Thoreau - Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Elijah
The morning after Wayne's birthday, Gelo picked up Grey and me at my house, and we climbed into his big SUV to find Poppy Halder and Kon conked out in the back seat, half-propping each other up and snoring almost in sync.
Shit. That was my plan, I grumbled to Grey as Gelo threw our gear in the back.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as always in the morning, Grey laughed and swung into the shotgun seat, which was fine with me. He could keep Gelo awake. I was going to sprawl out as best I could in the middle seats and go back to sleep.
Unlike Grey, I wasn't a morning person, and I definitely wasn't one at the ass crack of dawn, but Gelo had managed to grab us last-minute seats on the next flight to New York, so I could only complain so much.
I wanted answers sooner rather than later.
Even if all I find are her remains, it's better than never knowing, I sighed, hunching down in my jacket and closing my eyes as I tried to get comfortable.
Don't think so grimly, Darius scolded. Alpha Shawn always insisted he could feel Imogene in the pack bond. She's alive and we're going to find her.
I grunted, but stayed silent, my default mode for longer than I cared to think.
The hope of finding my twin sister had burned brightly in my heart for a long time, but slowly dulled as the years passed and nothing changed, and I dulled with it, falling more and more into darkness with every birthday celebrated alone.
It might not have torn me up so much if I could have known she was in a happy home, and there were times I had to force myself to believe she was just to keep my heart from shattering.
Then we found out that was as far from the truth as it was possible to get.
I thought grief would kill me the other day when Alpha Wyatt and Gelo came to our house and explained that there'd been a sighting of the woman who kidnapped Imogene - and she was nothing good.
Gelo had reached out to all his contacts and struck gold when his best friend, a nephilim named Hank Bishop, was able to identify her and the other woman in the photos. Imogene's kidnapper was a neph named Runa and her friend was Talia Ben Elihud, also known as Bennie. She was the same dark witch that Nathan Barlow had been hunting for the last twenty years, ever since she had cursed his luna when she was pregnant with their only daughter, Peri.
Worse, Spring said Runa was the hunter who killed Beta Everett Breckenridge during a hellhound invasion of our allies at Crystal Caverns three years ago.
Even worse than that, the third person was a guy named Samuel Castle, who had a laundry list of crimes and was on the neph council's most wanted list. He was tangled up in everything from arms dealing to trafficking.
And finally, worst of all, Gelo's friend Hank had confirmed that the one guy was a creature from the hell plane. We were all a little wary of anything infernal, and rightly so considering both Mr. Halder and my big brother Reuben had nearly died and almost lost their minds due to a lesser demon.
I wanted Imogene to be alive. Even more than that, I wanted to believe she was alive. Giving up hope made me feel like I was failing her, and I couldn't do that, but as soon as Gelo said a demon and a dark witch were involved, my hope dimmed down to an ember and the darkness nearly swallowed me whole.
The only spark of light I had left now was the fact that Gelo's friend Hank knew where Runa and Bennie lived, which was why we were currently headed to New York City.
Like I told Darius, even if all we found were ashes, I would find her. I would find my little sister, my light, if it was the last thing I ever did.
As our plane was landing at LaGuardia, Gelo gave us a heads up on the people we were about to meet.
Hank Bishop's Divine power centered around tracking and finding, so it was perfect for what we needed. He had a ward, Kerry Harker, who was the one who actually identified all the hunters in the photos. Apparently, Kerry used to run with half of them, although Gelo was quick to explain that was only because Kerry had been possessed by a demon for the last ten years.
Watch your step around Kerry, Gelo cautioned us. Hunters took his girl nearly three weeks ago. She's his heart and soul. His angel. Hank says Kerry's not too stable at the best of times, but without her, he's ... dangerous.
Understandable, Kon said as Grey and I nodded.
Hank picked us from the airport, and he was about what I expected considering he was Gelo's best friend. He looked about Gelo's age, although Poppy had warned us nephs aged slower the closer you were to having a Fallen for a parent, so he could have been two hundred years old and I still would have thought he looked Gelo's age.
He was also a hard ass, and it was obvious he'd seen some serious action on the front lines against the Diabolical creatures that the nephilim tried to keep under control.
Hank's wife, Gina, reminded me of Sara Myers, Gelo's little sister and Grey's sister-in-law. She was a water witch, which made her temperamental, but when she was calm, she radiated power and control, although her eyes let you know that she'd seen some things and could hold her own.
There were several others with Hank and Gina - an old man, a little girl, and a couple who looked like warriors - but I only paid attention to the main players who'd be working with us. I was running on nerves and caffeine and didn't have it in me at the moment to be social or even civil, so I kept my mouth shut and stayed in my head.
Besides, Grey would remember. It was his best skill, although I doubted he thought of it that way. To him, it was just being polite, but he remembered every person's face and name and at least one interesting fact about them. He could meet someone once and run into them a year later and call them by name. Sure, he might suck at math and not know the difference between astronomy and astrology, but what did that matter in the real world?
And since we were in the real world and not one made safe by our alphas, I kept an eye on Kerry Harker.
Gelo wasn't kidding when he said the guy was dangerous.
Hank introduced him, but he didn't take his hands out of his pockets to shake with anyone, not even Gelo, and we all got the message to keep our distance. His eyes alone told us that and carried a warning even a human could see.
Kerry was ready to explode, and the slightest spark would light the fuse.
Grey was too intimidated to even talk to him, Kon and Gelo looked like they were wondering how good of a fighter he was, and Poppy stared at him with pity. I gave him a simple nod and decided I'd stay out of his way as much as possible.
As for the rest of his team, only two others would be working with us, Jax Kosta and Bridget Carnahan.
Jax reminded me of Wayne a bit because he kept cracking jokes and grinning. He was an animal handler, meaning he could control animals and even heal a bit. Bridget, who everyone called Gigi, was a watcher and Jax's girlfriend.
Lucky bastard, I thought as I took in her blue-black hair that hung around her heart-shaped face in fat ringlets, those long lashes fringing her deep blue eyes, and don't get me started on her shapely body.
I may have been waiting on my mate, but I wasn't dead. I could appreciate a fine female, and she was definitely that.
Not as fine as Briar Tate, though, I smirked to myself. That girl can make me hard with just watching her walk across the cafeteria—
Back to business, horn dog, Darius growled. Hank's explaining that Gigi can bend time and space and teleport.
I brushed my wolf off. I knew it was important information and might come in handy later, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. In a way, I was just like Kerry Harker, balanced on a knife's edge and not sure if just letting myself fall on it wasn't the best idea...
"So what's the plan?" Grey asked Hank after the introductions were over, and that got my attention.
Finally!
"The shifters will come with me," Kerry answered before Hank could. "Last time I met with Bennie, she ordered some weres, so that's what I'm going to give her."
"You want to use us as bait?" Kon's grin was wicked. "Sweet! Then we can tear it up from the inside!"
"I'll take Jax and Gigi along, too. Everyone else will stay here to follow up on some leads and coordinate with our sub-teams. Except for you, witch." Kerry nodded at Poppy. "I want you along, but Bennie'll sense what you are."
"I can hide under a shield and shift into my fox form," Poppy told him.
"Why can Jax and Gigi go and not me and Rome?" The big female warrior crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.
"I need Jax with me. As for Gigi, Bennie's house is warded so no one can 'port in or out, but the outside isn't." Kerry turned to look at Gigi. "If we find the girl they're looking for, you get her back here."
"But Rome can shift and I can fight!" the warrior woman continued to argue.
"You're staying here, Mira. End of."
And damn if the power in Kerry's voice didn't send a shiver down my spine just like an alpha command!
"What are you going to do about Kon?" Gelo asked. "I think Bennie will sense he's not a wolf."
"Well, I need an apology for being so late on her order." Kerry's smirk said it all. "Poppy can magic up some fake chains on you, Kon, and you'll need to stay in your human form until we're inside, but that'll work in our favor, too."
"Damn right it will! Chime Karma will rip that bitch apart before she can blink!"
Suddenly, the shadows of the room seemed to gather around us and power rippled through the air, making my belly flip-flop.
"Bennie's mine." Kerry's blazing blue eyes stabbed into each one of us to make sure we understood. "Runa's all yours, but no one touches Bennie."
"We need information," Gelo reminded all of us.
"Don't kill either of them without getting some answers," Hank added. "You especially, Kerry."
"Why do you think I need Jax there?" he grouched with a frown, but withdrew his power, and I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until he did.
"So to get us inside, Poppy, Kon, Eli, and me will pretend to be your prisoners," Grey clarified, "while Jax and Gigi act as your assistants. That's the plan?"
"Yep. Something wrong with it?"
"He's just making sure he understands," I spoke up for Grey. I didn't tolerate anyone calling him out for needing something repeated.
"Grey, once we're inside, Kerry can neutralize Bennie while I do the same with Runa," Kon added. "We'll have to play the rest by ear, but maybe you can help Eli look for clues about Imogene."
"I hope there are some," Grey murmured, "or any evidence she existed."
"She existed," I snapped. "She fucking existed, Grey."
"Sorry! I didn't mean it like that—"
"I know." I scrubbed my hands over my face, feeling like shit for barking at him when he had volunteered for this trip just to help me. "I know you didn't."
"Alpha Wyatt said he sensed her in the pack bond." Gelo's hand came down on my shoulder. "She exists, Eli, present tense, and we're going to find her."
Last night, Alpha Wyatt had tried to find Imogene in the pack bond, but neither he nor any of the other alphas had ever met her, and none of us knew her wolf. With Poppy's help, Alpha Wyatt had used me to trace along as far as he could, and Mom and Dad were encouraged when he insisted he could sense her presence, just like his father, Alpha Shawn, could.
That's all he could find, though, and Rube suggested she was probably being hidden in some way, which Poppy agreed with.
Keep it together, Darius growled. Or at least don't lash out at your friends.
Yeah.
"Thanks, Gelo." I dropped my hands and gave him a curt nod, then turned to Grey. "Sorry, man."
"No worries. We're good." He even gave me a little smile, the Zen bastard.
"See that, Kerry?" Jax chirped. "That's how you apologize after ripping your bestie a new one."
"I never ripped you a new one," Kerry sneered.
"Dude! You almost killed me! Several times!"
"That wasn't ripping you a new one, but I can do that the next time you piss me off if you want." Kerry's grin was as wolfish as any shifter's I'd ever seen.
"You're missing the point!" Jax threw his hands up in the air.
"Okay, kids, you'd better get going so you're back before it gets dark." Hank made a shooing gesture at us. "That's when evil things come out to play, you know."
" 'Specially where we're going," Kerry muttered.
And that didn't sound ominous at all.
Anyone with any kind of sensitivity would have known we were standing outside a wicked witch's house.
Not only did it stink of evil and blood, but misery and pain clung to it like fog.
Kerry didn't hesitate to stride up the concrete walk, and Jax and Gigi shared a quick look before they prodded us "prisoners" forward. I was careful to keep my head down like the others, but shook my long bangs over my eyes so I could watch through them as Kerry knocked on the front door.
Before his hand fell back to his side, the door opened and a dark-haired woman poked her head around it.
"What are you doing here?" she sneered.
"You ordered some weres," Kerry answered with a shrug. "I'm bringing you some weres."
"I put in that order months ago," she scowled.
"Well, Bennie, I guess I can take 'em to the Market if you don't want 'em. Kasparian will give me a good deal for the lot."
"Oh, you know better! Come in!" Bennie opened the door wider and waved him forward. "And what is that thing you have wrapped in chains?"
"Druk. Little something special to make up for my ... tardiness."
"A druk?" Bennie gasped with wide eyes. "It is not!"
"Is, too, and," Kerry pointed to Poppy's fox curled up in Jax's arms, "is a fox shifter. Don't see many of them around anymore."
"Ooo! You spoil me!" The dark witch turned around so he could follow her down a narrow hallway, and the rest of us shuffled after them. "Where have you been, anyway? No one's seen you around for weeks and weeks."
"Never mind that. Where's Runa?"
"Right here," came a soft voice, and I glanced over to see her.
The woman from my nightmares.
The bitch who stole my light from me.
Oh, how I longed to shift and tear her throat out! But I'd waited all these years; I could wait a few more minutes.
"You're asking to see her?" Bennie chuckled. "That's a surprise, seeing as it took you days to recover last time. Got a taste for her kind of pain, did you, Harker?"
Kerry glanced at Jax over his shoulder, who was bringing up the rear, and Jax slammed the front door shut. Runa jumped a little at the loud bang! and Bennie's eyes skimmed over all of us to center on Jax.
While they were distracted, Kerry glanced at Poppy, who nodded and dissolved Kon's "chains" while Kerry grabbed Bennie by the throat and shoved her into the wall.
"Screw you," he hissed in her ear.
"Oh, darling, never for free." She smirked at him, but her hands wrapped around his wrist and tried to pull it away. "Are you flirting or starting a fight?"
He lifted her up, making her choke, and whammed her into the wall so hard, her eyes crossed.
"I am going to kill you," he enunciated each word very precisely. "Before I do, you will tell me every little thing I want to know."
"Go to Hell, Harker," she sputtered and gasped.
"Where do you think I came from, you twisted cunt?"
That jab made both Jax and Kon snicker, but I kept my eyes fixed on Runa. Kerry had warned us she would try to make a run for it and, sure enough, her beady brown eyes flicked toward the door, and I could almost see her mind weighing the chances of her making it before one of us could grab her.
There's probably a back door, too, Darius reminded me, and I flexed my fingers, ready to tackle her if she took off.
Which she did, but only after flinging a handful of razor-sharp flechettes at us.
Fortunately, Kon's reaction time was faster than any of us, and he exploded into motion. Chime Karma's huge body suddenly filled the whole hallway, and the flechettes plinked off his thick scales as he pounced on her.
Kon! I bellowed as they rolled into another room. Don't let him kill her! I need to find out what she did with my sister!
He's just playing with her. Kon had the nerve to shrug, and I nearly lost it right then and there.
Thankfully, my wolf was calmer and more level-headed than I was, and he helped me hold it together when all I wanted to do was rip into everyone around me.
I'll stay here with Kerry and the others so I can link information between our two groups, Grey said. I'll send Gigi in with the backpack of clothes so Poppy can shift.
Smart, I acknowledged, then strode over to where Chime Karma had Runa pinned to the floor under his front feet.
Glaring down at her, I wondered what had driven her on this path. From what Hank had been able to dig up on her, she'd had a promising career with the nephilim's Council of Elders. Why had she strayed to the dark side? Did Bennie have some kind of hold on her? Or did she just get a liking for pain and killing?
"You can hold her for us while we ask questions, right?" Poppy asked.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw she had shifted and dressed while I was lost in thought.
I can hold her indefinitely.
"Good." Poppy coated Runa in shimmery magic, then gave me a little nod. "Eli, I bound her with the truth, so she can't lie. Ask away."
Of course, there was only one answer I needed.
"Where's my sister?"
"I have no idea who your sister is," Runa sneered.
"She's the baby you kidnapped!"
"There have been a lot of babies over the years, boy. You need to be more specific than that."
"A she-wolf from a hospital near the Midnight Run pack almost eighteen years ago," I said through gritted teeth. "Black hair, black eyes. Obvious Asian heritage."
"Hmpf. All this fuss for that waste of space?" The bitch had the gall to roll her eyes at me, then called out, "Mutt!"
Seconds later, I heard feet running and thought my heart might burst out of my chest. Was this it? Was I finally going to meet my twin? Would she like me? What if she was scared of me? What if—
And then there she was.
Oh.
Oh, my.
My baby sister was so pretty.
She was short, of course. Thanks to Mom's Japanese genes, I myself was five foot ten, far below average for a male wolf shifter, so it was no surprise my twin would be small, looking to be about five foot two or three.
Perfect size for hugging and cuddling, I thought with an almost smile.
She was a little thinner than seemed healthy, but she was clean and I didn't see any bruises or cuts. Her skin was a bit too pale, probably because she wasn't allowed outside very much, but it was clear and satiny smooth. Her hair was long and shiny and as stick-straight as mine. And then there were her eyes. Her big eyes lit up green with her wolf...
Wait.
Lit up with her wolf?!
Why was her wolf running her body? And why were there sparks of madness in that green glow?
"Miss," she whispered as she bowed her head before Runa.
"Answer their questions if you can."
My sister's wolf looked up at me with nothing human in her gaze.
"What's your name?" I asked quietly.
Like all wolves, she should have known her name when she manifested in Imogene on our twelfth birthday.
Goddess, how I had wanted us to shift together that day! The second happiest day of a wolf shifter's life, and I'd mourned myself sick that my twin wasn't there to share it with me.
"Veery," came the quiet response to my question.
Why can't we feel Imogene? Darius demanded before I could.
"Who?"
Imogene. Your human half. Your girl.
"Im-o-gene?"
"Yeah. Imogene. My twin." I swallowed hard. "Runa stole her from me when we were tiny babies. I looked for my little sister my whole life, and now I've finally found her. Found you both."
"Im-o-gene." Veery looked like she was tasting the name before she nodded. "Pretty."
"What name did Runa and Bennie give her?" I asked, needing to know so I could make sure no one ever called her that again.
"Bennie say Wretch. Runa say Mutt."
Ever so slowly, I turned my head to Runa, and whatever she saw in my eyes made her flail around in Chime Karma's grip.
Do you know what's wrong with Imogene? Darius picked up as I glared at Runa. Why can't we link with her or feel her in the pack bond?
"Witch take. Witch hide."
"She separated you two?" Poppy gasped.
We all knew it was possible - it's what had happened to Reau and Tanner and to Beta Everett and Spring - and I couldn't imagine how painful it had been for my baby sister and her wolf to go through that.
And for what? How much dark magic did their pain pay for?
"Do you know where she hid Imogene?" I asked.
"With her." Veery nodded at Runa.
Lunging, I wrapped my fist around the neph's dirty blonde hair and pulled her head back to snarl in her face.
"Where is my sister, bitch?! Where did you hide her?!"
"Give me free passage from this place, and I'll tell you."
"I don't want you to tell me!" I hissed. "I want you to deliver her to me here and now!"
"Then tell this reptile to release me and guarantee I can leave this house."
"I know a demon can be trapped in a gemstone," Poppy said slowly, and I glanced over to see her eyes fixed on Runa's neck. "Wonder if one can also be used to store a soul?"
My gaze dropped to a large moonstone laying over Runa's heart. Was this pendant more than a pretty gem? Was it a prison for my baby sister?
With a howl, I ripped the necklace free, ignoring Runa's little grunt of pain, and tossed it to Poppy, who caught it by the chain and coated it with magic.
Seconds later, her head swung up and her blazing eyes burned into mine.
"She's in here. These cruel whores cut her from her wolf and stuffed her in here." Poppy moved to stand before Runa and delivered a wicked slap across the face. "For how long? How long ago did you trap this poor child in here?"
"When she was thirteen. She and her wolf tried to protect each other too much." Runa's little smile just bought her a more painful death. "It got in the way, so we dealt with the problem while testing out a new theory."
"Chime Karma, kill her good and slow," I growled. Releasing her hair, I took a step back to give him room to work. "Take all the time you want. Poppy even brought along a flask to store her Divine power so you can have a snack whenever you want it."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Runa cautioned, and I wasn't sure if it was an honest warning or a ploy for time so she could think of an escape. "The second you kill me, the protections I put on Veery will be gone, and you'll be left with a feral wolf. You'll have to put her down, and what will your sister think of you then?"
And I fell right in her trap.
I couldn't put Veery down or let anyone else do it. I wouldn't risk alienating my sister before I even truly met her.
"She'll think he gave her the mercy she deserved after a lifetime of torment from you," Poppy sneered. "In fact, Chime Karma, maybe we'd better leave her alive and let Imogene herself have a little fun. Might be therapeutic to slice off an ear or break a few bones."
Make up your minds, the dragon rumbled. Kill her. Don't kill her. Kill her. Don't kill her. I might as well pick petals off a flower to see which it will be!
"Oh, she's going to die," I said, "we're just debating on how soon."
Poppy, what can you do for Veery? Kon broke in. If a neph can put some kind of protection in place, surely you can, too.
"I can, but I think I should sedate her for now. Anything else needs to be done at the safehouse or back home. This place is so tainted and greasy with evil, it's making me sick."
"Chime Karma, will you be all right if Poppy and I leave?" I asked him.
Of course I will be! he sneered. I've battled and beaten two wendigo all on my lonesome. One little nephilim is a piece of cake. Hmm. Maybe she will even taste that way.
Runa really began to fight his hold when he licked his lips, and the dragon chuckled.
Don't struggle so much. You'll just die tired. Not to mention how stiff your muscles will be from all that adrenaline. Makes it tougher to chew.
Runa opened her mouth, most likely to scream, and Chime Karma covered her whole face with one paw.
Meanwhile, Poppy had gone over to Veery and was talking softly to my sister's wolf, and I caught a few words. It wasn't any language I recognized, and I figured Poppy was casting some kind of spell. None of us knew if Runa was telling the truth about Veery, but better safe than sorry.
Grey, where are you? I linked him.
Searching this place from top to bottom with Gigi while Jax ... monitors Kerry.
Is he done with that witch? Haven't heard her scream for a while.
Smashed her throat. Said the noise hurt his ears. Grey grimaced. He's skinning her, Eli, and reciting an evil thing she did to him with each slice. I can understand it, really I can, but I couldn't stomach it. Gigi was looking pretty green, too, so I volunteered us to search the house.
Yeah. I pinched my lips tight together. I wouldn't have been able to take that, either.
Shifters were more about killing 'em quick than making prey suffer. Even Quartz, Alpha Jay's brutal bastard, prided himself on how fast he could rip out a throat. There were some, though, like Beta Ty's wolf, River, who played with the victims first, tormenting them with a hope of survival, and that was a false hope if ever there was one.
Cutting my eyes over at Chime Karma, I wondered how much of a mess he was going to make.
Well, tell Gigi we need her to take us back to the safehouse. Poppy doesn't want to try anything with Imogene here. Says it's too grimy with evil.
You found her?! Grey squawked. You really found her?!
Yeah, I found her. I even smiled a little.
Now we just need to work on piecing her back together, Darius murmured, his eyes fixed on Veery. And that's going to take more than just reuniting her with her wolf.
I know, but whatever my sister needs, that's what she'll get. My jaw firmed as a new resolve formed inside me. Now that I found her, I'll never let her go, and Goddess help whoever tries to separate us again.
Imogene Ford
Blackness.
Blackness surrounded me.
I was lost in it and couldn't find my way out.
Then a tiny, tiny pinpoint of light appeared in front of me. Just an itty-bitty dot, but it shone so brightly in the darkness.
A few minutes later, I could feel my left hand. Something was rubbing it, gliding across the back of it over and over.
All at once, I was rushing toward the dot of light, faster than I'd ever run in my life, and my eyes nearly burst as sunshine filled my vision.
Just as suddenly, I could feel everything, and everything hurt. My body was sore all over, like the time Miss Runa pushed me down the stairs, and I was tired - no, exhausted! - but I had just woken up.
What's wrong with me?
Tears ran warm and wet down my cheeks, and I couldn't stop them.
"Imogene? Can you hear me? Don't cry, little sister. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. You're not alone anymore. You will never be alone again."
Who was that? I didn't recognize the voice. And who was he calling Imogene? Me? Was I Imogene? But Miss Bennie named me Wretch, and Miss Runa gave me the nickname Mutt.
I wish I was his Imogene, I thought groggily. His voice sounds lovely. So nice and warm.
"You are my Imogene," he laughed softly, just a breath of sound, really. "And thank you."
Oh. I'm not thinking. I'm talking out loud.
"Yes, you are. Could you please try to open your eyes for me?"
I wanted to. I wanted to see who was talking to me so gently and kindly. I wanted to open my eyes, so I did.
He was a lot older than me, maybe seventeen or eighteen, although I only had pictures from books and magazines to use for reference. The misses were the only people I'd ever met in my life. He had the same straight black hair that I did, and his black eyes were shaped just like mine.
Maybe he would know why! I thought with a little spurt of excitement. I've always wondered!
"Hi," the boy said. "Don't be afraid. I know you probably have so many questions, but I want you to know that you're in a safe place. No one here will hurt you."
"Where is here?" I whispered, scared one of the misses would hear me and punish me.
"This is a ... friend's house. You're not with Bennie or Runa anymore, and you never will see either of them again."
"Never?" This was too good to be true. Were the misses tormenting me again? They liked to play mind games like this.
"Never," the boy said. "I know you don't remember me, but I'm your big brother, Elijah. Everyone calls me Eli, and you can, too. You can call me whatever you want."
"Big brother? I have a big brother?" My mouth fell open.
"Two, actually. Our older brother, Reuben, is at home waiting for us with Mom and Dad."
"I ... I have a mom and dad, too?"
"Yep! And they're all so happy you're coming home. They can't wait to see you. In fact, Rube - our older brother, Reuben - wanted to charter a flight for all of them to come meet you. His mate convinced them to wait, though. He was afraid it might overwhelm you."
I didn't like this. If he was real and telling the truth, what had happened? Why did I have to grow up with the misses and not my family?
Worse, if he wasn't real and this was all a punishment Miss Bennie made up, I was going to be heartbroken.
If this is a dream, it's a very good one, I thought wistfully. I hope I have it again.
"It's not a dream." The boy shook his head and tightened his hold on my hand, making me aware I'd spoken my thoughts aloud again.
"Then why wasn't I with you? Why was I with the misses and not my brothers?"
"You were kidnapped, Momo. Runa stole you from me when you were just a few weeks old. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to find you. I looked for you my whole life."
"Momo?" My eyebrows pulled together as I stared at the boy.
"Mom and Dad named you Imogene while we were still in her tummy, and Rube said he was going to call you Momo."
"While we were still in her tummy?"
"We're twins. We were born a little early, so we were in the hospital for a while," he explained patiently. "I was born first, but was bigger and stronger, so I only had to be there for two weeks. You were there for more than a month. On the day we were supposed to take you home, Runa stole you from me."
I didn't know whether to believe him or not. I wanted to. I wanted so badly to be his sister and go home and meet my family, but the misses had said they bought me from my parents because they didn't want a weak, useless daughter.
I went to ask Veery what she thought, then remembered that the misses had stolen her from me. They'd taken my wolf, and I'd been helpless to stop them.
But I feel her. I frowned. I feel her inside me again. She's asleep. But they took her—
"Veery's there," Elijah said and gently moved my hand so that he could hold it between his warm palms. "We had to put her to sleep because she's ... very hurt, but she's there. Once luna helps her heal, Veery will wake up again."
I said that out loud, too? My eyes widened as I stared up at him.
"Yeah, Momo, you did." He grinned.
"I'm trying to understand all of this, but it's a lot for a thirteen-year-old!" I whined a little to test him.
If this was one of the misses' tricks, I'd know by his response. Either his face would morph into Miss Bennie's, or Miss Runa would dissolve the illusion and slap me silly.
"Oh." The boy's grin slid off his face and he started to blink really fast. "Little sister, you're not thirteen anymore. You're seventeen, like me. In fact, we'll be eighteen in a couple of months."
"No." I shook my head. "I kept track on the wall of my room. It's three days after my thirteenth birthday."
"I'm sorry, Momo," he whispered. "After Bennie and Runa separated you from Veery, they locked you away and you ... fell asleep for a long, long time. Years, little sister. I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you."
I stared into his deep, dark eyes, although I had no idea how to read everything that was swirling in them. One thing was convincing me that he was telling the truth, and that was Veery. The misses never would have returned her to me. They had planned to use her and her moon power until she was dead, then sell me to someone named Samuel Castle.
"Can I show you something?" The boy used his free hand to reach in his pants pocket and pulled out a phone.
I never had one or knew how to use it, but the misses did, and I'd seen pictures of them in the books and magazines they used to let me read whenever I didn't have chores.
He turned the phone's screen to face me and I read the date and time.
"See? It's been almost five years."
"You could be tricking me," I mumbled. "The misses liked to play that kind of game to make me think my mind wasn't working right."
"I'm sure your mind was working too well and their goal was to make you doubt yourself," the boy growled, then sighed. "What can I do to convince you? Oh, wait! Maybe this will!"
He fiddled with his phone, then showed me a photo of two little babies snuggled together and fast asleep.
"See? I'm this bigger one, and you're this tiny thing. Dad and Mom said I wouldn't stop fussing until they turned me on my side to let me cuddle you like that." He turned his eyes from his phone to stare at me. "I wish I could have kept you safe. Kept you with me. I've missed you all these years, but I finally kept my promise and found you."
Somewhere deep inside me, I realized I'd missed him, too. From the moment I met his eyes and wondered how I knew him, I'd been ignoring what was happening inside me. There was a bond in my heart, one that had always been there, but now it glowed stronger than ever.
The photo hadn't convinced me, but it made me want this to all be true. It made me want it so badly, I decided to be brave and open the bond between us - and it was real!
It was real.
It wasn't something I was imagining. It wasn't one of Miss Runa's tricks to punish me. It wasn't a hallucination brought on by one of Miss Bennie's poisons.
A bond really did connect me to this boy!
No, not this boy, I corrected myself. Elijah. Eli. My big brother. My twin.
With a quiet whimper, I held out my arms, and he didn't waste any time scooping me into his lap and squeezing the life out of me. He tucked his face in my throat and his harsh sobs shook us both.
"I've dreamed of hugging you for so long," he wept, his tears mingling with mine. "I love you. Momo. I love you, little sister."
"My big brother," I whispered. "I'm so happy I have you."
"And you will forever, my light. My promise to the Goddess."