In the silvery waterfall of moonlight, Jonathan Aztec, my second in command, holding rank as Beta of the Northridge pack, was something to behold. His powerful shoulders seemed to carry the waning gibbous, and the shadows that devoured the vast grounds of Battleridge manor granted him a wide berth.
He was a superior specimen. He was a male worthy of the ranking he'd been bestowed. But like all creatures, he wasn't born perfect, and his character flaw was a fault that bled out into the night like a severed artery: Concern.
It charged the air between us, a thick blanket that settled against the lungs like a boa-constrictor's loving embrace.
"What did you find?" I asked. The perverse silence that had entombed the dilapidated courtyard, screaming so loud it rang through my ears like a twisted lullaby, was shattered upon his approach. His boots smacked against the waterlogged ground, echoing in a way that spoke of his failures before he'd even opened his mouth. 
"Nothing,"
.......
"Until I can figure out what's going on, nobody finds out about the boy. Understand?"
"Understood."
"You're not going to ..." The pause that followed dragged out. "He's just a baby, Sterling."
"You're dismissed."

The Littlest Light

I was going to drop Clarke off at home. He lived in the village and if I had taken the right route then I would have passed it on the way to my own home. But something stopped me. Jonathan- as much as I hated to admit it- held a valid point. Clarke was young enough and impressionable enough that his loyalty was mine if I played it right.

/"Whatever you see,/" I warned him as we pulled up in front of BattleRidge. /"No matter how strange, you keep to your fucking self. Got it?/"

An eager nod moved the young man's head. I got out. Clarke seemed to fall out, scrambling to his feet as he tried to match my pace.

The house was not how I had left it. When I opened the front door, I had to squeeze through a tiny gap as it wouldn't open all the way. Tall cardboard boxes blocked the way.

/"Great./" Jonathan's head popped up from behind one of the boxes. /"You're back. I need a hand with all this./"

Chapter24