Latoya held his attention. His eyes burned with distrust, and the scowl on his face rivaled the one on Maya’s.
“Why?” I repeated.
Finally, his eyes flicked to me, softening when they met mine. He sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. “When an alpha Bites a human, he does so while considering the next full moon. Ignoring the lunar cycle adds more risk to the transformation…”
The sharp jerk of my head urged him to continue. This wasn’t the time for him to be stalling.
“Our Essence… the moment it enters the bloodstream, it begins to…” He cleared his throat. “To—”
“Kill the human it’s infected,” I declared. “I know that part.”
My directness drew Marcus’s eyebrows together, but his voice remained calm. “It’s not that simple, Joanna.” A strange sadness clouded his features. “The new moon is usually what we aim for,” he said quietly.
I conjured a mental image of the lunar calendar.
“The full moon is the final stage of transcendence for the human spirit… If a Bite happens too close to it while in the first half of the lunar cycle, the Essence has no time to settle.It’ll panic. Death is often quick and rarely looks supernaturally caused, but it’s still very painful.” He swallowed hard. “A Bite too late in the lunar cycle can also be fatal. The Essence has too much time. So, it all becomes…”
“Messy,” Latoya finished. “Because there’s almost no life left. There’s little for the Goddess to hold on to, to complete the transformation. So, the wolf must fight to survive—each time tearing through the flesh of a vessel thatwantsto cease existing.”
Maya must have clocked the confused look on my face. “The wolf spirit is, of course, supernatural, whereas until the transformation completes, the vessel isn’t,” she explained, taking a step toward me. “The first shift is excruciating. Muscle shredding. Bone breaking… And when a vessel is weak, the shift fails. So, the wolf spirit heals the vessel to try again. And again. Either it succeeds and takes over… or it eventually gives up.”
“Wedidn’t give up.” Pride shimmered in Latoya’s eyes. “Despite being Bittenona full moon.”
Her words careened around in my head. Being Bitten during a full moon would’ve been the most volatile time. I could’ve lost my sister that night… Instead, I had a month to witness her silently die…?
I swallowed suddenly remembering to breathe. My eyes flicked to Maya’s. “Do all purebloods know the dangers of an ill-timed Bite?”
Her shoulders slumped as she nodded.
“There’s only one reason an alpha would be so reckless.” Marcus crossed his arms. “He doesn’t care if it failed.”
I wiped my clammy palms on my jeans. A bead of sweat ran down my temple as my body shook with anger. “You joined a werewolf uprising with the bastard who turned you against your will and didn’t give two flying fucks if you survived?” I hissed.
Latoya jumped to her feet. “Hell no,” she exclaimed. “Silas is nothing like that asshole.”
Marcus and Maya exchanged furtive glances. Marcus raised an eyebrow, and Maya shook her head in response.
“Who’s Silas?” I asked, grateful for a lead.
Latoya’s eyes burned with admiration. “A visionary.”
I shivered with disgust. “Spare me with that cult shit.”
She frowned. “You wouldn’t understand, little sis. Not yet. Not with what you’ve been through—whatI’veput you through.” She flung her locs over her shoulder, raising her gaze to Marcus. “But you…” She smirked. “Would you like to meet him, Alpha?”
Marcus’s eyes were slit with suspicion. “How?”
“I don’t think I’ve been aguestfor long, right? I didn’t miss the supermoon?” Latoya waited until he reluctantly nodded. “Silas celebrates the first supermoon of every year. House party the day before. Orgy in the forest, night of the apex. Only the werewolves he trusts get an invite. You can be my plus one this year.”
“Why the hell would I trust going anywhere with you?”
Latoya walked closer to us until her shackle pulled against her ankle. “You can think what you want about me, but the one thing you can’t do is call me a liar. I promised to tell you what you wanted if you convinced Joey to see me, and I’m holding up my end.”
Marcus clenched his teeth.
“There’s a list on his phone,” Latoya continued with a sigh. “It has names and positions of humans and werewolves in the government that support our cause.”
I stiffened. “Humans,” I echoed in disbelief.
