Pack Ruin (The Splintered Bond #3)

Epilogue

INTERROGATION ~ LUKE

I woke inside a vehicle of some kind, in a back seat that was soft and smelled of expensive leather. A car, a large one.

I stunk of battle. Gunpowder and lead, blood and smoke. My skin felt as if someone had sanded it, every nerve blazing with remembered pain. Time had passed. I wasn’t sure how much. I was exhausted, but also… drugged? Maybe. It felt like I’d been kept unconscious.

My wolf was still asleep. I let him rest, as I forced myself to think. Think, and remember.

We’d gone to rescue Grigor. Flor had been caught. Glen and I had moved between her and… There was a hole in my thoughts, a place in my mind itself with scorched edges, as if something had burned it out.

Burned. Fire. Someone had shouted fire . There had been guns.

That was all. I couldn’t remember anything that had happened after I was shot.

I had been shot, hadn’t I? Silently, I ran a hand over my abdomen. There was no wound, but there was definitely a hole in my clothing. I lifted my hand to my throat. Flor’s mark was there. I could feel her, as well, alive.

I thought about the braided rope of spirit that had pulled me out of my coma two days ago. It was still present. Glen’s energy was, anyway, but the other strand felt odd. Numb, almost.

Where were they?

Where was I? It was dark outside, the windows tinted, and some sort of opaque partition kept any illumination from the car’s headlights from reaching me.

I blinked, lifting a hand to rub my eyes. An interior light clicked on at once, and I startled as I realized I was not alone, though I hadn’t scented anyone else. A woman sat across from me, her legs angled to one side, her head tilted slightly. She wore a black pantsuit, high heels, and a curious expression.

“Alpha Mate McDonnell?”

I’d never spoken to Finnick’s mother when I was fostered for those few short days at his pack. But I’d seen her, and even if I hadn’t, I would have recognized her face.She was an older, harder, female version of Finnick. The same cold strength resided in her, though hers made my wolf’s hackles rise.

But her reply had the hairs on the back of my neck rising as well, and fear filling my belly. It was the voice of my nightmares.

“I’m so glad you’re awake, Luke. I have so much to ask you.” Her eyes flashed with red fire as she lifted her hand to point at the mating claim Flor had left on my neck.“Starting with that. Who gave you that mark?”

I held my jaw shut, intent on saying nothing. But when her eyes flashed with fire again, I knew this was a battle I would not win.

“Her name is Florida Wills,” I said through gritted teeth, then opened them and bit my tongue hard enough to bleed, trying to stop the words from coming out.

Another flicker of red fire.

“Her name is Florida Wills,” I repeated, blood running down my chin. “And she is… my true mate.”

A smile as cold as the heart of winter curled her lips. “Excellent. Tell me everything.”

And I did.

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