The Moon Tells Secrets
Page 19
It snarled, slow and sharp. A growl, not word, not name.
If the creature remains unchanged, its evil runs too deep and it will die.
“Say Raine!” I screamed, begging to hear something in that sound, just underneath it.
“Rrrrrr.” Was he trying to say it, form it with this animal mouth of his? Was I imagining it? He moved closer to me, head bowed.
“Again, again, again!” I screamed like I did when we would go through his multiplication tables. Listen to me. Say them again, again, and again.
“Rrrainne.”
I knelt down to his level, grabbed his round soft head, and held it in my hands, not afraid of him anymore.
“Raine,” I said. “Raine. Raine. Raine.”
I thought about that time in church, my annoyance, me scolding him because he called me by my name, not Mom, and tears came into my eyes. If I could hear him say my name once more, just once before I died. Before he did.
“Raaaiinnee.” It came out low, buried somewhere from within him. “Raine!”
He changed as Doba had, bit by bit, each animal part transformed into human. Legs, arms, torso, and finally his face until he lay beside me, the son I knew and loved.
“Mom!” he said, crying as hard as I was.
* * *
We sat at Cade’s kitchen table, the four of us. Too tired to think or talk. Davey had put on a pair of Cade’s gray sweats and was finishing off his second glass of apple juice. I watched him, loving him more than I ever thought I could.
After a time, Luna spoke. “So how do you feel?”
“Okay.” He was a kid again, not saying more than he had to.
“What do you remember?” she said, and he gazed at me, knowing we shared a secret that neither of us would ever tell.
“Not much.”
“Want some more juice?” Cade asked.
“Sure.”
Cade went to the refrigerator, poured out another glass, and handed it to him. “Took a lot out of you, huh?”
Davey shrugged. “Not much.” He gulped down the glass and handed it back to Cade for a refill, which was promptly given.
“You sure you’re okay, Davey?” I asked after a minute.
Davey looked at me, his head cocked to the side. “Hey, you think you can call me something else now? Davey’s a kid’s name.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, Mom. Maybe D or King D or … Wolf,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Something cool like that.”
“Wolf?” I asked, unbelieving.
“Not a great idea,” Cade said. “How about just … Dave?”
“That’ll do,” he said with a shrug, and for the first time in a week, we all laughed.
About the Author
Savanna Welles is a New Jersey–based writer. The Moon Tells Secrets is her second paranormal romance. She also writes mysteries and children’s books under the name Valerie Wilson Wesley. You can visit her Web site at savannawelles.com or sign up for email updates here.
also by savanna welles
when the night whispers
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraphs
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
About the Author
Also by Savanna Welles
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE MOON TELLS SECRETS. Copyright © 2015 by Valerie Wilson Wesley. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-06116-4 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4668-5419-2 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466854192
First Edition: March 2015