#CHAPTER 84: Meeting With the In-Laws

XADEN POV “I must admit,” Burke said with mild distaste, taking in our surroundings, “I was not expecting to return to Moonstone for the foreseeable future. And I certainly did not expect you, of all people, Xaden, to want to come back, especially after how the last visit went.” “Believe me,” I muttered. “I never wanted to come back to this place.” “Then…” he drawled, “would you please remind me what business we have here?” One day had passed since I found that bracelet at the border, and I found myself waiting at the front door of Moonstone’s packhouse. I let my gaze wash over the rest of the town that felt like a distant memory and a lurking shadow all at once. Small, private businesses and homes that I’d passed by on my first trip here, which seemed like such an innocent time in hindsight, but now felt rotten to the core. People walked in the streets, living their everyday lives without so much as a second thought. Chatter and laughter rang throughout the a