Shadow of the Day (Wolf Moon Sequel)

Chapter 46: The Last Time

Ivy POV

"Ivy?" Dom's voice floated through the line, surprise coloring his tone. 

"Yup."

Joe had got me thinking about Dom again, and despite the problems he had caused with me and Lila, it wasn't really his fault. I had pushed him to tell me what he knew, and he was only relaying information Devin had given him, whether it was true or not he wouldn't have known the difference. And he didn't really want to do it until I made him. It wasn't entirely fair of me to cut him off entirely for it, but I would be more careful in the future if he and Devin would continue to be friends.

"Wow! Okay, sorry, I just wasn't expecting--it's been a while! I mean, how are you? How are things?"

I stared up at my ceiling, stretched out across my bed. "Things are okay. You?"

"Same here. Um, I don't know if you got my messages but I just wanted to say again, that I'm really sorry about what I said and that I upset you and--"

"It's fine. You were only telling me what you had heard, just like I asked," I interrupted, not wanting to really go back down that track again. Lila and I were good now, and it seemed like Joe and Lila were starting to be on better terms, at least being more polite anyway, even if neither looked particularly comfortable in each others presence. "No harm done."

"Still. I shouldn't have meddled, it wasn't my place."

"It's fine," I repeated. "Really."

"Okay. If you say so." But he didn't sound entirely convinced. "So we're good?"

"Yup."

"Good. I'm glad," he said, a smile in his voice. But I still wasn't entirely thrilled with the situation.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course! Anything."

"Do you still hang out with Devin?" I didn't really want to ask, but I had to know, or at least try to find out.

"Actually, I haven't heard from him in a few weeks," he said, crackling coming through the line as he shifted around. "Hasn't been answering his phone or anything, and I passed by his place a few times but it's dark and empty. Joe said he had left, but he didn't say goodbye or leave a note, and he isn't answering any kind of contact. It's weird."

"Really?" So Joe hadn't been lying, Devin really had up and left. I filed that away for later; hopefully it would give Lila some peace of mind to know he really was gone, not that she trusted Dom or Joe or considered them reliable sources for anything.

"Yeah, it's super weird. He just disappeared without a word. I know you don't like the guy, but it's a bit suspicious, especially given what happened to his brother."

My initial relief was immediately soured. Hadn't Caleb disappeared too, without a trace? Without even a body being found, despite the assumption he had been murdered? 

Unfortunately, Dom was right, except that it was more than a little bit suspicious.

"He's not from around here, right? Maybe he just decided to go home," I said, but it felt like a cheap excuse. Hadn't Joe said that Devin helped him find me, but that he owed him a favor for it? Why would he leave if he intended to cash in on that, unless he meant for it to be used at a later date?

"Maybe," he echoed. "Still. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I can't help being a bit worried."

There hadn't been any talks on the news of missing persons or bodies being found, not for months now. No one had been apprehended and the police were still at a loss as to who had been behind the missing and murdered teenagers, and it was even more terrifying that whoever it was seemed to have gone unnaturally quiet after increasing how frequently they were killing. Maybe they had simply moved on to a different place after getting so much attention, or they were laying low and doing something far worse in the shadows.