Party's Over

*Hezzlie*

I stand by the window at the end of the hallway watching my mother’s car drive away. It’s Saturday morning, the day after the big ball, my birthday party, and I didn’t really sleep last night, which only makes my mood worse.
At least no sleep meant no dreams.
James is standing behind me like he’s my fucking body guard. I’m not even allowed to walk to the window where I can see the car taking her home by myself. I feel like a prisoner.
Maybe I am one.
He clears his throat after Mom’s car is gone from sight. I know he wants my attention. I don’t turn around.
His heavy hand lands on my shoulder. “Hezzlie?”
Letting out a sigh, I turn and walk with him to my room, which isn’t that far away. It’s not like I would’ve run off.
For some reason, he comes inside with me, and then I realize this is a session. “How did you sleep last night?” He gestures for me to join him in the sitting area.
“Fine. I didn’t have any dreams.”
His eyes widen slightly. “I didn’t hear you screaming last night, but I wasn’t sure why. None at all?”
“No. But then, I only slept for a few minutes at a time.” I guess that doesn’t quite keep up with what I said about sleeping “fine.”
He nods slightly. “What was keeping you up?”
“Excitement about my party,” I lie.
Dr. Bolton is a shrewd man and doesn’t buy it. He continues to stare at me until I change my story.
I clear my throat. “Uhm, I was upset that my mom’s leaving today. I’m not sure when I’ll see her again. And I was a little upset about… some of the things that happened at the party. And… I saw that big wolf again last night.”
This time, he grumbles a little as he’s taking notes, and I get the impression he doesn’t like that I mentioned the wolf. Maybe I shouldn’t do that anymore.
He sets his journal down next to him. “Hezzlie, in the next few days, you’re going to be seeing a lot more wolves.”
Now it’s my turn to lock my gaze on his face, waiting for him to say more. When he doesn’t, I say, “Okay….”
“Listen, this place is different from the area where you grew up. We try to keep it separate for a reason. Sure, people can come and go as they please, just like your mom did all those years ago, but we have secrets that not everyone is allowed to know about. You are allowed to know, but we can’t just dump them all on you at once. Over the next few days between now and your birthday, you’re going to find out some of the most important secrets about our kingdom. It’s going to make you ask a lot of questions, and that’s okay. You just have to trust me, okay?”
I’m confused, but I find myself nodding. I am waiting for him to tell me that I’ve completely lost my mind–or maybe that everyone who lives in this place has. But that’s not what happens.
“That big wolf isn’t anything to be afraid of,” he assures me. “He’s friendly. Well, maybe not friendly, but he won’t hurt you.”
“Are there wolves out there that will hurt me?” I ask, thinking of my dreams.
He shakes his head. “Not in this kingdom. We do have enemies.”
I look across the expanse to the castle on the hill. “Like Darksky?”
“Exactly.”
I let out a sigh. “Do you remember when you told me that if I had questions I should ask you, and only you?”
He nods.
I lean in closer. “Right after that, I asked you a question that you said you couldn’t answer because no one here talks about that. Will I finally get answers to that question?”
He turns away from me for a second. I can’t read his expression. He seems to be looking more at the windowsill than the window itself. “You’ll get answers.” His voice is whisper soft. “But you won’t like them. Neither will I, but that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I admit. “It can’t be a coincidence that my mother was here, in this land, when she got pregnant, and now I’m here.”
“It’s not–but she wasn’t here. She was in Darksky, Hezzlie.” He meets my gaze, and I have a feeling he’s trying to tell me something now. “Everything that happened to your mother happened over there.”
I swallow hard, trying to comprehend, but I’m at a loss.
He’s not going to tell me more, either. Dr. Bolton stands and collects his things. “Try to take a nap today if you can. Tonight, we’ll be going out into the forest.” He turns to walk toward the door, and I freeze.
“The forest?” I repeat. “Tonight?”
Dr. Bolton looks at me over his shoulder. “Yes. It’ll be chilly, so dress warm. I’ll be in to get you around midnight.”
“Who else will be with us?” I can’t imagine facing off against that huge wolf with just Dr. Bolton by my side. Even if he had a machine gun, I wouldn’t feel safe.
“Dean will be there,” he says. “That’s all.”
I don’t say anything else, and he walks away. The moment the door closes, I collapse on the bed.
Staring up at the ceiling, I ask a thousand questions of no one. Why are we going out there? Will we see that wolf? Is this part of the revelation he was just talking about?
I should try to take a nap, like he said, since he suggested it, but I also want to know why Rowan won’t be there.

***

*Rowan*

I’m in my office going over some paperwork, like usual, waiting on an update from James when my phone rings. The light flashes.
It’s Darksky.
I take a deep breath and wait a minute so I don’t seem overly anxious before I lift the receiver. “What?”
There’s a pause and then Marigold says, “Hold for Alpha King Darksky, please.”
“I hold for no one!”
But she’s already clicking over. I roll my eyes and wait. It doesn’t take long before I hear that bastard’s voice. “Moonstryker?”
“What do you want, Darksky? I’m a very busy man.”
He snorts. “I want blood.”
“Haven’t you already spilled enough of that?” Anger boils up inside me as I swivel in my chair, trying to control myself.
“I mean a blood sample. I want a blood sample from this girl so I can conduct my own tests. I don’t trust your quack job healer to do anything right.”
“My healer is the best there is, the best there’s ever been,” I tell him. “He managed to put me back together after your assholes tried to slice me in half while I was asleep, if you’ll recall.”
When he chuckles, I almost reach through the phone and kill him.
“They did a better job on your father.”
“I have changed my mind about giving you the girl. I think I like my other plan better. I will put her head in a bag and send it to you.”
“Don’t be so hasty, boy.” His insults do their job–lighting another fire in me. “You know the only reason I keep Mara around is because my son has taken a liking to her. That and, well, it has kept you in line.”
“I’m about to be so far out of line I’ll be off the page,” I warn him.
He laughs again. “Send me the fucking blood sample. Let me analyze it myself. I’ll let you know.”
He hangs up before I have a chance to tell him to go to hell. This time when I slam the phone down, it splits in two.
I run a hand through my hair and try my best not to pull any out. His warriors might’ve failed, but this man is going to be the death of me.
Through the mind-link, I contact James. “Darksky wants a blood sample. Can you get him one?”
“What? Why?”
His surprise and the lack of an answer pisses me off even more. I have to walk over to the window so I don’t break anything else. “He wants to run his own tests. Get him a sample of Hezzlie’s blood and send it over to him.”
“But my tests were–”
“Just fucking do it! Why can’t anyone just do as I say?”
He’s quiet for a moment before he says, “Yes, Alpha.”
I end the mind-link and stare at the forest. I would love to go for another run right now, but since I still have work to do–and a new phone to find–it will have to wait for tonight.