Haunted Sanctuary by Moira Rogers

she whispered. “I’m okay, because Jay—Chief Ancheta—he’s like Zack too. That’s why he’s here. He helped me.”
    Her father stared at her, an expression of helpless confusion twisting his features. “You’re a wolf now. And so is the chief.”
    The urge to soothe him pulsed with every beat of her heart. Not as strong as with Lorelei, but undeniable. “I’m okay,” she said again, putting force into her voice. She caught his hands and pulled him toward the dining room table. “Jay’s not going to let anything happen to me. He likes your cooking too much.”
    Her father took a deep, shuddering breath. “Where is Zack? I want to see him.”
    “He’s on his way over.” Eden caught his hands. “Dad, he’s hurt bad. Whatever happened in Memphis, it broke him.”
    “Worse than living with Albus?”
    Eden swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “I’m pretty sure they tortured him.”
    Austin sighed, heavy and tired. “The last time I heard from him, he said things were okay. That he was doing fine.”
    The wolves who had fled Memphis with Zack seemed to care about him. Maybe he had been okay, before it all went to hell. “It was a werewolf thing. Almost like a war. Zack and his”—she had to stop stumbling over the word—“pack. Everyone who survived came here. Jay thinks he can take care of them, but I don’t know if anyone can take care of Zack. I don’t know if he’ll let them.”
    He shook his head. “Zack’s alive. I don’t care what’s been done to you, how you’ve been hurt, as long as you’re living, you can heal.”
    “He’s family, right?” Eden concentrated as she clutched her father’s hands, too aware of the broken phone in her purse. A moment of temper, a spike of panic, and she could crush his fingers. “We can help him.”
    “Well, of course.” His brow furrowed. “You said he brought others with him. Do they need anything?”
    A tiny part of her wanted to throw the whole mess in his lap. Pretend she believed her father could fix anything, maybe pretend she’d ever believed it. God knew he’d always tried.
    He’d never stop trying. That was what mattered. “Yeah, they need a lot. Food, furniture and supplies. I thought we could open up our old house. Some of Jay’s friends are coming in from out of town to help.”
    “It might need some work—cosmetic things, mostly—but I don’t see why not.”
    She heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and leaned in to hug her father. “Thank you, Dad. For not freaking out.”
    A shadow of pain sparked in his eyes. “I wouldn’t, Edie. You’re my child . That could never change.”
    “I know,” she lied, glad he couldn’t hear the tremor under the words. “Zack’s coming up the stairs. Are you ready to see him?”
    He rose and slid his shaking hands into his pockets. “You bet.”
    Zack’s knock was almost tentative. When her father didn’t move, Eden rose and pulled open the door with a wide smile. “Come on in. I was just about to ask Dad to make coffee.”
    Zack took one look at her father and frowned. “You already told him.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Oh.” He looked past her to Austin. “I never wanted her to get hurt. If I’d known, I would have taken them somewhere else.”
    If the words registered, her father showed no sign. Instead, he walked up to Zack, his faded blue gaze taking stock of every scar, every line on his nephew’s face. Then he lifted a hand, patted Zack’s cheek and pulled him down into a hug.
    Eden held her breath as Zack stood there, stiff and awkward in the embrace of a man who had never really been related to him—not by blood, anyway, even if Zack looked more like Austin than Eden ever had. But the bonds of their sad, broken little family had never rested on blood.
    Austin clutched Zack to his chest like a long-lost son, and Zack’s reserve melted under it. After an eternity, he lifted his arms and hugged the older man back, that tired, tentative gesture alone enough to make Eden’s