Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

Chapter 28: Who Are You?

Serenity, Serenity, my name chanted through my head. It sounded so distant that my sleeping body didn't hardly decipher it. Serenity...

Jay?, my mind answered across the bond, and I felt my body turn over in bed to press my nose against the cold side of the pillow.

I need to see you, his voice answered, sounding different in a tone I couldn't quite make out. Let's run. Tonight. Meet me in the clearing to the east of the coven.

It's too cold, I answered, sighing.

Please, Seren. I need to see you...

My brain pictured his face, seeing the eagerness in his smile, and I could imagine his hands on me. It had been two weeks since I had seen him last, and I missed him.

When the moon reaches its apex. I need you, he added, as if feeling my longing through our tie.

See you soon, I responded sleepily.

~*~

I hopped up and down to keep my muscles warm. It was freezing, and I was getting tired of waiting on him. It would be warmer to change into my fur, but I wasn't ready to strip down to shift. The snow had finally stopped, but I had trekked from the house, through the barn, and down the old back roads to get as far out as possible. It would have been faster to just take the old deer trails through the trees, but it wasn't possible on two feet with as much snow and ice that had covered the ground. I hadn't been to the same clearing where I'd first met Jason in person. I pulled my scarf up over my nose and mouth, breathing hot air into it from my lungs to keep my face warm.

Clumsily, I managed to get to my watch between the sleeve of my parka and thick gloves. It was after midnight now and the moon was no longer at its highest point.

Where are you?

After the wolves had left back to Meadowlark, I had been on edge without Jason. I had soaked up every moment of his presence, sneaking around at all hours of the days and nights so we could make the best of each remaining moment we had under the same roof. I had begun to consider leaving home, no longer comfortable in my own skin as I fell back into old habits of hiding what I was. 

And I decided I was going to tell him. It would take all my courage to voice that I wanted to be with him and embrace our shared bond. But I needed to get it out of my mouth. My eyes were changing to indigo and so was my heart. We were bonded, and I felt it in every fiber of my being. I wanted to give up my current life to be his. And the only way I was going to tell him was out in the woods, away from an audience or eavesdroppers. 

Tired of waiting, I pulled my headphones back up to place in my ears, turning on the music. I continued to stretch and fidget to stay warm as I lost myself to the guitar riffs and drums.

I didn't know the artist's name or the name of the song. They had been lost in history for me to find. Adrian always had the best music collections and they were considered pretty vintage. I had often stolen tracks of his when he wasn't around to scold me for using his computer. He had music stemming back to when my parents were young that they had saved. My father's collection went even further back. And now I closed my eyes, trying to think of my breathing. I could feel my muscles stretch and thicken with warmth and blood as my body prepared for the change to run. I sighed and reached my hands over my head to loosen my forearms' and biceps' muscles. 

I hoped Jason would be excited to hear my decision. He had said those words already, and more than once. Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible to become a member of the Pack... And while Victoria and Vraal seemed to ignore my presence, I hoped they would accept the bond I was building with Jason, with the Pack.

I went to lower my arms as I heard a crunch in the snow behind me. 

"Where have you—?" 

My question was cut off and muffled as a gloved hand slapped down over my mouth, locking my arms above my head to leave me defenseless. I tried to scream, choking on the harsh chemical smell filling my nose and burning my lungs.

Dark, black dots began to swim across my vision, and I could feel my body slowing despite my desperate attempt to struggle free. I couldn't smell them; I couldn't smell anything but the acrid, metallic poison smothering me. I twisted my head from side to side, fighting for fresh oxygen as I tried to hold my breath. My hair snagged on something behind me, like a coat zipper or buttons and my knit toboggan slid off. Again I tried to scream, but nothing escaped past my teeth.

Who are you?, I thought, struggling to pull my mouth free from the cloth that the glove held to my face. My feet slid through the snow, unable to find traction, and I nearly fell. I tried to pull free again, but I could only move in slow-motion as the world turned black and cold. My eyes clenched shut, begging anyone to hear me as I got another muffled scream out with the last of the air in my lungs.

Jason, my mind finally breathed in the sheer, thin hope that he would hear me.