Chapter 216

“You think you can keep it from me,” I said, meeting his gaze. “You’re wrong. I’ll find it before you will.”

Peter didn’t respond. His expression didn’t change, but his eyes glowed softly with red light. There was a twitch in his jaw that seemed like he wanted to say something, but he was holding it back.

“I’ll take your silence,” I said and smirked. “Seems like you already know that you can’t win against me.”

Peter blinked. Then, he closed his eyes, and a shield of light circled around him. I flinched at the show of power. It felt hot as if it would burn me if I got closer. I crossed my arms as we rode. Cillian didn’t look back. If he heard anything, or if he was paying attention, I didn’t know, but I looked up at him and wondered what it would take for him to tell me anything and everything he knew about the Heart of the Moon.

“Cillian,” I said. “What do you—”

“Quiet,” he said sharply, drawing a blade from his belt.

My face flushed as we headed out of the forest and into the mountains. I was about to say something, but a chill washed over me. I could hear the wind rushing through a canyon. I looked down, and my heart jumped. I was pretty sure that we were riding past the gorge where Estella had been killed.

Was he looking for her body? Did he know that I had gotten her killed? Had I been too late in stopping Candido from telling him? For a moment, I wondered if he would throw me down into the cliff. It wasn’t like I could stop him if he decided to. I bit my lip, watching closely for his reaction. While he continued to watch the activity in the gorge, we didn’t seem to be heading deeper in the canyon. Instead, we were heading away.

At the bottom of the gorge, I could see bodies moving around. They looked like vampires from the way they were moving. They were walking out of the gorge, but they didn’t walk into a cave like we had. They were walking the long way around. I bit my lip. If Marius and his forces were turning all the werewolves they caught into vampires, did that mean Estella was still alive? If she’d been turned and we encountered her, what would Candido do? I clenched my fists on the edge of the truck as we drove past. No matter what, I had to make sure, somehow, that it didn’t happen. There was no way I could get Candido to get over everything if Estella showed up again.

I considered myself lucky that Vanessa, Dune, and Apollo were really dead. I watched the movement in the gorge for a while, wondering how they weren’t hearing the sound of the truck. Then, I realized that there was a soft shimmer in the air around us.

Soon, the truck turned away from the mountain path and onto another path that led into the forest.

As we drove further away from the mountains and the gorge, the shimmer started to vanish. Cillian seemed to relax, but he didn’t turn around to apologize for the way he cut me off. I set my jaw and said nothing for the rest of the drive. I wasn’t going to talk to him, if at all possible, until he apologized, never mind anything else.

Despite driving through the forest so quickly, we didn’t run into any vampires. I looked through the back of the truck to see what the two drivers were doing, but all I saw was the glow of a mirror between them. I set my jaw and sat back. They were using vampire technology to navigate, but I bet that most of the reason we weren’t running into any problems was that they were manipulating the forest somehow. Even though I didn’t feel that weird shift of the forest around us, I knew there was no way that the mirrors, however they worked, were able to actually navigate us around the vampire’s forces.

I sat back against the side of the truck, wondering how I was going to get Candido to talk to me. Should I try to seduce him? Didn’t men like that? He was older too, so he’d definitely like it. I mean, my other birthday was coming up. He would have no reason to resist me. I smiled, thinking about it. Now that I had some experience from being with Cillian, I wouldn’t be overwhelmed by him. Through the barrier around him, Peter looked at me. His eyes glowed red as he sneered at me with disgust. I glared back at him.

Soon, we were on the highway that ran through and around Wolf Fang territory. It was the same highway that I had run to all those years ago, but it had been so long since I had been on the road, I didn’t recognize much of it. My lips twitched at the memory. When I think back on everything that’s happened since I came to Full Moon, I couldn’t help but smile. The sight of it made me more determined to make sure that I would have Candido. I could see how beautiful our wedding would be. I’d give him as many children as he wanted. We’d be the perfect rulers.

Together.

The truck stopped on the highway, pulling me out of my day dreams. Cillian turned back to me.

“This is your stop.”

I blinked at him. “You’re not coming with me?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t need help from vampires?”

My jaw trembled, and he smirked. “Aren’t these people loyal to Candido? Shouldn’t they, eventually, be loyal to you if you want to be his… whatever it’s called.”

“Luna,” I said stiffly. “And Queen.”

He snorted. “Right. Well, Wolf Fang is mostly guarded, but I’m sure that’s not going to be a problem, hm? You’re the future luna of Solare, right? His future wife?”

I lifted my head feeling proud. Finally, someone had acknowledged it.

“I am,” I said.

Cillian gave me a smile. “Then, this is your stop.”

“What about you two?” I glanced at Peter. “Where will you be going?”

“You expect a pair of vampires to walk into Wolf Fang?” Cillian asked. “Even if you suddenly said you need help, I have no interest in killing a bunch of half armed werewolves because they’re trigger happy.”

I looked out into the forest and climbed out of the truck. Peter looked amused as I climbed down, barefoot and headed into the forest. I heard Peter laughing from behind me as the truck started to pull away, but I ignored him. They’d all see. When I got Wolf Fang under control, Candido would have no choice but to acknowledge my capabilities. He would have no choice but to get over everything and apologize for letting Estella come between us.

Luna Queen of Solare.

The sense of power and importance thrilled me. The thought of what it would mean for my future with Candido made me smile. The further I walked away from the road, the better I felt. I’d be Candido’s wife as soon as this war was over. Now that Estella was gone, and once I got rid of the rest of Blue Moon, there would be no one to stand in my way. I would be the only person Candido could trust at his side. We’d live a beautiful life together. He would manage and rebuild werewolf society, and I would be right there with him, supporting him in all the ways that mattered.

I walked for what felt like forever before I came to a stop. I was no closer to anything than I had been before. The trees didn’t look more familiar. If anything, it all looked completely unfamiliar. My heart raced. Had Cillian just left me here? Was it because of Estella?

I grit my teeth. How many people had she sunk her claws into before she died?

I heard something rustling nearby.

“Put your hands up where I can see them.”

I stiffened. “Do you know who I—”

A bullet sailed past me. I screamed as I felt the heat of it cut through the jacket.

“I said put your hands up!” The voice said again. “Next time, I shoot you right between the eyes.”

My eyes stung with tears. Fear filled me. Where was Candido to save me? I put my hands up, unsure of what else to do. Then, I heard another set of footsteps getting closer. Then, another and another. There had to be at least five of them. How had I not heard or noticed any of them before now?

Slowly, a man stepped into view. I could barely make out his face in the darkness, but he leveled a rifle at me.

“Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doing here?”