Red Moon Rising

56. wounds

Chapter Song: The Wolf - SIAMES

XX

"Go, Layla." Jack is crouching by me, having shifted to man without me even realizing it. He touches my shoulder as I remain frozen, then shakes me a little harder. "Layla, go back to the house!"

I try to rip my feet from where I stand as another howl breaks through the night, but my body won't obey. Move you fucking idiot, move!

Jack's fingers run over my ears and then he holds my face in his hands. "Layla," he whispers. "You're going to be okay. But I need you to go back to the house. I'll come find you, okay?"

I try to absorb the earnestness, the calm, on his face, and force myself into motion. It isn't long before the fear is driving at my heels; I don't stop to collect my clothes by the lake, running instead toward the sauna at the edge of the trees. Jack is alone. If Isaac brought his pack, he won't stand a chance. Or if he brought Paul. I know with a sudden horrible certainty that Jack is going to die, that I've brought death to him. The people around you don't stand a chance. What will I tell Red when the last of her family is dead? What will I tell this pack when they've already lost so many? The curse is you, Layla, and there's only one way to get rid of it.

I stop when a shadow crosses onto my path. In the moonlight, I can see his face, and all the same I can still hear the sound of his howl from the other side of the lake. What the hell is going on? Stumbling back as he takes a step toward me, I bare my teeth and try to suppress the shiver as I hear the voice of his wolf again, far away, all while he's standing in front of me.

"Found you," Isaac says, his voice a strange echo in the emptiness of the woods. He keeps walking toward me, and I realize suddenly that I have to run or fight or give in, but my mind is only spinning in place without latching onto anything but the overwhelming sense of dread in my heart. "I'm not here to hurt you, Layla. Why don't you shift back so we can talk?"

I respond with a snarl, but Isaac isn't fazed. I won't speak to him; anything I say he'll find a way to twist, and I can't bear to be naked and alone in front of him again. He's just a few feet away, and I can feel my stomach like lead as my legs sink further to the ground. He's going to take me back, and after that he'll make sure I can never leave again. You don't belong here anyway.

"Shift, Layla."

I remember the biting cold of that cell when he said those same words to me. Cave or move, give in or run. But I just remain where I am, growling, until suddenly he's lurching toward me. My muscles find strength again just as he grabs my snout and shoves my head down hard. His other hand twists into the fur at my neck as I breathe hard against the snow.

"You remember how this goes," he whispers. "If you just shift you can make this easier. I don't want to hurt you, Layla, I just want to bring you home." When I begin to thrash, he pins me further with his elbow, using his weight to hold me down. "I'm giving you a chance to do this right. You know what happens if you do it wrong." He won't kill me, but he'll come close. He will make me a worse version of myself.

Isaac bends over me and kisses the top of my head before resting his cheek against my fur. "I'm trying to help you, don't you get that? I know you feel lost, and I can make it better. No one's going to love you like I will, Layla." I can feel his breath in my ear, and I let me body go slack. I can't get away from him like this, and I can feel my soul collapsing. Because I know he's right, as much as it hurts. Because if I leave then maybe Jack will survive this. When he feels my resistance let up, Isaac slowly releases me, fingers stroking down my back and slipping into my fur. The desire to give in is awful and overpowering and sickening. I'm about to shift when I think of Jack holding my face. You're going to be okay.