(FREE TO READ) Bad Moon

chapter 53; different

It felt like hours before they finally came to rest. They'd passed by their campsite, and instead walked miles further—deeper into the real wolves' territory.

Tisperwas concerned it'd lead to another attack, but Quentin shook his head on the matter. "They're not Ziya's wolves. They'll see our wounded," he'd said. "They'll know. They'll protect us."

Regardless, Tisper didn't see a wolf for the duration of the night. They set up camp by a stream, and the others found them in time. First, the ones that had escaped with Jaylin. Then Imani, Bailey, and Leo. Elizaveta and Izzy tailed in last, chauffeuring along a winded Matt, who nursed his wounded shoulder for the entire night.

"It's broken," he'd told her. "I knew that Die Hard shit was a bad idea." But as was the gracious Matthew, he refused to admit that it was his idea to jump from a moving truck to begin with.

The others chose to stay in form, huddled into a pile of fur to fend from the cold. The ones that had escaped with Jaylin remained human, too tired to turn, but still they slept in the lump with the wolves, funneling the heat from their winter coats. Even Matt had taken to the warmth—head rested on Izzy's side and Elizaveta tucked in one arm, his fingers still lost in the fur of her neck after hours of mindlessly stroking her coat until he'd fallen asleep.

Again, it was Tisper and Quentin awake at the fire, both of them too afraid to sleep for fear of leaving Jaylin unmonitored. They'd seen the bullets in his arms and the one embedded in his stomach, but they were shallow—so shallow you could see the metal glinting in the light of the fire.

According to Imani, they were far from striking a vital. He'd be okay for the night. He'd have to be—they didn't have the opportunity to retrieve their first aid kit. There was no way to remove the bullets and nothing to sanitize them with. There was just the fire to keep him warm. The meat of some fish from the creek that he was too tired to eat. And the moon, forever an hourglass above their heads.

"It's not silver," Quentin broke the silence. His own thoughts spilled out before Tisper's did and for that she was thankful.

"That's good right?"

"It's good. If they were silver bullets, he'd be in too much pain to sleep."

"A lot of people got hurt tonight, didn't they?"

"Yes," Quentin said. "A lot of humans. And I'll have to answer to that."

Tisper sighed and plucked the meat from the bone of her fish. "What will you do after this?"

"I'll take him to our lake cabin. We used it for Anna when she was turning. There are precautions in order there. It's more secure. No one will be able to find him."

"That's not what I mean though," she said, grimacing with the next bite. Her hands still stunk of blood, no matter how many times she washed them in the stream. "What will you do about him? Will you tell him how you feel?"

Quentin stared into the flames, worked his jaw left to right. "He's going to school after this. I'm sending him to Seattle. He'll live a normal life."

"Normal," Tisper snorted. "He's turning into an actual monster tomorrow night, Quentin."

"And we'll be around to take care of him when he does. I'll talk to Devi about formulating some kind of...suppression medicine. Maybe we can keep him from turning with the right amount of mistletoe."

"And what if someone else comes after him?"

"Ziya wanted him because this is his first transition. He won't be as useful to her after this. I'm promoting more Sentinels after this is all over and I'll make sure he's surrounded by protection."