Page 132 of The Howl
“Adira.”
I shrugged.
“She doesn’t ever work alone.”
Mom took my hand in hers.
“We’ll skip New York tonight and wait a few days until you’re ready,” she said.
“A few days won’t change how I feel, Mom. I know how to feed, or are you forgetting the month I spent with you on our way here? Why do you think I wanted to stay here alone with the Quills so badly? I don’t like your version of feeding. I was fine before you came here.”
“You weren’t fine, sweetie. You were dying.”
“But I’m not anymore, right?”
“It’s hard to say. Yes, you seem a little better, but for how long when you’re refusing to eat?”
“I’m not refusing to eat. I am forbidden from eating my way.”
“All right then. I propose we meet in the middle. You continue to feed your way, but you give me a chance to show you that my way isn’t as evil as you think it is.”
I thought of feeding off of Mrs. Quill and knew I couldn’t go back to that. But Fenris had brought up a good point. There had to be others.
“Okay,” I said.
She kissed my cheek and left me alone, feeling like I’d just made a deal with the devil.
Chapter Twenty
The ringingof my phone interrupted my favorite dream. With a fair amount of longing, I watched my cakes disappear from existence before I opened my eyes.
Burrowing deeper under my covers, I stretched out a hand to snatch my phone and pull it into my warm cocoon with me.
“Hey, Megan,” I answered sleepily after a glance at the number.
“Hey. Sorry I didn’t call sooner. It’s been crazy.”
“I heard,” I said with a smile. “You ruffled some feathers with your Oanen-is-mine speech.”
“Good. They need to stop toying with people.”
“Agreed.”
“Good news, though. Oanen and I are heading back to Uttira today. Well, as soon as we find his car,” she said.
I sat up in bed.
“Um, you might want to rethink that.”
“What? Finding his car?”
“No. Coming back to Uttira.” It hurt saying the words, but it was the only safe way I could think of for both of us. At least until Ashlyn was found.
“Don’t you love me anymore?” Her playful words didn’t completely hide the subtle hurt in her tone, and my heart ached for us both.
“Like crazy. And that’s why I want you to go somewhere else for a while. Somewhere romantic and amazing where you and Oanen can do all the new couple things you’re probably already doing. When you get it out of your system, you can come back.”
She was quiet for a moment.
