Beyond the Border | ✔

6 | rule 87

RULE 87: IF YOU FIND YOURSELF UNDER THE SPELL OF A SUPERNATURAL, YOU MUST TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES — EVEN IF THAT MEANS ENDING YOUR LIFE

✷  C  H  A  P  T  E  R      S  I  X   ✷

"Good morning, Luna," a loud voice jolted me awake. "Oh, I'm so sorry to wake you, Luna. You must forgive me. If I knew you were sleeping, I would have left your breakfast outside your door. My apologies."

Groaning, my eyes had a hard time opening up, as the throb in my head tried to convince me to keep them glued tight. Blinded by the light, I caught a whiff of the drool-worthy food. Gran must have made me breakfast in bed for my birthday. She truly did know the way to my heart.

My heart swelled at the thought of Gran putting so much effort into my birthday. I always insisted she didn't, but I think she knew I loved it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been doing it every year since Ma passed.

"Alpha Theo wants you to eat everything on the plate. It should help you with your hangover. When you're done eating, Alpha Theo should come by to address some of your questions."

Adjusting to the light, a hazy picture of what happened last night floated through my mind. Images of Vampire's Blood, dancing, more dancing, and even more dancing floated around. I winced at the recollection that I danced very poorly last night. I was sure Memphis, Si, and Gracie would not let me live that down for years to come.

My headache and uneasy stomach were forgotten at the smell of fresh syrup. Pancakes were my favorite breakfast food, but Gran hardly ever made them since she didn't like to cook them much. She hardly ever made an exception for my birthday.

As I took a glance at my surroundings, more images of last night diluted my thoughts. The blood drained from my face, as I realized I never made it home last night.

I was dead.

I may have a pulse and a steady flow of blood and oxygen, but I was dead to everyone I cared about. Pa, Gran, Pop, Auntie, and Uncle would know about my absence by now. They would probably have some of the hounds out looking for us, but soon, they'd discover I was gone.

Soon, they'd discover I was dead.

My heart felt like it was slowly being pulled and shattered into a thousand pieces. Pa would be heartbroken. He'd already lost Ma. I can't believe I was so selfish.

Don't lose hope, I told myself.

I could still get to the tunnel's entrance and secure my way back to the Borderlands. I would have to do it today. Otherwise, disappearing for more than one day would be too suspicious to cover up. They'd probably see right through me.

Hopefully, Memphis and Si were alright. As much as it pained me, I hoped they had made it back and not stayed behind to find us. But then again, Natasha had been taken alongside us, so at the least, maybe Memphis stayed behind.

Speaking of, where were Gracie and Natasha?

I looked around the room I was in. It was vast, filled with nice furniture and decorations, but Gracie and Natasha were nowhere in sight. I was laying in a giant bed, snuggled up in fine, silky sheets. Across from the bed was a TV. It wasn't like the ones at Midnight Mercury, because the screen was blank.

The room, so nicely furnished with real wood pieces, made me feel like I was intruding — even if I was kidnapped. This must be someone's room. Back in the Borderlands, no room goes unused. If you happen to have an extra room, you find a use for it, or the Council redistributes the house to someone who can better suit it.