Vanilla Moon: Acrimony

by Airiel Hawkins

  Abigail loaded Mandy into Alan's car before driving away. We followed her. She drove Mandy to an alley before she shoved her out of the car and drove away. Mandy woke up almost as soon as Abigail drove off and we were about to get out and help her when we saw the fed approach her. Mandy stared at him and then looked at where he pointed. She started to shake her head frantically in protest. We couldn't do anything as we watched the fed cuff her and walk her to his car. I saw the tears glisten on her face as he put her in the back seat. She was freed only to find herself captured once again. Because of the Law of Secrecy, she couldn't use magic to get herself out of this. It also prevented us from helping her.

  "This isn't good," Wolfgang said.

  I shook my head. "Nope," I whispered.

  "How long before your ex comes for her?"

  I shrugged. "Month. Maybe two if we're lucky. Depends on how soon people start asking questions and how much he enjoys her absence."

  "Let's go tell my dad," Wolfgang sighed.

  Leon was less than thrilled about our news. He sighed. "You couldn't do anything about it?" he asked.

  "Abigail has proven on more than one occasion that she's too much for one Lycan," Wolfgang said. "There was no time for backup. We would have gone for her, but the fed reached her first. I'm sure that Abigail set something up with him."

  "If Abigail is working with the federal agent, we are going to be in need of some additional help in getting rid of him," Leon said. "I'll reach out to the Hunters and see what they can do. This is usually their job, after all."

  "Now that we know that Abigail is, in fact, alive, what do we do?" I asked. "As far as everyone knew, I killed her weeks ago."

  "What exactly happened that day?" Leon asked. "How certain are you that you were fighting Abigail?"

  I sighed. "During the fight, I was absolutely certain I was fighting her," I explained. "In retrospect, there was a moment when her scent and eye color changed. I imagine Abigail had someone fighting in her place who was spelled to look like her. I likely broke the spell when I killed her."

  Leon nodded. "We will handle this as it comes. Abigail is not likely to lay down quietly and let everything blow over. She never has been like that. She will likely come and attack, but as she is not willing to work with Mandy, there is a possibility that she is working by herself. That does not mean that she won't be a threat, it just means that she won't be as big of a threat.

  "In the meantime, I want to keep this quiet. The people do not need another reason to panic."

  We nodded. "Agreed," Wolfgang said.

  "Question," I said, glancing between them. "Should I contact Todd?" I asked. "Buy us some time?"

  "What would you say?" Wolfgang asked. I could hear the hesitance in his voice. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of me contacting my ex.

  "Just let him know that the feds got Mandy," I replied. "Might keep him from coming here for a while. Maybe the coven can focus on getting her back instead of attacking us."

  Leon sighed. "What if the opposite happens?" he asked. "What if that draws him here?"

  "Luke could do it," Wolfgang said. Leon and I looked at him. "Luke is a police officer," he said. "The feds have to work with local law enforcement, or at least announce themselves. Odds are that they're holding Mandy at the station here. Luke could easily contact her husband, being a police officer, to inform him that she's been taken into custody. If they're holding her for questioning, they don't have to give her a phone call for her to do it herself."

  "I like that idea better," Leon said. I nodded, agreeing with them. "I'll have Luke get his contact information from her at the station and reach out to her husband. Perhaps it will keep the coven from attacking us again."

  "Then all that's left is to take care of Abigail," I said. "And get the fed to leave town."

  "The Hunters are supposed to take care of human law enforcement," Leon said. "That is part of their duty. I will reach out to Clive again for an update. As for Abigail, there is not much we can do until we know more. We will need someone to watch her and see if we can garner any added information. I'll have Richard look into it."

  "Do you need us to do anything?" Wolfgang asked.

  Leon shook his head. "Just keep yourselves out of trouble and take care of that baby."

  We nodded. "Yes, Enkidu," we replied before we bowed and left the room, hoping that whatever Leon did today would keep us safe tomorrow.

  To Be Continued….

  Acknowledgements

  I'd like to take a moment here and thank the people who made this book possible. There's been quite a gap between this book and the last one and I'm sorry for that. The last five years have been filled with so much turbulence that sitting down to write anything has been difficult. This book has been written and rewritten more than once and I finally feel that it is a product worth sharing with the world.

  Firstly, as always, I'd like to thank my husband, Chadd Hawkins, who urged me to keep writing even when all I wanted to do was curl up and cry. I'd like to thank him for the dozens (or more) late night sessions where we just talked about this book, the characters, and what I wanted versus what I could get away with. Honey, you're amazing. I love so so much. Never change.

  Next, I'd like to thank the people who read this before it was ready. Jessica Grimm and Arianna Heitholt, you both gave me so many great ideas to implement and helped when I struggled to figure out what I needed to change to fix the flow. You two did so much more for this book than you'll ever realize. And thanks for catching all those typos too.

  Last, I'd like to thank my parents. My father passed away while I was working on this book. I poured a lot of the grief I've felt since his passing into these pages and I'm certain more will come out in future installments. My mother has also given me a unique perspective, and much has changed between us. Our relationship went through some stuff while working on this book as well. Those emotions are also apparent in certain places of this book and I'm sure that it'll take me many more years to fully process what happened there.

  This book, and writing in general, is therapy for me. It keeps me going, keeps me fighting, keeps me living. I hope that you can enjoy it as much as I do, and I look forward to telling more of Ceres and Wolfgang's story as the years continue.

  Dedication

  To everyone I have loved and lost. To everyone who made me who I am today. And to you, the reader, without whom I would never have written this book.

  Translation Guide

  Chapter 3:

  Pere? Father

  Pere, pouvez-vous me l'entendre? Father, can you hear me?

  Je vais vivre, fils. I will live, son.

  Chapter 14:

  nessun problema. No Problem

  Chapter 21:

  Mon Dieu My God