Chapter 31

Killian

I followed Lucas towards the jail cells in the lower level of the Pack prison. The upper floors were used for administration with areas being newly sanctioned off for rehabilitation. One of Elena’s lists included prison reform, and as I entered the building I knew she was correct. Punishment alone would not force a man to repent his crimes. Only opportunities to improve quality of life could turn a criminal into an upstanding citizen.

“They were out in the courtyard,” Lucas explained on the way, “taking their morning exercise. Each prisoner walks with a guard, sometimes two if they have exhibited threatening behavior.”

I thought back to my last visit, months ago, remembering the tiny amount of outdoor space for those who spent their days locked up.

“And today?”

“The prisoner’s name is Warren,” Lucas went on, “and he seems to have been the leader of this attack, though we haven’t been able to get too much from interrogation. And then today…”

“Tell me.”

Lucas stopped. We were before a door that led into the hallway for maximum security prisoners.

“Something…happened to him, we’re not sure,” Lucas said, the side of his mouth curled in frustration. “He’d been talking with his guard, even joking around— there is an odd camaraderie between inmates and their handlers— then all of a sudden he was screaming and clawing at his own face.”

“What on earth…”

“It took two guards to subdue him, one receiving a black eye from an elbow to the face.”

“Where is her now?”

“Back in his cell, we had to restrain him for a while but he seems to be calmer now,” Lucas said. “It’s almost like it never even happened.”

I prepared myself to enter into the fray, my Alpha aura swelling my chest.

“Did you say anything about what he wants? Why did he came here to attack us?”

“Unclear, but he did keep reporting a certain phrase in his tantrum.”

I titled my head with interest, encouraging him to speak.

“He kept repeating, ‘I need to get her.’”

Elena

“Let’s get going!”

My voice was cheery and warm as I slapped Tiffany on the back. She’d been sitting in my room, waiting for me, as I took my time choosing the proper outfit for the day. I made a great show of being unsatisfied and self-conscious with my appearance and comfort level, and Tiffany’s heavy sighs and murmurations told me it was working.

She helped me strip the sheets from my bed, reminding me that I had maids to do it for me.

“But don’t you love accomplishing things with your own two hands?” I asked brightly.

She did not. I hoped she would be tired of me before we even left the house. At least today she wore more sensible shoes.

I handed her a piece of paper as I passed her, and from her face I could tell it had the right effect. The writing scribbled, crossed out, rewritten— it was a to-do list that seemed to have been written by a child. She scowled as she tried to decipher it, then folded it roughly and put it into her purse.

“At least she has a plan,” she muttered to herself in a voice that I would definitely hear. I pretended not to.

When we got to the front door of the house, she stopped and took our her phone.

“I’ll call the car around,” she said.

“Oh no, I had them bring out two bicycles,” I said, my cheeks cramping as I made my smile even bigger. “It’s so lovely out, and the exercise will be good for us.”

“Elena, really—“

“Luna Elena, please,” I said, honey on my tongue. “And just because I am Luna doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy simple things like riding a bike!”

I made a small pouty face then turned and walked outside. Each bicycle had a basket in front and a bell in the shape of a daisy. I had purposefully asked for these bikes, knowing Tiffany would hate to be seen on one.

“I didn’t even ask,” I said suddenly, “do you know how to ride?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she responded, offended. “Everyone knows how to ride a bicycle.”

But judging from how she looked as we set off down the driveway, her knuckles white as she gripped the handlebars, I didn’t think that was true.

We ambled along, my destination clear in my mind but a mystery to her. I made a point of stopping often, saying hello to people or checking signs on community boards. It was fun to play the over-attentive Luna, especially with a companion growing increasingly angsty. We made stops at the Library, the florist, and a pet store— “I just love to see the puppies!”— until I was ready to go on with my real mission for the day.

Towards the southern border our the main compound, I rolled to a stop and dismounted. I made a show of popping out the kickstand.

“Okay, we’re here.”

A stone column marked the beginning of the trail leading into the woods.

“What are we doing here? What official Luna business do you have in the forest?” Tiffany’s voice had become a perpetual whine.

“Well, for one, we are getting more oxygen into our lungs,” I said, as if she was stupid. “It is important that we commune with nature, especially given how overly civilized our kind has become over generations.”

I almost laughed out loud at her incredulous expression.

“And, more practically, I am looking for plants.”

“Plants? What plants?”

“Oh, I don’t know yet!” I said, lifting my arms in a delightful shrug.

Without waiting for her I skipped the first few steps then settled into a steady pace along the trail. She checked her phone, hoping to be pulled away from me, but there were no notifications. I heard her loafers crunch on the path behind me.

I set a confusing pace, sometimes striding powerfully forward then stopping suddenly to look at something. Tiffany didn’t complain, but I could tell she didn’t care much for the different types of moss and which were best for burning. It was enjoyable to play into her idea of me: a weak and simple-minded woman, no better than a child, not serious or commanding enough to matter.

And so I skipped, I whistled to myself, I drew out whatever whimsy I could. All while dropping in my thoughts on Pack business like I was planning a tea party with my dolls.

“I do think we need to look into the housing on the north side, don’t you?” I asked her at one point. I had stopped to watch ants marching across a decaying tree trunk. “Some of the older units have the original carpeting and wallpaper and it is so grim not to mention potentially full of mold. Oh! We could get the children to paint!”

Concluding the one-sided conversation, I smiled a belligerent smile and set off again with a jaunty step back on the path. I figured the more I droned on the less Tiffany paid attention to me, and the more I could actually do what I came to do. As soon as my story bored her and she looked away, I could safely collect samples of medicinal plants without her questioning me.

She was checking her watch as the sun was getting heavy on the western side of the sky.

“Ele— Luna Elena, we should be turning around,” she said firmly, “it is a bad idea to bike home in the dark, unless you had headlamps that I don’t know about.”

I made a face like I might throw a fit, then looked at the sun and sighed. Even bratty children can see reason sometimes.

“Okay, fine,” I said sulkily, starting to drag my feet back in the direction we’d come from. A lightbulb straightened my spine, and I scrunched up my face. “Can I— I mean, I’m going to go…use the bathroom.”

Tiffany made a face like I said I would be using her purse as a toilet. I put my hands on my hips.

“It’s no big deal to squat in the woods, and I really have to pee!” I said loudly. “Just wait, I’ll go find a tree.”

I was already walking away, but I saw the movement of her hands to the heavens, as if to be sure the gods were seeing this.

“Don’t take too long!” Tiffany called out.

I walked swiftly away through the underbrush, tapping into my innate directional awareness as if I was tracking myself from above. At a distance that was plausible, I made a good deal of rustling to let Tiffany know I was settling in. My hope was she would be disgusted and try to distract herself from the thought of my urination.

With my back to the tree, I counted to fifteen— and then I started running.