Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Kas's POV

The next few days begin to form into a comfortable schedule for us. Bronx goes to his office at

MasonCo most days. Just like he promised when | first moved into the apartment, he wakes me every

morning up to let me know he’s leaving. And every morning he gives me a passionate kiss that leaves

me missing him until he gets home. Somehow he seems to have an endless supply of flowers too. |

don’t know where he gets them from, but he brings a few for me every evening and places them in a

vase on my nightstand. He takes out the ones that are starting to wilt, so | always have a fresh bouquet

to look at.

| start to focus on searching my mind for Lex. | d******q some calming music on my phone and spend

my mornings meditating. |

feel her deep within the farthest corners of m y mind, but the harder | try, the more difficult it is to reach

her. The closest way | can describe it is that | feel like she is trapped in a cage in a dark room in my

mind. The problem is, | can’t find the room and | don't know how to open the cage. Delilah occasionally

joins me. Having her there is helpful to guide me when | get frustrated. She is also good company. |

love Lenora and Ashley but they are a little older than me and sometimes it's hard to vibe with them.

“Kas, | can’t imagine how frustrating it is for you, but think of it this way. When a person goes missing

and they send out a search party, it is important for everyone to stay calm. If people in the search party

panic or get angry, they lose focus and miss out on clues they would see if they were concentrating.

Keep yourself controlled for Lex’s benefit, especially when it is the most difficult,” she advises with a

sympathetic tone to her voice.

“Thanks, Delilah. You're right. Every time | get frustrated it’s because | feel like she is just out of reach. |

need to focus on staying calm,” | appreciate her guidance. She is much more familiar with practicing

meditation than | am.

An excited look comes over her face. She scrunches her face, trying not to burst into a smile.

“What? What's that face for?” | can't help but smile at her.

“James is taking me to meet his parents,” she squeals, shaking her hands in front of her with

excitement, “I mean, they only live twenty minutes away in the human town outside the pack territory,

but still. | am so excited | could burst. We are going to spend a long weekend there.”

“Oh my Goddess! That’s so awesome!” | exclaim, “Have you decided what you’re going to wear to

meet them?”

“Oh yeah, the last of my things arrived from the shipping company yesterday, so | have my full

wardrobe to pick from finally. | don’t have many winter clothes though. | had no idea how cold Montana

would be,” she laughs, “I ordered a winter coat online and some boots. Other than that, my clothes are

made of thin cotton.”

Witches are only able to wear natural fibers, so | recommend some stores | had seen at the mall with

wool sweaters and heavy peacoats that would suit her. We go to my closet so | can give her a couple

of sets of winter hats, scarves, mittens and things like that. | trust she will bring them back to me when

she gets her own.

“Oh, also, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a surprise, but James and Marco asked if they can come

back to work on Monday. James says they're bored. | think they miss your cookies,” she teases with a

giggle.

Once Delilah leaves, | go to the kitchen to see Mrs. Miller. We finalize the menu for the Winter Solstice

party, coming up with some special desserts | know everyone will love. As we are finishing up, a large

pair of arms snake themselves around my waist and pick me up while backing away from the kitchen.

Mrs. Miller giggles as she waves goodbye. “| guess we're done!” | call out, with a giggle, as I'm carried

away.

“Come on, Kas. Quick meeting in my office. We all need to be there,” Bronx says in my ear, kissing my

neck. He carries me like that, nuzzling my neck, all the way to his office. “So what's the meeting

about?” | ask. “Coverage,” he says, like that one word should tell me everything | need to know. Before

| can ask what it means, he opens the door. Milo, Lenora, Reggie, and Ashley are all at the conference

table.

“Hi guys. Sorry for the short notice,” Milo says as we take our places at the table. Ashley hands us

each a sheet of paper. It is a complicated chart with days, times, and names on it.

“Alright, so Lenora is going out of town for work. Santiago then Brisbane. Reggie has to leave for a

week also,” she clears her throat, clearly not happy.

“Where is Reggie going?” | ask, turning my head in his direction.

“Sorry, Luna. Classified,” he shrugs.

“He doesn’t even get to tell me Kas. Milo is the only one who knows. That's the nature of their division

at MasonCo,” Ashley frowns. She erases her expression and gets back to business, “I had already

planned a trip to see my parents in Cheyenne, so we are going to need coverage for all pack duties.”

She starts explaining the complicated chart. Milo, Bronx, and | will split all the responsibilities. It seems

very

overwhelming. | feel a little pit of doubt forming in my stomach as she speaks. “Alright, today is

Wednesday. Lenora and | leave tomorrow, Reggie leaves Thursday. Lenora gets back Wednesday,

Reggie gets back Thursday, and | get back on Friday,” she ticks the lines off on her copy. :

“Oh, also, Kas. Marco and James requested t0 get back to work. Apparently the both claim to be bored.

Marco is back starting Monday night. James is back Tuesday,” Ashley says, looking at some additional

notes in her book. | nod, feeling a bit numb listening to Ashley rattle off the information as | look at the

list of my responsibilities.

“You okay, Baby? You look kinda pale,” Bronx leans forward, looking at me with concern.

| nod again, “I-I just have an upset stomach. I'm going to go lay down. Ashley, do you need me for

anything else?”

“No, | think we're good. | hope you feel be-” | don't hear the rest, I’m already out the door letting it close

behind me.

Just get to the apartment, Kas. Go in the bathroom and close the door. No panicking in the hallway. |

keep repeating to myself as | make my way quickly down the hallway.

| get to the apartment door and pull out my key fumbling to get it in the lock.

Just kidding. I’m at the mall. | must have seriously zoned out because Lenora is telling a joke but | don’t

get it. Ashley thinks it's hilarious. 2

A familiar scent hits me. Ryan is here and he's close. My heart starts pounding. Lenora and Ashley are

completely oblivious. Okay, now it's time to panic.

“Lenora... - something’s wrong...I,” | stammer as | start to stand up. Lenora stops laughing and looks at

me. Her eyes widen and turn pitch black.

A hand claps the back of my neck hard and squeezes with sharp claws extended, painfully breaking my

skin, as | get pushed back down in the seat. A little yelp escapes me. Oh shit. He found me.

Lenora lunges across the table over me, forcing the person who had grabbed me to let go. | hear

growling and snarling as she fights with the attacker. At the same time, Ashley grabs me by the wrist

and pulls me away from the scuffle. We run to the bathroom and lock the door.

"Kas, are you okay?” Ashley says, holding both sides of my face, “Come on, Kas, answer me, please.”

| feel myself looking at her, but | feel numb. Like my mind is separating from my body.

There is a high pitched tone taking over my hearing. Where is Lex when | need her? | feel like she’s

absent.

Ashley pats my face. | can see her talking, but | only hear the steady high pitched hum. My body

shivers in fear. | need to calm down. Lenora and Ashley are going to make sure I’m safe. | try to

breathe but there’s no air.

Lenora’s face comes into view. Her mouth is moving but all | hear is the hum. How did she get a busted

lip? | touch the spot where it's cracked open and bleeding. There is a moment of purple light just as the

world turns black.

| wake up in a cold sweat panting heavily. What in the world was that crazy dream?. Wait. What was |

dreaming about? | can’t remember. Only the feeling that it was terrifying. | think it had to do with Ryan.

My heart is racing as | try to take some calming breaths. The light of the moon casts a serene blue light

over everything in the room. Bronx is snoring lightly beside me. I can still feel my heart pounding from

the nightmare. N0 way I'm getting back to sleep, so | go out to the kitchen for a cup of water. Even as |

take a few sips of water, the dream seems further and further away. | hear noises coming from the

bedroom. Bronx is up? He must have felt me get out of bed. «

“Bronx? I’m right here, Sweetheart,” | say softly as | make my way back to the bedroom. Bronx is still in

bed, thrashing wildly. Whimpering and cursing under his breath, fighting off an invisible assailant in his

sleep.