Page 86 of In the Light of the Moon
Granna had suggested we go out to find more evergreen branches with juniper berries for decoration and treats, and after hesitating to leave her alone, Josie convinced me to give her some space while we went quickly to fill the bag I’d brought.
The sun was just set, but I found I could see just fine while Josie’s phone’s flashlight was arcing and bobbing with her every step.
My feet carried us a little further than I typically went, past the marker I usually stayed behind, but the walking felt nice. The biting air energized my muscles, and my head felt clearer. Eventually, we happened upon a thick cluster of evergreen trees, and I directed Josie in taking clippings. She chatted away about work and her newest fling.
“Okay, andthen, he wanted to do it, but I could tell that he was trying so hard to pretend that it was ‘just okay’, but yeah, right, and—” I’d never had the sensation of the hair at the back of my neck raising so strongly, though I’d written it in stories plenty of times. That feeling when you know that someone is right on you.
It was more uncomfortable than I thought it would be. But instead of freezing and listening, my body pivoted around, garden shears at the ready and already plunging toward the threat my conscious mind hadn’t even yet registered.
Josie yelped, and so did whatever I’d just stabbed with the sharp gardening tool.
Next thing I knew, I was on my back with the snow wetting my coat and hair. Rough, hairy hands held my wrists and ankles, and another one clamped over my mouth to muffle my screams. I flailed and bucked, and for a split second, the hold on me loosened, but before I could scramble to my feet, I was slammed back down. I bit at the palm over my mouth and tasted my attacker’s blood. But they held on.
“Hey, Sylvie,” I opened my eyes to find green eyes over mine. But they weren’t soft and bright. They were cruel and half-shifted already and wrong, wrong, wrong.
Orion
The drive back into town was long and annoying, but having my mother and sister gone made me more relaxed than I’d been in days. It was easy to assume the role of silent host and chauffeur when I was around my mother, but it was also taxing to be ather beck and call. Saying goodbye to my little sister was always harder, especially after she’d grown older and not been the sullen, irritating child she once was.
I passed the sign welcoming me to Antler Pointe, and I started toward Sylvie’s grandmother’s home. My Yule gifts were in the trunk, and I fidgeted in my seat, wondering if Sylvie would like hers.
After consulting with Juno, I decided it was best not to get her an engagement ring so soon. Though Meredith’s questioning of when we’d ‘make it official’ had me rethinking the decision at first, I decided to stand my ground.
It didn’t stop my planning, though. I would need to figure out a way to find out what kind of ring she would like. Maybe I could talk to Josie? To be frank, Sylvie’s friend was a bit too boisterous for me, but she was certainly the person closest to my mate. And I needed to ask her grandmother for her blessing to propose.
Maybe I could do that tonight. Just so that she would know my intentions and secure that important piece before I made any other plans. She would probably have quite a bit of information to aid in ring consideration as well.
I arrived at the little white house a half hour or so after sunset, feeling much lighter than when I had left town. I piled my simply wrapped gifts into my arms and made my way to the front door. My weight shifted from side to side, and my nose picked up something strange. I craned my head to look at the driveway and yard surrounding, and I detected Sylvie’s scent leading toward the forest.
Before I could think more of it, the door opened, and I smiled distractedly at Sylvie’s grandmother.
Instead of calm and polite and slightly snarky, as she’d always been with me, she stepped back without a word and closed the door behind her.
“Where’s Sylvie?” I asked, “I smelled that she went outside with Josie.” My skin was itching, needing to get to my mate. She wandered the wood often, to the point that she should’ve known her way around, but I didn’t want to put anything to chance with the pack watching us closely these days.
Sylvie’s grandmother furrowed her brow, as if she hadn’t considered Sylvie’s absence until now. “She and Josie went out to gather some branches for decorations…” she frowned. “They should be back now, though.”
I thought that getting Sylvie’s phone call when she found that girl’s body was the feeling of true fear, but this was far, far worse. With my last bit of sense, I lowered the gifts to the floor, right at her grandmother’s feet, and ran out of the door.
My steps punched through the snow, and trees whipped past while I followed Sylvie’s scent. I could imagine she and Josie walking leisurely, collecting and chatting, but at a copse of evergreen trees, I skidded to a stop.
A growl ripped through my chest, because now it wasn’t just my mate and her friend, but the scent ofthem. I sunk down to my hands and knees, sniffing at the ground at a body-sized impression in the snow.
I gave a long, high-pitched whine because they’d hurt my mate. Though it was outrage instead of fear twined with her scent, I smelled blood, too. If they’d gotten her to the point that she was down and fighting, it wasn’t good.
With shaking hands, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I’d been avoiding fighting Graham, not wanting to repeat history and potentially perish in the process this time. But in trying and failing to find another way, I endangered my mate anyway.
“Hey, what’s up?” Juno answered the phone on the third ring.
My voice was already twisting and changing, and I pulled a lock of Sylvie’s black hair that’d fallen against the white snow. Ibrought it to my nose, but it did little to comfort me. “I need your help. They took her, and I’m going after them.”
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to take on the whole pack by myself, and judging from the at least three other Wolves that were just here, I would be facing more than just Graham himself.
I gave Juno the general direction where the scents were heading, and they were already running out of their house. We hung up, and I didn’t bother changing out of my clothes. The constriction of fabric and subsequent rip let me feel like I was destroying something. But it wasn’t enough.
My shift, though only taking a minute at most, felt unbearably long. As Wolf, the absence of my mate felt even worse, and another whine escaped while I bounded off on the trail of Sylvie’s scent.
I would get her and tear down any that got in my way. I’d promised and promised to keep Sylvie safe, and I’d failed again. Despite my instincts to protect, they still took her.
