Keira lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep as the hours slowly passed. Moonlight filtered through the small opening of the curtains, illuminating the room. Donovan breathed deeply and evenly in sleep, his arm a comforting weight across her waist.
Nico is alive.
Keira didn't doubt Avalynn. Avalynn was their pack's ancient shaman and was never wrong. She had consulted shamans in the past and knew of their abilities. If Donovan said that Avalynn couldn't find Nico's spirit, then she had to believe that Nico was still alive.
The worst of it all was the implications of the news.
The words, spoken so gently by Donovan just hours ago, echoed in her mind. His death had ripped a hole through their family. Now, Donovan had effortlessly torn open a wound that wasn't fully healed.
Where had he been? Was it a kidnapping? An amnesia? A deliberate disappearance?
The last thought, the most painful one, made her chest ache. Had he faked his death, and if so, for what reason? Who had they mourned? Whose body had they laid to rest?
Donovan stirred, a soft groan escaping his lips as he subconsciously tightened his arm around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, a tear escaping.
Then a stray thought entered her mind: Clara, Nico's widow. And their children, two bright-eyed little ones who couldn't understand why their father wasn't coming home. Did Clara know? Had she been living a lie? Or was she, like Keira, about to be blindsided by a truth that would shatter her world once more?
This wasn't just about Nico. Keira still remembered the day her brother had stopped by the hospital and accused her of letting him die. Troy had made it clear to everyone that he had hoped Keira would be the one in the morgue.
Her father kicked her out of the family. He, too, accused her of letting Nico die out of jealousy. Her father really believed that Keira wanted the Captain's position, and in order to get it, she had gotten rid of Nico.
Keira shifted slightly as she wiped the tears away. Donovan stirred once more but didn't wake.
*
By the time Keira was waking up, the sun was already over the horizon. The space next to her was cold and empty.
'Donovan must have woken up early,' she thought, yawning.
'He didn't want to wake us,' Sabelina spoke softly. 'Your eyes were red and puffy.'
'I couldn't sleep,' Keira replied, stretching. 'I had a lot on my mind.'
Sabelina sniffed. 'I'm upset.'
Keira closed her eyes and nodded. 'We wanted to leave our mate to avenge Nico's death. Now it turns out, he's alive somewhere.'
'Do you think it was planned?' Sabelina asked. 'His death was one of the major reasons the Task Force was disbanded.'
'I know,' Keira stated, rubbing her eyes. 'It makes me think that everything was planned. Like we're just a pawn in someone's game.'
Keira threw the covers over her head. The thought of even sitting up or doing anything today was not something she was looking forward to doing. For weeks, she avoided thinking about Nico's death. After her father and Troy had basically disowned her, Keira pushed all the emotion away. She didn't think; she just worked.
Eventually, the hunger got too much for Keira, and it forced her out of bed. She got ready for the day, making sure to add a bit of makeup to hide the dark circles around her eyes. When Keira looked at her phone, she saw it was around lunchtime.
'No wonder I'm hungry,' Keira thought, as she made her way over to the main area of the packhouse.
When she arrived, a few pack members were loitering around. Some were getting ready to leave, while others were still eating.
"Hi, Luna," Lucy greeted as Keira went over to get some food.
"Hi Lucy," Keira said, grabbing the plate that Lucy handed her.
"Alpha Donovan asked me to get you a bit of everything," Lucy explained.
Keira gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Lucy."
She grabbed a bottle of water before heading to the table to eat. Keira didn't taste anything but ate because she needed to. When her plate was empty, Keira felt a bit better.
'Donovan is at the office with Marcus,' Sabelina commented.
'Thanks,' Keira said as she stood and dropped off her plate in the bin.
The sun was bright as Keira made her way over to the office. The sound of construction followed her every step of the way. The few pack members she ran into all greeted her. Something about their greeting set Keira on edge.
'Sabelina, do you know what's going on?' Keira asked. 'They all look extremely happy.'
'Why shouldn't they be happy?' Sabelina questioned.
'No, I mean overly happy,' Keira explained. 'I understand that they have a new Luna now, but their behavior is a bit off.'
Sabelina shrugged. 'I don't know what's going on. Nolan said that we could sleep in as much as we wanted.'
As she neared the office, Keira paused. The wind carried two familiar scents: the rich, earthy aroma of Marcus and the slightly spicy scent of Antoine. Sabelina straightened up.
'Did you catch the scent?' Sabelina excalimed.
'There's no way,' Keira muttered. 'What were they doing here?'
She calmly walked inside the building and made her way to Donovan's office. The scents were stronger now, mingling with Donovan's scent. As she approached, Keira heard voices. The door was ajar, warm light spilling into the hallway.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Keira announced herself as she knocked.
Four heads snapped up in unison, four pairs of eyes landing on her. Donovan, seated behind his large desk, his usual focused intensity replaced by a soft, welcoming grin, was the first to rise. Next to him, Marcus pushed back from a comfortable armchair, a half-empty mug of coffee in his hand.
Across from them, Antoine, whose sharp intellect was often masked by a mischievous twinkle, leaned back in his chair. And then, her gaze drifted to the fourth man, Montego.
A gasp escaped Keira's lips, quickly followed by a grin.
"Antoine! Montego! What in the world is going on?" Her eyes, wide with genuine astonishment and pure happiness, darted between each familiar face. "What are you doing here?"
Montego rose to his feet and quickly came over. He embraced her and spun her around. Keira laughed at his behavior.
"Captain," Montego greeted, setting her down. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too," Keira said.
Antoine rushed over and hugged her as well. Montego was shoved to one side.
"Antoine," Keira said, patting his back. "Did y'all miss me?"
"Yes," Antoine said, stepping back. "You wouldn't believe Ethan's ego! He acted like he knew it was going to happen all along."
"He was a pain," Montego agreed.
Keira quickly glanced at Donovan, who was staring at her intensely.
'Don't tell me you're jealous?' Keira asked him through the bond.
'And if I am?' Donovan challenged.
'Don't be,' Keira replied.
Keira turned her attention back to Antoine and Montego. "What are you doing here?"
Antoine cleared his throat and went back to his seat. Montego took his seat as well.
"The Queen transferred them to the pack," Donovan replied. "I wanted it to be a surprise."
'You forgot,' Keira accused privately.
'I did,' Donovan admitted.
"Consider me surprised," Keira said, smiling. "When did you get here?"
"A few hours ago," Montego answered. "We had breakfast with the Alpha, and he showed us around."
Keira nodded and looked at Donovan. "It looks like you're still conversing. I'm just going to grab my things and work at the pack house."
Keira went over to the desk and grabbed the to-do lists that she had been working on the day before.
"I'll see you later!" She waved goodbye and hurried out of the office.
'Very smooth,' Sabelina chastised.
'Sabelina, we're not in charge anymore,' Keira reminded her. 'It's Donovan's place to welcome new pack members and talk about the rules. I'm not a part of that. I'll see them later, and then we can catch up on what happened after the disbandment.
'I didn't think much of it at the time, with everything going on, but Ethan's behavior is suspicious.'
'I know,' Sabelina pouted. 'It's hard to get used to.'
Keira headed back to the pack house. There was much to do, and she needed to choose her assistant as soon as possible.