"What am I supposed to do now?" I asked, the weight of uncertainty pressing down on me.


    "Huh? You''re going to have to be a little more specific, my friend," he replied, raising his eyes to mine, his expression riddled with anxiety.


    He looked genuinely panicked. "I spoke with Ryker this morning. Things are chaotic here, and we haven''t had consistent contact with Ken since she left. But he''s nning a birthday party for her. He wants all of us there because we mean a lot to her. I was already on edge about traveling with Rayna, and now the stakes feel even higher." He ran his hands over his face in frustration.


    Hearing Kennedy''s name made my stomach plummet, as if it had dropped all the way down to my toes. I never got the impression she feltfortable in Dark Moon. She only ever spoke with Jer and Rayna, and thest time I saw her face was during a video call before Christmas. Since then, nothingplete silence. I had suspected maybe he was keeping her away from us, from me. But now he''s throwing her a party? Has she been epted into their pack? Has she undergone the Luna Ceremony? I couldn''t bring myself to ask Jer-he already knew how hard this had been for me, and I feared he''d read too much into it. The pain I felt when I thought of her had shifted; it was still there, but dulled, more of a persistent ache than a sharp wound. It had taken almost a year to reach this point—and that included an attack on our teens through drug overdoses.


    "I have to talk to Dad," I said firmly. "There''s no way I can keep Rayna from her brother and Kennedy."


    "Don''t tell her," I suggested hesitantly, almost as if posing a question.


    "You might think I''m clueless when ites to my mate,” he replied, “but I''m not foolish enough to hide the fact that I spoke with her brother. She already knows, and she''s nning the trip as we speak. She''s due back shortly after our birthday, but I''m not sure if anything changes now that we know she''s having twins." He groaned, rubbing his face again. "Two. Two babies." But then, when he looked up at me, a grin spread across his face, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. In an instant, his entire demeanor shifted. "Dad said ra found a mule." He shot me a pointed look, almost like he was ming me.


    "What? That wasn''t the case before I left. You would''ve known about it before we got back. What was the mule carrying?"


    "Some kind of liquid. One of the ss tubes must have broken because he looks like he''s been poisoned. Their healers are working on him now. Where''s Rayna?" He nced around, suddenly realizing she wasn''t nearby.


    "She''s with Jason. He''s keeping an eye on her."


    "Will he? Lately, he''s been so distractedte to things he usually wouldn''t miss, disappearing without exnation."


    "What do you think he''s up to?"


    "It could be a lot of things, but maybe it''s his mate. She''s probably from another pack. He started acting strange when you two began traveling between packs."


    "Are we sure he''s not involved with the drugs that have been circting? I care about him like a brother, but we need to know if Rayna is safe with him while we figure all this out." I hated to doubt, but after seeing Jeff, Richard, and Sebastian hanging around ra, I couldn''t help but question everyone''s intentions.


    "I went there too, but I don''t think so. Neither Dad nor I smell anything unusual on him. Now that I know Rayna has enhanced senses, she would have noticed if he was under the influence of those drugs. As crazy as she might seem when ites to helping others, she wouldn''t knowingly put herself in harm''s way."