Moon Grieved

by Jennifer Snyder

  “It’s normal,” Eli insisted.

  “Look! They brought Moonshine!” one of Sylvie’s girls shouted. She ran to where we were, almost smacking into Eli. “Can I hold her? Please! I won’t let her go. I promise.”

  Eli glanced at me. I shrugged and flashed him a smile.

  “Okay, sure. Just be careful she doesn’t get off this leash. She’s a hard one to catch,” Eli said.

  “Trust him,” I said. “He had a hard time catching her this afternoon when she got a hold of some toilet paper.” I grinned, remembering the entire fiasco.

  “Toilet paper? Ew, gross!” She made a disgusted face.

  “It wasn’t used,” Eli said.

  She reached out for the leash and ran away with her, ignoring Eli. Other kids came running up eager to pet her. She was the star for a moment while they greeted her, and she licked their tiny fingers.

  Eli stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

  “Stay here for a minute,” he insisted.

  “Why? Are you going to warn the others I’m here?” I teased.

  “I am.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a little pointless since I already know about the party?”

  “No. Stay right here,” he insisted once more as he walked away from me backward to the door of the building.

  I folded my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes but remained where I was.

  “Hey! Happy birthday,” Gracie said as she walked to where I stood. Cooper followed her like a puppy.

  I pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks.”

  Had she gotten taller since the last time I saw her?

  “Have you had a good birthday so far?” she asked once we released each other.

  I nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

  “Mom said she took you to Whiteside Mountain.”

  “She did. It was nice to be back there with her again.”

  “I bet.”

  We lapsed into an awkward silence. When had it become so difficult to talk to my little sister?

  “Well, I’m glad your birthday has been a good one so far. We’re going to slip inside,” she said as she nodded toward the building. “I guess we’re going to yell surprise with everyone else. Even though I don’t see the point since you’re already here and know there’s a party happening for your birthday.” She chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

  “I’ll be here. Waiting to pretend to be surprised.”

  “It’s the thought that counts.” Cooper winked as they walked away.

  He was cute. I’d give him that. He shared Eli’s eyes, same dark hair, and some facial features. I could see why Gracie was smitten with him. Something about those Vargas boys got under your skin in the best of ways. I knew the feeling well.

  Time moved slowly as I waited for Eli to come back. I watched the kids play with Winston and Moonshine. I wasn’t sure who was having more fun—the puppies or them.

  “Ready for this?” Eli asked from behind me. I tucked a few stray strands of hair behind my ear.

  “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

  My heart rate picked up. I hated this. Being the center of attention had never been something I was comfortable with.

  Eli held out a hand. His face lit up when I placed mine inside it. “Close your eyes.”

  I inhaled a deep breath, and then exhaled as I did as he asked. He gripped my waist with his free hand, and steered me inside the building. The music was turned down, but it still played in the background. The scent of something sweet lingered in the air. It was warmer inside by a few degrees, and I thought it was because of the people crammed inside. I could feel their presence, feel their eyes on me. My cheeks heated under their stare.

  Once Eli had me where he wanted, he leaned in and whispered, “You can look now.”

  I licked my lips and inhaled a deep breath before opening my eyes.

  Ridley, Benji, Becca, and Alec stood in front of me surrounded by my pack.

  A chorus of surprise rang out, but all I could focus on were my friends. How were they here? How had I not known they would be? Whose idea was it to ask them to come?

  Ridley hadn’t given any indication earlier she’d be here tonight. Neither had Becca when I talked to her earlier, or Alec when he sent me a text.

  “Are you surprised?” Eli asked. He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and pulled me against his chest to place a kiss on the crown of my head. “You seem surprised.”

  “I’m definitely surprised.”

  “What are you guys doing here? How?” My words were rushed and frantic sounding even to my own ears.

  “We couldn’t miss your birthday,” Alec said.

  Becca nodded. “You only turn nineteen once.”

  I untangled myself from Eli and pulled Becca in for a hug. Coming back to Mirror Lake had to have been difficult for her. She’d left for college shortly after Shane passed. Culinary school had probably been one of the best things to happen to her because it meant she got to put distance between herself and painful memories. I was touched she was here tonight.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Becca said.

  My attention drifted to Ridley next.

  “You,” I said with mock anger. “How could you not say anything about this? You even asked if I’d heard from Becca or Alec today.”

  “I should go into acting.” Her cheeks turned pink as she adjusted her glasses.

  “You should because you really had me fooled.” I pulled her in for a hug too.

  “She really should,” Benji said as he stepped forward for a hug. “She acts with me all the time.”

  “Is that so?” Eli asked, insinuating something different from what Benji meant.

  Benji’s face grew tomato red. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

  “Of course you didn’t.” Eli smirked. I jabbed him in the side with my elbow, and he let out a grunt.

  After I said hello to Alec and Benji someone turned the music up again.

  Eli’s arm slipped around my waist as he fused himself to my side. “Happy birthday.” He grinned.

  “Thank you.” I smiled at him. “This is been the best birthday ever. Seriously.”

  “Excuse me,” Gran insisted as she pushed her way through the crowd. “I need to wish my granddaughter a happy birthday. I haven’t seen her all day.”

  Flickers of guilt shifted through me. Birthdays had always been a special occurrence in the Ryan household. The day started with being woken by Gran before the sun came up. She always held a cupcake in her hand with a single lit candle. A soft rendition of happy birthday would be sung before you were allowed to blow out your candle. Next, you’d be prompted to get out of bed and head outside with her. There she’d make you circle the trailer at her side until you found the best view of the moon. Meditation and a mental reflection of your previous year would have to happen before you were allowed inside again. A large breakfast consisting of your favorite foods, a million hugs and kisses, and a small gift came next.

  How had all of this slipped my mind? My heart ached for having forgotten.

  “Did you do your meditation and reflection this morning?” Gran asked as she arched an eyebrow at me. It was clear she already knew I hadn’t.

  “No.” I swallowed hard, waiting for her to reprimand me.

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “I’ll do it tonight. I promise.”

  Gran placed a hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have to. I’ve just always thought it was a nice way to begin a birthday.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, to agree, but my mom and dad walked up to me next.

  “Mina! Happy birthday, sweet girl!” Mom shouted. She pulled me into a hug. Dad stood behind her, waiting for his turn. “I’m so glad we got to go on a hike today.”

  “Me too,” I said as my gaze drifted back to Gran.

  I’d hurt her, and I hated myself for it.

  “Happy birthday, honey,” Dad s
aid as he pulled me in for a hug of his own.

  “Thanks.”

  The words to happy birthday echoed through the tiny building as Eli’s mom carried a cake toward me. The top was ablaze with candles, making it look like a fire hazard.

  “Look at all those candles,” Eli said. “Damn, you’re getting old.”

  “Still not as old as you,” I insisted.

  “Somehow, I doubt you’ll ever catch up.”

  I chuckled as his mom paused in front of me with the cake.

  “Make a wish,” she said.

  I closed my eyes and thought long and hard in an effort to form a good wish. Before I could decide on something, a loud scream came from somewhere outside. It was followed by the puppies barking and others yelling.

  All hell had broken loose outside, and I was afraid to see what had caused it.

  10

  Another scream echoed through the building. It was less shrill and sharp than before. Whoever had screamed was growing weaker by the second.

  I blew out my candles without making a wish and raced to the door behind everyone else. My feet faltered when I saw who had screamed. A girl. Dressed in a white nightgown. She stumbled toward us. Her long black hair fell to her waist in a disheveled mess. Mascara was smudged beneath her eyes, and her skin appeared slick with sweat and ashen. Her plump lips formed the shape of an O as though she were struggling to scream but unable to make a sound.

  My heart hammered hard and fast inside my chest, not because of her presence or the eeriness emanating from her looks but because of the blood soaking the neckline of her nightgown.

  I didn’t have to step closer to her to know I’d find two puncture marks on her throat. I also didn’t have to guess any longer if the Midnight Reaper would make his way to Mirror Lake.

  Standing there, I already knew the answer to both questions, and it was enough to send my mind racing as fast as my heart. The Midnight Reaper was here, and this was one of his victims.

  Happy freaking birthday to me.

  “Get the kids inside!” our alpha shouted. He jumped into action while the bulk of us stared at the girl. “Charles, make sure everyone gets inside safely. Frank, Sabin, and Glenn, you’re heading out with me. We need to find who did this. There’s a chance he might still be around. Dorian call nine-one-one. Eli, I want you to call Officer Dan. Give him a heads up. Tate, help Charles get everyone inside and secure the building.”

  Everyone jumped into action, following the alpha’s orders. I spotted Dorian on his phone as he rushed to the girl’s side. Eli was beside him, chatting with Officer Dan. The girl made a noise, drawing my attention back to her. She didn’t look well.

  A loud scream bellowed past her lips. Goose bumps prickled across my skin.

  “Get them off me!” she shouted. She smacked at her body as though she saw something I didn’t.

  Oh, shit. Was this girl Jane Hawker?

  Hadn’t I heard someone say she kept claiming spiders were crawling on her when no one else could see them?

  Her being here, bleeding from her neck and acting the way she was, was proof enough to me the Midnight Reaper was close. I sought Ridley. If the Midnight Reaper had made its way to Mirror Lake, it meant her family hadn’t put their ward in place yet.

  Ridley stood with Alec, Benji, and Becca. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of me, and she nodded toward them. I knew what she was trying to convey. This was supernatural related, and they were human.

  I hoped everyone remembered my human friends were among us tonight, and no one decided to shift. I didn’t know what implications it might have on Alec’s brain after he’d been compelled to forget once about the supernatural world. Would it jog the year’s worth of memories he’d been forced to forget?

  I rushed to Ridley.

  “I take it your aunt didn’t have time to put the ward up yet?” I asked in a whisper.

  Ridley shook her head. “Not yet, no.”

  “Crap,” I muttered.

  I glanced to the woods. The girl couldn’t have walked far in her condition, which meant the alpha was right in thinking the one responsible was nearby. The kids had already been ushered inside the party building, as well as some of the other pack members, but my friends still stood out in the open with me. My gaze drifted over each of them, taking in their expressions. Benji’s face had grown pale, making him appear as though he were at risk of passing out any second. Becca looked worried. Her body seemed tense as though she were ready to fight or run. And Alec, he’d stepped forward a few feet. His determination to help the girl vibrated in the air around him.

  I reached out for him. “Don’t. You can’t help her.”

  “I know CPR. There might be something I can do,” he insisted without making eye contact with me. He was fixated on the girl, waiting for the word to jump into action.

  “Dorian is on the phone with the nine-one-one operator. I’m sure she’s telling him everything he needs to know in order to help her.”

  Alec’s fists balled at his sides. “I feel like I should do something. There’s so much blood. What did this to her?” he asked.

  How could I explain without mentioning vampires?

  “An animal. One that could still be lurking around here somewhere. We should probably head inside with the others,” Ridley insisted.

  Thank you, I mouthed. I was glad she’d said something because I couldn’t think of a justifiable answer, considering I was having as hard a time as Alec staying put.

  “I think I’m gonna be sick,” Benji muttered. He dashed to the nearest trash can. Ridley rushed to him and smoothed a hand over his back. “It’s too much blood. Why is there so much blood?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure, but everything will be okay,” Ridley insisted.

  There was a tremor in her words. An uncertainty.

  I felt it too.

  Regardless of what she’d said, nothing would be okay. Not after this moment. The harsh reality was that the supernatural world had touched my human friends again, and I was the person responsible for it. They’d all been here because of me. It was my birthday they were here to celebrate.

  My stomach twisted at the thought.

  Eli stepped to where I was. “Come here for a second.” He interlaced to his fingers through mine and pulled me away from the others.

  He walked me toward the girl, pausing only once we were about two feet away. The coppery scent of her blood hung heavy in the air, souring my stomach. My gaze fixed on her.

  Was she breathing? Dorian blocked my view. I couldn’t tell if her chest was rising or falling. I couldn’t see if her eyes were open. He was hunched over her, his phone still pressed against his ear as he chatted with the nine-one-one operator.

  Sirens sounded in the distance, but I knew they were still minutes away.

  “Is she okay?” I asked, meaning is she still alive.

  “No,” Eli said. My heart stopped as my gaze swung to look at him. He smoothed a hand along the back of his neck. “She’s...dead.”

  Dead. The word lingered between us, siphoning all the breath from my lungs and forcing a shiver to slip along my spine. My gaze drifted back to what little I could see of her. Sadness crept through me, numbing my fear.

  “Who was she? Was it Jane?” I hated saying her name with such uncertainty when I felt it in my gut that was who she was, but my voice wasn’t my own. It was too weak sounding, too shaken up.

  “Yeah, that’s Jane Hawker,” Eli said.

  Sickness sloshed through my stomach. I felt like Benji, just waiting to hurl any second.

  “Why was she here in the park?” I asked once I was able to find my voice again. “Was she here to see us?”

  It didn’t make sense because Jane was a human. She wouldn’t know we were werewolves. Even if she suspected it, why waste your final moments trying to get to us?

  “I have no clue,” Eli insisted.

  The sirens grew closer. They were almost upon us. I could see their lights in the distance. The blue
and red bounced off Mr. Russell’s trailer.

  Was Officer Dan going to make it here before anyone else to look over the scene and come up with a story that didn’t reek of something suspicious?

  An ominous feeling settled over me. “Do you think she was planning to warn us about something?” The Midnight Reaper perhaps.

  “I don’t know what she would be warning us about; she was human. One who couldn’t have known for sure what we were.” Eli’s voice was soft, respectful. Still, his words stung.

  I hated that he had discredited Jane coming to warn us about something simply because she was human. I knew I’d made the same judgment seconds before, but now it didn’t seem right.

  Her being human didn’t mean anything. She still could’ve had a message for us. She could have known what we were and thought of us as her salvation.

  If that was the case, we’d failed her.

  Even if it wasn't, I’d failed her.

  I should’ve pushed harder for the pack to visit her. I should’ve gone on my own. I should’ve asked her the questions I wanted. I should’ve listened to her rendition of what happened that night. Instead, I’d listened to Eli. Next time I’d listen to myself. I’d do what I thought was necessary.

  However, I hoped like hell there would never be a next time. I hoped the Midnight Reaper would be caught and brought to justice.

  An ambulance made its way toward us. Paramedics hopped out the instant it stopped. There was nothing they could do for Jane. She was already gone. Still they tried.

  The police showed up next. Officer Dan was among them. He stepped to Dorian and Eli. Questions were tossed between the men, but I didn’t pay them any mind. My focus was on the body of Jane Hawker.

  She hadn’t deserved to die. She’d only been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Officer Dan bent to touch his fingertips to her eyelids, closing them when the paramedics had given up on trying to revive her. Somehow, this made her seem at peace. I truly hoped she was after everything she’d had to endure. My gaze drifted to Eli. His arms were folded across his chest in a stiff way as he stared down at her. His brows pinched together in sadness, but the longer I stared at him, the more I noticed another emotion surfacing in his features.