Vanilla Moon: Acrimony

by Airiel Hawkins

  "What happened?" she asked with a tense voice.

  "A few things," I said. "The first is that we know who the traitor was. It was Anica. The Neuri have passed judgment on her."

  "Okay," my mother said slowly, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

  "Secondly, Anica is pregnant, so there's nothing we can do until the baby is born."

  "Lovely." Her voice was tight, and the word was clipped. She wasn't thrilled with this information.

  I sighed. "Third, she's escaped."

  "What?" she demanded.

  "I'm on it," I said. "We'll get her before she gets out of town. The pack is already hunting for her."

  Mom sighed. I could picture her trying to swallow her rage. "Anica," she whispered. "Ceres mentioned her as a possibility. Were things so bad between you?"

  "I didn't think so," I replied. "I knew she wasn't happy, but I didn't think that she was so unhappy that she would do this."

  "Moeris will not kill her until that baby is born," Mom decreed. "I want everyone home, our dead mourned, that baby born, and then her death so we may dance in the ashes."

  "Understood," I said with a nod. I ended the call and put my phone down next to me.

  "I wish I could be surprised," Ceres whispered. "She sacrificed salvation for revenge. I wonder what deal she made with them."

  "I'll find out," I promised.

  Ceres wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly. "Moeris scares me," she whispered.

  "She's supposed to," I said.

  Chapter 21 ~Wolfgang~

  They found Anica within the hour. She hadn't gone far. She'd stopped to say goodbye to her parents before making her way to the bus station with a ticket to Florida in her pocket. I remembered her talking about where she would go if she could. She said that she wanted to explore her roots. I knew that Florida was the first stop for her, not the last.

  The people who caught her brought her back in handcuffs. The only reasons she couldn't snap them were that they were made with silver and she was pregnant, not that anyone else really knew that yet.

  I took over when they brought her in. I led her to the basement and to a room used for holding our enemies. I bolted the door shut and texted an update to my mother before sending another to Riley for him to join me.

  My cousin arrived a few minutes later, his eyebrow raised in question as he approached. "Don't let anyone come in," I said. I opened the door without waiting for his response and walked in.

  Anica sat in the corner, her wrists still bound. She grinned at me and held her hands out. "Remember the last time you had me in cuffs?" she asked.

  Her words had no effect on me. I walked up and pulled my leg back as if to kick her. I knew I wouldn't make contact, but she didn't. Just before my foot would have connected, she cried out the words I was waiting for.

  "I'm pregnant!"

  So, she knew.

  I lifted her up and met her eyes. "Why the fuck were you on the hunt if you're pregnant?" I demanded.

  "I went straight to the Resting Grounds," she said. "I didn't shift or hunt. Someone had to get the message to you that the pack was attacked. You had to see!"

  "Why?" I asked, my voice almost strangled by my emotions. I could feel my body shaking with the rage I felt. I wanted to rip her head from her body right here, without waiting for Moeris, justice, or the baby innocently trapped in this. "Why would you do this? Those people cared about you!"

  "They didn't care about me!" she shouted. She shoved me back as hard as she could. I stumbled back a step but no further. "They only ever cared about me while you were fucking me." She glared daggers through me. If looks could kill, that one would have. "After you dumped me, I was shit all over again. They didn't care about me once it was clear that I wasn't going to be your mate. You brought me into this world. You showed me everything wonderful about it. You treated me better than anyone else in my entire life, and you dropped me like a rock for no fucking reason. You left me on the other side of the window looking in. Everyone forgot me. They forgot my name. They forgot that I was with you. You forgot me and you moved on in a day! I wanted you to hurt for what you did to me. I wanted you to pay. I wanted everyone to pay."

  "You betrayed us for that?" I whispered.

  "What else could I have done?" she asked. "I'm not strong enough to face you myself. I'm at the bottom of this goddamn totem pole and I hate it."

  I shook my head, finding it difficult to believe she could be this childish when I knew she was so much smarter than this.

  "Who's the father?" I asked.

  "What do you care?" she scoffed.

  I snarled as I grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her to look at me. "I am your Volsunga and you will answer me."

  She spat in my face. "I am Vargulf. Brenda was my Skaapie. Alan was my Enkidu. They are dead. I have no loyalty to you."

  "Did you drink their blood?" I asked. I could see the sudden fear in her eyes. "You didn't, did you?" I smirked. I summoned the wolf within me and used that power to force her. "I am your Volsunga," I said. "You will tell me who the father is."

  I could see her physically struggle to not answer me. "I… will… not…" She let out a scream and pushed me away. "Even if I didn't drink their fucking blood, you are still not my Enkidu! I don't have to answer to you!"

  "You will answer to someone," I promised before I hit her in the head hard enough to knock her out. She crumpled to the floor of the cell and I stepped out, bolting the door behind me.

  "That didn't last as long as I thought it would," Riley said.

  I shrugged. "Only so much I can do right now," I said. "She's pregnant, so most of my means of getting answers are off limits."

  "Bullshit," Riley argued. "Get that shit tested!"

  "Already did," I replied. I rubbed my forehead. "Dr. Cyrus was taking her in for an ultrasound when she escaped. I'll have to risk transporting her back to the clinic to know more. She refuses to name the father. Since I'm not the Enkidu yet, I can't force her as my father can. Stay here. I'll have someone relieve you."

  Riley nodded. I left the basement and ignored the people asking why she did it and when she would die for her crimes.

  Sophia was home. She was a doctor. She might have answers for me. I knew she would be with Luke, so I went to his room. I wasn't surprised when she answered my knock on their door.

  "I need a favor," I said before she could say anything.

  "What kind of favor?" she asked.

  "The kind that breaks laws."

  She crossed her arms in front of her. "What and why?" she asked.

  I sighed. "Anica is pregnant. I don't know how far along she is, who the father is, or any other details. She's refusing to tell me anything. I need to know because I need to be able to tell everyone when we can execute her."

  "I'll see what I can do. She was probably a patient with the human doctor in the area, so I'll see if I can find her medical records. It might take me a while," she said as she glanced back at Luke. "I don't want to leave him," she whispered.

  "I'll stay with him," I offered.

  She looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I'll be as fast as I can."

  She opened the door for me to enter the room. I think she needed a break more than anything else.

  Luke sat on the bed, cross-legged, and stared off into space. I sat down in front of him. "I need to borrow Soph," I told him. He blinked. "I'll stay here with you while she's gone."

  His gaze ticked to me before he looked back at the void. "Whatever," he muttered.

  Sophia kissed the top of his head before she rushed out of the room.

  Once the door closed, he looked at me again. "Can I refuse to mate?" he asked. "Is that a thing?"

  I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way," I said. "If you've met your mate, it's pretty inevitable that you're going to cross that line sooner rather than later. The only people I know who have been able to refuse to mate are people who hav
en't met theirs yet, like Richard. Riley and Selena certainly didn't have much of a choice in that department."

  "Lena told Soph right away," Luke said. His voice sounded far away. "It was all they talked about for two days."

  "She excited about it?" I asked.

  Luke shrugged. "I think she wants one of our own," he replied. "I can see it in her eyes. She's the last one and she hates it. She's the youngest. The late bloomer. She says Selena always overshadowed her. She doesn't want to be the last one to have a baby, but she also refuses to do anything until we know Ceres is pregnant again."

  "I think we're going to get confirmation on that soon," I said.

  "I'm not sure that helps."

  "Probably not," I agreed.

  He was silent for a moment. "They're never going to be grandparents," he whispered.

  I couldn't say anything because I didn't know what to say. He buried his face in his hands and started to cry. I put my arm around his shoulders and gave him my silent support. There wasn't anything else I could do.

  When Sophia returned, she had a file with her. She handed it to me. "I contacted the other office," she said. "Told them that she was our patient and in critical condition and we needed everything they had on her. Took some sweet talking to get the nurse to agree to send over everything, but she did it. HIPPA does not like us sharing information."

  "Thanks for getting what you could," I said. I accepted the file and opened it.

  Anica was good at covering her tracks. She didn't name the father at any point, but it was her due date that really caught my attention.

  My heart pounded in my chest. Her due date was less than a month away. "Fuck," I whispered. I looked at Sophia. "How long are Lycans pregnant?" I asked.

  "The same amount of time as humans," she replied. "Forty weeks."

  I did the math in my head and felt the relief wash over me. "Thank god," I whispered.

  "You were worried it was you when you saw that due date, weren't you?" she asked.

  I nodded. "Yeah," I said. "Pretty sure Ceres would kill me for that one."

  "Yeah, probably," Sophia agreed. "When did you break up with her?"

  "Almost a year ago," I answered. "I don't know exactly what date, but I know it was late March or early April."

  "By that, she would have gotten pregnant in July or so, depending on her exact ovulation date. If you didn't sleep with her after you broke up with her, it's definitely not you."

  I shook my head. "No, I was with someone else at that point," I said. "How soon can she deliver and the baby be okay?" I asked.

  Sophia sighed. "Absolute earliest, given a fantastic NICU facility and amazing round-the-clock doctors, would be twenty-three weeks. Of course, we would prefer her to be much closer to her due date. She's got another five weeks before she's due. She could give birth now and there's no reason the baby shouldn't be okay. It's Lycan, so it's unlikely the baby would have any problems. I'll have to talk to Dr. Cyrus for more information though. Lycan pregnancies aren't my area of expertise. I hadn't really intended to go the family practice route."

  "What do you know now?" I asked.

  She shrugged. "We're Lycan the moment we're born, but at the same time, the gene doesn't activate until we hit puberty. There's a chance the baby would be very human. There's a chance it wouldn't."

  "Great," I sighed. The word left a bitter taste in my mouth.

  I left their room behind and returned to the cells in the basement. I brushed past everyone until I reached Riley, who had grabbed a chair so he could be comfortable while on guard duty. I slammed the door of the cell open with a resounding bang as it hit the wall. Anica stood against the wall, awkwardly hurrying away from the door.

  "Who is the father?" I demanded once again.

  She rolled her eyes. "Focused on that, are you?" she asked. "Fine, you got me. It's Santa Clause."

  I gave her a look that I hoped would convey how not in the mood I was for her games. "Try again."

  "The Easter Bunny?" she mocked. "Mickey Mouse? Take a fucking guess."

  I stayed silent.

  "Still not buying it?" she asked. "My due date is March twenty-second. I've been going to a human doctor because I didn't want the pack to know about it. That's also why I've been showing up to every Hunt but not actually hunting. You can't tell that I'm pregnant because I'm one of the lucky ones and I know how to dress. It's a girl. Half me, half not."

  "You made this child the pack's business when you betrayed us to the Witches," I said. "You're going to die, Anica. What you did was the worst thing anyone could have done. We cannot allow you to live. We will test every man in this pack to find out who the father is if we have to."

  "You won't find him," she said. Her voice was defeated and weary. "He died with the rest of them."

  "Tell me what happened."

  She sighed and shook her head. "Would you grant me mercy if I do?"

  I shook my head. "You know that's not my call."

  She slumped and sat back down on the floor. She stared up at me. For the first time, I felt like she was showing me some truth. "Tell you and die. Don't tell you and still die. What's in it for me?" she asked.

  "It's not about you," I replied. I closed the door of her cell and leaned against it, crossing my arms. "It's about the four-hundred people you slaughtered. It's about the remaining few people in this pack who need answers. You were upset because you felt insignificant. Now you're the only focus this pack has. There are orphans out there who don't know why they'll never see their parents again. They're the ones you owe your answers to. You took their families away. You'll regain a little honor and die well if you tell us. We'll be able to heal from the damage you've done. You'll be responsible for helping that along. Your daughter will be able to live without the stigma of her mother hanging over her head. Do you want your last act on this planet to be one of hate or forgiveness?"

  Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at me. The dank cell we were in seemed infinitely smaller than it really was. "I hate you," she whispered.

  "I deserve that," I replied, my voice soft. "But only me. The rest of them didn't do anything to you."

  She cleared her throat. "That's why," she whispered. "I did it because I hate you. They were supposed to set me up with a sweet deal outside town. I was going to go back home. To my roots. They were going to help me get there. They said that they'd take care of everything, but when it came down to it, once they got what they wanted, I didn't matter anymore. My contribution didn't matter. They went through with the plan and threw me under the bus. They cut me themselves, saying that I had to have injuries that mirrored everyone else's. I didn't see the attack. They told me to leave before it started. When you asked me what happened, I told you what they told me to say."

  "You killed four hundred people because you hate me?" I asked. The concept was impossible for me to understand.

  She shook her head. When she looked at me again, our eyes met, and she didn't waver. "No," she said. "I fed information to Abigail and Alan because I hate you." She was silent for a moment before she looked down at her stomach. "I kept feeding it to them because they promised to do to me what they did to Ceres when they found out about the baby. I mean, they didn't say it like that, but that's what they threatened me with. When they died, Brenda reached out to me. She wanted revenge."

  "You couldn't tell her no?"

  She shook her head. "No," she said. "She had… she knew too." The tears fell from her eyes and, for the first time, she seemed remorseful. "She told me that she'd help me out of Adamsville with my baby if I cooperated. She wanted the pack dead because of what you guys did to the coven. I offered to hand her you and Ceres, but it wasn't good enough. I had no choice but to give her what she wanted."

  "Do you regret it?" I asked.

  She looked away from me, hanging her head. She took a moment to compose herself before she met my eyes again. "No."

  I shook my head, disgust making the bile rise in my throat. I left the cell
and slid the bolt home on the door. "I'll send food and water down for her," I said.

  "So, she really is pregnant?" Riley asked.

  I nodded. "Yeah. And she's due soon. Few more weeks."

  "She say who the father is?"

  I shook my head. "Could be anyone," I sighed.

  "What's going to happen to the baby?"

  I shrugged. "Not my decision," I said.

  Chapter 22 ~Wolfgang~

  I wasn't sure where to begin with the information Anica gave me, so I went to the library. It was where my father often went to think when demanding situations arose. As I walked in, I appreciated the efforts of the pack to band together. They boarded up the windows and put a temporary door up to keep the cold out. It wasn't perfect, and we'd spend a lot on repairs over the next few weeks, but it was better than being exposed to the elements.

  I opened the library doors and wished that I'd see my father sitting at the desk the way I had so many times in the days since the attack. I collapsed on one of the sofas and closed my eyes. After a moment, I sent a text to Ceres, asking her to come and find me, then I called my parents. I put my phone on speaker and set it down on the coffee table. Ceres entered the room as my mom answered the call.

  "You have an update?" she asked.

  "I do," I replied. Ceres sat down next to me. "Did you get my text earlier?"

  "That you found Anica? Yes."

  I nodded. "Good," I said. "I had Sophia see if she could look into Anica's pregnancy. She was able to convince the human doctor Anica was seeing to send over her medical records. Anica's baby is due on the twenty-second."

  "Wait, she's due on the twenty-second?" Mom asked. "Of March?"

  "According to both her and the paperwork, yes," I said. "She admitted that she's done everything she can think of to keep it from the pack, including showing up for the Hunt every month. When we can, I'm going to have Richard take her back to the clinic for an ultrasound to confirm. I can't smell anything with her, so I'm thinking the Witches gave her a charm to hide it."