Page 34 of Bound By the Moon

An incessant whimpering from the corner of thecavern caught my attention, and as I stepped off the dais to figureout what was going on, my progress was hindered by the hulkingguard who now stood in front of me. I maneuvered just enough so Icould peer around his form, into the darkened corner where aslight-framed person sat hunched in on itself. I couldn’t tell ifit was a male or female. In that moment, when I was trying to allowtime for my eyes to adjust, baby Jack decided to let loose the wailthat signified how hungry he was.

I took the baby out of his sling, and held him up inmy arms. “We made it sweet cheeks. I’m going to get you the bestbaby food the world has to offer, my brave little Jack,” I cooed tohim forgetting about the huddled mass in the corner, and my newlyappointed Guardian. Jack Reynolds turned to me in that moment,puzzled by the fact that I had either offered him the best babyfood he’d ever tasted or I’d called the baby I had been carrying byhis name.

“Oh my God, my baby! You brought him home to me,Jess!” The squeal of delight as the slight-framed woman, who hadpreviously been huddled in the corner, hurdled herself at the babyand I, made it apparent who had been crying in the corner. Sierrahad found her way to the portal somehow.

“Sierra? How did you get here?”

“I followed you that day. When I saw the coast wasclear from up there, after they all ran out in a hurry, it wasn’thard to follow their tracks down here, plus the smell of thatmess,” she pointed to the bloody dais, “kind of gave it away. Italso broke my heart. I thought it was your blood and his.” She tookbaby Jack from my arms then, smothering the now giggling boy in amillion kisses before she continued. “There weren’t any bodiesthough. I was just holding out hope that you’d pulled off somecrazy white wolf magic and got out of here, but I didn’t know forsure.”

“Oh, Sierra, he’s fine. We took a trip to the otherside, but we’re back now.” She hugged me tight, while holding ontoher baby with the other arm. A throat being cleared beside us,finally drew our attention back to the only other person in thecave now.

“I don’t know how warped my sense of time is rightnow, but I’m pretty sure, even if miracles could replace what wastaken from you, that I couldn’t have produced that baby.” Jack waspointing at the bundle in Sierra’s arms, and to her credit, shedidn’t drop the poor guy when she realized who was talking toher.

“Oh my God! OH MY GOD!” I took the baby from Sierrabefore she finally did drop him or squish him. The moment the babywas free from her arms she ran into Jack’s. “How is this real? Howis this possible?” She held him, then patted his shoulders, hispecs, his arms, and finally hugged his face in between the palms ofher hands. “How are you real right now?”

“It’s a long story, we can discuss some of it on theway back. Like how baby Jack came to be, but as for what happenedwhile he and I were away, and how Jack managed to come back withus, I’d rather save that for everyone else to hear at the sametime.”

“I understand,” Sierra whispered. “I just can’tbelieve you’re all back.”

“Not all of us made it back.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father. We saw him on the other side.”

“Oh, Jess, I am so sorry. How?”

“Louis got him before they could gain the upperhand.” Sierra didn’t say anything else then. She just took babyJack from me as we walked in silence, ascending the long path backto the cave system that would lead us to our pack lands.

“I’m sure everyone will be incredibly excited to seeyou walk back into the pack. I don’t know what they’re all thinkingright about now, but I do know that I was torn. One minute, I knewyou guys were gone forever. The next, I thought you’d come back anyminute, or that maybe the magic had transported you to some placefar away or something, and you just didn’t have a way of contactingus. I don’t know. I was making up some pretty desperate excuses inthere before you showed up.” Sierra was rambling, and not that Iblamed her, but it did make me wonder how everyone was coping withthe fact that I’d been gone so long. “I wonder what they’re allgoing to say when they get a load of Jack here?” She mused outloud. “I still can’t believe you’re here.” Sierra continued to walkwhile holding her baby, and at the same time she managed to clingto Jack as well. I couldn’t blame her one bit for that. If anyonehad earned a moment of happiness in all this chaos the past coupleyears had brought, it was Sierra.

Once we were back up top, and nearing the exit tothe caverns, Jack decided he’d had enough waiting. “Seriously, cansomeone tell me how Sierra had a baby that seems to be named afterme?”

“Jack, I’m so sorry, I was just thinking abouthaving you back, and how kind Jameson has always been to me. Jess,I’m so sorry about your dad.” I knew Sierra had been through anordeal, but she had begun to have serious issues keeping focus. Ifigured I better step in at this point and explain before she wentoff on another tangent.

“Thanks, me too.” I looked over at Jack and gave hima weak smile. “You better tell him, he looks ready to burst rightnow.”

“He’s mine.” Sierra blurted out. “I mean, he’s notbiologically, but a female wolf abandoned him, and he needed me asmuch as I needed him.” The words just tumbled out of Sierra’s mouthin one big steady stream. Her sniffles started, before Sierra couldfinish. “With you gone, I had this giant, gaping hole in my chest.”Her voice broke at the end, and I couldn’t even imagine feelingthat void. Losing my father already ached, and the worst part was,I couldn’t just break down and grieve for him. Not yet, anyway. Istill had to make my way back home, and explain everything thathappened to everyone. Hell, I honestly didn’t know what kind ofhome we were going to be walking into. There could be seriouslyhurt people on the pack lands. Maybe some had passed over when wewere on our way back.

I had to nix those thoughts, because the number oneprevailing thing that kept repeating in my mind was ‘what if Mikaelwas lost to me while I was on my way back to him?’ My brain hurtjust thinking about it, and all I could do was hope for the bestfor when we arrived.

Sierra continued to catch Jack up on everything thatwas new in the pack, including all the new accords I hadimplemented as the White Wolf Ruler. I couldn’t bring myself to payattention. I just really needed to get home, hug my mom, Mikael,and hold Willow in my arms again. I missed her. It hit me then,that I wasn’t sure how long we’d been gone.

“Sierra, how long have little Jack and I beengone?”

“Oh, it’s been two days, Jess.”

“Seriously? It felt like, I don’t know, maybe anhour or so.” I sighed, as my parent’s house finally came intosight. My nerves kicked in, and I worried what they’d all thinkabout me showing up with the baby two days later. “Everyone thinkswe’re dead, don’t they?”

“I don’t know. I was camped out in that cave thewhole time. I thought you were gone though. I mean, I hoped I waswrong, but…”

“Well, I guess we’re all about to freak everyone outjust a little bit then.” Jack spouted off. “Glad to know I won’t bethe only one everyone’s staring at. I mean, I’m hotnesspersonified. I think death gave me a special glow,” he flashed hispearly whites at us, while grinning his big Jack grin. “What do youthink?”

“I think I’ve missed your madness!” I said as Sierraplayfully slapped his chest, and added, “While I’ve just missed youcompletely.”

“The feeling’s mutual, on both counts. All thosestiffs on the other side had no appreciation for good humor, but Ihad a long time to come up with some great new materialthough.”

Before we could even walk up the front porch steps,I saw Mikael holding onto my mom through the window. They bothlooked absolutely wrecked. They were sitting on the couch, and hehad my mom’s head tucked securely into his shoulder. At a firstglance, they’d almost appear to be a couple sitting peacefullytogether on the couch. On further inspection I watched as my mom’sbreath hitched in and out unevenly, signifying her sobs. Mikael’sbreath caught a few times too. Jack and Sierra just stood there,waiting on me to put that first foot up on the next step. “Oh, man,I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” That was probably the mosthonest thing I could have said in the moment. “As soon as I seeher, I mean really see her, and get to wrap my arms around my mom,it’s going to be real. I know I talked to him over there, and itshould have already sunk in that my dad is gone, but…” A tearslipped free from my left eye, leaving a trail of salty wetness toroll down my cheek and drip off of my chin onto my now dirtyshirt.

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