Chapter 20: Chapter Nineteen

I'm walking back to our cabin and my entire being is on fire. I need Raphas right now. I need his lips on mine and I need to feel his hands all over my skin. My core is on fire and if I don't do something about it, I think I'll spontaneously combust. I need Raphas to extinguish this fire.

The path is dark, but my vision has gotten better. I can see in the dark. I sense the excitement in the air and it excites me, too.

I'm about to pass Sylvia's cabin and I see her door is wide open. Was she at the ceremony? I don't remember seeing her there. I sincerely hope she wasn't, because if she was, she'll have to find someone to extinguish her fire and a male her age here is hard to come by. Unless it's Penelope's father, but even he's too young for her.

I feel a strong grip on my arm and when I turn to my left, it's Sylvia. Her eyes are wide and I sense her urgency. My forearm is singing. I didn't think an old woman would have such a strong grip.

"Sylvia, what is it?" I ask. "Where are you taking me?"

She makes a soft sound at the back of her throat and I immediately tone it down. She's trying to communicate with me. What could she possibly want to say to me?

We're behind her cabin and she has a thin branch with her. She's shaking and breathing hard and I focus on the ground. She starts drawing shapes on the wet sand. "Are you trying to say something to me? Something important?" She nods and I almost don't recognize the woman standing in front of me. She looks tired and the bags under her eyes are dark and concerning. She hasn't been sleeping. Why? What's wrong with her, and why would she want to tell me about it?

She draws some wolves and that's easy to distinguish. "Wolves," I say and she draws a circle around them. "Pack?" she nods. Then she draws a small moon above it and I don't know how, but I know it's StoneMoon, Raphas' old pack. Then, she draws another pack of wolves right across StoneMoon. She keeps emphasizing the wolf in front, like he's the Alpha of the pack.

She looks back at me and her eyes are pleading and begging. "I don't understand Sylvia. What about that other pack? Who is their Alpha?" She grows wild. She tries to speak and gets frustrated when she can't and I feel for her. I start saying random things. "Is he here?" She nods vehemently. "Is he a male?" She nods again.

"Is it Raphas?" Shake. "Emilio?" She nods and makes a gesture with her hands. "Not Emilio, but someone close to him?" She nods. I frown. "Bernard?"

"Sylvia, what are you doing?" A voice says in the dark and her face grows pale. I know that voice. It's Amanda. I glare at her. Her brows are furrowed and she glares back at me. She looks back at Sylvia. "You shouldn't be out here in the cold, Sylvia. You're ill." She reaches her hand out. "Come inside with me." Sylvia takes her hand and follows Amanda and I stay alone in the dark behind her cabin not knowing what just happened. I look back at the ground and the shapes are gone. She must have trampled them when Amanda showed up. I don't know if I should tell anyone of this. At the same time, I don't know if I should take this seriously. But there was a despair in her eyes, and I can't shake it off. She wanted to say something to me, something important. And it has to do with Raphas. Is he in danger? I think of the rogues that attacked him in the woods. What did they want with him?

I walk back to our cabin, but I'm no longer in the mood. I'm concerned, and I look back at Sylvia's closed door. I get to ours and Raphas is pacing around. He sees me and his eyes light up. "Where were you?" He isn't upset, just concerned. So different from Gavin, who used to call me at random hours of the night to check on me, not because he was concerned, but because he was making sure I wasn't with any other man.

"With Penelope. We watched a mating ceremony. She wanted me to have an idea of how it goes." It's the easiest answer. I'll have to see Sylvia again tomorrow and get this all sorted out. I have this horrible feeling in my chest.

He nods. "I see. And what did you think about it?" The look he gives me melts my core again, and I bite my lip. I brush my worries aside. I'll deal with it all this tomorrow. Maybe it's nothing.

"I can't wait for ours."

He slowly makes his way towards me, and he tugs at the hem of my shirt. I look around. "Where's Max?"

"At Sandra's house. I took him there. I knew you wouldn't want him here tonight."

I frown. "How'd you know that?"

"I had a feeling."

He flicks his tongue across my hardened nipples and I curl my toes. His skin is warm against mine, and I wrap my legs around his torso. He sucks the sensitive skin on my collarbone and works on removing his own clothes. The bed creaks and groans and I'm begging him to go faster.

Afterwards, I lay my head on his chest. I'm exhausted and spent and I have again, that urge to cry. I'm agonized and I don't know what's causing it. I turn to look into his eyes. He seems disturbed, too.

"What is it?" I ask him first, because I don't have an answer to give him.

"I don't know."

I sigh. "Me neither."

We stay quiet for a long time. We don't want to talk about it because there's no explaining it. My thoughts drift to Sylvia and her message and my heart twists painfully. If I could, I'd go right now to her cabin and demand an answer, but I can't do that. I don't want Raphas to find out. If she had wanted to tell Raphas about it, she would. She wouldn't try to communicate with me of all people. She hates me.

"Promise me something," I say to him.

"Anything."

"Promise me you'll always find your way back to me, if anything were to happen." I grip his arm until m knuckles turn white. "Promise me."

He grabs my face and kisses me. "I'll find you, Bea. You are and always will be mine. I'll never stop loving you. I promise."

The sun rises and I open my eyes. Raphas is gone and it's strange because I didn't hear him leave at all, and he never leaves without saying goodbye. The cabin is empty without Max and I'm all alone. I decide to go to Sylvia's and ask her about last night. I wash last night's residue off me and I dress into clean clothes. Sylvia's cabin is wide open and to my absolute shock, all her belongings are gone. I get inside and it's completely vacant. She left nothing behind, and it's like she was never here at all. Maybe she moved to another one?

I go outside and I bump into Penelope. She starts talking and I barely have a chance to steady myself.

"I went to Samantha's, you know Samantha right?" I don't. "She taught me this incredible design and I'll have to try it. Your dress will look incredible!"

I smile apologetically. "Thank you, Penelope. But today I just can't —"

"Stop by Dantes' cabin. But don't take too long. I'm waiting for you. I want to show it. Oh, you're going to love it!"

I head in the other direction and I'm hoping to find Raphas around here. I need to find out where Sylvia is. My heart is racing and I go to Sandra's. Maybe she'll know something.

I find her preparing to join the other warrior wolves. I stop her. "Sandra!"

"Beatrice," she insists on calling me by my full name. "Max spent the night with us. He's such a sweet boy."

"Yes, I know Raphas told me. I was wondering—"

"He's probably around, playing with Bella. They're such good friends. Who knows? Maybe they'll mate someday."

"Yes, that's perfect. But I would like to know if you know anything about Sylvia."

She frowns. "The old witch?"

"No. Well, technically yes. She disappeared and I was wondering if maybe she moved to another cabin."

She raises a brow. "I don't know about another cabin. All. Of them are so full. Maybe she got on her broomstick and flew away." She cackles and I'm drowning in despair. I need to find Raphas, right now. I need to ask him what's happening. I need to see him.

I leave her without a parting word and I run back to our cabin. It's empty and I have no way of leaving a note behind. I need to think of something, and fast. I'm chewing my thumb nail. Amanda was the last to see her last night, but I'm not going to talk to that bitch. I'd rather drop dead. I then think of Penelope. Maybe she knows about Sylvia. She was just excited, so she didn't hear me ask about her. She lives with Dantes, maybe she heard something. Yes, she's my best chance at figuring this out.

I leave the door open and I rush to his cabin.