Chapter 67: Clues

Lake

“I thought you died or something,” Delilah says. “Where have you been?”

“Like you care,” I growl. “Why are you hanging about the pack’s old territory?”

“I’m guessing you two know each other?” Sylas interjects, offering his hand to Delilah. “Sylas Boleanov.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“Move!” I push Sylas aside as a huge blonde wolf jumps from the bushes behind Delilah. The wolf lands on me, sending me tumbling backward to the forest floor.

The animal’s hot breath and large teeth gleam in my face. This fur brain is definitely Delilah’s mate. He snarls at me, his large paws pinning me to the ground.

“He wasn’t putting the moves on your mate, dude,” I grumble. “He’s just an uneducated vampyre.”

Delilah manages to coax her mate off me, and I begrudgingly dust the dirt from my clothes. Sylas just stands beside me holding my backpack, clueless as to what just happened.

“I’m sorry about him. He’s your typical male.” Delilah sighs. “We’re working on it.”

“You don’t say.” I look the male up and down. His defensive demeanor doesn’t let up. “As I was saying, why are you here?”

Delilah pets her mate’s head as he wraps himself protectively. That’s when I notice her slightly swollen stomach.

~Ah. That explains things.~

“Clayton and I decided to settle in a pack nearby.”

A feeling of trepidation creeps down my spine. “If it’s the one I’m thinking of, I wouldn’t do it,” I warn. “You don’t know what goes on in that pack.”

“The life of a rogue is no way to raise a family. Don’t you agree?”

~Now I remember why I don’t like her.~

I flip my hair to the side, showing that I’m not intimidated by her antics anymore. “You’re still so naive, even after all this time.”

Delilah growls, “If you’re through here, leave.”

“I’m not,” I state. “But as long as you two leave us alone, we’ll be gone before you know it.”

“You’re lucky, Mavris,” Delilah scoffs as we turn to leave. “If this was years ago, you wouldn’t dare talk to me like that.”

“You’re right,” I say over my shoulder. “I would have had your head on a pike just like Lucas’s. Congrats on the pups, by the way.”

***

“That was eventful.” Sylas chuckles as we enter the back entrance of the school’s cafeteria. “I can tell you two were close.”

“The closest,” I say wryly. “She was a typical mean girl, and I got in her way too often for comfort.”

The halls of the school are dusty and filled with old desks. The lockers are either open or don’t have doors to them. It’s very creepy without the lights on.

“So, what do you think we need here?” he asks.

“The library has a bunch of books on wolf history, especially my old pack’s. Maybe there’s something about this extraction scheme my grandfather is cooking up.”

Sylas ends up having to kick the library door down due to it being locked from the inside, which is peculiar. The books are still in their places on the shelves and the tables are left undisturbed.

Memories of freshman year flood my mind. Riley and I were at the ripe age of fourteen and thought we had the whole world figured out. That was before she found out my twin brother, Landon, was her mate.

I was ecstatic when I found out, but a bit jealous when my best friend was up my brother’s ass, and vice versa, 24/7. A twinge of pain hits my heart as I remember how much I miss those two.

“Kjarni?” Sylas waves his hand in my face, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Sorry.” I blink a few times. “We should, uh, get looking.”

The history section of the library is the largest in the room. Alphas of older generations were meticulous about documenting our past. As a young wolf, I never thought it was important, but thankfully the old ones did.

Sylas reads the title of one book aloud, looking puzzled. “Liam Blood Fur the Great?”

“Our first Alpha,” I tell him. “He was the one to combine our pack and another’s during a time of famine and hardship. His brother, Elvin Blood Fur, was his Beta. Those two were the best leaders my pack ever saw.”

Sylas puts the book back and picks up another. “What happened to them?”

“No one knows. The two wolves and their mates just disappeared one night after the Full Moon Ceremony.”

“What’s the Full Moon Ceremony?” he asks.

“The night when all the heirs are appointed to their spots,” I explain. “Some say that Liam’s son got rid of them, so they couldn’t overthrow him once he became Alpha. Those members left to join other packs, or start their own.

“My grandfather’s ancestor was one of those wolves who left. He established the Dark Moon Pack.”

We continue flipping through pages, but there’s nothing. No clues, stories, or hints of what’s happening with my grandfather’s pack.

“I’m so tired of this!” I send a book flying into the wall across the room. The ancient spine breaks on impact, and the pages scatter on the ground.

“Kjarni, patience.” Sylas turns a page in his book. “Don’t read too much into it.”

“Easy for you to say. It isn’t your mate who’s in trouble while we waste time here,” I growl. “We’re already over two days into this shit. The last time we were separated, I was unmarked and...”

“Turned into what you are now?” Sylas shuts his book and scoots over to me, taking my hand in his. “Kjarni, I understand this is stressful, but becoming angry and irrational won’t save Derrick any faster.”

I narrow my eyes at him.

“What? I can be civil with this mate of yours—at least when it counts.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re a strange one.”

“The strangest, Kjarni,” Sylas smiles and brushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. “We will find a solution. Patience is key.”

Sylas’s red eyes gleam into mine, as if he yearns to tell me something, but can’t muster the courage to. I can smell the scent of his blood through his skin. It’s intoxicating.

I look down at his lips, inching closer to mine. Part of me wants to lean in as well.

~I desperately want more of this man’s blood.~

“I can’t.” I put my hand on Sylas’s chest and push him away. “I have a—”

“Mate, I know, Kjarni.” He pulls back. “I’m sorry for assuming.”

“Sylas...”

He picks up another book. “We should really get back to reading.”

I let out an exasperated sigh.

~What am I doing?~