Free Bad Moon Rising by Loribelle Hunt

barely registered his groan when he came. They collapsed back onto the table together. She smiled dreamily. She’d never look at this old table in quite the same way again.

    56

    Loribelle Hunt

Chapter Seven
    She entered the back door of the bakery, glad to be here, but already missing Trey. The kitchen was empty, its steal surfaces gleaming from a recent cleaning. Remembering her promise, she locked the door and called to check in. At ten, the morning rush had mostly passed. She followed the low buzz of conversations from out front where Milo and the local lingerers greeted her warmly. She sighed. It was good to be back.
    Pouring a cup of coffee and grabbing a Danish, she returned to the office and her desk. Paperwork had piled up in her short absence—bills and order confirmations, delivery change notices and miscellaneous mail, the week’s receipts. She rifled through the junk mail first, dropping it in a small can at her feet, then pulled out her check ledger and paid the bills.
    She noted a couple of delivery schedule changes on the large desk calendar and turned to last week’s books.
    At least business hadn’t suffered while she was gone. As a matter of fact, it increased; the small town equivalent to rubber necking. I should get shot at more often. She grimaced. Aside from the unpleasantness of repeating the whole ordeal, she could only imagine Trey’s reaction. He’d probably hide her away on some desert island. Hmm…an idea with merit .
    She could go for some isolated tropical time with Trey. She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and smiled. Yes, a Bahama Mama, some white sand, Trey, and no one else around sounded pretty damned good.
    “Well, don’t you look content?” Meg drawled.
    She cracked an eye open and half glared at the interruption before 57

    Bad Moon Rising: Lunar Mates Book 2

    sitting up and turning her full attention on Meg. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked defensive. Wonderful. Tara had a few things to say to her baby cousin, and now was as good a time as any.
    “Have a seat,” she said, nodding at the chair in front of her desk.
    Steps reluctant, Meg moved towards the chair and gripped its back.
    “You’re still pissed at me, huh?” she asked.
    Tara sighed, anger dissipating like wind from her sails. It was impossible for her to stay angry with anyone for a week, much less one of her cousins. She looked contrite at least. With Summer gone, it was left to her to fill Meg in on some of the bigger Duveau family secrets.
    “Sit down, Meg,” she said wearily. “Do you remember Grandpa Jack? Tinnie’s husband?”
    Tara saw nothing but avid curiosity on Meg’s face, and no wonder.
    Jack was persona non grata with her and Summer. She watched Meg sip her cappuccino, and took a fortifying sip of her own now cold coffee.
    “Jack was a werewolf.”
    “What?” Meg cried out the question and jumped to her feet. The chair scraped across the floor and Tara winced at the sound. It seemed to go well with the conversation. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
    She took a steadying breath, arranged the timeline in her mind, and started talking. She told her everything. How Jack was rarely around, how he disappeared when Tinnie got sick and never came back. How she and Summer had tried to track him down, but had gotten nowhere in their search. When she finished, Meg looked back at her, shock plain in her wide‐eyed expression.
    “Trey is your mate. And Darius is mine. Do you suppose Summer has one?” She shook her head and paced. “I don’t know enough. This can’t be common, even for werewolves. Is it because we’re witches, or because Jack was one of them?”
    Tara shrugged. “Summer would be the one to ask probably, and I doubt we’ll be seeing much more of her.”
    She picked at the Danish on her desk, then looked up to catch Meg watching her suspiciously.
    “There’s more,” Meg said.

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    Loribelle Hunt

    Tara bit back a bitter laugh. Must be nice to have