Hunted Wolf: Moonbound Series, Book Eight by Krystal Shannan, Camryn Rhys Page A

the daytime. He would’ve been killed for sure, distracted by Hannah.
    “I want you to be with me when I question the two women,” Rain said. “Viper, you, too, in case we have to restrain them.”
    Hannah and Viper followed him across the beach, back toward the boat, where the two women sat huddled together, under a big, spidery tree.
    The older woman let out a hissing hush when they approached.
    “Can I look at your hand?” Hannah asked in cautious Spanish, holding out a palm to the old woman.
    Christina clutched the appendage to her chest. “No,” she said.
    “My mother just wants to return home,” Luna said, stroking the old woman’s back and avoiding all their gazes. “And so do I.”
    “We just have some questions for you, and then we can talk about that.” Hannah knelt on the ground in front of them and looked up at Rain and Viper, forcing her eyes down to indicate they should do the same.
    Viper almost laughed.
    These two women were prisoners. And they’d participated in holding children captive. Interrogation techniques told him they’d be more likely to talk if he intimidated them. Not sit on their level. But when Rain knelt down and took a seat next to Hannah, Viper followed suit.
    “We’re not allowed to talk to strangers.” Luna’s voice was almost childlike, but her eyes were shifty. She was much smarter than she gave an appearance of being, he had no doubt.
    “We’ve already spoken with Clara and Damon, and they’ve helped us understand quite a bit about your island,” Hannah said, reaching out to touch the girl’s arm. “We just want to understand.”
    Luna’s shoulders slumped and she held tighter to her mother. “What is it you want to understand?”
    “How long have you lived on the island?” Viper sat back on his heels and rested his hands on his thighs, mimicking Hannah’s posture.
    Might as well present a united front.
    “My entire life.”
    “And how old are you?”
    “Thirty-three.”
    Hannah put her hand on Rain’s arm and Viper saw them exchange a strange glance.
    He didn’t like her touching Rain like that… but butting in between them would be a little too mate-y for the moment. Viper could get his shit under control. She wasn’t fucking the guy. Just touching his arm.
    Just touching his arm.
    “Are you certain that you’ve been on the island your whole life?” Hannah asked, squeezing Rain’s arm.
    Viper took in a deep breath. Just touching his arm .
    “Yes.”
    “Because we’ve been led to believe—”
    The older woman’s eyes rose to Hannah’s and she shook her head. “She wasn’t born on the island.”
    Luna’s brows shot up and she sat back. “But, Mother—”
    “Before the island, there was a place in a far away city where we all lived together in a dark little room.” The woman’s voice had a distant quality, like she wasn’t experiencing the memory. “That’s where you were born. You and Gabriel.”
    Rain grabbed Hannah’s hand, gripping it hard. They looked at each other and said in unison, “Guadalajara.”
    Viper sucked a long gust of air through his teeth. Stop touching my woman .
    He knocked Rain’s shoulder, but the commander didn’t look away from Christina.
    “Adrian brought other wolves in to live with us. And humans. And we were all having babies,” she said. “But then Pamela helped some of them leave and Adrian was angry with her. Very angry.” Her fingers went to her lips and she shook her head. “He took her little girl away from her and he said he was going to kill her.”
    “When the women escaped, that was when you went to the island?” Hannah asked.
    “Yes. We left the city and traveled for a long time. Gabriel was sick on the boat when we went to the island, and Adrian hit him so hard…” Her eyes glazed with the old memory, touched with fear.
    Hannah slid her hand onto the woman’s. “It’s okay, Christina. You’re safe here.”
    Viper nodded, but kept a close eye on Luna. The woman wasn’t