Dark Moon

Chapter Eighteen:Questions (Aza's POV)

    I sat on the couch, my head leaning back against the cushion. Abe was sound asleep with his head in my lap. It was adorable. His powerful, dark, warrior's features softened and he looked young and calm. Every now and then a light snore tumbled from his lips. I turned my gaze to the tv screen. Pride and Prejudice was playing. Abe had probably put it on thinking I would watch not read while he slept. He was so sweet. Stupid and idiotic, but sweet.

    I reached for the remote, the muscles in my side stretching. I felt Abe move nervously in my lap, his head turning. I snatched it up and relaxed into the chair. "Calm down Abe."  He sighed softly in relief and settled into sleep once more. "I am not leaving babe, get it in your thick skull." I knew he'd be worried. I also knew he'd wake as an anxious wolf. He always did. He told me the wolf just took over. Abe thought it scared me because once I had gotten up to get a drink, Abe was sleeping in the recliner. I came back and saw a massive snarling wolf in front of me.

    Abe remembered snarling. He didn't remember how his wolf had calmed down instantly and nuzzled me gently on the nose. How his wolf had laid on his side and let me brush him. How I had fallen asleep laying on his broad side. I enjoyed it. All of Abe's inhibitions left him when he was a wolf. It calmed him to an extent because he knew I was there somehow, but it did make him a lot more watchful and jealous. It didn't matter to me. Abe was Abe, no matter what form.

    I brushed my fingers through his silky hair. It was late, time for bed. "Come on Abe, wake up." He huffed in his sleep. He heard. I bet he was huffing at the overly excited wolf who wanted to see me. "Wakey, wakey." He rumbled. So...wolf was already there. I know what to do. "Abe, we need to get in the bed. I can't wait." I said in a sultry tone. Obviously, being a overgrown teen and a mated wolf, he took this as a sign for mating. It wasn't. It was how I got his butt off me and into the bed for when he shifted. For some reason he never recognized the living room.

    Abe scowled and sat up, his features twisted. I could see gleaming gold eyes and I could see that his high cheekbones had shifted slightly. Changed. He was phasing in his sleep. Again. "Abe, it's me, Aza. No one else, okay? I'm right here." I knew that was the right thing to say. He (the wolf) was even more vunerable than Abe right now. Having his mate torn from him was like someone carving out part of our heart and carrying it with them. Abe's words not mine.

    His eyes flicked immediately to me. They were wild and terrified. He gazed at me for a moment. He stepped forward so fast I could barely see the movement and pressed his nose to my throat. He snuffled around my throat and hands. It was strange to see this, the human snuffling another like a wolf worried over his mate. But that's who he was mentally. A worried mate. "I'm okay." He watched my mouth and nodded.

    "Come on." He stepped forward and stumbled. His bones were changing, making movement impossible. I knew how to speed it. I walked faster, getting farther and farther away from him. He watched, horror fillling his yellow eyes. He growled pitifully, struggling to move forward. When I got ten feet away, he exploded. The wolf stood in front of me, his muscles tense, his face frightened. He raced forward, once again sniffing me anxiously.

    "Let's go to bed, hon." He responded to hon, not Abe. I think since his human mind is gone, he doesn't register he has a name or else thinks Abe is competition. He gazed at me for a second, then strode forward. I followed close behind. He automatically slowed his pace to match mine. When we entered the room, it was obvious something was wrong. Abe tensed, growling fiercely. He stepped in front of me.

    I saw a picture of me lying on the floor, a single long feather with a bloody tip resting across it. The picture was taken the day my mother died. The funeral people had taken pictures of me sitting next to my mother's corpse. I was sitting on the chair, my posture stiff and pained. My shoulders were back and my spine straight. My jaw was clenched, but it was hard to miss the tears sparkling in my eyes. I had burned all but one of those pictures. The only one left...I had buried inside my mom's coffin.

    Memories swamped me. The whiteness of  her face, the deadness in her normally expressive eyes. The doctors lifting her and placing a blanket over her face. The child services people talking to me, their faces falsely cheerful. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, burning painfully. Abe whined, pressing close to me, his wolf torn between investigating and protecting and comforting me. "Go." I whispered emotionlessly. He gazed at me, alarmed.

    I stepped forward to the picture. I lifted it gingerly in my hand, feeling the softened edges. There were dirt smudges on it. I crumpled to the floor, sobbing. Abe gave a sorrowful half moan half howl. He pressed close to me, his eyes wild. I crushed my face into his silky fur. He licked my ear gently. "Who did this?" I stared at the feather. What was it from? What was after me now?

Stranger's POV

    Aw, my dear, that's the question. She'll be fun to take. He'll be fun to break.

You like? Alright guys, before I update, I want you to guess who and what this person is. Also, what do you think of hannah and ryan? All dialogue was Aza's. I need names for the bad person, give me some suggestions.