Page 35 of Moon Claimed
“If it were up to me, you’d be chained to my side already,” Wade said in a deep voice.
I waved to Cameron at the manor gate. “Shut up.”
His eyes slid to me. “What’s running through your head right meow?”
I gritted my teeth. “It’s just impossible, Wade. I want tonotbe squished between two boulders for a change. I can’t recall the last time I didn’t feel stuck, and it’s always other people doing it to me.”
Wade opened his mouth, then squeaked as I parked. “Incoming angry Rhona. Three o’clock. You’re on your own.”
He was out the door in a flash.
I sighed. The guy would face werewolves but not my sister.
Turning tothree o’clock, I blanched at the sight of Rhona charging down the manor steps.
Maybe I’d take Sascha over her too…
I got out of the car. “Rhona. What happened?”
“Youhappened,” she snarled.
My stomach hit the floor. She knew. She’d figured it out. She—
“You took the head team to pack lands and fucking left me behind. What the hell, Andie?”
The head team trickled to join us.
Rhona’s cheeks were flushed, and auburn hair flew about her face. “I deserved to be there. I deserve to stare down the piece of shit who killed my father. I can’t believe you’d do that without me.”
Shoulders heaving, she drew in another breath.
I’d never seen her lose her shit like this. I mean, thepotentialof the storm was always there with Rhona. That’s what put people on edge. But this was a new one for me, and it had to be navigated with care.
“I appreciate what you’re saying,” I told her. “Those are points I considered before making my decision. They were outweighed by the fact that if anything happened to me in pack lands, you’d need to lead the stewards.”
“And what? I’d just get the news that you’d been killed like Dad? You didn’t even tell me you were going.”
Pascal stepped forward. “We received the invitation an hour before leaving. Andie sent me to tell you, but no one knew your whereabouts.”
Rhona closed her mouth.
Bet she was somewhere with Foley.
“Now that you’re here,” I said, feeling the unsettled stirring of the head team around us. This shit did not look good. “The head team will meet the Luthers for the grid announcement each week. You’re welcome to sit in on the meetings that occur at the manor.”
She burst out, “Why are you meeting them at all? How can you bear to look at them after what they did?”
“I can’t lead this tribe by what I canbear, Rhona. I have to do what’s best for them. Visiting pack lands gives us the opportunity to learn about our opposition.”
“And what did you learn this time?” she said sarcastically.
I smiled. “I learned how they’re communicating in Water.”
The head team turned to me as one like we were in some dramatic stage production.
Roderick’s grin was broad. “You did?”
No idea what to do about the information, but that’s what strategy teams were for. “I did. I’d like to discuss the matter immediately. Please gather in the meeting room in twenty minutes.”