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Luke
“What's your plan?”
The question comes from Fena. She's sitting on the front verandah of the cabin, smoking. Every time she takes a long drag of her cigarette, she puffs into the starry night, making almost flawless rings of smoke.
It's been a full day since Adeline was rescued from her brothers and I’ve spent the time caring for her, sleeping with her, making love to her. It’s been bittersweet. It’s a taste of what life could be like for us. Yet her constant jumpiness, the way she clings to me like I’m a lifeline, is a reminder of what she’s been through.
It’s a reminder of what waits for us.
Fena, on the other hand, has spent her time with the other wolves in the Blood Born pack. She told her friends not to come visit her cabin because she didn't want them to see Adeline.
Honestly, I'm glad. I don't have the strength to explain to Arthur that Adeline isn't like her brothers.
"I don't know." I sit beside her, watching as she makes another ring. It lingers in the air for a few seconds and then fades. "Do you always do that?"
Fena grins. "Yep."
I look away to stare at the woods before us. Darkness blankets the area but it's not enough to kill the light from the full moon. Humans assume all werewolves should be out tonight, shifting and howling because the moon is what makes us what we are.
But that isn't entirely true. We have the ability to shift anytime we want, full moon or not. It's just a myth humans have passed down from generation to generation to keep people indoors during full moon and to make shifters appear vulnerable to nature.
During a full moon, a shifter's strength doubles and that's the only effect I know the night light has on us. Just sitting with Fena in front of the house, I can sense a fiercer amount of strength coursing through my body, like I'm on steroids and the moonlight is my drug.
"Where is she?" Fena flicks her half-burnt cigarette so that it drops on the grass. She squashes it with her boot.
I glance behind me as if I can see Adeline in her room from here. But the door of the cabin greets me with its wood chipping in several places. I face Fena. Her curved eyebrow tells me she's waiting for an answer.
"Asleep. She's really troubled, Fena. I don't know how to help her."
Fena scoffs. "The sex didn't work?"
My cheeks burn as I break into a grin. "Ah…"
"I'm not dumb. I've been home three times today and each time, you were in bed with her." Fena slaps my shoulder and squeezes it roughly. "Just know you're not leaving here without cleaning my sheets."
"Aye, aye, captain!" I tease.
"So, what's up with her, exactly?"
"Nightmares. She's finding it hard to sleep."
"It'll go away."
Fena doesn't sound concerned about Adeline's nightmare. It's almost as if she's dismissing it. "Well, that was blunt."
Fena tilts her head to look at me. "It's the truth."
"It's Adeline." I breathe deeply. "I should worry about her."
Fena plays with her fingers now. "I don't usually tell people this story but what's the point of keeping it to myself?"
I wait for her to continue. Most of the time, when people start their statement that way, they're about to divulge a significant secret—and it would be wise not to interrupt them.
Fena stares out into the forest, her eyes losing focus. "After my pack was slaughtered by the High Ridge wolves, they took some of us prisoners. I was one of them. Adeline's pack members kept us in one of their large homes a few miles from here. It's how I know some of their homes where they hang out and keep people."
I follow Fena’s line of sight, hearing the pain she’s trying to keep under control. The night breeze rustles the leaves of the trees. I can smell the rain in the air and see streaks of lightning in the sky. In front of us, dead leaves move in several directions while night creatures hurry into their holes to avoid the impending rain.
It's rather interesting how a calm night can suddenly turn turbulent. It’s clear a storm is coming. Just like my life, it had been calm until the High Ridge wolves came as a cruel storm.
