Dark Moon Rising (The Revenant Book 2) by Kali Argent

the living room floor of his family’s modest, two-bedroom home in the suburbs.
    He hadn’t spent much time with the pack during his childhood other than Gatherings on the full moon. As he’d entered his teenage years, he’d found the structure and community a reprieve from the constant secrecy he had to maintain with his human friends. Within the pack, he could be himself, and he didn’t have to hide or lie, so when he’d been offered a position as an enforcer, he’d readily accepted, much to his mother’s dismay.
    “Why didn’t she want you to be an enforcer?” Thea asked, interrupting his narrative.
    “It’s kind of like the mob. Once you’re in, you’re in for life.” He waited a moment for his mate to digest the information before continuing. “For what it’s worth, they weren’t always like this. The pack, I mean. They were a little rough around the edges, especially during the full moon, but for the most part, they were good people.”
    Thea sighed, a soft sound that reverberated off the stone walls. “The wolves I’ve met, even before the Purge, were always volatile and quick to anger. I’ll admit, they scared me when I was little.”
    “I felt the same way about vampires.” He laughed a little. “I guess it’s true we fear what we don’t understand.”
    “Okay, so if the pack was comprised of essentially good people, why was your mom so worried?”
    “Like I said, you don’t just walk away from the pack, especially not the inner circle. She wanted more for me.”
    Looking back, he could admit he’d become an enforcer for all the wrong reasons. He’d been twenty-two and consumed with rage and guilt after the death of his father. Devon Lockwood had been the toughest son of a bitch he’d ever known, but even he couldn’t outrun a bullet.
    The night Hunters had entered his father’s mechanic shop, both his parents had been working late—his father refurbishing a Mustang a customer had salvaged from the bottom of the river, and his mother updating the software on their outdated computer system. Jenna Lockwood didn’t have a mean bone in her body, but when the humans had crashed into the garage with their rifles and handguns, she hadn’t hesitated to defend her mate. Sadly, his parents had been outnumbered, and in the end, his father had died protecting the woman he loved.
    Rhys should have been there. His father had asked him to be there. He’d been young, though, stubborn and impetuous, and instead, he’d blown his parents off for some stupid fraternity party. So wrapped up in himself, he hadn’t even heard the news until the next morning. Three days later, he’d dropped out of college, moved back home, and had become a dedicated member of the pack.
    He hadn’t sought justice. He’d wanted revenge.
    Thea listened silently, offering neither platitudes or judgments. When he paused to calm the residual anger brought on by the memories, she only squeezed his hands again and waited. Rhys appreciated her quiet support much more than he would have her pity.
    “Brick took over the pack about a year before the Purge.” Bricksten Chase despised humans, and over time, he’d conditioned his enforcers to feel the same. “The Gallows started after the virus, but before that, there were cage matches every full moon. Wolves who were suspected of sympathizing with humans were forced to fight to the death. If a pack member was discovered to be mated to a human…” He trailed off, bile rising in his throat. “Well, let’s just say death would have been kinder.”
    “When did the Gallows start?”
    “Not until this past Spring.” Winter had been brutal. The overcast skies and falling temperatures had added to the growing depression amongst the wolves. That, coupled with sheer boredom, had led them down a dangerous and irrevocable path. “By March, we’d lost over half the pack.”
    “They changed,” Thea deduced. “They went Ravager.” She made a strange noise in the back of