AugustSitting alone in his office until late in the night, August did some research on surrounding packs, which was difficult because most of the Alphas and their families didn’t post their business on social media for everyone in the world to see. For the most part, shifters tended to keep to themselves, completely cut off from the human world. That being said, there were some younger members of the packs who kept up on that sort of thing. It was a crime punishable by death to post any information to the outside world about the existence of shifters, so no one would be foolish enough to post anything about what they were, but some of the teens and young adults posted pictures of themselves and their friends on social media apps.August turned his computer on and flipped through a few of the apps, looking for pictures that were readily accessible to anyone. Some of them, he searched by hashtags he thought might be relevant to the youth of the surrounding packs. The rest of the world
August“Honey, I know how angry you are, and I don’t blame you. I feel the same way,” Isabella was saying, sitting next to August on the couch in the home they shared together. “But, baby, I have to tell you, I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”August was stunned to hear his mother’s words. She’d already said the same thing several times since he’d shown her the pictures he’d found online. While only one of them showed Mercy, the one where she was on her knees in the background, crying, he’d printed that one off along with several others, ones that showed the faces of key players from Black Hole Moon, including the Alpha’s sister, Stephanie, and the Alpha himself, Rider. His plan had been to take the pictures in to Mercy and show them to her to see if it jarred any of her memories.Isabella clearly didn’t think that was a good idea.“Mom, she needs to remember. If she doesn’t remember, we can’t help her,” he explained--again.“No, dear, not right now. That’s not what she needs at al
MercyMercy was glad to see Isabella. She was so kind and refreshing. She’d brought Mercy some clean clothes and made sure she was able to take a shower without any help. She’d also brought her a snack, which was great, even though Cleo had brought her a full breakfast. Mercy felt like her stomach was turning inside out, she was so hungry. Now, she was sitting on the bed, feeling comfy in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. They smelled like flowers and fresh cotton and made her skin feel all soft and snuggly. There was something going on with her hair, though, and it was bothering her almost as much as the fact that she couldn’t remember anything. The urge to flip her hair back over her shoulder was driving her mad, but every time she went to move it, there was nothing there.“Would you like to watch some television?” Isabella asked, once Mercy was settled in.‘What’s that?” she asked. It seemed like it was something she should’ve known--the way she knew what clothes, food, and showe
August“Mercy? Are you all right?” The sound of the television exploding behind August was alarming, but he was more concerned about the girl in front of him. She was shaking like a leaf, her eyes closed, her face turning pale. “Mercy, please, open your eyes!”“What’s going on?” Isabella demanded as she came into the room.August glanced at her but then returned his gaze to Mercy. “I don’t know. She just…” He shook his head, not sure how to put it. He didn’t want to tell his mom that this was his fault, that he’d jarred this reaction from her when he’d said Black Hole Moon, but he’d have to. Not now, though. Now, they needed to help her.“Mercy, honey, open your eyes,” Isabella said in a calm, soothing voice as she sat on the bed next to the girl, her arms fixed on Mercy’s face. “Look at me. You’re safe. It’s me. Isabella. Look in my eyes, honey.”Slowly, Mercy’s eyes opened, and she looked at Isabella.“Good, good. Take some deep breaths. Try to calm down, sweet girl.” Isabella mimic
August“What did you say to that woman?” Isabella asked as they stood outside of the healing center. “Really, August! The television exploded!”“I know, Mother. I was there.” He tried to keep his tone light because he didn’t want to upset her anymore than she already was. Clearly, he was good at upsetting women. “I made a mistake, all right?”“Did you try asking her about her past? You didn’t show her those damn pictures did you?”“No, and no. Not exactly, anyway. On the first one.”“What’s that now?” Isabella folded her hands beneath her bosom and waited for an answer that made sense.August wasn’t sure he had an answer that made sense. “Mom, I just said she’d never have to go back. That’s all!” More or less, that was true. Did his mom really need to know where he’d said Mercy didn’t need to go back to?“That’s all?” she repeated. “Are you sure about that, son? Because that doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a person would say that would make a television explode. I’ve never seen an
The shell of the tell vision on the wall was haunting as Mercy sat in her bed, trying to figure out what had happened. Even after the mess on the floor was cleaned up, her mind wouldn’t stop focusing on how she’d made the tell vision do that--and why.Black Hole Moon--those were the words that Alpha August had said. They’d made her lose control. She didn’t know why. When she tried to remember what those words meant, nothing came to mind. She wasn’t even sure what a blackhole was.She did know what the moon was, though. She didn’t have a lot of memories, but she could remember a window, similar to the one near her bed now, with a large, glowing orb situated right outside of it, so large and bright… it was the only thing that made her feel calm, made her feel connected to the rest of the world.But that was it. She couldn’t even remember where that room was or why she was in it.Cleo came in from one of the other rooms, walking slowly, as if she was afraid she might say something to mak
The look on Mercy’s face before she’d turned to acknowledge him was haunting. August wasn’t sure what to make of it. She was just staring at the wall, as if she was watching television, but since he hadn’t replaced the broken one yet, that wasn’t what was happening.What was she looking at?When she turned to acknowledge him, the vacant look faded, and a smile came to her lips. She was so beautiful. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever want to hurt her.Sitting the pizza on the tray next to her bed, he went to the supply closet and got a couple of paper plates and napkins. He almost asked her if she wanted a soda, but then he realized she wouldn’t know what that was. “I’ve got a couple of cans of Coke in the refrigerator. Do you want to try that, or would you rather just have water?”“Coke?” Mercy repeated. “What is that?”“Tell you what. You can try it. If you don’t like it, no big deal. Okay?”She nodded, and he went into the other room to grab the drinks. When he came back, sh
The Alpha’s house. Staying in the Alpha’s house…. Something about those words made Mercy feel lightheaded and sick to her stomach. She couldn’t help it. There was a memory there, a bad one, one she couldn’t handle. Just the words coming out of August’s mouth made her want to get up and run out of the room.“Mercy!”She heard August’s voice calling her name, but all she could see was darkness, and a bit of light at the top of her eyes as they rolled back into her head.“Mercy… Mercy! Breathe!”At his command, oxygen filled her lungs again, and Mercy felt that she was regaining control of her body. She tried to sit back up, but she couldn’t. Her eyes opened, and she saw August leaning over her, a concerned look on his handsome face.“Are you okay?” he asked, his hand on the side of her face. “Can you hear me?”“Yeah, yes,” she said, reaching up and putting her hand on top of his. She didn’t want him to move away. Having his hand on her face made her feel anchored to reality in a way she