Fractured by N.O Darling

Chapter oafio

**josie’s [V**

| managed to sleep for a solid six hous after my shower with Luke, | roll onto my side, expecting Luke or Theo to

be next to me, but for the first tin years, I've woken upalone, and | don't like it.

| drops my shields that I'd kept up all night, | need to feel my bonds, need to know if I've missed anything

“Morning, Babe, tanke is making coffee, and I'm malding you sfeast. Don’t even try to tellyou don’t

want it because you need to eat, otherwise you'll tire yourself out too easily. Cdownstairs and eat breakfast

with us. The guys have sstuff to share about what happened whilst we slept,” Then says into the mind link,

obviously sensing the moment | dropped my shields.

“Okay, I'll get dressed and be down in a moment,” 1 respond.

“Yes, please get dressed. | have no complaints about you beg nalted. It was a wonderful sight to wake up to, but

we have quite a few guests here and | fear Mason might met all their eyeballs if you cdown naked,” Theo

rambles, and | shake my head with a laugh. He never falls to pull a smile from me, no matter the situation.

1 throw on sjeans and one of Mason's hoodies before making my way to the kitchen. All my guys are sitting

around the table, a plate of toast with pots of butter and jam in the centre. Luke smiles atand slides a cup of

coffee towards me.

“Sorry, | didn’t mean to sleep so long. How was the night? Any progress?” | ask as | take the empty seat between

Deacon and Axe.

“Good morning, Beauty,” Axe says, leaning over and kissing my cheek. He looks exhausted.

“You look much better after a sleep,” Deacon smiles, “Sage was able to locate one bond, but it didn’t help find

Harper as the bond we found had no ties to the rogues and no idea she was a Grey. It does prove that our

method of searching that way could work though. The second attempt to locate a bond didn’t go as smoothly

though. Just when we thought we were getting close, the link moved in a completely different direction. Sage

needed to rest after that,” he explains.

“So not a total waste of tand definitely something we should continue with,” I nod.

“Archie agreed to my idea and has gone to learn how to pass as human raised. He should be ready to start in the

next couple of days,” Mason says with a yawn.

“Eat,” Theo instructs, sliding a plate of buttery toast with a thin layer of strawberry jam on it, exactly how I like it.

| pick up the toast and take a small bite. | have zero appetite, but Theo is right. | need to keep my energy levels

up, or I'll be no use to the search.

“Two of the teams out searching found potential buildings that were previously used by the rogues. There are

signs that they have been there and Raff has teams searching both locations for any kind of clues,” Axe says as |

eat the toast.

“Great, that could be really useful in narrowing down possible locations,” | nod.

“There is something else,” Deacon says, sounding a little besitant.

“What is it?” | ask, fighting the urge to shake the information from him.

“Do you know someone called Emma Barnes?” He asks.

7/2

“The nrings a bell, but | can’t place her. Why?”

She has been to our house and spoken with Luke’s mum he says she has heard about Harper and can help, but

she won't say how unless you go and visit her in person,” explains.

| frown, It seems odd that someone who thinks they can help will only do so if | speak to them myself. Ernma

Barnes... where do | know that nfrom?

“Do we think it’s legit, or just a waste of time?” | ask.

“I think it's worth checking out. We have an address for her if you want to go,” Luke says.

“It's the middle of the night in our realm, we will go later things go quiet here,” | nod, curious as to who this

woman is and why | have to go in person.

“My mum has been feeding everyone and she and my dads have gone to get more food to keep everyone fed.

We have a newly found Grey that needs shelp. She is almost 19 and has not had it easy. We found her in a

run- down house that was littered with drug paraphernalia and alcohol cans and bottles. | have given her some

of your clothes, and she is upstairs with her bond, Myles. | know you're probably the best person to help her, but

we have enough to deal with at the moment, so | was hoping you'd know who best to take her to in our realm for

the tbeing,” Deacon says.

“Does she have an addiction?” | ask.

“I'm not sure,” he shrugs.

“Okay, well, given we have a lot to deal with, I'm going to suggest you compel her not to want whatever it is she

might be addicted to and then take her to the academy’s infirmary to be checked over and given medication for

any physical withdrawal symptoms she might have for now.”

“What about the others that were in the house with her? They're human, but they need our help too,” Axel says,

and it warms my heart. He is such a caring person.

“We will go back and help them as soon as we can,” I-smile at him..

“Right, meeting adjourned, you three go get ssleep, and we will take it from here,” Theo says with a clap of

his hands.

“Yes, Dad,” Mason huffs, standing from his chair.

| get up to hug him and tell him how much I love him, then repeat the swith Axel and Deacon before

watching them head upstairs with slow tired steps.

| feel much more positive about today. Sgood progress was made last night and | hope we will have an even

better day.

N.O Darling Author

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