Page 58 of Luna: Posy 2

How could I be so blind and careless?

You're tired,Garnet sighed.Give yourself a break. And you're not the only one with eyes. Cole should have noticed. He was right there with him.

I know, but I still let him down.

You didn't, but now you can help him get back up.

Wyatt's dad, Alpha Shawn Black, was one of the best people to ever live. His passing left a scar on all our hearts, but it destroyed Wyatt. For nearly a year, he spiraled deeper and deeper into darkness.

And none of us saw it.

By the time we realized that he'd dropped the reins completely, leaving Granite in charge, he was sunk so deep into his subconscious that no one,not even his own wolf, could reach him. While that was awful and horrifying on its own, having Granite running the show was worse.

Imagine a toddler's mental and emotional capacity in a pre-teen's body that could turn into a few hundred pounds of deadly werewolf, and you'd have a fair idea of what those six miserable days were like.

Thank the Goddess we were able to bring him out of it before he spiraled any further - or Granite got them killed.

Of course, it happened again, but we knew what we were dealing with by then. Over time, we taught ourselves what to look for, what worked, what didn't, and how to help and support without overwhelming him. Ash even came up with a term for it - going wolfy - that had made Wyatt laugh, which had been Ash's goal.

The severity and frequency of his episodes lessened as the years passed. Although he still had lapses, none ever lasted longer than a day, and most only for a few hours.

When was the last time?I asked Garnet.

Right after Thanksgiving last fall. William was in the clinic with pneumonia, and Wyatt was babysitting Winnie.

And Winnie fell down the stairs,I recalled,and broke his arm.

Wyatt had felt so guilty about that, he went wolfy for a couple hours.

Looking down at him now, I wanted to cry. I hated knowing he was in so much pain that he hid because he couldn't take it anymore.

"Why does it hurt, baby brother?" I asked Granite. "Is it because of Posy's nightmare?"

"Some. And he misses her. And Gamma Reuben got hurt bad because we sent him here. And—"

"And?" I coaxed after a few moments.

"Q is mad at us," he whispered.

I sighed.

Wyatt Black was a funny, brash, vibrant, crude, daredevil dickhead that got on someone's last nerve at least twice a day - and few realized how easy it was to bruise the battered heart beneath the show.

"Well, yeah," I agreed, "he is, but you know what?"

"What?"

"He still loves you."

Granite raised his head from my chest and stared up at me with wide, innocent eyes that glittered in the moonlight.

"He does?" he whispered.

"Of course he does." I smiled down at him. "Once he calms down, Quartz will talk to you again and you two can make up."

"I did a dumb. That's why he's mad."

I nodded, wondering if he was asking me or simply processing through what had happened.

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