The Moon Phase Trilogy | Protected
Twenty-Eight

Ericka and the others searched for Shaun, but couldn’t find a trace of her. It was as if her scent was gone, or masked by something. Ericka clenched her fists and screamed, falling to her knees and slamming her fists on the soft ground. “Damn it! Where the hell is she?” her voice quivered as her head stared at the earth beneath her. She felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. Her hand reached for it, her fingers tracing theirs and her palm landing on the top of theirs. “This just isn’t fair. It’s me they want...isn’t it? Why is he going after everyone else that I cherish and love?” her voice broke and she looked up, her blue eyes glossed over with tears. She saw Jayden’s face staring at hers, his eyes filled with worry.

“I know, Ricky. I don’t understand why they are going after the ones you love. It doesn’t make any sense,” Jayden commented with a heavy sigh.

Grant cleared his throat, “Uncle Zandyr wants to get you away from your Protectors to make you weak,” he answered bluntly.

Ericka’s eyes shifted to Grant, “My Protectors? I didn’t know I had any.”

Grant gave a sharp nod and turned to Ruby and Skull who were just casually chatting in the background. “Ruby, do you want to explain the ranks of your species, or shall I?”

Ruby raised her brows, “I guess I should...since I am all knowing...” she shrugged with a chuckle. “Alright, so the highest ranking of our species is a Patron. I am considered the Patron of Wisdom. Next in line is the Adapters. That is what you are, Ericka. Next is Protectors. Jayden and Shaun are known as Protectors. After that are Chasers. Asher is a Chaser. And last but not least are the Lost Souls. Skull, that is what you are.”

“What am I considered as then, Ruby?” Grant questioned, as he scratched the back of his head.

Ruby rubbed her head, her brows furrowed, “Um...Grant, that is a great question. I would have to look at the Ancient Library of Wolves and see what I can find.” Grant nodded.

“Where is this library?” Skull asked softly.

“It’s west of us. Why do you ask?”

“Just seeing if we could make it in a day or something. I would really enjoy seeing a library all about wolves and werewolves,” Skull mentioned. “Maybe I can somehow get my memory back.”

Jayden tilted his head, “That actually sounds like a good idea, Skull.” He turned his attention towards Ruby, “How long do you think it will take you two to get there and back?”

“I would say a week at least, maybe two. Two days to get there, ten days to do research, and two days to get back. Hopefully, I can find the book I need for myself anyway. The ‘Big Book of Wisdom’.” Ruby chuckled.

“That’s not very unique. All of these amazing things and then that book name is just so plain.” Grant commented.

Ericka stood up, “Wait, so you two are just gonna leave us? Ruby, you have a better sense than any of us around here.” She brushed herself off, looking at Jayden and Grant. “You two can’t seriously be okay with them leaving for two weeks. What if someone gets hurt? We would have no healers!”

“Ah, but I have a solution for that! My healer from my family’s pack would help out while Skull and I were gone. He is the best healer I know, besides my mother.” Ruby mentioned.

“I wouldn’t say I’m the best healer you know, Alpha.” Someone mentioned. Ericka’s attention went to the tall, handsome young man leaning against a tree behind them.

Skull gulped and grew weak at the knees, “H--Hi there...” she squeaked.

Jayden raised his brows, “How did you know I was going to say to leave, Ruby?”

“I didn’t. Gaelan is always worried about me, so he follows me. He’s my own healing stalker,” Ruby laughed.

“Hey, I just want to be sure my Alpha is safe. Boston would kill me if you got hurt,” Gaelan commented. He ran his dark colored hand through his messy dark hair with a smirk, “Gaelan Chiron at your service.”

“You can check me out whenever,” Skull whispered a little too loud. She threw her hands to her face and the others chuckled at how cute she was being.

Ericka looked Gaelan up and down, “What’s your specialty, Gaelan? You seem overly strong for just some healer.”

The new healer scratched the back of his head, “Well, I was in the war with a fellow pack member a while back. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t be with us right now. I am a medic. I have to be advanced in everything I do.” His tone changed to a serious one.

The others looked clueless about what he was speaking of. Gaelan sighed and looked to Ruby for some help with explaining. “The war between vampires and werewolves happened centuries ago. Seriously, none of you knew this?”

Ericka shook her head, “I just found out I’m a werewolf like a few months ago, so I sure as hell didn’t know about it.”

Jayden lowered his head, “I should have, but my parents never mentioned anything of it to my brother or I. So I’m just as clueless as everyone else.”

Ruby sighed, looking to Grant, “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not sure what happened in that war centuries ago. All I know is that both species are basically immortal.” Grant replied with his hands up in defense.

Gaelan gave a sharp nod, “Indeed we are. One reason why I’m still here and not six feet under. Werewolves and Vampires have always aged slower than a normal human. I am unsure about the Witches that were a part of that war though. Most don’t age as slowly as we do, since they’re mostly human with magic powers.” He wiggled his fingers showing slight sarcasm.

“So, how old does that make you?” Skull squeaked.

Gaelan chuckled, “I am one hundred and twenty-five. I just look like I’m only twenty-five.”

Skull’s cheeks flushed and Ruby raised her brows, “You alright over there?” Skull nodded and stayed hidden behind Ruby.

Ericka’s jaw just dropped, “Damn! When did you stop aging so quickly?”

Jayden’s palm went to his head instantly and Grant snickered. Gaelan turned to Ericka, “I started to age slower by twenty. That is when most werewolves are trained for war, just in case anything happens again.”

Ericka was going to reply, but she heard something nearby. Her heart raced, hopeful it was her best friend. Unfortunately, it was just a jackrabbit. Her heart sank and she frowned. “Ricky, I’m sure she’s okay. We’ll find her.” Jayden reassured his mate. Ericka just nodded.

“Who’s missing?” Gaelan asked.

“Our friend Shaun. She is one of Ericka’s Protectors, like I am. We can’t seem to catch her scent and footprints are out of the question, since they were brushed away. Zandyr thought ahead.” Jayden whimpered and growled.

Gaelan raised his brows towards Ruby, “Alpha, don’t you have your ravens to help you?”

Ruby nodded, “They’re up in that tree.” She pointed to the oak tree nearby, “They just haven’t done much tracking since we left.” She admitted. Ruby whistled and the two ravens, one white and the other black, flew down from the tree and perched on opposite shoulders.

“So, are you taking them with you when you leave west for the library?” Ericka asked.

Ruby shook her head, “They will stay with you. They don’t listen to many that aren’t me, but they will listen to the few that I trust from my family’s pack. Gaelan being one of them.” Gaelan grinned.

Ericka nodded, “Okay. Do you think they’ll be able to help fund Shaun?” She asked, hopeful.

Ruby and Gaelan nodded in unison. “They should.” Ruby looked to Skull, “If we want to be there by Sunday, we should leave now. You can ride on Gemstone. She is a better long distance traveler than I am.” Ruby chuckled. She turned to Gaelan, “Please take good care of them. They are a part of the pack now.”

Gaelan saluted, “Yes, Alpha. I will make sure they stay safe and help them with their search.”

Ruby gave a sharp nod and turned to the others, “You are in good hands. If either of you need to get a hold of me, just send either raven. They will know how to find me. The white raven is not urgent. The black raven is urgent. If you forget, the ravens will remind you.

“Please stay safe. Skull and I will be back in fourteen days with some answers. If things become longer, you will be told by a different raven than my own.”

Ericka sniffled, “Both of you stay safe, okay?”

“We will,” Skull answered with a small smile. She went in for a hug with Ericka and Ericka squeezed her so tight she almost popped. “I...can’t...breathe...”

Ericka let up, not realizing how tight her grip was, “Sorry...”

“It’s okay. Just don’t squeeze so tight when we see each other again.” Skull giggled.

Ericka nodded and Jayden smiled, “No hug for me?” Jayden commented with his arms open. Skull looked down shyly as she walked over to him. She leaned into Jayden, not wrapping her arms around his body at all. Jayden gave her a strange look while wrapping his arms around her. “Well this certainly isn’t the hug I was looking forward to.” Jayden frowned.

“It’s a Skull hug.” Skull choked. Jayden squeezed her a little tighter.

“I’m only a raven away, we all are. And you’ll be in the best hands.”

“I know...I just wish I remembered everything...”

“I’ll make sure you get your memory back when we are at the library. Promise.” Ruby smiled and held her hand out. “Come on, before it gets any later.”

Skull peeled herself from Jayden’s body with tears in her eyes. Jayden’s heart broke. It was like watching a young child being torn away from their father. Ericka looked straight at her and started to cry again. Skull took Ruby’s hand, as she brushed her tears away with her free hand.

Ruby shifted to Gemstone and grew to a size where Skull could ride her for most of the trip. ‘See you in two weeks, my children.’ Gemstone linked.

“Bye!” Ericka sobbed and Jayden waved. Grant half waved. Gemstone howled and left.

Gaelan howled in return and turned to the others, “Now what are we going to do?”

“Keep searching for Shaun,” Grant commented in a low tone.

Ericka frantically nodded and wiped her tears away, “We can’t seem to find her scent. It’s like it’s been covered up or something.”

Gaelan nodded and inhaled, “I smell witch blood nearby.” He growled. He felt his wolf instantly want to take over. He let him so easily. Ericka and the others just watched in awe.

Gaelan was replaced with a scrappy looking black and dark grey wolf. He looked like he went through hell and back. He turned to face the others and his left eye was hazed over. “You look like hell.” Grant bluntly commented.

‘I should. I went through it and came back a few centuries ago. Names Cerberus.’

“Nice to meet you,” Jayden lowered his head in respect. Ericka’s eyes went to her feet and she didn’t say a word. “You’re a war vet right?”

‘Yes.’ Cerberus took a few steps forward and inhaled deeply. ‘Come with me.’

“Well, he seems friendly...” Grant whispered.

‘I heard that. I may have gotten an ear partially bitten off, but my hearing is still as good as ever.’ Cerberus snarled.

“Y--yes sir.” Grant grew uneasy with the new wolves attitude.

Jayden snickered and Cerberus growled, ‘Am I going to have to treat you three like privates?’

“No sir,” the boys replied in unison. Ericka just shook her head and followed quietly.

Jayden looked over to his mate and snuck his hand into hers, “You okay?” He whispered.

“Yeah, Cerberus just looks frightening. I have never seen a wolf like that.” Ericka admitted quietly.

“None of us have. That war isn’t really brought up, so seeing a vet in person is frightening to say the least.”

“Cerberus, sir...weren’t you a medic?” Ericka asked softly.

‘Gaelan was the medic in the war. When things grew worse, they threw me in. Even though he was a medic, the both of us still needed to go through training for war. I ended up taking most of the damage, because I needed to keep him safe.’

“So you two aren’t connected?” Jayden asked.

‘We are connected. We wouldn’t be one being if we weren’t. But we trust one another. We have been together for one hundred and twenty-one years. You learn to trust someone pretty well after that long.’

“So that is why he didn’t hesitate when you wanted to take control. He trusts you so much that he doesn’t need to second guess your instincts.” Ericka mentioned.

‘That is correct. Now, I do have witch blood in my nostrils, but I did catch another werewolves scent with them. The vampire’s scent is very faint, as is the original werewolves scent that followed the vampires.’

“Meaning?” Grant spoke up.

‘Meaning, the werewolf you are searching for was with vampires and now they are with a witch.’

“...oh...”

Cerberus continued to follow the scent slowly, making sure the others stayed close. He caught the scent of more witches and vampires, and he froze. ‘You all need to shift, now.’

The others were just about to protest when Zandyr and his flock swarmed in. “Shit...” Grant whispered.

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