My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

It was selfish to feel his way. To want more of him when he was dealing with so much. To be included. Or was it? It hadn't been that long ago when he told her he would always have time for her regardless of how busy he was. Now she would wake up to find that he had come to bed and was turned away from her, facing the other wall—just his back lightly brushing hers.

"What do I do?" August's question directed to the crow was watery and desperate. "He won't talk to me. How do I help him?"

The crow stayed on the patio table facing her, one eye trained on her as its head tilted comically.

She chuckled and wiped tears off her cheeks. "Do you know? I feel like you would."

The crow continued to watch her for several moments as if it was thinking seriously about the question she had posed. Finally August sighed and waved her hand.

"I'm sorry. It's a heavy question for such a sweet bird. Hopefully something will improve soon," she sighed and raised her eyes to the trees. There were still leaves that had yet to fall, but soon they would and the forest would be eerily bare during the cold dark months ahead.

The crow clucked and ruffled its feathers, flapping them and then allowing them to settle in an attempt to gain her attention.

"What is it?" she tilted her head and pulled the ruana closer around her shoulders.

It clucked again and dove off of the table, alighting on the ground below before hopping away into the yard. It stopped and turned back to her, tilting its head with one blue eye staring.

"You seriously want me to follow you again? I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Last time I fell into a creek. And then we narrowly escaped… something," she recalled in objection, though as she did she stood and walked hesitantly its way.

It clucked again and hopped further before stopping to wait for her.

"Oh Goddess, I must be crazy," August murmured to herself as she continued following the crow across the yard and down through the trees that led to the pack house.

As she walked, those familiar strange pulling sensations across her abdomen that had been happening for days now had her eyes tearing up again. It wasn't a painful feeling, it was just… peculiar. They were becoming more frequent, but she had tried to ignore them. She had a feeling she knew what they meant. They meant that Selah was right after all, but the problem with that was that she didn't know what to do about it. Things weren't exactly great right now. How could she just lay news like that on her mate?

The ground was slippery, and she hadn't worn the best shoes for this. She had walked out to the back porch not expecting to go anywhere, much less on a hike following the crow through the woods again.

"Can I really trust you?" she mumbled out into the fall air between her and the bird, who was repeating its pattern of hopping a few yards and waiting until she got closer to hop further.

It clucked something that sounded more like "I don't know," than an affirmation of any kind.

"You know, as great of a communicator as you are, you would think you would have reminded me to bring my phone," her accusation hung in the silence between the trees. "Sage is busy with friends today, so he isn't coming to my rescue this time. Don't get me in trouble," she grumbled.

The crow suddenly took flight and dove for her, causing her to stumble backward in fright. But it perched on her shoulder and pecked at her hair until she straightened again and sighed, letting the small panic turn calm again and even out her breaths.

"Okay, what now?" she asked.

Black wings tore away from her and soared through the remaining trees where she lost track of them. She walked through the soggy underbrush and found herself face-to-face with the door to the prison under the pack house.

"You have got to be kidding me," she scoffed, turning her gaze accusingly to the black bird that was waiting patiently at the foot of the door. "Who else is down there besides Zoe? Because I can tell you right now, I have no interest in talking to her. Unless you are suggesting that I go lock myself in."

The crow clucked, tilting its head and raising its wings in a way that looked an awful lot like a shrug before unceremoniously flying away.

August exhaled deeply and stared at the door. The last time she saw it was when her and Graeme had come to look for Greta and Sam. That had not been the most pleasant experience, and she wasn't eager to repeat it.

"What the hell," she grumbled and trudged forward, opening the heavy door and peering into the darkened stone pathway leading down into the underbelly of the pack house.

The way down seemed much longer than when she had gone this way with Graeme. It got colder the further down she went, running her hands along the wall to steady herself since there was not much light and the stairway was steep and curving in odd directions.

When her feet finally found a larger, wider expanse of stone that seemed to indicate an end to the stairs, she gripped the ruana around herself and stood rethinking this whole idea all over again. A few distant torches were perched on the walls of the hallway ahead.

She took another deep breath, this time willing into herself the confidence of a Luna—of her place in this land. She wasn't just a lost and scared human wandering into the dark. She was the Alpha's mate. She was a powerful fae. A dark dungeon under the pack house where her mate was currently working was nothing to be afraid of.

As she started walking, she became aware that there were several occupied cells this time around. Previously, she didn't recall anyone being down here except Greta and Sam. She heard the prisoners shuffling around and grumbling to themselves, chains clanking. One male growled viciously as she passed, causing her to jump away from the solid door that had only the smallest barred window near the top and a small opening at the bottom through which to slide food.

When she found the area where Greta and Sam had been kept, she peered through the food openings but found the cells to be empty. Graeme had mentioned Zoe was still down here, but he didn't say anything about her being moved. August turned around and scanned the rest of the hallway, eyes squinting into the darkness. Further down, she saw what looked like a small portable heater placed on the floor pointed toward one of the doors.

She approached the cell quietly, stopping at the door to listen for any sounds. She heard none.

"Zoe?" she called softly.