Chapter 5

I go through the day the way I always do. Cook, clean, give the downstairs bathroom a deep scrub this time, get everything ready for the early market, then head up to the attic to wake my sisters for school.

“You’re going to be late,” I hear myself say when Elvira grumbles under the blankets. Lia is already sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. The bed next to hers is empty.

“Where’s Mom?” I ask, my heart instantly jumping out of my chest.

Lia twists around sharply, then turns wide blue eyes on me.

“Elvira, where’s Mom?” I try not to raise my voice. Celeste and Andre will chew my ears off if I wake them with any noise.

Elvira sits up straight, stares at the empty bed, and slowly shakes her head.

Oh God. No. Don’t tell me.

A hard ball of frustration rises in my throat, and it takes more effort than usual to force it back down. “Let’s find her,” I say, turning toward the door.

My sisters fumble into their clothes while I’m already flying down the stairs. I haven’t even showered yet. I need to get to the market, buy supplies for the day’s business, and open the restaurant. I don’t have time to run around looking for my mother. I don’t have the strength for this.

The thoughts keep circling, but my body moves automatically. Check the bathrooms again. The kitchen. Out back.

There's a forest behind the house, the early morning fog forms a wide blanket over it. I found her there the last two times she disappeared like this. Did I forget to lock the door?

No. It was Dante. He always forgets.

A burst of anger starts choking me. I push through it, my feet splashing into a cold puddle that soaks through my thin slippers.

“Ugh, God… Mama,” I call out, even though I know when she’s like this, she never answers to her name. “Mama, please. Where are you?”

My throat burns, my eyes sting. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to struggle for a little while and then get better. But since I was ten until now, the suffering just hasn't stopped.

And even though I don’t believe in curses, I’m starting to wonder if we’re cursed. If what Mom did all those years ago stained all of us. I can’t stand this.

She isn’t in the forest. I’m nearly at the Pure Moon pack homes and still haven’t seen her. No rogue wolf would dare come this far in, and no alpha would bother with my mother.

Has she gone too far this time?

My heart pounds so hard it makes me dizzy. I almost want to give up.

“Mama!” I shout, staring at the boundary line that separates Red Fang land from Pure Moon territory. One of our agreements is that we never cross over. We’ve managed to uphold it so far. But what if my mother is in there?

“Cici!”

Lia comes running through the fog behind me, wearing nothing but her nightdress, blonde hair streaming wildly in the damp air. She looks almost ghostlike in the pale morning light.

“Did you find her?” I ask, rushing to meet her halfway.

She pants and nods. “Dante’s got her. They’re in front of the house.”

Something inside me goes solid. My shoulders lock tight.

I have found her, my mate. Her name is Luciana.

His words from this morning repeat in my head like a cruel echo. I scrub at my eyes as if I can wipe the memory away.

“Cici?” Lia frowns, her brown eyes anxious. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“No.” I shake my head quickly. “I mean–I’m fine.” I grab her shoulder, steering her back toward the house. “Let’s go.”

We break into a run together, and I shove every thought down where it can’t breathe, like I always do. That’s the only way to keep moving, to not give in to despair.

Just like I turned away from Dante the second those words left his mouth. I have no idea how to deal with that. What does it even mean for us?

We’re supposed to get married on Friday. How can he tell me he has found his mate?

I gasp when I see Mama standing on the porch, shivering violently, her shoulders hunched against the cold. She’s been out far too long. Dante is beside her, holding her with one hand.

“I–”

I cut him off by pulling my mother away from him and into my arms. I don’t want to hear his voice right now.

“I found her on the way to the shop. Looks like she’s been out almost all night,” he says.

“That’s because you keep forgetting to lock the door,” I snap, turning to glare at him.

He watches me like I’m something fragile, something that might crack if he breathes wrong. I stiffen my shoulders and guide my mom inside, speaking softly in Spanish. When she’s like this, it’s the only language she seems to understand.

“Let’s get you inside,” I murmur, leading her in.

“I saw your father out there by the window,” she mutters, her eyes darting toward the walls. “He’s after my life. After yours, mi hija.”

“He’s not,” I say, nearly losing my patience. I grab every blanket I can find and wrap them tightly around her trembling body. “Dad is dead, Mom. Gone. He would never be out there looking for us.”

“No, I saw him.” She hunches in on herself, looking like a scolded child.

Tears burn behind my eyes. I swipe them away before they can fall. I take a slow breath and force a small smile.

“Okay. Let’s just get you warm, alright?” I rub her shoulders gently, then turn when Elvira walks in wearing shorts and barely anything else.

“One of you has to stay home with her,” I say over my shoulder, standing to search for more blankets. “She can’t be alone, and I don’t trust her with just Celeste in this house.”

“That would have to be Lia,” Elvira says.

I shoot her a look. She lifts a brow. “I have a test today. I can’t miss it.”

I let out a tired sigh. “Lia,” I say the moment she walks in. “Please stay home today and look after Mom.”