Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel)

by Christina Smith

  “What were you taking in school?” I wondered what he was like back then. Like Nate, he had so many regrets, courtesy of Charlotte. How would his life, or Nate’s for that matter, have changed if they hadn’t been turned into supernatural creatures? I would have missed the chance at knowing them both and that fact made me sad. The feeling turned to irritation when I realized that if it hadn’t been for that witch Charlotte my life would not have changed for the better. Two of my most favorite people were in my life because of someone I hated. I didn’t know how to feel about that.

  Adrian’s answer pulled me out of those disturbing thoughts. “Architecture. My parents partnered in the business. My dad built the houses, my mom decorated them and I was going to design them.” His voice was softer than it had been since I had met up with him yesterday. The memories seemed to be stirring up emotions that he had suppressed for a long time. I was sorry I had brought it up.

  “I didn’t mean to make it hard for you.”

  “No, it’s fine. I should remember the happy times more. I’ll need to replay them for Marisa when I find her.” The cold look was no longer on his face. Now the expression he held could only be described as hope.

  When a truck stop came into view I realized I had to pee. “Can we stop here? I gotta go and I’m kind of hungry.”

  “Sure, but let’s make it quick. I want to get back on the road as soon as possible.”

  The rest rooms were on opposite sides of the building, so I left him at the entrance and followed the signs until I found what I was looking for.

  After I did my business I washed and dried my hands with a paper towel and then tossed it in the garbage. I was reaching for the door handle when an image registered in my mind and I spun back around. There was a small white triangle sticking out of the edge of the mirror. I touched the tip of it and yanked. It was an envelope with the name Adrian scrawled on the front. My heart raced and excitement fluttered in my stomach. Could this be from Marisa? What were the odds that I would just happen to choose the same washroom they must have been to earlier? I didn’t smell the werewolf anywhere and since I didn’t know Adrian’s sister’s scent there was no way to know if it was actually her—unless Adrian came into the washroom to check it out. There were too many human smells to decipher one.

  I tucked the envelope into the back pocket of my jeans and rushed outside. Adrian was in line at a chicken place and I made my way to stand next to him. He barely acknowledged my presence as he gazed up at the menu, deciding what to order.

  “I found something,” I whispered, knowing he would hear me.

  We moved up in line and he turned his attention to me. “What?”

  “Can I help you?” a blond teenaged girl with a chicken on her hat asked.

  Adrian moved toward the counter. “Yes, I’ll have three chicken sandwiches, three large fries and a large Coke.” As she rang up his order he turned to me, his brow raised.

  The girl finished pushing buttons and looked up at me expectantly. I hated ordering food in public. It was embarrassing how much I ate and most people gaped at me if I ordered too much. “I’ll have the number six.” I was saved by the meals. I didn’t have to announce to everyone that I wanted six pieces of chicken and a large order of fries. She pushed in the order without a condescending expression, just as I had hoped.

  We moved over while our order was being prepared and I pulled out the envelope.

  “What’s that?” Adrian asked, eyeing the object in my hand apprehensively.

  “I think it’s from your sister.”

  His eyes widened. “What?”

  “I found it sticking out of the mirror in the washroom.” I pushed the letter towards him, but instead of taking it he continued to eye it like it was a bomb. When our food bags were placed in front of us I sighed and slid the envelope back into my pocket taking my bag.

  He didn’t speak until we were safely out of hearing distance, situated in the vehicle. “Can I see it?”

  I pulled the letter back out and this time he took it. His expression was full of nerves as he slid his finger under the flap to break the seal.

  I was silent as he read it out loud.

  Adrian,

  I don’t know if you will find this, but I’m hoping the girl you are traveling with will eventually have to use the rest room. Eva is worried I have developed a bladder infection with the amount of times I have asked to stop. I’ve left three other letters like this.

  If you do read this, please know that I miss you and have no idea why Eva won’t let you see me. All I know is that she says she is trying to protect me.

  Until we saw your friend at the motel I didn’t know who we were running from. That changed when I heard your name. I know I don’t need protection from my big brother. You were a hero I looked up to when I was little and now you are more of a fantasy I see only in my dreams. The images of you and our parents are fading and I need you to bring them back to me. So, please find me so we can do that together.

  She is taking me to Portland. She wants to relocate and is hoping that the big city will hide us. She likes to stay near schools, so make sure you look there. If you find us, please don’t be too angry or hurt her. She has become the only family I have.

  Marisa

  When he finished the letter his expression was a contradiction. His dark brown eyes softened, but his jaw locked in place.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as my phone beeped with a text message. I ignored it as I waited for him to answer me.

  He did after a few seconds. “She wants me to find her.” He turned to face me, the letter still poised in his hands and a small smile formed on his lips.

  I nodded, reaching out to squeeze his leg. “Of course she does, you’re her brother.”

  He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “But she doesn’t want me to hurt the werewolf.” Despite the fact that we now knew the name of the person keeping the siblings apart, Adrian refused to use it. My guess would be because, it would be too personal to say her name and right now he wanted to hate her.

  “Let’s just find them.”

  He nodded, folded the letter up carefully and stuck it between the seats. With a quick look in my direction he turned on the car and backed out of the lot. I unwrapped his sandwich and handed it to him. “She sounds mature for her age,” I observed, after I swallowed a bite of dark meat from my chicken.

  He nodded his mouth full of bun and meat.

  “She’d be fifteen now, right?”

  “Yes. I hope this werewolf has taken good care of her.”

  I leaned my bare feet up onto the dash, my flip-flops lay discarded on the car floor. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but by what your sister herself said in that letter and by the sound of the few words I heard, she does love Marisa.”

  His eyes flashed yellow, his face turned hard. “You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.”

  I gulped; the coldness in his tone was so unlike him. I picked nervously at the bright, red, peeling nail polish on my pinky toe. It was the second time he had snapped at me within twenty four hours. He was lucky I was so understanding, or that ass-kicking I had joked about with Nate would definitely become a reality.

  “Are you going to check your phone?”

  Oh right; I forgot I had a text. I leaned over and pulled my phone out of my bag. It was from Nate. Finished my meeting can leave soon. Where am I headed?

  I read the text out loud to Adrian.

  “Portland, I guess. But he doesn’t need to come.”

  “I know, but he wants to help.”

  He shrugged, popping the last of his sandwich into this mouth.

  Ignoring him, I texted Nate back. Heading to Portland. Got word that’s where they are headed.

  How far out r u? he asked.

  “How long do you think it will take to get there?”

  Adrian shrugged. “About three hours.”

  I typed in Adrian’s answer and waited for a response.

  K, I’ll be the
re ASAP

  I was about to type in a response when my phone beeped again.

  Can’t wait to see u. I miss the taste of your lips.

  I sucked in a breath, feeling my cheeks heat and my stomach flutter. I missed him so much it hurt.

  “What?”

  I covered my phone with my hand and dropped my legs from the dash, slipping my feet into my sandals. “Nothing,” I responded while I typed in a message. I miss you too.

  His only response was- lol

  I grinned and put my phone back into my bag. I was still smiling when I noticed Adrian watching me. “What?”

  He simply shook his head and looked back to the road ahead of him.

  While he fell silent, I closed my eyes and pictured vivid blue eyes, messy pale blond hair and the scent of leather and pine. My heart ached at the need to be near him, to feel his strong arms wrap around my back as he nuzzled my neck and to have his warmth seep into me. With these images in my mind, I couldn’t wait to see the real thing and I was thankful that I wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

  Chapter Eight

  A Surprising Turn of Events

  When we finally arrived in Portland there seemed to be a nervous energy pulsing in the car. “Are you alright?” I asked. Adrian had been silent for the last hour and his only responses to my attempts at conversation were grunts and nods.

  “Where do you think the high school is?” he asked, ignoring my question.

  “I’m not sure, but I can pull up a map of the city.”

  He pulled over to the side of the road while I took out my phone and found the map. “These are all the high schools.” I explained pointing at my phone. “Three are in this area and one is closest to a lake.”

  He was quiet as he thought this through. “They could be near any one of them. It’s easier to hide in the busy district, but the water from the lake would help to wash the scent away.”

  “I don’t know the kind of person this werewolf is.” I turned my head at the sound of a growl coming out of Adrian. “I know she has your sister, but Marisa says she loves her so she can’t be as bad as Charlotte.” When he only stared at me, his eyes washed with a mix of anger and confusion, I went on. “When Charlotte kidnapped us she hid us on an island so she could hide our scents. Just like you guys did with your hideout. You stayed near water. So I think we should check the surrounding area of the school by the lake.”

  He nodded his head and turned on the ignition. The car purred to life before he merged with the rest of the traffic.

  A few minutes later my phone beeped. It was a text from Nate, saying he was at the airport waiting for his plane.

  “Nate’s at the airport. He’ll text me when he lands.”

  Adrian only nodded, focussed on the road ahead.

  Since he refused to speak, or look at me, I took the time to study him. His facial features were hard and there were lines around his eyes that weren’t there the last time I saw him. He had aged in the six months he’d been searching. He lived with the evil Charlotte and her minions for ten years, but when I met him, he was cheerful and kind. I rarely saw him frown. What had happened to make him this grumpy, focussed man next to me? When he was living with Charlotte he escaped by working out every day. Was that the reason he had retreated to this dark mood, where he hardly smiled? Or was it the fact that his sister had been so close to him for months, but still out of reach. Would he go back to his old self when we found her? I really hope so. I missed the friend I had met six months ago and although I had seen glimpses of him over the last few days, it wasn’t the same. He was still a brooding, grumpy guy who hardly spoke.

  I couldn’t look at his sullen face any longer, it was depressing. I turned away and watched the scenery pass by. Because of a rainstorm we had driven through earlier our windows were closed. But the sun was out once again and as I leaned my head on the glass I was vaguely aware of the pedestrians ambling around the residential streets. My focus was ahead of us and from the corner of my eye I saw a long brown braid. I sat up and turned my head. Adrian was going too fast so I had to turn around, but I saw a girl walking towards a small apartment building with a box in her hand. Her braid was loose and strands were falling over her eyes. “That’s the werewolf,” I said quietly, hoping that she wouldn’t hear, although we were now at the other end of the street.

  Adrian spun to face me. His eyes were wide and yellow. “What?”

  I was looking ahead of me not wanting to draw unwanted attention. “She’s behind us, at that building.” I pointed over my shoulder. When he stepped on the brakes, I whispered harshly, “Don’t slow down until we turn the corner. We don’t want to alert her.”

  He did as I instructed, but as soon as we were out of sight he parked on the side of the road and jumped out. “You take the front and I‘ll go through the back. As soon as she smells us she’s going to bolt. We have to cut her off.”

  I nodded my head and began to run. I had never ran so fast in my life, but I knew what he said was true. Once she caught a whiff of us, she’d be gone. I hadn’t seen Marisa around, so that meant either she was already at school, which I couldn’t imagine since it looked like they had just arrived. Or she was inside the apartment somewhere. I rounded the bend in record time, passed houses and a little boy riding a big wheel. In seconds I was in front of the building. It was a brown-brick, four-story with a row of cedar bushes along the front. I didn’t see her when I first approached, but I heard the squeaking of a side door. As I moved around the blue station wagon that was parked alongside the buildings entrance, I spotted her. She was leaning against the open door, balancing a box in her arms. Her head spun with my approach and she dropped the box. It bounced on the cement walk and a cookbook fell out.

  She narrowed her chestnut colored eyes at me; they were intense and determined.

  I stood in my stance for kickboxing, prepared for anything.

  Instead of attacking me as I had anticipated, she spun around, her long skirt flailing out behind her. She took off into the backyard, heading right for Adrian. I followed her, but she must have caught his scent, because she shifted her direction, running east toward the neighbor’s house. She shifted direction again and ran through a path that was hidden under the veil of trees. I was right on her heels and I heard Adrian following us. She led me to a vacant lot across the street that was bordered with a cement wall. She was cornered, the barrier blocked her escape. She stopped and spun around to face me, her eyes wild and desperate. I stood in my stance again ready to stop her. This was the person responsible from keeping my friend from his sister. And because he meant so much to me, it was important that we do everything we could to get her back.

  Her eyes shifted around us searching for an escape, but when she gazed over my shoulder her eyes widened with shock, her face paled. Adrian came up from behind me and stood by my side. He breathed in deeply and froze. So did the girl. Her eyes glazed and nostrils flared. He took a step toward her and I watched open-mouthed as she did the same. Electricity seemed to crackle through the air and I was worried they were about to argue or worse, fight. I didn’t know her, but I knew his sister wouldn’t be happy if he hurt the girl she called Eva.

  Nothing happened though; they only stared at each other for what seemed like several minutes. No one spoke; their gazes were locked as the silence stretched between them.

  After a few moments with me not knowing what to do the girl shook her head, as if she was fighting a trance. “Not you!” She spit out with a look of disgust before she dove into the air, her clothes shredding and falling onto the pavement. She shoved Adrian to the ground with her fore paws, his head hitting the ground with a sickening thud as she bared her fangs at him. She was now a brown wolf, her claws digging into his plaid shirt.

  I froze not knowing what was happening. He didn’t try to fight her off, only stared into the wolf’s eyes.

  She growled menacingly, lowering her head until her muzzle hung just above his face.

  I stepped forw
ard prepared to shove her off, but Adrian held up a hand. “Don’t, it’s okay, she won’t hurt me.” His voice was below a whisper and it was edged with emotion.

  Was he kidding? The girl was in her wolf form practically foaming at the mouth in a rage. How did he know she wouldn’t hurt him? She looked like she wanted to kill him.

  The girl we knew as Eva snapped her teeth at his neck narrowly missing his throat, but still he didn’t push her off. At the last second before her teeth met with his skin she froze, growled again and then jumped off of him. She rushed out of the lot and into the neighboring trees. I stared after her for a few seconds shocked at what had just happened.

  Once she was gone I bent down. “Are you okay?” I asked, holding out my hand to help my friend up.

  He took it and when he was standing, he stared off in the direction she had headed. He was silent, lost in his own thoughts.

  I started to follow her and as I took a few steps forward, I looked over my shoulder. Adrian was still frozen in place, his face in a daze. “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced at me, his eyes glassy. I should have known what was happening. But I didn’t. I had been focussed solely on finding Marisa and I wasn’t expecting to hear what he said next. “She’s mine,” he whispered, so lowly I had to strain to hear.

  I took a few steps away from the edge of the road, closing the distance between us. “I know. She’s your sister and you will get her back.”

  He shook his head. “No, the girl…the werewolf. She’s mine and she’s the one that took Marisa.” His voice was laced with pain and anguish. He turned around slowly and headed back toward the apartment building.

  I stood in place, gaping after him as he moved away from me and the girl we had just been chasing. “What?” I asked more to myself than to him. He was too far away now to hear me. He was back on the path that led to the building. I followed him until he approached the station wagon. When he opened the door, the hinges squawked loudly, echoing through the alley.

  I took a few weary steps toward him, unsure of what was happening. “Are we just going to let her go?” I gestured with my arm behind me in the direction she had disappeared in.