RULE 32: THE OUTSIDE WORLD MAY APPEAR TEMPTING. RESIST ALL TEMPTATIONS OR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MAY FACE CONSEQUENCES.

✷ C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - F O U R ✷

Even as I escaped the situation Theo orchestrated with Eva, my mind continued to reel from the events, distance unhelpful in clearing my mind. I couldn't believe the nerve Theo had — the nerve that made him feel like he could control my life. It made me feel like I was just a side character in my own story.

Logically, I knew I was not an ideal match for Theo. I was born and raised in the Borderlands, hate for his kind ran in my blood and flowed through my veins. On top of this, I was merely a human. I didn't have any supernatural abilities. I did not have a supernatural life span. I was not bred for a life of being a leader — a Luna. I was simply Sage Whitemore, an extraordinarily ordinary human.

    My head was screaming to admit I hated him — to admit I hated Theo. It would make everything so simple, but I couldn't bring myself to harbor such strong feelings against him. He was so infuriating I was sure anyone in my position, Borderlander or not, would hate him.

    Why didn't I?

    The bond was the obvious answer, but I couldn't explain why that answer did not settle quite right with me. He looked like a beast, but he seemed to have perfected the art of appearing like he was not one.

    Beasts are deceptive, I told myself. He was just being supernaturally deceptive. I mean, if he truly was not a beast, he would not have sprung Eva on me like that. But, then again, was that just his humanity showing?

Nevertheless, the more I thought about what Eva said to me, the more upset I grew. While she did have authority over me when she was my babysitter, we were no longer children — that was apparent by her own growing child. She couldn't expect me to obey her every (or almost every) word anymore.

    Was this what the Outside does to people? Turn them into someone so far from who they used to be in the Borderlands? I could only hope the same thing had not happened to Ma if she was lucky enough to survive. On second thought, luck might not be the right word for it.

    My mind was growing tired from my continual thoughts, but, physically, I was wide awake. Resting on my plush bed, I tried to force my body to sleep. I tried imagining nothing to pull me into sleep's embrace, but my mind would wander off. Then, I would have to remind myself to think of nothing once again. It was a constant back and forth, and I was growing even more awake with the realization I was not able to fall asleep.

    Giving up on thinking about nothing, I tried to make a game plan for the next month. Being open to the mate bond was going to be tricky. I was not exactly in an open mood anymore. I didn't want to be all open arms when it came to our bond. However, I knew I would have to if I stood any chance at being able to get close to a witch.

    A witch.

    I was still at square one when it came to that. Mina made it seem like good witches were hard to come by. Even worse, Mina said the best witches liked to stay hidden. In telling me this information, I realized Mina might be the key to finding one. Theo probably knew where to find one, too, but his slow-moving nature was discouraging, and I knew I could not place my bets on Theo to pull through for me after today.

    As for Ma, I decided I would try and get Theo to look for Ma, but I would eventually have to abandon finding her if it came down to that. I knew it would shatter my heart to come back empty-handed but finding a witch had to be at the forefront. Pa would surely understand.

    With my rough plans in place, I snuggled deeper into my bed. Maybe now that I had a blueprint aligned, my body would allow me to rest. I started to doze off, but before I could fall asleep completely, someone rushed through my bedroom door.

    "Wake up, Sage," Mina's voice greeted me, and I groaned loudly at her.

    "I'm awake," I mumbled, pulling the comforter over my head, knowing sleep would now be impossible.

    Suddenly, the sheets covering my face were ripped out of my grip. "Hey!"

    "So, I heard what Theo did. Trust me, if I knew what he was up to, I would have advised him not to. There have only been three people from the Borderlands to survive before disease got to them — soon to be a fourth. Nevertheless, research has proven it takes months — if not years — for each one of them to acclimate to the Outside. It can't be an overnight process. I'm sorry, Sage, I should have warned Theo of this sooner. I just didn't think he'd do anything like this," Mina looked stressed, her thick eyebrows knitting together as she paced the pathway near my bedside.

    "I doubt he would have listened to you if you did tell him," I mentioned, sitting up.

    "That's true," Mina sighed. "I guess it does kind of come with the territory — having an Alpha for a mate. Anyway, forget about Theo — don't tell him I ever said that — we're going out tonight."

    "Out?" I asked, tucking hair behind both my ears.

    "Out to the Alpha's Den. The last time you went to a bar you met Theo, so I kind of feel obligated to give you a better experience," Mina smiled, looking at me with wide eyes. "Now, we leave in thirty minutes, which should be enough time for you to get ready. Please, don't forget to wear shoes."

    "I never forget to wear shoes. I simply chose not to. It's a very important difference," I said. "I'm guessing I have no choice in whether or not I go."

    "Your guess would be correct," Mina started walking towards my bedroom door, her hair swinging behind her. "Remember, thirty minutes, Sage."

    Sighing, I begrudgingly got out of bed and made my way over to my closet. Despite being here for over a month (staying in this room less than that), I had not taken a good look at all the clothes stocked within. From what I could tell, the closet was filled with mostly basic clothes — lots of v-necks and neutral shorts and pants. There were a couple of dresses, and I gravitated towards them for a night out.

    The last time I went out, a lot of people at Midnight Mercury were wearing dresses, I noted. Since being in the Outside, I had mostly worn shorts and pants as opposed to my almost constant wearing of a dress in the Borderlands. I knew if I was going to have to wear shoes, then I would feel more comfortable completing the whole outfit with a dress.

    There were not a lot of dresses to pick from. A couple of red dresses and a single black dress. I held up one of the red dresses, but it seemed too short, only coming up to my upper thigh. I could envision myself pulling at the fabric all night, choosing to put it back on the hanger. Instead, I pulled out the black dress. It was made from a silk material and came to my mid-thigh. It was fitted but loose enough to not seem like it would be suffocating.

    Putting on the dress, I found a pair of black sandals to match, not wanting to wear heels. With my outfit picked out, I made sure to freshen up by brushing through my hair and putting on a couple of spritzes of a vanilla perfume Mina loaned to me.

    With that, I made my way over to the living room, where Mina met me after she had got herself ready, as well. Mina wore a short, purple dress with dangling gold earrings to pair with it. She wore a pair of heels, the clicking of each step echoing throughout the room.

    Mina did not waste any time in whisking me away to a car. Max was the one who was driving. Mina explained she had to pull Theo's tooth and nail to convince him to let me go to the Alpha's Den. He did make sure to tell Mina that Max had to tag along, no exceptions.

    The car ride to the Alpha's Den was short, only making a few turns before we reached our destination. Max parked in front of the bar, and the words Alpha's Den shone brightly over the brick facade. We all got out of the car, and someone came over to Max, took the keys, and drove the car away. Mina explained the car was being valeted. There was a winding line outside the entrance, but Mina did not make any move to join those in line.

    Instead, she went straight to the front door, spoke to the person guarding the door, and then we were waved inside. As we walked into the Alpha's Den, the lighting was low, but I could still see it was packed with people. Music blasted from the dance floor that was in the way back of the room. A large bar top was to the right and the rest of the room was the dance floor.

    Mina grabbed me by the wrist, guiding me through the sea of people surrounding us. I could not tell where she was taking us until she stopped in front of the bar.

    "This is Moon," Mina turned around towards me, introducing me to a man that hovered over me; he was almost as tall as Theo. His hair was long, but it had been tied back into a bun. "My little brother."

    I turned towards Mina. "I didn't know you had a brother!"

    "She's embarrassed by me," he smiled, bringing an almost empty drink up to his mouth.

    "We have been over this: I am not embarrassed. I just don't believe in what you do," she exclaimed, speaking loudly so she could be heard over the loud music. I was thankful even their supernatural hearing could not help them hear very well over the loud music.

    "She doesn't like that I'm in the circus," Moon turned towards me with a crooked smile. "She thinks I'm exploiting our heritage for money, but I say it is just an expression of myself."

    Mina rolled her eyes before excusing herself to get both her and my drinks. She asked me if I had any preference in drink, but I said my knowledge was limited. I did mention I had liked the rum and coke I had at Midnight Mercury.

    "So, what do you do in the circus?" I asked, curious since there had never been a circus in the Borderlands. Pa had read me stories about them; they were in some of the children's books that circulated in the Borderlands' public library.

    Moon's smile widened. "I am Algor — half man, half wolf. We mostly go touring human communities. They eat it up. There's a vampire, fairy, troll, and a witch, as well."

    Moon looked proud of himself. I couldn't resist asking, "a witch?"

    "It's one of the things that makes our traveling circus so popular," he took one last drink before Mina reappeared, halting me from asking Moon any more questions about the witch in his circus.

    Mina handed me a rum and coke, and I took a sip, having to stop myself from puckering. The ratio of alcohol was a lot more than I remembered it being at Midnight Mercury.

    "I hope my brother wasn't boring you," Mina laughed as she put a hand on Moon's shoulder.

    "Haven't you heard, sis? My latest act is to cause anyone to fall asleep with just one word," Moon's brown eyes bulged, as he tilted his head toward Mina.

    Mina lightly smacked Moon. "I'm sure it's not an act. I can very much believe you hold that ability."

    "Learned it from you, dearest sister," Moon slung his hand over Mina's shoulder, as I quickly downed the drink. Moon turned towards me. "Wouldn't you agree, Sage?"

    I was taken aback by the question, coming up completely blank. I hesitantly responded. "Uh?"

    "Oh, leave her alone, Moon," Mina shook her head at Moon. "Let me go get a round of shots."

    Mina made a b-line for the bar, taking the empty drink in my hand before making her way back to the bar. Moon ran a soothing hand over his head, tightening his dark chestnut bun.

    When Mina came back, she handed us each a shot and another drink. We quickly downed the shots; I almost coughed from how strong the alcohol was. Mina and Moon were much more accustomed to it and resided to laughing at my reaction while they took the shot without so much as a quiver.

    "I think it's time to hit the dance floor," Mina yelled, setting our shot glasses down on a nearby table.

    With her hand free hand, Mina dragged Moon who in turn dragged me into the depths of the dance floor. I kept absent-mindedly taking a sip, each taste getting more palatable. Once we got further into the crowd, Mina stopped, turning towards Moon and me as we began to try our best to not awkwardly dance the night away.

    As the night wore on, the music pounded louder, and the drinks seemed to get stronger. My body swayed along with the music, dancing alongside Mina as she mouthed the words to songs I had never heard before. Moon was a little more abrupt in his dancing methods, choosing to fist bump most of the night.

    My mind grew fuzzy, but I continued to have a good time. I hated to admit the alcohol flowing through my body helped me loosen up and feel light. It was like the responsibilities that hung over me disappeared for the night, and I couldn't keep the constant smile off my face. Part of me didn't want the night to end.

    As I danced, it felt nice to be able to blend into the crowd and just appear as an ordinary Outsider. My body started to slow down in pace as the fourth rum and coke I had was empty. I looked around to see if the bar was busy, Mina telling me I could just put the drink on her tab. The bar did not seem overwhelmingly busy, with only a couple of people ordering, so I made my way over.

    Having to shove through the crowd to get out, I was surprised, despite the lack of lighting, I recognized someone. "Memphis? Memphis, what are you doing here?"

thank you all so much for continuing to read my story. from now on, i'll be updating twice a week. every tuesday and friday!