Page 54 of In the Light of the Moon

Something in his tone made my heart pick up. When his eyes refocused and met mine, he looked almost… panicked? “Um…”

I didn’t want him to feel bad, because it wasn’t a big dealat all. It really wasn’t anything. You couldn’t even tell where it had happened. “Sylvie,” his hold on my face tightened a little, and I returned my gaze back to his, “what are you talking about?”

My teeth worried at my bottom lip, and now his eyes were widening, mouth parted slightly in horror. “I—well,” I took a steadying breath, “when I found you behind Vinny’s. I was trying to ch-check you for wounds and help you, but, but, you…”

“Where, Sylvie,” he was almost shouting now, and I couldn’t help but cringe.

“Um,” I waggled my left elbow, “just on the inside of my arm—” he dropped my face and tore the sleeve of his shirt, right up the seam. Though the air in the cabin was warm, goosebumps raised on my skin almost immediately.

Orion ran his frantic touch over the skin, examining it. He turned my arm over again and again, and his chest was rising with quick, worried breaths. This was why I didn’t want to tell him. It made me feel incredibly silly—there wasn’t a scar to be seen.

My words came out rushed, “It’s nothing, baby, okay? You can’t even tell. And you were hurt and panicking. I didn’t really even notice until I got home.”

He gave a miserable whimper and lowered his brow to my arm. The sound made my heart crack, and fat tears welled and fell down my cheeks. Today had been perfect, so, so perfect, and now it had fully shifted into this.

“I’m so sorry, Sylvie. I never,” his voice was trembling, “thought…”

“Orion,” I rubbed my hand over his back in a slow, soothing pattern, “please don’t feel bad. I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want you to get upset over something you hadn’t even realized you’d done. Especially when I’m perfectly fine.”

His pained, horrified eyes raised to look at me, and more tears fell from mine at the sight of his threatening to spill over, “It’s not nothing, Sylvie. I—I?—”

“Baby, it’s been months. I’m fine, and I just want to drink our hot chocolate?—”

He frowned, eyes almost narrowing while they raced between my face, my neck, and my arm. “It…hasbeen months. H-have you been feeling any differently? Strange?”

Now I was confused. “No… should I be?” Something was nudging at the back of my mind, but Orion’s distress was taking all of my attention.

Orion lurched up to my neck again, and I automatically arched, making room for him. He took a long, deep inhale through his nose. His exhale was almost impatient before he took another whiff of my skin, now clutching me as closely as possible. A new sense of foreboding crept over me. Had I been so blind?

“Um… is everything okay?”

“You—you’re sure that you feel all right?” He spoke into my neck, but his breaths seemed to be calming. I kept rubbing his back.

“Of course. Just kind of worried that you’re not okay. Or that, um, we’re not okay?”

He kissed my neck again until he was trailing up to my lips. After many sweet, reassuring pecks, my own trepidation had fallen away almost completely. Orion pulled me into an embrace and leaned back into the couch, taking me with him.

I rested curled into his warm body and closed my eyes. “We’re better than okay, Sylvie. I’m sorry I scared you. I love you,” he whispered over me.

My body relaxed into him even more, “I love you too. And it’s fine,” I chuckled. “You just had me panicking that you were a vampire or something.” I couldn’t bring myself to mention the other words that were growing in my mind. I did, however, notice Orion stilling around me for a moment, but then he took up caressing with reverent tenderness. Maybe he didn’t understand my joke.Yeah, that was it, I lied to myself. The alternative meant that the bite marks were surely more than just glorified hickeys.

The alternative meant that he didn’t trust me.

But, he’d said we were good, better than okay, and that was all I needed to hear.

PART TWO

SET

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Sylvie

Ipoked my finger at the tender flesh of my arm, gently prodding the bandage over the incision.

“You’re gonna mess it up if you keep doing that,” Josie eyed me warily over the metal table between us.

I quickly dropped my hand, eyes going wide, “Are you sure?” Granna had reminded me thrice now that nothing a seer saw was set in stone, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. Even when the birth control implant felt weird and foreign under my skin.

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