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

There was an art to insanity: as though I were but a kite in the wind, no solid ground beneath me, and only a thin, questionable tether anchoring me to reality, everything came and went in a blur.

It was peaceful, a place where no worries managed to reach. It was drifting through time with only the faintest recollection of memories, snippets from the past, but they all seemed out of order, and so far away that worry wasn't even an entertained thought.

It would have been perfect if not for the nagging sense of urgency that ate away at the back of consciousness, demanding my attention like a fed-up wife.

It would have been fine if not for the strangest feeling that something was drastically wrong.

Chapter125