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“Luna…”
She shook her head as Remus and my father stepped out onto the porch after her. “I made dinner. Be a good guest and eat some.” She raised her brows at me.
I paused. I knew she’d never actually make me eat, but…I felt compelled to sit down, making a small noise as I picked at the meal she’d set out for me. Remus and Nic were much more enthused about it, but I did manage to get a few bites in while updating them on Mav’s Raven Brothers situation.
“Have any other wolves gone missing?” I asked once I’d finished.
My father sighed and shook his head. “Not to our knowledge. They’ve been very good at covering their tracks…but between Demi and Ryan, that’s two more bodies they’ve left behind than they have over the past several months. None of the other missing wolves were ever found, and now we have two co — bodies.” My father cleared his throat, catching himself. Remus gave him a sideways look regardless. “It’s very possible someone got sloppy and panicked. This potential slip-up could be what has them so up in arms.”
Remus gave a small nod. “I’ve given other local alphas the heads up. If wolves go missing from neighboring territories, we’ll know.”
I sighed and rubbed at my face. “Well, I guess that’s something.
A shiver suddenly ran through me and I glanced over at the forest, almost forgetting everyone and everything around me. I couldn’t put a finger on why, but it felt like the entire universe had just tilted on its axis. I frowned, feeling my muscles tense as if my body was waiting for an attack, but…nothing was there. I tipped my head as I listened.
I could have sworn I heard a snap of a branch under foot.
“What is it?” my father asked, looking out in the same direction. He must not have seen anything because he frowned at me, setting his fork down. “Eli?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly, unable to tear my eyes away from the forest line. It was difficult to hear anything out there over the sounds closer to me; the others had all stopped eating by now, but they still had to breathe. Bodies shifted. Clothing rustled. My wolf pressed forward against me, insistent enough that I had to stop him from taking over. “I think there’s something out there.”
A wolf?
But why would a wolf be tramping through Remus’ property of all places? If they were a Silverstreak wolf, they’d damn well know where they were. And if they weren’t, they’d had to have come a long way over pack borders to get this far.
My skin prickled and I got to my feet, almost feeling possessed as I got away from the table and trotted down the steps.
My father called my name, but it was like he was in a different world. It felt like a walking dream…or maybe a living nightmare. My wolf dragged me forward while every fiber in my body insisted something was wrong about this: very, very wrong. It felt like the moment in a horror movie when the main character goes down into the darkened basement while everyone in the theater hisses at them not to.
Except I was that main character now.
With my heart somewhere into my throat, I stepped into the woods, vaguely aware someone had gotten off the porch behind me. I didn’t stop. I didn’t want to be stopped. Even if my wolf hadn’t taken over our physical body, he was clearly guiding us now. It was like a trance.
Once I was in the woods, I could actually make out the sound of someone — or something — walking. I broke into a jog, head on a swivel, when a flash of white caught my eye.
I jerked to a halt, unable to breathe. I knew who it was even if I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Iris!”
She whipped around and I realized she was carrying something. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t say anything, seven different emotions playing on her face as her shoulders slumped. Almost immediately, her knees seemed to give out underneath her, and she was on the ground before I could close the distance between us.
“Iris!” I called again.
“Eli!” I realized it was Remus behind me, but I didn’t stop to wait for him. I rushed over, practically falling on my knees as I reached out to grab one of her shoulders. Iris was unresponsive, and I realized that she had a child in her arms. A little girl. She whimpered and flinched away from me, her eyes wet as she clung to Iris’s shirt. Something silver glinted around Iris’s neck.
“Eli, be careful,” Remus said sternly, coming up next to me. He set a hand on my shoulder and I jumped — I hadn’t realized just howhardI was shaking Iris. He was right, even if the thought made me bristle. “We’ll call the pack doctor. Immediately.”
He took a step forward and reached for the child. She began to squirm before I saw the briefest flash of red in his eyes.
“Be calm,” he said softly, and she stilled. The tears still streaked down her cheeks, but she allowed him to pick her up. As Remus gathered up the child, I realized she was trembling, seemingly wanting to cling to him and jump out of his arms at the same time.
Once she was out of the way, I got back to my feet, scooping Iris off the forest floor. She felt solight. Any relief I’d felt moments before was gone now as I took in the state of her: she was a mess, she was too light, her skin was too pale, her lips were a strange color.
I began walking back towards Remus’ ranch house as quickly as I could. “What are you waiting for?” I snapped.
As soon aswe emerged from the wood line, Luna pulled out her phone, calling the pack doctor at once. “It will be fifteen minutes,” she told us softly, opening the door to her home. “The bed’s made up in the guest room, Eli.”
I nodded numbly, carrying Iris down the hall and setting her down on the bed. Remus attempted to carry the little girl to a different room, but I could hear her soft whimpering, and my half-brother soon appeared to sit down on the edge of the bed, the small child still in his arms as she stared at Iris with wide, wet eyes.
