Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition (8 page)

“You’re heart’s beating so slow,” I said, smiling before moving my hand away. “Mine on the other hand is pounding so hard, people in the lower forty-eight can probably hear it,” I laughed, but then suddenly felt like I had done or said something wrong. I shifted uneasily and looked at William. His green eyes flitted over me, then quickly away again.

He cleared his throat . “I’ve ridden these things like a thousand times,” he said, flatly.

Just before we reached the end of the zip line, I looked down over the side and saw a shadow of someone in the trees below. At first I dismissed it thinking that I’d somehow seen our shadows.

After our ride ended, we thanked our guide before we headed back down the same path we came in on earlier. I spun around when I heard a twig snap behind us. I turned so quickly it was like I’d heard it before it snapped, and I caught a glimpse before it disappeared that time.

William didn’t turn around, but I knew he’d heard it too. “Come on.” He tightened his grip on my hand. “Don’t stop.”

“Did you see it?” I asked, trailing behind him. I took two steps for every one of his, but was still having trouble keeping up.

When we got to his car, he’d already pressed the unlock button on the remote. “Get in,” he said in a low deep voice that didn’t even sound like him. As soon as I was inside the car he slammed my door and I heard the locks engage. I turned around to see where he went and watched him disappear back into the woods where we’d just came out.

Even though the sounds were muffled through the glass I still heard growling and snarling, along with sounds like breaking trees. “William,” I screamed, but he didn’t answer. Tears stood in my eyes.

The snarling stopped, and an eerie silence filled the air. I held my breath, staring at the spot where I had last seen William before he’d gone into the woods.

Chapter 12

I let out a deep breath and sighed with relief when William stepped from behind the trees. Walking toward the car, he brushed dirt and dead leaves from his ripped up, bloody shirt. He looked at me and smiled crookedly when he leaned in to grab a fresh shirt from the back. He closed the door and opened the trunk. A few minutes later he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“What happened out there?” I asked.

He didn’t look at me, but he’s features stiffened. “It was a couple of guys from school. They were just trying to scare you.” He glanced in his mirrors as we drove away.

I thought about what he said and wondered why he was lying to me. “Do you expect me to believe that? I was there, William. I saw the shadows and heard the snarls—”

“Leave it alone, Gen,” he snapped, but I could tell he didn’t mean to. It didn’t make the hurt I felt any less, though.

I wrapped my arms around myself and sank deeper into my seat. He reached over and tried to put his hand on mine, but I shrugged it off, repositioning myself so I was looking out my window. He cranked up Breaking Benjamin on the stereo, and drove entirely too fast all the way back to Haven.

When we pulled into my driveway, he turned down the music then looked at me with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, Gen. Please don’t be mad.” I wasn’t facing him but could see him in my peripheral vision. He lowered his eyes and sighed heavily. “I … care about you,” he spoke softly, gently taking my hand in his. When I didn’t say anything he leaned over to my side of the car. “You’re being all quiet and sad now,” he whispered, causing a burning flush to fly over me.

“Nah, I’m not mad, just tired.” I glanced at my house then back at him. “I better go.” I gave him a peck on the cheek before climbing out of the car. “See you later,” I said flatly, then closed the car door. I didn’t bother looking back, because I could feel his eyes on me as I strolled into the garage.

By the time I got to the kitchen door my phone was ringing with a text message. I dug it out of my jacket pocket. It was William.

Want to do something fun tomorrow?

I wasn’t quite ready to forgive him yet.
I’m not sure yet. I might be busy.
I lied. I wanted to be close to him all the time, but for now, I needed to play a little hard to get.

Alright. You can let me know later. I really am sorry. : (

His last text message tugged at my heart strings. I would let him wonder for a little while, then I would let him know things were okay between us.

It was only around five-thirty when I’d gotten home and Aunt Bev was in her office working at her laptop when I found her.

“Whatcha doin?” I leaned against the open door casing, and smiled. She jumped at first, throwing her hand over her heart. She then quickly used her other hand to slide a book under some papers. It wasn’t just any book, it was the same book I had found inside the piano bench earlier. “Gen, you scared the hell out of me.” She forced a smile. “I didn’t expect you home so early.” She minimized the screen on her computer, then stood and moved toward me, away from her desk, as if to keep my focus away from what she’d been doing.

***

After Aunt Bev left, I changed into my flannel pajama pants and matching tank top. I cooked a frozen pizza, then settled on the over-stuffed couch in the den to watch
E.T.
I loved that movie. When I was little, some boys in my class called me E.T. because I had great big eyes and a high forehead. I went home and cried thinking it was a bad thing. My mom, being the loving and affectionate person that she was, rushed right out and bought the movie. As we watched it together she explained that those boys were just jealous because E.T was this really great alien who could make things move with his mind, and they wanted to be like him but weren’t.

The next day at school those same boys waited on the playground. When my class came outside they tried to taunt me again expecting me to cry, but instead of crying I smiled and skipped away. They never teased me after that day, and that was when I knew my mom was
the
greatest mom
ever
.

Occasionally we would watch it if I was upset about something, and I always felt better afterward. Although I was sitting there watching
E.T.
alone, it made me feel like she was there with me again.

Not even halfway into the movie my phone rang. It was a text message from Luna.

Are you at home?
Luna wrote.

Yeah. Watching a movie. What’s up?
I was into the movie so it took me several minutes to write back.

I’m coming over. Be there in a few. DON’T LEAVE.

I tossed the phone onto the couch beside me, and carried my leftover pizza into the kitchen. I put my plate into the dishwasher and heard a knock on the sliding glass doors. My heart jumped because I didn’t think Luna had enough time to get all the way to my house from hers.

My adrenaline surged through my veins. I grabbed a large knife from the block on the island next to the cook top, and inched my way quietly to the door. I pressed my back against the wall and peeked out the side of the curtains. As quiet as I had been, Luna was looking right at me. I let out a lungful of air, realizing then I’d been holding my breath the whole time.

“How did you get here so fast?” I asked incredulously.

She pointed to the small boat tied at the dock. “I live across the lake. It only takes, like, five seconds to get here by boat.” She wasn’t her usual happy self, and I could tell.

“You don’t understand, Gen.” Luna’s voice sounded frantic and desperate. “This is not like a regular meeting. Someone ‘called’ it.” Luna said, doing air quotes with her fingers.

“Which means …?” I held both arms out, palm up.

“I’ll tell you what it means. It means something’s up, and they want it kept a secret.” She followed me into the den. I dropped onto the couch while she just stood across the room, not bothering to take off her jacket. “I want to go there to find out why they’re all being so secretive.”

“Luna, I’m sure it’s nothing. You want something to drink?” I asked her before taking a large drink of my soda.

“Fine. If you won’t take me, I’ll … I’ll hitchhike.” Angry tears filled her eyes as she spun on her heel and headed out of the room.

“Wait,” I yelled, jumping up from the couch. I didn’t realize how determined she really was until the front door swung open.

I ran out of the den, through the living room, and caught up to her just as she was headed out the door. “Wait here and let me throw on some jeans.”

I found Luna pacing back and forth in the foyer when I came back down stairs. “Let’s go,” she said sounding anxious as she started to open the front door.

“No. Lock that door. We’re going out through the kitchen. I hit the garage door button then we jumped in the Jeep, and backed out.

When I glanced at Luna, she was chewing the inside of her lip, and nervously bouncing her knee at record speed. “All this really has you freaked out, doesn’t it?” I asked, softly rubbing her shoulder.

Luna paused for a minute before answering. “You don’t understand how important this meeting is, Gen. Something
big
is happening. The last time they called a meeting was after …” her voice trailed off and she started fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket, then peered at me again. “If I tell you something, you promise to have an open mind?”

There was an eeriness as we drove through town. Even though it was still fairly early, the streets were empty. I didn’t even see a dog or cat anywhere. I felt around on my door and quietly pressed the lock down.

Following Luna’s directions it seemed as though we were headed straight toward a dilapidated fishery. The building sat next to the water beside a few broken down, decaying fishing boats. She had us park behind a tall bank to hide the Jeep from view of the factory and the road.

“Why are they having a town council meeting here? Shouldn’t it be at, like, city hall or something? Isn’t that where towns have their
town
meetings?” I asked sardonically.

Luna furrowed her brow. “Shh. Keep your voice down or they’ll hear us,” she whispered. “Stay down and follow me.” She then looked briefly over her shoulder at me. “Quietly.”

I felt silly following Luna’s zigzagging motions, and thought maybe she’d watched
Rambo
a few too many times.

When we got to the building my heart was pounding so hard I could feel the pulsing in my temples, which was giving me a major headache. We eased around to the back of the building. I had a sneaking suspicion Luna had done this before after spotting a few old crates strategically placed directly underneath a broken window.

“When we get to the window you have to be super quiet,” she whispered.

After nodding that I understood, we dropped to the ground and belly crawled until we were both by the crates. I swallowed hard when I heard a man’s voice shouting.

“My people fought for peace for many years. There was too much bloodshed between the Lycan, Adlet wolves, and Blood Drinkers.”

Luna tapped me on the shoulder. “That’s my grandfather talking,” she whispered.

“When the pack of the Lycan rebels came, somehow, they were able to get past our warriors, standing guard. The Lycan only left after feeling certain they had killed everyone. Royal family, warriors and all. This is the way our tribe left it until someone betrayed our trust and told them of a female infant that had been safely smuggled out.

“In my vision quest I was shown that the princess has returned, and the time is near when she will once again bring peace between our worlds.”

“Do you think
they
know she is here?” I overheard a woman ask.

“Who is that?” I tapped Luna on the shoulder, and mouthed the words.

“My mother,” she whispered.

“You’re not even certain Genevieve
is
the princess. Her life is in danger, and it might be for nothing.” My jaw dropped and it felt like all the blood raced away from my brain when I heard what my aunt was saying.

“All the signs lead to her, and I know you have seen the book. Even the picture bares a family resemblance to her,” Miss Baylor said.

“That picture could be anyone of a hundred people,” Bev snapped, but her voice wavered. “Gen hasn’t shown any signs of the transformation. It might not even be her. Why can’t one of the local daughters reign?”

“Quiet,” Luna’s grandfather shouted. “Only a pureblood can ascend to the throne. We didn’t decide. The gods decided for us.”

“Yes, Uncle, and the fire ceremony has proved that theory. It must be her,” Miss Baylor argued.

“Everybody …
please
settle down.” Luna’s mother spoke calmly. “We all know there is one more test that will tell for certain. Have Annalisa perform the test, and if it proves that she is indeed the princess, we will start the preparations.”

The long silence made me extremely nervous.

“All right,” Aunt Bev uttered, sounding completely exhausted. “Perform the test. I won’t stand in the way.” She paused momentarily. “I will do whatever is needed to stop the killing.”