Page 32 of Banished From the Pack

Ethan pushes back from the table and declares, “I think she’s telling the truth.”

Warrick sucks on the end of his rolled leaves and exhales a plume of smoke. “If you expect us to trust you, you’d better get to talking,” he says. “You been a week, and we don’t know the first thing about you. Who killed your mama? Why were you living in the swamp? What happened that left you lying in the swamp for dead? Who’s after you?”

“You’re upsetting her,” Callan says, guiding me to a chair. “Let me get you some food, Luna, and we’ll talk. We’re happy to share what we got, but we’d like to get to know you better.”

I nod, grateful for the moment to get my thoughts together. He delivers me a plate of meat and eggs, along with a cup of the bitter black water they drink. They call it coffee and drink it like it’s water, though I can only drink half a cup of it before I start shaking and feeling like I might explode.

“Go on then,” Ethan says, snagging the bag of leaves from Warrick. He starts making a little roll of them inside the paper they use while I talk.

“The only people I’ve ever met before you guys are the wolf pack,” I say. “And that was just a few days ago, I think two days before you found me. Mama got attacked by a panther in the swamp, and then this awful wolf found me. She promised to help Mama if I came back to the pack with her. I knew not to trust her, but I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to help Mama.”

Callan scoots over and lays a hand on my leg. It’s rough and hard on the palm, but his touch is gentle and sends warmth creeping up my thigh in a way that’s too distracting.

“Go on,” he says. “You’re doing great, Luna.”

I take a deep breath, gripping the fork to keep from shaking. “I went back with them, and this wolf named Axel said I’d be his True Mate. I sort of knew what it meant but not really, because it turns out it means he has to stab my heat with a meat stick called a cock, and then I got this mark.”

I pull up the oversized sleeve of Callan’s shirt and show them the mark, which glowed like a full moon the first night I got it. After it burst into flame, it was an angry blister, but after a quarter moon’s worth of days have passed, it’s only an angry red scar. The pain of the wound still hurts down deep in my soul when I look at it, though.

I drop the sleeve just in time to catch a look I don’t understand passing between the men. Ethan’s mouth is twitching. Callan is gazing at me with eyes that warm the cavity inside my chest but also make it ache. Warrick’s brows are drawn together like he’s even madder than usual. He sucks hard on his smoke stick, his eyes flashing with danger.

“And then what?” he asks, his voice a growl that makes me cringe instinctually.

“And then I didn’t like that, so I ran away and met a vampire,” I say. “But I guess that was the wrong thing to do because Axel was very mad when he found out I talked to him, and he said—” My voice catches, and my throat aches so bad I have to stop and hitch in a breath. “He said I was a traitor. That we couldn’t be mates anymore.”

A hot tear spills from my lashes and rolls down my cheek when I remember the shame and confusion of that moment. “And then,” I choke out past the tears. “And then he brought a shaman to dissolve the bond, and her magic reached into my soul and ripped it out of my body, tearing me to shreds from the inside out.”

I can’t hold back the tears now, and they stream down my cheeks like angry brands, reminding me of the pain and shame of being rejected.

“Fucking hell,” Ethan mutters, lighting the smoke stick he made. “This calls for more than breakfast. Get this chick a beer, and here, take my cigarette, Luna.”

I shake my head, determined to get through this if only to walk away without letting Warrick think I’m a liar and a spy.

“The fates weren’t done with me yet,” I say, forcing back a sob. “I ran out of there and went to my mama, because even though I mostly take care of her, she still makes me feel cared for when I’m hurt, like she did when I was little. But when I got to the healer’s, Mama died right there before my very eyes.”

“Luna,” Callan says, scooting closer. But I’m suddenly filled with anger at him, too. Not just Warrick, but Callan, who I know dragged me from the swamp.

I push away and jump to my feet, tearing off Callan’s shirt and hurling it at his feet. “I just wanted to die,” I say. “I didn’t ask to be rescued. I don’t need to be rescued. So you can go back to living your happy lives just like you were before, and you don’t have to worry if you can trust me, because I won’t be around to wonder about!”

By the time I finish, I’m sobbing and yelling at once. The pain of what happened crashes over me like ocean waves now that I had to say it out loud for all of them to hear, and shame fills me until I can’t contain it anymore. So I turn and run out of the house, away from them, away from everything.

Chapter Thirteen

Luna

I race through the trees around the triplet’s house, my head spinning with confusion. I don’t remember coming here, and I haven’t left since waking in their bed. I don’t know where I am or how to get home. Nothing smells familiar. Nowhere feels safe. My shredded heart can’t take the pain of life anymore.

I hear a snap of a twig and spin around. A huge, dark shape rockets across the carpet of pine needles, straight for me. I scream and start to shift into a wolf, but the shape blurs into a man and catches me before I can. He wraps his arms around me, the shock of his huge, hot body against mine knocking the breath from me and replacing it with pure panic. I writhe in his arms, screams tearing from me.

“Luna, stop,” he commands fiercely. “It’s just me.”

I stop screaming when his words cut through my haze of panic, and I realize it’s just Callan.

“Let me go!” I shove at his chest to no effect. He’s as strong as he looks, like a tree has imprisoned me in its unbreakable limbs.

“Are you going to run?” His golden eyes captivate me.

“Of course I’m going to run!” I bite his shoulder, kicking my legs.