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Once he heard the number of her rental spot, he hurried to the lot and attached a GPS tracker he had gotten from Finn. Thankfully it was magnetic, so it simply attached to the underside of the car with little trouble. The GPS unit synced with his phone so that he could do the job the council had given him without needing to be in the rearview of August's mom's car the whole way.

He chuckled remembering the conversation he had with Finn after he left August at Greta and Sam's. Finn begged to tag along with him to follow August's mom home. Graeme almost felt bad telling him no when he saw the way Finn's shoulders sagged in disappointment—that was until Graeme gave him another mission. He asked Finn to keep an eye on August while he was gone.

"Don't be obvious about it," Graeme told him. "Stick to the periphery so she isn't aware you're watching her, otherwise she'll probably try to convince you she doesn't need your protection."

"Yes, sir," Finn responded with the most serious expression Graeme had ever seen on him.

"If anything happens, call me right away. Understand?" Graeme asked for Finn to nod emphatically.

"You have my word, Alpha. I won't let her out of my sight. And she won't even know I'm there."

"Greta and Sam know you'll be around, so don't worry about your scent," Graeme added.

Thankfully Finn was one pack member Graeme knew he could trust without question. His loyalty to Graeme had always been blatantly obvious, and no one had thought to give him a hard time or keep him out of the council for it since he acted like such a goofball half of the time. He was like a puppy, following others around and yipping excitedly about everything that caught his attention.

Once Graeme watched August's mom drive away, he returned inside for his own rental. His trip was going to be much faster than hers. He planned on driving straight through to August's hometown and settling a few other unrelated issues before returning to Eliade to speak with Penelope.

———

Once night fell and August had settled in Sam and Greta's guest room, there was no conversation or activities to distract her, and her attention turned to the night sky out the window. What was Graeme doing right now? Was he sleeping outside? Was he safe somewhere? Was he in his wolf form?

One side of her lips curled up slightly imagining the large, furry wolf that magically appeared before her a few times now. His dark, familiar eyes. His long, soft dark fur. She would give anything to have him resting in the same room as her right now—in human or wolf form, it didn't matter.

Why was there so much comfort even in Graeme's quiet presence? The soft, even breathing of him nearby that lulled her to sleep. She sighed, longing for the treehouse and for the man who had become her home.

'Goodnight, Bun Bun,' she texted and smiled, waiting for his outraged response. He couldn't tickle-punish her while he was gone, so she was going to take advantage of it. But a red exclamation mark appeared next to the text bubble indicating that it couldn't be delivered. She groaned. She couldn't even text him?

Instead, she grabbed the stuffed rabbit from the bedside table and tucked his floppy little body into her chest. "I miss you Bun-Bun. I wish you were here with me. Please stay safe," she prayed into the darkness. "Moon Goddess, if you can hear me, please keep my mate safe." Tears welled in her eyes with the words, and she squinted her eyes close against them.

But rather than falling to sleep, her thoughts continued to wander. What was her mother doing right now? Was she thinking of her and wondering what had happened to her? The ambiguity of having a child disappear without any closure or answers had to be one of the most agonizing experiences a parent could go through. Guilt nagged her for it, and she wished she could somehow reach out to her mom and let her know she was all right.

Realizing sleep was unlikely to come, August got out of bed and sat on the window seat with Bun-Bun watching the calm of the dark forest. There was no artificial light here to drive away the darkness, and somehow she had already grown used to it. But tonight seemed darker.

Propped against the wall with her legs curled against her, her eyes had grown heavy when a sudden loud rustling shook the trees across the yard. There was some kind of commotion happening in the shadows, and her body went rigid with the realization that something was out there.

She held her breath, squinting to see if she could make anything out. But the disruption was over just as quickly as it had started, and she wondered if she had imagined it.

Letting out a sigh, her eyes slid to the clock near the bed. It was 2:30 am. There was no way she was getting sleep tonight. Would it disturb Greta and Sam if she went downstairs for water? She contemplated it for several moments before deciding to go for it.

Once she descended the stairs as quietly as possible, she went to the kitchen and filled a glass under the sink's tap. Everything seemed peaceful as she drank her water and watched the wilderness outside the kitchen window.

"August?" a deep voice surprised her, and she jolted backward against the counter, clutching the glass in her hand.. The house was so dark that she couldn't see who the voice belonged to.