Page 20

Yelena

“Honey, how was your day? Did you do anything fun?” I ask, holding the phone tightly to my ear.

The bathroom stall is cramped, but it’s the only truly private place I’ve found all day.

My anxiety about Cleo has been at an all-time high.

Maybe it’s just being here and away from her that has my instincts on high alert, but my body is telling me that something is wrong.

Cleo chatters into the phone, telling me all about the butterflies she saw on her walk and the apples she had with lunch. She sounds fine, and I try to relax.

“That’s great, sweetheart,” I whisper, forcing myself to breathe normally.

“But, after lunch, I started not feeling well,” Cleo continues, “My head started to hurt really bad, and then my heart got really fast. Like thump-thump-thumpity-thump. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I’m scared the bad things are going to come in my dreams.”

I swallow back a curse.

According to everything I’ve read, and the knowledge Callie had passed on to me, the physical manifestations of the Seer gift start shortly after the last Seer has passed.

Is it starting? Are her powers manifesting? My poor, sweet baby.

“Maybe you need to take a rest? Lie down on the couch and watch a movie,” I suggest, trying to keep my tone light. The last thing I want to do is alarm her and make her anxious about anything.

“Are you coming home soon, mama?” she asks, her small voice breaking my heart.

I wipe a tear from my eye. “Of course, sweetheart. I’ll be home very soon. I’m almost done.”

“I miss you.”

I grip the phone tighter. “I miss you too, honey bun.”

There’s a rattle of the doorknob, and I hear someone enter the bathroom.

“I’ll call you back later,” I whisper to Cleo before hanging up.

I flush the toilet for good measure before opening the small stall door and stepping out into the main bathroom.

Sylvie is standing in front of the sole mirror, reapplying her lipstick. We make eye contact, and she sneers, looking me up and down with obvious disgust.

“Excuse me,” I say, moving toward the sink.

She plants her feet and glares at me, refusing to move. “You can wait for the future Luna of this pack to be done,” she snaps, “Or go wash your hands outside in the creek like the trash you are.”

My mouth drops open at her audacity. Good luck, Austin.

“I beg your pardon?” I ask, drawing myself up to my full height. I’m not very tall, but even without heels, I’m still taller than her.

She turns back to the mirror, slowly drawing the red onto her lips. The color is much too bright for her, making her appear like a painted doll.

“Why are you even here?” she asks, snapping the lid closed and whirling around to face me. “You can’t be so desperate as to think that Austin would have any interest in you again?”

I move to the tap and turn on the water, washing my hands as I think about her words.

She doesn’t know that Austin kissed me in the woods. Does she know that we were Fated?

“I’m here because this is my pack and a beloved member of my community died,” I say firmly. “I returned so I could pay my respects. That’s all.”

“When I’m Luna, you won’t get within ten feet of our gates. I’ll make sure of that,” she sneers. “We don’t need your trashy kind here. You ran away once. Why don’t you just keep on running? I heard you on the phone. Do you have some sort of sick human that you’ve taken as a mate? Disgusting.”

I scoff and grab a paper towel. The flicker of anger that is rising in me is making it hard to remain calm.

How dare she talk to me like this!

“Do you think your duties as Luna extend so far?” I ask, pasting a smile on my face.

“That may be how your previous pack worked, but it’s not how the Nightwing Pack does things.

The Luna role here is to serve your Alpha and your pack.

As the future Alpha, Austin has repeatedly told me I’m welcome here, as has the current Alpha Malakai and Luna Elizabeth.

I think I’m fine to come and go as I please.

If that changes, it won’t come from you.

But please, keep working on your lipstick.

You’re supposed to smile and look pretty, aren’t you? ”

Her cheeks flush at my words, and she opens her mouth to reply but seems at a loss for words.

I can't help but feel a little smug. Clearly, she didn't expect me to stand up for myself.

With a huff, she turns back toward the mirror, trying to regain her lost composure. But the power dynamic has already shifted.

Taking advantage of her temporary speechlessness, I step past her and make my way toward the door.

“Just because you’ve got Austin wrapped around your little finger doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way,” she retorts as I rest my hand on the door. “I mean, what is it about you? You’re washed up, ugly, and you can’t even dress yourself."

I shrug, refusing to let her see the hurt that her comments have caused.

"Perhaps," I call out over my shoulder, "You should worry less about who's allowed in Nightwing Pack and more about being appropriate Luna material. After all, you aren’t mated yet. Things can change."

Her eyes meet mine again in the mirror. This time, they are wide with shock rather than narrowed with disdain. I shoot her a final hard look before exiting the bathroom and rejoin the throng outside.

My heart is still beating wildly from our confrontation. I don’t know what possessed me to talk to her like that. It’s so unlike me. Fighting with the future Luna is dangerous, especially when I’m contemplating coming back here with Cleo.

But I don’t regret it. She’s been nothing but vile to me since she saw me. Putting her in her place, however ill-advised, feels good.

I just hope I don’t live to regret it.

I look around the crowd of people, automatically looking for Austin. I don’t see him, but that’s not a surprise.

A part of me wants to go find him and warn him that I pissed off his intended mate, but ever since our moment in the woods, I’ve been avoiding him.

He has to know what she’s like. Maybe he’s used to it.

“Just get through tonight and tomorrow,” I whisper to myself, looking around at the crowds. A bonfire is burning in the clearing, and music is playing.

Callie’s life has been well and fully celebrated tonight.

“You have every right to be here,” I remind myself, walking over to the table and grabbing a drink. “No matter what she says.”

Still, I can feel her hateful eyes on me as I move around the crowd. Her whispered comments filter back to me as she does her best to spread rumors about me among the pack.

Hideous bitch.

Delusional.

Left us for humans. Traitor.

Talking to herself in the bathroom. Probably crazy.

I force a smile and move to talk to the small knot of healers gathered in the corner.

They greet me with enthusiasm, and I quickly fall into conversation, comparing the different treatments I have learned with the apothecary treatments they are more familiar with.

Our conversation continues, and I find myself relaxing.

No matter what, this is my pack. My people.

I’ve grown up around them, and they are like family.

Sylvie can gossip all she wants or try to spread rumors.

It doesn’t matter. I’m proud of the life I’ve built and the choices I’ve made.

If she wants to be petty and rude, that’s on her.

The people who matter will see right through her.

Tomorrow is the Alpha Ascension ceremony, and after that, I can go home and figure out what on Earth I’m going to do about Cleo…and what I’m going to tell Austin when I have to come back.

One day at a time. I can do this.