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Authors: Vicki Thompson
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the Trevelyan pack, but my parents split up before I was born.”
“Split up?” He frowned. “I don’t understand how that could happen if your mother was pregnant with you.”
“She didn’t want to stay here with my father. Pregnancy doesn’t mean you have to be chained to someone for life.” Now she wished fervently that her mother hadn’t bolted. Maybe both her mother and father would be alive today if Sophie had stayed in Seattle.
“But a Were male can’t impregnate a female unless she’s pledged to be his mate for life.”
“Really? Are you sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure. We’re all taught that when we go through puberty. It’s one of the basic pieces of information that we—” He paused to gaze at her. “You weren’t taught anything, were you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Don’t tell me you went through your first change alone.”
She nodded. “I thought I was dying.”
“That’s terrible! No Were should have to go through that by themselves. Where was your mother?”
“She died when I was eight.”
“Oh, Luna.” His blue eyes filled with compassion.
Luna couldn’t decide whether this new information about being mated was good news or bad. On the one hand, it meant her parents were destined for each other, which made her feel special as the child of that union. On the other hand, it meant her mother had abandoned her mate.
“So your mother left Seattle?”
Luna took a deep breath. “That’s right. She caught a train. My father raced to the train station to try and stop her from leaving, but he had a car accident on the way… and died.”
“God.”
“I didn’t find out about that until I came up here and asked if anyone knew Byron Reynaud.”
He groaned in dismay. “I’m sorry, Luna.”
“So am I. I never knew him, but when I came to Seattle I’d counted on finding him more than I’d realized.” She stared out toward the water. “I’m sure my mother never heard what happened to him. She didn’t give any indication that he was dead, only that she’d loved him, but she didn’t belong here.” Luna hadn’t understood that as a child, but she got it now. Her mother wouldn’t have fit into the Were world.
“What about her pack?”
She didn’t have one. She was human.
And that was the one secret Luna planned to keep forever. She’d never heard of anyone else being half-Were. What if they treated her like a freak? Being exposed as half-Were might destroy any chance she had of being accepted anywhere.
“Never mind,” Colin said. “I can imagine what happened. She’d gone against the natural order by leaving her mate, so she wasn’t welcome in her own pack, either.”He shook his head. “What a tragedy. For her, for your father, and mostly for you.”
Luna said nothing. By not contradicting him, she was guilty of a lie of omission, but considering the stakes, she felt justified. If Colin could leave it at that, she’d be extremely relieved.
“But you’re using the name Reynaud,” he said. “Hasn’t anyone suspected that you’re Byron Reynaud’s daughter?”
“In the first place, I don’t think anyone knew my mother was pregnant except maybe my father, and he died when she left. In the second place, when I first arrived in Seattle and contacted pack members, I told them that I was a distant cousin of Byron’s and I’d been told to look him up if I came to town.”
“Turns out you were right to be cautious.” He set his plate aside. “But what about Byron’s parents? You could have grandparents in the area.”
“I do.” She’d made a few more discreet inquiries about Byron’s family and had discovered that Edwina and Jacques Reynaud, who lived in a wealthy neighborhood in Seattle, were her father’s parents.
He cradled his martini glass between his large hands. “I’m not the one to say, but it’s possible they would welcome you. It’s not your fault that your mother left and caused so much pain. You’re the child of
“Split up?” He frowned. “I don’t understand how that could happen if your mother was pregnant with you.”
“She didn’t want to stay here with my father. Pregnancy doesn’t mean you have to be chained to someone for life.” Now she wished fervently that her mother hadn’t bolted. Maybe both her mother and father would be alive today if Sophie had stayed in Seattle.
“But a Were male can’t impregnate a female unless she’s pledged to be his mate for life.”
“Really? Are you sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure. We’re all taught that when we go through puberty. It’s one of the basic pieces of information that we—” He paused to gaze at her. “You weren’t taught anything, were you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Don’t tell me you went through your first change alone.”
She nodded. “I thought I was dying.”
“That’s terrible! No Were should have to go through that by themselves. Where was your mother?”
“She died when I was eight.”
“Oh, Luna.” His blue eyes filled with compassion.
Luna couldn’t decide whether this new information about being mated was good news or bad. On the one hand, it meant her parents were destined for each other, which made her feel special as the child of that union. On the other hand, it meant her mother had abandoned her mate.
“So your mother left Seattle?”
Luna took a deep breath. “That’s right. She caught a train. My father raced to the train station to try and stop her from leaving, but he had a car accident on the way… and died.”
“God.”
“I didn’t find out about that until I came up here and asked if anyone knew Byron Reynaud.”
He groaned in dismay. “I’m sorry, Luna.”
“So am I. I never knew him, but when I came to Seattle I’d counted on finding him more than I’d realized.” She stared out toward the water. “I’m sure my mother never heard what happened to him. She didn’t give any indication that he was dead, only that she’d loved him, but she didn’t belong here.” Luna hadn’t understood that as a child, but she got it now. Her mother wouldn’t have fit into the Were world.
“What about her pack?”
She didn’t have one. She was human.
And that was the one secret Luna planned to keep forever. She’d never heard of anyone else being half-Were. What if they treated her like a freak? Being exposed as half-Were might destroy any chance she had of being accepted anywhere.
“Never mind,” Colin said. “I can imagine what happened. She’d gone against the natural order by leaving her mate, so she wasn’t welcome in her own pack, either.”He shook his head. “What a tragedy. For her, for your father, and mostly for you.”
Luna said nothing. By not contradicting him, she was guilty of a lie of omission, but considering the stakes, she felt justified. If Colin could leave it at that, she’d be extremely relieved.
“But you’re using the name Reynaud,” he said. “Hasn’t anyone suspected that you’re Byron Reynaud’s daughter?”
“In the first place, I don’t think anyone knew my mother was pregnant except maybe my father, and he died when she left. In the second place, when I first arrived in Seattle and contacted pack members, I told them that I was a distant cousin of Byron’s and I’d been told to look him up if I came to town.”
“Turns out you were right to be cautious.” He set his plate aside. “But what about Byron’s parents? You could have grandparents in the area.”
“I do.” She’d made a few more discreet inquiries about Byron’s family and had discovered that Edwina and Jacques Reynaud, who lived in a wealthy neighborhood in Seattle, were her father’s parents.
He cradled his martini glass between his large hands. “I’m not the one to say, but it’s possible they would welcome you. It’s not your fault that your mother left and caused so much pain. You’re the child of
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