Page 87 of In the Light of the Moon

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Jasper

Any time one of us got close enough to knock her out and carry her, Sylvie lashed out with whatever it was that she could do. The first time, she’d nearly knocked Declan unconscious, and the second, she forced Ana back from her half-shift. So, we had to resort to using Josie as incentive to keep Sylvie walking with us to the meeting place.

My old friend bobbed, unconscious, in my arms while Sylvie walked behind Graham in his wolf form. We were less connected this way, and I was thankful for it. We’d been planning to take her for a while, obviously, but actually doing it felt too real.

The first time, with Wes, we’d blindly followed Graham to the spot. I didn’t know what I’d been expecting, but Wesley Bowers bound and gagged in the middle of a forest clearing was not it.

Ana, Dec, and I had proven ourselves loyal enough to be in Graham’s inner circle and had been given more responsibility in the pack for a while. It mostly entailed acting on his behalf in settling disputes between pack members, lending an extrahand where it was needed, and keeping our ears open to any information that would be helpful for him in leading us all.

I didn’t know Wes very well, so maybe that was why I didn’t immediately turn and run away. What we did as pack was different than human laws and customs, and we settled our scores our own way. So, at first, I’d thought Graham brought him out there to scare him or something. Maybe he’d insulted him or another senior member of the pack, and, yeah, I was down for that. Respect was one of the most important things, and though we didn’t outnumber the Antler Pointe humans, this wasourhome.

The blood had been rushing in my ears, drowning out Graham’s explanation of exactly what the fuck was going on, and whenhestepped out of the brush, I almost passed the fuck out.

But the high, writhing around on the ground, feelingeverythinglike bubbles and the best candy in the world was worth it. In it, the forest spoke to us. Isawit. Felt it. The land claiming that it was ours and our job to protect.

But what does that mean? How long are we gonna keep doing this?I didn’t even try shaking the thoughts away this time. They always came back, anyway.

Watching Sylvie’s back and her head swiveling, obviously trying to figure out how she could get out of this, I wanted to shout. To warn her. Graham had always been the one to draw first blood. To slit their throats and carve into their chests, being careful of the hearts.

Hewanted them alive for it.

I’d tried to tell Dad about all of this once. Gotten pretty close, but at the last minute, I chickened out. Because what could he do? What could any of us do? Graham was the final authority, andhewas more powerful than all of us.

“Got two for one!”Graham had laughed when we stumbled upon Sylvie and Josie in the forest. They’d stopped close theinvisible barrier, and I’d expected them to turn around, as Sylvie always did.

And then they just… stepped right through it.

My blood had run cold, realizing that this was it, and my mouth watered at the prospect of another fix.

You’re pathetic, I’d thought, and I didn’t even try to argue. This was wrong, this was awful, but the scariest part was that I knew I couldn’t stop. That none of us could. Was it even about being the guardians of this land anymore? When was the last time we’d run just for the fun of it? Felt the earth, untainted by what we were doing?

Would I ever wash the blood off of my hands?

Sylvie glanced back at Josie in my arms, and the look she gave me made me want to curl into myself. She’d always been kind. Nice. So had Wes, River, and Kara.

Buthewanted her specifically, and that had never happened before. How could we refuse, and how could I explain that to Sylvie who was eyeing me in a way that made me wonder why I wasn’t already dead?

Her voice wasn’t cold. It was hot—vicious. “You should have listened to my warning.”

I wanted to scream that I’d wanted to. That I didn’t want to hurt anyone and just wanted to go back to the way things used to be. Before Kara, before River, before Wes… and before Graham became Leader.

He’d been so charismatic, talking about all the ways he could strengthen the pack. How Chief Thompson was out of touch. How the older generation didn’t understand the current needs, and that we would do better. I was nearly thirty, stuck working with my dad like I’d started doing when I was old enough to stock shelves, and I’d fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

And fuck, I’dkilledpeople. To placate some god that made us high for a few hours, only to disappear when we had to clean up the mess.

I didn’t realize my feet had been slowing to a stop until Declan bumped into my back. I needed to say something. I needed to stop this and figure out a way to get Sylvie and Josie out of here. Even if it angeredhimand Graham.

I turned to look at Declan, who was in wolf form like Graham, only to see that… we were here.

Sylvie

My head felt like it was going to explode. I want to tear my skin off to relieve the burning I felt from being forced into submission because I didn’t want them to hurt Josie. At some point while I’d been trying to fight them off, they’d knocked her out, and it was Graham’s triumphant grin informing me of that fact that made me stop.

His Wolf was burly and a dusty brown color. Another Wolf trailed behind our procession, leaving three of us walking between them and Josie in Jasper’s arms.

I was still trying to streamline my thoughts to figure out how to get the both of us away. Would I be able to carry her if it came down to it? Josie was shorter than me, but if she remained unconscious, would I be able to sprint away with her dead weight in my arms or over my shoulder?

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