Page 19

The next day I’m dressed warm and carrying a small bag of my belongings, crouching behind a car in the parking lot, because I knew there was going to be a delivery of food today. Felix and Parker are there, unloading the crates with the delivery guy, and placing them on carts to push to the mess hall. When they’re at the carts, I peek inside to see how much is left, which is about six more crates. After they’re unloaded, I sneak over in socks to go undetected from Felix’s and Parker’s heightened hearing. I’ve also tossed some pepper on my body, hoping it will cover my scent for a little while. Between the driver seat and the metal shelving, I squeeze into a small area, covering myself with a plastic tarp that’s laying on the ground.

They’re outside the van, saying goodbye before the driver closes the back doors and takes off. My legs and feet are numbing from having them folded into my chest. I try following the cars movements. The van turns right out of the community gates, stays on the main road for about a mile, turns left, and then I lose direction. The driver’s phone rings, and he puts it on speaker.

“Hey Darryl, where you at?”

“Two miles from the warehouse.”

“Stop at Marigolds in Lyle. Some of their food arrived damaged, so it needs to be picked up for replacement.”

“Sure thing. I should be back at one.”

The car does a U-turn, and now I’m really confused, but at least I know where he’s headed. I hadn’t heard of the town Lyle, but it’s as good as any place for me to find somewhere to stay for a day or two with the little money Larc left me. He always makes sure I have money.

The van rolls over gravel and the engine shuts off. I wait for the driver’s steps to move away from the van. Tossing the cover off, I climb over the passenger seat, put my boots on, and open the door. As I’m hopping out, the driver comes back talking to someone, so I ease the door shut and pretend to be shopping along the little mini-mart center.

It’s run down. Marigolds and a laundromat are the only businesses in operation. The rest of the buildings have boarded up windows and for sale signs on the doors. I venture down the road to the diner for food and to find out more about Lyle. Diners are the perfect places to learn about a town. The windows of the diner are caked in dust, and when I open the door, I’m hit with the pungent smell of fried grease. The walls have torn wallpaper, half shielded by pictures, and the seating isn’t much better—rusted metal chairs and tables covered in vinyl. At the counter, the stools appear to be sturdier, so I sit there.

A woman who has had way too many hair dye jobs and long nights out, shuffles over to take my order. To avoid touching the grease and food smudged menu, I order a coke and fries. I doubt they could get that wrong.

She places them in front of me, and I ask.

“Excuse me. Could you tell me if there’s a hotel nearby?”

“Two blocks to your left.”

Because I skipped breakfast, I gulp the fries and suck down the coke, leaving a small tip so I have enough for a room. After I make it inside the motel room, I remove the cover on the bed to check for bugs. Aside from a spider, the sheets appear clean. I remove the spider, kick off my boots, drop onto the bed, and close my eyes. My heart aches for leaving Larc. I cry myself to sleep.

In the evening, a stroll through a nearby park sounds better than staying indoors. It has a couple of broken swings, and the monkey bars are missing. I pull the collar of my coat higher. Staying on a dirt trail, which winds around the small park, I sit down on a bench and close my eyes. I’ve been crying on and off since our Ben encounter. My heart hurts for the werewolves, me, and especially Larc. He’s my sun, moon, and stars. I open my eyes, drop my head back, and stare at the stars, listening to a mournful howl.

There are footsteps behind me, and then someone collapses on the bench next to me. I’m about to scream but Kyle covers my mouth.

“We’re not going to hurt you.”

I slap his hand away.

“I know you’re not. I just didn’t recognize you right away.”

The others come around the bench, standing in front of me. Maggie is one of them.

“How did you find me?”

“When we found you missing, we assumed you got on the delivery guy’s truck, so we talked to him. Then we sniffed you out.”

He rises and starts pacing.

“You have to come back.”

Folding my arms over my chest, I shake my head and say.

“No. And why do you care? You dislike me anyways.”

He stops in front of me.

“No, I don’t, and I said I was sorry.”

“Kyle, I’ve reached out to you several times, and you’ve made it a point to avoid me.”

“I’m looking out for our pack.”

“Then the best thing to do is let me go.”

“That’s not an option, Ivy.”

My eyes meet his and I move on to the next person as I respond.

“I’ve put all of you in danger.”

I glance at Kyle.

“You were right. Ben will take the land and wipe you all out.”

He’s about to talk, but I hold my hand up.

“If I go to Ben now, I could probably—”

“Absolutely not.”

His body shifts to me.

“Who knows what he’ll do to you. Besides…”

He runs his fingers through his thick dirty blond hair, cocking his eyebrow up.

“We need you back home.”

“I have to stop—”

Maggie steps forward and cuts me off.

“Larc’s been shot.”

I gasp loud, eyes wide, and I’ve never moved so fast in my life. “What?”

She takes my hand.

“On the mission, he was shot with a silver bullet.”

Maggie chokes on her words, tears sprouting along her lower eyelid, and she presses her fingers to her mouth.

“It’s bad, Ivy.”

The drive back takes forever. Maggie explains the mission was a success. They saved and reunited the women with their families. When they were about to head home, they heard shots fired, and everyone took cover. Kyle looked to Larc for instructions and found him on the ground, blood and silver seeping from his shoulder in several areas. They got him to the community’s werewolf hospital as soon as possible. Silver is poison to a werewolf, and the particular bullet that hit Larc is a new type of bullet only the government has the resources to make. The tip opens, ejecting out liquid silver—colloidal silver—a liquid that contains silver particles, which were in abundance. Plus, the government is the only entity who knows about the werewolf communities.

Maggie and I hold hands all the way to the hospital and up to his room. I drop her hand and press mine against the door. As soon as I see Larc, my lower lip quivers, and a cold shoots deep into my bones.

No one could prepare me for Larc’s appearance. Lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines, Larc’s skin is almost transparent, veins outlined in silver. The werewolves in his room part to the side, allowing me to approach the bed. My vision blurs. I press my fingers to my lips, taking hesitant steps toward the bed, like I’m afraid once I get there he’ll be gone forever. Brushing his beautiful dark-brown hair from his forehead, I lean over, kissing him, and whisper against his skin that I’m here and he’s going to be fine.

Blood cakes clumps of his hair. My eyes wander over him, unable to control the shivers so I can assess for myself. There are a couple of gunshot wounds. Nausea rises, so I swallow fast. To see my wolf-charmer in this condition is unfathomable. Larc is forever young with the strength of a pack of wild elephants. A dominant leader. A gentle lover. This last thought has me sobbing harder. I hiccup, taking in deep breaths to calm my nerves but they’re frayed. I ran away to protect him, so he can save many more.

A doctor comes into the room about to reprimand the crowd, except Kyle puts an immediate stop to it, pointing to me.

The doctor gives a slight bow and says.

“I’m Dr. Conrad. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so let me explain. Larc is in a medically-induced coma.”

He places his hand on a machine next to Larc’s bed.

“This machine is a hemodialysis normally used for kidney dialysis. Larc’s blood enters the machine, goes through a filter, which cleans the blood of silver, and puts it back into his body.”

I’m immediately hot and bile rises again. The room is turning.

“Due to the spread of the silver, this process will take a long time.”

The room spins faster, clouding everything while my heartbeats quicken. My legs give out, and I collapse onto the floor, sobbing. Maggie bends down to help me into a chair while the men shuffle uncomfortably from one foot to the other. I rock forward and back, staring at my beautiful wolf-charmer. Ben did this to him. He warned us, and he hates Larc for taking his money and me. Anger bubbles inside while I incoherently ramble about it. I can’t take it anymore. The pain. The loss. The love of my life. For my nightmare of a past, getting the best of us when I finally found my place in life. My soul weeps for Larc’s pain and our disconnect. I’m unable to control the quakes traveling throughout my body. Eyes burning from crying. As if the top of a boiling pot shoots off, I scream, releasing every ounce of suffering. Every ounce of horrific deed.

I wake in a hospital bed, gasping, unable to remember what happened after my scream.

Maggie jumps to her feet, patting my hand.

“It’s okay, Ivy. You passed out, so they put you in here.”

The tears start up again, and she lets me cry while she talks.

“Everything will be fine.”

Through blurry vision, I can see her struggling with her own emotions.

She hands me a cup, brushing the hair stuck to my forehead to the side.

“Here, honey, drink some water.”

I’m embarrassed for losing it. Another reason for her and Kyle to not think I’m worthy to be Luna.

“I’m sorry to have…”

My shaky hand touches my mouth as if to will the words out.

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

Maggie sits on the side of the bed, rubbing my arm.

“With everything you’ve been through, it’s a wonder you waited so long.”

My head tilts to the side and then I let out a feeble laugh. The tears of sadness turn to laughter, thinking about how they probably were waiting for my insanity to come to the forefront. This has me laughing harder, and she joins in.

We finally settle and I ask.

“What now?”

Her gaze drifts to the window.

“Well, we wait it out.”

“But Ben might come around.”

Her fingers softly take my chin to make sure I’m listening.

“Don’t worry about him. Concentrate on you and Larc.”

I sit staring forward, and I ask the first thing that pops into my head.

“Why do the men in the community keep their distance? Felix wouldn’t even hand me a box at Christmas time, and I remember watching the men just stand there when I collapsed. Not even willing to help. It’s strange.”

This makes her laugh.

“Oh, dear, Ivy. No one in this community would think to touch you. I love my son, and by nature, werewolves are possessive creatures, yet Larc is daunting. If he smelled one of them on you, they’d be fearing for their lives. No man or werewolf is to touch you unless Larc gives the okay. You are off-limits.”

She gives me such a content smile.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen my son in love. So much like his father.”

She lets out a heavy sigh, looks at me, and says.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you when you first came here. I had the pack’s best interest in mind...”

looking out the window, she wipes at a tear.

“…except I should have thought of my son’s best interest instead.”

I lean forward, bringing her into a hug.

“No need to apologize, Maggie. You’re his mother. I understand.”

Our eyes meet.

“At first, I was upset because you and Kyle mean so much to Larc and he was hurting. If anything, I’m the one who brought turmoil to the relationships and community.”

Maggie shushes me.

“Nonsense. You’ve become such an intricate part of our community. The herbs and perfumes sell like crazy. Everyone has taken to you, but most of all…”

she relaxes.

“…you make my son the happiest I’ve ever seen him.”

“Then can I ask you for something?”

“Anything.”