– Chapter 169

Frederic

I’ve been on the road for hours, following Selene’s trail East and wondering if she’s truly on her way to the Calypso pack. It seems like the only possible destination for the route she and her witchy mentor are taking, but I can’t imagine she’s actually headed someplace where she might be killed just for being a Volana.

If I’m right there’s only one possibility: for one reason or another, she must think that Bastien is there. If I’m lucky, I might be able to catch up to her before she finds him. I know if she would just give me another chance and listen with an open mind, I could convince her to stay with me.

I regret our fight on the street, especially since it ruined more than ten years of undercover work and exposed me to the pack, but I also regret raising my hand against her. Still, I’m sure I can make her understand – what Alpha doesn’t lose his temper every now and then? Shifters are very physical beings – Selene must know that. I’ll apologize and make her understand that if she hadn’t been so insolent and disrespectful towards me, I never would have dreamed of hitting her. She simply needs to learn his place. She’s a reasonable she-wolf, she’ll understand everything once I explain.

Getting tired of the silence, I flip the radio on and turn it to the Novan News Network. I know I’m probably not going to like what I hear, but I have to stay tuned in if I’m ever going to figure out a new plan. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have predicted just how unpleasant the news would be. I listen in horror as the reporter’s fuzzy voice relates the day’s latest developments:

Frederic Durand’s mother Odile turned herself into the Elysian enforcers today, claiming that she escaped from the basement of a house in Old Town after being imprisoned by her son. Frederic, who has been living under the assumed identity of Dr Thomas Kane for the last decade, was nowhere to be found when the enforcers went to the address Odile provided. Despite the disgraced wolf’s absence, they were able to verify his mother’s account, describing the basement where he was holding her as being in “deplorable condition.”

In a statement to the Novan Press Corps this afternoon, Odile said that she had supported her son from the day he was born and she’d long assisted him in his efforts to become pack Alpha. However their relationship soured when his luck turned for the worse, revealing a cruel streak she’d never before witnessed from her only child. Claiming he struck her on more than one occasion, she displayed bruises and clear signs of abuse, apparently inflicted when she “talked back” to Frederic.

These developments are the most recent in a disturbing trend we first witnessed last week, when Selene Durand exposed her Cousin-in-law on camera, and almost became a victim of the man’s temper herself – despite being pregnant. Enforcers have vowed that tracking down Frederic is their top priority, with Beta Aiden stating that the safety of all Novan’s would be at risk as long as he remains at large.

Slamming the dial off in a fresh fit of rage, I slam my fist against the steering wheel and bellow with fury. Can this week get any worse?

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Selene

Moonlight bathes Helene and I in a warm glow. It had taken us a long time to decide on a place to try and practice this ability, but in the end we were left with no choice. We couldn’t catch a whiff of Bastien or Arabella’s scent anywhere around the city center, and neither of us wanted to risk questioning strangers about the pair.

After seeing the kind of city that Blaise runs – from the horrifying underground caverns to the suspiciously clean top level and painfully uptight locals – we agreed that he probably had spies everywhere. A tyrant like him was bound to have secret enforcers scouring the territory for dissenters, and if the downtrodden expressions on the faces of the lower caste were any indication, he didn’t leave any room for ambiguity. It was either obey or suffer, and even obeying wouldn’t help if you weren’t wealthy.

I want to tear down every glittering brick of Blaise’s capital – nowhere so wretched should be allowed to be so beautiful. Even now, when Helene and I are reveling at the way the golden buildings shine beneath the Goddess’s light, I can’t help but resent them. We chose a spot at the edge of the main park, leaving us with numerous escape paths if we were forced to run.

“I don’t think it’s working.” I tell Helene, after my sixth attempt to channel the moon’s power.

“Nonsense, this is like all the other skills – trial error. We don’t know exactly what’s going to work, you just have to keep trying.” She advises.

Trusting her guidance, which has yet to fail me despite the fact that she’s basically been making all of this up as we go, trying to adapt her witchcraft to my mysterious powers. I try again.

Focusing on Bastien, on my need to be with him again, I direct all my energy at the huge autumn moon. I try to pull in its power the same way I do the shadows, but it doesn’t do any good. I’m not even sure what’s supposed to happen. Is the magic something I’ll just feel, or will it be something we can see?

Changing tactics, I begin to meditate, trying to recreate the sensation I’ve begun to feel in our hypnosis lessons. It took us a while to figure out, but eventually Helene suggested that I try to reach a zen state not unlike the one I would be trying to put my target in. That seems to help, increasing the moon’s glow over our patch of grass, but other than that it doesn’t seem to have much effect.

“Any ideas?” I ask Helene.

“Hmm.” She’s circling me like a very friendly vulture, rubbing her chin in thought. “Alright, how about this: Keep thinking about Bastien, but instead of trying to pull the moon’s power to you, try sending your feelings out to it.”

“You mean like, send my love to the moon?” I snort.

“Snort not little mother, the best magic isn’t fancy, or even original.” She scolds good-humoredly. “It’s simply true.”

“Alright, alright.” I laugh, doing as she instructs.

“And take it seriously!” She admonishes.

“Yes, ma’am.” I agree, pausing only long enough to salute her. As I begin trying to send my feelings outward, I can hear Helene muttering something about sassy pups beneath her breath, but after a moment I completely forget about her, because I realize I’m beginning to glow.

Staring down at my shining chest in surprise, I try to latch onto the technique, seeing the light waver with my shock and immediately doubling down on the emotions. The more I focus, the stronger the light glows, not the gaudy gold of the city, but pure white moonlight. I can hear Helene encouraging me in the background, and I eagerly continue. After a few minutes of intense effort, the light flows out of me, leaving my body and forming a shining strand suspended in the air and extending into the distance.

I began walking in the direction of the light, looking around nervously in fear that someone will see this stunning magic. Luckily the streets seem fairly deserted after dark, which is both a relief and somewhat disturbing. Part of me worries that the absence of people is some sort of omen, or a sign of some rule Helene and I don’t know – like a curfew. Still, now that the moonlight is leading me somewhere, I have to follow. If there’s even a small chance it will lead me to information about where to find Bastien, or help me in some other way on this quest, I don’t have a choice.

Helene and I trail along behind the floating string of pearly light, blindly following it deeper into the city. It twists around corners and jumps over the bridge-covered river, and with every step we take I feel a little stronger. Not only stronger, I feel strangely warmer – happier.

We’re close to something now, I know it. I speed up as we cross an intersection and begin down a new block, feeling my heart race with excitement. Pressing my hand to the slight swell of my stomach, I silently encourage my baby, just a little farther.

The next thing I know, I feel a sharp tug on my jacket as I’m yanked into an alleyway. Yelping, my back is forced up against a brick wall and I reach deep down to send out an energy pulse at my attacker, but for some reason it won’t work. A second later I realize why, when my favorite scent in the world fills my senses. Gasping, I open my eyes to look up at the shifter in front of me, finding a huge, furious Alpha wolf glaring at me with pure hatred: Bastien.

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