“That rogue I killed a few months back, his name was Lior, right?” I check, and his head sticks up above everyone else’s to look at me.
“Yeah, why?”
I swallow as my gaze returns back to Jonah. “Doesn’t matter,” I tell Zane. “Do you know what pack your parents were going to join?” I ask the boy, but he shakes his head. “What about the man’s name that spoke to your parents?” he pipes up excitedly.
“Yes, I remember his name, Jackson. Jackson Blackwell. He was nice. He said we could join his pack if mom and dad helped him. Do you know him?” Jonah asks.
Before I can stop myself, a threatening growl escapes me, and the poor boy jumps. I need to get the fuck out of here before I do something unthinkable. “I should go… I need to do something,” I mutter as I rise to my feet, but Jonah also stands up.
“Can I come?” he chirps.
“No, I have to…” I shake my head, struggling to come up with any excuse to get away from this boy. It’s not his darn fault, he has nothing to do with it, but I need to get away to convince myself the words I keep repeating are true.
“I can help. I will share my apple with you,” he offers, holding it up.
I can feel eyes on me as he holds the apple up, offering it to me. Sage strides over to me, and I know she can feel my tumultuous emotions. I feel sick, I killed his uncle, his parents were more than likely dead, and this kid has been in a cave for months.
The fucking worst part is that his parents helped kill off my pack. My head is spinning, and my anger bubbles within my veins.
“Mr. Andrei?” Jonah calls as he goes to tug on my hand, which draws my attention back to him.
Sage stops beside him and gently places her hand on his shoulder. “Jonah, maybe come play with us,” she offers softly, but he shakes his head.
“No, I am helping Mr. Andrei,” the boy insists.
Sage looks at me with nothing but worry all over her features, but I can’t tear my eyes from the boy. I want to look away, but I fucking can’t.
“Andrei?” Sage whispers.
My gaze snaps to her. She looks like she is on the verge of ripping the boy away from me. Donnie is becoming uneasy in my head, pacing, and whining.
“Do you like marshmallows?” I ask him out of the blue.
My voice sounds foreign to me. I know it is best to be surrounded by my pack. I can’t risk hurting someone.
“What’s a marshmallow?” Jonah questions, tilting his head to the side. “Is it as good as an apple?”
“Then you should try one, let’s go cook marshmallows,” I encourage, and he smiles a big toothy grin at me, nodding. “Come on,” I tell him, tugging his hand toward where everyone else is sitting around the fire.
Sage
Everyone is excited to have a few new faces around the pack, they are buzzing as they finish roasting marshmallows and clean up.
Looking around, I can’t see Andrei anywhere, and he has been missing for awhile now. I know he is struggling big time after he brought the kids here.
His guilt and hatred eats away at me through our bond. Those two emotions constantly attempt to grip dominance over the other, but the guilt keeps returning as a never-ending tug of war within him.
Someone tugs on my shirt, and I look down to find Jonah. The boy looks rather funny with sticky marshmallows all over his face. “Have you seen Mr. Andrei?” He asks, looking around as worry crosses his features.
I am quite surprised by how obsessed he is with Andrei. While the other kids keep their distance, this one is acting like a tiny magnet, refusing to let my mate out of his view.
Until Andrei managed to sneak off, Jonah was attached to his hip. Zane tried to explain that it is normal for children who have lost their parents to seek a higher power, higher-ranking wolves for safety, which is inbuilt into children’s DNA.
“No, I am looking for him. You can help me find him if you want?” I offer.
He holds out his hand, and I look at the sticky mess of melted marshmallows smeared all over his skin, but I still take his hand in mine. His hand sticks to mine with its gooey goodness, and I smile.
I stop when I walk over to Casen and Malik sitting on fold-out chairs by the fire. Malik smirks at Jonah when he sees his face covered in chocolate and marshmallow.
“Have either of you seen Andrei?” I ask, and Malik nods toward the house.
I look over my shoulder, the door is still wide open, and my brows furrow, wondering if he is alright. “Come on, Jonah,” I tell him when Malik clears his throat, making me turn to him. He stands up and holds his hand out to Jonah. “Come on, little man,” he says.
“He was looking for Andrei, I was-”
Malik shakes his head at me. “Not tonight, Luna. He didn’t look like he was in a good mood. Probably best if Jonah stays with the boys and me tonight,” Malik insists.
“Come on, buddy, let’s draw you a bath,” Malik suggests as he swoops down to pick him up and tosses him over his shoulder. Jonah squeals loudly, laughing.
Well, at least I know he will be safe tonight. I am not sure where we will put everyone because Andrei has walked off, but Zane I know will look after his mate and her siblings.
I wander around, picking up trash to distract myself, until Clay approaches and takes the trash bag from my hands. “Go on, Luna, we got this. Get to bed,” he says, and I go to object and help, but he shakes his head.
“Go check on the Alpha,” he insists, walking off with my trash bag.
I sigh and head back to the house. I need to wash my hands, my fingers are sticking together from Jonah, and I have a big hunk of marshmallow stuck to my pants that looks like snot. Maybe it is, but I am not going to test it to find out.