The Luna

18

Without saying the actual words, the Council made it pretty clear that we couldn't stay at the Concilium, not even for the night.

"They're thinking of your safety as well, Little Red," Malachi had said, as he tossed the red robe around my shoulders again, tucking me safely inside the soft material, "If, for some reason, Caspian figured out you were headed to the Council, he won't be far behind us. We need to keep moving."

"Do you think he is?" I asked softly, before Malachi shuts the passenger door behind me. He stared at me a moment before making his way around the front of the car and hopping into the driver's seat.

"Honestly, no. I don't think he is," the tires squeal as Malachi hits the gas, pulling away from the Concilium like the devil is on his heels, "I have never had these cloaks fail me, Ever, but better safe than sorry, right?" I nod absently, looking at the window while my mind races.

His words from earlier are at the front of my mind. He had told the council he thought that Caspian would think that I had gone back to where he found me. And had Malachi just saved me and let me go, I would have. But if Caspian does go back there to find me, what will he do when I'm not there?

The sun had set already, leaving nothing for me to look at aside from darkened shapes that bleed into each other. Where do the trees end and the mountains start? The ominous forest is beautiful and full of possibilities, but all I see in the darkness is an angry wolf on a rampage.

I turn to face Malachi, his face is softly illuminated by the green glow of the dashboard, eyes focused on the road as he taps his finger on the steering wheel to a beat in his head.

"If he isn't after us, and he goes back to Crest Falls where he found me, what do you think he will do when I'm not there?"

"I think he will search high and low for his prize and if he's as desperate as I think he will be, or will get, I don't think he'll take no as an answer." his answer is honest, and I can't fault him for that. But it was only after he finished talking that I realized I was hoping he would lie to comfort me.

That he would say Caspian would go back to Crest Falls, ask around about me and then head back to Lotus to form a new plan. But that was foolish to hope for. I know better than that, but the alternative that is running in my mind has my blood running cold and fear pricking my skin.

"I have to warn them," I whispered, my hands lacing together before I turned to face Malachi more fully while still sitting in my seatbelt, "I have friends there that he has seen. If he's that desperate for me, then I have to warn them,"

I can hear the anxiety in my voice, the shrill sound it makes in the confines of the SUV. But Malachi doesn't seem as panicked as I do. For the most part, his face looks neutral, but his eyes in the glow of the dashboard, betray him and show his sorrow.

"Mia," my heart drops like a lead balloon into my stomach when he uses my name instead of the nickname he has become so fond of. I'm not going to like where this is headed and the tone alone in that one word has tears brimming my eyes, "Keeping the werewolf secret is extremely important to avoid extinction or persecution. If human history is anything to go by, humans don't do well with others they don't understand or agree with and that's considering that they're all the same species just with different beliefs or looks. Humans are afraid of the unknown, so they hunt down and experiment on those that aren't like them. Bigfoot, mermaids, aliens, for example. You can't warn your friends without telling them what they have to be fearful of, but Mia, I promise you, that I will drive through Crest Falls on the way back to the Concilium and check on whoever you ask me to. But know this with absolute certainty. Caspian would have to be on a suicide mission to go back to where he found you and hurt anyone there." Malachi's eyes met mine for the briefest moment, but I couldn't hold his gaze.

If that was him trying to comfort me, he failed. Caspian would have to be on a suicide mission to hurt them. Well, how desperate will he be to find me? How important am I really to him and his pack? Important enough that a few humans in a diner would matter to him? If Caspian so chose it, Justice and the diner would be collateral damage and there would be nothing they could do to stop him.

I don't know how long I stayed in my head. All the darkness moving past my window looks the same and I have a hard time believing we've even gotten anywhere at all.

"Do you want to sleep in the car or would you be more comfortable at a hotel for the night?" It took a full five seconds for me to comprehend what it was he had asked me and another couple of seconds to decide on an answer.

"The car is fine," I looked around the SUV, noting that all the seats reclined and there was enough room that both of us could have an area and not feel confined.

I hear him turn on his turn signal, merging off the highway. There is nothing here, no gas stations or restaurants. Only truckers parked along the deserted road, sleeping for the night.

He cracks the windows, allowing for a cool breeze to filter in, before turning off the ignition and pulling the seat all the way back into a reclining position.

"I'll stay up here, and you can take the back," is all he says as he finally lulls his head to the side to look at me.

I don't answer, I just climb into the back seat, pushing the seats back into a more comfortable position. The darkness surrounds me and in the quiet of the cab I can feel my body trying to relax enough to let sleep come, but my mind refuses to cooperate.

"Malachi?" I whispered softly, not wanting to wake him if he had already fallen asleep.

"Yeah?" his answer was immediate, and I felt a little relief that I hadn't woken him.

"You have a cousin?"

"Yeah," Malachi stretches in the driver's seat and I can tell he is beginning to feel a little exhausted from the drive. He had wanted to get some distance behind us before stopping for the night. But when I had taken a long nap, Malachi had kept driving. He's probably been awake upwards of sixteen hours now.

I wait for him to say more - to throw me the bone I'm waiting for, but he doesn't. I'm on the fence of whether I should ask or not. I don't want to be rude or seem too pushy, but after what he said about the council and those that work for them, I just assumed he was an orphan like me.

"Can I ask you something else?"

Malachi shifts in the front seat, and I wait for him to tell me to go to sleep or to not ask at all. I don't want to seem like I'm trying to pry or bring up anything that will upset him. At the same time, though, curiosity is nagging at me.

"My parents died when I was ten. I lived with my aunt. She was my mother's sister, her husband and my cousin Jaxon, but my aunt and uncle died two years later. That's what you were going to ask, right? Why I'm with the council if I have family out there," he doesn't sound like he's upset, but I still get the feeling I need to tread lightly.

Even though he's not showing it, I know what he's feeling. People will say that the pain is temporary and that time will heal the wounds. While they're right, they're also really wrong.

Time will heal the wound like a cut on the skin. Eventually, it will scar over and the pain from the cut is all but forgotten. But emotional pain doesn't work like physical pain. The emotional scar that remains is still tender and will still be whether ten minutes have passed or ten years. Having someone poke at the pain brings it all back to the surface, sometimes just a little, but other times it's like grieving all over again.

"If you don't want to talk about it," I mumbled into the darkness of the car.

"There's not much to tell. My dad was an only child and so am I, but my mom had a sister," I can't see him, but I swear that I can hear a shrug in his voice, "Jaxon's dad had a brother too, so he has cousins on the other side,"

"So you were lonely?"

"No, well not really," he moves around in the front seat, letting out a long sigh, "I mean Jaxon had people, a whole other family, and even his pack to keep him going after his parents died. But all I had had was him and the reminders of what I had lost. Choosing to work for the council gave me a new sense of purpose."

I never had a sibling or cousins that I know of but leaving the only family you have behind cannot be as easy as he's making it seem. Wouldn't it be better to have some sort of connection instead of none?

"We've got a few hours of driving still before we get to Jaxon's pack so don't waste all your questions. Get some sleep," the message Malachi was sending was clear, stop asking questions.

I stared at the roof of the car for I don't even know how long, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time before finally sleep found me.

Malachi is easy to travel with and the more time I'm with him, the more I see how similar he and I are in a lot of ways. When we talk, we each get passionate about some topics. Excitement or anger is easy to read on our faces as we talk back and forth. But then the conversation will end like all good things must, and we are thrust into silence. I would think that having only really known Malachi for around thirty-six hours or so, there would be awkward silences, but there were not. We are both good at sitting in the silence of the car, lost in our own thoughts and worlds as we move north and then one of us will voice a thought and the cycle starts again.

We crossed the Oregon/Washington border about two hours ago, having driven the last five hours non-stop, and the restlessness is finally starting to kick in. My legs are tingling, and my butt is numb and honestly, I'm ready to just jump out of the car and stretch my legs.

I was about to complain to Malachi, when movement between the trees caught my eyes. My face is practically glued to the window and, unconsciously, I tug the hood lower over my head as if it can hide me completely.

"Did you see that?" I didn't turn to face him, my eyes searched the trees that raced past us, looking for that movement again.

"I didn't, but it's probably Jaxon's patrol, we crossed his border about twenty minutes ago," this is news to me and I finally turned to look at him.

When had we crossed? I mean we left the main highway a while ago and had been on some side streets before coming to a small two-lane road. Is that when? Why hadn't he said anything? Announced that we are now in Jaxon's territory or warned me that I might see wolves now? Nerves exploded throughout my body and my hands began to shake. I keep reminding myself that Malachi saved me from Caspian. Everything he went through, he wouldn't put me in harm's way.

But he is throwing me to the wolves.

Houses begin to appear as we drive. At first, they are scattered, then suddenly it's like a small suburbia tucked into the trees. Lotus pack, from what I saw that first day, had been more condensed. A small city tucked in the valley of the trees, whereas this pack is definitely more of a cozy town.

"Welcome to Larkspur pack,"