Chapter 26 Uncontrolled
Uncontrolled
Lucien was gone.
After I left the room and made coffee, he came out, fully clothed, and said, “The full moon is tonight. I have a lot of work to do in preparation. Ana?s should come here later to give you a full rundown of what to expect.”
He said all this without looking at me and was out the door before I could open my mouth to ask him a question. A moment later, I heard the Rolls-Royce engine come to life, and then he was gone.
And I felt like absolute shit, because in all my self-centeredness, I’d forgotten tonight was the full moon. And after seeing Kate yesterday, I had an idea as to what Lucien had to prepare for, as the Alpha of his pack. He was probably worried sick about having another Wildlight case.
Yet here I was, stuck in my own head and selfishly taking it out on him.
With the day off to such a great start, I wasn’t prepared for Thayer to come out of the guest room he was staying in looking like he’d had the best sleep of his life.
“Good morning, sister,” he said with a small smile when he saw me, before that smile faltered at my irritated expression. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled, glaring at my coffee cup.
He murmured something unintelligible before he grabbed a cup of coffee himself and came to sit next to me. “Does it have anything to do with”—he started in a soft whisper, looking pointedly at the corridor—“him?”
I scowled and sipped my coffee without a reply.
Thayer sighed and leaned back against the sofa. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he said quietly, and I turned to look at him. His gray eyes were piercing, as if he could read my mind. “But know that I’m here for you.”
There was a deeper meaning to his words, I could tell. It was like he was apologizing again for not being there for me when I needed him the most. Like he wanted to make up for it.
And that made my throat constrict and my chest squeeze. “Thank you.”
For a few minutes, we drank in silence—until the cabin door opened and Anais walked in.
She gave me a nod before her eyes snapped to Thayer and narrowed. “Good. You’re both here.”
Thayer seemed tense all of a sudden, narrowing his eyes in the same manner. “What is it?” he asked, voice lower than before.
Anais sat down on the couch across from our sofa and glanced between us with a little furrow between her brows. “You have the same nose.”
Both Thayer and I snorted at the same time at her comment and immediately looked at one another with a frown. We did have the same pointy nose. Though why Anais felt the need to remark on that, I had no idea.
Thayer’s gaze returned to her, and as if he couldn’t help himself, he sipped his coffee and smirked. “Get to the point, Ana,” he drawled in a taunting manner that made me, not for the first time, question what the hell his problem was with her—and vice versa.
Because she snarled back, “I told you not to call me that, Colter.”
Looking far too smug for his own good, Thayer said, “We don’t have all day, you know.”
Anais seemed ready to kill my brother as she growled deep in her chest, her hands clenched in fists.
But then she took a deep breath, and another, before she relaxed and folded her arms. “Tonight is the full moon,” she said flatly.
“We werewolves are stripped of our humanity for the entire night, and so we shift into our wolf form before the night comes. Once the full moon rises, we don’t have anything remotely close to a human thought for a few hours.
“That means you two must stay in this cabin.” She gave us a serious look bordering on a warning glare. “If we smell humans in our vicinity when we are mindless animals, we will kill you.”
Thayer sighed and gave her a lazy look. “Is that all?”
Anais seemed more than ready to kill my brother now. “You are not allowed to leave the cabin starting at five o’clock.” She paused, then shot a saccharine-sweet smile to Thayer. “Though you are more than welcome to try your luck.”
My brother’s corresponding grin was just as venomous. “I bet I can take a little she-wolf, Ana.”
Her eyes flashed, and she leaned forward, baring her teeth. “Try it.”
“Stop it,” I scolded my brother, who was about to come up with another clever retort, I could tell.
Rolling his eyes, Thayer downed the rest of his coffee and put the cup on the table. “Anything else?” he said, arching a brow at Anais.
She jumped to her feet with one more glare at Thayer. “That’s all.”
But she didn’t leave. In fact, I could see her shift from foot to foot, keeping her glare on Thayer as if she didn’t want to show him her hesitation, despite it being clear.
And my brother, the asshat, didn’t miss the opportunity to needle her. “You want my help again at the Ward, don’t you?” he said in a low, intimate murmur that made me cringe and Anais’s glower intensify.
Yet Thayer’s gaze was suddenly hooded, his lips curled into a flirty smile, and I felt a little ill. There were some things a sister should not see her brother do. Especially a brother who’d never behaved so recklessly and wildly before.
Anais growled again, and she said in a spiteful tone, “Enoch asked for you.”
Thayer chuckled as he rose to his feet. “That’s an obvious lie,” he drawled, smirking, as he walked toward her, towering over her by more than a head, and stopped just an inch away from her.
Her body was rigid, her arms folded tightly, and her head tilted back as she continued to growl.
But Thayer didn’t seem to care; instead, his gray eyes were alight with some sort of mischief when he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.
I could see her eyes widen, a splash of color marring her cheeks, before he stepped back, grinned devilishly down at her, and gave her a mock bow. “Your favorite human, at your service.”
Her growl was so loud now, it practically vibrated through her body to the parquet floor. “Go fuck yourself,” she bit out, glaring daggers at my brother.
He winked at her, making me gag, before he turned around and walked out the door.
She started to follow him out but paused and turned to look at me. “I hate your brother,” she informed me, as if I hadn’t noticed. “I sure hope you are nothing like him.”
I couldn’t help but snort at the mere thought of being anything like Thayer. “Don’t worry,” I told her, finishing my own coffee. “Thayer is one of a kind.”
That seemed to aggravate her even more, and she sputtered a curse before she left, slamming the door shut behind her.
With the rough morning I’d had, I felt the need to take a long, warm bath to cleanse myself.
For a few minutes after I wiped myself dry and put on a fresh pair of jeans and a simple black V-neck tee, I truly felt cleansed.
I had let my mind roam aimlessly when I lay in the bathtub, and changed its direction when it tried to bring up all the thoughts I was desperate to put at the back of my head for now.
Once I was dressed, with my hair blown dry and my teeth brushed, I made myself a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich before I grabbed my laptop and settled down on the sofa.
I had neglected my job, and everything else, really, due to everything that had happened in the last week. But now that I had some time for myself, I needed to get back to things. Perhaps write a new column for the magazine.
However, my hopes were crushed the moment I saw an official email from Andra, my editor and boss at The Hallowing Hour. It read:
Dear Drew Colter,
This letter serves as formal notice that your position as a columnist with The Hallowing Hour is terminated effective immediately.
As you are aware, the magazine’s operations rely on a small group of key sponsors.
Recently, these sponsors have expressed concern regarding the direction and tone of your published columns.
Despite internal discussions and our attempts to mediate in the past few days, the pressure placed upon us has become untenable.
While the official reasoning provided to us speaks only of “brand alignment” and “public positioning,” it has been made clear—both directly and indirectly—that continuing your employment would place the magazine at risk in ways not fully disclosed to us.
Certain decisions arrive from levels to which we are not privy, and we have been instructed to comply accordingly.
We want to emphasize that this outcome does not reflect the quality of your work or your dedication to the publication. We appreciate your contributions and regret that circumstances beyond the editorial team’s control have forced this conclusion.
Your final paycheck, including any outstanding compensation owed to you, will be processed immediately. Please return any company materials in your possession at your earliest convenience.
We wish you the best in your future endeavors and sincerely hope you find a platform where your voice can continue to be heard without interference.
Sincerely,
Andra M. Stewart,
Editor
The Hallowing Hour
My heart fell as the blood rushed out of my face.
The job I’d had since I turned eighteen was now gone.
I was fired.
Lips trembling, I slowly closed the laptop and pushed it away from me.
The Hallowing Hour had been my everything, the center of my world, for so long.
It had been more than a mere paycheck for me; it was my only hope of one day reaching the supernatural world and having resources and backing to research what happened to my sisters.
But now . . .
It was gone.
Sure, the supernatural world had found me instead when Lucien appeared at my door, yet the only constant in my life—the only thing that stayed firm, consistent, and always there for me, the magazine—was now gone.
The timing seemed odd, and the wording of the termination letter made me think this couldn’t have been a coincidence.
Never before had Andra said anything about firing me.
Hell, for the last seven years I’d been there, The Hallowing Hour had never fired anyone; if anything, people quit on their own.
The magazine couldn’t really afford to let go of employees.