Blood Moon Harvest (Seasons of the Moon) by SM Reine Read Free Book Online

Seth’s bag.
    Abel’s belongings were still in the trunk from the last time he used the car. She stared at his backpack and felt pained, but she wasn’t sure why.
    She wandered down to the moving trucks and watched from a few yards away. Abel, Bekah, and Vanthe were doing the bulk of the work under Gwyn’s supervision.
    Rylie thumbed the moonstone ring as she studied Abel. He was talking to Vanthe and laughing over something. He looked so different when he smiled. More like his brother.
    He caught her staring and hesitated halfway into the truck with another box.
    Something had definitely changed between them.
    “Hey, Rylie!” Bekah called, waving a hand over her head. “Come help us!”
    “Sorry, I’m busy,” she yelled back.
    And then she retreated to the house like the big coward she was.
    Rylie poured a cup of Gwyn’s extra foul black coffee, sat at the kitchen island, and stared at the steam swirling off of the surface.
    One more moon before she parted ways with the pack. Another morning waking up with Abel instead of Seth.
    “I’m not changing tonight,” she whispered into her mug. “I’m going to stay human this time.”
    The front door opened and shut. Abel clomped into the kitchen, wearing heavy work boots that sounded like a sledgehammer blow on every step. “Where’s your box?” he asked, wiping dirt off his hands onto his jeans.
    It was the first time they had spoken directly to each other in weeks. She longed to press herself against him and drink in all of his smells, but she stayed firmly planted on the barstool.
    “My box?”
    “The stuff you’re taking to California,” he said.
    “I’m not going to California. I’m going to help Seth hunt Cain.”
    Abel stared at her. She sipped her coffee.
    After a moment, he left the kitchen without saying a single word.
    Rylie didn’t spend the last full moon outside with the pack. She remained inside the house instead.
    She stared in challenge at the moon through the window. She could feel its silvery rays prickling in her skin and making her gums itch, but she pushed it away.
    You don’t own me .
    Outside, the pack transformed one by one. Rylie exerted her control over them from a distance, suppressing their pain and making everyone shift smoothly.
    Howls broke the night, echoing around the house.
    She thought she heard Abel’s lonely cry rising above the rest.
    Seth was helping the Union patrol the perimeter, which left her alone in the house all night. But she couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep through the long hours. Her muscles hurt like she had the flu. Her stomach cramped. Her fingertips ached.
    But she didn’t change.
    The sun rose. The pack changed back.
    And everyone prepared to leave the sanctuary.

E IGHT
    Battlefield
    They left in waves. First, Bekah and Levi went to the airport with Scott, and then half of the pack departed with a Union escort. By the time night came around again, everyone that remained was preparing to leave. They loaded the RV outside, leaving the house silent.
    But Abel was in his bedroom, door closed. He hadn’t come out all day.
    Rylie paced in front of his door. She kept replaying the moment that Seth kneeled in front of her with the ring, and the stunned look on Abel’s face before Pagan fired and all hell broke loose. And she thought about how he looked when she told him that she was leaving.
    She raised her hand to knock, and then dropped it. She paced down the hall. Bit her thumbnail. Paced back to his door.
    What was she going to do after she knocked? She didn’t have a plan. She had no clue what to say.
    Rylie didn’t really want to apologize for leaving anyway. She wanted to apologize for being in love with his brother.
    She stared at his door like her gaze could make it catch fire.
    Before she could come to a decision, it opened.
    Abel stood on the other side. He was shirtless, and his shoulders glistened. It looked like he had been pummeling his punching bag again.
    He looked at her.