Cage the Moon

Chapter 3

"So," he began, taking his sweet time as he stood up from where he'd crouched, blue-eyed gaze fixed on her as he gauged each muscle twitch of reaction. She didn't seem bothered, though, and rose as well, smoothing down the thick red and black fabric of her borrowed flannel shirt as she did so. "What all did they tell you?"

"Tell me?" She scoffed, knitting her brows and screwing up her face in annoyance. "They didn't tell me anything. One night Kyle and me are out. And," A flush ran across her cheeks as she cleared her throat, looking utterly embarrassed. "Well, we were," She dipped her head. "We were fooling around, you know."

Everett tried to contain his smile but was doing a miserable job of it. It was a story he'd heard many times before. Again, teenagers shouldn't be allowed to be turned. They didn't have the facilities to deal with the urges that came with it.

"Then all of a sudden he's biting me. Actually biting me. Hard. There was blood everywhere." She flinched at the memory. "I'm freaking out, he freaks out and starts saying that he's sorry. I tried to leave, but he wouldn't let me. And he was strong. How is someone so skinny so strong?"

As she spoke, Everett could hear it as her heart rate increased, the sound thumping through the emptiness of the barn. The scent of fear was beginning to permeate the air, as well, causing Everett to take a step forward. He wasn't sure if he was doing it to offer comfort, or just to be closer if she fell off that ledge of sanity again. Either way, he wanted to have her at arm's length.

"He takes me here, ties me up, and leaves me." Her whole body was shaking as she spoke. "I must have been here for hours. I tried, I really did, to get out. I just wanted to go home."

As the tears spill from her eyes, anger threatens to consume Everett. He was supposed to be the one in charge, the one to keep a cool head and keep it together, but rage swelled with each new admission from the redhead before him.

"I managed to get the ropes undone, but, then there's this weird sound, and there's this big dog thing. I guess it was a wolf, but I've never seen one before and it was just so big." She was full-on bawling by that point, and with one step, Everett crossed the space between them and pulled her into his arms.

"Shh, you don't need to tell me no more." His hand moved soft and slow over the tangled mess of her hair.

"I tried to run, but I didn't have anywhere to go." Hot salt water and snot were leaching into the cotton of his tank-top as she cried. "Then it was on top of me, and it was bi - biting me and clawing at me a-and..."

The change was never easy, and getting there was as much a trial as shifting back and forth. It took you close to the end of everything before it began to put you back together. Most of the time, especially in situations like these, it wasn't successful.

"There's a lot we gotta talk about." After a long moment of just her whimpers, Everett's gravel voice broke through. "But why don't we talk about it on the road." Personally, he didn't want to spend another second in the place. Personally, he wanted to burn the damn barn down with that Kyle kid in it.

"The road?" Eyes bright with the shimmer of tears, the girl in his arms looked up at him. Confusion was evident in her features, causing Everett to swear under his breath. He hated this part.

"You have to come with us for a little while. We got this place up in Montana, it's real nice, and it's just for people like us." Everett could feel her tense up as he spoke.

"But ... but what about school? It's my senior year, I can't miss class." Fear was taking good once more, overpowering the sadness, and if Everett wasn't mistaken anger was starting to peek through.

"You can't go back to your school. Not now." He took a second to gauge just how honest to be in that moment. "You probably won't be graduating from there either. But there's plenty of kids your age at Sky Ranch. We have a ceremony and everything."

That may have been a little too honest. Or a little too light-hearted. Either one, it set something off in her, and with a sharp shove at his chest, she pushed Everett away.

Or she tried and he let her.

"I don't want to go to some ranch." A growl was creeping into her words, and if Everett hadn't been so worried about her mental state, he might have tried a smile. "I don't want to go to Montana and I don't want to hit the road."

The sneer of disdain and disgust that sliced across her face was a dangerous weapon. Ev could feel his balls shrink up at the sight of it. She really was going to be a handful, this one.

"Now, darlin'," He began, but found himself quickly interrupted.

"Don't." A slender finger was jammed in his direction, as she snarled the single word. "I'm not a kid, and I'm not your 'darlin''," She mocked his drawl with a tilt of her head, "And the only thing I'm doing right now is going home. So get out of my way."

This was a difficult situation. The girl was flipping through emotions so quickly that Everett was having trouble keeping up to plan his next step. He couldn't begrudge her, though, not after what this pack had done to her.

On top of that, brute force wasn't the answer. Yes, he could just snatch her up and toss her over his shoulder, dragging her kicking and screaming to the SUV. But he'd lose the chance of having her trust, and that wasn't something Everett was willing to gamble on.

"Alright, Red." Stepping back, Everett gave her room. "You go on home. You go back to school. But it'll take me the better part of a day to get here when you accidentally maul your cheerleading squad. Or when your wolf decides to take Kyle out. Do me a favor and give me a call beforehand, so I can get a head start."

Unlatching the barn door, Everett allowed for it to swing open, the soft light of dawn falling across them both.

She went to take a step but hesitated. It could have been the scent of Kyle and the others. It could have been what he'd said. Or maybe a mixture of all the above. After a moment she looked to him, a silent plea for help written across her features.

"We can teach you what you need to know." He stated, offering no more and no less.

"What about my parents? My stuff?" She wrapped her arms around her slender frame.

"We've got all that under control." Everett reassured, "They can come up and visit whenever you want."

"You make it sound like I'm being committed."

"No rubber rooms." Although she wasn't entirely off the mark. "There are some cages in the basement, though."

With a snort, she shook her head, tossing lank, red hair. He wasn't kidding, but Everett didn't think that elaborating was the best idea.

"I got food in the SUV." Food was always a pretty safe bet with anyone who'd turned recently. "And we can grab some Whataburger on the way out of town."

"This is crazy." She gestured at the barn. "All of this is totally insane."

"Darlin',". He caught himself before she could correct him, "Red,"

"Kelsey." She offered.

"Kelsey," Everett repeated the name he now had permission to use. "You've got no idea."