Once I was sure Malissa was asleep, I walked back downstairs to see if I could find some sort of answers for her. If Orene was as close to Erylis and Leo as Leo stated, then I couldn't see him simply leaving Erylis behind. There had to be an explanation. I made my way back to the kitchen. Gwenna had just turned off the kitchen tap and took two glasses of water to Leo and Orene who were sitting on the loveseat. Leo's hand was on the latter's shoulder, and he graciously took the cups from Gwenna, handing one to his faithful friend. Orene was clearly distressed—his hair was tangled and his beard was full of pieces of debris from his journey. He looked like he hadn't slept since they left and was a far cry from the man I had met almost a week prior. I quietly took a seat at the island. "Start from the beginning," Leo said calmly. Orene took a stabilizing breath. It was shaky, but calmer than when I had last seen him. "On the way to the mountains, Erylis kept saying he was feeli
As night took over and Malissa fell back asleep, I found it impossible to close my eyes. Her words replayed in my mind for the past two hours and regardless of my continued tossing and turning, I was unsuccessful. It wasn't just what she said that kept me awake, it was everything from the amulet, to the Shaman's prophecy, to Leo's curse and now Erylis' disappearance. I laid facing the window, thinking of where he might be. To be that far out, alone, without another pack member was dangerous. I sighed and clamoured out of bed, trying my best to not wake Malissa. Thankfully, she was finally out. I quietly opened the door and stepped into the hallway, making sure to place a hand on the door as I closed it to ensure it was as soft as possible. Nothing sounded better right now then a run. I walked downstairs and listened to the sounds of the clocks ticking through the house as I opened the front door and slipped outside.I leaned against the frame of the house and inhaled the fresh a
I didn't know what I was going to say to Leo. I turned over in my bed for a few more hours until the exhaustion from my late night run sunk in and took over. When I woke the next morning, Malissa had already left, presumably back to her own room. My thoughts had restarted the second I opened my eyes, like my brain had never truly shut off, and I groaned as I rolled back over, burying my face into the pillow.It was never easy to give bad news, but it was even harder when that bad news involved people that your mate cared deeply for. As Orene said, he and Gwenna were like Leo's family. I had no idea how he was going to take it, but he needed to know. It'd be worse if this came to light and I didn't say anything. I pulled myself out of bed and changed into a comfortable pair of overalls, then plucked up the little courage I had to find Leo. The house was oddly quiet. Usually, unless it was the dead of the night, this place was full of the sounds of bodies moving around downstairs and
The following day wasn't any better. Although the amulet had been returned, it was a waiting game to even see if doing so would have any effect of the Shaman's prophecy coming true. And with no one hearing word of Erylis' return, everyone was on high alert.The tension in Leo's house was thick; I often found myself having to take runs in order to get away from it all. I tried to get Malissa to come with me, convincing her that it would do her good to get fresh air, but she wasn't fairing much better than anyone else. For the most part, she remained to herself and kept conversations to a minimum. I skimmed through the books on the shelf in the library, looking for something to indulge in. I needed to be separated from the rest of the house for the time being, for my own sanity, and fiction seemed like the place to start. Only this particular library was mainly archives and non-fiction works, and I was getting increasingly annoyed that even now, this didn't seem to be going right. M
I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them. He was still standing there with one hand on the doorframe to prop himself up. And then, his arm suddenly gave way and he collapsed onto the ground."Erylis!" I shouted. We all raced to him. Leo tucked his arms underneath his friend's frame and hoisted him up, using himself as leverage. He brought him to the couch and laid him down. Leo looked to Orene. "Get Sylvie," he demanded. Orene stared at Erylis, wide-eyed. He was motionless."Orene," Leo said, purposefully deepening his voice to capture the former-Beta's attention. It worked. Orene's eyes snapped to him and he slowly nodded. He took one last look at Erylis, then left. Once the door closed, Leo was focused back on his current Beta. "Tell me what happened," he stated.Erylis coughed and doubled over in pain. His eyes were red and glassed over, with the makings of a black eye forming underneath one of them, and his clothes were torn to shreds. Almost like he was attacked.
Erylis remained asleep for the remainder of the day and Aaron and Jude were dismissed as there was no longer a need for a search. Malissa pulled up a chair beside Erylis and focused all of her attention on him. She'd been so distraught and helpless the past few days, it'd do her some good to focus her attention on helping him heal. I watched as she fixed his hair and put a little water on his forehead to help bring down his temperature. I smiled at the sight. Caring for someone else came so naturally to her; she'd make a great healer one day. I felt a cool hand touch my lower back. The sparks it sent through me told me exactly who it was. "We should leave them alone for a while," Leo said. When I finally looked at him, I noticed he was speaking directly to me and Orene. Orene nodded and followed behind Leo and me as we exited the room. He hadn't spoken since he arrived with Sylvie. Each time I turned to look at him, I saw his far away stare, his tightset jaw, and his fists clen
*LEO'S POV*Nia spent the rest of the day in her room. When I returned from the training facility, I thought of knocking on her door and continuing our conversation—well, my conversation. She didn't really contribute much to it. Either way, I decided firmly against it. If she needed time, I'd give it to her, regardless of how badly I wanted to see her, touch her…be near her. Instead, I decided to go to the office to wrap up some of the work I had started before we began devising a search party for Erylis. The past few days had been a whirlwind to say the least. Bloodmoon was always entertaining, but that was in part because of my father. With his honest approach and determined nature, we always had something occurring, whether it was within the territory, or with another pack. However, Erylis' disappearance took the cake. I knew when he returned that, on the outside, I looked cold and calculated. But that was how I was trained. My father's words played out in my head: 'To be a goo
*LEO'S POV*Once dusk fell, Orene and I went into town to Geralt's office. Along the way, we were greeted by pack members offering a familiar smile or a 'hello'. The streets were bustling with people going about their evening routine—closing up shops, taking out the trash, or just getting home from work. A pup ran by my feet, laughing as his friend chased him, and I spun around to catch them. "Take it easy, boys," I chuckled. "Someone might slip." "Sorry, Alpha," they said in unison as I let them go. They waited for my dismissal, which I happily gave with a wave of my hand, and then they raced forward. I felt a smile creep up on me as I watched them scoot around a corner, wishing that I had more memories like that from my childhood. All mine consisted of was training and prepping for my position—the only time I ever received a break was when we went to Nature Eclipse. When I was with Nia. I sighed and continued ahead until we reached Geralt's. The sign on the door read 'closed