Dark Veil by Mason Sabre

mess for sure, one that Stephen was glad he didn’t have just now, although if he didn’t get his shit together, his father was sure as hell going to pick a mate for him—and their taste in women was very, very different. “What are you going to do?”
    “I have no idea. I don’t want to mate another woman. But if Gemma carries on being stubborn about this, what choice do I have? This is Phoenix’s life we’re dealing with.”
    There was no denying Cade’s words—the only way he could avoid mating with one of the Castle women and being with Gemma instead was if she agreed to run away with him. Stephen exhaled heavily before finally saying, “You’re going to have to pick one of them then … unless Gemma changes her mind.”
    A tick started to work in Cade’s jaw. “She wants to abort the baby,” He raked his fingers through his hair and expelled a frustrated breath. “She thinks that it will be best if I just go off and mate with this woman.”
    “And what do you want?”
    Grim determination was written in the lines of his face. “Gemma.”
    Stephen’s brow puckered in consternation. If the news of the baby came out, there would be problems—big problems—especially between wolves and tigers .
    “I can't let her have an abortion, Stephen. This is our baby.” He swore. “I can't even fathom it.”
    “I have to hand it to you and my sister,” Stephen said, shaking his head. “You make my shit look like child’s play.” He placed a hand on Cade’s shoulder, peace washing over him at the only contact his mind seemed to permit. He hesitated, then said in a sombre tone, “Whatever you decide, I’m here for you. If Exile is the way you want to go, as much as I hate the idea, I’ll help you in any way I can.”
    Cade stared at his friend, gratitude sweeping through him. He knew how much all this was costing him too, how hard it was to make this decision. “I don’t even know if Phoenix will come with us ... if he would even want to. He’s got pretty attached to you and your mum.”
    “Yes,” he agreed, “but you are more like a father to him—he looks up to you. He’s bonded with you more than anyone else.” Stephen didn’t mention that Phoenix had been looking for his real father. It wasn’t something he was willing to tell Cade about even now. It was Phoenix’s choice and his right to do what he wanted. Right now, Cade couldn’t deal with it ... he had enough to handle already. Stephen would talk to the boy himself—tomorrow maybe.
    Cade nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. He motioned towards the house with his head. “Shall we get this done? I can't think about this shit anymore.”
    “Sure.” Maybe focusing on the murdered girl and the mystery of the strays was just what Cade needed right now. Stephen’s father needed to know about the girl they had just found, as well as the other five before her. They were strays and didn’t matter, but they were being killed. Maybe Society and Council needed to take notice for once. What if it got too close to home?
    Malcolm Davies, Stephen and Gemma’s father, was in his office, as always, sitting at his desk writing away on something. Stephen wondered how it was that he didn’t either die from the boredom of it all or go blind from all the reading. One day it would all be his, and he wasn’t looking forward to the shackles that chained his father to the desk. He had no desire to be a pen-pushing leader.
    Malcolm sat reading the file they had given him and listening carefully as they informed him about the girl and the five strays. It seemed they had all been injected and then dumped—not all of them in water, but all of them had tattoos behind their ears, like some kind of mark. There were high rates of tranquilizers in their systems, too. It suggested they had been given them frequently, and in excessive doses. But this also meant that the culprit was probably Human . No Other would need to chemically restrain someone. What they