Noah, bless his observant heart, caught on to my predicament just in time. He shouldered his way between us, physically inserting himself into the space Isabella kept trying to eliminate. He faced her directly, giving me his back and creating a barrier that she couldn’t easily navigate around.
“So, Isabella,” Noah said loudly, his voice carrying the false cheer of someone doing their brother a massive favor, “how was the drive up from the coast? Must have been a long trip. What is it, ten hours? Twelve?”
I shot the back of his head a grateful look. He couldn’t see it but I knew he felt it.
Isabella’s smile tightened almost imperceptibly at the interruption, annoyance flickering behind her eyes before she smoothed it away with practiced charm. “Oh, it was lovely. The scenery is beautiful this time of year. All those changing leaves and mountain views. We stopped at this charming little diner for lunch and the food was surprisingly good for such a small town.”
“Sounds nice,” Noah said, keeping himself firmly planted between us as we walked.
We made it to the main house and I could already hear the sounds of conversation through the door. My parents’ voices. Deeper male tones that must belong to Isabella’s father. Higher female tones from her mother. The chaos of pack life continuing around us while my world felt ready to explode.
Lina would be arriving soon. My very pregnant, very hormonal, very territorial mate who was going to have Isabella’s head on a plate if she kept bothering me the way she’d been doing.
The thought made me grin despite everything. I really wanted to see Lina go full protective Luna on Isabella. My mate was vicious when someone threatened what was hers, and watching her tear into this childhood friend I didn’t even remember would be the highlight of my week.
This was going to be an interesting dinner for sure.
5
— • —
Lina
You’re going to pay for every single second of suffering you’ve caused me, Luna.
I stared at my phone screen, the words burning into my brain while my heart hammered against my ribs. The message had come from a different unknown number this time, which meant whoever was sending these threats had more than one phone. More than one way to reach me.
My fingers trembled slightly as I gripped the device. Two messages now. Two threats. Both specifically aimed at me and my baby. Both written by someone who clearly wanted me to suffer.
Who the hell was doing this?
I tried to think through the possibilities, tried to make my brain work through the panic that wanted to claw its way up my throat. Mary was on house arrest. Alderic was in prison. The rogues who had threatened us before were either dead or scattered. There shouldn’t be anyone left who hated me enough to send messages like this.
But clearly there was.
I forced myself to take a deep breath, to push the fear down into that locked box in my chest where I kept all the things I couldn’t deal with right now, hoping it was enough to not alert Knox through the bond. I was seven months pregnant. I was exhausted. I had two children waiting for me and employees who needed to go home and a mate who would absolutely lose his mind if he found out about these messages.
Knox would burn down half the territory trying to find whoever was threatening me. He’d double my security, triple it, lock me in the pack house and never let me leave. He’d go feral with protective rage and I wasn’t sure I could handle that on top of everything else.
So I’d keep it to myself. For now. Until I figured out what was going on.
I quickly locked the screen and shoved the phone into my pocket, forcing a smile onto my face as I turned to look at my employees finishing up their closing tasks. Vivi was showing Darcy, our newest hire, how to properly clean the espresso machine. Darcy had only been with us for a couple weeks and was still learning the ropes. Our other two baristas, Jamie and Oscar, were wiping down tables and restocking supplies. Mikawas handling the Pine Valley branch today, which meant Vivi had taken charge here.
“Goodnight!” I called out, my voice steady despite the anxiety churning in my stomach. “Great job today. See you tomorrow.”
They waved back, calling out their own goodnights as I gathered the twins from the corner booth where they’d been coloring while waiting for me. Rowan immediately grabbed my left hand while Thea claimed my right, both of them bouncing with the energy of children who’d been stuck inside too long.
It had been a busy day. Way busier than I’d expected, actually. Some kind of tour group had come through town and decided our shop was the perfect place to stop for coffee. Forty people ordering drinks at once. Vivi had nearly cried. I’d stayed hours longer than usual just to help them get through the rush.
Now I was exhausted and sore and just wanted to go home and put my feet up.
“Mama, did you know that Hunt says wolves can run for hours without getting tired?” Rowan asked as we walked out the front door.
“Is that so?”
“He said he once ran from here to the mountains without stopping,” Thea added, bouncing on her feet. “I want to do that when I’m bigger.”
Hunt fell into step beside us, having been waiting outside like the good little bodyguard Knox had assigned him to be. His redhair caught the fading sunlight and his tattooed arms crossed over his chest as he grinned down at the twins.
