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

throat, and her hands clenched around his fingers. “So, your alpha thought killing innocent people was the way to handle that?”
    “I can’t begin to explain his reasoning, and there wasn’t anyone to stop him. He decided since the Coalition wouldn’t recognize werewolves on their council, the pack would leave the ARC and live by their own laws.”
    “You were Coalition?”
    “Sergeant.”
    Thea sighed. “Great.”
    He didn’t understand her reaction at first, but it didn’t take him long to puzzle it out. “Corporal?”
    “Try to pull rank on me,” she challenged, but her threat lacked heat. “Okay, so your alpha went crazy, formed his own government, and started murdering people. How did you end up sitting here in a cage with me?”
    “The pack officially left the Coalition in March. Not long after that, the enforcers started abducting travelers. Just humans at first, but then shifters and vampires, too.” He’d come across a group of humans while he’d been on patrol, but he hadn’t been able the stomach the thought of delivering them to the pack. “Everyone was scared and hungry, some were injured. I didn’t know where I was taking them, but I knew I had to get them out of the city.”
    Just off the interstate, past the city limits, he’d happened upon an abandoned truck stop. He’d sent two of the males into the convenience store to search for food and supplies while he’d attempted to hotwire one of the three SUVs in the parking lot. Within minutes, they’d been surrounded by soldiers bearing the mark of the Coalition, demanding to know who they were and how they’d come to be there. An hour later, his small group of humans were clothed, fed, and given medical attention, and he’d been initiated into the Revenant.
    He’d tried to give her privacy, but he’d caught a glimpse of the tattoo on her right hip while she showered, a mirror image to his own. “The pack already knows,” he continued, “so there’s no point in being quiet about it.” Life had been hell for him because of that tattoo, and he didn’t wish his existence on anyone. “I’m guessing Zerrik is Revenant also. Cade?”
    Thea shook her head, causing her waterfall of ebony hair to bounce around her face. “Just me and Zerrik.”
    Fuck, it seemed so obvious now Thea was ashamed that she hadn’t considered the possibility of Rhys being Revenant before. She thought back to Rhys’ reaction when she’d asked him about his involvement with the pack. He hadn’t been surprised or even angry. He hadn’t tried to lie or justify his actions, not the way a guilty person would. If anything, he’d seemed anxious and more worried about her than himself.
    The alpha had wanted her to suspect Rhys, to distrust him and condemn him, and she hadn’t disappointed. He’d warned them that someone was always watching. Then he’d orchestrated the perfect confrontation between her and Rhys in hopes he would reveal his secrets to salvage her trust. Alpha Chase had manipulated them both, and Thea felt little more than disgust that she had let him.
    “You stayed,” Thea whispered, realization dawning. “You stayed to take down the pack.”
    “The Revenant needed someone on the inside to feed them information about security, surveillance, and routines. Clearly, I was the most logical choice.”
    Being captured and held prisoner in no way benefited the operation, which meant something had gone wrong. “Someone found out.”
    Rhys nodded. “One of the enforcers followed me and reported it to the alpha. The next thing we knew, the place was swarming with werewolves. They didn’t just kill the humans, they slaughtered them. Six innocent people who hadn’t done anything wrong except dare to hope for a better life.”
    “The other guards?” She wasn’t unfazed by the loss of life, but she couldn’t do anything to help those poor people now.
    “Four had left the bunker to lead a group of humans to the next checkpoint. Four others were