Caged Moon

know.'

'It was the wind.'

I regretted my tone when Ty turned away from me. I couldn't deal with this anymore. I was on the verge of a break down.

Rolling the window down, I leaned my head out.

'What are you doing?' Ty asked with a gasp.

'Breathing.'

The fresh air felt good on my nose, despite the numerous prickles rising up my back. The forest seemed a lot more alive without the faux protection of glass, the scent of the woods vibrant. I inhaled the air, the smell of pine and maple strangely calming to my nerves.

'Come with me.' A low whisper, almost too inaudible to be anything but a trick of the wind, hit my ears. I glanced to the edge of the woods; nothing. I rolled up the window.

'What? What is it?' Ty asked.

'Did you just hear something?' I asked. I couldn't turn away from the outline of the woods.

'No,' she said. 'Why did you?'

'I don't know.'

'This really isn't helping, Charlotte.'

I stopped watching the window and looked at Ty. 'You're right. I'm sorry.' I sighed and leaned back in my seat. I needed to get a grip on things.

'Get out of the car.'

I shot up from my seat. 'There it is again. Didn't you hear it?'

'Charlotte, knock it off. This isn't funny.' She looked about to cry.

'But I really heard something, Ty.'

'Charlotte, please. I didn't hear anything. You're hearing things, okay? Seriously, this is bad enough as it is.'

Fine. Apparently I was in this alone. I turned back to the window, when two golden eyes starred at me from the bushes. 'Oh, my God.' I scrambled as far from the driver's side door as I could.

'That's it,' Ty said, unfastening her seat belt.

'Whoa, wait? Where are you going?'

'I can't take this anymore.' She unlocked her door and pushed it wide. 'There's got to be cops up around the bend. I'll find them and tell them I'm sick. They'll take me home.'

'No, no, no,' I said. I reached out, trying to stop her. 'He's out there. I saw him.'

Ty shoved my hand off her arm and got out. 'If I can find the cops, we'll be safe.' Her hands trembled as she slammed the door on me.

'Ty, no...' I scrambled across her seat, and followed her out 'Ty,' I called, but I couldn't see her anywhere.

A chorus of horns greeted me, but I ignored them, taking off through the crowded traffic. I weaved in out of the cars until I came around the bend nearly out of breath. Several officers mulled about, but I didn't see Ty anywhere. How had I missed her?

'Excuse me,' I said, waving to closest man on duty. 'Have you seen a girl about my age, with short blonde hair? She came up this way.'

'Please miss. You have to stay back. Go back to your car.' He didn't even look at me as he shooed me with his hand.

'No, you don't understand. She came up here looking for you. It's an emergency.'

'Well then she probably went back to her car. That's what I tell everyone to do.'

Panic started to set in. I didn't see her anywhere. I really couldn't find her. The reality of that began to settle over me and my eyes started to burn. What was I going to do?

'Charlotte.'

I froze, before slowly turning my head toward the familiar voice. Liam stepped from the cover of trees and I gasped. Fear and relief battled inside me as I starred dumbfounded.

He cut across the embankment and hopped the curb. What was he doing here? How'd he know where to find me? My paranoid theory from before raged to the forefront of my mind, and I took a few steps back.

His gaze flickered over the traffic, his face unreadable. 'Where's Ty?'

'I don't know,' I said, my voice cracking. 'Why don't you tell me?'

'What are you talking about, Charlotte? That's not even funny.'

'I saw you, Liam. Don't lie to me.'

'You saw me?' he asked. He looked confused. 'What do you mean? I just got here.'

I stepped close enough to him to whisper without the danger of other drivers hearing me. 'In your wolf form, by the edge of the woods, back there.' My finger pointed in the direction of my car.

Liam stiffened and his head cocked up from where I stood. I heard him sniff the air. 'That wasn't me. It's Aaron. I followed him here, but when I picked up on your scent, I stopped. I needed to make sure you were okay.'

'Well, I'm not okay. Ty's missing.'

'Okay,' he said, his voice calm. He placed his hand on my shoulder, pulling my attention to the seriousness of his expression. The green hues of his irises shown under the fading afternoon light, and the shadows of the branches accentuated his features, carving wolf like angles. 'Calm down. We're going to find her, okay?'

My trust of Liam wasn't solid, but under the intensity of his words, I found I had to believe him. What other choice did I have?

'Okay,' I said. I glanced away from him, back to the scene of the accident. 'He did this. Your brother did this to get to us. You don't think he has her do you?'

The pause in the air made my chest hurt.

'I think so,' Liam said. 'He must. Your scent was most potent from the car, so I started looking for you from there. Hers stopped short, just before the turn near the woods.'

My stomach dropped. 'He has her?' My body felt cold and I began to shake. I stepped past Liam and started for the tree line.

'Charlotte, wait.' Liam caught my arm, stopping me.

'No,' I said. 'This is my fault. I need to find her. I can't let him...I can't.' I pushed myself away from his hold, and started forward. Liam grabbed me around the waist. 'Let go of me. Ty!' I screamed, but he wouldn't let me move. 'Please, Liam... Please.' I slumped down onto the damp grass and Liam followed.

'Shh,' he whispered. His arms still held me. 'We'll find her. Okay? You running headlong in there, is what he wants, and is stupid. You're going to get yourself killed. We'll go together, with my pack. My brother is old, and a very skilled wolf. We'll need to move fast before he covers up his tracks. He's an expert at throwing people off his trail.'

'Is he going to kill her?' I asked.

'I don't know.'

Chapter 17

The sounds of the engines and horns grew faint behind us, my hand in his, as he led me deeper into the woods. My vulnerability, alone, in the thick forest with the werewolf, was not missed - but I had to trust him.

'What about the car?' I asked, breaking the fragile symphony of nature. Not a top thing on my list to be concerned about, but curious none the less.

'It'll be fine. Once the traffic starts moving, people will just veer around it. I'm sure it'll get towed, but don't worry, I'll get it for you.'

'Thanks,' I said, watching my shoes as they crunched against the leaves.

Liam squeezed my hand and pulled me around to face him. 'Charlotte, what happened to us?'

His question caught me off guard. I didn't know what to say.