Bad Moon Rising
Lya
Such lovely little four letter words that can change your life.
Love.
Hate.
Wolf.
Mate.
Bond.
Lies.
I looked up at Oliver, trying desperately to shove away the desire to tell him everything. Let him know what was coming. But if I told him, everything up until this point would have been for naught. He would never let me risk it all like that.
“You just stay safe, okay?” I begged. “This pack needs you, you need to come back.”
“Nothing could keep me away,” he insisted, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a half smile. “I have too much waiting for me back home.”
He would certainly have plenty waiting for him here, that was for sure. I was just absolutely certain he would not be impressed with what was left.
He brushed his lips against mine one last time, a soft kiss that just left me wanting more. “I love you, Lya.”
I stared up at him, a culmination of emotions I couldn’t quite put my finger on flowing through me.
I didn’t think I had ever been loved before. Not truly, anyway, and not in years.
Oliver shot me a wink, getting in his SUV. “I’ll see you soon, love. I’ll be back in time for the full moon run tomorrow night if everything goes well.”
All I could offer was a smile and a small wave. Please just trust me, I begged, hoping he could feel that notion through the little fragments of the bond I could still feel.
I turned away, unwilling to watch him leave. He was so hopeful. If only he knew.
I was about to ruin everything.
My hand went to my mark. I had been careful to keep it covered the past day, but I was constantly painfully aware of its presence. Every time I was on Oliver’s mind, it seemed to emit the sparks mate bonds were known for. Right now, it was practically burning.
I adjusted my shirt to make sure it was covered and found my way over to Thom. We had about an hour until shit really got started.
“You ready?” I asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he huffed. “I just really wish you weren’t my brother’s mate. He doesn’t deserve what we’re going to put him through.”
I looked out at the caravan of vehicles headed off the pack lands. “If suffering for one means safety for all, it’s the best choice.”
Thom shook his head. “If something happens to you, though, this pack is in trouble. Suffering for an alpha is suffering for an entire pack. Don’t forget this is the largest pack in the country.”
“Well it’s too late to come up with a different plan,” I sighed.
“I don’t think there could even be another plan.”
He was right. We had explored every option. At the end of the day, this was the best we had.
We turned and headed back into the packhouse. The wheels were officially in motion, and there was no turning back.
The hour passed way too slowly. I had agreed to this all, but that didn’t change the sense of dread coming over me now that it was all happening. All notions I had of being the one to save the day were quickly vanishing, replaced by the reminder of my own mortality. On top of the sense of impending doom, the further Oliver got from the pack, the more I felt the strain of a rubber band being stretched to its limits. Damn mate bond.
I glanced up at the clock, begging the time to pass more quickly. If anything, watching the second hand just slowed it down. I trudged over to the parcel Gregory had given me and pulled out the box inside. Glaring down at the teabag, I brought it with me to the kitchen and made one last cup of tea, my throat itching as I gulped it down.
I breathed out a sigh when Thom finally knocked on the door. I gave a quick glance around the room. There was nothing I needed to take. I grabbed Oliver’s sweatshirt, intending to take as much of him with me as I could, and headed out the door, following behind Thom in silence.
Neither of us spoke for the first hour of the drive. I felt like I had forgotten how to talk. All I could do was focus on the mix tape crackling through the stereo.
'I see the bad moon a-risin’'
“So.” My voice cracked, almost as if it was radio static. “You can’t mindlink anymore, right?”
Thom shot a glance in my direction. “No. Why?”
'I see trouble on the way'
“Just wondering,” I shrugged. “Not even Maggie? Isn’t she your mate?”
“Chosen mate,” he corrected. “Chosen mates don’t get fated mate privileges. You can’t even mark a chosen mate.”
'I see earthquakes and lightnin’'
I nodded slowly, not really concerned about the particulars of their mateship. “And with South Dakota reception, you really can’t call anyone, either.”
The car slowed, coming to a stop on the shoulder. “What are you getting at, Lya?” Thom demanded, turning to glare at me.
'I see bad times today'
I refused to look at him, but I could feel his eyes searing holes in me. All I did was pull down the collar of my shirt, so my mark was on full display.
“Oh, fuck.”
'Don't go around tonight
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise'
I nodded in agreement, although feeling guilty that for just a split second I regretted letting him mark me. It was selfish of me.
“When?”
“Day before yesterday,” I gulped. “It would have been too late to change the plan. When everyone gets back, you have to tell them and you have to make sure everything goes perfectly. If I don’t get out, we lose Ollie, too.”
I finally looked up at Thom. The look on his face made it seem like he was reliving the loss of his mate, and already mourning the very probable loss his brother was going to experience. I was surprised when he pulled back onto the road, still heading east.
The stakes had just gotten higher, and put a lot more of the onus on everyone running the show back home. I chuckled a bit, trying to figure out if I feared more for them as they fended off an overprotective alpha with a lost mate, or for the hunters we were trying to eradicate.
We didn’t talk again, the music on the radio dancing along with the tension. I would have taken this drive continuing on forever over what waited for us at the end, though.
The car stopped, but I refused to move. Something about out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“Don’t forget, Lya, he has to see you. He has to know you got taken.” I nodded. If I spoke, my voice would crack and I would cry. “Avoid everything that would bring the presence of your wolf forward - you can’t smell like a wolf. You haven’t spoken to your wolf or mindlinked or shifted since you started drinking the silver tea, right?” I shook my head, still scared to talk. “Good. Don’t take off the silver jewelry if at all possible. They have got to think you’re human, Lya, until we give you the go ahead.”
“I know,” I squeaked. I didn’t say goodbye, just slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind me, and started the walk to my old house.
I tried to look oblivious to what was going on around me, but I could still smell the wolves nearby, occasionally seeing their eyes glinting in the near full moon light. Cody had been careful to select the ones to go on this mission - none of them would be able to recognize me. And if Cody and Trevor were doing their job correctly, Oliver wouldn’t get here until it was too late. There was no one to jump out and stop what was about to happen. Brandon was the only outlier, but I was certain Gregory had a good handle on him.
I strolled down the block, looking for anyone I could possibly recognize. Anyone human, that is. I stopped in my tracks, heart skipping a beat when I caught a face from my past out of the corner of my eye, standing just across the street from my old house.
Ted.
No, not Ted. Will - Ted’s younger brother.
“Will!” I called, trying to put on as happy a front as possible. “What are you doing here? Is Ted with you?”
Will looked up and started walking toward me, closing the distance quickly. “Hi, Lya.” His voice held none of the jovial, upbeat tones I was used to. “Why haven’t you been answering any calls?”
“Oh, you know,” I shrugged. “Ted told me he needed some space, and I decided maybe that’d be good for me, too. I’ve just kind of tried to unplug completely. It’s been really nice, actually.” Easy enough lie. Unplugging was what all the cool kids were doing these days.
“Ted hasn’t answered any calls, either,” Will pointed out. “We haven’t heard from him in weeks.”
“Oh,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows. “I figured he’d go straight back home.” I started glancing around. If Cody’s predictions had been correct, the hunters would be somewhere around - probably just out of sight.
“Do you think maybe you’d want to go grab a drink with me, chat a bit, see if we can figure out where he might be off to?” Will asked.
I swallowed hard. This seemed like it was all going just a little too easily. Everyone was confident they’d want me alive. Me going willingly would be their preferred way of kidnapping. I caught headlights in my peripheral vision, and I was certain the car that went with them was Oliver’s Land Cruiser.
“Uh, yeah,” I agreed. “Yeah, that’d be fine.” I shot another glance over to the car, thankful that it really was Oliver. I looked back at Will. His smile was cold and menacing.
“Good. Because you weren’t going to get much of a choice.”
I whipped my head around, back to Oliver. Fingers crossed he’d remember when I asked him to just trust me.
He was out of the car, running towards me, before I could even blink.
“Lya, run!” Oliver shouted.
And for the first time in my life, running was the last thing on my mind.
A large black wolf was the last thing I saw.