demons andpsychic girls?”

“Um, first of all, my life hashardly been “quiet,” Mother. Second of all, how do you know Lucy is a psychic?She didn’t once—”

“He cut you, didn’t he?” sheinterrupted, her voice the kind of soft that happened when I was in danger,hurt, or doing something extremely stupid. “He cut you, and then he got yourblood inside him, and that’s how you killed him and stole his blade.” Her grinstretched her face, but she did not look amused. At all.

And once again, I could onlystare at her with my mouth open. How the hell did she know these things? “Yes,”I said, finally. “That’s exactly what happened.”

“Show me where he cut you.”

I pulled down the neckline ofmy shirt and showed her the pink, almost invisible scratch across my chest. “Ithealed, I guess. I felt the pain of it, and the blood…there was lots of blood.But all it left was this little mark.”

“He knew you were different,”she murmured. “When you cut his bastard face. That was why he hobbled you.”

I frowned. “What are youtalking about?”

She came back to the presentwith a blink. “Adam. Adam Thorne. He realized when you cut him that there mightbe something inside you, though I can’t imagine what kept him from killing youright then and there.”

“He hobbled my wolf so Icouldn’t come after him someday? Because he thought I wasdifferent?”

“He thought you weredangerous,” she said, her voice flat and her eyes dark. “You need to prove himright, Kaitlyn.”

“What do you mean?” I stared ather, feeling like I didn’t know her at all. There was something strange abouther right then, something I didn’t recognize.

“You know what I mean. Hekilled your father. If you can kill a powerful demon, you can kill a fuckingwerewolf. You just need to wait until Jared returns your shift, and onceyou’re…sane, you will go after the alpha.” She turned to me and grabbed myforearms, her grip tight, a savage light in her eyes. “This is what you deserveafter what he did to you.”

“I deserve to get revenge?” Iasked, shocked and just a little confused.

“You deserve,” she said, hereyes like flints of steel, “to be the new alpha.” She tugged me until I leaneddown so she could whisper into my ear, as though somewhere out there in thecold land, someone was listening. “Kill Thorne, Kait. Avenge your father, takeback your pack, and become the alpha of the Moon Stone wolves.”

Chapter Seven

She thought I could destroy myold alpha and take his place. She thought I could become alpha.