I scribbled a note to my mother, telling her where I was going. I would swing into town and mail it, then stop by the kitchens and see if I could secretly pack some travel supplies.
I was sad to be leaving. There were people here, like Anna and Madelyn, that I would miss. I would have to leave my herbal and apothecary books, but I’d been making some shorthand notes that would be just as useful and much more portable.
I headed for my still room to grab some of the simple medicinal potions I had been working on. As I got to the bottom of the stairs I heard Gideon coming out of his office above me and I quickly scurried out of his line of sight.
I didn’t want to see him.
Just thinking about him and Zara together made me feel nauseous. I didn’t want to look into his face and see there his betrayal, the way I had with Ryan.
Or worse, his indifference.
Tegan’s POV
Following the Luna was ridiculously easy. It was obvious that she had no bush craft training, or any idea how to hide her trail.
She marched resolutely down the forest path like she owned the place.
I wondered where she was going at this time of night. The moon was just rising but it was already late in the night.
I had been trailing her since she had snuck out the door of the pack house and right past where I was keeping watch.
Gideon had told me to keep an eye on her. I guess she had been dodging him for two days, and he was sure she was up to something.
Sure enough, she was.
I just had no idea what.
She had a duffel bag over one shoulder that bulged with… stuff. Clothes maybe? And my nose picked up the fragrance of food. A bit of roast chicken and cheese, perhaps. And herbs.
Made me hungry.
She was dressed for travel, in boots and sturdy clothing. Her hood was drawn up on her jacket which was convenient as it blocked her view of me in her periphery.
I wondered if she knew that we had been going in circles. We’d passed this part of the trail at least twice.
Finally, she struck off in a new direction and I kept pace a quarter of a mile behind her. Normally, tracking like this was a bit tricky, but she was noisy as she walked.
And also her scent… There was just something very unique about the way the Luna smelled. I couldn’t describe it. It was like the scent of getting home and knowing that something good was cooking. It didn’t matter what it was; it was more like knowing that someone was there and looking out for you.
I could see why Gideon kept sniffing the air every time we passed through a room she’d been in.
Not for the first time, I wondered what it was like to find one’s mate. They said that when you did, the smell of them would be like your favorite dessert. That touching them was electrifying.
I hadn’t felt that way about anyone, ever. There was one girl who maybe I got a bit flirty with sometimes, but that was it.
Madelyn was super cute, but Jessica had made me promise not to spend time with her. I wasn’t sure exactly why, but my sister could be ultra demanding at times.
Still, she always looked out for our family. If Jessica said to stay away, I stayed away.
Sometimes I wished I weren’t such a beta. Even with my own sister, I did better at taking orders than giving them. It wasn’t that I was physically outmatched, I was almost as tall and strong as Gideon, which was why he entrusted me with some of his tasks.
But I was less of a leader, more of a follower.
Usually, it didn’t bother me, but following Avery, I did wonder what it would be like to be the Alpha and have someone like her as my Luna.
Despite Jessica’s rants to the contrary, there was something special about her. I knew my sister had a streak of jealousy a mile wide, and it had only gotten worse once Gideon had ousted her from his side.
Honestly, living with Jessica lately had been a bit of a nightmare. I wished she’d move on to some new hobby, or person, soon. If I had to listen to another rant about how she was going to…
Suddenly, my ears pricked up. The sounds of the forest were continuing around us, but there had been a strange cadence to it for a half second that my intuition told me was strange.
I paused for a whole second, then took off at a sprint towards Avery.
Avery’s POV
I stared at the empty clearing in confusion, then back at the note in my hand. Maybe I had messed up my directions? I was pretty sure this was the clearing where I had told my mother to meet me, but there was no one else here.
I went towards a fallen stump and sat on it. Something crinkled and I stood back up.
There was a note on the stump. A piece of white paper, somewhat crumpled from me sitting on it accidentally.
It took me a moment to read it in the moonlight, but there was that now all-too-familiar handwriting again. I read,
“Wow, I can’t believe you’d really trek all the way out here. What a pathetic idiot you are! Seriously, stop being so predictable and just die already. And stop sending sad letters to your mom, she can’t save you.
Your move, bitch.
Xoxo
Zara
P.S. If I were you, I’d run.”
What the actual fuck? Zara had intercepted my mail?
So… my mother wasn’t coming. She was never coming.
I was still staring at the note in shock when I heard the sound of someone running towards me. My head snapped up and I saw a man barreling in my direction.
I frowned in confusion. The last line of the note still floating through my brain.
“Run… run… RUN!” My brain clicked into gear and I turned and took off.
As I did, wolves burst from the woods around me. They snarled and snapped, leaping after me as I ran as hard as
I could.
I couldn’t shift to match their speed, and the tree branches grabbed at my skin and hair while they ran throug the underbrush easily.
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