I shuddered when my fingers touched Neo’s head, and the bond between us surged with renewed fervor. It took everything I had to keep from falling into his mind; Nathanial sucked in a sharp breath, and I felt his power surge in me to combat the pull. It gave me room to breathe again, closing my eyes and trying to calm down.

“It’s okay. Trust yourself,” Nathanial said softly, his voice warm and soothing.

I nodded, closing my eyes and measuring my breathing until I felt my heart settle into a normal rhythm. It was remarkable, Nathanial’s power battling off the smothering weight of my bond to Neo, my aches and pain disappearing behind calm concentration. For the first time in months, I felt like I knew what I was doing. I delighted in the power I felt inside myself. And I trusted myself as much as the moon.

“Sleep,” I breathed the word, hearing the unearthly tone of my voice as if somebody else were speaking; it took the light timbre of my voice deeper, vibrating with a power I never would have imagined I possessed before I reached such a desperate time.

“Good.” Nathanial’s proud tone was what had me opening my eyes, and the wolf in a deep sleep in front of me took my breath away. “And now the others.”

I nodded before turning, scooting forward across the dirt so I could reach Viktor. My heart ached at the look in his eyes; an anguised mess of longing and pain, he was silently pleading for me to ignore Nathanial. I couldn’t, not if it meant seeing him go feral and tear Neo’s throat out. I closed my eyes again. Not out of fear of something not working- but so that I didn’t have to see him look at me that way any longer.

“Sleep,” I repeated, my voice hitching over the word. I didn’t have to wait for Nathanial’s connfirmation to know it had worked; I trusted myself now. Clearing my throat, I tipped my head back to force back any chance of tears, deciding to direct my gaze to Nathanial’s face as a distraction. “Is that enough?”

Nathanial shook his head slowly, and I knew what was going to come out of his mouth before his gaze moved to Cean and Alyx. “Nobody can know. They must all forget where you’ve gone, and to do that, you must make them sleep.”

“But-”

“Tsuki…” Rickon spoke up, treading forward to rest a gentle hand on my shoulder. “The Council will kill them if they know anything about Nathanial. He’s a well kept secret. And we can’t have anybody coming after you.”

I shut my eyes again, taking a few deep breaths. They would worry about me, and the moon only knew what Neo would do. “Will you make sure the Cereus pack takes Alyx and Cean away safely?”

“Of course.” Rickon’s smile was in his voice, and he sounded proud of me.

“And can I… make one request?”

“You can ask anything of us. Whether we can grant it depends on your request.”

“Helpful, Nathanial,” Rickon snorted, his fingers tightening their grip where they rested on my shoulder. “I’ll do my best to make you happy, Tsuki. What do you want?”

“I want Brandy to come with us.”