Page 45 of Let It Snow
I hope he does. I reallydohope for it.
???
The next day brings a surprise.
I wake with the usual morning amnesia and a headache, but both fade relatively quickly after I let myself lie in the nest and relax for a few minutes.
An hour later, when Jordan brings me breakfast, I find out that Ragnar and Sun are… leaving.
A cold knot of worry tightens in my chest.
My brother is about to disappear from the Nolans’ mansion, and Sun is going with him…Sun is the one I shared so much of my mafia fortress misery with. I don’t remember much of our interactions from that time, but I know that if I want to understand what happened to me back then, the sexual abuse part, Sun is the only person who could give real insight. Withouthim I’m left with nothing but my own fickle memory and its torn fragments that surface at random.
When I go downstairs, Ragnar is ready to ride, dressed in a black motorcycle jacket. He, Aiden and Lake go over something by the driveway.
Ragnar turns toward me, takes a step, and puts his hands on my shoulders. I flinch, but because he’s my brother I force myself to tolerate the touch.
"Summer, Summer," Ragnar says, looking me in the eyes. "I know this isn’t the best time to go, given how you are, but Sun and I… we desperately need to get away. We have to leave the fortress behind. As for you—" He bites his lip. "Moon said you’ll find happiness here. That’s the right path, and I think we can trust him—"
A surge of anger shoots through me. I snatch my new phone from my pocket and type out a response before I can stop myself.
"Bullshit. He’s a clairvoyant, and he didn’t foresee any of this? The nightmare with the fortress we all went through, the kidnapping, the zapping, the abuse?"
I pull my T-shirt collar aside to show him the scars left by the electric collar.
Ragnar closes his eyes for a moment. "Summer… Moon saw it all and still chose this path, believing it was worthy. He knew we would suffer first, but that in the end we’d find our… fated mates."
I stare at him, unconvinced.
He sighs and straightens a little.
"Summer… I found my True Mate. Moon… did too."
My mouth falls open at that.
What did he say?
Ragnar wears a small smirk.
"Yes, yes," he murmurs, leaning closer. "Don’t tell anyone, but Moon’s True Mate is Luca Ferro. Moon didn’t just‘disappear’. He ran from Anzo with his True Mate and is living in hiding."
I can’t believe it. I keep staring at him, speechless. Ragnar nods slowly.
"Yes, it’s all true. Moon was right. I believe you’ll find your fated mate soon too, don’t you already have a hunch who it might be?" he adds with a knowing wink.
Heat rushes to my face, but I say nothing. Silence hangs for a beat.
Ragnar tilts his head and adds, "Moon says that, in order to find happiness, you need tofollow the sun. I believe Sun led you here, to his home. This istheplace."
Then Ragnar pulls me into a short, firm hug and murmurs into my ear, "Watch yourself, Summer. The Ferros have FBI trouble now, but once it settles and Anzo gets sentenced, Rocco might remember us. Keep your eyes open."
I exhale, heavily. What can I say? Everything piles on too fast. I don’t want my brother to leave, but I can’t stop him. Of course, everyone has their own path.
A few minutes later, with my heart beating fast, I watch Ragnar and Sun ride away from the living room window.
Being left behind in the Nolans’ house feels complicated; the news Ragnar gave me churns a mixture of conflicting feelings inside me.
Really, I try to understand him, but… I’m his brother! He should stay and make sure my mental state improves, that my memory heals. Instead, he just runs off. And what about me? Left behind with Moon’s vague prophecies. And let’s remember, Moon spent a few years hooked on drugs. Not exactly the most reliable source for probable divinations.
