Chosen

21

We didn't speak much after that.

I was too tired and upset to venture back into my own room, but I couldn't stay back with Rykor, either. It felt like a lie, sitting there in his room, close to him, pretending that I was ready to love him when in reality I wasn't sure what I should do. It felt like I was giving him false hope.

Instead, I went to my room.

The fireplace was still lit, and I wondered if Rykor had set it for me, as if he knew I would venture back here. A look at the ash in the bucket confirmed this; the fireplace had been cleaned and new logs had been placed. Somehow, Rykor knew I would seek shelter here, and wanted to ensure the room was still welcoming when I came back.

The action warmed my heart, but twisted my stomach.

Instead of curling by the fire, I went to a random shelf and pulled out a book, not caring which one it was, and sat by the stained glass window. The glow from the moon made the colors seem luminescent, and the floor by the window was covered in various colors. It felt like a dream, despite the nightmare my mind was in.

I dove into the book, trying to clear my mind with a random romance. But then the male lead started to sound like Rykor, and I quickly switched to another. But in that one, the lead was described as looking very much like Rykor, and again I put the book away. Finally, I decided on a boring history book about old pack house architecture. There, there weren't any characters in here to confuse me more.

Except when I reached the part about Black Moon architectural history, and saw an old photograph of a Lycan that was clearly one of Rykor's ancestors.

"Argh!" Frustrated, I tossed the book away. It landed with a thud on the carpet, and only for a fleeting moment did I hope that I hadn't awoken the other house occupant with the noise. It was one thing for me to lose sleep over my problems; it was another thing entirely to involve someone else.

Suddenly cold, I walked over to the chair by the fireplace, sweeping the thick blanket off the back of the chair and around my shoulders. But as I did, something fell out of it, as if it had been tucked away inside.

I looked down. It was a book. No, it was the book, the one I'd read to Rykor just before running out. He must have scooped it up with the blanket by mistake.

Unable to resist, I picked up my favorite piece of literature and began to read, slowly getting lost in the tale of two lovers in an Italian city a million lifetimes away. I didn't notice when, in my mind, the male lead's hair turned long and dark and the female's became as red as blood. Eventually, my eyes closed, and sleep took over the story I knew by heart, playing out the rest of the story in a dream.

I was back in bed when I awoke next. I knew Rykor had put me there, but he was nowhere to be found. The house was quiet, empty. It looked as if he had been gone for some time, and when I checked his office, there were some files missing, as well as a laptop he used when taking care of business outside of this room.

So he's giving me space. That's good, this is good. I'll just figure things out while he's gone, and when he comes back I can tell him...

Well, I'd figure that out when I got there.

Stalling, I decided to make a quick breakfast of tea and toast, scarfing it down before going back to the office. I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself, so I opened a file on White Moon policy changes, knowing that despite my current predicament, it was still my job to inform Black Moon of proceedings in White Moon territory.

My pack's territory.

Woah. My pack. I hadn't considered White Moon to be my pack for a while, and it wasn't just when I'd come to live in Black Moon. I suspected I'd felt removed far before I'd even met Rykor, but I'd never really noticed until I was several miles away from the place that was supposed to be my home.

Feeling a sense of something akin to nostalgia, I picked up the phone on the desk and dialed the first number I thought of. We hadn't spoken in a while, and I wasn't even sure what I would say when they answered.

Hey, I know we left on kind of an off note, but I was wondering if you had a second to chat?

"Hello? Can I help you?"

For a moment, I remained silent, my voice getting caught somewhere in my throat.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

"Travis."