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Before I can ask questions, he barrels on, “I asked Dair if there are shifter communities in the east, and it turns out the whole reason his people sought out an alliance with Grand Prairie was to gain access to our radio tower to try and contact a massive community in the Appalachians.”
He tells me about the Lunar Mother’s plans and the final alliance that Dair made with River, but I can tell there’s something about the alliance that he doesn’t say.
“After the nightmare, I couldn’t figure out why there had been a shifter at our compound until Dair discussed it with me and I put some memories and information together.” He pauses, jaw moving back and forth before blurting out, “I think my mother was a shifter, and so does Dair.”
“Seriously?” I ask, astonished. “What does that mean exactly?”
Ferris cards a hand through his hair, pushing his curls off his forehead. “Dair explained that having one shifter parent makes me a hybrid. He told me what that means and how having a body-bound wolf has probably affected me over the years.”
“Body-bound?” I murmur. “So you have a wolf, but you can’t shift?”
“I think so,” he exhales. “It would explain so much about how hard it’s been to control my instincts and how what my father put me through never made a difference in my dominance.”
I gasp, realization hitting me and I exclaim, “Your eyes!”
His gaze cuts to me, eyebrows scrunched. “My eyes?”
“Yes! Sometimes your eyes become so intense they catch flame, like tiny burning suns. Dair’s do the same, except instead of suns, his eyes glow like the moon. All this time, you’ve been looking at me through the eyes of your wolf.”
He laughs, incredulous. “I never have been able to hide from you.”
I reach out and take his hand. “See? I already know this part of you, and I am not afraid.”
He actually smiles at me, and we stop, pressing closer to each other. Relief and fledgling hope shine in his eyes, and his lips part, ready to either tell me something or eat me alive, but then we hear a howl in the distance.
“Dair?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He squeezes my hand. “We’d better catch up.”
Dair managed to find the ruins of some kind of barn just a handful of miles from where he left us. The structure itself is nothing more than a heap of rotting wood, but the old roof fell in such a way that it created a jagged wall to camp behind.
It takes very little time for my alphas to get the tent set up while I gather pieces of wood and other debris to help camouflage it. Afterward, we all sit inside the cramped interior, hydrating and munching on more dried meat. Out in the open, we can’t risk building a fire to cook anything that Dair might hunt, but it is unlikely he’d find anything in sparse fields, anyway.
We stay clothed as we huddle together on Dair’s blanket pile, wanting to be ready to defend ourselves in the blink of an eye if necessary. I snuggle in close between my alphas, nearly falling asleep immediately.
Dair asks, “Did you two talk?”
Ferris squeezes my thigh once and responds, “Yes.”
I can’t stay awake long enough to hear Dair’s answer.
15 Days until the Full Moon
The morning sun wakes us with the dawn, and we make quick work of doing our business, breaking down camp, and getting back on the road. Dair informs us that we will hit the bank of the Great River in the late afternoon, or early evening, so it might be in our best interest to try and walk all the way through.
“Are you well enough to try?” Ferris asks.
“Yes, I’m feeling so much better, I promise. Besides, I’m ready to make a decent dent in our travel time.”
The day is warmer than yesterday, with a cloudless sky beating down on our heads. Despite the warmth, we all keep our jackets on to protect us from the sun. Dair even fishes out an old baseball cap with some unknown logo on the front and secures it over his close-cropped hair to keep his scalp safe. There’s hardly anything worse than trying to recover from sun poisoning when you’re on a water ration, and we don’t have time for rest if we become ill.
Dair is eager to get us home, and although it feels like there’s something he hasn’t said yet, I trust him to do what’s best for all of us.
The closer we get to the bank, the greener the land becomes, and soon we have to abandon the paved road and venture into lush prairie. The grasses are the beautiful reds and oranges of autumn, making it feel like we’re wading through a sunset. I keep one of my hands extended to feel the soft grass caress my palm, and some of the late-season flowers are still in bloom, lightly perfuming the air. I feel a little ridiculous, but I murmur to the grass as we pass through, singing the prairie a song.
Dair suddenly stops, and I go on guard, shifting my hand toward the snap on my axe holster. “Raine,” he says, voice soft, “come here.” I relax at his tone and walk up beside him, where he’s pointing at something perched on a plant stalk.
I crouch a little, getting closer, but startle when something flutters to life among the leaves and flies right at me. Instinctively, I put my hands up in front of my face, but when I feel no impact, I open my eyes to see something extraordinary has landed on my hand.
