Page 14 of Broken Moon

At that second the front doorflew open and my mother strode out onto the porch, all smiles and energy. “Getin here, girl! I’ve been waiting since you reached the main road.”

My mother was fifty-three yearsold, but you’d think she was in her thirties to look at her. I’d gotten mylong, light-brown hair and hazel eyes from her, but my height came from myfather. Mom was five feet five inches tall, which still put her a few inches aboveLucy.

As soon as she saw my mother,Lucy’s reserved attitude disappeared. She ran across the yard and up the porchsteps and threw her arms around my mother, enthusiastically joyful.

My mother’s expression didn’tchange at being hugged by a stranger. She was accustomed to people being drawnto her, especially, she’d told me once, the lost ones. Always humans, as shedidn’t appear to have quite the same effect on supernaturals.

“Mom, that’s Lucy,” I called,as Hannah and I walked to the house. Hannah watched the exchange with thetiniest of lines between her eyebrows. She was a little jealous, or maybe justa little threatened. She’d find out soon enough that my mother didn’t havefavorites.

Mom patted Lucy on the back andpushed her away. “Come in, everybody. Laura Jean and Maria are in the kitchenmaking lunch. Everybody hungry?”

“I could eat,” I said, pattingmy tummy.

“Are you serious right now?”Lucy asked. “After what you put away at breakfast?”

Mom stepped into the house,glancing back at me over her shoulder. “You finally get serious about someone,honey?”

I frowned. “Huh?”

“Lucy. She mentioned breakfast,so I assumed—”

Lucy laughed. “She doesn’t lookat me like that. She’s more interested in the hunky Mr. Jared Walker.”

My mom stopped walking. “Lucyand Hannah, into the kitchen. Tell Laura Jean and Maria we’ll be in directly.”

I glared at Lucy, who shot mean apologetic look and rushed to obey my mother. I started speaking before shehad a chance. “He came to visit me. That’s why I’m here.”

She lifted an eyebrow.

“One of the reasons I’m here,”I amended.

“We’d better sit down.” Once wewere sitting on the couch before the big picture window, she nodded. “I can’tsay I’m surprised. You can’t leave what you are behind. Not forever.”

“Twelve years,” I growled.“Asshole didn’t come to welcome me into his pack, anyway. He wants me to workfor him.”

Now her eyebrows nearlydisappeared into her hairline. “Work for him.”

“Apparently he knows Iinvestigate supernatural crimes.”

“Oh, I’m sure he knows yourreputation. I’m sure he knows everything about you. And he wants you to stopwhatever it is that’s killing his wolves.”

I gaped at her. “How do youknow what’s happening in his pack?”

“I hear things,” she saidmysteriously, then, “What did he offer you in return, besides a boatload ofcash? Did he offer to give you a place in his pack? Make you one of his?”

“I don’t want in his pack,” Isaid coolly. I looked down at my clasped hands, calming myself by concentratingon the busy, happy sounds coming from the kitchen. The sporadic laughter, theclink of glasses, the clank of pans.

My mother put her hand overmine. “Tell me,” she said quietly.

“He said he can free my wolf,mom,” I whispered, hesitant to say the words because I was terrified she’d tellme there was no fucking way he could free my wolf.

“Oh my,” she murmured, and thenshe pulled me into her arms while I sobbed almost silently, my heart burstingand breaking at the same time.

At last, I sat up and mopped myface with my shirt. “He can’t, can he? He’s lying?”

“Sweetie, if Jared Walker tellsyou he can unhobble your wolf, then I would believe him. He must have touchedher.”

“Then why wouldn’t the bastardpull her out right then and there?” I asked.