Gypsy Moon

Chapter Fifteen: Sinah

. . . . . . (early July)

I was learning very quickly that my mate was a troublemaker. I glanced at my watch, it was just after one AM, we arrived much sooner than we expected, it was almost ten or something when we'd left White Moon.

"I'm not sure if we should let Bryce drive every time, or if that would be a bad idea after this." Lilian leaned on the handles of my chair so she could whisper in my ear. I smothered a laugh and glanced around at the confusion. I caught the eye of a very pregnant she-wolf surveying the chaos with a patient sigh and I waved shyly. She smiled and made her way to Lilian and me.

"Hello dears, I'm Luna Marie." Lilian smiled at her.

"Hello Luna Marie, sorry for waking, well, EVERYONE up so early..." She laughed indulgently.

"Honestly? I'm not sure why we bothered to go to bed at all, he does this almost every time he visits." She rubbed her swollen belly absentmindedly. "He also thinks introductions are best when no one has any idea what's going on." Her eyes clouded over, and a wide smile pulled the corners of her mouth. "Incoming."

A howl shattered the night and the smallest old lady I had ever seen came running out of the packhouse. She was even shorter than me. Almost every bit of her was round, which made her seem even smaller than she already was. She made a beeline for me, the pack clearing out of her way with knowing smiles.

"FINALLY!!" She legitimately jumped into my lap, her plump, little arms around my neck in a crushing hug. Lilian squeaked and fought to keep my chair from tipping backwards with her momentum. Luna Marie shook with laughter.

"Gigi, this is Aiden's mate."

"I KNOW who she is, young lady." Gigi admonished Luna Marie. "I've been waiting for her for AGES."

"Gigi, Aiden only found her the day before yesterday, that does not count as 'ages'." Gigi sniffed dismissively.

"He found her yesterday, but he's been looking forever, and things get foggy at my age." She winked at me and hopped off my lap. "Anyway, I'm going to borrow her for a bit." She stated it as a fact and shooed Lilian away from my chair handles, pushing me towards a building off to the side of the clearing. I twisted to look behind me and watched Luna Marie shrug at Lilian and wave her towards the packhouse.

"Honestly, you children see time so literally." I looked at her in confusion and she smiled and patted the top of my head. "SHE'S only been waiting for you for two days, Aiden has been waiting five years, I've been waiting for my precious sunbeam's mate since Becca found out she was pregnant again." Putting it that way did make perfect sense, so I nodded in agreement.

She guided me into the building. I recognized it as a pack infirmary immediately and I raised an eyebrow at her, earning another pat on my head from her.

"I'm River Talon's pack doctor. I have something for you in my office." I nodded again. Her office looked more like a grandma's living room, making me smile. I accepted a cookie from her when she offered it and bit into it with a happy sigh.

"If you like the oatmeal cookies, I have more." She puttered around her office, looking for something. "I kept telling myself I should have made Sunbeam's cookies, not oatmeal, but I admit that even I was surprised when that sweet pussycat called us yesterday morning." I snorted and coughed as cookie crumbs went down my windpipe.

"You mean Bryce?" I laughed when she nodded. I had a feeling I was going to really enjoy living with Aiden's pack, especially because of this little granny. She made a little noise of triumph and held up a small glass figurine of a running wolf.

It practically sparkled and I held it as carefully as I could when she handed it to me. It looked like it might have liquid inside of the glass, the light bent strangely when it hit the figure. I couldn't find a single seam or bubble though, and I couldn't see any sort of 'wall' in it. It felt unusually heavy too. Even if it were solid glass, it should have been lighter. I was so focused on it that I was startled when I felt a needle stick in my neck.

"Wha-?" My vision blurred abruptly, and I could feel pure, white hot pain shoot through my body. Gigi's voice sounded far away suddenly.

"Wolfsbane and silver, dear. You are about to die."

The last thing I heard was Aiden screaming.

. . . . . .