Chapter 32

Tiffany

Elena’s white head stood out among the earth toned forest as she wandered through the trees. Tiffany fantasized about hitting it with a rock.

Her hand reflexively slapped the side of her neck where a mosquito had bitten her. The thing exploded onto her hand in a disgusting splotch of blood. She imagined swiping her palm in Elena’s hair to remove the guts, tugging the thick braid that fell down her back.

Tiffany knew she was messing with her, had been for days, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her little flits of fancy in the name of community-building, all her mundane errands that could easily be completed by someone of a far lower stature than Luna of the Waning Moon Pack. As if she knew anything about what that meant to be Luna.

“Don’t take too long!” she yelled to Elena’s back, her voice full of contempt.

Thinking of the coming weeks, Tiffany pulled up the calendar on her phone. It was full of events and responsibilities that, until recently, were in Tiffany’s control. Then out of nowhere Elena goes through some quarter-life crisis and decides to wants to wear the crown.

And worst of all, Killian was allowing it.

And now, she was in the middle of the fucking woods, ruining my Prada loafers and waiting for a an insufferable woman to pee behind a tree.

“Oh how the mighty have fallen,” she said to myself turning away. Soon enough she would have to use what she had and get Elena out of the picture.

Tiffany looked back at her phone. Service was spotty out here, and she wondered if they went any further if they would truly be off the grid. She shuddered at the thought of being unreachable with only Luna Elena for company.

Occupying herself on her phone, her mind settled and the stillness around her started to get creepy. A few minutes had passed and she’d heard a few sounds, making each chirp of a bird or groan of a tree made her more irritated.

She was able to see an email from Killian to heads of staff about an incident with a prisoner, calling for a meeting first thing the next day to discuss it. She frowned, remembering that in the past Killian would have contacted her directly about something like this. Now she was just another member of his team, demoted and humiliated by Elena’s selfishness.

Looking up suddenly, Tiffany realized she had heard Elena at that time too. She took a few steps off the path, being careful to put each foot.

“Elena?”

She called out, and her voice sounded odd in that expanse of fresh forest air, almost like it was choked by the atmosphere of the trees.

There was no response.

“Elena!”

Louder this time, and then walking more purposefully in the direction she went.

“Oh, come on!”

Tiffany picked up her pace as she went after Elena, hoping she at least stayed in the one straight direction. This was above her pay grade.

After a few minutes, sweat was beading on her brow. She kept checking her phone for service, hoping maybe she could call her or track her phone or something to help her find the fool.

A loud noise brought her to a quick stop, her heart missing a beat as she froze.

It was a cry of an animal in danger, followed by a clatter of stones.

It was Elena.

Elena

It was honestly too easy to escape.

I knew that Tiffany would rely on her cellphone to pass the time, completely obvious to the unmatched wonder of the woods around her. For a wolf, she really didn’t seem to enjoy nature that much. And that’s why I would continually force her to be outdoors.

In contrast, I had grown up in nature and knew how to disappear into it. My steps were light on my toes and seeking out the soft pine needles that would cover sound. An advantage of being a smaller woman is I am nimble and agile, a doe leaping away from her pursuer.

The brown cap that I brought to cover my hair was a finishing touch, and to Tiffany’s eye I might as well have been a feral creature hidden among the trees.

Once I had a solid head start, I allowed myself to pick up the pace until I was running freely through the trees. There was nothing like that feeling, and I was able to clear my mind of all the chaos that consumed me. Out here, I belonged fully to myself. I named plants in my head, blessing the oak trees and keeping distance from the poisonous jimsonweed. I thought of growing up on the farm, learning herbal remedies and natural solutions to everyday issues. Now, I was just given a pill if I had a headache or stomach ache or was just in a melancholy mood.

I had studied the map before coming out here, and knew there was a small lake not far from the trail we had taken. Pulling from my memory I guided myself in that direction, craving the water’s edge. Soon enough I could see the tree canopy breaking up ahead and could smell the leafy scent of lake water.

Slowing down, I saw the sunlight glistening off the gently rippling surface of the lake. My mood improved even more as I heard the soothing sounds of the water lapping against the shore. In some parts there were sandy beaches to walk on, but where I was it was mostly a rocky barrier wall that dropped down to the water’s edge.

With a deep breath my feet went from the dirt to the rocks, my arms spread wide to help me balance. The rocks were of varying sizes fit together by time and weather, some more secure than others. I got to the end and sat down, seeing small bit of sand just before the water began.

Bracing myself, I turned and swung my legs down, searching for foot holds on the edge of the rock. My left foot was secure, and I exhaled out my nerves. Then my right foot found a spot that was covered in wet moss. When I put my weight into that space, my foot immediately slipped and dislodged a rock and myself for the wall.

Luckily it wasn’t a long way down and I landed on my butt, not my ankle or face. The sand was damp underneath me, but at least I didn’t fall fully into the water. I felt a twinge of sensation and held up my arms in front of me. In falling I had scraped along the rocks, and my forearms and left palm were red and a top layer of skin was scratched off. Small dots of blood wept through my white skin, just enough to look gruesome without causing too much pain. My right knee throbbed a bit from knocking on the wall, but otherwise I was okay.

“Seriously?”

I looked up at the voice, and Tiffany was standing on the walls’ edge five feet above me. Without thinking I smiled at her, shrugging my shoulders like a precocious child.

“First you run off and then you throw yourself off a cliff? Are you stupid?”

Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, her phone in one hand. She lifted the device over Elena and took a picture.

“At least now I have evidence when the Alpha asks what happened to you,” she said smugly. “I will not get in trouble for your clumsiness.”

“I’m okay, by the way, thanks for asking,” I said, standing up and brushing myself off as best I could. The water licked my boots as I assessed the state of myself.

I walked down the sand a few feet, better able to find a safe place to climb up.

“Are you going to help me?” I said, making myself pitiful.

“Ugh!”

She made a show of how inconvenient this was, then crouched down to offer a hand as I reached the top of the wall. Once I was up she took a few steps away and wipe her hands as if I had contaminated her.

“Thanks, that was silly of me,” I said, bringing back my chipper nonchalance. “Let’s go home. And oh, you don’t tell Killian.”