The Luna

Seventeen

Without saying the actual words, the Council made it pretty clear that we couldn't stay at the Concilium, not even for the night.

"They're thinking of your safety as well, Little Red," Malachi had said, as he tossed the red robe around my shoulders again, tucking me safely inside the soft material, "If for some reason Caspian figured out you were headed to the Council, he won't be far behind. We need to keep moving,"

"Do you think he is?" I ask softly, before Malachi shuts the passenger door behind me. He stares at me a moment before making his way around the front of the car and hopping in the driver seat.

"Honestly, no. I don't think he is," the tires squeal as Malachi hits the gas, pulling away from the Concillum like the devil is on his heels, "I have never had these cloaks fail me, Ever, but better safe than sorry, right?" I nod absently, looking at the window while my mind races.

His words from earlier are at the front of my mind. He had told the council he thought that Caspian would think that I went back to where he found me. And had Malachi just saved me and let me go, I would have. But if Caspian does go back there to find me, what will he do when I'm not there?

The sun had set already, leaving nothing for me to look at aside from darkened shapes that bleed into each other. Where do the trees end and the mountains start? The ominus is beautiful and full of possibilities, but all I see in the darkness is a mad wolf on a rampage.

I turn to face Malachi, his face is softly illuminated by the green glow of the dashboard, eyes focused on the road as he taps his finger on the steering wheel to a beat in his head.

"If he isn't after us, and he goes back to Crest Falls where he found me, what do you think he will do?"

"I think he will search high and low for his prize and if he's as desperate as I think he will be, or will get, I don't think he'll take no as an answer." his answer is honest and I can't fault him for that. But it was only after he finished talking that I realized I was hoping he would comfort me.

That he would lie and say that he would go back to Crest Falls, ask around and then head back to Lotus to form a new plan. But that was foolish to hope for. I know better than that, but the alternative that is running in my mind has my blood running cold and fear pricking my skin.

"I have to warn them," I whisper, my hands lacing together before I turn to face Malachi more fully while still staying in my seatbelt, "I have friends there that he has seen. If he's that desperate for me then I have to warn them,"

I can hear the anxiety in my voice, the shrill sound it takes in the confines of the SUV. But Malachi doesn't seem as panicked as I do. For the most part, his face looks neutral, but his eyes in the glow of the dashboard, shows his sorrow.

"Mia," my heart drops like a lead balloon into my stomach when he uses my name instead of the nickname he has become so fond of. I'm not going to like where this is headed and the tone alone in that one word has tears brimming my eyes, "Keeping the werewolf secret is extremely important to avoid extinction or persecution. If human history is anything to go by, Humans don't do well with others they don't understand or agree with and that's considering that they're all the same species just with different beliefs or looks.

"Humans are afraid of the unknown, so they hunt down and experiment on those that aren't like them. Bigfoot, mermaids, aliens for example. You can't warn your friends without telling them what they have to be fearful of, but I promise you, Mia, that I will drive through Crest Falls on the way back to the Concilium and check on whoever you ask me to. But know this with absolute certainty. Caspian would have to be on a suicide mission to go back to where he found you and hurt anyone there." Malachi's eyes meet mine for the briefest moment, but I can't hold his gaze.