His Moonsilver Mate (Abby and Kade) novel Chapter 57

Chapter 57

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Kade

Chapter 57

By morning, Moonhaven had changed.

Patrols were running twice as often, every road into town was watched, and no one was allowed beyond the inner territory alone. Ryan had already changed the usual routes once and planned to change them again before dark. The old service paths Sloane knew were either blocked or covered by additional guards, and anyone entering town was being checked regardless of whether we recognized

them.

It was inconvenient.

That was the point.

If the rogues came back, I wanted every assumption they had made about Moonhaven to be wrong.

Ryan stood over the map on my office table, one hand braced beside the western border.

“I moved another team toward the creek and doubled the north patrol. I also want men near the old logging road tonight.”

“Do it.”

He marked the change.

Liam sat across from me with his arms folded. My mother was beside him. Tiernan had stayed after the equinox attack, and Cole stood near the end of the table with a cup of coffee.

Tiernan studied the map for another moment. “I can bring twenty warriors from Ravenwood without leaving my own territory exposed. They should be here in two days. Tomorrow if I can move them fast enough.”

Ryan straightened. “I’ll keep the inner patrol heavy until they arrive. If the rogues were willing to come this far into town once, I’m assuming they’ll try again.”

“So am I.”

Liam had been quiet through most of the discussion. Then he said, “It may not be enough.”

I looked at him.

He held my gaze. “We should send Abby to Blackridge.”

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“I am thinking about it.”

You answered before I finished the sentence.”

“Because getting her there is the problem.”

Blackridge lay deep in the mountains, hours from Moonhaven. Her uncle, Alpha Vincent, cond

protect her once she reached it. I had no doubt about that.

The road between here and there was another matter.

tapped the map. “They know who she is now, and we have no idea how many people they have outside our territory. Putting Abby in a car for hours gives them exactly the kind of opportunity they

need.”

“We send an escort.”

“A large escort tells anyone watching us exactly where she is.”

“And keeping her here tells them exactly where she is too.”

That silenced the room for a moment.

Liam wasn’t wrong.

I hated that he wasn’t wrong.

He leaned closer to the table. “Uncle Vincent has a mountain pack, secure territory, his own warriors. If they’re coming specifically for Abby, getting her out of Moonhaven might be the safest option.”

“Once she gets there. And if they hit the convoy halfway?”

“We plan for that.”

“We can plan for Moonhaven too, and here I know every road, every trail, every place they can approach from. The second we leave our territory, that advantage is gone.”

Tiernan gave a small nod. “Kade has a point. Moving her creates another vulnerable window.”

Liam looked toward him. “So we leave her where they expect her to be?”

“For now,” I said.

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I looked at her.

She folded her hands on the table. “Abby and Liam are his family, and if Diana inherited whatever this is through their mother, Blackridge is the first place we should look for answers.”

Liam nodded. “Uncle Vincent may have heard something, even if he doesn’t understand what it

means.”

That part made sense.

“Call him.”

My mother glanced toward Liam. “And before either of you decide anything about sending Abby anywhere, someone should probably ask Abby.”

Liam looked away.

I didn’t. “She stays here until we know more.”

My mother’s expression softened slightly. “She hasn’t left her room since the attack.”

Ryan looked toward her. “Still?”

“Unfortunately.”

Liam rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “She barely talks to me.”

“She barely talks to anyone.”

“Is she eating?”

My mother’s face tightened. “Very little.”

“She needs to.”

She turned toward him. “And what do you suggest, Liam? That we hold her down and force-feed her?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I know you didn’t. But she has spent two days convinced people were hurt because of her. Every

time someone walks into that room and tells her what she needs to do next, she hears one more thing she’s failing at.”

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“Then we deal with that. We don’t frighten her into eating a bowl of soup today and pretend we ixed something.”

I looked down at the map.

I had held Abby after the attack until she cried herself to sleep. Even now, I could feel the way she had shaken against me.

She had kept saying she didn’t want this. She had sounded almost apologetic, as if being honted was somehow another burden she had placed on everyone around her.

I had stroked her hair until her breathing finally evened out. Then I had stayed beside her long after she fell asleep because leaving had felt impossible.

Liam shifted in his chair. “What about the bond?”

I looked up.

He seemed almost uncomfortable having said it.

My mother did too.

“What about it?” I asked.

Liam rested his forearms on the table. “You said if the bond were completed, you’d feel her more

clearly.”

I knew immediately where he was going. “So?”

“So if she were taken again, you might be able to find her.”

The room went quiet.

Liam normally looked ready to throw me through a wall if the subject of marking his sister came within ten feet of him. The fact that he was suggesting it now told me exactly how scared he was.

My mother glanced at him. “Liam.”

“I’m not saying I like it.”

“That’s reassuring.”

He ignored me. “I’m saying we’re discussing sending her across two packs because we’re afraid

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I didn’t need the explanation. Neither did Liam.

Ashook my head. “No.”

Liam stared at me. “You didn’t even-‘

“She hasn’t chosen me.”

That stopped him.

Knox stirred beneath my skin at the thought of marking Abby, but I pushed him back.

I wanted it.

That wasn’t the same as having the right to do it.

“I’m not marking her because we’re frightened.”

Liam’s expression shifted. “If she wants it-”

“Then she tells me.”

My mother was watching me quietly.

I continued. “When I put my mark on Abby, it happens because she chooses me. I’m not taking that choice from her because we’re scared someone might take her away.”

No one argued.

“There’s another reason. If they’ve been searching for something like Diana for years, I’m not assuming they know nothing about how a bond could be used against her. If there’s any way to block it, weaken it, hurt her through it, or force it apart, I don’t want to hand them another weapon before Abby has even decided she wants the bond back.”

My mother’s mouth tightened. “A forced break would hurt both of you.”

Probably more than hurt. We had already broken the bond once. I wasn’t doing it again unless Abby

chose the risk with me.

Liam rubbed both hands over his face. “I hate all of this.”

That, at least, we agreed on.

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I went upstairs.

There were still maps on my desk and reports I needed to read. They could wait ten minutes.

Abby had already waited long enough.

****

It was late enough that moonlight spilled through the windows along the hallway when I knocked on Abby’s door.

Her voice came quietly from inside.

“Come in.”

I opened the door.

She was curled up on the window seat with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

The curtains were open.

That surprised me after two days of keeping the room almost completely dark.

Moonlight fell across her bare feet and one side of her face. She looked exhausted, although there was a restlessness in her eyes that didn’t match the hour.

I set the tray on the small table beside the window.

“Still awake?”

“The moon won’t let me sleep.”

I glanced outside. “How does that work?”

“I don’t know.” She smiled faintly. “Diana just feels awake, so apparently I do too.”

“At least one of you is enjoying herself.”

“She is.”

I sat down beside her, leaving enough room that she wouldn’t have to move if she didn’t want me

close.

She glanced at the space between us, then shifted toward me and rested her head against my

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“Aunt Cassie wouldn’t threaten you.”

You have a very generous opinion of her.’

That earned a quiet laugh. It was small, but I felt it against my chest.

Abby looked at the bowl of thick, creamy soup and a few slices of bread beside it. “I’m really hungry.”

“I figured.” I tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the soup. “I’m not going to lecture you, but you do need to eat something.”

“I’ve survived this long.”

“Barely.”

I held the bread toward her.