Fire Moon by Miss CrazyPlantLady (phonics reading books .TXT) 📖

August didn't want to hear any more, he stood up abruptly and stormed out. His blonde hair was the last thing I saw before the doors shut behind him.

"Take him to his room" Sawyer sighed with a flick of a wrist.

I watched Danny drag Alexei out of the room, our eyes meeting one last time before the Oracle turned back to me with a glare. I rolled my eyes, "I was going to tell you" I said quickly before I stormed after August.

I found August in Sawyer's dramatic library, he had his arms crossed and his eyes glared out the window, his back to me while he growled, "You're being stupid."

The insult almost stung but I walked right up to him, "No, you're being ridiculous" my arms rose out of exasperation, "The only reason I am standing right here is because of Alexei, because of Miles and you want them to be punished!"

"I will leave Miles alone but Alexei will be imprisoned" he gritted through his teeth, "He is not your friend, he is our enemy and I forbid you to see him."

My mouth dropped, "You can't forbid me from anything, August."

A growl sounded somewhere deep in his throat, "He took you away from me, pup" he turned finally and his light eyes were glassy, "One minute you were safe and in my house, the next, you were being dragged away by strangers who almost killed one of my Betas. I was scared and furious. I left you unprotected and it was my fault that they took you!" he words raced out of him so fast that I barely understood them.

My frustration disappeared almost immediately as his words broke my heart and I grabbed his hand, "August, it was not your fault."

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of my words and he gripped my hand, his ring cool against my fingers, "It doesn't matter now, you're safe and they can't get you here."

"I'm sorry" I sighed, "I didn't mean to be such a brat about all of this."

He laughed, the sound was so warm that I hadn't realised I missed it so much and I wrapped my arms around him. Breathing him in and soaking up his scent. He didn't hesitate to encircle me with his own arms and we stood there like that for a while. Just holding onto each other.

I found the long-haired Soothsayer later that day in the library, a strange place to find him and even stranger, the Oracle was with him. I guess it wasn't that strange, considering that they are both Oracles and Bain had no one but him and Quinn for weeks.

They were sitting at the centre table, books surrounding them and a large loose canvas spread across in front of the Soothsayer.

It turned into a map the closer I got, "What is that?"

Bain smirked, leaning back in his chair, "Sawyer made a map."

The map in question was massive, colourful and half-filled. I crossed my arms and leaned in to have a closer look, "Where's the roads?"

Sawyer clicked his tongue, a habit we've all picked up from Bain and pointed, "It's just a quick thrown together map. It doesn't need roads, it has all the important places we need to know."

Bain nodded, "Is that why you took an hour on the trees, Bob Ross?"

The trees in question were just green swirls, the mountains were brown triangles and there was a large messy river that sliced through the bottom half of the map. Hardly a piece of art but it was surprisingly helpful and as I studied the Soothsayer's handmade map, I realised didn't know any other place beside here and West Stygian, "Where does August live?"

Sawyer's long finger landed on the very top of the map. Anwir. The very north point. Surrounded by trees and a small blue smudge showed the steaming pond.

Extremely far north for my liking. Sawyer stated before.

"He doesn't even have the distancing right" Miles' voice echoed from the rows of books.

The confusion was clear on my face as Sawyer sighed, looking at the ceiling, "Constance found a better map apparently" he said dryly.

A deep frown grew on the Oracle's face as he took in this new information and I turned to see Miles. I keep forgetting about her real name, I hadn't asked her why she doesn't use it but I fear it might be too personal. She was sitting just outside the end of the stacks, I could only make out her curled hair as it sat in a bun on top of her head. She turned to me, a book in her lap, "Urith has been helping with catching me up."

Urith sat further down the aisle, books covered the floor and he had another book in his lap, "There's actually so many maps that are better than his."

"Mine show the places that matter" argued Sawyer from the table behind us but I ignored him.

"Of course there is" I smirked, "Where's Quinn?"

"August needed her for some pack business" Urith shrugged.

It was mind boggling to see both of them clean and not imprisoned. Miles not chained to a wall or wanting to be. The floor was no longer dirt, the air didn't smell of the earth and there was no doubt that the beds were actually beds this time. I felt strange. I was too aware of my own body, I felt like I stepped out of a dream and I couldn't tell if I just left the fake reality or entered it.

Miles stopped reading to watch my expressions change with my thoughts, she reached up and grabbed my hand, "Go get some sleep, you need it."

Her amber eyes were warm enough to drag me out of my thoughts and I nodded, "You're right" I didn't bother to argue, my body was suddenly heavy and turned back to Sawyer, "Which one is my room?"

The Soothsayer stood, "Come, I'll show you" he snatched up his map aggressively, "Maybe someone else will appreciate my map" he spat at Bain but Bain only laughed back at him.

We continued through his extravagant hallways, the wallpaper never the same as the last and came to a stop before a single door, "I do have a suite that is being prepared and because I have the slowest wolves known to the moon, it's not ready but this room will have to do."

I tried to smile but failed, my exhaustion was suddenly too heavy to handle, "I'm sure it's perfect."

He growled, "No, it's not" he opened the door slightly, "You have to use the bathroom down the hall but there's enough of them so you have it to yourself."

"It's more than enough" I stepped into the dark room, "Trust me."

The Soothsayer smirked before making to leave, "Get some rest" he started down the hall before shouting, "Pen?"

I was confused until I saw the towering blonde from the first time I was here, she stepped out of the shadows with a blank expression, "Yes, my king?" My dark eyes rolled at the absurdity.

"Can you make sure that suite gets done as soon as possible?" Sawyer gritted through his teeth with irritation, "Or you better beg the moon for forgiveness" his words becoming quieter and quieter the further he went down the hall.

I smiled to myself as I shut the door before turning and opening all the curtains. The daylight bled into the room as I climbed into the bed, I wasn't clean but I didn't care and the bed was heaven itself. Sleep enveloped me instantly.

My exhaustion was so strong that no dreams visited me. I was so relieved when I opened my eyes and the blinding afternoon sun stung my eyes. My skin was scratchy and sticky, my nose scrunched in disgust at the smell that seeped from my body.

I flinched as my feet hit something at the base of the bed, a small thud sounded as the unknown item fell to the floor and I peered over the edge of the bed to identify what it was.

Clothes. They were clothes and from the dark palette, I could tell they were Quinn's. I grabbed the whole pile and ventured to my bathroom down the hall.

The bathroom was the same size as August's ensuite back in Anwir. There was a large free-standing tub that occupied almost the whole left side of the room, the walls were surprisingly simple and the florals were instead around the base of the bathtub. A soft green that seemed to be the main colour of this room. There was a shower in the back corner and a large basin adjacent.

The shower was already fully stocked and I almost cried when the water hit me. The top layer of dirt came off instantly but I had to scrub the rest. I was watching the brown water circle the drain, the water turning a slight shade of red and then I realised that I was crying.

It was the children's blood. It was their burnt skin that I had to scrub off and for some strange reason I wanted to keep that reminder on me, I wanted to bare the terrible crime I had committed.

I didn't know how long I was in there for until I heard a soft knock at the door, "Are you okay in there?" It was Miles.

I shut off the baptising water, clearing my throat to say something but I stopped myself out of fear it would come out uneven, that it would crack under the emotion. Then I would have to explain to Miles why I was so upset and my heart cracked at the idea of telling her the utterly horrifying truth.

The Curer didn't knock again but I knew she was waiting for me and I was grateful for her presence. I knew she would've gone through the same thing, it would've been the first shower that she had in years and I wish I had been there for her.

I got dressed as fast as I could and stared at the clean, red-eyed mess that watched me from the mirror. My own judgment hit me so aggressively that my lungs struggled to do their job, I stood there for a long minute before forcing my lungs to suck in the all the oxygen they could before I slowly let it out and opened the bathroom door.

Miles was wearing a large graphic t-shirt and wooly trousers, she looked dressed for the wrong season and I eyed her decision clearly, "Do you know how warm it is outside?"

Her amber eyes glistened as she smiled, "I had to borrow these from Urith," a light laugh escaped her as we walked back to my room, "Quinn's clothes were way too small for me."

"We will find some better clothes" I vowed.

Almost as if she knew, Quinn came around the corner as we went to enter my room, her sapphire eyes glowed with excitement, "Oh good Miles, I found some clothes" she held a pile in hands, "They're maternity but they'll do the job."

A frown deep on my face as I took in her words, "Where'd you get maternity clothes from?"

She shrugged, pushing them into Miles' arms, "I don't know, Sawyer found them and I don't ask him where he finds these weird things."

The rest of the afternoon we helped Miles try on the strange maternity clothes that Sawyer had. My favourite was a dark emerald dress, it was floral and had small puff sleeves. Most were dresses but they all suited her and we hadn't realised how late it gotten until Urith found us for dinner. I made Miles where the emerald dress to dinner, the dress hugged her curves so nicely that the dress seemed like it was made for her.

Quinn also gave me some more clothes after dinner and one silk nightgown, the colour was definitely not a Quinn colour as it wasn't black but a light purple and I should've known that would be shorter on me, I almost two inches taller than Quinn and it only just covered my behind.

August had followed me to