And he’s been lying to us,that voice hissed. Maybe not outright, but despite all his explanations of the lycan way of life, she couldn’t escape the sense that he was avoiding something. Whatever it was itched at the boundaries of their every interaction, but he deliberately ignored any mention of it.
Why?
Was it something about her true nature?
Did he know why she was so…broken?
The thought consumed her. She couldn’t even bring herself to return to the house and pretend that nothing was wrong. Instead, she sought out a corner of the barn and curled up on a bale of hay. Out here, she would know when McGoven returned, and she could confront him in private, away from the others. Maybe if she asked him outright, he’d tell her whatever it was he was holding back?
It was the only tempting course of action.
Resigned, she waited, letting her eyes drift shut as the gentle murmurs of the horses lulled her into a fragile sleep. She wasn’t sure how much time passed when a sound finally broke the quiet, startling her awake. Blinking, she stared through the darkness, trying to get her bearings—someone had turned out the lights in the barn without realizing she was inside.
That same someone sighed heavily, his pure exhaustion, so palpable Loren swayed, dizzy with the feeling. Apparently, his intention to nap had fallen by the wayside—he’d been out for hours. Securing the barn must have been his final act before retiring for the night.
Yet, here she was, waiting to pounce like a stalker.
Guilt and dread weighed her down as she mulled over how to make herself known without startling him. That was the strange part—he hadn’t noticed her yet—he wasthatexhausted. Creeping to her feet, she prepared to approach the door to the barn when she stopped short as a light, feminine aroma reached her nostrils.
He wasn’t alone.
“It’s about time you came back,” Sonia said disapprovingly. “I was worried sick that you’d pass out in the fields somewhere. You should be conserving your strength, you do realize?”
“You didn’t have to wait up for me,” McGoven replied gruffly.
“Don’t look so surprised. Besides, I was already in my car. I’ll have to leave soon, but I wanted to say goodbye first.”
Loren clenched her teeth against another wave of irrational anger. She almost couldn’t stop herself from barging through the doors. Then she heard Bill sigh, and her irritation instantly diminished.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to be gone this long, but I can sense it,” he said. “Something’s off. The Eislanders should have returned by now. The fact that they haven’t doesn’t bode well. Fuck, this is bad—”
“How do you mean?” Sonia’s alarm matched Loren’s.
“I thought about what you said, and you’re right. It’s time I approach them directly. Loreck, anyway. The only problem is…”
“You can’t go near their territory without causing even more trouble,” Sonia surmised. “I know you won’t like it, but you could ask Lukka to vouch for you—”
“Bullshit. You don’t think Loreck would go after one of Lukka’s own rogues without his blessing? The men he sent here said something about one man I killed. A member of their pack—but he mentioned only one. Claimed he was innocent.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Sonia said. “In fact, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. I wasn’t sure how to address it, but I’ll just come out and say it. Remember when you asked me to look into Loren’s mother?”
Loren held her breath. Did it bother her that he’d asked Sonia to delve into something so personal? Yes.
“You did? What did you find?” McGoven demanded.
His curiosity matched the desperate impulse Loren felt lance through her heart. She held her breath, paralyzed by anticipation.
“Nothing,” Sonia said. “That’s the thing. There was never any woman, lycan or otherwise, by the name of Eveline Connors on Black Mountain. Not only that, but all records indicate that Fred Connors was unmarried when he left the territory, and he never took the equivalent of a mate. I even talked to some of the men who were around back then. They said he was a recluse. Kept to himself and rarely got along with anyone else.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” McGoven replied. “He was listed on Loren’s birth certificate. I saw it myself.”
“I don’t know,” Sonia agreed. “He was exiled only a few years before you were. Maybe six, seven years ago? I dug into the reasoning, and it seems he lost control, strayed off territory, and attacked a human. They weren’t seriously injured, but given his nature as a made, he was harshly punished.”
“I’d heard that,” McGoven admitted.
Loren frowned. She didn’t know that tidbit of her so-called father’s history.
“Things from that time are hazy at best,” Sonia went on. “We were young, but I remember a little of it. The murders that went on in that human town nearby? You remember? I was five, I think. So you had to be eight or nine—”