Blue Moon (Colors of the Moon #1)

Chapter 13

"The number you have dialed—"

I lowered the phone away from my ear and hit the end button. This had been my fifth call to my cousin Ryou ever since last night, and yet I still wasn't able to reach him.

I stared at my reflection in the dark screen, while questions of what if swarmed my mind. What if Ryou went missing like the rest of my family. What if...

I shot up from the bed and marched to the already partly open door. This time I didn't bother to check if anyone was outside. I entered the hallway and made my way downstairs, without caring about who might see me.

My only goal was to find Jared. I was going to force myself to tell him that I had had enough. I was going back home to search for my family, and he wasn't going to get a say in it.

The moment I reached the last round of stairs, Ortiz began ascending the staircase. I froze with my hand on the railing, while he continued upwards like I wasn't even there.

"Ortiz."

I tightened my grip on the wooden railing when the said guy stopped two stars below me and glared up at me. The little voice in the back of my head was telling me to seal my lips shut and pretend like I had never called his name. Yet I fought against the urge.

"Can... Can you tell me where... Jared is?"

"Outside."

He spared me nothing but a glare before he stalked up the rest of the stairs. Without even a backwards glance he rounded the corner and disappeared out of my view.

Despite the hard grip I had on the railing, I wasn't as unnerved as during the rest of my run-ins with the stoic werewolf. I guessed I was getting used to his hostile attitude.

I lingered on the stairs for another moment before I made my decision. Strictly speaking I got the impression that I wasn't allowed to leave the mansion, however, I decided I didn't have the patience to wait for Jared to return.

With a quick glance to make sure no one was watching me, I rushed to the front door and snuck out. I closed it with a silent click and then turned toward the never-ending forest surrounding the mansion. A single road led from the building—the one we had used to get here from my home—however, I was sure Jared wasn't anywhere along it. With my luck I was sure he was somewhere deep in the woods.

Larry's words about enhanced senses swiped through my mind. This reassured me that sooner or later Jared would either catch onto my scent or the sound of my footsteps. Either way, he would have much less trouble finding me than vice versa.

This is why I chose a random direction and began walking away from the mansion. Within my first ten steps I was swallowed into the jumble of trees and bushes that swayed in the rhythm of the soft breath of wind from above.

I wasn't sure how long I walked through the lively woods when a loud bark pierced my ears. I spun around and caught a brief glimpse of a brown animal rushing toward me. Without thinking, I jumped into a sprint and rushed forward as fast as my feet could take me.

My muscles screamed in protest, but I forced my body to push through the discomfort. I managed to add another couple of feet when something wrapped itself around my left foot. My upper body leaned forward, while my foot remained stuck in place.

I would have landed face first in the dirt, if it weren't for a bare arm that wrapped itself around my middle. A second later my back hit against a solid chest and fireworks of sparks exploded from the top of my head to the bare ankles peeking above my sneakers.

Jared.

Before I could even take in a deep breath, he whirled me around and I came face to face with his bare neck and chest.