Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

wiped his hands on his pants. “I’m sorry for being such an asshole. You can date whoever you want. I had a lot of time in the hospital to think about what a jerk I’ve been. And Ana stopped by to see me and politely told me how stupid I was being to my little sister. A relative stranger shouldn’t have been there reminding me that family sticks by one another. She didn’t admit it, but I think the only reason she was there was at Liam’s request?” It came out as a question.
    When December gave a slight nod, he continued. “On an intellectual level I know Liam’s pack had nothing to do with Brandon’s death, but it doesn’t make it any less hard for me. Every time I see Liam or any of his pack, I’m reminded about Brandon, but mainly I’m reminded of how I failed him. I should have gotten there faster that day.” He swallowed hard, but all December could do was shake her head.
    There was nothing either of them could have done differently. It had taken a long time for her to get to that realization, but eventually she’d had to bury the guilt. If not, she’d have drowned in it.
    Parker scrubbed a hand over his face before continuing. “I know Liam’s not a bad guy. He’s saved your life multiple times and for that I’ll always be grateful. I should have said it before, but whatever you do with him—marry him, mate him, whatever—as long as you’re happy, you have my blessing. I still want you in my life…if you can forgive me.”
    She stood there a moment in stunned silence. That was the most she’d ever heard her brother say at once. The stark emotion in his voice tugged at her heartstrings. Shaking her head, she pulled her brother into a tight hug.When he grunted as if in pain, she immediately stepped back. “Did I hurt you?”
    Wincing, he shook his head. “Not really. I’m just sore…. Are we going to be okay?”
    Her throat thick, she nodded. She’d been a wreck the past few days and she didn’t want to start crying again. If she did, she’d never stop. “You’re my family.” It was as simple as that.
    A relaxed smile broke out on his face. “The dinner offer still stand?”
    Grinning, she nodded again. “Yeah, come on.”
    In the kitchen they found the table already set and Kat scooping chili into their bowls. From what December knew, Parker couldn’t have been out of the hospital long, but she guessed he’d be up to date on the bodies the sheriff’s department “discovered” a couple days ago. He wouldn’t know about Kat, though. No one except the people who’d been there that night did.
    “Hey, Parker, good to see you out of the hospital…. December, will you pour me a glass of wine?” Kat asked.
    “Nice outfit, Kat. Little early to be in your pj’s, isn’t it?” he jokingly asked as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
    December tensed for a moment, but Kat just rolled her eyes, so she poured two glasses for them. Once they sat, he surprised her by talking about the ranch. “I don’t know if it was from the Armstrong pack, but thanks to an anonymous tip we found a bunch of bodies buried a few miles south of that Dogwood House.”
    December immediately clutched her spoon tighter as she stilled. She didn’t look at Kat but out of the corner of her eye watched her stiffen too.
    “So you two did know about it?” Parker asked withone eyebrow raised. When they didn’t respond, he shook his head and took another bite of chili. “Good chili, Kat.”
    “What does this mean exactly?” December hedged.
    He shrugged. “We’re not sure. Some of those bodies have been there for a while. They’ve all got ties to a couple right-wing hate groups and they were all killed with the same knife. Looks like whoever owns that property—or lived there—killed and disposed of them there. Until we figure out where the owner is, we don’t have much to go on.”
    December pushed out a short sigh of relief. As long as those deaths didn’t get tied to Liam’s pack and no one found out what had happened to Kat, she didn’t care.
    After her third bite, she put her spoon down again and pressed an unsteady hand to her stomach.
    Kat reached out for her. “You okay? Is it the chili?”
    Afraid to open her mouth, she shook her head and bolted from the seat. Knowing she wouldn’t make it to her bathroom upstairs, she hurried to the one off the closest hallway. She’d barely flipped the toilet seat up when she violently emptied the contents of her stomach.
    The heaving and