1 Chapter 1 Tsuki

It was quiet. Surprisingly so, since it had been almost three months since Viktor had sworn to take me back in some ride or die revenge vow- at least, that was what Brandy told me. I had no idea what happened after I passed out, or for the rest of the first week or so of being back in Ipomoea territory. It was all a blur, and I had to rely on Brandy to tell me what I had unconsciously erased from my mind- something which I apparently did often, to forget the horrifying change in my childhood love.

I cringed at the thought, my gaze skipping from my dirty hands up to where Brandy sat on the low wall I had built around the flower patch at the center of town. She was just short enough to idly swing her legs through the air as she read, heels drumming lightly against the brick wall. Unlike my often sunburned skin, hers had taken on a golden glow with the amount of time we spent in the sun. It was our escape- or maybe just mine, because my clearest memories since my return were almost entirely composed of those spending hours turning the weed-infested field of flowers into a beautiful space.

My hand dropped back to my hands again as I thought of the work I had put in. The bloody, rusted statue I had once been chained to was polished to a perfect shine. I'd built up the wall to ring the flowers, creating a few paths of fractured glass which were almost as pretty as the flowers. And with my constant weeding, fertilizing, and watering, the flowers were thriving in a way I'd never seen before. I could easily get lost in staring at them for hours; it had happened before, though I never knew how long I had spent there until somebody was putting a cold cloth on my forehead inside and complaining about my 'strange murmuring'.

"Tsuki, you okay? You've been staring into nothing for the past twenty minutes." Brandy looked up from her book, concern in her eyes, as she caught me in exactly the habit I had just been thinking of. It was still a little strange to see that deep worry, considering she had once been my foremost tormentor, but we had bonded over time. Somewhere in the middle of the death and bloodshed which had overtaken our pack, we had become something close to friends- allies, at least.

Which was why I smiled at her. "I'm fine. Just a little warm, that's all," I answered, raking my hair back from my face and most likely smudging dirt all over my forehead.

Brandy folded down the top corner of the page she was reading so she wouldn't lose her page. The nerd in me shuddered at the abuse, but I didn't say anything because she was already on her feet. The flowers parted like waves at her feet, their beautiful silver petals more lustrous than ever since I had set myself to taking care of them. They threw off the sunlight in refracted rainbow rays as Brandy knelt down in front of me. She flicked her hair back over his shoulder before she leaned forward and pressed the back of her hand to my forehead.

"You're burning up," she said with a frown, rich brown curls framing her face as she let her head drop and closed her eyes. I knew what she was doing- breathing in my scent, trying to find a sour hint of sickness. "You don't smell sick. Do you feel okay?"

I shrugged, looking away. "The usual."

"It's not getting any better?" Brandy asked, her frown growing deeper.

I didn't look up, simply shrugging again. 'The usual' was my fevers, nausea and dizziness, an appetite which was unpredictable at best. It had persisted for a couple of weeks, and I didn't have the heart to tell her it was only getting worse; I was constantly exhausted, even on the days where I didn't do anything, and the wear of Neo's mind on mine wasn't helping. That heavy weight of his thoughts and emotions only tired me more. If I told her any of that, though, she'd give me that guilty expression, the same one she had been giving me since she admitted kidnapping Viktor to bring me back had been her idea.

Brandy sighed heavily, and dropped her hand from my forehead to hold it out to me. "Come on. Let's get you inside."

"I don't want to go inside," I muttered, feeling the familiar chill run down my spine when I looked up to the alpha house. It was a beautiful house, three stories of Victorian architecture with huge glass windows. The house wasn't the problem- it was what it contained. My bond with Neo hummed with new strength when I was turned in his direction, thinking about him. I could feel his anger, his tension and stress. Something was wrong. Something was always wrong.

Neo was struggling, I could feel it. I felt bad, in the lonely part of me which had always loved him. He hadn't been ready to become the alpha. Taking me as a bond mate right after hadn't helped him at all. Neo struggled with the responsibility, with earning the loyalty back from the wolves who had turned their noses up at him when he brought me back, and with balancing having two mates. With his attention stretched so thin, incidents were bound to happen.

The human police must have been puzzled by the sharp increase of 'animal attacks'. We'd seen the same thing decades ago when the Cereus pack was in the hands of Alyx's previous lover. The mad wolf, the one who encouraged his pack to hunt humans. Stress relief, purely for enjoyment, or as a form of rebellion- reasons differed, but the Ipomoea pack wolves were turning into killers, and the Moon Guard had their eye on us.

Which was why they were visiting Neo, again. That was the source of his tension; I could read as much from the press of his thoughts against mine. The Moon Guard was ready to intervene if they had to. Considering the Moon Guard's intervention had helped spur on the eventual exile of the Cereus pack, I didn't blame Neo for being anxious. I just wished I didn't feel it so strongly, making my head spin worse than it already did thanks to whatever strange illness ailed me.

"Do we really have to go back right now? We could go into town. We haven't been to Luna's in a while," I suggested, my tone surprisingly casual considering how desperate I was to be anywhere else.

Brandy's gaze searched my face for a moment, before she gave in with another sigh and a reluctant nod. "Fine. But you have to promise to stay right at my side. I can't promise he'll behave if you disappear again."

"I promise." It was hardly more than a whisper, and I knew my face had paled; it hadn't been pretty when Neo hadn't paid attention to me saying I was staying late at school to study and make up for my lost time, because he said he wanted me to finish out the classes I had started. He'd all but lost his mind, and it got worse every time. The protectiveness I had always secretly enjoyed had gone so sour that he was lucky Prof Kingsley had said we didn't need to involve the police, and I was certain he only said that because I had looked terrified.

Brandy wiggled her hand in front of my face, and I took it to let her help me up. A soft groan passed my lips as I battled the wave of dizziness which came from the sudden movement; it took several hard swallows to keep from losing the light lunch I had eaten. "You okay?" she asked, her fingers tight around mine.

"I'm fine. Thanks. Caffeine might do me some good."

"Are you saying that just to make me jealous?" Brandy teased lightly as she led me to one of the pretty glass paths.

I snorted, somehow able to find genuine amusement. "I feel so bad for you, banned from any kind of caffeine. Makes me happy that I can't have kids, for once."

Brandy laughed, and it didn't take long for both of us to be laughing together at the almost surreal statement, an omega glad they couldn't have children. It was something we had both said in the last few months- especially the day Brandy found out she was carrying Neo's child from the night her father had forced them together, and I had held her while she cried. That might have been the moment we truly bonded.

"Alright, I get it, you little shit. I'll live vicariously through your enjoyment of your froofy girly coffee, and maybe we'll have half of a good time."

I smiled at her, looping my arm through hers and enjoying the safe physical contact. It soothed my anxious wolf a little, and helped me stay standing when the nausea refused to go away. Brandy was my savior. I didn't know what I would do without her at my side with what Ipomoea had become.

Though if I had known what was about to happen, I might have done her a favor and pushed her away like everybody else before the world exploded in our faces.