Luna

• 44 •

Burning

Sam's announcement caused a panicked frenzy amongst the pack. Within minutes I was crammed into the backseat of his truck on my way back to the reservation. 

Despite feeling the sun's warmth and gusts of wind for the first time in days, I didn't dare to enjoy it. With my head on Paul's shoulder, I clenched my eyes tighter every time a ray of sun shined into the car. 

My newly heightened senses were causing an abundant amount of strain on my mind. The outside world soon became too much; the daylight was brighter than ever before while the clearness and sheer details of my surroundings overwhelmed my old senses. Physically, I felt fine, but mentally I felt like my human brain had been placed into a vampires body and I was short- circuiting. 

"Here Luna," Jared spoke, handing me  a pair of sunglasses he found after rifling through Sam's glove compartment. 

Paul intercepted Jared's outstretched hand and put the sunglasses on for me. "Is that any better?" 

I lied, wishing to reassure him. "A little." 

The more distance we added from the Cullen house, the more I began remembering how close we were to Sam and Emily's cabin; the familiarity of the roads helped to put myself at ease. When we made the final turn onto their drive way, immediately the rest of the pack pooled out onto the porch. 

"Luna, thank god." 

I couldn't take one step out of the truck before Emily and Kim engulfed me in their arms. I whispered reassurances to my closest friends as I returned the hugs, knowing that I desperately needed them. Sinking into their embrace, I began to realize that a mixture of scents were lingering over the two. Was this what the pack had been talking about this whole time- these were their scents? 

Without a doubt, Emily scents reflected her passion of baking along with a hint of the lucky lot flowers that were scattered throughout her house. In contrast Kim broadcasted the ocean; the saltiness from the water was engrained in her beach waves, however I could still smell Snoqualmie's Blackberry Ice Cream- her favorite dessert. 

Their scents triggered a faint resemblance of my old life. Back when the three of us were always at Emily's house and when the pack was just Sam, Jared, and Paul. Just a year ago life in the supernatural world seemed so much simpler. 

Yet when I pulled back and saw the sympathy in Em's eyes, I was brutally taken back to my reality. And that reality was that my parents were dead and I was no longer simply human. 

My heart paced as the temporary moment of peace crashed down. Gazing over the pack, I saw Cole standing towards the edge, with Leah at his side. 

His downcast eyes looked up to meet my stare and it took everything within me to not breakdown. Without a second thought I crossed to him as his body racked with shaky breaths. 

"Guys, give them a second," Leah ushered and just a moment later there was heavy shuffling of feet back into the house. "Yeah, you too, Lahote. She'll survive a second without you." 

"Leah, don't start." Paul bit back, yet complied. 

As silence settled over us due to the pack's absence, the two of us could finally breath. I pulled away from Cole's hug to finally notice the dark circles and flittering eyes. 

"What?" I pressed, realizing something else was at play. 

"I'm so sorry," Cole whispered as gave me another hug, "it's all my fault."