The Summer Moon
Chapter 97 -

Malia

Run. Run. Run. The word repeated over and over again in my mind and my legs burned beneath me as I pushed myself to move faster with each step. Ty was coming for me, but I had to give him time to get here. I had to get away. I weaved my way through the trees, hoping it would slow down the wolves behind me. I couldn't look back though, I had to keep moving forwards.

"Malia get ready to hold on," Ty's voice came into my mind, soothing me the way it always had. But hold on to what? I looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of his plan but there was nothing in sight. Then, suddenly, my legs were lifted off the ground, a wolf coming between them and I was lifted on to his back. My hands desperately grasped the black fur to stop myself from falling as he continued to run through the trees, slowing down for hardly even a moment as we took off further into the forest. Ty.

My heart thudded against my chest, electricity rushing through me as I knotted my hands into his fur and leaned into him. His heart beat rang strong in my ear as I pressed it against his back. The tears that came in a steady stream down my cheeks were washed away by the rain pouring from the open sky above us.

Taking my chance now I turned back, looking for whatever I had been running from. Three large wolves chased us and I immediately recognized the brown one that had chased me through Ty's parents house as their leader. The gap between us was growing as Ty pushed faster, weaving his way through the trees with ease. I tightened my grip in his fur, glancing back once more to notice the wolves behind us now completely disappeared from my sight. Ty was fast. "Not that fast, they must've sensed the warriors up ahead and stopped," Ty's voice came into my mind and a rush of love came over me. For him, for our pack, for this storm, for my safety, and again for him. I leaned down, resting my body against his fur as he slowed down, my arms coming around his neck now. The sky above us began to clear, the rain drops scowling down as the sunlight peaked through beneath the clouds. Then voices were filling my head. "Luna welcome home!"

"We're so happy you're safe Luna!"

"Luna are you okay?"

I couldn't stop the giggle that came from my lips as I leaned into Ty, feeling his heart melting along with mine as he heard them as well. I smiled back at all the wolves we passed as Ty continued through the field. Then up ahead I could see where Ty was taking me, home. Our home, the only place I wanted to be right now.

When Ty came to a stop in our backyard, his wolf sat down and I slid with ease from his back. Ty shifted back and I was in his strong arms in an instant, happily crushed into his chest. "You're safe Lia, you're safe now," his hands found either side of my face as his eyes searched mine, and I couldn't tell if he was comforting me or reminding himself. His own heart a tangled mess of fear and sadness from the events that had just passed, aching just as much as my own. "I'm here," he whispered the only words I ever needed to hear. His lips brushed my cheeks, kissing away the tears and I tangled my arms tighter around his torso, unwilling to let go anytime soon.

"Are you okay? What happened? Did they hurt you?" Questions spilled from Ty's lips uncontrollably. The panic vivid in his eyes as he pulled back slightly but I only held him tighter. He wasn't going anywhere right now. I closed my eyes and rest my forehead against his chest, remembering the events so clearly. Being chased through his parents house. Waking up in the strange room. The threatening voices. My mom. The tree, and finally running through the storm hoping to replace him.

Ty's mind began to spin, taking it all in. His body tensed and when I looked back up at him his eyes were squeezed shut as if he were thinking about something painful. "Jordan," he whispered, opening his eyes. I looked up at him confused, then the images flashing through his mind made me quickly realize what he meant. The man who's smile reminded me of Ty was his lost brother Jordan. Which could only mean one thing, Jordan had faked his own death and now was out to get his brother. This left a thousand more questions in our minds, pondering what exactly was Jordan's purpose in this. The pack already was his, so why would he be out to steal it from Ty now? Why would he have left in the first place? "We need to talk to my parents. My meeting with Winston didn't exactly go as planned, turns out my dad knows a lot more than he's been telling me," Ty said while sharing his memories of the meeting in his thoughts.

"You mean the attack on Jordan was a set up?" I gasped. There were definitely a lot of unanswered questions for Ty's dad, a lot of things he needed to explain before this war that had started between Ty and Jordan continued. And something told me that after what had happened today, Jordan's plans had been derailed but a new battle would be starting soon.

"Come on, we need to get going," Ty said, obviously thinking the same thing. Taking my hand in his he led us forwards through the house, grabbing his keys off the front table. Together we walked out to the driveway but my nerves were going crazy.

"Should I bring some extra protection of something? Considering your mom's apparently in town and I don't feel like getting stabbed again," Ty laughed, lightening the mood. I had been wondering the same as him, was my mom here as a friend or an enemy? And what happened to her during the storm? My mind drifted to what she said about my grandmother once more. My mom always said my grandmother was crazy, she never approved of anything she said. Although my grandma kind of was crazy, she always told me she was psychic and had some pretty wild stories.

"Oh my god Lia your grandmother," Ty suddenly froze in his tracks, my hand jolting as I stepped in front of him. I looked back at him confused as we stood in the middle of the driveway, Ty's eyes wide as they met mine. "Fuck you're going to kill me,” he shook his head but a small grin played on his lips. "I forgot to tell you something, something really big," and in his mind images of my grandmother's eyes flashed. The words magic and witch tangling in the memories and my eyes went wide. Ty thinks my grandmother is a witch, and after seeing the storm today he thinks I'm one too.

"Ty no! I'm just getting used to my life as a freaking werewolf!" I yelled ripping my hand from his, but I instantly missed his touch. This couldn't be possible. I started this summer as a human, and now I'm supposed to believe that not only am I a werewolf but I'm also part witch.

"I'm so sorry. Honestly there's been so much going on and we've been so busy I completely forgot about it. It was just the slightest thought though, I thought I might have seen something in her eyes for maybe a second, but I'd never seen any signs in you. Not that I would even know what to look for because witches are so rare Lia," Ty rambled off while he reached out for me, but I crossed my arms across my chest closing myself off to him. I wasn't mad though, maybe I should be, but I wasn't. A lot had been going on, and I knew Ty would never purposefully hide something from me if it were this important. His gaze softened on mine but my frustration continued, this life was so much more than I had ever expected. "Ahh!" I leaned back and screamed into the air, feeling frustrated. Then as if perfectly timed a raindrop hit my forehead and I looked up to see the dark clouds coming in impossibly fast. As i turned my gaze back to Ty, his hair was slick to his forehead once more from the rain pouring down on us. The once dry shirt he had pulled on now clung to his chest and I watched in wonder as he began to laugh.

"Seriously?" He looked at me with the goofiest grin on his face and I had to laugh at him. "I love you," he whispered, reaching out once more and pulling me into his arms. His lips pressed against mine, and as he pulled back I faked a scowl at him.

"I love you too I guess, but not right now," I said back, but we both knew I was lying. I would always love him, even when he did stupid things. Taking his hand in mine I led us forwards once more out towards the driveway. We needed to move quickly and get this drama with Jordan over with.