Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

north, but there were only two of them and they couldn’t communicate telepathically with the entire pack.
I’ll meet you back at the ranch if I don’t find her.
    Check in with me periodically anyway.
    Will do.
Liam began running down the narrower road and sent up a prayer that one of them found her before it was too late.
    December felt as if she could crawl out of her skin. She’d just seen her closest friend kidnapped, her brother was in the hospital, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about either. She wanted to scream. Or
help
in some way.
    Instead, she’d been questioned by the police for the last hour answering the same questions a dozen different ways. They’d finally left and if she hadn’t been the sheriff’s sister, she had no doubt they’d have taken her down to the station for further questioning. Instead they’d let her stay at the hospital to wait for her brother to come out of surgery.
    When Parker’s doctor strode into the waiting room, she jumped out of her seat and Ana did the same. The shifter who’d been there earlier had long since left, to help look for Kat, December guessed. The older doctor had a half smile on his face as he approached. That had to be a good sign. Her heart leapt but she refused to get excited.
    “How is he?” she asked.
    “He’s going to be fine. Right now he’s resting but—”
    “When can I see him?”
    The gray-haired man’s smile faltered. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now.”
    “Why? I thought you said he was going to be okay.”
    “He doesn’t want to see anyone.”
    “But I’m his sister.”
    He nervously cleared his throat. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but he was specific in that he didn’t want to see
you
. I’m so sorry, December. I—”
    She turned away and strode out of the room. She didn’t need to hear pity or sympathy from a virtual stranger. Maybe she should have expected it. But she’d thought they could work past anything. Especially since he’d just been injured. What was an argument in the face of something like this?
    As she strode down the hallway Ana easily caught up with her. “He’ll come around,” she murmured.
    “Yeah, sure.” But she didn’t believe it. Probably not any more than Ana did. The woman was very nice and a surprisingly calming influence, but she didn’t know her family or anything about her history. She shook her head in an effort to shove those thoughts free. “Have you heard from Connor?” She knew Ana and her mate communicated telepathically. Liam had explained it had something to do with being bondmates.
    Ana nodded. “They’re still looking.”
    “Just the two of them?”
    “No, while you were talking to the police, I called the house. Noah, the man who was here earlier, is out with everyone too. I couldn’t get hold of Jayce, though.” For the first time since she’d met her, Ana looked nervous.
    While December might not understand Kat and Jayce’s relationship, even she knew he wasn’t going to handle what had happened well. Suppressing a shudder, she pulled her mittens out of her pocket and slid them on as they stepped outside.
    Two uniformed officers were talking to one of the EMTs but hurried over when they spotted them. “Are you leaving?” one of them asked. At one time she’d known all the officers’ names, but Parker had hired a few new guys in the past year.
    She glanced at Ana, then nodded. “Yes.”
    “We’ll be escorting you home,” the same one said.
    December wasn’t sure if they knew she was staying at the Armstrong ranch, but she didn’t say anything. They’d figure it out once they started following them.
    The drive back was quiet, leaving her wrapped up and suffocating in her own thoughts. She’d never thought of herself as a morbid person, but visions of Kat helpless and hurt somewhere assaulted her mind. December clearly remembered what it had felt like to have that monster pin her to the floor of her bedroom and use a Taser on her. Then weeks later another stranger had punched her in the face, knocking her out in her own living room. She might not be sure exactly who had taken Kat, but she knew they were part of the same group as the men who’d come after her. A shudder rolled through her and she sent up a silent prayer for her friend.
    Once they reached the turnoff from the two-lane highway onto the long, winding road that led to the ranch, the police car fell back and turned around.
    After Ana