The Ruined Luna

Six

Kyrian

The Jolene Pascall that stepped out of the silver four door sedan could easily have passed for another person if compared to the photo currently locked in his vault.

Bright copper hair that had been dirty, matted, and tangled was now piled into a bun on top of her head, a few tendrils framing her oval face which was dotted by freckles. The one eye not covered by the poorly constructed black eyepatch was a blueish gray in color. They complimented her pale skin. She was tall, taller than he'd expected. Probably six foot flat if his measurement was good. She was in a simple plain dark grey hoodie that had a dark stain on the collar, and jeans that were too loose and baggy. The woman was still painfully thin.

He watched her face closely as she looked around the front lawn, her gaze lingering on the pines at the tree line. He expected to see a litany of emotions. But there was nothing. Just a blankness not even his stoicism could match.

"Pop the trunk so I can get her bags."

"She doesn't have any."

He'd been so distracted that he'd barely caught the exchange between Britta and Crowley. His brows winged up in surprise. They'd sent her to them with nothing but the clothes on her back and whatever demons lurked beneath that too still surface. The pricks.

Kyrian was surprised to hear Jolene greet Britta. It was only a single word, but it had been more than he'd expected. He had guessed they wouldn't hear her speak for weeks or even months.

He wasn't sorry to see Crowley go. He'd never liked the man, and the lingering fresh bruise on her face changed the dislike to hate.

Then Britta put her hand on Jolene's shoulder.

The change came on suddenly, with no warning. She was standing there, lost in her own revere, and then clothing ripped and shredded apart until a wolf nearly as big as himself stood in the circle of ruined cloth. The fur along the top of her head, spine and tail was so dark it was nearly black, while her legs and sides changed to a deep, vibrant red. Her face had a more traditional mask of dark fur that ringed her eyes and down the top of her muzzle while a lighter cream color covered her cheeks and down the throat before the brown ringed together at the chest.

She eyed him uneasily, her wolf far more comfortable expressing itself than the human part. She didn't move anything but her head, looking first and Avery and Britta, who were now a few feet away, then him. One eye was the color of glacier ice. The other a deep cloudy grey with a set of three scars that ran from the eyebrow to the top of the cheek bone. The middle was deep and jagged while the one closest to her ear was broken up by undamaged skin here and there. It was easy to see a claw in the mark, slicing open soft human flesh.

'Way to overreact, you bonehead.' He told his Beta over the pack mind link.

Avery glowered at him. 'Did you not see how fast that shift was? She's freaking huge in case you hadn't noticed.'

'She was just scared.' Britta interrupted, inserting herself into the conversation. 'Can you blame her?'

'You need to be careful around her Brit.'

Avery's mate just rolled her eyes and shoved him out of the way before crossing back over to Jolene.

"I'm sorry." She told the wolf who was now looking at the ground. "There were a lot of other ways I could have gotten your attention without touching you. I won't do that again without your permission, okay?"

Jolene huffed and deliberately nodded.

"Why don't we get you settled into where you'll be staying, okay?" Britta smiled and started to walk towards the guest cabin. "I bet a bath would hit the spot right about now."

Jolene's ears swiveled immediately, and she started to follow, only to pause and look back at him. There was a pop and loud crack before she was back in human form, unbothered by her nudity. It took everything he had to not react to the multitude of puckered scars that crisscrossed her body, her trauma carved into her skin. All were a deep shade of pinkish purple.

She dipped her head, a silent greeting, before turning to walk barefoot across the rocks and onto the grass as she followed behind Britta.

Avery let out a soft whine, uneasy, as he watched his mate disappear into the cabin with Jolene in tow. "You sure about this?"

"What do you think?" he asked instead of answering.

"She doesn't act right." Avery replied, not bothering to look his way. "She met your eyes so easily, like the Alpha sense doesn't touch her. I'm second in command, and I can only stand it for no more than thirty seconds. Her scent was off too."

Kyrian cocked a brow. "What did you notice."

The Beta shook his head. "It's what I didn't notice. I never smelled fear on her. Or anything other than her base scent. Odd, isn't it?"

He grunted. It was odd. The only thing he'd scented off of Jolene had been a mixture of sage and some kind of flower. "She'll need more than we originally thought. Think Britta can get it all straightened out?"

Avery nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem. Brit has the pack network to work with. Anything we don't already have we'll order."

"I've assigned Tripp and Rita as her security detail. Go let them know she's here."

His friend didn't reply as he left while his phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the caller ID before tapping on the screen and pressing it to his ear.

"Are you pleased with your prize?"

The oily sound of Collin's voice never ceased to make his skin crawl. He glared at the rocks beneath his boots.

"The reports failed to mention her condition while in your care."

Kyrian wanted to say a lot more, but relationships with other packs had to be prioritized and dealt with carefully, even when the idea churned his stomach.

"Details details." Collin replied airily. "Can't have something like that going around at full strength. Who knows what sort of havoc she could cause if given the chance. Don't act like we aren't the same Kyrian."

"We aren't." He bit out, his temper beginning to get the better of him despite his promise to himself to remain unmoved by Collin's kid level jabs.

"Just because your cage is gilded, doesn't change that its still a cage. Enjoy ownership, Kyrian. Welcome to the club."

The line went dead, leaving Kyrian lowering the phone from his ear while his wolf snarled and snapped with fury in his mind. His hand flexed, crushing the phone, and he let the shattered pieces fall from his hand before he turned and stalked into the packhouse.