Hunted Wolf: Moonbound Series, Book Eight (10 page)

“I’m so glad we caught you,” she said, reaching for Luther’s hand.

He took hers, but felt something hard inside. He turned his palm up and found a big silver key. “What’s this?”

Julianna and Alex exchanged a warm glance. She put her hand on her belly, resting it there like every pregnant woman seemed to do, naturally. There was a part of him that couldn’t wait to see Maggie with that glow. Someday. Soon.

“It’s the key to the
White Pearl
,” Julianna said.

Luther turned it over and over in his hand. He should’ve known it felt familiar. But it had been so long since he’d held it. He’d forgotten.

“We’re giving you and Maggie the boat.” Alex patted Maggie’s shoulder and she jumped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grunted and walked back with the force of her hug.

“Oh, Alex,” she sighed. “You don’t know what this means.”

Luther’s throat closed up with emotion and tears burned up his nose. He tried to hold them back, pulling his brows together to stop them, but a little water leaked into the corners of his eyes. “Really?”

Julianna closed her hand over his and squeezed. “I don’t need it. And frankly, I’d like to know that it’s being put to some good use.”

He gripped the key, hard. No one had ever been this generous to him before, not in his entire life. Maggie clung to his side, smiling up at him with that infectious, spritely smile of hers.

God, he loved her.

“How can I repay you for this?” he said, feeling the emotion crawl up into his voice. “I don’t have a lot of money.”

“You don’t have to pay us for anything.” Julianna leaned into her mate’s arms, the contented look of impending motherhood brightening her face. “If you didn’t take it, it would rot here. This way, at least I know it’s out in the world doing some good.”

He slid the key into his pocket and shook Alex’s hand, then Julianna’s again. “I can’t ever thank you enough.”

Maggie gripped him hard and looked up into his eyes, overwhelming him with how much he loved her. He pressed a kiss to her lips and she giggled against his mouth.

“You know what this means,” she whispered into his mouth, returning his kiss with a fervor that made him forget the rest of the world. Maggie grazed his cheek with her hands and electricity fired through him.

“What?” he asked.

Her eyes lit up with that mischievous audacity he loved about her, and she smiled. “Road trip.”

“
I
’ve spoken
to our food supplier, and let them know how many children we have, and that they are staying at the resort indefinitely until other arrangements can be made. The chef said he needed at least two extra people hired for the kitchen. And we need extra staff to care for them as well,” Diana said, reading from the tablet in her lap.

“Yes, anything we need. I’ll approve it. Are the extra beds and furniture on the way?” Julianna asked, rubbing her belly. The baby didn’t show yet, but she could feel the hard little ball inside her abdomen when she rubbed.

“Yes ma’am. Everything is in place and the contractor said the furniture will start arriving by this afternoon.”

“Good. Thank you.”

Her assistant rose from the couch in the penthouse.

Julianna hadn’t been able to rent out this place since sharing it with Alex. When the Rangers had brought back all the kids from the island, she’d need to be in the hotel to help monitor their care.

She’d had Diana move all her things and Alex’s back to this suite. It was temporary. Once her father’s estate had been liquefied and divided, then put into trust funds to care for all his children, she fully intended to return to Miami with her mate.

It was time to leave all this pain behind and start fresh.

Alex missed his family terribly. She could see it in his face every time he got on the phone with his mother or one of his siblings. She just hoped they’d accept her. She wasn’t a wolf. But her child would be.

Scary and exciting at the same time to find out about an entire world hiding beneath what most people accepted as reality.

“I’ll check in with you later this afternoon.” Diana paused at the door, stepping aside as it opened and Alex walked in.

“Good morning, Diana. Everything okay?”

“Oh, yes, just going over details for the suites being renovated temporarily for the children.” She smiled and slipped out, shutting the door behind her.

Julianna gazed up at her mate’s tired face. He’d been going non-stop since they’d gotten back to the beach. He’d barely slept. Barely showered.

He turned the deadbolt on the door and crossed the room toward her. “How are you, love?”

“I wish I could say I knew exactly how everything was going to go down with all these kids…with my siblings…”

“Well—”

“I know, I know. You ran my DNA and I’m not even related to Adrian Rossi. But he played the role of my father, and he
is
their father. I can help. I can make this just a little easier for them.”

Alex sank into the cushion next to her and pulled her into his arms. “You’re an amazing woman, Julianna. You might not be blood to these kids, but you are the best thing that has happened to them in their lives.”

She smiled and turned to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Come relax with me in the pool.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. Before someone else calls. Or some other emergency pops up.” She stood from the couch and unbuttoned her shirt. His gaze glued itself to her weaving fingers and she gave him a teasing smirk before shirking off her blouse.

“You are evil,” he chuckled.

She dropped her skirt next as she continued toward the sunken pool on the balcony. Turning, she bent a finger, beckoning him after her.

He obliged. Quickly rising and stripping out of his tired wrinkled clothing.

Julianna stepped into the cool water with a sigh. A boom from out across the ocean made her stand straighter.

Alex was beside her a second later as an orange and black cloud mushroomed into the sky. She tensed, gripping his arm tightly.

“It’s really gone now.”

“Rain didn’t say they were going to blow the whole island up…” Alex’s voice trailed off in confusion. He moved to leave her, but she tightened her hold on his bicep.

“They don’t need you anymore. Your part is over. We take care of these kids and then we go home.”

He kissed her temple and hugged her against his body. The cool water lapped at her skin and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re right. Once everything is settled with all of the children, it’s time to take you home. Mama is dying to meet the woman carrying her first grandchild.”

“It will feel good to start fresh. Build a new home with you.”

Alex sighed. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear those words.”

R
ain DuBois walked
through the dark corridor of the command center, smelling the familiar scent of the base and seeing the familiar sights, but still somewhat trapped back on that island. Every other moment, he was replaying the sequence of events in his head.

The stale smell of the bunker.

The darkness.

The flashes of gunfire.

The movements of the children in the corner.

Rossi, dead on the ground.

His only order from the alpha council had been to bring Rossi in. What may have started off as a revenge mission had quickly turned too complex for a simple kill. They should’ve taken him alive. Interrogated him.

If Rain had made it to the bunker before Niko and Dani had stormed the place, he might’ve been able to save Niko. Save Rossi.

His plan had always been to make this walk down this hallway with Adrian Rossi struggling along in handcuffs, ready for interrogation. Instead, he was alone, holding the paperwork for his deceased friend in his hands, ready to make a full report about the failure of the mission.

When he reached the last door, with the frosted glass, he knocked.

“Enter,” the dark voice said.

Rain glanced around the empty hallway as he opened the door. Something felt off, but he couldn’t quite place it. He walked past the dark wood bookshelves, across the plush carpet of the general’s office.

He stopped in front of the desk and saluted.

“At ease, soldier.” General Doyle held out his hand for the files. “I heard from LTC Brock that you’re a man down. I’m sorry to hear about that.”

“Yes, sir.” Rain relaxed his gait and passed along the paperwork. “We lost one soldier, and several more were wounded. Lieutenant Duke hasn’t yet made a full recovery, but he was taken to the infirmary when we landed.”

The old, bald man opened the files and clucked his tongue. “Brown. That’s too bad. He was a good soldier.”

“Yes, he was, sir.” Rain took a breath, ready to give the report when asked, but something still stuck hard in his craw. He’d been mulling it over since they’d stepped back onto the MC-130 outside Choaca.

Doyle raised one silver-black brow. “You have something to say, soldier?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

Doyle nodded, closing the folder and placing it on the desk in front of him. “You know I always want to hear from my team leaders honestly, DuBois.”

“Something doesn’t compute for me, sir.” Rain gripped his hands in front of his body. “The alpha council ordered us to take Rossi alive.”

“But you don’t answer to the alpha council, DuBois. You know that.”

“Yes, sir. But Francis led me to believe that he’d been in contact with you, with the Major General, and that their plans had been communicated fully.”

Doyle shrugged, the crisp uniform making a raspy sound as he did. “We also don’t answer to the alpha council, soldier. In fact, the alpha
council
as they now call themselves is nothing more than an informal group of pack leaders. They wield no power in this country.”

Rain dropped his shoulders, trying to ease his own tension. But this had always been a point of contention between the leadership and some of the men. Speaking up, of course, was another thing entirely. “Yes, sir,” he finally said.

“I can see you don’t agree.”

“The bombing of the island. When I reported that Rossi had been killed, LTC Brock made an off-handed comment about
saving us the trouble
.”

“Yes?” The inflection in his voice rose through the vowel, as though he anticipated more to the comment.

“If the plan was to bomb the island, then why were we sent in?”

General Doyle tented his fingers, leaning his elbows on his desk. “We needed you to return here. Command didn’t want you spending days trying to clean up that island. After much discussion, we believed it’d be easier to destroy all the evidence and the bodies and everything.”

“Evidence of what?”

The old man shifted in his chair, his discomfort putting Rain on edge.

Doyle was never this close-to-the-chest with his men. This was a special unit, and the information flowed freely.

Why would he lock them out of this?

“Evidence of Adrian Rossi’s organization.” The man stood and walked around the desk, his demeanor shifting to a more congenial attitude. “The technology that kept those wolves imprisoned is too dangerous. We couldn’t risk any nefarious hands getting ahold of the ability to subdue or control wolves.” Doyle put a hand on Rain’s shoulder. “Look, son. You executed a difficult mission, with the civilian assistance. You lost a brother, and you need some time to grieve that as a team.” He walked Rain toward the door. “The full moon is coming up in a few days. Why don’t you all take some leave? Go up into the Smokies, make camp, run together, grieve for your brother.”

He took a deep breath and tried to let that sink in. It’d be their first moon running without Brown. That was always a hard first. The first moon after someone fell. Wolves were so resilient; they rarely lost someone on a mission.

But Doyle was right. They needed the time.

Rain saluted the general and nodded his head. “Thank you, sir. I think we’ll do just that.”

Doyle opened the door for him and Rain stepped into the dark hallway, his shoes making a hard clip on the linoleum.

They’d go into the Smoky Mountains, and make camp somewhere, and run without Brown. It’d be hard, but they’d manage.