Mona stirs in my arms. Bringing her into the SUV we drove down here was the right call—she’d gone limp in the elevator, and the chaos outside would only overwhelm her. Her eyelids flutter open, revealing those arctic-blue eyes.
“Hey, firefly.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Everyone okay?”
I nod, though it’s a loaded question. Will these shifters be okay? Eventually.
For now, though, I tell her, “Silas and Grayson are still below, but they’re alright.” My fingers graze her bond bite marks at the base of her neck and shoulder, and she closes her eyes, zeroing in on feeling them.
Silas’s emotions ripple through the bond—I don’t have as strong an impression as she does; I’m really only feeling him through her. But he doesn’t seem distressed. In fact, he seems calm.
“Gray is with him,” I remind her, and she nods.
She looks out the window, still clutching my arms as tightly as possible, like she’s scared to let go.
“I broke my promise,” my voice cracks.
“What do you mean?”
“I vowed to protect you. To keep you from harm. And twice now, you’ve been taken—”
“I did this, Orion.”
“You did not do this.”
“I left. You didn’t fail me. None of you failed me.”
I shake my head, but she cradles my face, the heels of her palms scratching against my beard. “You listen to me, Orion. You saved me. You’ve saved me over and over again.” She lets go, her fingertips tracing down my neck, thumb resting over my pulse. “Do you remember when I asked you if this was what shifter life was like? All this chaos?”
I nod.
“And do you remember what you said?”
I think back. “We’ll have quiet moments of peace and anxious moments of chaos.”
“And those moments of peace are what we live for. I think we’ve earned bank on moments of peace, don’t you?”
I smile and kiss her pretty bee-stung lips. Her jasmine floral scent floats between us, the honey undertones making my heart clench and mouth water. But her answering smile is still too small. Too quiet.
She’s happy for her moments of peace. But there’s still something wrong. The smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes falls away as she stares out the window. A moment later, Silasand Grayson step outside the silo, Silas covered in blood and something else I’m not sure I want Mona to see.
Grayson stops briefly to speak with Kendrick, but Silas strides right over to us. I’m prepared for it the moment he reaches the truck, wrenches open the door, and yanks Mona out of my arms, burying his face in her neck.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “I’m sorry I left. I love you so much.”
He shakes his head frantically like he can’t get out the words. “Don’t leave me again, okay?”
"I won't, I promise I won't."
Silas’s eyes meet mine. I gesture toward the rusty water pump jutting from the cracked earth beside the old cement vestibule. “Go clean the blood and… whatever else, off yourself,” I tell him. Behind him, a weathered fence of splintered wood and sagging wire marks the boundary of what must be a cow pasture. No animals in sight now, but the rich, earthy scent of manure and sweet hay hangs in the air, mingling with the metallic tang of blood and remains still clinging to him.
He turns and strides off, stark naked, soaked in red. But there’s a relaxed nature to his posture that’s unmistakable.
Gray, Kendrick, and Ghost join us. Kendrick stands awkwardly, like he’s unsure what to do with Mona. Though she seems unbothered. Gray leans in and kisses her, then stalks over to the water hose to clean himself off.
There’re stacks of clothes in the back of the SUV. We drove at nearly twice the speed limit to get here in record time. Everyone who needs clothes gets dressed.
“I’ll need to wait for the local Lune to come help out, and we can begin relocating the shifters. Andrea and I will drive back to Silent Peak in the truck. Be a day or so behind you.”
