“No, why?”
I pressed a hand to my heaving chest and backed out of the room.
“They haven’t come here either . . .” Nathan said.
In the hall, I grappled on the table for the Porsche keys.
“And none of them are answering their phones.”
I twisted the doorknob. The door made little noise as I swung it open.
“The thing is, we think they’re at . . .”
I stepped outside, hopping down to the driveway. As I broke into a run, rain sprayed up, soaking the hem of my jeans.
A press of my thumb unlocked the car. I glanced over my shoulder, concerned Nathan or Ethan might have heard. At the driver’s side, I tugged open the door and slid into the seat.
Keys in the ignition. A twist of my hand. The engine purred to life.
I reversed in a wide arc from the house as Ethan raced out the front door.
“Jem!”
My gaze locked with his for a split second before I spun down the drive and out the gates.
I had to go. Had to check. No point explaining to Nathan my reasons for going alone—that if something had happened, I couldn’t run the risk of handing more of my boys over to the witches.
Nathan would never understand.
My mobile rang. I snatched it up off the dash, leaning forward to see past the manic wipers.
“Jem, come back,” Nathan said as soon as I answered.
“I’m going to look for them. I’m going to get Sean.”
“We’ll go with you.”
“You can’t.” My breaths panted out harder than ever. “They’ll take you as well.”
“Jem, I am orde—”
I cut him off. If I couldn’t hear, I wouldn’t have to obey.
My foot floored the accelerator. The car skidded as I took an island at sixty. I turned into the swerve, righted the car and slammed on the accelerator again.
Only a misted view showed the way, and I tugged my sleeve over my hand to wipe at the glass yet still couldn’t see properly.
Red lights grew bigger as I shot toward a vehicle up ahead. I dropped down into third to overtake it, whipping the wheel to the right and left as I tucked back into the lane. The car behind flashed its headlights at me. I ignored it and went faster.
I pressed my hand to my chest as my panting breaths burned through me.
Sweat coated my brow and trailed a steady path to my eyes; my swiping hands couldn’t keep up with its production.
I picked up my mobile. Tried Sean again. No answer.
Every bone in my body, every nerve ending, every cell in my brain told me something had happened.
I’d told Sean to go there, to watch out for Josh.
Me.
My roar filled the car. As I thumped my fist on the wheel, the impact vibrated the length of my arm.
My ridiculous speeds turned what should have been a thirty-minute drive into a little over seventeen.
I turned into the road where the witches lived, screeching to a halt at the kerb.
My fingers snapped at the handle. My shoulder barged the door open.
I scrambled around the bonnet, vaulted the gate and raced up the length of the path.
Each boom of my fist on the door matched the thumping beat within my head.
Nobody answered.
Bang!
“Open it!”
An inhalation told me my boys had been there, had brushed against the doorframe.
I moved to the window, bashed my fist against it.
The curtains had been removed, the house lay in darkness. Inside stood empty.
“No!” I shifted right, kicked at the door. It rattled but didn’t budge. “No!” Another boot of my foot and the door held fast. “No! No! No!”
• • •
The Porsche tyres squealed on departure from the kerbside. I spun around, hit the main road and headed for Connor’s. Maybe I’d missed them on the way.
My mobile rang. The jolt of my body lifted both hands from the steering wheel before I snatched it up. “Nate?”
“Jem, I told you—”
“Did they come back?”
“No—”
I screamed, throwing down my mobile. As it bounced onto the passenger seat, the first tears erupted from my eyes like water from a burst pipe. I tugged my hair where it clung to the perspiration across my brow.
“Jem?” Nathan’s deep voice called from my phone.
I picked it back up. “They’ve …gone. The house …empty …gone.” Each fractured word arrived on a hiccup.
“Jem, come—”
“Sean . . .” I gasped. “Gone.” Tears poured over the contours of my cheeks, pooling across my vision.
“Jem, please come—”
“Sean.” My body juddered, the phone slipping from my grasp and tumbling to the floor.
I swiped at my eyes. The insistent beat within my head intensified. A rub of my fingers did nothing to ease it. Shudder after shudder affected my shoulders, each flicking the steering a little off route.
No streetlights illuminated the lanes. Rain pelted the windscreen. Even the wipers struggled to block the assault. On top of those, my concentration plummeted, my tears created a shield to the outside world, and my panicking head seemed on the verge of combustion. By the time I pulled up at Connor’s, my body had almost ceased to function.
How I’d driven without incident, I didn’t know.
I grappled on the car floor for my mobile, hit dial as I fell from the car. Rain soaked into my shirt, my jeans. As I extricated my feet from the footwell, kicked back and forced myself upright, the connection to Sean’s mobile rang out.
“Jem?” Connor’s voice broke through the ringing.
Phone still pressed to my ear, I looked up. Connor stepped back from the doorway and allowed me in. The expression in his eyes said it all. He hadn’t heard from the boys either.
I lowered my mobile and disconnected. Connor’s stare remained on me as he closed the door. I knew my hair had tangled, that my still wet eyes would be blotchy. My feet refused to root me to the spot, and the tremble of my lips had developed beyond my control.
Upon seeing my own desperation mirrored back in Connor’s gaze, an unstoppable ripple washed over me.
“Jem?” His tone held hope, pleading.
A shake of my head whipped tears from my eyes.
His hand folded around mine holding my mobile. As he urged it back up, his voice deepened. “Try again.”
I redialled. It rang …and rang—nothing, absolutely nothing. I rubbed at my eyes, at the sledgehammer-like pain in my head.
A tingle pricked at my fingers, my toes.
I ignored it, kept my focus on Connor as he lifted his own phone, dialled and placed it to his ear.
He fisted his hair until erratic. The shuffle of his feet grew jerkier with each ring. Connor’s call received the same outcome as mine. No answer.
He hit disconnect, dialled a second time—a voice answered.
I froze.
“Is she there?” Nathan asked.
“Yes,” Connor said.
“Anything?”
Connor sent me a brief glance. “No.”
At Nathan’s audible sigh, I could picture the brush of his hands across his hair. “Okay, there are enough of us to take one each. Tell Jem to keep trying Sean. Connor, you take Josh, and Ethan and I will do Kyle and Danny.”
Connor hung up and began his call. I continued with mine. Other than the ringtones spewed out by our mobiles, the room became silent for minutes.
A tinny voice emanated from Connor’s phone.
I tilted my head.
Connor’s body stiffened. He hung up—rediall
ed. Same voice. He turned to me. “His phone has been switched off. Has Sean’s?”
I waved my mobile at him. It still rang.
His mobile vibrated in his hand before the music blared out. Our gazes dropped to it. At a check to the caller display, he shook his head at me and answered.
“Both Dan and Kyle’s phones have been switched off,” Nathan said.
Connor rubbed at his face. “Josh’s, too.”
“Sean’s?”
“No, Sean’s is still ringing out.”
Nathan fell quiet.
I began a slow pace along the hall—pressing my fingers to my booming temples and rubbing at the bridge of my nose through which numbness had masked the tingling. My shirt clung to my sweat-sodden body. The ringtone continued in my ear until click.
I halted, whirled round to face Connor.
His stare told me he heard.
“Sean?” I whispered.
Static silence responded.
“Baby, will you speak to me? Are you hurt? Tell me where you are.”
High-pitched laughter blasted from the speaker.
A chill raced along my body, a low growl rose from my throat. “Marianne, if you—”
“Jem, Jem, Jem,” she sang.
“Where the hell is Sean? What have you done with him? Put him on. I want to speak to him.”
Another laugh greeted me.
My limbs quivered. “Put him on. Now!” The clutch of my hand threatened to destroy the rectangle of metal.
“Sorry, but Sean can’t come to the phone right now.”
I stumbled into the kitchen. My hand caught in my hair, fisted around knotted lengths. “If you’ve done anything to him, I will—”
“You’ll what, Jem?” Her abrupt tone held nothing but ice.
“Tell me where he is.” Pain cramped through my thigh to unbalance me into a chair, sending it crashing to the tiles. “Tell me!”
“Sean’s mine now.”
“No!”
“You brought it on yourself, Jem. I would have been content with Danny and Josh, but you just couldn’t leave things alone, could you?”
Needle-like shards pierced the muscles across my shoulders. “If you hurt—”
“Ha!” she blew out. “You don’t even know where we’ve taken him. Forget him, Jem . . .”
Flesh twisted at my calves, grunting a cry from me. “No!”
“He’s not coming home . . .”
A distorted blur claimed my vision as I clung to the table to remain standing. The beat of my brain thudded against the inside of my skull, and tingling spread into my shoulder blades as prickles stabbed at my spine.
“Face it, Jem,” Marianne said sweetly. “You’ve lost him.”
Breaths gasped past my lips. “You will give him back!”
“Who’s the loser now?”
“No!”
Only the disconnect tone responded.
Beyond my liquid-coated eyes, Connor took a step forward at the same time my knees buckled.
His lips moved. A jumble of words carried out.
Agony coursed through me. My mobile clattered to the floor. I forced myself to my feet, staggering toward the exit. “I have …to get—” I gasped. Splintering pain stabbed into my flesh. My clawed fingers worked around the door handle.
“Jem?”
With a shove, the door swung open. I glanced back at Connor with his mobile pressed to his ear.
“Get over here, Nate. Now!” Connor tugged at his shirt, hauling it over his head.
New pain doubled me over. I fell outside, landing hard on my knees, and kicked against the slabs to urge me back up.
With rain whipping my tortured body, I dashed for the forest.
“Jem!” Connor’s footsteps pounded the soaked lawn at my heels.
I made it only as far as the first line of trees before his hands grasped my hips. A tug of his arms lifted me from the ground, drawing my body back into his.
I punched over my shoulder, booted at his shins. “No!”
His arms tightened. “You can’t do anything like this, Jem.” Connor’s murmured tone arrived tender but didn’t hide his desperation.
I snarled over my shoulder, wriggling like crazy, scratching at his arms. “Sean needs me!”
Spewing a deep growl, I pushed forth until my change tore through me. The further it progressed, the harder Connor fought to restrain me.
My body twisted in its contorted state. Tendons tightened. My limbs deformed. Flesh stretched. Muscles distorted. Cries of anguish became screams. Pleas for release became snarls.
The arrival of my wolf form shredded my clothing, and Connor’s hands lost grip as I forced myself violently through my change.
As wolf, I whipped round to face him.
Connor had crouched, his own change already begun.
My chest vibrated against the deep rumble within. The hackles along my neck and spine fluffed up to full height, and I backed away.
He gave a long, low growl. “Wait.” His tightening muscles affected the density of his voice.
I moved away farther, ignoring the appeal. As I turned away, Connor’s snarl called my attention, but I didn’t have time to waste.
My face lifted to the darkened branches, my forelegs pushed up my chest. Built from the thrum within, my distress call attacked the quiet, night air.
I took off.
The torrent of rain saturated my coat, weighting my body. The burden it lent nowhere near matched the guilt that consumed every part of my soul.
I’d told Sean to go there. Made him promise he’d look after Josh.
I’d heard Marianne’s words. If I’d just allowed her Josh and Daniel, she’d have left Sean alone.
I should never have asked him to protect Josh.
I should have done it myself.
My muscles protested at every step as I raged through the forest. I blanked them all, as well as the nocturnal sounds of wildlife and the intoxicating aromas that would normally distract me.
Blood pumped around my body at high speed. Panic shortened my breaths. My usually enhanced vision refused to focus.
I disregarded everything—even the calls of my remaining pack members—but could not ignore the gaping hole that ripped through my chest.
You gave him to her. You sent him to her. You handed him to her on a platter.
Remorse played out in my mind to the beat of my paws.
Before I’d even finished one self-accusation, another began, the words merging to take over all logical thought.
A low branch battered my face. I snarled at it, smelling blood but not caring.
Nose pushed forward, I spurred myself faster. I needed to get there—where, though, I didn’t know.
My tongue hung out as my body overheated. Air didn’t appear to reach my lungs through my constricting throat. Had my eyes been capable of crying, I knew they’d have produced tears, just as if I could produce human sound, my screams, my sobs, would have filled the forest.
Connor pursued somewhere in the distance, and the scents of Ethan and Nathan arrived on the breeze from the north—their feet no doubt hitting dirt at a greater pace than my stupid, short legs carried me.
Three against one.
I couldn’t afford to be hindered. I needed to find Sean.
Despite the objection of my body and my fast-approaching exhaustion, I pushed myself harder.
The ground disappeared. My body dropped. A momentary splash exploded around me.
The river. In my manic racing, I hadn’t noticed it.
Freezing temperatures seeped into my throbbing limbs. My legs kicked down to no effect as spasms attacked my muscles.
My body went down. Dread settled in.<
br />
I had no idea of the depth of the river, but on four legs, I’d never reach the bed and remain afloat.
Got to change back.
How could I, though, when I could no longer sense my body?
My body floated, whirled, danced—weightless. Freezing.
Even my brain froze, attempting to shut down. Surely the numbness had to be better than the pain that awaited me at the surface?
I should just stay here.
What was there to go back up there for? Anguish? Fear?
Sean!
I gasped as his name entered my head, water leaking into my mouth, trickling along to my throat.
The sound of a muffled howl broke through.
Of its own accord, my back arched, bowed and arched again.
Intense agony spread through my skull.
My mouth opened to cry out, but the water prevented it, and more fluid entered my body.
My feet hit the bottom, sank into the soft mud beneath. Clouds rose through the black water. In a last desperate bid to rescue Sean, I pushed up with my toes.
The action cramped my calves, my feet, and spread to my thighs whilst the gentle lap of water caressed my flesh, my arms, my fingertips.
Something gripped beneath my shoulders and tugged at my languid body.
Rain pattered against my upturned face.
A voice invaded my sleepy brain. “Jem? Oh, God, breathe.”
Ethan?
It sounded like Ethan, but my brain barely registered as the trickle of current disappeared from around me, as a deep cold slid beneath my back, and as a heavy weight pressed down upon my chest.
A raw, choking cough burned my throat. My mind could scarcely keep up as my body flipped over, and water evacuated my lungs. It sputtered from my mouth. I gasped in air.
“Jem?”
The fingertips that took my face radiated warmth.
“Jem, speak to me.”
“Sean,” I rasped out on a sob.
My body shifted to be enveloped in heat, but numbness overpowered every one of my nerve endings. With each passing second, I slipped toward the beckoning abyss. Each lurch closer loosened my limbs further, spread cold within me and deadened my appendages.
The rise, fall and jostling of my body suggested mobility, but how I moved, I couldn’t fathom. My arms and legs swung about, my head lolled to the side.
Blue Moon Page 17
