Revolting

Chapter 51

Hannah and Michael were at the end of the driveway, waiting for the Rogues to arrive. They stepped forward to welcome Caroline, Lonnie and Sarah as they piled out of the SUV. Hannah smiled happily at them, and seemed to be having difficulty standing still. She even jumped forward and gave Caroline a hug. Caroline's eyes grew huge in surprise as she quickly stepped out of Hannah's embraces.

"Hannah, oh my." She looked the girl up and down. "You look good, really good. And so happy." In just a few days' time, the girl seemed to have put on weight, and her hair was clean and shiny. Caroline's eyes went from the small woman up to Michael. Her eyes twinkled as she noticed the fresh mark only half hidden under the collar of Michael's t-shirt. "Looks like you two have been busy."

Michael grinned and shamelessly snaked his arm around Hannah, pulling her small body tight against his. "Things are going well. We are making great progress." He looked behind Caroline to Lonnie and Sarah. "I guess you guys heard about Boyd finding his mate here."

"Yeah, isn't that something?" Lonnie grumbled. He and Caroline started pulling their packs from the back of the van. "Some guys have all the luck." Caroline smacked a backpack hard into his gut, making him grunt from the impact. "What? I'm just saying..."

Sarah shook her head at the two of them and then turned her attention back on Michael and Hannah. "Have there been any other breakthroughs?"

Michael paused, and looked down at Hannah, as though he were giving her a chance to answer for herself. When she remained silent, he replied, "She's talking a little. A word here and there. She knows her friends."

"Why don't we show you to your rooms, and then we'll sit down for some lunch?" Nina suggested. The group moved into the big, half-renovated farm house. Lonnie and Caroline were given the guest room, since it had a queen bed, and Sarah was led up to the attic, where the half-finished room had been set up with an extra twin bed. "I'm so sorry, it's a little rough," Nina apologized, gesturing to the unpainted walls and the rough floor. The bed was neatly made with a homey looking quilt, and there was nightstand with an old-fashioned lamp beside it. Other pieces of furniture in the room were still covered with sheets to protect them from dust and paint.

Sarah smiled tightly. "It's fine," she said, setting her bags at the foot of the bed. "I appreciate your hospitality."

"Of course. Well, I'll give you a few minutes to get settled. We'll see you in the dining room."

Sarah walked around the cramped room, pulling a dust cover from an old dressing table with a square mirror. She waited a moment for the dust to drift and settle before she looked at her own reflection. She drew her fingers through her hair. Her ash blond locks were greasy, and her face seemed to have aged twenty years over the last twenty-three months. She traced the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and scowled.

She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. "I am a luna," she told herself firmly. She had been the most powerful Luna in the north eastern territories for two decades, until Peter's bastard brat had turned up again.

Peter was her first husband in a boring arranged marriage. Their union had already been crumbling when Peter found his fated mate, that stupid mousy rogue that came to their pack begging for sanctuary. Peter wouldn't reject his fated mate, and Sarah wasn't about to sit around and be humiliated while her husband was siring children with his mistress. It was Peter's twin brother Vincent who had convinced her to get rid of Peter. It was surprisingly easy to do, just slip a little something in his tea.

Vincent had married Sarah right away, and they'd been the ultimate power couple. They weren't fated mates, but they were so much alike, that they worked perfectly together. Vincent was supposed to take care of Peter's mate and the bastard pup, but the bitch had slipped away. When he finally found her, the child was gone. For years finding the kid had been Vincent's obsession. His mother had prophesied that the kid would destroy us.

Sarah's mother-in-law, that spooky old bitch, had been right. When Eudora came of age, she got her revenge, and Sarah had been forced to flee her pack. She'd been wandering in the woods, eating squirrels and berries for two years, while Eudora took over the Black Crow pack and lived like lupine royalty.

Sarah had joined up with Michael just for survival's sake. He was a huge alpha male. He may not have had a pack any more, but his aura was still enough to send weaker wolves running. She wasn't sure if it was good luck, or fate. Aligning herself with Michael had brought her literally right into Eudora Carrole's backyard. Sarah relaxed her face and put on a small smile, carefully concealing all of her thoughts and emotions. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail with a rubber band, and reached for her pack.

She was famous for always having something useful and important in her bag, and today was no exception. She pulled out a rag-wrapped bundle. She set it on the bed and carefully unwrapped it. Inside the cloth lay a tarnished silver knife. It wasn't pretty, but the edge was still sharp, and the dull, blackened silver was no less potent. She re-wrapped it and tucked it inside her shirt. With her serene smile firmly in place, she made her way down her stairs to the crowded dining room, where lunch was already being served.