This book is a work of fiction. Any references to realpeople, historical events, or real locales are used fictitiously.Other names, characters, places and incidents are products of

the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actualevents, locales, persons living or deceased, is entirely

coincidental.

Copyright © 2011 by Jessica A. Redmerski

Cover Design by J.A. Redmerski/Background TextureStock by Night-Fate-Stock

All rights reserved, including the right of reproductionin whole or in part and in any form.

DEDICATION

For my mom, Kitty, for always being there for meeven when I was at my worst and to my kids, Devan, Jerricah

and Jonah for bringing out my best.

NO ONE USED THE F-word more than mystep-dad, Jeff. It pretty much made up hisalready limited vocabulary.

I stayed in my room around this time everynight when he wasn’t out at the bar. A poorexcuse for a man, yeah, but my mom, Rhonda,‘loved’ him. Despite the drunken fit, it was aquiet night in our house. But don’t get the wrongidea: no one beat me and my life wasn’t all thatbad, really. Jeff rarely bothered me or my sister,Alexandra, anymore. He backed off after Alexblacked his eye last year.

I’m not afraid of him. Who could be scared ofa weasely-looking man with nine inch nose hairsand who could barely lift an economy-sized boxof cat litter by himself? Okay, the nose hairs arepretty scary; I’ll give him that much.

I sat on the center of my bed with a book in

my lap and a CD playing low beside me. Alexleft earlier in the afternoon; she’d begged me togo with her to play pool, but I wasn’t much intopool. Besides, I knew why she really wanted meto go. She’d been trying to hook me up withBrent Haver-something. “But he’s hot,” shementioned on more than one occasion. “And he’sa decent guy.” He probably was hot and adecent guy; she was rarely wrong about thesekinds of things, but worse than usually being right,she was overprotective of her little sister andwould rather pick out guys for me to date. Onlyproblem was, I wasn’t into dating.

It was as simple as that.I heard my mom shuffling around in her room

across from mine. Hangers clanked violently inthe closet. Drawers opened and slammed shut sohard the dresser banged against the wall. Her

footsteps were heavy as she stomped back andforth, rattling the windows and the exposed lightbulb just above me in the ceiling.

“What are you doing?” Jeff said.“Why do you care?” my mom demanded.

“Your girlfriend is getting warm in there on thecoffee table.”

Mom always referred to Jeff’s beer as his‘girlfriend’.

The only thing I could give him credit for wasthat it took more than sarcasm to get him to hither. Not that that was saying much, but it was asmall sense of relief for me. My mom, to becompletely honest, couldn’t keep her opinions toherself; like right now, as she went on and onabout his drunken ways. Sometimes I wonderedif she was a masochist. I was used to theargument dragging out for at least an hour before

Jeff’s inner-loser took over and he got physical.Some might say she deserved it (my stepbrothersaid that once—Alex blacked his eye too), butno woman deserves to be hit.

“Why don’t you back off,” Jeff said with a slurin his voice. “Crazy, nagging bi—”

“Nag?” My mom sounded shocked. I couldpicture her mouth open in total disbelief, herhands propped upon her bony hips. The morevulgar name he had started to call her she was soused to hearing. But ‘nag’, no way she was goingto let him get away with that.

The rest of what she was saying, I ignored. Itwas always the same kind of argument withusually the same kind of outcome: drawn-outfighting, which ended in lengthy make-up sex thatalways forced me out of the house faster than theactual fight.

I hoisted my favorite canvas backpack onafter tucking my book away inside it and thenraised my bedroom window and slipped out intothe humidity. It felt nicer than inside where theheat of the day grew and lingered. We lived in atiny white house on twelve acres of land justoutside of Athens, Georgia. From the road, thehouse looked like a dirty speck in an endlessyellowing pasture. Not a single tree hoverednearby to help shade it from the blisteringsouthern summers. I hated that house. It wasJeff’s house.

Our neighbors were spaced out here andthere. Jack and Janice Bentley lived across thestreet—Janice had a cat-hoarding problem. OldMan Chester lived just around the curve past theproud and famous, Jacquelyn Morose, who hadthe pinkest house in Northeast Georgia. Though,

the house didn’t make her famous; she was in alaundry detergent commercial like two hundredyears ago and people still talk about it. Anyway,Old Man Chester was older than dirt too, andalways wore the same coveralls. And then therewas Mrs. Willis who lived next door.Unfortunately, she lived directly next door, as inabout fifty feet away on the same acreage. Wealso shared the same mailbox post and drivewaywith her and our business was her business, too.One of those. There’s one in everyneighborhood, isn’t there?

Like a vulture, Mrs. Willis watched me walkdown the dirt-covered driveway and away fromthe rusted wire fence overrun by weeds. As if Icouldn’t see her troll-like figure hovering at thekitchen window. Sometimes I felt like giving herthe finger, but I was capable of restraint.

I did, however, super glue her mailbox shutwhen I was eleven. On the day she wassupposed to get her Social Security check, atthat. I could say that looking back on it now, I’mnot proud of the childish deed. But then thatwould be a lie.

Neither my sister nor I were disrespectful girls.Despite Alex’s black eye record, she was themost caring and nonviolent person I knew. Ilearned a lot from her as we grew up (mom hadtoo many unresolved issues to be much of amodel herself). Alex taught me how to do acartwheel, how to cook and even to drive a stickshift (the only thing that huge field around thehouse was good for). Admittedly, I wasn’t verygood at any of them, but that’s beside the point.

An antique Ford drove past me, stirring updust along the road. A gnarly hand poked out the

window, waving at me as he went by. Old ManChester. He waved at everybody; it was kind ofcustomary in these parts. I waved back and kepton walking, slipping past a dozen erodedmailboxes and eventually over the creek bridge,which led to the park. The sun would be gonesoon; the sky laced by thin, dark pink clouds juston the horizon. I could count four streaks ofperfectly straight contrails left by planes,crisscrossing above me.

I sat in the park for an hour under anenormous tree; the one near the outskirts of theforest away from the playground and close to thepublic fishing pond. I loved it here. But I think alot of people did. Hard to resist one of thosemammoth trees with giant limbs that dip so lowyou can sleep on them. It was my thinking spotand where Alex could always find me.

“Adria,” she said walking toward me alongsidethe water, “Jeff went out, so let’s go home.”

She wore her trademark hip-hugger jeans,tank top and worn out black flip-flops.

I closed my copy of Neverwhere and left myindex finger in-between its crumpled pages. Thelamppost wasn’t putting off enough light anymoreto read and the erratic cloud of bugs swarmingaround it was beginning to thicken.

“Is mom home?” I asked.“She was when I left to find you,” Alex said,

sitting down next to me on the rain-deprivedgrass, “but was on her way out, too.”

“Thought you were playing pool tonight?”Alex shook her head. “I was, but I thought

you could use some company.”She always thought of me first, always put me

before just about anything. She was no eighteen-

year-old saint; left me on my birthday last weekto hang out with Zach Anthony, but she was thebest sister anyone could ever have.

“Surprised you didn’t bring your friendalong,” I said, smirking.

“What friend?” She paused. “Oh, you meanBrent—come on, Dria, he’s perfect for you. Hisdad owns a Honda dealership and his mom’s adoctor.”

I really had been referring to Zach Anthony—Iadmit; I was still a little bitter.

“I don’t care about that stuff.”“I know, I know,” she said, “but he’s adorable

—I swear he looks like Ian Somerhalder.”I looked over at her with a roll of my eyes.

“Oh please,” I said. “Why are you really tryingto fix me up with this guy? Be honest.”

Alex grew quiet and frustrated all of a sudden.

“I just don’t want you to make bad decisions,”she said simply.

Yeah, Alex always had that motherly wayabout her and sometimes she sounded like ouractual mother should have. We grew up quickerthan anyone we hung out with; honestly,sometimes we were more adult than some adultswe knew. Mostly mom’s friends. No surprisethere, really.

“You mean like the bad decisions mommakes?” I said. I had a feeling it was aboutsomething like this. She had always been morenegatively affected by mom’s screw-ups than Iwas.

I regarded my sister. “I have to live and makemy own choices, my own mistakes. You have tolet me be me, even if I suck at it sometimes.”

“I know, you’re right,” she said, gazing out at

the park.“I love you for being you, though.” I smiled

and she did too, just before she frogged me onthe leg with her knuckle.

“Ouch!” I rubbed the spot hard with my palm.“No cheesy love talk,” she laughed. “You

know I hate it!”She eased into a more serious mood then,

impeccably.“I need to tell you something,” she said. “I’ve

been holding it in for weeks.”Immediately, I had a bad feeling. I set the

book on the grass next to me and turned to faceher. I couldn’t actually say, “What is it?” as thewords were stuck in my throat.

“I think I’m going to move out soon...”I felt my heart sink. She just kept talking, but I

could barely hear any word she said. Absently, I

saw the way her dark hair flowed down aroundher oval-shaped face and how she kept thecorners of her eyes soft as she tried to explainher reasoning.

“...Liz and Brandon said I could stay withthem if I want. I’ll have to get a job and helpkeep the place clean, but I’m all for it...”

I didn’t want to hear this.“...I’ll have my own space since they have the

extra room above the garage. And you can comevisit anytime you want. Once I get settled in youcan come live with me too.”

“What?” I said, staring at her in mute.Alex breathed deeply and let her head fall

sympathetically to one side. “We can’t stay withmom forever; you know that.”

“So you’re just going to leave?” I stopped herbefore she answered. “Mom needs us here.”

“Adria,” she said, gazing at me with that just-listen-to-me-for-once look, “I don’t know aboutyou, but I’m tired of being our mother’s mother.She won’t leave him. Isn’t that obvious already?”

“It doesn’t matter, Alex! That’s not thepoint....”

Silence filled the night air in an instant. Alexleaned against the base of the massive tree nextto me. I could feel her hand on my leg, patting itin surrender.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just don’t know howmuch more of this I can take. And it’s not justJeff; it’s everything. There’s nothing for me inAthens.”

“Well, Lexington really isn’t that muchdifferent,” I said begrudgingly. “I mean, I doubtyou’re going to ‘find yourself’ in a place less thantwenty miles away.”

I didn’t mean for it to sound so sarcastic….butthen again maybe I did.

A drunken bug fluttered down and batted itswings against the side of my face. I slappedfuriously at the air until I knew I had scared itaway.

Alex stared more at the ground than me. Shebegan twirling blades of grass around her fingers;her chin rested upon the knuckles of her otherhand. I thought about how much she had donefor me and I couldn’t bear the thought of beingon my own and without her. And I knew it wasbecause of me that she hadn’t moved out amonth ago. She was eighteen now, after all.

Maybe I was being selfish.I glanced over at her; the darkness shadowed

her face.“Alex,” I began, “if you want to move in with

Liz, I’m really okay with it. And I’m not trying toguilt-trip you, either.”

“No,” she said softly, her gaze still lingering, “Iwon’t go anywhere if you won’t go with me.Probably a bad idea anyway.” She added, finallylooking up, “I think Brandon likes me, so that’s adisaster waiting to happen.”

My chin drew back in surprise. “You’relying!”

“I wish I was,” she said. “I mean, I could justbe delusional, but he’s way too nice to me.”

“Listen to your gut,” I warned.“Liz is so gullible,” said Alex, her face

downcast, “and it makes me feel like crap.”“It’s not your fault.”“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”My suspicions went into blame-mode

suddenly. “...Ummm, why did you even consider

moving in with them if you thought he liked you?”I never knew my sister to be a home-wrecker,but I couldn’t help but ask and get it out of theway.

She swung her head around to see me besideher. “No, Dria,” she snapped. “I just saw it as away out of Jeff’s. Nothing like that.” I think shemumbled something like: “Can’t believe you saidthat,” but I couldn’t be sure. I felt guilty forthinking that way at all.

“I want out of Jeff’s as much as you do,but....” I had no idea where I was going with it.

If what I said was true, about wanting out,then why was I not sharing her ideas? Yes, I didwant out, but I wanted our mom with us. MaybeI was being delusional. Somehow, part of meknew that Alex was right about mom. She wouldnever leave Jeff. God, how could any woman be

so blind and stay with a man like him? I knew Iwould never be like her in that sense.

So, I guess I did learn something from mymother after all.

We sat quietly for several moments longer,Alex still twirling the delicate grass and meabsently watching her. I loved the summer nightair, the sound of summer insects and the smell ofsummer wind. Nothing could beat it. My mostmemorable moments were of summertime withmy sister and even though this particular momentwasn’t exactly a joyful one, somehow I knew justsitting like this with Alex underneath the giantoak, would etch itself deeply into my memory. Iwould never forget the pond and the trees andthe smell of honeysuckle and pine. And I wouldalways remember that stupid left flip-flop thatAlex had worn down so much that she often

stubbed her big toe when she walked. I tried toget her to toss them, but she refused. They wereher favorite. I glanced over at her, down at her feetand just shook my head smiling.

“What?” she said as she noticed.“Nothing.”“You better tell me, Dria, I’m not playin’.”I just laughed and she punched me on the

shoulder.“Damn it, Alex!” I laughed harder.A moving shadow pulled me out of my

thoughts then. Alex stood up, letting the torngrass blades fall softly from her fingertips.

“Who’s that?” I said.She looked down at me. “It’s Brent—I swear

I didn’t plan this,” she whispered harshly.I knew she was telling the truth. When her

eyes bugged out like that, she was always tellingthe truth.

“Hey Brent,” she said. “What’s up? What areyou doing here?” I could tell that Alex wasmortified about this extremely coincidental turn ofevents, and worried that I didn’t believe her.

“Heard you mention at Solids & Stripes youwere coming here and I just live two streetsover,” he said, pointing. “Want me to leave?” Iadmit he was attractive. He wore a tight-fittingnavy tee that conformed perfectly to every chestand arm muscle. Dark hair. Hard cheekbones.

He smiled at Alex and his bright eyes seemedto glisten.

Uh oh, I thought. I gave it a minute morebefore confirming my suspicions about him.

“No,” said Alex, “I just didn’t expect to seeyou.” She turned to look at me then. “This is my

sister, Adria.”Brent politely acknowledged me and turned

his attention back on her. “Headin’ home, or areyou up to swimming in the Fork? Adria can cometoo, if she wants.”

“I, uh...” she paused, “I’m not sure abouttonight.”

“No prob,” he said. “Maybe tomorrow afterpractice then?”

Yep, uh oh was right on. Alex’s plan hadbackfired and I think she knew it too; her posturetightened awkwardly as if something just bit her.Brent was interested in her, not me. At first, itwas a relief. I looked forward to messing withAlex about it later, until I realized how insulted Ifelt. Alex and I looked a lot alike, being sistersand all, but guys were always more into her thanme. What is it? I said to myself. Did I get more of

the plain or ugly genes than she did? Is it thatAlex is more outgoing, more likable? Is itbecause she’s the older sister? Wait a second,why do I even care? I’m not the slightest bitattracted to this guy, even though he does looklike Ian Somerhalder....

Alex interrupted my thoughts suddenly.“That’s right, you play football,” she said to

Brent. “Adria loves football.”“No I don’t!” I didn’t mean to shout, but I

hated football. I hated sports in general, at leastthe competitive version of them. Alex was sodesperate to turn the tables back on me that shehad resorted to blatant lies.

“I mean, I’m not into sports,” I said. “Sorry.”“It’s cool,” said Brent. “Most girls I know

aren’t into sports, unless you’re one of mysisters.”

“That’s nice,” I said, trying to hide the smirk,but I know Alex saw it, at least.

I don’t think Brent meant to offend me. Hejust gave me a weird feeling, putting me in the‘most girls’ category. I liked to think I was myown person. And like competitiveness, I hatedcategories.

I stood and slung my backpack over myshoulder. “One sec,” I said, putting up my finger.I reached into the bag and pulled out a cellphone. It was a Pay-As-You-Go; I had been outof minutes for two weeks and the battery wasdead, but I still carried it around. I pretended tobe checking a text message. “Mom needs us topick up some Advil on our way home.”

“Oh...,” Alex caught on quickly, “ok, well webetter go. I guess I’ll see you later then?”

Brent smiled and walked away with his hands

in his pockets.“Good save,” she said to me.We waited until he was out of earshot before

leaving my special tree and heading in theopposite direction. She walked with a slight limpon that left foot, but I didn’t say anything.

“You did it again,” Alex said accusingly.“Did what?”“Always looking for a reason—you know

what I mean.”“No I don’t.”“Yes you do,” Alex argued. “You’ll look for a

reason to not like a guy until you find one. He canbe perfect, but you’ll find one.”

“You’re not into girls are you?” she addedwarily.

“No!” I laughed. “And no one’s perfect;besides he’s a jock, Alex. You know I’m least

attracted to jocks.”“And preps,” she said.“And conceited jerks,” I added.“I know,” Alex laughed, “You don’t like

anyone!”“That’s not true,” I said as we slipped into the

forest down the asphalt bicycle path. “I likeTaylor Kitsch and that guy in Supernatural.” Icouldn’t think of his name. “Jared Padalecki!”

“You only like him as Sam Winchester, so itdoesn’t count.”

“Yeah, so.”Alex shook her head. “Adria, you’re

hopeless!”Massive trees towered over us, blocking most

of the moonlight from the clear dark sky. Thebicycle path through the park was a short cut toour house, only by a few minutes. We always

took this route after 8:00p.m. because the otherway was right past Jeff’s mother’s house. Shewas more of a troll than our nosey neighbor,Mrs. Willis, was.

During the day the park was full of joggers andbicyclists. At night it was desolate and eerie.Even with the sound of the freeway in thedistance, I still felt like I was far away fromhome, lost in the wilderness somewhere; after all,we weren't so far from the mountains. But tonightwas different. I wasn’t alone.

And you always let down your guard whenyou’ve got company.

“Brent must’ve overheard me talking to Liz,”said Alex. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I believe you,” I said, “but you have toadmit, it was a little weird.”

“You don’t believe me!”

I laughed. “No, really I do. It’s hilariousthough.”

“What’s so funny about it?”“That he likes you.”Alex shook her head. “I never saw that

coming.” She almost tripped over a branch lyingacross the darkly obscured path. “Well, I’mdefinitely not into him.”

My mouth fell open and I stopped abruptly.“Then what makes you think I’d be? Seriously!”

She shrugged. “I dunno,” she said, “he’s ajock, but not like Jasen Mills and his group ofjock dickheads. Brent keeps to himself.”

“So why would that make me like himexactly?”

“Ummm, because that’s how you are?” shesaid, as if I should already know the answer tomy own question.

Alex did have a point; I wasn’t one for hangingout with hugely noticeable crowds. But that stillwasn’t a basis for trying to hook me up.

The truth was that none of this matteredanyway. I was annoyed by her trying to hook meup at all.

“I won’t do it anymore,” she said, as thoughreading my mind. “I promise.”

I frogged her as hard as I could on the arm.“Crap, Dria! That hurt!”“Paybacks.” I grinned.For a moment, when Alex didn’t smile back at

me I thought she was mad.“What was that?” she said. “Did you hear

that?” She stood there gripping her arm, but itwas obvious something else was on her mindother than the inevitable bruise. She staredthrough the trees behind me.

So much for letting down my guard withcompany. The hair stood up on the back of myneck.

“No, I didn’t hear—”Then suddenly I did hear something. It

sounded like growling...sort of. I couldn’t tell.But what scared me was the strangeness of it, theforeign degree of danger in the ripple it left in theair. When you hear a dog growling you usuallyknow right away that it’s a dog.

“Sounded like a bear,” I said.We began walking faster. I could see one lone

streetlight glowing far off in the distance.Alex stopped and grabbed my arm, smiling.

“This reminds me of the time we saw TexasChainsaw Massacre over at Liz’s; remember?”

I guess her sudden relaxed attitude helpedcalm my nerves because I wasn’t as edgy

anymore. “Yeah, I remember.”“Like freaked out little girls,” Alex added.We cupped our hands over our mouths to

muffle the laughter, but then the wild flapping ofwings sucked the calm right out of us again.Birds, hundreds of them it seemed like, burst outof the trees.

“Alex,” I whispered harshly, “let’s go.” I tookher by the arm.

As we hurried down the path, squirrelsbounced from tree to tree, all moving in the samedirection. There were so many of them I couldn’thelp but notice.

“What’s going on?” Alex said.The growl now sounded more like a roar. It

filled the space all around us, making me doubtwhich way if any, that we could run away from it.Whatever it was. Instinctively, Alex and I stood

back to back, moving distractedly in a circle tokeep each other safe.

A figure crashed through the bushes then.My lungs hardened like cement as a naked

man stumbled out and fell onto the path ahead.Alex shrieked and gripped my forearm so tightthat it hurt. I was too...everything, to scream. Ithink I forgot how.

The man reached out a hand toward us. Icould hear the disturbing sound of his fleshscraping against the asphalt as he dragged hisbody forward with his arms. Alex and I startedbacking away, both of us trying to gauge thesituation before making any stupid suddenmovements. We should have just run for it.

“Omigod,” Alex gasped. “Omigod!”“Please...” the man said in a raspy, growling

voice, “...run away from here! Go! Now!”

I had to shake my thoughts sensible, literally.The sound of his voice held an echoing, demonicundertone and it stunned me. Alex grabbed myarm tighter and jerked me toward her. Herfingernails seared my skin. A perplexing force,like hot wind, blindsided me and I felt my facecrush into the side of a tree. Furious white spotsdotted my vision, shattering my focus. Bloodcame up in my mouth. I couldn’t tell if I was stillstanding, or if that tree pressed against my facewas really the ground. There was some kind ofstruggle, but the demonic undertone stood outover everything.

“Alex? Alex!” I had to know where she was, ifshe was all right.

I looked up and realized then that I was on theground. My vision was blurred. A canopy oflimbs and leaves and stars spun around in my

gaze, making me feel drunk. I wondered if I waslosing my mind...I couldn’t really be seeing what Ithought I was seeing. An enormous beast, bluish-black in the moonlit darkness, stood on two legsseveral feet away. Its head was like a wolf...no, itwasn’t like any wolf I had ever seen. It was amonster. Towering at least seven feet, its almosthuman-like legs and arms were covered inmangy, black fur. Its fingers were long with thickrazor-sharp nails on the ends.

The beast lunged at the naked man, burying itsmassive teeth in his shoulder. An agonizingscream pierced the air and then became amenacing, guttural growl.

I backed my way to wherever I could,gripping the ground with my hands, feeling thetips of my fingers pick up grains of rock andshove them underneath the bed of my nails. My

body jerked forward and I fell face down on theasphalt. Blood pooled behind my lips; the warm,disgusting thickness coating my teeth and slippingdown into the back of my throat. Something waspulling me backward, fingers digging into myankle so aggressively. I struggled to kick my wayfree, but it dragged me slowly off the pathwayand onto the dirt. Tiny pieces of rock and gritstung my elbows and ribs.

“Shhh!” demanded Alex. “It’s me!”Relief washed over me, but we were far from

being safe. We crawled further away andcrouched low behind a tree, paralyzed and out ofbreath. Blood smeared in Alex’s hairline, Inoticed momentarily.

I watched wide-eyed, my heart bangingviolently against my chest. My legs quivereduncontrollably; I thought I would faint at any

moment.The naked man stood from the ground,

pushing the beast off him and sent it crashingthrough the forest; tree limbs whipped violentlyaround its body. And then the man began tochange. His skin began to ripple grotesquely asthough something seethed beneath it. He cranedhis head and pulled back his arms, his fists balledtightly behind him, his stance battle-ready andterrifying. His face began to protrude; a snoutwith terrifying fangs jutted out; the cracking andcrushing of bone sent what was left of my nervescompletely over the edge. His human skinchanged color and long, black hair grew withinseconds covering most of his massive body.

I think I did finally faint at that moment.I couldn’t recall what happened immediately

afterwards. I couldn’t guess how I did finally get

to my feet and begin running through the woods.I couldn’t say how Alex and I made it to thefreeway, or how the cars swerved to miss us, oreven if maybe we had been hit because when Idid ultimately ‘wake up’, I was in a litter-filledditch with Alex on top of me. A crumpled sodacan and an empty plastic water bottle jabbed mein the small of my back. Cars buzzed by on thefreeway above, the booming echo of wheelsgoing over a nearby exit bridge. Clu-clump!Clu-clump! Clu-clump! I welcomed therepetitive nuisance. It was strangely comforting,as if it helped me believe that the nightmare inwhich made the frightening sounds before it wassomehow not real.

“Alex?” I said, squeezing myself out fromunder her carefully. “Are you alright? Alex!”

She didn’t respond and I panicked, putting her

bloodied face in my hands, feeling for her pulseand listening for the sound of her breath. Moreblood. The collar of her shirt had soaked it uplike a sponge, the ends of her hair clumpedtogether in a sticky mess. Finally, I saw herbreathe as bubbles of red formed in her nostrils—her nose had been busted—and I noticed agash on the side of her head as she began to stir,groaning.

“Alex!” I hugged her close to me.She opened her eyes in a jolt. “Where is it?”

she screamed. “It’s going to kill us!” She hadnever looked so distraught. The whites of hereyes seemed whiter; the skin stretched over herforehead tight like plastic. She dug her nailsdeeply into my shoulders and would’ve brokenthe skin had they not been protected by thefabric of my shirt.

“No, no, calm down!” I tried to get her torelax and finally held her still.

“It’s gone, Alex.” I hugged her tighter. “It’sokay; we’re going to be okay.”

A part of me felt like I was lying to her….Getting home that night proved mentally and

physically exhausting. Alex and I hardly spoke;too traumatized to talk about what happened.

I cleaned up; taking the longest shower I thinkI’d ever taken in my life, watching fragments ofdirt and rock and blood disappear hauntinglydown into the drain. Lifting my gaze to the mirror,at first I was relieved that a thick layer ofmoisture prevented my reflection. Tiny bubbles ofliquid gray covered the glass in a sheet of delicatehumidity, threatening to evaporate at any momentand reveal the devastating truth. The truth I hadalready begun trying to twist into something it

wasn’t. My hands were propped solidly againstthe edge of the counter. My whole bodythrobbed, stung, ached. I had to see. And so Iswallowed hard and wiped away the veil with thepalm of my hand. A girl with a busted lip and aheavily bruised face stared back at me. I didn’tlook like I’d been punched in the eye; I lookedlike...well, like my face had been bashed againsta tree.

I was so tired, but too afraid to sleep. I laid inbed for hours, taking greater notice to every littlesound around me, every movement. Mrs. Willis’headlights shining directly on my Supernaturalposter above my desk as she pulled back into thedrive. The every-other-night Bentley Family catfights underneath our house. The summer song ofcrickets and frogs. The remote control hitting thefloor in the living room after Jeff had passed out

on the couch.I knew all of these sights and sounds

intimately, yet they still managed to put me onedge as though completely new. But this wasnothing like the night we saw the horror movie;this time the horror was real.

I know what I saw.I know what attacked us, but to say it aloud

was like verifying it, sealing the deal, confirmingthat I believed in something so insane. I wasn’tready yet to admit it to myself. There had to bean explanation. There’s always an explanation,right? I just didn’t know which I wanted more: tofind it, or forget about it all completely.

Two days came and went and we didn’t go toschool. Alex never went further than the restroomor her bedroom. She still wasn’t speaking, atleast not about what happened. She hardly said

two random sentences to me, like how the heatwas too much for her (our air conditioner wasbroken) and something about a fly in her roomthat was driving her ‘bat shit'. But as far as Iknow, she never made any effort to plug the fanback behind her dresser, or get the fly swatterand smack the insect into oblivion.

On Wednesday, there was an unfamiliarknock at the door, which made me alert in myroom just down the hall. I knew it was someoneI’d never met before, someone important, ormaybe a delivery driver.

“They’re both in their rooms,” my mother said.“They haven’t been feeling well.”

My mom was never the type to invade ourprivacy. We could get away with playing the sickcard.

I couldn’t let her see my face.

“Yes ma’am, I called the school yesterday andtold them my daughters were sick.” I could easilydetect the offense in her voice, the same way shesounded when our neighbor, Mrs. Willis, wouldshow up at our door after a Jeff and RhondaBradley fight.

I heard a woman’s voice say, “If you don’tmind, we’d like to speak with your daughters. Itwill only take a minute and if everything is finewe’ll be on our way.”

I knew exactly where this was heading....Child Protective Services took me away that

day. I protested futilely—shockingly, Alex saidand did nothing. I even made up an elaboratestory about how Alex and I were attacked by agroup of girls in the park. Useless. They didn’tbelieve that our bruises were not the work of JeffBradley.

“Would you like to file a police report?” thesocial worker said to Alex as she sat impassivelywith her back pressed against the wall of theChild Protective Services building.

“No,” Alex said simply.I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something in

her eyes haunted me. Her face held no emotion.A single strand of hair lay stretched across hernose in a way that even made me want to move itout of the way and scratch the area it had been.She did nothing.

She was eighteen and free to go if she wanted,but not me. I was officially a ward of the State ofGeorgia.

I overheard them talking in the sterile-whitehall of the building, something about a witnessand a written statement. I knew then that Mrs.Willis probably had everything to do with it. She

was who called the police many times before. Iwas sure she told the police that Jeff beat us.

I spent six days in the care of the State and onthe seventh day, I was sent to live with my UncleCarl and his new wife, Beverlee, in Hallowell,Maine.

Thankfully, Alex left with me. I guess she gother wish to be out of Jeff’s house after all.

I HATED EVERYTHING ABOUT moving athousand miles away from home in Georgia,except for the weather. Of course I loved mysouthern summers, but September in Maine waslike heaven. The rest of it, I quietly kept tomyself, I wanted no part of. I loved my UncleCarl, but really, the last time I saw my dad’sbrother was when I was twelve. It wasn’t as if hesent Christmas cards every year. Now, with thenew wife and all, I wasn’t sure how well thiswould go over.

I have to admit, Uncle Carl’s place was nice.He lived in an isolated two-story Victorian-stylehouse mostly surrounded by woods. It wasn’t arich place by any means; the outside could’veused a new coat of paint and by the looks of theyard, Beverlee wasn’t much the gardening type.The plants hanging in pots on the porch were

mostly dead and what might have been a littlegarden on the east side next to the shed, wasnothing more than a square patch of dirt overrunby weeds.

Most of the time, I spent outside on theenormous dusty porch in a particular woodenchair furthest from the front door. But whenBeverlee started thinking of excuses to join me, Ifound the solitude of my upstairs bedroom morecomfortable. I was careful not to say or doanything to hurt her feelings—it turned out thatshe was actually nice and seemed genuinelyconcerned, but I still wasn’t ready for all thebonding stuff.

Alex and I both had our own rooms, andjust like at home ever since ‘the incident’ she saidlittle and did less. In her room, on the other sideof the locked door was where she stayed. And

unlike me, Alex was not so careful withBeverlee’s feelings. The onetime Beverleeknocked on Alex’s door to offer breakfast, Alexresponded: “If I was hungry, I’d go downstairsand make something.”

I didn’t know whether to be mad at her forbeing so hateful, or to worry if she’d ever pull outof it. I think it was a little bit of both.

“She needs more time,” Beverlee said sittingon the chair on the porch next to me later thatafternoon. “She’ll come around. What you twohave gone through is a lot to deal with.”

That was a serious understatement.It only took about a week seeing how Alex

treated Beverlee, to make me feel good aboutsitting out on the porch again. The sooner I let thechanges in my life happen, the faster theawkwardness began to wear off. Before I knew

it, I was eating dinner downstairs with Uncle Carland Beverlee and watching TV with them in theden.

I always thought about my mother though. Iworried about her constantly. Apparently, Jeffonly spent a few days in jail before they releasedhim. I asked Uncle Carl if my mother was whobailed him out (it didn’t matter to me that hedidn’t actually do anything this time).

Uncle Carl didn’t answer.

~~~

School. I dreaded it. Getting used to a new homeis simple compared to getting used to a newschool. I never dressed much like the in-crowd;preferred casual stuff and made it habit to shop at

thrift stores. Average girl with white, white skinand freckles; and I hardly ever wore make-up. Iadmit no one ever accused me of being ‘ugly’, soI must’ve been doing something right. Don’tknow what it could’ve been though; definitelywasn’t my chest size because it was as flat as myback. And my idea of fixing my hair was a quick,sloppy wannabe bun, or a barrette on each sideto keep my long bangs out of my face.

Uncle Carl agreed to let Alex and I settle inbefore sending us to school, but a few more dayswas the limit. The only thing I had going for mewas I wouldn’t be starting too far into the year.Alex refused to go to school. Kind of ridiculouswhen she would be graduating this year.Everything about my loving sister had changed.

“Not sure about the trends right now,”Beverlee said as we walked into a clothing store.

“But I’ll give you the run of the place.”It wasn’t exactly my kind of fashion, but we

had been driving around Augusta for three hours,stopping here and there and I was just ready toget ‘home’ and relax.

I never imagined shopping could be soexhausting, or that there was more to it than onestore. No, apparently real shopping involvedheavy amounts of conversation, criticalobservations of patterns and how one’s buttlooks in at least six different brands of jeans. Oh,and sales. Lots of sales. I think Beverlee spentmore money trying to take advantage of everysale than she would have if she would’ve justignored them altogether.

“Oh, Adria,” she said, holding up a strangeruffly-looking top. “This would be so pretty onyou. It’s half-off.”

I knew why it was half-off, but I thought I’d lether down easier than with the truth.

“Nah,” I said, wrinkling my nose enough toindicate disagreement rather than outrightrevulsion. “I never looked that great in blue.”

She studied it a second longer and then put itback on the rack, taking a white one, identical,into her hand and holding it up for me. “Whatabout white?” she said. “Or black.” She held upa black one then, looking back and forthbetween each of them and then at me.

I gently bit the inside of my mouth.“I...don’t really like it much,” I winced a tiny

bit, hoping she wasn’t the type that offendedeasily.

Beverlee smiled and hung both tops back onthe rack, the hanger clinking against the metal.

“Yeah,” she said, “I guess they are a little

overdone with the ruffles. Reminds me of apoet’s shirt.”

Not exactly sure what a poet’s shirt was, but Iwent along with it.

Beverlee moved over to the next circular rackand slid her hand in between several differenttops, moving each one back in the line until shefound a potential.

“Now this one is cute,” she said, holding it upto show me.

Carefully I studied the faint gray patternagainst the darker gray fabric. I moved in closerto see what the pattern was. A koi fish. Definitelymore doable than ruffles. My hand movedtoward the end of the sleeve where the price tagdangled, but Beverlee pulled the shirt awaybefore I could see it.

“Don’t worry about that, hon,” she said,

beaming. She placed the top in the fold of herarm as if my question on the price was my way ofsaying I liked it. “What size are you?” Shelooked me over once, contemplatively. “Small?Maybe a medium?”

“Medium fits good.”Beverlee glimpsed the tag and finally placed it

in one of those skinny, upright carts madespecifically for upscale clothing stores.

“Thanks,” I said.We moved slowly through the aisles. Every.

Single. Aisle.“Do you think Alexandra will like this?” she

said about a dozen tops, a watch, two pairs ofjeans and even bras and panties.

I picked out a few likely outfits for Alex andthen it was over to the shoe store. After thirtyminutes there, Beverlee insisted we stop for

lunch. She was full of energy, but I liked her. AndI could tell that maybe she was a little lonely andI was perfect for filling some kind of void in herlife. Uncle Carl wasn’t exactly the outgoing typeand I could see why Beverlee might seek humaninteraction elsewhere. Really, Uncle Carl waskind of monotone.

My first day at Hall-Dale was just about theway I expected it to be. Uncle Carl dropped meoff on his way to work and the few studentshanging around out front stared at me as thoughthey’d never seen a thing like me before. Islipped down one long hallway lined by art-filledwalls and made my way into the front office. Itsmelled of cinnamon candles and hospital soap.A man in a navy work jumpsuit stood high atop aladder with his hands buried in the flickeringfluorescent light fixture above him.

“Good morning,” a woman at the front deskgreeted. “How can I help you?” She wore tonsof gaudy jewelry on her wrists and around herneck.

“I’m new,” I said. “Adria Dawson.”“Ah yes, I have your class schedule right

here.” She pulled a sheet of yellowish paper fromsomewhere behind the low counter and handed itto me. “Great to have you at Hall-Dale.”

I smiled my thanks.“If you have any questions,” she went on, “or

you need help finding your way around, just askJulia.”

I glanced around and behind me. The janitorrepairing the light grumbled a curse under hisbreath and briefly sucked on the end of hisfingertip.

“Alright, it’s up and running, Mrs. Wiles,” a

girl, who I assumed was Julia, said as she camearound the corner from an office door. Sheadded, “Just let the defrag finish.”

“Julia, this is Adria...” Mrs. Wiles paused andglanced at me briefly.

“Dawson,” I said.“Yes, Adria Dawson is new to the school,”

she went on, “and if you wouldn’t mind showingher around, that’d be wonderful.”

The girl tucked a book underneath her armand smiled over at me, though she seemed faintlyirritated. “Julia Morrow. I’m everybody’s hall-guide.” She walked fully around the counter,positioning her bag strap over her shoulder.

I gave her a questioning look.“Oh no,” she said, realizing, “not that I mind at

all, really.” She went to the office doors then.“This way—I think you’ll like it here.”

I followed.“Wait.” Julia put up her arm in front of me.I froze at the door half a second before

stepping back out into the hall. A small group ofstudents walked past. Really loud. Gossipingabout how some girl really ‘screwed up her hair’.Not until they were out of sight did Julia let mepass.

“Drama Club,” she said. “As soon as theyspot you, Dane Fethermore—totally gay, butdon’t think I have anything against that—willeither try to recruit you, or you’ll be their nexttarget.”

She led me out of the office just as the first bellrang. Students shuffled casually down the hallwhile a few darted past so quickly I felt the windstir my hair.

“Well, I’m not into Drama,” I said, “so they

won’t be recruiting me.”Julia smiled over at me. “Not like real Drama

Club,” she said. “They just stir up a lot of craparound the school.”

Oh, that kind of drama, I thought.“Hey Jewels,” a guy said to Julia as he

approached with a single book in his hand. Helooked at me then. “All the way from Georgia,right?”

How did he know that? My privacy had beenthreatened already. What if they knew why Icame all the way from Georgia? The last thing Ineeded was to be the poster child for child abuseor alcoholism.

“Yeah, Athens,” I answered, “I’m Adria.”“Adria, cool name,” he said, “I’m Harry—not

such a cool name, sounds like an old guy name.Parent’s named me after Houdini.” His face held

a slightly embarrassed tone.“Well, nice to meet you, Harry,” I said, “and I

don’t think there’s anything wrong with yourname.”

Harry was tall and lanky with stringy blackhair; cute in a strictly brotherly sort of way.

“Who do you have first period?” Julia asked,taking my schedule from me. “Same as youHarry: Mrs. Scott; Good luck with that,” shewarned. “The woman’s Bipolar or skitzo. Oneday she’s disgustingly cheery, the next she’ssnapping your head off for answering a questionwrong.” Julia pursed her lips looking down intothe paper. “Well, at least you can get the worstout of the way early. Looks like the rest of yourteachers are pretty cool.”

“Let me see that,” Harry said, snatching myschedule from Julia. “No way, Jewels. She’s got

Coach Green.”“What?” Julia grimaced and snatched my

schedule back from him, peering into the textmore raptly.

She looked up at me then and shook her head.I thought maybe I’d just been sentenced theDeath Penalty.

“Coach Green is a retired Drill Sargent,” shesaid. “Too bad you didn’t get Coach Little.”

Oh great. A potential failed course. It wasn’tthat I was incapable of the more physical classes,just that I never do anything well underpressure.

“So,” said Harry, “gonna try out forcheerleading or anything?”

“Ummm, no,” I said matter-of-factly. “I don’thave the personality to pull that off.”

“Well, there’s other stuff,” said Julia.

“Like...well you could try Band, or BungeeJumping.”

I made a face. “Are you serious?”Harry just laughed. I couldn’t believe I almost

fell for it.“I wish!” said Julia. “That would be the

ultimate class for sure.”We made our way to an open classroom and

stopped outside the door.“This is us,” said Harry. “I wonder what it’ll be

today: hyped up on Poppins happy pills, or herhead spinning three-sixty.”

Their mockery of mental illness bugged me alittle. My mom had been on medication fordepression for three years. But I knew Julia andHarry probably didn’t really mean anything by it.Mrs. Scott was probably a real piece of work. Iwas worried though, especially about having her

as my first teacher of the day.“I guess Harry can take it from here,” said

Julia. “Catch you again next period.”Julia left quickly and slipped into a class at the

far end of the hall.I turned to Harry. “Looks like we’re late,” I

said with a slight edge in my voice. I noticed wewere the only students left in the hallway and theclassroom was full. I was afraid this notoriousteacher was going to embarrass me in front ofeveryone. Make me stand up in front of the classan introduce myself. Tell everyone where Imoved from and if I’m enjoying Maine so far.

“It’s your first day,” said Harry. “And myexcuse is that I’m helping you, so we should begood.”

It’s one of the most uncomfortable feelings inthe world: entering a new classroom late and

every pair of eyes on you. Harry walked me tothe far corner of the class where his desk was.

“Miss Dawson,” said Mrs. Scott, “welcome tomy class.”

She was smiling like the Cheshire cat. Did thismean my prayers had been answered and shewas ‘hyped up on Poppins happy pills’? I heldmy breath.

“Since it looks like Harry’s showing youaround,” Mrs. Scott went on, “I’ll let you sit nextto him.”

But there wasn’t an empty seat next to hisdesk. I waited a long, unnerving second.

“Jen,” Mrs. Scott said pointing to an emptyspot further down the row, “you may move backto your old desk.”

The girl happily gathered her books and toteand then walked past me to the empty seat.

I sat down and situated my things; the chairscraped annoyingly across the tile floor. Mrs.Scott placed a book in front of me. “We’restudying section seven, so if you’ll open it to pagethirty-three we can get started.”

I was thankful that it took no time for theteacher to take the spotlight off me. She wentright into ‘endoplasmic reticulum’. She seemednormal, a bit too cheerful, but still normal. Ithought I’d have to see how she acted tomorrowbefore I made any unofficial psychiatricconclusions.

After second period Spanish with Julia, I wason my own until I met up with Harry again infourth-period Geometry. I got all the same looksfrom all the same sorts of people throughout theday, but for the most part, the school was eitherfriendly or paid no attention to me at all. Just the

way I liked it.At lunch, I hung out with Julia, Harry and their

closest friends, Tori and Sebastian, who quitehonestly had a little more than my attention uponfirst glance. Only problem was he and Tori werea couple. That, I thought, was probably a goodthing. Relationships just weren’t my thing; casual,serious or anything in-between. Mom once toldme I ‘wasn’t normal’ and that I ‘should befighting with Alex over boys by now’. Guess itjust took me longer to catch up. Really, I think ithad a lot to do with my mom’s relationship rapsheet. Growing up around that hardly madeanything about it seem desirable.

During lunch, all five of us sat outside on astone picnic table underneath a shade tree. I wasglad to have found my group of friends soquickly, rather than wandering around the school

for days until someone had pity on me anddecided to take me in. And I did like them allvery much. Harry was naturally likable andprobably didn’t have an enemy in the entireschool. Tori and Sebastian were too into eachother, she sitting between his legs with his armswrapped around her from behind, to say much atall. Now Julia, she and I had more in common Iknew during our office introduction. We dresseda lot alike; the baggy but chic look and I noticedshe wasn’t too fond of make-up, either. Exceptfor mascara, which I admit, is absolutely vital inany girls’ arsenal, no matter how small.

“So why did you move to Maine, anyway?”Julia said and then put a can of Mountain Dew toher lips, gulping down the last of it.

“My mom sent me to live with my uncle,” Ilied, “because she took a job traveling.” It was all

I could come up with on such short notice.“Hey look,” Julia said then, gawking toward

the street as a muddy Jeep with big tires pulledonto campus. “I wonder what her excuse is fortoday.”

I was relieved the focus shifted so quickly.Any conversation about Alex made meuncomfortable and I got the feeling that tellingthem I had a sister was just a few questionsaway.

The Jeep pulled up to the front of the schooland a girl got out on the passenger’s side. Thefirst thing I noticed was her short spiky white-blond hair. She tossed a black bag over hershoulder and carried a stack of books in the foldof her other arm.

There were three guys in the Jeep, too, alllooking in our general direction. The girl glanced

over at us once before heading inside.“She’s only been at this school a week longer

than you,” Julia began, “and she’s been late everyday so far.”

Tori stopped fingering Sebastian’s bootlacelong enough to say, “She’s weird. I have her infifth period—hardly says a word. Freak.”

“Well, maybe she just sleeps late,” I said. “Mymom is like that; can’t get her out of bed beforenoon if you kick her.”

“She looks older than a junior,” Julia added.Tori used Sebastian’s hand as a notepad,

drawing random curlicues with tiny hearts on theends. “Well I don’t like her,” she added withouttaking her eyes off her work. “She creeps meout.”

I glanced back at the Jeep as it slowly pulledaway from campus. I wasn’t the only new girl at

school. This was a good thing.“Hey, Adria,” said Harry, “Do you skate?”The question caught me off-guard. “Ummm,

what like regular skating, or skateboarding?” Ihoped this wasn’t some kind of dating inquiry.

“Do I look like someone you’d find at a rink?”He laughed. “There’s a skate park not far fromhere. If you want, you can go with us afterschool.”

I looked first at everyone else, waiting forthem to confirm or deny that they were going.

“You don’t have to skate,” said Julia, jumpingin to save me. She likely saw the expression onmy face that I didn’t realize was so loud.“Harry’s the only one that skates; Sebastiandoesn’t even do it.”

“Yeah, he sucks at it,” laughed Harry.Sebastian reached over and playfully punched

Harry on the shoulder. Immediately, the actreminded me of Alex the night in the park.Already that memorable night was proving to bejust that. Unfortunately, the night air and smell ofhoneysuckle and pine was eclipsed by the moreterrifying event afterwards.

I shook it off quickly and turned my attentionback on my friends.

I realized Harry was the only one among usthat looked like a skater. In fact, I realizedsomething different about all of us. We eachlooked as though we belonged to a totallydifferent group of people, except Julia and I. Toriwas a girly-girl with a dash of rebellion in glitteryeye shadow and a cutesy pink baby doll shirt.Sebastian was more difficult to categorize; one ofthe individualists. His black Doc Marten bootscould almost place him in with the rocker guys,

but only almost. And it was Julia’s brazen,playful personality that made her different ratherthan her wardrobe choices. I could never be asbrave as her. Maybe ‘brave’ wasn’t the rightword. Somehow I got the sense that ‘careless’was more like it.

I started thinking about the girl from the Jeepwith white-blond hair. I felt bad for her, maybebecause she was new and I knew how that felt.But also, I was intrigued by her and I couldn’tfigure out why. It was a strange but insignificantcuriosity. I let go of it until I met up with her in thehallway after school was over.

Her locker was on the same wall as mine.She glanced at me once and nodded. Her

features struck me instantly. She had an ethereallook about her. The white hair and perfectlyapplied array of gray eye shadow brought out her

rounded angelic face. It was as if a painting hadcome to life in front of me.

I felt so inadequate, so plain.For a moment, it seemed like she was going to

say something, introduce herself, spark upconversation, but instead closed her locker andwalked down the long hallway in the oppositedirection. She went toward the bright sunlightshining in through the double glass doors at theexit. I could hear a small fashionable chain hittingsoftly against the back of her jeans as shewalked.

~~~

Uncle Carl and Beverlee were both sitting in theden when I got home. The house smelled of pork

chops and Macaroni & Cheese.“So,” Uncle Carl began, “do I need to ask?”

He was not too great at the parenting thing, buthe was trying.

“What he means to say is,” Beverlee said,“was your first day a good one?”

“Yeah, it was nice.”“So then you made friends easily?” Uncle Carl

added.“Uhhh, yeah. I didn’t have to eat lunch alone

on the first day, so that’s good.”He just nodded and buried his nose back

inside his Scientific American magazine where itfelt more comfortable.

“I’m going to...well; I mean if it’s alright, I’dlike to go to the skate park with them later.” Iwasn’t used to having to ask permission to goanywhere. My mom let Alex and I go wherever

we wanted and not because she was anunconcerned parent, she just had no reason todistrust us. We never got into any trouble exceptmaybe that one time we hopped the fence late atnight into the water park.

“Sure you can go,” said Beverlee. Her eyeswere bright, happy to see I was fitting in. Butthen the smile faded and she lowered her voiceand said, “Maybe you could see if Alex mightwant to go, too.”

“I’ll ask her,” I agreed, though somehow I hada feeling it would be a wasted effort.

And it was.“Not interested,” Alex said, sitting on the edge

of her bed, staring out the window.Her room was a disaster. Suitcases were

tossed on the floor where clothes and othervarious things lay scattered around. A plate

stained with remnants of last Tuesday’s meatloaf,sat atop her chest of drawers; the fork lying atopthe carpet just below. Absently, I counted sixbright red SOLO cups sitting upon her nightstandand dresser.

“Well, I just thought you might want to go. Getout of the house for a while.” I remained standingnear the door. It was the first time I feltunwelcome in my sister’s room. Secretly Istudied her. She wore the same white scoop-neck tee she had on yesterday. The same jeansthat used to be mine, but apparently fit her betterand so she claimed them last year. Her dark hairwas oily and matted and her room didn’t smell allthat great. A pair of dirty socks were hiddensomewhere nearby, probably stuffed down insidethe shoes she wore last.

She had always been more organized than I

was; never completely anal about it, but alwayssort of borderline OCD. This, the way thingslooked now, was incredibly unlike her.

She never responded to my comment.I moved further inside the room, stepping over

a box that held her Precious Moments collection;each one wrapped carefully in old newspaper.Our great-grandmother had given them to her,one for each birthday up until she died. Normally,that box would be the first thing Alex put awaysafely. She would never even take the porcelainbisque figurines out to display in her room, shewas so afraid they’d get broken. I was surprisedto be stepping over them in the middle of a dirty,cluttered floor.

Alex hardly seemed to move and it scared mea little. I began to doubt that she had evenblinked once since I walked into the room. Her

pale, oval face held no emotion. No anger. Nosadness. Absolutely nothing.

I thought changing the subject might help hercome around a little.

“Have you talked to mom at all?” I leanedagainst the dresser.

“No,” she said, still not looking at me.I hesitated, crossing my arms.“Well, for what it’s worth,” I said, “you were

right.”Still nothing. I went on.“I miss Carla and Janelle back home,” I said,

“but in a few months Carla will be moving toTexas and Janelle is so into Damon Harmon shehardly notices anyone else.”

Alex brought both hands up and ran themroughly over her face and head, dragging herfingers through her hair. I got the sense she was

anxious, trying to hold in whatever she wanted tosay, which was probably about not giving a damnabout my issues.

Change of topic again. I was getting irritated.“You know,” I said, “you didn’t have to come

here. You could’ve just gone ahead with yourplans to move in with Liz and Brandon.”

Finally, Alex looked at me. Just barely. Thenatural blue of her eyes seemed much darker.Black circles had set in and a red tint outlined theskin around her lower lashes like an infection.Her jaw was pulled into a subtle, yet noticeablehard line as if her teeth were pressed togetherbitterly. I noticed then that the bruises and thecuts left on her face and neck from the night inGeorgia were gone. Hers had been worse thanmine, yet I still had a few faint bruises and Ithought my mouth would stay sore forever.

“Why did you come, Alex?”I waited a moment. Alex swallowed hard and

looked away from me; her dark bangs fell downaround her eyes. “Because you’re my sister,” shesaid simply, staring toward the window again.

Her answer sparked a tiny bit of hope insideme. It was an opportunity to open her up, thougha small one and I didn’t want to let it go.Uncrossing my arms, I bent over and picked thebox of Precious Moments figurines up from thefloor and went toward her closet, trekkingthrough a bit of everything on my way.

“I’ll put these up for you,” I said as I shoved amound of sweaters away from the door with myfoot. Finally getting the closet door open, I wassurprised to see it completely empty inside. Thenagain, I guess it wasn’t much of a surprise sinceeverything she owned was all over the place.

Pushing up on my tiptoes, I carefully slid the boxonto the top shelf. A tiny white rope dangledfrom the ceiling. I reached up and pulled it,clicking the closet light on. I could see the lineson the carpet where Beverlee must havevacuumed before we came here. I had hardwoodfloors in my room. Apparently, mine was theroom Beverlee and Uncle Carl never got aroundto remodeling. But I didn’t mind so much.

“I can clean your room for you,” I said. “Helpyou get set up and organized.”

A part of me wanted to see her look over andshake her head at the absurdity of me organizinganything, but the bigger part knew that waswishful thinking.

So, I started cleaning anyway.I began with the trash: the SOLO cups,

various wrappers of snack cakes and plastic

grocery store bags. I stacked the dishes into asmall pile upon the edge of the dresser,unsurprised I found more dirty plates underneathher bed. Mold was setting in. Embarrassed to letBeverlee see how disgusting Alex had let herdishes get, I couldn’t resist throwing one plateaway that a fork had been stuck to, held togetherby muck and decay.

Alex never said a word. She never looked atme, even when I was standing directly in front ofher. Still, it seemed she hadn’t blinked.

In minutes, I had cleared enough out of thefloor to make a suitable path from the door to thebed. I filled a laundry basket full of clothes,though most of them had never been worn, but tome they were filthy simply because of thesurroundings they had been lying in.

Finally, I was getting overwhelmed, but I think

it was more due to her silence than the cleaning.“What’s wrong with you?” I walked toward

the window and sat on the desk chair near it thatAlex was using as a closet. It was time toconfront her. It had been long enough for her tostart dealing emotionally with what happened, butinstead she was getting worse. I still felt bad forher. How could I not? I was there with her whenthat...beast attacked us and when thatman...changed. We both went through the samehell. But I was learning to put it behind me. I wastrying to be myself and live my life rather thanletting what happened force me to live in fear.Alex was supposed to be the strong one. Shewas my big sister, the one who had my back if Iever needed her.

Now, she was reduced to...well, someone Ididn’t know. I meant it when I said everything

about Alex had changed. Her personality, herattitude, even that bright enthusiasm she alwayscarried in her face. It had become somethingbrooding and miserable.

“Please, Alex,” I said when still she refused toacknowledge me. “It scared me too. No, ittraumatized me, I admit, but it’s over now andwe need to put it behind us.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she snapped,still not looking at me.

I took immediate offense.“I think we should talk about it. You’re not

yourself; you’re this rude, selfish hermit. Younever come out of your room. You treat UncleCarl and Beverlee like crap and you won’t evengo to school.”

She was getting mad, I could tell right away,but I didn’t care. She needed to hear this.

“You’re gonna get the State coming down onus here too. They don’t need that; we don’t needit. Why can’t you snap out of this?”

Her fists clenched against the sides of her legs,handfuls of the plaid white-and-yellow sheet shesat upon crushed in anger.

“I said,” her emphasis on the word struck menumb, “I don’t want to talk about it, Adria.”Lines around her eyes became noticeable,deepening furiously.

“But—““No!” she roared, jerking her head fiercely to

look at me. “Please, just stop.”I paused, stunned. “Fine.”I closed her bedroom door harder than usual

when I left her sitting there. I was done. I wasthrough.

If Alex wanted to talk to me, I would be there

to listen when she was ready and when she couldbe Alex again. I loved and missed my sister, verymuch, but I wasn’t going to let her ruin this forme. I never really had much time to think abouthow badly I wanted to get away from home. Iwas always too worried about mom, but once Iwas away and could think about myself more, Irealized how miserable I truly was in Georgia. AtUncle Carl’s, we had spacious bedroomsoverlooking an awesome landscape of trees inthe back and a field in the front. The airconditioning worked here, but we didn’t have touse it because the weather was nearly perfect.Beverlee cooked breakfast and dinner every day.She and Uncle Carl were the type that would dojust about anything for us. But other than all thematerial things, what was truly important andmade me see the misery was that there was no

fighting here. There was no Jeff. I didn’t have toworry about leaving the house to avoid thebelligerent idiocy of Jeff Bradley. I didn’t have tofall asleep under a tree in a park alone at nightbecause I didn’t feel safe in my own house. Orworse, catch him peeing off the front porchbecause he was too drunk to realize he wasn’tstanding in front of the toilet.

I thought maybe it was for the best in manyways that we were forced to leave mom. Notonly did we have a better home in a betteratmosphere, but I hoped that mom wouldsomehow wake up and get away from there, too.

The events that led to all of the changes in mylife were another side to my story, the darkersecret side I knew I’d not forget easily. Or at all.

I MET UP WITH Harry and the others at theskate park before dark, surprised I found theplace as easily as I did. It was a relief when Irode up on the bike Uncle Carl bought for me, tosee that I wasn’t the only person without a car.But Harry had a car; music blared from twoenormous speakers in the wide-open trunk.Skaters whizzed by on the ramps, the sound ofwheels hitting the concrete and metal was loudeven over the music. There were only a handfulof skaters, outnumbered by those like me whocame only to watch and probably had never beenon a skateboard.

I had to give Harry credit; as much asskateboarding didn’t appeal to me, it did looklike it took a lot of skill.

“Over here!” Harry shouted over the noise.He jumped down from his board, stepped on

the end of it in a fancy, strategic sort of way andthe board popped up into his waiting hand.

“Glad you came,” he said, “Wanna try it out?”“Uhhh, no that's alright,” I declined, though I

knew he was mostly joking. “You’re really goodthough. I couldn’t even begin to understand howto do any of that stuff.”

“Ah, nothing to it,” he said.“Yeah, right.”Two guys joined us then and a tiny girl

scurried up behind one of them. She forced herhand into his and smiled suspiciously at me,obviously marking her property so the new girlwouldn’t get any ideas. If she only knew howcomplicated that type of mine was, she could puther worries to ease.

“This is Marc and Evan,” Harry introduced.“And that’s Cecilia,” he added with a furtive,

reproaching smirk.Harry and I shared a knowing look.“I’m Marc’s girlfriend,” said Cecilia, “cool to

meet you.”“You, too.” I smiled and introduced myself.“Adria!” Julia came up from behind with Tori

and Sebastian following hand in hand.Unsurprisingly, Tori overdressed for this kind

of social gathering; the glittering make-up, pigtailsand short pink skirt was awkward against thecasual colors and jeans.

“Have trouble finding it?” said Julia.“No, your directions were perfect.” I smiled.Julia gestured for me to follow. “Let’s go sit

down over here,” she said. “It’s far enough awayfrom the racket, but not too far away we looklike snobs.”

I assumed she meant the skateboards when

she said ‘racket’.“Unless...” she paused, raising a brow, “you

want to sit closer to the skaters.”I caught on. “No, no, I think your spot will be

great.”“You sure?” she said, pulling me along. “Evan

is hot, and so is Layne; he’s the tall one overthere in the Fight Club shirt.”

Tori jumped in, “Julia, I thought you hatedLayne?”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean he’s any lesshot.”

“Why do you hate him?” I asked.We came to an area with two stone picnic

tables situated in an L-shape next to each other.A park grill stood feet away in the center;remnants of charcoal lay scattered about. Abright red and black sign had been nailed to a

nearby tree that read: ‘No Camping’.“Well, I don’t really hate him,” Julia

answered.“No, she used to date him,” Sebastian said

with a twinge of laughter. It caught me off-guardsince he hardly ever spoke.

“We never dated.” She stared at Sebastian foran infuriated moment longer. “So anyway, Adria”she finally went on, looking over at me again,“was it just you that moved here?”

Really, the question was just her way todistract everyone from the subject of her and theguy, Layne. And it worked. Suddenly, all eyeswere on me and I was stuck tiptoeing around thetopic of Alex. But how were they supposed toknow that the very mention of her made meuneasy and even a little annoyed? Or, that talkingabout her only made me think about the night she

and I were attacked by a wer...well, by a beast,and that they were making it more difficult to putbehind me? Making it more difficult for me toconvince myself I was a stable member ofsociety.

“No,” I said, “my older sister, Alexandra,came too.”

I was glad they didn’t probe further.The first hour at the skate park was fun. I

laughed a lot; something I realized I hadn’t donein a long time. I even tried to stay up on Harry’sskateboard, which was an unsuccessful mission inso many ways. Everyone laughed when I fell, butno one made fun of me. Well, except maybe forjealous Cecilia. Her laughter was a bit smugger.

Suddenly our circle got quiet and everyonelooked up and toward the street.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” growled Tori.

The muddy Jeep with big tires drove slowlyinto the skate park. The same three guys werewith the spiky-haired blond girl from school.Once again, they were looking in our directionand this time it made me uneasy. I glanced atJulia and then Harry, lastly at Tori and Sebastian,but saw that everyone seemed as perplexed as Iwas. I had hoped that someone from our groupmight know what attracted their obvious stares.

“Thank god,” said Tori, as the Jeep pulledaway from us and went toward a nearby parkinglot instead.

I watched across the long stretch of grass andtrees that separated us from them. Pulling into aspace, the driver killed the engine and only heand the spiky-haired blond girl got out. Bracingher palms against the hood, the girl hopped upand sat atop it letting her legs hang just over the

tire. The driver walked around to the passenger’sside and leaned against the back door, crossinghis arms over his chest and his legs at the ankles.Vaguely I could see his lips moving as he spoke,apparently to the guys that still sat in thebackseat. I got the strangest feeling. I knew theywere watching us, even when they appeared notto be. Quietly I glanced once more over at eachof my friends, wondering which one of themcould be the reason, which of them knew morethan they were letting on.

“Maybe they just want to hang out,” saidHarry. “We should ask them.”

Tori’s face scrunched up into an ugly grimace.“Definitely not,” she scoffed. “They look liketrash.”

Harry frowned. “What does a trash look likeexactly?” He and Sebastian glanced at each other

privately, agreeing that she had said somethingthat neither favored. “You’re way too judgmentalof people, girl.”

“Whatever, Harry,” Tori snapped back.I liked Tori—or, maybe I just tolerated her—

but I probably would never have befriended heron my own if she wasn’t already part of thegroup I hung out with. We may have all beenpretty diverse, but she was least like the rest ofus.

“Have any of you ever talked to them?” I said;my first attempt at obtaining some clues.

“I haven’t,” said Harry. “But I see the girl nearmy Art class every day.”

Sebastian reached up and rubbed his templesin a circular motion with his thumb and indexfinger as if soothing a headache. Tori laid herhead in his lap then. Her petit arm, dressed in

jingling bracelets came up where she gentlybrushed the side of his face with her fingers.“Baby have a headache?” she said.

I think Harry’s eyes almost rolled right out ofthe sockets.

Sebastian braced his hands upon the picnictabletop and leaned his head back further. Herfingers fell away.

“I’ve never met the girl,” said Julia. “But I’dlike to meet that guy standing against the Jeep.”

Tori and Sebastian left shortly after. Sebastianwas the only one among us that didn’t answer myquestion, so naturally I began zoning in on him.But then again, it was natural for Sebastian to beso apathetic.

“I told Sebastian that Tori was a handful,” saidHarry as we sat on the edge of the skate bowl.

The Jeep was still parked across the lot, and

by now all four of the passengers were sitting onor leaning against it.

I never really stopped watching them as theywatched us.

“Seriously, Harry,” I urged, “what did youreally say about her?”

“Huh?”“Oh, come on,” I said, smirking. “I know guys

don’t tell other guys a girl is a ‘handful’. You’rejust trying to be polite, which I appreciate, don’tget me wrong.”

Harry nearly blushed. “Ah, okay, you got meon that one,” he said. “I told him she was asoulless bitch.”

His posture changed uncomfortably after theB-word. It was apparent that maybe he had beenbrought up in a super-strict family with goodmorals and all that stuff. A bit different than my

family where curse words were integrated intoeveryday conversation. Except with me andAlex. Really, it was just mom’s boyfriends thatbrought in the bad habits.

“Hey, it’s cool,” I said, “I don’t get offendedeasily.”

Harry smiled and left it at that.“Sebastian is my best friend,” he said. “He’s a

smart guy; I don’t know what he was thinkingwhen he started dating her.”

“She’s pretty,” I admitted.Harry’s expression soured. “If you say so,” he

disagreed. “But I think Sebastian’s realizing I wasright about her.”

“What makes you think that?”“They’ve been dating for like five months,”

Harry said, “but lately he’s not been as into heras much as he used to be.”

I pictured Sebastian and Tori at lunch andaround the school, even just minutes ago. “Idon’t know how they were before,” I said, “butnow that you mention it; their relationship doesseem a little one-sided.”

Harry’s sour face brightened then. “You see ittoo?” he said eagerly. “I hoped it wasn’t justme.”

“No, I think you’re onto something,” I said.“Tori definitely seems more into him than he isinto her.”

A skater zipped up the side of the bowl andlanded heavily right next to me with a clack. Ijumped and squealed; thankful my fingersweren’t crushed. He smiled apologetically andtook off again in a wheeled blaze.

I turned to Harry once the shock wore off. “Ishe into Julia? Sebastian, I mean.”

“No way,” Harry laughed. “Where’d thatcome from?”

“They just seem...tense around each other.”Harry shook his head. “I dunno, but he

would’ve told me....” His voice trailed, leavingme to wonder if he really believed that statementhimself.

Julia walked up behind us then. “What are youtwo talking about?”

The guilt made me wonder if she hadoverheard. But that was just the paranoia atwork; there was no way she could have.

“I was giving Adria skating pointers,” Harrysaid.

Julia plopped down on the other side of me.“She needs more than pointers,” she joked.

I shook my head, smiling, but not at allembarrassed.

“Hey, no argument here,” I said.Julia reached over and cradled my wrist in her

fingers, thumbing one of three FriendshipBracelets I wore.

“I’ve tried to make those,” she said, “but I’mway too impatient.”

“My sister made these,” I said, now fingeringeach one by one, while reminiscing. I had wornthem since March and they were probably goingto break and fall off soon. I thought about howironic that was.

“She used to make all kinds of jewelry,” Iwent on. “I saw the inside of Hobby Lobbyenough to point you in the right direction if youever need beads or glue.”

“Hmmm,” Julia mumbled absently, “I’ll keepthat in mind.” She jumped up then and crossedher arms looking out across the skate bowl. I

thought her comment seemed a little off andquickly realized why. Layne, the skater in theFight Club shirt was standing on the other sidegetting ready to take his turn.

“Whoohoo!” she yelled with her hands cuppedinto a cylinder around her mouth. “Let’s see whatyou’ve got, Layne!” It was completely sarcastic.

Layne’s eyes barely veered in her direction,though it was obvious he heard her. Everyoneheard her. Layne rested his board on the edge ofthe concrete, waited a few seconds and thentook off. As he whirred back and forth everywhich way, I noticed the only spot he didn’tcover was anywhere near where we were sitting.

Julia took hold of my wrist and urged me up.Harry followed.

“Come on,” she said, heading back toward theparking lot.

“Why don’t you just talk to him, Jewels?”Harry suggested.

“No way,” Julia said. “I’m totally over him.”I tried not to look quietly at Harry because it

felt sort of like talking about Julia behind herback again, but I couldn’t help it. Neither couldHarry. We shared the same obvious thoughtabout how Julia was still in denial about thewhole thing. Whatever it was. It felt likedangerous territory and I refused to probe.

I heard an engine rev. An older model blackBronco with a huge Grille Guard on the frontbumper, drove nosily into the park. It had a roofrack with four KC Lights and its tires werebigger than even the Jeep had. I knew a thing ortwo about automobile accessories; my step-dadhad been a mechanic and a custom auto tech allhis life. And my step-brother had followed his

lead. Double the unsolicited lessons.The Bronco came toward us slowly.“Must be a zombie apocalypse nearby,” said

Harry, “with that tank—sweet!”I admit, it was pretty awesome.As the Bronco drove closer, its size became

more distinct. I would need some serious helpgetting up inside that thing. It grumbled gentlypast us and parked just three spaces over fromHarry’s car. Two brooding guys in their earlytwenties, jumped down onto the parking lot,closing the doors behind them. One was tall likeHarry and the other had a full sleeve tattoo on hisright arm. The tall one reached briefly into hisback pocket, maybe to situate his wallet. Theyspoke to each other for a moment and beganwalking toward us.

They carried no skateboards, so I knew they

weren’t here for recreation.“Wonder who that is?” said Harry.“Never saw them before,” Julia said from

behind. She moved away from us then. “I gottause the bathroom,” she said, walking in thedirection of the restroom facilities many yardsaway.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye, the fourpeople hanging around the Jeep were all standingin a group, more alert now than laid back as theywere before.

They stared blatantly at us.But the two approaching were who held my

attention. Why were they looking at me like that?I glanced around and behind me to see if

someone was standing nearby that seemed toknow them.

No, they were definitely looking at me and

maybe Harry, too.They stopped right in front of us; the tall one

popping a piece of candy into his mouth. Maybethat’s what he had been fishing for in his backpocket.

“You and your sister, Alexandra, just movedup on the hill, right?” he said to me, sucking onthe candy.

“Y-yeah, that’s right.” I hoped I was hidingjust how intimidated I was better than I thought.“How’d you know that?”

He smiled, though I found no comfort in theway he chose to twist it into a faint grin. “Weknow things,” he said simply.

Harry leaned against his car next to me, tryingto act casual, but I knew he was as suspicious asI was. I could feel he had moved closer to me,protectively.

“Do you live around here?” Harry said.The tattooed one just nodded in response, but

it seemed more like a dismissal. He was moreinterested in me than Harry. Both of them were.

I didn’t like this at all.And how did they know Alex? This mystery

ate away at my thoughts more than anything. Istood stiffly; my arms bent upwards, handstouching level with my chest. I always grazed thebacks of my fingers like that when I was nervous.

“I’m William,” said the tall one. He continuedto look at me, waiting for me to respond.

“Adria,” I said finally and then I gestured tomy left, “and this is Harry.”

“A pleasure, Adria,” said William. There wasvenom in his close-lipped smile. He extended ahand, but I was hesitant to take it. Slowly myhand went toward his, but before I could commit

entirely, he made the move forward and tookhold of it anyway. Almost as quickly, yet he did itwith such methodical grace, he leaned over andkissed the top of it, just below my wrist. Instincttold me to pull away and when I tried, I couldfeel how much tighter his grip became. Thevirulent smile never left his face. His penetratinggaze never left my own. Dark, beautiful eyes. Butmore malevolent than beautiful so there couldnever be an attraction. I couldn’t help but stareintensely back at him. I was terrified of him andcouldn’t let down my guard.

Finally, I pulled my hand from his, feeling hisfingers graze upon my knuckles. But I wascareful not to reject him too unambiguously infront of others. I got the distinct feeling that todemean him publicly would carry unpleasantconsequences.

Harry had moved from the car and stoodmore rigidly at my side. Nothing about his facewas welcoming.

The tattooed guy cocked his head to one side,looking at Harry now with a sort of humorouscuriosity.

“You must be the boyfriend,” he said to Harry.“No,” Harry responded, “I’m not, but maybe

you should find another place to hang out.”I winced. The last thing I wanted was for

Harry to feel obligated to protect me and end upin the hospital as a result. I could tell, just by theapprehensive tone of his posture that he knew aswell as I did that these two could easily end hislife.

The tall one, William, smirked, but still henever took his eyes off me.

I heard voices and footfalls behind us on the

grass as a small group of Harry’s skater friendsapproached. It didn’t take long for others torealize that something was about to go down.Only a minuscule amount of relief washedthrough me, having more on our side so readily atour backs. I felt my palms sweating and thenrealized I had been standing the past manyseconds with my fists balled at my sides out oftension.

Harry’s friends stood behind us in the shortdistance; a just-in-case-distance.

I knew then that I had to be more austere.After all, for some reason I could never imagine,I was the one they were here for.

“Look, what do you want exactly?” I said,stepping up.

Nervousness dominated every muscle andbone, but I managed to hide it.

“No need to be rude,” William answered,folding his hands together behind him. “Just cameover to get acquainted. That’s all.”

I knew that was lie, but his impish expressiontold me he wasn’t exactly trying to trick me intobelieving it.

I crossed my arms firmly and just looked athim. Already tired of this stupid game, mynervous mood receded and turned into somethingbolder. Maybe it was all the practice I had overthe years with my step-dad, but whatever it wasit pushed me right up to William daringly. I didn’trealize just how tall he really was until I waspractically standing in the shadow his body castaround me.

William smiled down at me, pleased, and thisinfuriated me even more.

“Well, I’m not interested in getting

acquainted,” I said snappily.“Why not?” His face went blank.I blinked. Having a hard time reading him now

that his smirk left so suddenly; I chose to pretendI was still the one in control. The truth was, thatsimple change in him managed to put the fearright back into me. Before, it was easier to treathim like any other self-centered jerk, butsomething in his dark eyes caused every one ofmy muscles to tense up again.

I stood my ground. I had to. Though all Iwanted to do was get away from him.

I noticed that the tattooed one was staringHarry down now as if he were just waiting for hischance to jump him. Harry stood confidently, butI knew on the inside he was afraid.

William licked the dryness from his lips andbreathed in deeply. “You were right, Ashe,” he

said to the tattooed one, but never looked over,“she has the same aggressive scent.” He rolledhis head around, the veins bulging in his neck ashe inhaled the air.

My face crinkled incomprehensively. Whatwas that supposed to mean?

Enough of this.I went to leave, taking Harry by the elbow, but

was stunned to feel a harsh hand around mybicep that I knew wasn’t Harry’s. Turningswiftly, I jerked my arm from William, but hepulled me toward him. Vaguely, I heard theclatter of Harry’s friends advancing behind usand for a split second even saw the four from theJeep were also rushing forward now. But in thatnext split second, my reflexes took over and myfist went soaring toward William’s face. Thecontact against the side of his mouth sent

shockwaves through the bones in my hand.A dozen gasps rose all around me, but then

everything went silent. No one moved; least of allme.

Petrified, I swallowed hard and finally backedaway half a step. Harry unfroze and moved overin front of me, probably cursing me in his headfor taking it to this level because being my guyfriend, he would be the one that paid the price.He pushed me back with his arm, putting himselfdefensively between me and William.

William never moved and the tattooed one,Ashe, remained still as though commanded toback down by William’s subtle body language.

A trickle of red emerged from the corner ofWilliam’s lips. He reached up slowly and wipedthe blood away with the side of his thumb.

“Interesting,” he said and then licked the blood

clean.To the surprise of all, William and Ashe just

turned and walked away. Everyone watched asthey got back into the black Bronco and droveout of the skate park the same way they drove in;even the four from the Jeep, who were nowstanding just feet from me. But their faces held adifferent intensity, one that I wasn’t interested infiguring out. I had had enough with strange,intimidating people for one night.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by a lot ofimpressed, excited faces.

All I wanted to do was shrink inside myself.“Damn, girl,” said some curly-haired guy, “you

got a brick in your hand, or what?”Jealous Cecilia regarded me now with a

different attitude than before, but I thought thiswas a bad thing. I would rather her dislike me

and keep her distance than become my newest,annoying latch-on friend.

“That guy was huge,” she said, smiling wide-eyed and admiringly.

Despite my fifteen minutes of fame, I wasn’tenjoying this at all. I had never actually hit anyonebefore. And the way some were talking, I wascolored as some fearless ‘hard chick’, when Iwas anything but.

When the excitement wore off a few minuteslater, Harry and I could be alone again, but atfirst I was still too bewildered by the whole thing,to say much to him. Especially at how soonWilliam and Ashe left and that the entire situationdidn’t turn into a huge brawl. It didn’t make anysense. Nothing about them gave off theimpression that they were capable of fear, thatanyone around here could intimidate them. How

could they let me get away with what I did?And then suddenly I didn’t feel so confident

anymore. I never felt very confident about it tobegin with, but that small part which was, exhaledright out with my breath. They were the patient,precarious type and that scared me more thandirect hostility.

“Looks like they’re leaving too,” Harry said,watching the Jeep.

All four of them had made it back, and thespiky-haired blond girl was the last to hop inside,shutting the door twice as if it didn’t catch thefirst time.

I didn’t feel like bringing up my worries wherethey were concerned.

“If those are the type your sister hangs with,”Harry said about William and Ashe, “I feel sorryfor you.”

That stung a little, but also gave me more tothink about. They knew Alex by her given nameand they wouldn’t have known to call her‘Alexandra’ unless Alex was the one who toldthem.

“What do you think they wanted?” said Harry.I paused, thinking not about the answer to his

question, but instead to my own: What did mysister have to do with them?

“I have no idea,” I answered both of us,watching the Jeep drive away.

Julia finally came back from a lengthy amountof time in the restroom.

“What happened?” she said walking up,dragging her fingers through the ends of her hair.“You two look all depressed.”

Harry and I just looked at each other againand shook our heads.

Later when the streetlights came to life, Idecided to head home. Harry offered to give mea ride, but I appreciatively declined. I knew hewasn’t ready to leave and his friend’s weren’tready to let him take the stereo with him.Besides, there wasn’t a place in his car to put mybike.

I left, feeling a chill in the air as the darknessfell. It was quiet out and that helped bring backmy fears of being alone near any wooded area. Irode down one long, winding street and thenonto another. I kept thinking that my next turnwas just up ahead, but after many more minutes,I knew I had gone too far. How could I havemissed my turn? All sorts of things ran throughmy mind then: What if I end up like one of thoseteenagers they find murdered in the woods? Ithought.

What if those guys find me?I began to panic then, lost on a dark, tree-

enveloped gravel road. Worst of all, I felt theeerie sensation of eyes at my back.

Movement transferred in my peripheral vision,an out of place shadow rebelling against the dark.My head jerked sideways and I froze on my bikeas a vehicle came slowly around the curve a fewyards behind me. I knew somewhere in the backof my mind that I should’ve taken off right then,but for some inane reason I didn’t. Was stupidityin the face of danger becoming a habit with me?It sure seemed like it.

The headlights were overly bright in suchdarkness and I couldn’t make out the vehicle, butI knew that it was larger than average. Higherup...like a souped-up Bronco perhaps?

I gasped; the cool air stinging my throat as I

breathed in so sharply. My heart sped up in twoseconds flat.

The gravel under the vehicle’s tires grindedloudly in my ears as it came toward me. I pushedthe bike pedal down and took off as fast as Icould. In seconds I felt my calves tightening tothe point that it hurt worse with every thrust ofmy feet. My lungs were working overtime. Butno matter how quickly I rode, the vehicle seemedto advance faster and I knew I couldn’t outrideit. I kept looking back to watch it, hoping itwould fall back, or turn down any one of the fewroads that it passed. Back and forth I lookedcontinuously until the distraction finally got meknocked from my bike. I saw the branch outahead, but not in time to dodge it. It caught tightlyin the spokes, sending me flying. I crashed hardonto my hip on the street.

The vehicle slammed on its brakes feet fromme and two people jumped out simultaneously.

It was the Jeep.I wondered if this could get any worse and

then cursed myself for wondering because itusually does once you do.

“Are you alright?” said one of them standingover me.

I didn’t look at him and refused his help as Istood up on my own, dusting my hands againstmy pants legs.

“I’m fine.”I bent over to get my bike, but the quiet one

picked it up with one hand and tossed it in theback of the Jeep between the mounted tire andthe seat. He wore a tight-fitting, long-sleevedblack shirt.

“We’ll give you a ride home,” the first one

said. “Come on.”Was this guy crazy?“I’m not getting in your car.” I started to walk

away quickly, but the quiet one in the black shirtstopped me. “Please,” he said with a forcefuldevotion that made my heart jump in my chest.“We won’t hurt you.”

I don’t know why, but I believed him.“Hi Adria,” the spiky-haired blond girl waved

at me from the front seat. She was smiling hugely.I swallowed an imaginary lump and after a

long contemplative moment, I jumped in the backseat, nearly hitting my head on the cover railabove.

"COOL TO FINALLY MEET you,” the girlsaid. “Officially, anyway. I’m Zia.” Her teethwere bright white as if she left a whitening stripon too long. Her eyelashes were thick and blackas coal; her skin creamy and flawless.

The clear picture of her face blinked out as thedriver got in and shut his door, turning off theinterior light.

Introductions were important, but I wasexpecting explanations first. For a long moment, Icouldn’t speak. I heard Zia’s name in the back ofmy mind, but my awareness hadn’t caught up toit yet. I studied the three guys, the driver wholooked the oldest and had a short, blackmohawk. The smallest who sat behind the drivernear the door seemed to have a permanent scowlon his face. And the one sitting on the other sideof me against the passenger door, he was the one

who put my bike in the back. He was gorgeous,a little rough around the edges, but so gorgeousthat I had to pull my eyes off him so he wouldn’tnotice my investigation had turn into gawking. Hisskin was lightly tanned, his hair black with amessy short cut and longer on top. His dark eyesinstantly pulled me in to some kind of abyss,which I recognized right away as an inevitableproblem.

“Thanks,” I said, turning my attention to Zia. “Iwas afraid you were someone else.”

The driver shifted the gear and we pulled awaywith a jolt. The Jeep’s top had been taken off, soit was chilly as we rode away.

Zia turned around from the front seat to faceme. “William and Ashe, from the skate park?”she said, knowing.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “You know them? Who

are they?”“Brothers,” said Zia. “Don’t have any desire to

know more than that, really.”“I can see why.”“We’re much nicer,” said Zia, “despite what

the school thinks of me.”I twisted uneasily on the seat, feeling a pang of

guilt even though I had never thought badly of hermyself. “What does the school think of you?”

Zia laughed. “I’m surprised you haven’theard,” she said turning around again to faceforward. “I’m a devil-worshipper and mybrothers accused of being more than brothers, ifyou know what I mean.”

My face scrunched up in disgust.“Well, I haven’t heard anything like that,” I

said honestly, “and besides, rumors are justrumors anyway.”

“Didn’t say I cared what anybody thought,”said Zia. “Well, except maybe for you. If youthought I was a freak you might not have gottenin the Jeep.”

She made a valid point.“My brothers are Damien here,” she said

nodding toward the driver, “and Joseph backthere, who everyone calls Dwarf.” She wasreferring to the little one sitting behind the drivernext to me.

“And that’s Isaac, the quiet one on the otherside of you. We live with him and his family—“

“That’s enough, Zia,” Isaac jumped in.They were the only words he would say, but

the tone said much more. Zia fell silent, thoughher posture seethed with irritation. I wasconfused and even a little put off.

“Anyway, we’ll take you home,” Zia said,

“and some advice: don’t go outside too latearound here by yourself.”

I slunk back into the seat, pulling my sleevesover my hands and crossing my arms.

She added then, “By the way, how’s yoursister doing?”

How did she know about Alex? Why wasAlex mentioned so often by people that didn’teven know me, much less her? This was sostrange that I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Ok,now I’m a little freaked out,” I said. “How doyou know about my sister? And those guys, theymentioned her by name.”

“Not sure about them,” said Zia, “but I knowbecause Isaac’s oldest brother, Nathan, works atthe grocery store with Beverlee. And wordspreads fast around here; small town and all. Hername is Alexa, right?”

“No, it’s Alexandra, but she goes by Alex.”I had to stop being so paranoid about

everything all the time. More and more every dayI realized just how much ‘the incident’ in Georgiahad affected me and that I wasn’t as over it as Ithought I was. I thought about William and Ashethen, wondering if maybe I read too much intothem. Sure, they were obvious jerks, but a partof me was so afraid of them that I actually, in asmall way, feared for my life. That was ridiculous.Would every incident in my life be dictated bythe incident? And with each new realization, Ireminded myself about what I had seen. What Iwent through.

It was in this unlikely moment, right there in theJeep with my enigmatic company that mysubconscious decided to accept the truth.

I saw a werewolf.

I witnessed with my own eyes a real, living,breathing, terrifying werewolf much like the onesyou see in the movies and read about in books.And when a person comes to such anunbelievable realization as this, when the humanin them can’t lie or make up excuses anymore, itchanges that person forever.

I changed right there. It took me weeks tobelieve it, but finally the truth caught up with me. Iknew then too that the reason Alex was nolonger the sister I once knew was because thetruth caught up to her much faster.

The cold of change washed over me in aninstant. I heard Zia’s voice and occasionally thevoices of Damien and Dwarf, but if they weretalking to me, I didn’t know it. I absently lookedat my company, one by one, and somehow Icouldn’t see them the way I saw them before.

What was being human exactly? It seemedeverything around me was nothing but a lie and Iwould have to start over and relearn everything Ihad learned since I spoke my first words andtook my first steps.

Everything was a lie and I had been living inthis lie for seventeen years.

Something as heavy as that is a dangerousburden to carry.

“Stop the car,” I demanded.“What?” said Zia.“Please, just stop the car. I appreciate the

ride, but I can get home the rest of the way bymyself.”

“Let us take you home,” said Isaac, laying hiswarm hand gently upon my wrist as I grabbed theback of Zia’s seat.

I looked at him and for a moment wanted to

listen. His eyes were magnetic. There was a sortof intensity and concern in them that I couldn’tplace, but there was no time for trying. I wantedto go home and I wanted to do it alone.

“Please....” I said one last time.Damien stopped the Jeep and Isaac got out.

He walked around to get my bike down for me.“I understand,” said Zia. “Look, I’ll see you in

school if you want. I hope we didn’t offend youor anything.”

“No, not at all,” I said. “Thanks again for theride.”

I looked back once before riding away andwhen I did the only set of eyes I saw lookingback at me were Isaac’s. The red light from thebrakes cast an eerie glow upon the street. Finally,the Jeep faded from sight and I could hear thehumming of its engine in the distance. I stopped

there in the street, one paved rather than coveredwith gravel, and I held firmly onto this moment. Astreetlight burned and hummed gently overheadjust feet away. A mailbox shaped like an old-timey red barn was at my left, its owners far upthe driveway where tiny white dots I recognizedas lights, glimmered through the darkness.

I was cold, but I didn’t care. I was also hungryand had a headache, but none of that matteredeither.

Had I become Alex in that moment? I didn’tfeel angry, or hateful, or capable of treating thosewho loved me, with contempt. Guess I assumedthat if I was in Alex’s realm now that I wassupposed to feel that way. I just felt different.When I made it home, I went straight up to myroom. I searched the internet for anything onwerewolves I could find. I searched and read

until I could no longer keep my eyes open andsleep took me sometime after four in the morning.

~~~

“You fell asleep there?” Beverlee was standingsomewhere in my room. “Adria, why don’t youget in your bed for an hour; you’re going to get acrick in your neck.”

I was barely awake and it took a minute tounderstand who she was and what she wastalking about. I lifted my head from the desk andfelt a cool draft of air brush my face where droolhad pooled under my cheek. I closed the laptopwhere there had to be twenty web pages open,which I didn’t want Beverlee to see. Sheprobably would’ve thought nothing of it, but I

was panicked by privacy as if her seeing a simpleweb page would give everything away.

“Do you want some breakfast? I madepancakes.”

I looked over at the clock and then thewindow. The sun much higher than it usually was.I was late for school. I jerked awake fully thenand started to rush around getting ready.

“Adria,” Beverlee said, “dentist appointment atnine, remember? I’ll drop you off at schoolafterwards.”

I went through the entire day in a haze. I satwith my regular friends at lunch and they noticedI wasn’t myself though I tried not to make it soobvious. It was easy to dodge their questionssimply by nodding Yes or No and faking a yawnevery now and then to make it seem like I justneeded some sleep. But as the days wore on,

hiding my issues became more unavoidable. Alittle more than a month and already rumors weregoing around about me, which made it toBeverlee’s ears at the grocery store.

“I don’t want you to hold a grudge against mefor asking you this, Adria,” Beverlee saidstanding in the doorway of my bedroom oneSaturday afternoon, “but it’s important that I talkto you about it.”

“I’m not on drugs, Beverlee,” I said, a stepahead of her. “I’ll take a drug test if you want meto.”

I sat on my bed with my back pressed againstthe headboard, a pile of books beside me, thelaptop on the other side and a spiral tablet in mylap.

She walked further inside and sat on the endof my bed.

“I believe you,” she said, “and a drug test isn’tnecessary to prove it, but will you tell me what’sgoing on with you lately?” She reached out andtouched my ankle. “I thought you were warmingup to us. You seemed great and then just like thatyou were hiding yourself upstairs like your sister.”She paused as though waiting for me to look ather while speaking and I did finally look awayfrom the tablet. “Did something happen atschool? Did I do something? Do you miss yourmom? I know you must miss her, but I’m herefor you if you need someone to talk to. Youknow that, right?”

I hated her for being so likable. It made mefeel guilty for giving her reason to ask suchquestions and worry about me as much as shewas.

Placing the tablet beside me on the bed, I gave

her my full attention. The delicate lines around herlips curved subtly as she looked at me, softeningthe worried expression on her face just a bit. Shewore a white long-sleeved button-up shirt withtiny blue flowers sprinkled all over the fabric.Beverlee reminded me of my mom; the way mymom used to look at me before she succumbedto that strange masochist lifestyle.

I did miss my mom. But I had been missing herfor at least six years.

“It’s nothing you did,” I said. “I’m grateful youand Uncle Carl gave us a place to live. I knowAlex is too, but she’s just taking things harderand I’m sorry for the way she’s treated you.” Ismiled softly at Beverlee. “I’ll be fine. I’m justmissing home a little, but I’ll be fine. I promise.”

It did bother me that my mom hadn’t calledonce to talk to us, but that was something I tried

my hardest not to think about.Beverlee returned the smile and then looked at

the stack of books beside me with an inevitablecuriosity.

“My thing was vampires when I was yourage,” she said, reaching over and taking TheWerewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings into her hand. She began flippingthrough its pages. “Interview with the Vampire ,The Lost Boys,” she added as if to question myknowledge of them.

She placed the book back down. “But I guessmaybe werewolves are the thing now.”

“Uhhh, not really,” I said, completelyuncomfortable with the conversation. “I’m justreading it because I...well I have to write a shortstory for my Literature class and decided to domine on werewolves.”

“That sounds interesting. I’d like to read itwhen you’re done.”

I knew my lies would get me into troubleeventually.

“I’ve always found them interesting myself,”she added.

“Werewolves?”“Uh huh,” she said. She tapped the book with

the tip of her finger. “Never thought they werescary though. Nothing scary about turning into awolf. Kind of cool, actually.”

Oh god. Beverlee was thinking of the wrongsort of ‘werewolf’ here.

I just played it off.Beverlee patted me on the leg and stood. “I

do feel better than before I came up here,” shesaid. “We’re really glad to have you and Alexhere; don’t forget that.”

I spent the entire Saturday in my room,reading and surfing the net, but when I realized Iwasn’t any closer to finding out anything moreabout ‘real’ werewolves than when I started, Iput the books away and turned the laptop offcompletely. I don’t know what I was trying tofind, but I was beyond frustrated with it all. Whatdid I expect? Werewolves weren’t supposed tobe real and researching them would be likeresearching UFO’s. There would be a book hereand there about the possibility of their existence,eyewitness accounts that no one ever tookseriously. Old village myths from centuries agoand random names of some professor or ‘expert’who only the crazy truly believed in theirresearch. After all, sane people don’t believe inthe supernatural. Normal people believe what themajority believe and everything else is fiction.

Right?It was late, after eleven o’clock when I heard

Alex stirring in her room. There wasn’t anythingunusual about that since she made it a habit toactually come out of her room after Uncle Carland Beverlee had gone to bed. Her footstepsfaded down the stairs and I waited, listening.When she never came back up, my interest grew.The routine was usually to rummage the kitchenfor something to eat and sometimes she wouldturn the TV on for a few minutes before headingback upstairs.

Still nothing.And then something instinctive compelled me

to look out my bedroom window. I saw Alex,dressed in only her gown, walking briskly behindthe house and disappearing through the trees.

I slipped on my shoes quickly, grabbed my

coat and followed.I let the back screen door shut softly behind

me and I leapt down the back steps, taking twoat a time. The moment my thin Converse shoeshit the frigid ground, I regretted not doubling-upon socks and grabbing my hat and gloves while Iwas at it. I sucked in cold air as I ran, quicklyrealizing that my lungs were better off immobile,at least until I could breathe into the warmconfines of my coat sleeve. My eyes burned; thelayer of moisture coating them, stripped away bythe cold October air.

Dashing into the woods, I felt swallowed upby the immediate darkness. The wind whippedthrough the trees and bit the back of my neckand the bare skin around my ankles. I keptrunning, over brush and limbs and toward a thinstream of water, slowing down only enough to

gauge my distance before leaping over it.Splash! I never saw the second sliver of black

water until it was too late. My feet were soakedto my shins and the bitter cold stung my legs likethousands of needles.

But I kept running.I knew Alex was just ahead of me. I had

heard the same splash of water a minute before Ifound it.

My run finally came to a slow crawl. I couldsee Alex through the trees; the length of hershiny, dark hair glistening faintly like a spider’sweb.

I stayed low behind the trees and off themakeshift path that was easy to lose as it wasalready so covered with leaves. The darknessengulfed me and the moonlight could hardlypenetrate the veil of naked trees that stood so

thickly together. I jumped and nearly shriekedwhen an animal darted past—I wasn’t afraid untilthat happened. The memory of the night inGeorgia came back to haunt me in the worstmoment, while I was practically all alone in thedarkness of a deep, never-ending forest.Because of that fear, I never went far enough intothe woods to let the house disappear from myline of sight.

But I pressed on slowly.I could still hear Alex’s movements out ahead,

though they seemed fainter. Her feet shuffledthrough dead leaves. Low tree branches snappedas she pushed her way through them. Onesnapped under my feet as well and I froze, butAlex never looked back. She continued hergraceful trek through the forest as if she knewevery downed limb and ankle-spraining crevice

without having to mind her footing.Several long minutes in and I could see a small

clearing out ahead, bathed by the moonlight. Alexslowed to a delicate walk as she got closer. Istopped and crouched next to a tree, trying tostay warm and failing miserably. The only part ofme that felt heat was the skin around my mouthand the tops of my fingers as I continued tobreathe deeply into my sleeve.

Alex stepped softly around a maze of youngtrees. Faintly, I noticed that she was barefoot asshe tiptoed over a blanket of leaves and dirt. Icould see the white of her feet stained by atenuous layer of mud. She entered the clearingwhere there was just enough light to see theoutline of her gown and her naked formunderneath it. I wondered how it was that shedidn’t seem cold, though she wore less than I

did.She reached out her hands in an unusual

gesture then.It appeared she was talking to someone. An

erotic undertone in her movements wascompletely odd to me. I tried harder to penetratethe darkness with my eyes, needing proof thatthis girl was really my sister, Alexandra Dawson.I began to wonder....

I rose to my feet and crept further in until Inoticed another figure and I stopped solid,sucking in more bitter air with one unexpectedgasp.

He placed his hands on each side of Alex’sface, her cheeks gently swallowed up by them.And then his lips covered hers. A boyfriend? No,something about this was different, off. The wayhe seemed to guide her movements as if

controlling her, how she moaned simply by hisfingertips brushing against her shoulders. Iwatched, feeling my insides twist into somethinghard. Vehemently worried about my sister in thisplace, this uncharacteristic situation, I intended tostep out from my hiding spot and let this guyknow she was not alone.

But then a second and third figure emergedfrom the darkness, stopping me in a fearful jolt.

The first one grabbed Alex protectively andpulled her closer. The others circled them almostceremoniously it seemed, their necks craning asthey appeared to inhale deeply of the air. I hearda few words amidst broken sentences, butnothing made sense to me. I slung the hood offmy head and turned a bare ear toward them,hoping to hear something, anything that I could atleast attempt to decipher. I got nothing but a blast

of cold air against the side of my face.The longer I watched the more I began to see

that Alex was safe in the arms of this stranger.But it was difficult to see how she touched him sosexually and without a care in the world abouthaving an audience.

Suddenly, the guy picked her up into thecradle of his arms and all four of themdisappeared in an instant. It happened so fast thatI staggered from the safety of the trees in a franticsearch for any sign of them. I stood there for amoment, freezing and mystified, feeling everybone in my body clack together against myhardened muscles. I could see my breath in frontof me, rapidly exhaling in the cold. Finally, I ranthrough the woods back toward our house asfast as I could, surprised I could find my wayback so easily in the dark without tripping over

the debris on the forest bed.Alex never came home that night, or Sunday,

and all day at school on Monday, I could think ofnothing but her.

“Did you get a good look at them?” said Julia.“Not really,” I said, sitting down at our lunch

table. “It was too dark.”Julia sat next to me; her soda popped and

fizzed as she sprung the tab open. “Has youruncle called the cops?”

“No, he said they won’t do anything sinceshe’s an adult and because I saw her willinglyleave with them, Beverlee and Uncle Carl thinkit’s what she wanted.”

I added, “They’re pretty hurt by it, but I thinkthey saw it coming.”

Julia patted my back. “She’ll probably showback up in a few days.”

“I hope so.”Harry and the rest of our group joined us then.

Sebastian looked rough, like he just rolled out ofbed. Quiet as usual, though with a girlfriend thatdid enough talking for both of them.

“I swear,” said Tori, “I’ve lost three cellphones in four months. My mom is going to killme this time!”

“Again?” Julia said. “You should get one ofthose phone implants.” She put her finger behindher ear. “They insert it behind the skin, rightabout here. Expensive, but your mom can affordone.”

Tori’s face went blank. I think she was waitingfor someone to laugh and then when no one did,she said, “Really? Who sales them?”

Harry choked on his soda.I saw Sebastian’s naturally undisturbed

features even brighten a bit.Julia seemed to have that whole joke-without-

cracking-a-smile thing in the bag.“God, I swear,” Tori said, half-smiling, half-

embarrassed, “one of these days it’s gonnabackfire on you, Jewels.”

Lunch was the same as it was every day—except that it was too cold to spend it outsideanymore—until Zia walked up and the table wassilenced in that OMG sort of way. I never toldany of my friends about what happened the nightI left the skate park, so they were all a bitshocked that I welcomed Zia as though we hadalready met and even hung out together before.

“Hey guys,” I said, “this is Zia.” I introducedeveryone. Tori looked horrified. Harry was morewelcoming than I expected, which made mewonder if he liked her.

But Julia; she rose to her feet, pushing thechair back harshly across the floor. I sat solidly inmy seat; my hands locked to the edge of thetable as my mind tried to pick apart her suddenchange of mood.

Julia stared bitterly not at Zia, but moretoward the wall right past Zia, instead. Four longseconds withered away and Julia left us all sittingthere as she walked out of the cafeteria and in theopposite direction.

Harry and I looked at each other, wonderingthe same thing.

I noticed Tori smirk, as if proud that at leastone more of us disapproved of Zia as much asshe did.

After a long, awkward moment of silence, Zialooked down at me. “Can I talk to you for asec?” she said.

“Sure,” I agreed and stood up slowly.I glanced back at my gawking friends once as

I followed Zia through the cafeteria.We slipped through the breezeway outside

and made our way to the bleachers at the footballfield. Burying my hands deep in the sleeves of mysweater, I crossed my arms firmly at my chest. Icould feel my shoulders stiffening up around mycheeks. I hated the cold. Absolutely hated it.

“I don’t know what Julia’s deal is,” I said.“That was weird.”

Zia shook her head. “Never mind about her,”she said. “I just wanted to tell you I saw yoursister yesterday. She’s fine I’m sure; hanging outwith your buddies, but I need to warn you aboutsomething.”

“My buddies?” I said, my teeth chattering.“Warn me about what?” And then it dawned on

me. “Wait, you mean William and Ashe? Youcan’t be serious.” I couldn’t believe it. She hadto mean somebody else. I mean sure, I couldn’tsee their faces in the woods, but it couldn’t havebeen them.

A small group of students walked past usbundled in thick coats and sat on the bleachersnearby where they always hung out at lunch. If Iwould’ve known I was going to be outside evenfor two minutes, I never would’ve left my coat inmy locker.

Zia took hold of my elbow and we walkedfurther away. What she had to say was for myears only.

“Listen,” she went on, “I know you’ll probablywant to go find your sister at their place and allthat, but don’t. You’ll only make things worse forher and for yourself.”

“But why?” I didn’t know whether to beconfused or offended. “You’re telling me that Ishould ignore that Alex left without telling anyone,or that she’s staying with them?”

Zia sighed. “No, Adria, I’m saying that...well,it’s not safe for you there.”

“But it is for Alex? I don’t understand.”“They’re pricks,” she said; “you already know

that. You saw that for yourself. And from what Iknow; the Vargas brothers are pretty territorial.”

I think I was trying to take too much in at onetime because the more she said the moreperplexed I became. I had more questions nowthan when we started. The bleacher next to melooked inviting and so I took that much-neededseat, regretting it instantly as my butt hit thefreezing metal.

“I thought you didn’t know much about

them?”“Well, I wasn’t being completely honest with

you when I said that.”“So then why are you now?”“Come to my house tonight,” she said, “and

I’ll tell you. I wouldn’t even consider it if yoursister wasn’t so deeply involved, so it’s kind ofinevitable.”

“Where do you live?”“In the hills—we’ll pick you up,” she said,

“Around seven, okay?”“Yeah, that’ll work, I guess.”I don’t know why I was agreeing to it.

Nothing about anything as of late seemed rightand that included going to Zia’s house eventhough she was a friend from school and to visither otherwise would be perfectly normal. But sheknew things about Alex, or at least about the

scum Alex had chosen to associate with...to livewith by the looks of it.

Uncle Carl and Beverlee couldn’t hide theirdevastation from me when I told them the news—okay, maybe not so much Uncle Monotone,but even still I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.After school, I spent the afternoon with Beverleewho was heavily into scrapbooking. I just hopedI could hide my dislike for the hobby better thanshe could her grief over Alex’s choices. Ipretended to love the ‘canary and pink’ paperbetter than the ‘chocolate and pink’ as I gluedfun-shaped cutouts to a homemade get-well cardfor Beverlee’s boss, Mrs. Finch. We talkedabout school and the people in it and such, until Iran out of things to say and went upstairs to getready.

Zia was late, finally pulling up in front of my

house with Damien and Dwarf around 7:15p.m.It would have raised suspicion if I had asked

where Isaac was, but his absence was the firstthing I thought of. I hated myself for that, forbeing so easily infatuated with someone who I’dbarely spoken to and knew nothing about. Idecided that this problem I was going to have toget rid of immediately.

“How long can you stay out?” said Zia.“I don’t really have a curfew, but with what

Alex has done I’d like to be home at a decenthour.”

She nodded.The Jeep pulled away, thankfully this time with

the top on.Zia wasn’t kidding about living in the hills. By

the time we got to her house I knew I wouldn’tbe able to find my way back under any

circumstances. I lost my way after the first tenminutes and the sixth turn up some random darkstreet in which several had no names. I could tellwe were at a slightly higher altitude too, as myears popped and the sound around me muffledtemporarily.

At first glance, the stone house seemedaverage in size and evidently old. Then as wecame upon it from the side, I realized it wasactually two-stories and probably had a deep,creepy stone basement that only old hauntedhouses in the movies have. There was even anold well out front, the stone toppled in heaps onthe ground on one side. In addition to the Jeepthere were three other vehicles parked out front.I could hear noise funneling from the house:voices and people moving around inside.Shadows moved across the downstairs windows

behind thin curtains.I was nervous suddenly.We got out. As I stood there waiting to be led

inside, an uncomfortable feeling washed over me.I turned to look through the black trees andalthough I couldn’t actually see anyone, I knewthat someone was watching.

“Ignore the girls,” Zia said. “The Mayfair’s arecool, but the others, they get wicked jealous ofvisitors.”

I stopped in the driveway, mid-stride. She wastalking about those inside, I realized, and notanyone that may have been watching us from thetrees.

“What?” I wanted to say something more like‘What the hell do you mean?’ or ‘Why didn’tyou warn me about this before? I definitelywouldn’t have come.’

“It’s cool,” Zia said. “Just stick with me.” Hersmile widened enough to display her teeth.

“Yeah, they won’t cross the line with Ziaanymore,” said Dwarf as he walked past us.

“You’re in good hands,” said Damien.I felt like I was about to be put on an

operating table to have a very risky surgery.“Well...then who are the Mayfair’s?” I said.“Isaac’s family,” Zia said as she urged me on.

“I’ll take you straight to my room, that way youdon’t have to feel uncomfortable.”

I was going to feel uncomfortable whether inher room or at the far end of their driveway.

The front door opened and the warmth frominside engulfed me, like walking into a house thatstill used gas stoves for heat. Something had beencooking, too. Roast and maybe something withsour kraut. I hoped I wasn’t invited to stay for

dinner.The moment I entered the enormous people-

packed den, all of the voices I had heard earlier,ceased in an uncanny instant.

MOST OF THE FACES staring back at mewere not welcoming ones. One or two smilescould be plucked out of the crowd and a fewwith no expressions at all. I could feel mystomach twisting in knots, the saliva evaporatingfrom my mouth. Six. Eight. Eleven. I stoppedcounting everyone because you have to actuallylook at people to do it and then I let my eyesstray toward the floor instead. Pretty hardwoods.I could almost see my reflection in them.

“Adria,” said Zia standing right next to me,“you’ve met Isaac.”

I raised my head quickly half-way and thencarefully the rest. She was supposed to take mestraight to her room....

I wished I hadn’t looked. I didn’t like what Isaw. Isaac sat on the center of a giant leathercouch with girls on both sides of him and onelying across the back, behind him. There wasanother girl sitting on the floor between his legs.These particular girls couldn’t have been hissisters. No way. Sisters, at least in my world,don’t sit so closely to their brothers. They don’tlay their heads on their brother’s lap and strokehis hair, as two were doing to Isaac. Worst of all,a sister in my world would never lick herbrother’s earlobe. She eyed me from across theroom with such a threatening glare and Isaacgently, yet bitterly pushed her away from him.

I admit I was repulsed by the whole display,hoping I didn’t just walk into some freak cultwhere everyone in the family engaged inincestuous acts and were trying to recruit me as

part of their harem. But my fears were put toease when I realized that the girl sitting on thefloor between Isaac’s legs was a skinny Koreangirl and the one stroking his hair had to be Indian,like from India.

Okay, so incest was out—huge relief there,but the other obvious worries weren’t going to beso easy to relieve. As I stood there feelingunwelcome by all and slighted by a guy that hadno idea he was slighting me, I thought this was agood thing, Isaac being a total man-slut. AlthoughI was disappointed, he fixed that minorinfatuation problem of mine for me, and I barelyhad to lift a mental finger.

“Why did you bring her here, Zia?” Isaacpushed the girls away from him and stood.

He walked toward us. What an ass, I thought. I was secretly

thanking him at the same time, for making it soeasy for me to dislike him. It was always moreconvenient to find reasons to be turned off byguys, than it was to give in to the attraction. Alexhad always been right about that, I would justnever let her know it.

“Isaac, stop it,” demanded Zia. “You worrytoo much.”

She lowered her voice to him. “Better watchRachel though. She don’t look too good.”

It became obvious which was Rachel and whyZia seemed worried as the raven-haired girl satwith her fists clenched and a very tight jawline.Surely she wasn’t looking at me like that; Ihadn’t done or said anything to cause it. I wasbeing paranoid again.

Isaac never looked me in the eyes. His passedright over me as he turned and walked back

toward the couch.Zia stayed close to my side.“He’ll get over it,” she said. “Come on, my

room’s this way.”The lighting in this place reminded me of our

den at home where only one lamp and the glowof the TV put off a dim light amid the surroundingdarkness. It seemed Zia’s whole house was asdark.

We walked up the creaking stairs and passeda few bedrooms on the second floor, which wereempty except for odd pieces of miss-matchedfurniture and unpacked boxes piled against thewalls. I wondered just how long ago it was Ziaand the Mayfair’s moved to Hallowell. Iremembered Julia mentioned Zia had only startedschool a week before I did.

Zia’s room was at the end of the hall, full of

the usual stuff and actually looked like a roomthat had been lived in.

“I know you’re probably wondering about theboxes,” said Zia.

She walked over to a mound of clothes andtossed them on the floor, revealing a chairunderneath.

“I guess so,” I said, taking the seat andpushing aside a thermal shirt and a stray sock sheleft behind.

“We moved here around the time you did,”she said. “Got lucky to find this place—gottalove the seclusion.”

A large dresser with a cracked mirror stooddirectly across from me. In its reflection, Inoticed posters on the wall behind me of bands Ihad never heard of before. Zia liked her punkand metal. A string of multi-colored Christmas

tree lights hung sloppily from flat, silver and goldthumbtacks pressed into the wall.

“Where did you move from?”She hesitated. “South Carolina.”“All of you...I mean all of them moved here?”Zia shook her head. “Oh no, just me and my

brothers and the Mayfair’s. The others just hangout here, so to speak.”

Zia plopped down amid a fluffy black and redbedspread.

“Ummm, how many of them are Mayfair’sexactly?”

She looked up in thought for a moment, as ifcounting in her head. It seemed she started toanswer at one point, but then had to recalculate.She used an invisible chalkboard in front of her.

“Including Isaac,” she said, “eight...no nine! Iforgot about Daisy, Xavier’s twin sister. She’s

usually up in her room and not down there withthe drama.”

I looked at her questioningly.“Isaac isn’t the only one that attracts a lot of

girls,” she began. “His brothers, Nathan, Sethand Xavier, are chick magnets too.” She fakedgagging herself with her index finger. “Shannon,Phoebe, Elizabeth and Camilla are the sisters.”

“Including Daisy?”This was all so much to take in at once.Zia nodded.“I get along pretty good with Daisy,” Zia went

on, “probably because she and I are a lot alike.Now Shannon, she’s a real bitch. Phoebe is likeher little sidekick, but she can be sweet whenShannon’s not around—totally impressionable.Camilla’s a slut and Elizabeth is just Elizabeth.”

I felt like I should be taking notes or

something.“Large family,” I said.“You could say that,” Zia replied with a faint

grin.“And what about you?” I relaxed my back into

the engulfing chair, making myself comfortable.“Why do you and your brothers live with theMayfair’s?”

Zia hesitated once more. I noticed thesehesitations because they were more obvious thannormal. I just couldn’t tell whether she was hidingsomething, or if she was just the type that alwaysthought about her answers before telling them.

“Our parents were killed,” she said with a sortof misplaced pause, “in a fire a few years ago.Isaac and my brothers had been good friendsand we didn’t have any other family except backin Michigan—dad’s second cousin, I think. He

was a train wreck. No big deal though; wewouldn’t want to live with any other familyanyway. Trajan is...well he takes care of us.”

“Trajan?” I said. “Is he Isaac’s dad?” Irealized right away how often I said Isaac’sname. I could have just said Mr. Mayfair, but Ididn’t.

“Yeah,” she revealed. “They’re all halfbrothers and sisters; three different mothers, butlet’s not get into that. If Isaac knew I was tellingyou this stuff, he’d kill me.”

I scoffed quietly. “I believe you,” I said, “whyis he such—“

“A jerk?”“Yes.”“Don’t be fooled by the exterior, Adria. Isaac

isn’t that bad. He’s just got a lot on his plate isall.”

“Yeah, I could see that downstairs,” Igrumbled under my breath.

Zia smiled. “Oh, the girls.” Then she laughed alittle. “More exterior. Isaac wouldn’t give any ofthem the time of day.”

Was she serious? I know what I saw. Hemight not have been returning their ‘affections’,but he looked cozy.

“They’re not his type,” said Zia, intruding uponmy thoughts it seemed. “He just...well, he has ahard time getting rid of them.”

There was another one of those hesitationsagain.

I stopped myself before asking any morequestions about Isaac. Oh, I wanted to askmore, definitely, but this was getting ridiculous. Itamazed and annoyed me how just seconds ago Ihad been ‘over him’. It was like some evil twin

lived inside my head and decided it was her turnto make all the wishy-washy decisions.

“So, about your sister,” Zia said.“Yeah, about Alex.”Zia crossed her legs upon the bed. A gust of

wind rattled the window and outside I could hearwind chimes ringing erratically. 8:02p.m. glowedred on the bedside clock. A pyramid of emptysoda cans stood next to the clock; the top canhad an incense stick poking out of it. I could stillsmell the incense lingering in the room from thelast time it had burned. A stack of CD’s laystrewn on the floor next to one wall, a pile ofpaperback books next to another. ForgottenRealms mostly. Zia was not a very organizedperson.

She looked across at me, her gaze severe, yetat the same time, gentle.

“The Vargas family,” she began, “they’re like acult.”

Oh great, so my whole freak cult theorycouldn’t be thrown out entirely.

“And looks like Alex is their newest recruit,”she went on. “They won’t hurt her though.They’re pretty protective of their family, if youwant to call her that.”

“I’d rather not.”“Well, my point is that you and your aunt and

uncle can go to bed at night knowing that Alexwill be alright with them protecting her, but...”

“I was waiting for the ‘but’,” I interrupted.“But if you or anyone else tries to force her

back home, or goes onto their grounds, I can’tpromise that you won’t be hurt, maybe evenkilled.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I knew

this was bad; I knew my sister was wrapped upwith the worst crowd ever, but I never expectedto hear something so harsh.

“And I know you might think you should callthe police,” she added, “but don’t. That’ll onlymake things worse.”

I stood up then and began to pace.“I don’t get it. I don’t even understand what

you’re telling me. What kind of cult? What dothey do? Is it some religious thing, or what?”

“Definitely not religious.”“Well then what? And why would they kill

me? Wait—how do you know that?” I stoppedin front of the door and stared across at her. Iknow I must have looked desperate because Iwas.

Zia stared straight at me. “Look, just don’t goafter her. Let her do what she wants; let her

figure out what she’s doing on her own time.”She hesitated again and looked away from me.“She needs them for about a week more. Afterthat, when her head is clear, we’ll all be able totell what side she’s on and so will she.”

I was completely baffled by her comments.“Are you insane? What do you mean she

needs them? I—”“Please, just trust me on this.”“So then what do I do?”I went back to the chair. Any other time and I

would already be out the door and dragging Alexback home, but something about Zia’s sinceritywas frightening. This wasn’t like a teenagerrunning away from home to live with herboyfriend or anything. This was a hundred timesworse. I could feel it in my bones.

I SAT HEAVILY INTO the chair, my body stiff,my hands pressed firmly between my knees. Irealized that the colorful specks swirling in myline of vision were from staring at a mosaic lamptoo intensely.

I didn’t notice that Zia never answered myquestion. I think I had forgotten that I asked one.

There was a knock at the bedroom door,which instantly pulled me out of my reverie.

“Enter,” said Zia very regally.I would have laughed at that if I could have

found anything funny at the moment.In walked Isaac. “She thinks she’s royalty,” he

said and turned to Zia. “He needs you to staywith Aramei for a while.”

I could feel Isaac’s secret glance pass over mewithout actually having to see it. The butterflies inmy stomach suddenly turned into a swarm ofbees. I struggled to keep from looking up at him.

“Where’s he going?” said Zia, standing fromthe bed.

Isaac shrugged. “No idea. He just asked meto tell you.” He turned to me then, lookingstraight at me, which shocked me a little inside.“Did she tell you to stay away from the VargasFamily?”

I nodded.“And do you believe her enough to listen?”I nodded again.“And did she explain to you that if your sister

shows back at home that you should call usbefore you do anything else? And that you andthe rest of your family shouldn’t do anything to

anger her?”“Ummm...no, Uhhh....” I looked to Zia for

answers.“I didn’t get that far,” said Zia, “but thanks for

covering that part for me.” Her smile was cheeryand sarcastically thankful.

I stood with Zia and crossed my arms tightagainst my body.

“Why don’t you two tell me what’s reallygoing on with my sister,” I said. “I don’t likethese weird hesitations and the covert littleglances between you.” I meant for it to sound asharsh as it did, I just hoped they wouldn’t be tooinsulted by it.

“Look, I’m sorry,” I went on, walking to thewindow, “but you can’t expect me to just ignorethat my sister has run off to live with some...cultwho, according to Zia, could kill me if I tried to

get her to come home. And then to listen to youguys who—no offense—I hardly know and whoseem to be hiding things from me.” I paused.“Look at it from my perspective, okay?” I put myback to them and gazed out the window. Thetrees looked cold. Naked, frightening branchesstood stiffly all around the house.

“You told her they would kill her?” Isaac saiddisappointedly.

I swung around. “Hey, don’t slam her forthat,” I snapped. “I think that’s pretty importantinformation, thank-you-very-much.”

Isaac smiled faintly, which caught me off guardfor about two seconds.

“You’re right,” he said, “I just think you shouldbe careful, stay away from all of them and keepyour family away from them, too.”

“But why?” I shouted. I threw my hands up in

front of me. “None of this makes any sense! Ifyou could just give me something to go on,maybe I could be a little more cooperative.”

“Their dad’s...a criminal,” said Zia, “aconvicted felon who was also suspected of beinginvolved in the murders of three people. Theythrew it out of court because there wasn’t enoughevidence. And...his kids, they’re just as bad ashe is.”

Something about her story, I didn’t believedeep in the back of my mind, but I ignored thatdoubt for now. It was obvious it was a far as Iwas going to get.

“Alright, more reason to go against everythingyou asked me to do and get Alex away fromthem right now.”

I went toward the door, pushing my way pastIsaac who was standing in front of it still.

Isaac took hold of my arm and stopped mejust as I stepped out into the hall.

“Adria,” he said.I stared directly into his harsh, pleading eyes,

but he knew I wasn’t going to listen to him. Notthis time.

Isaac sighed heavily and let go of my arm.“Alright,” he said, “then at least let us be with youwhen you confront her, and wait until tomorrownight where you can see her at The Cove, thatway there will be others around.”

I looked at each of them, back and forth. “TheCove?”

“It’s a hang-out near the Kennebec River,”said Zia. “Alex has been going up there withAshe a lot, but others go there too, so we won’tbe alone with them.”

“If we take you,” Isaac began, “just know that

your sister won’t be the sister you knew. Don’texpect her to...treat you very nicely.”

I shrugged. “Well, she wasn’t the sister I knewbefore she left, so that’s no surprise.”

I added then, “William and Ashe will bethere?” I only wanted to have heard them wrongthe first time. I never really wanted to see eitherof them again.

“Yep,” Zia answered, “You can say Ashe isyour sister’s very territorial boyfriend.”

It was funny how referring to him as Alex’sboyfriend triggered an immediate retaliative ragein me, but everything else Isaac and Zia told medidn’t come close to having the same effect.

“Well, the guy doesn’t know the meaning ofterritorial yet,” I threatened.

The room went silent as I thought about it asecond longer. “Okay. Deal.”

One more failed covert look passed betweenthem before a prompt change of subject.

“What do you want me to tell my father?”Isaac said to Zia.

Zia looked over at me and then at Isaac,suspiciously. I somehow got the distinctimpression that the gears in her head wereworking overtime, probably coming up with ideasthey shouldn’t.

“I can go sit with Aramei now,” she said, “ifyou’ll keep Adria company.”

Isaac looked slightly panicked. Me? Well, ofcourse I was perfectly at ease, if you call a fly ina spider’s web, at ease.

“Zia, not a good idea right now,” said Isaac.I didn’t think it was either (really I did), but he

didn’t have to say it aloud like that. I wonderedhow many more times in one night this guy could

offend me.“Of course it is,” Zia insisted harmoniously.

“Besides, maybe if Rachel sees you hangingaround some other girl, she’ll get the hint.”

“Xavier took care of her for me,” said Isaac.“Oh?” said Zia with an inquisitive raised brow.Isaac smirked and that was the end of that

conversation.Unfortunately.“I’ll be back in a few,” Zia said to me.“Well, I really can’t stay too long,” I said.

“Maybe another hour or so, but I’ll need a rideback home soon.”

“It’s cool,” Zia said. “I’m just going to help putAramei to sleep. It won’t take long.”

Obviously, Aramei was a child. I thought tomyself how Trajan must be a busy man in thesack.

And then Zia left us alone in her roomtogether, and while I stood there for whatseemed like an eternity, twiddling my thumbs inmy head, I wondered how I went from beingturned off by Isaac, back to the irritatinginfatuation. Could my willpower really be thatpowerless?

“Come on,” Isaac said with the gesture of hishand. “I’ll take you to meet everybody.”

Quietly, I debated which would be worse:going downstairs to be stared at like somethingfilthy and threatening, or stay up in Zia’s roomalone with Isaac and surrounded byawkwardness.

“Ummm, sure.”To my relief, there weren’t as many people

downstairs as before and the crazy-looking one,Rachel, was gone. But the looks I got were all

the same, except for the curly-haired slender girlsitting on the end of the couch. Her smile mademe a little more comfortable. “Don’t go into theback room,” she said grinning up at Isaac.“Xavier’s in there with Rachel.” She had a heavyEnglish accent.

She stood and extended her hand to methen. “Daisy Mayfair,” she introduced herself socordially.

“Adria Dawson.” I happily shook her hand,trying to erase the random sexual imagesimplanted in my head by her comment aboutRachel and Isaac’s brother.

Isaac turned my attention to others sitting onthe couch. “That’s Jason and next to him is myother brother, Seth and Seth’s...girlfriend,Naomi.”

“You already know Damien and Dwarf.”

I smiled in response.“And here comes Nathan,” Isaac added

looking toward the foyer.Nathan was tall, with short, dark hair and

dark eyes to match. He looked familiar, but Icouldn’t at all place where I’d seen him before.

“I’d be next in line to inherit the throne if hewasn’t in the way,” Isaac joked about Nathan.

Nathan balled his huge fists and jokinglypunched at the air toward Isaac’s face.

“Don’t be so harsh, little brother,” Nathansaid, tossing his arm around Isaac’s shoulder.“You know the second oldest is where all theaction’s at. Not too high up on the scale to beintimidating to everyone, and not too low on it tobe dismissed.”

He added looking right at me, “Adria,right?” He smiled wide. “I’ve seen you at Finch’s

Grocery a couple of times. I work in the back.I’m the stocker.”

“Oh yeah!” I said, but the reply was reallyfor me. That was where I had seen him before.“Yeah, my aunt practically runs the place nowwith Mrs. Finch being sick and all.”

Nathan moved from Isaac and tossed hisarm around the back of my neck. “Be careful,”he whispered, leaning into my ear. “My brotherhas this problem, you see.”

“Nate,” said Isaac, glaring, but then helooked at me instead. “Don’t listen to him.Really.”

Nathan pulled me closer. I could feel thehumor in his pose, the huge, mischievous smileplastered all over his face.

“No, seriously,” Nathan went on, “Isaac iswhat your folks might call a Ladies’ Man.”

I saw Isaac’s expression out of the cornerof my eye; it shrank into something less solid andmore humiliated. I laughed. Inside, of course.

“He even has his own cologne,” saidNathan. “It’s called...Dark Allure or somecheesy thing like that.” He swirled his hand thathung over my shoulder, melodiously at the wrist.

“Nathan is a complete liar,” Isaac saidshaking his head. “Besides, I don’t wearcologne.” His leering eyes left mine and fell uponNathan for a telepathic moment. “You haven’ttortured Xavier in a while. Why don’t you go seewhat he’s up to?”

“Yeah, Nate,” Daisy said from the side; acrooked smile lay faint in her lips. “You shouldfind Xavier. I think he’s in the back room withthe lot.”

She and Isaac shared a knowing look.

All of the sibling banter eased my nervousmood, but it also made me think of Alex.

Nathan seemed suspicious. After all, neitherIsaac nor Daisy exactly hid the fact that therewas some plotting going on between them. I felthis arm slip from around my neck.

“Alright, alright,” said Nathan, giving in toIsaac though not falling for his obvious tricks.“Tell the big boss, Beverlee, I said hi.”

“I will,” I said as he walked past Isaac andslugged him playfully in the stomach.

Isaac waited until Nathan was out of sight.“Sorry about him,” he said. “He doesn’t get

out much.”I couldn’t be sure, but I sensed that maybe

Isaac really was embarrassed by what his brothersaid to me. But why would he care?

No...That’s a stupid thought....

I shook off the stupidity fast enough toremove that sudden hopeful look on my face. Itseemed that killing the strange infatuation wasgoing to be harder than I thought.

I doubt I was hanging out with Isaac andDaisy for more than thirty minutes when Ziajoined us. But when she came back she seemedstressed and said to Isaac something aboutneeding Trajan home ASAP and that Arameiwas sick. It must have been pretty bad. I waspolitely rushed out and driven home by Isaac,Damien and Dwarf.

“Tomorrow around eight,” Isaac said.“We’ll pick you up if that’s a good time for you.”

We were sitting at the farthest end of mydirt and gravel driveway. The hot amber of acigarette glowed brightly and then faded from thefront porch. No one smoked in our house, but I

was certain it was a cigarette.“Eight o’clock is good,” I said and then

opened the door and stepped down from theJeep. “Thanks for the ride...again.”

“Not a problem.” His lips never smiled, butI could see the smile in his eyes as if we weresharing some secret moment that could only berelayed through them.

I didn’t know what was happening to me. Imean aside from his jerk-like tendencies, strangefamily life and plethora of girls, which I did realizeZia had been right about his disinterest in them; Iwas completely into him. Everything about him.How he was gorgeous underneath such a roughexterior and how he didn’t care about popularityand fifteen-dollar socks. He could do whateverhe wanted, wear whatever he wanted and still bethe secret crush of just about every girl in school.

Isaac Mayfair. Yes, he was my type. Screwkilling the infatuation. I was completely over that.

I heard the Jeep pull away, but my focuswas on the smoker. As I approached, the glowof the cigarette disappeared, but I could smell thesmoke lingering in the air.

It was Aunt Beverlee.“I didn’t know you smoked,” I said,

standing at the end of the steps.I could see her waving furiously in the dark

at the puffs around her head. “I don’t,” she said,“well, I used to. I’ve been smoke-free for fiveyears, but every once in a while....”

I knew the story without her having to finish.My mom had lived by the same story for sixmonths; smoking only when totally stressed out,until she picked the habit up again full-time.

“Well, it’s disgusting,” I said. “Don’t let me

see it again.”Beverlee laughed. “You’re right, I know.”“Alex came by,” she said then. Nothing

about her tone suggested that my sister’s visitwas a good one, but I was surprised and hopeful.I went up the steps quickly and sat in the emptychair next to Beverlee.

“What happened?” I said. “What did shesay? Why did she leave? Is she coming back?” Ialways tended to ask a ton of questions when Iwas stressed out.

Beverlee hardly looked at me; instead shestared out in front of her.

“I don’t know,” she said.“You don’t know if she’ll be coming

home?”“Or why she left,” Beverlee added.I wished she would just tell me what

happened and get it over with, but I knew I hadto be patient. Clearly, she was still working themeeting out in her mind, and maybe even,whether she wanted to tell me anything, or not.Finally, she turned to face me. A shadowcovered most of her face, but I could tell herexpression was downcast with worry. My eyesstrayed for a second to notice a stinking ashtrayon the little round table between us, which had atleast two cigarette butts in it.

“At first,” she began, “she seemedinterested in us and in you, asking questionsabout how you were doing. At one point sheeven seemed concerned for my feelings.”Beverlee shook her head then, confirming Alex’sconcern might have only been Beverlee’s hopefulfantasy. “But then she snapped at me. I mean, allI did was comment about her boyfriend.”

She sighed and confessed, “I probablyshouldn’t have said anything in front of him, Iadmit.”

“What did you say?”“Just that any respectable boy wouldn’t

fondle her the way he was doing right in front ofme.”

“What?” I was shocked and repulsed. “Hewas here? He did that, really?”

She nodded. “If Carl had been here....”“For the record,” I said sternly, “you said

exactly what I would’ve said. I can’t believe Alexlet him do that. That’s gross.”

“She didn’t try to stop him, either,” saidBeverlee. “In fact, she was enjoying it. I justdon’t get it...I don’t get her. I can understandrebellion, but I think Alex is beyond that.She’s...cruel.”

“Did she say anything else?”“I think she was really just here for you,”

said Beverlee. “You were the first and lastperson she asked about. Wanted to know whereyou were and told me to tell you to stay awayfrom the Mayfers, I think.”

“The Mayfair’s,” I said, though aloud tomyself rather than correcting her.

“Yes, that was it,” she said. “Wait—youmean Nathan’s family?”

Absently, I nodded.“Adria; don’t tell Carl that she came by. I’m

going to tell him so he’ll know she’s alright, but Idon’t want him knowing the rest.”

I agreed with that entirely. Alex coming herewas actually helping us all to do what Zia andIsaac wanted us to do. I didn’t like any of it, butit was what it was, and more and more before

even meeting up with Alex myself, I was seeingjust how right about everything Zia and Isaacwere. I still couldn’t get past the part aboutleaving Alex with these people and not doinganything to help her see reason, but maybetomorrow night would be what made me seereason.

GEOMETRY CLASS WAS QUIETER thanusual. Mrs. Schvolsky was out sick and we hadthe harshest substitute ever employed by anyschool board. Everyone was afraid of her, evenLance Becker, the class show-off who alwayshad something sarcastic to say.

Harry sat behind me. “Psst!” he said. “Youwon’t believe this,” he whispered leaning into theback of my head. I felt the heat from his breathboring a hole through my hair and onto my scalp.

The substitute looked up from her deskmomentarily. When she looked back down intoher paperwork, Harry went on: “I saw Julia inAugusta last night.”

I acknowledged him by slightly turning myhead, but not enough I was looking at him.

“So.”Obviously, there was more to it and I waited

impatiently for him to get to the point. Thesubstitute made me nervous.

“She was hanging out with those losers fromthe skate park.”

I couldn’t help but swing my neck around sothat I could look Harry in the eyes. “What!” Iwhispered harshly.

Harry was nervous now and so was everystudent in our vicinity. Lance Becker buried hisblond head further into his paper, scribblingfuriously. Michelle Lancaster put her hand to theside of her face so that maybe it would rule herout as being one of the listeners. Criminallybeautiful Genna Bishop sat up straight andpretended to be thinking.

“I’m serious,” whispered Harry. “They cameto the skate park last night—where were youanyway?”

I turned back around quickly as I heard thesubstitute’s chair creak under her movements. Iwatched her, barely moving my head andpretended to be studying until I thought it wassafe to inch around again.

“I was at Zia’s house.”Harry leaned in even closer. “Really?” he said

with a suspicious eagerness that I recognizedright away as a crush. I had suspected it before,but his interest made it more obvious.

“You like Zia, don’t you?”I noticed Lance’s body shift position.Harry gritted his teeth. “Shhh! Not so loud.”I laughed inside. It wasn’t that he was

ashamed that anyone knew he had a thing forZia; when it came to girls, he just embarrassedeasily.

“Think you could drag me along next time you

go? Or, maybe bring her to the skate park whenI’m there? I’ll be there tonight, but then I guessI’m there every night, huh?”

Yeah, Harry definitely had a thing for Zia. Thebabbling was kind of cute.

I glanced back at the substitute once more,just to be sure.

“You can go with me tonight,” I whispered.“Isaac’s taking me to the river to meet up withAlex. I’m sure Zia will be there too.” Only after Ioffered did I realize it probably wasn’t the besttime to bring anyone else along, but it was toolate to take it back.

“Awesome, The Cove,” he said just above awhisper and then dropped his voice again; “I’llcome to your house then?”

“Yeah, just be there by seven,” I said.I was just about to tell him we’d be riding with

Isaac when the substitute looked right at me.“Miss...” she glanced down at her seatingarrangement list, “Dawson—anymore whisperingand you may leave the class.”

I felt like I was back in Jr. High. I lowered myhead into my book.

Why would Julia be hanging around Alex’sgroup? Around Alex? As I thought about itfurther, I realized that Julia had been acting a littlestandoffish lately. No big deal though, it wasn’tlike she and I had enough time to get really closeso I didn’t feel like she’d stabbed me in the backor anything. Too much.

By midday, I was in Art class sitting next to asnob who never said anything to me without asnarl. I ignored her most of the time, like todaywhen she accidently on purpose knocked mysketchbook on the floor and said, “Oh, sorry,”

but didn’t bother to pick it up. People like herwere a waste of energy and I was never theconfrontational type. I picked up the sketchbookand went about my business, but then the schoolintercom interrupted the class:

“I have a very important announcement tomake,” said Principal Davis’ voice, “so please letme have everyone’s attention.”

Everything about her voice was solemn andevery student seemed to share the same troubledlook. Normally whenever the intercom came on itwas school-related boring stuff. There werealways a handful of uninterested students whocontinued chattering quietly behind their desks.Not this time.

“Last night,” Principal Davis began, “SebastianReeves was apparently abducted from his home.His family has reason to believe he may have

been hurt. You’ll be able to learn more details onthe news tonight, but we want every student tobe careful when you’re off school property,especially in the evening hours.” She took a deepbreath and continued, “And if anyone has anyinformation on Sebastian Reeves, any at all, callthe police right away, or you can come to theoffice and speak with myself, or Mrs. Chesney.”

I heard the speaker squeal once before it wentdead.

The entire school was in shock. Theatmosphere changed in an instant. I don’t knowhow long I sat there, glued to my desk, or how Iwas capable of eventually pulling myself out ofmy swimming thoughts. Sebastian was my friend,one that hardly ever spoke to me, but my friend,nonetheless. How could this be happening? I hadto know more about the kidnapping. The lack of

information was driving me insane.“His bedroom window was broken,” Lori

Avery said as Harry and I walked beside herthrough the hall, “and they said his room was,like, destroyed.”

“Tori’s mom checked her out of school,” saidanother girl. “I bet she’s totally freaked out.Sebastian was fine as hell. If he was myboyfriend, I’d be wicked freaked.”

I ignored this girl’s inability to portray herfeelings correctly. It annoyed me how she wasreferring to Sebastian in past tense. He wasn’tdead. God, when I thought about it, my stomachdid flips. I hoped he was okay.

So many strange things were happening lately.By the end of the day, I managed to create amental list:

I left number six blank, but ready just in case,because at the rate things were going....

Harry arrived early and watched the news withBeverlee and Uncle Carl and I. As expected,Beverlee was worried about me going outanywhere. Uncle Carl agreed. But with Harrythere and since I wasn’t going to be out riding mybike, they didn’t hold me prisoner for the night.

“Keep your cell with you and don’t lose it,”Beverlee demanded.

Channel 8 said the same things Lori Avery hadtold us in the hall earlier at school.

But there was more.Apparently, there was also blood in

Sebastian’s room and on the windowsill andglass. His wallet was left undisturbed on thenightstand (this, Beverlee heard from Mrs. Finch,who knew the Reeves’ family well). The policeunofficially ruled out robbery based on that. Itwas just all so horrible. I was afraid. Even if Iwas allowed to go out alone, I wouldn’t have,that’s for sure.

What happened to Sebastian weighed heavilyon Harry. They had been friends for a long time.This was hard for him and he tried his best not tolet it ruin the rest of the night. He wanted Zia to

like him and I think he was less confident nowabout hanging out with her. I played the littlesister (he was only two months older than me)and gave him my sisterly advice: “Don’t think theworst, Harry,” I said, “I know it’ll be hard, if youlet yourself feel guilty, I’ll smack you myself.”

He thanked me by thumping me on the backof the head.

Isaac was fifteen minutes late. Dwarf, Damienand Zia were with him, and as usual, Damien wasdriving.

“Mind if Harry rides with us?”Isaac looked at Zia and then at me in that

harsh, secretive way he always does. I have tosay though; it made me feel good he actuallylooked at me too, rather than at Zia about me. Ifelt like a part of them.

Bringing Harry with me worked out in ways I

never expected.“It’s a little tight in here,” Damien said to me.

“I guess your skinny butt will fit between themback there.”

“Or, she could just sit in Isaac’s lap,” Zia saidfrom the front with that obvious hidden meaningshe was becoming famous for.

Isaac glared at Zia from behind. He probablywould have kneed the back of her seat if itwouldn’t draw more attention to him.

“Well, she can sit in my lap,” Dwarf offeredwith a huge, sly smile.

Isaac leaned over and possessively took holdof my elbow. Next thing I know I’m hoisted ontohis lap and he’s motioning for Harry to get in nextto Dwarf. I had shivers from head to toe. That’sexactly how you know you really like someone, ifwhen they touch you and you feel like your skin

and insides have come alive with euphorictremors.

“Harry, this is Isaac and next to you is Dwarf,”I said. “Damien’s driving and, of course youknow Zia from school.”

“I would ask if you were Adria’s guy,” Dwarfsaid to Harry, “but I guess that’d be a stupidquestion, huh?”

They looked at each other and sort of laughedunder their breath. I thought I might feel Isaactense up at that, but he didn’t do or say anything.Not that he probably wasn’t thinking aboutsqueezing Dwarf’s small head in his big hands. Iglanced down at Isaac’s hands then, noticinghow they were so near my thighs, but nottouching them. I tried to will them with my supermental powers so he’d put them around mywaist, but apparently I had no super mental

powers.Zia surprised me by turning around fully to see

Harry. I thought I might not have to work as hardas I anticipated at playing matchmaker. Thenagain, Zia was this friendly by nature and I wasprobably reading too far into it, too fast.

“I’ve seen you skate,” she said. “You’ve gotsome wicked talent.”

I think Harry lost his confidence right then. Hewas slow to find a response and when it came,he sounded unsure of himself. “Ummm thanks,”he said. “I guess seven years of practice helps.”

“Well, it’s definitely paid off,” she said,beaming.

I wanted to nudge Harry, urge him to continuethe conversation, but decided against it. I wastoo preoccupied with those euphoric tremors thatshowed no signs of letting up.

“So what do you think happened toSebastian?” I said, trying to take my mind offIsaac.

“Don’t know,” Dwarf answered.“This might sound harsh,” Zia said, “but I think

we shouldn’t worry about Sebastian right now.You have enough to worry about with yoursister.”

Zia was right about that, but it didn’t make mefeel any better. I probably shouldn’t have evenbrought Sebastian up, especially with Harrythere. I was doing exactly what I told Harry notto do: feeling guilty about going out whileSebastian was out there somewhere, hurt andmaybe even dead.

I forced myself to think about him less.Unsuccessfully.

When we made it to The Cove there were a

lot of teenagers hanging out, but I couldn’t spotAlex among them. Isaac helped me climb out ofthe Jeep. The act alone allowed me to smilediscreetly even though I was so tense abouteverything else.

“Stay by us no matter what,” Isaac demanded.The Cove was nothing like hanging out at the

skate park. There was a lot of drinking andsmoking here. Beer cans littered the parking lotand I could smell weed all around me. Therewere two cars blaring different kinds of musicand a lot of harmless shouting. I saw a fewpeople from school, even Genna Bishop fromGeometry class, but no one I really knew. I couldhear the river nearby, just beyond a few treesand there was an old abandoned building in thedistance that looked creepy against the blacksky.

And the nights were getting colder. I was justglad I was learning to better prepare myself forthe weather in Maine.

“This place has changed since I was here last,”Harry said.

I waited for him to go on.He looked around, investigating.“A bunch of us used to come out here and just

hang,” Harry went on, “but looks like the losercrowd took over.”

Nothing was ever going to make me feel anybetter about Alex. Everything just seemed to getworse.

“I don’t see Alex,” I said, “maybe we shouldjust go.” I was lying to myself, as if not finding herin less than five minutes meant she didn’t comeanymore and things would be okay.

And then I heard her voice.

I froze. Alex emerged from the trees near theriver with Ashe and William. Others were withthem, including Julia. I was so incensed that asIsaac took my arm into his hand there were noeuphoric tremors this time. I could think ofnothing but Alex as she walked toward usboastfully. A proud, sinister smile etched in herface. She was completely willing to be with themand nothing I could do or say was ever going tochange that.

I felt Isaac’s grip tighten around my arm. Ziaand her brothers crowded closer behind us.

Ashe, standing in front of Alex grinned andsaid, “You surprise me, Isaac. Never thoughtyou’d bring her here.”

“Hi Dria,” said Alex, “how’s that bitchBeverlee doing these days?”

I felt my face tighten with anger. “What’s

wrong with you? Beverlee’s so worried aboutyou she mopes around all day and even startedsmoking again.”

“Gotta die from something.” Alex scoffed.Julia, hanging all over the shortest, stockiest of

their group, said with a smirk, “Are you andHarry a thing now?”

“Ummm, no,” said Harry. “What’s up withyou anyway, Jewels? Not like you.”

“Oh shut up, Harry,” Julia replied, “You neverknew me well enough to know what I’m like.”

“Glad for that,” Harry mumbled under hisbreath.

“Remember me?” William added, looking atme now while rubbing his chin with his fingertipsas if to bring to memory what I had done to him.I was ready to punch him again any second.

“Yeah I do,” I answered hatefully, “and I have

nothing to say to you.”“If your aim was better,” William said, “I

would’ve—““You’d what?” Isaac growled, stepping

forward.William smiled bitterly. “Oh please,” he said,

“spare me the cocky, protective display. I wasgoing to say I would’ve fallen in love with her.”

“The day William falls in love I’ll kiss you onthe mouth,” Ashe, standing next to Alex, said toanother.

“Shut up, Ashe,” said William.I hated them both; especially Ashe who had

such a spell on my sister that it was sickening. Ihated how he touched her and how she seemedto love it. I knew exactly how Beverlee felt lastnight when they came to our house. I was readyto tear into Ashe right then.

“Why are you letting him grope you like that?”I said. “It’s disgusting.”

“Have to grow up sometime,” Alex replied justbefore turning her chin and letting her tonguesnake out to trace Ashe’s lips.

They couldn’t keep their hands off each other.My palms were sweating, my fists clenched. Andthen I felt Isaac’s hand move down and interlockwith my fingers. My heart jumped in my chest.The war going on inside of me between Euphoriaand Infuriation was overwhelming.

Alex broke away slowly from Ashe andstepped up closer to me. Isaac’s hand tightenedaround mine.

“Dria,” said Alex, “can I talk to you alone?”“No,” Isaac interrupted, “you can’t.”I looked at him reassuringly. “It’s okay,” I

said, “I’ll be alright. I need to talk to my sister.”

Hesitantly, Isaac let go of my hand. I saw Alexmock him from the side, but there was no time todefend him. This was my chance, and somehowit felt like my last chance to talk some sense intoher and make her come home.

“Don’t leave the parking lot, Adria,” Zia said.“Seriously.”

I nodded, agreeing.The tension between the two groups as Alex

and I walked away was nerve-racking. I was soafraid a fight would break out. We walkedseveral feet away and stopped next to ahollowed-out tree trunk someone had been usingto contain a campfire. I could easily detect thescent of wood and leaves that had burned in itrecently.

I wasted no time.“What is your problem!”

“Oh stop it,” said Alex, “we’re not little girlsanymore. I tried to make you understand thatbefore we were shipped off to this shithole of atown. I planned to move out of Jeff’s; wantedyou to go with me.”

“That was different,” I snapped. “Youweren’t...” I tried to find the phrase, “...youweren’t like you are now. You were normal. Mysister. Now you’re...you’re someone I don’tknow.”

Alex dropped her voice and looked at me witha serious face. “You’re right,” she said, “I’mnothing like I used to be. But Dria, my change isfor the better. I’ve never felt so independent, soprotected. I feel strong—you can’t imagine.”

“Well, make me understand,” I pleaded. Myanger subsided and was quickly replaced bysadness. “Look,” I said, placing my hand on

hers, “I admit living with Beverlee and Uncle Carlisn’t living with mom, or being out on your own,but they’re great. I actually like living there and Idon’t get why you just left, or why you’d bringAshe to our house and openly disrespectBeverlee like that. She never did anything todeserve any of this.”

Alex moved her hand from mine.“This isn’t about Beverlee and Carl,” she said.

“This is about you and me. You’re my sister andyou should be with me, not with family memberswho only took us out of obligation and definitelynot with scum like that.”

I took immediate offense.“You’re calling my friends scum?” I snarled.

“My friends didn’t try to attack me. My friendshave been there for me while you haven’t been.My friends aren’t part of some freakish cult that

lure girls and turn them into hateful sluts.” Iregretted that a bit, but it needed to be said.

Alex took it better than I expected. Shescoffed and said with that eerie smile again, “Saywhatever you want, but just know that you’llhave to make up your mind soon and if youcan’t, I’ll have to do it for you.”

I drew my chin back in surprise. “What’s thatsupposed to mean?” I demanded. “And besides,my mind is made up. I would never follow youwith them.”

Alex leaned her head toward me, practicallytouching my ear with her lips. Her breath smelledrancid. “You know too much, Dria. And I haveno control over what they have to do to protectwhat you know.” She paused. I could’ve swornshe actually sniffed me. “Think about it. I’ll tellthem you agreed to at least think about it, but it’ll

only buy you a very short time. After that, you’reon your own.”

I couldn’t believe my own sister wasthreatening me, that she would side with anyoneelse who would threaten me. I was reeling inside,but the situation had changed from a siblingdisagreement, to what felt like nothing less than alife or death ultimatum. I thought about whatIsaac and Zia told me about the Vargas family. Itwas true after all.

Tears swelled in my eyes, but I managed tohold them back.

“How could you do this?” I said. “That familyis dangerous. How could you stand by and letthem threaten me?”

I wouldn’t let her speak. “And how do I knowtoo much? I don’t know anything about them!Except that they’re evil!”

Isaac was approaching from the side; hisshadow advancing largely out ahead of him.

“I can’t say anything else,” said Alex, “justremember what I told you. Drop the dead weightand come stay with your flesh and blood whereyou belong.”

Alex left me standing there.I hated her in that moment. Part of me wanted

to cry, the other part wanted to jump on her frombehind and beat the sense into her that wasobviously not getting in any other way.

“Adria,” said Isaac, “we need to go.”Julia and Harry were shouting at each other.

She was in his face, urging him on, taunting him.“You’re a stupid, wannabe skater,” Julia

shrieked. “I never liked you anyway; alwayswondered why Sebastian did.”

“Don’t bring him into this,” Harry shouted, “I

bet you don’t even know what happened to him.You’ve been too busy with...them.”

Harry was doing his best to hold back sayingthe things he really wanted to say.

I rushed toward them and took Harry by thearm. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” I said.

Just then, Julia’s boyfriend stepped betweenHarry and me and grabbed Harry by the front ofhis shirt. In less than two seconds, I was eatingasphalt and heard fighting all around me. As Itried to crawl away and get to my feet, my handwas stepped on and then one body fell right ontop of me. My ribs hurt and I could feel my faceburning where the asphalt had scraped my chin.People in the crowd who were not involved inthe brawl were shouting in the sidelines.

“Fight! Fight!”“Oh shit,” said another voice, “did you see

that!”I heard a girl screaming, “Someone do

something!”“Kick-his-ass!” shouted another voice.I stumbled out of the center of the chaos and

tried to pull my senses together. I could barelytell who was fighting whom, or who was winningwhat; everything was a blur. But I did see Alexand Dwarf fighting.

Dwarf fighting Alex? Why would he be hittingmy sister?

I was going to jump in and help her—I was onDwarf’s side, but this was not a fair fight. To myshock, Alex dropkicked Dwarf square in thestomach and sent him soaring across the parkinglot. He rolled once and then with such grace,sprung up from the ground and landed on hishands and feet like a cat.

Shock beset me, but I didn’t have much timeto try understanding it.

Isaac was fighting William. Zia was fightingJulia and had Julia on the ground. Damien andHarry teamed up against Ashe and Julia’sboyfriend.

I just stood there, paralyzed.Then a man emerged from the darkness as if

he were part of the shadows.It was surreal how everything just stopped.

The fighting, the shouting, the excitement of theonlookers; all at once ceased in an instant.

It felt like I was the only one among them whobreathed.

The man walked slowly onto the blacktop, hishands folded together and resting on hisbackside. He walked with such dominance andauthority; his black hair pulled into a ponytail

behind him. Both arms were canvases for tattoos,even along the tops of his fingers, which I noticedas he unfolded his hands and let them rest at hissides.

Suddenly, the spectators broke the calm, allrunning for their cars. Some dashed away onfoot. Tires squealed and headlights bouncedthrough the darkness until they were too far awayto see anymore.

It was quiet again. It seemed like manyminutes had passed before the man spoke.

“In public is not the place,” he said.Somehow, I knew this man was not here to

break up the fight for the sake of doing the rightthing. That cold and calculated look on his facesuggested a man of power, not of morals.

“That law has never stopped them before,”Isaac said to the man.

A faint, yet sinister grin crept up on his face,but he dismissed Isaac altogether and looked atme.

“You must be Alexandra’s sister,” he said.“You favor her.” The man then said to Alexwithout looking at her, “We have much to discusslater.”

“You don’t have anything to say to my sister,”I demanded, stepping up. “I don’t know howyou did it, but I’m not going to stand by and letyou brainwash her!”

Isaac grabbed me by the waist and pulled myback into his chest. “Don’t say anything else,” hetold me. “Keep your mouth shut.”

At first, I tried to break away from Isaac, buthis grip was unrelenting.

“You should not have come here,” the mansaid to Isaac, “any of you. You should have

stayed where you were and out of our affairs.”I thought he was talking about The Cove. That

would have made sense, but as the mancontinued talking, I became more confused.

“Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia,” he said.“Trajan should pick a spot and mind his ownbusiness.”

“Everything you do is Trajan’s business,”Isaac said, “especially when it comes toInnocents.”

Isaac passed me to Zia as if I was apossession and they were trading watch over me.

“You and Harry get in the Jeep,” Zia said.I looked at her argumentatively.“Go. Now,” she demanded.I felt like a child, but as much as I hated it, I

knew I had better do what she said.As Harry and I walked quickly toward the

Jeep I heard the man say, “You know it’llhappen—“

“If you have anything to say,” Isaacinterrupted, “say it to Trajan.”

“I do so plan on it,” the man replied.

I WATCHED ALEX AND the others disappearwith the man through the woods. Not until theywere completely out of sight did Isaac and hisfamily rejoin Harry and me. No one spoke on theride back, except for Dwarf who had started tocomment on how good his fighting skills weregetting. Zia shut him up just by looking at him.

I may have had plenty of reason to demandanswers, but I was much too upset thinking aboutAlex. It was over. I lost my sister for good andthat was something I never prepared myself for.Rebellion I prepared for. I also went over in mymind what would happen if we ended up in aphysical fight, which had never once happened inour lives. I prepared to face the fact that she wasin love with the worst piece of scum on Earth,and even thought about her ending up pregnant.Horrible things. Unforgivable things.

Losing my sister completely to something otherthan death was not something I could everaccept.

But I knew she was gone.Damien drove me home a route I had never

gone before and it seemed to take forever. I waslost in a trance while Isaac held out his hand tohelp me down from the Jeep in my driveway.

“If your sister comes here tonight,” Isaacbegan, “alone or with anyone, you call me.” Heslipped a piece of paper into my hand with hisphone number scribbled on it.

“Will you?” he said.“Uhhh, yeah, no problem.” I put the paper in

the back pocket of my jeans.“Look at me,” said Isaac. He placed his hands

on my shoulders. Any other time I probablywould’ve been glowing, but my crush on Isaac

Mayfair was the last thing I could think about. Idid look up at him though. I saw how his perfectdark eyes regarded me with care and how heseemed so thoughtful beneath such a hard andattractive visage. This was the first time since I’dmet him that I knew he cared for me.

“We’ll be watching out for you and yourfamily,” he said.

“Thanks.”I heard Isaac sigh. “Don’t worry about your

sister, either,” he added. “As much as you hatewhere she’s at and who she’s with, like we saidbefore, I can assure you they won’t hurt her.”

I found no comfort in his words, but I didn’twant him to know that.

Harry followed me up the dirt driveway andtoward the porch, but I stopped before I got toofar and said to Zia, “Thanks for taking me, even if

it didn’t turn out like I had hoped.”Zia waved apologetically and they drove off.“Do you think they’ll mind I come in for a

while?” said Harry.I didn’t even think to ask Zia if they could give

Harry a ride home. He had walked to my houseearlier, but it was still daylight then. His car hadbeen in the shop for two days.

“They won’t mind.” I said. “I’ll see if UncleCarl can give you a ride later.”

Beverlee and Uncle Carl welcomed Harry andeven told him to help himself to the kitchen if hewas hungry. I needed someone to talk to,someone who had been there during the fight.Harry was better than any other, especially sincehe had become my closest friend. Uncle Carlagreed to give him a ride home in a few hourseven though it would be late.

And Beverlee knew right away that Harry andI were just friends and there was nothing morebetween us. It was fine that I had a ‘boy’ up inmy room alone with me, late at night. Somehow,I knew if it had been Isaac instead, Beverleewould not let him past the den.

“I really screwed that up,” said Harry. Heplopped down on the chair next to my window.

“What do you mean?” I said.“I made an idiot of myself in front of Zia.” He

put his elbows on his legs and leaned overforward. “She probably thinks I’m a joke.”

I smiled. “Harry, she doesn’t think that at all.”“How do you know? You haven’t had time to

talk to her since it happened.”“No, but a girl knows when another girl is

totally not interested in someone.”Harry straightened his back some, looking

across at me. “You think she’s interested in me?”“Now, I’m not sure about that,” I said, sitting

on the end of my bed, “I just know she’s notdisinterested.”

“Well, that doesn’t make any sense.”“Look,” I said, “if Zia was repulsed by you,

you’d know it. Really though, I think you mighthave impressed her.”

Harry’s brows wrinkled. “Impressed her?” hesaid. “I get into a shouting match with another girland then get my ass kicked by her boyfriend. Idoubt that impressed anyone.”

I shook my head, smiling and then tossed offmy shoes. “From what I saw, Julia got what shedeserved. You did good by not punching her inthe face, even if she’s a girl. Secondly, you wereholding your own in that fight. I admit I was alittle impressed.”

“Really?” he said.“Yes, really,” I answered, “but me, on the

other hand, got knocked on the ground, steppedon and crushed by no telling who, and I didn’teven get a punch in myself.” I laughed then andsaid, “If anyone looked like an idiot, it wasdefinitely me.” I didn’t really care that that wastrue.

“Well,” Harry said with a grin, “a guy knowswhen another guy is interested in a girl and youcould’ve puked in Isaac’s lap and he would stillhave a thing for you.”

My smile was warm and thankful. I needed tohear that. Well, in a roundabout way.

“That man,” said Harry, “he must be their dador something.” He shook his head andshuddered. “Glad he’s not my dad—dude hassome issues.”

Harry was right about that, but he didn’t knowhalf of what I knew. That wasn’t saying muchthough because I was pretty clueless and in thedark about it all still.

Harry and I stayed up all night talking. I feltlike I could tell him anything and I pretty muchdid. It was like having my sister back, when wewould talk for hours about Sam Winchester andschool and everything in-between. Since beforeAlex and I left Georgia, I hadn’t been able toconfide freely in anyone until Harry came along.We were like two gossiping teenagers, but evenbetter since he was a guy. Our gossip wasn’tone-sided. He offered a guy’s perspective and Ioffered the opposite. I knew he wasn’t going togo to school the next day and talk about mebehind my back to someone else in our group.

I told Harry about my mom and her drunk,

abusive husband. He told me about his olderbrother who was in prison for breaking andentering. Harry admitted he never liked to talkabout that and that he was ashamed of it. I toldHarry about my first kiss and that I was still avirgin. He confessed he was not a virgin, but hadonly been with one girl, who dumped him for oneof his friends.

There was so much to talk about, so much thatboth of us needed to get out. EspeciallySebastian, who we spent all of six minutes on.Harry veered off the subject, needing to fill thatconversational space with something lessdepressing.

Only one thing was left in secret and I didn’twant it to be a secret any longer.

“If I tell you something,” I said, sitting upcross-legged on the center of my bed, “do you

promise not to think I’m crazy?”Harry laughed. “I can’t promise you that,” he

said, “but I can promise not to tell anyone elsewhy I think you’re crazy, if I do.”

I crinkled my nose at him.“Okay, I promise I won’t think you’re crazy,”

he agreed. “What is it?” He moved toward mybed and sat upon the edge.

I started to back out, but I needed someone totalk to about it. It should’ve been Alex, but thatwas never going to happen. It couldn’t beBeverlee because although I loved her and couldtrust her with my life, some things you just can’ttell the adult who’s taking care of you.

I sat there for a moment, absently twisting thecorner of my pillowcase in-between my fingers.

“Do you believe in...,” I paused, regretting notrehearsing this beforehand, “...I mean, have you

ever wondered if there are really things out therethat exist other than humans?”

“What, like aliens?” he said.He was totally interested.“Yeah I guess so,” I said, “but what about

other things...things like—““You mean like vampires, or ghosts?”He was getting closer, a little too close. I was

already backing out. This was crazy. Why was Ibeing so stupid? I finally had a friend closeenough I could confide in and gossip with andwho wouldn’t two-face me and I was about toruin it all with insanity.

So I decided to approach the questiondifferently.

“Yeah,” I said, “ghosts, vampires,aliens...werewolves.”

Harry chuckled and lay across my bed; his

shoes dangled off the edge. He brought his handsup and cradled them together behind his head.

“Nah,” he said finally. “Not really. Well, aliensmaybe because face it, the Universe is just toobig for us to be the only ones in it.” He turned hishead sideways to see me rather than continuelooking up at the sheetrock ceiling. “All that otherstuff is just the product of old myths twisted intosomething fantastical over time.”

I sighed.“Like that whole thing with Vlad the Impaler,”

he went on, looking up at the ceiling again. “Sure,all that brutal stuff he did was pretty heavy, butevery bit of it totally believable. People justpassed the stories down through time, adding thisand that, which eventually created Dracula.”

I crossed my legs Indian-style and rested myhands in the hollow of my lap. Maybe I should

take it up a notch, I thought.“What’s your theory on ghosts then?” I said.Harry fell into a pensive moment, twisting his

bottom lip in his teeth. “Maybe I saw a ghostonce,” he revealed and I leaned forward,hopeful. “I was visiting Waverly Hills Sanatoriumwith my parents for Halloween one year—notsure if it was really a ghost, but I saw something.”

“So you really think it might’ve been aghost?”

Harry shook his head. “Nah,” he decided, andthe hopeful interest drained from me quickly.“When you go to places like that you’re alreadyexpecting to see something. I think it’s all in themind.”

If Harry didn’t even believe in ghosts, I knewthere was no way he would believe in somethingas preposterous as a werewolf.

“Why do you ask?” he looked over at meonce more.

“Just curious,” I said. I tossed the pillow frommy lap onto the bed and got up. “I’ll be back in asecond. Do you want a soda or anything?”

Although disappointed, he didn’t push theissue. I think it was the one thing I didn’t likeabout him or about guys in general: when a girlsays she doesn’t want to talk about it, the truth isthat she usually does. I wanted him to pry it outof me. Of course, I would’ve pretended to be alittle angry that he didn’t just leave me alone, buteventually I would’ve told him, when I was tiredof pretending.

Hey, I never claimed to be completely unlikeother girls. Some things just come with theterritory.

~~~

I woke up with Harry’s smelly sock practicallystraight up my nose. Shocked and still half-asleep, I freaked out that there was a guy in mybed and so I shoved him as hard as I could intothe floor. Right when I heard the loud thump! Irealized what I had done.

“I’m so sorry, Harry!”He stumbled into a standing position, his hand

pressed around his ribs. “It’s alright,” hegrumbled.

“I wonder why Uncle Carl didn’t take youhome last night,” I said, looking around the room,still in somewhat of a daze.

Beverlee stood in the doorway of mybedroom. I don’t know how long she had been

there.“Because we fell asleep on the couch,” she

said, “and I’m terribly sorry, Harry, both of you.I feel like a horrible parent, adult...whatever youwant to call me.” Beverlee was clearly besideherself over this. She was practically stuttering.“Carl is going to call Harry’s parents andapologize. I just hope people don’t start talking.Oh God, I’m going to lose my job over this.Sandy and Marla at the store will have a field daywith this kind of gossip.” She was getting Harry’sshoes for him.

“Beverlee,” I said, “calm down, no one isgoing to say anything.”

“Nothing happened, I swear it,” Harry said,taking his shoes from her.

“Honestly, Aunt Bev, Harry and I don’t likeeach other like that. We’re just friends.”

Beverlee seemed to calm down some. Shedropped her hands to her sides. “Oh, I guessyou’re right. I mean there’s nothing romanticabout his feet being up your nostrils, or youhalfway off the bed with drool hanging off yourchin.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. The whole situationwas comical.

Harry and I talked with Uncle Carl beforeBeverlee drove us to school and convinced himthat calling Harry’s parents was unnecessary. Iwas just glad he believed us and there weren’tany lingering suspicions.

The night at The Cove changed more than justAlex, or mine and Harry’s friendship. Things atschool also changed drastically. In just a week,my group of friends went from Julia, Sebastian,Tori and Harry to just Harry and Zia. Julia was

officially a ‘drop out’; Sebastian was officially‘deceased’, but only by the school gossip. Therewas no proof of that, thankfully. Tori decidedthere were people at school better than us andshe dropped us like last month’s fashion trends.She was a total witch, even to me when I hadnever done a thing to deserve it. I admit, this wasthe one thing I was pleased by.

The way I saw it though, things were now howthey were supposed to be, all except forSebastian. Julia made her own decisions, so Idisregarded her as a loss. Sebastian, I thought,should’ve been with us because out of all ofthem, he actually fit in. But me, Zia and Harrywere the perfect trio. We hung out everywhere.School. My house. Harry’s house. The skatepark. But never Zia’s house. It seemedintentional and that was frustrating. I wanted to

go to the Mayfair’s, not just for Zia, but becauseI wanted to see Isaac. Zia dodged my suggestionwhenever I’d bring it up. After another week andstill not one trip up the winding, dark roads, Iwas fed up with the secrecy and the games.

I was going to go to the Mayfair house onSaturday, uninvited if that’s what it took.

Saturday morning, I agreed to go withBeverlee and help her at the store. Apparently,Sandy and Marla took vacation time togetherand Mrs. Finch, the owner, was sick again. PoorMrs. Finch; she suffered from Diabetes and ahost of other illnesses, which kept her sick mostof the time. Sandy and Marla were Mrs. Finch’sevil daughters. The whole thing reminded me of acheap Cinderella story, except Mrs. Finchalways treated Beverlee like the daughter shewished Sandy and Marla were. Nathan Mayfair

of course also worked there, but he only workednights as a stocker.

Lucky me, I was nominated to be a fill-incashier. I had never worked a cash registerbefore, but thankfully, Beverlee was never too faraway if I needed her.

I think in a way, Beverlee was preparing mefor the working world. I do recall her and UncleCarl talking one night before Alex left, aboutdriver’s licenses and part-time jobs and such.That didn’t bother me so much though; I actuallylooked forward to getting a job to pull in someextra spending cash. As cool as Beverlee andUncle Carl were, I knew they weren’t going tofork out the money to buy me a car. However,my idea of a job had nothing to do with a grocerystore. I had been thinking more along the lines ofa music or bookstore, or maybe even as a vet

assistant.Fast food and grocery stores were definitely

the last resort.The bell above the front door rang as a

customer pushed open the door.“Good morning, Mrs. Perry,” Beverlee said.

She was on the bread aisle at the front of thestore, straightening the Little Debbie boxes.

“Mornin’ Beverlee,” said Mrs. Perry. “Ran outof coffee last night, right when I was in the middleof my soaps.”

She was a plump old lady with white-gray hairand she carried a big black handbag pressedgently against her rounded stomach.

“Oh,” she said in a perky, interested sort ofway while looking straight at me, “this must beone of your nieces; the good one, I’m sure.”

Beverlee grimaced as she came out of the

aisle.“They’re both good girls,” Beverlee said,

hoping I’d believe she never spoke badly ofAlex. Really, I wasn’t upset by it.

“Adria, this is Mrs. Perry,” said Beverlee.“She’s been shopping at this store for twentyyears.”

Mrs. Perry smiled, causing the lines around hermouth to stretch and deepen. “Twenty-one yearsnext month. Little places like this are the best,”she said. “Those big chains lose sight of peopleand the people are what matters. Can’t shop at aDriscoll’s and talk to the owner whenever youwant. Don’t even know who the owner is.Probably doesn’t even live in the same state.”She added, “How is Mrs. Finch anyway?”

“She’s not well,” said Beverlee. She loweredher voice a bit and added, “I think she’s getting

worse.”“I was afraid you’d tell me that,” said Mrs.

Perry. “Well, do give her my well wishes. Tell herI’ll bring her over a Lemon Meringue pie.”

Beverlee had started to say something, butMrs. Perry put up her wrinkled hand decoratedby gaudy rings and said, “Sugar-free, of course.”

Beverlee smiled and nodded.It was pretty much the same kind of people

and the same sort of conversations in the storefor the next two hours. I probably met half thetown, with the exception of anyone my age. Andin a small town like Hallowell when most of theresidents come into a small store like Finch’sGrocery, one can safely expect the gossip to berampant. I thought school was bad. Thetownspeople, the adults, had us beat in thegossip department. I learned that Marlene

Higginbotham was cheating on her husband withsome hot construction worker (Beverlee’swords, not mine) who was only here for a fewweeks on a job in Augusta. I heard all aboutPenny Fairweather’s secret night job as astripper and how Lenny Parsons was gay andhad been hitting on Mark Schultz. Then therewas ‘Fat-ass Felicia’ (again, Beverlee’s words),who apparently tried to steal my uncle away fromBeverlee.

I didn’t know any of these people, and thoughtI was better off that way.

Just before lunch, Nathan Mayfair walked intothe store. My interest perked immediately.

“Hey Adria,” he said as he walked past thepenny candy stand near the front door. “Beverleearound?”

“Yeah, she’s in the back,” I said. “You’re here

early, aren’t you?”“I didn’t pick up my check last night,” he said.

“How have you been?”A customer walked in and I greeted her with a

smile. She picked up a handheld basket anddisappeared down the meat aisle.

“I’ve been alright,” I said, “nothing new,nothing bad. Things have been pretty normal.”

Nathan looked a lot like Isaac, I noticed. Inever had much opportunity to compare theresemblance before.

“Beverlee hooked you into working, I see.”“Nah, I don’t mind so much,” I said, “I get to

hear all the juicy town secrets and learn beforeit’s too late exactly how I don’t want to be whenI get old.”

Nathan laughed. “I hear yah,” he said. “I’mlucky that way; working nights keeps my virgin

ears from being molested by all that stuff.”Where have I seen him before? Suddenly, I

couldn’t stop thinking about it. I had seen Nathansomewhere else other than at the store. I wassure of it....

“Hey,” I said, “is something going on withIsaac lately?”

“Not that I know of. Why?”I felt foolish and maybe even a little obsessive.“It’s nothing,” I lied, “I just wondered.”Beverlee came through the bread aisle, waving

an envelope. “I’ve got your check right here,”she said, placing it into Nathan’s hand. “I guessI’ll see you Monday night then.”

“Sure thing,” he answered respectfully.Nathan said goodbye to me and left with the

bell ringing behind him.“Don’t worry,” said Beverlee, “I’m not going

to keep you in here all day. If you want, you canleave around one. I’ve got a few more things todo and I’ll be free to run the register for the restof night.”

I couldn’t contain the smile as much as Iwanted, but Beverlee understood. “Thanks,” Isaid. “I mean it’s not that I don’t want to help, Ijust wanted to go to Zia’s later.”

“You’ve been a wonderful help,” Beverleesaid. “I can give you a ride there later if youwant.”

“That’s okay,” I said, “Harry finally got histransmission fixed and I’ll be catching a ride withhim.”

“He’s a nice boy,” said Beverlee. I wasn’tsure if I liked what she was hinting at though.“You two still just good friends?”

My throat suddenly felt dry. “Definitely,” I

answered, “best friends actually, so don’t get anyideas.”

She winked and left it alone.My last hour at the store felt the longest. I was

too anxious to get to Zia’s so I made sure tobring what I needed with me to the store so that Icould freshen up there. Just before I left, Ibrushed out my hair, changed my clothes and puton some tinted Chap Stick. I had forgotten tobring my deodorant, so I took some off the shelfin the Health & Beauty aisle and told Beverlee tosubtract it from my day’s pay.

“Have you talked to Zia at all?” I said to Harryin the passenger’s side of his car.

“Not since at school yesterday,” he said andthen looked over at me. “She doesn’t knowwe’re coming?”

“No, but that’s alright.”

“What if they’re not home?”“As many people that live in that house,

someone’s sure to be there.”Not that Harry cared much; he was still trying

to win Zia over and any chance to go to herhouse and blame an unexpected visit on me, hewas not going to pass up.

When we pulled up in Zia’s driveway, therewere no other cars in it. We sat in the car for amoment, contemplating, neither of us wanting tobe the one that got out to knock on the door. Inthe end, we decided to go together.

No answer.“Come on, Harry,” I said, stopping him from

leaving the porch, “someone has to be here.”He waited on the second step and I knocked

again, louder.Finally, I heard movement inside. The door

clicked and then opened slowly; a face peekedout between it and the frame.

“What do you want?” said a girl.I couldn’t tell at first, but then recognized her

as Daisy Mayfair, the sister of Isaac who Ziaactually liked.

“Is Zia or Isaac home?”She didn’t answer right away, but she stood

there looking at us.“Ummm, this is a bad time,” she said finally.

“I’ll tell Zia—“The door swung open then and a taller girl

pushed Daisy out of the way.“Adria, right?” She was grinning widely.I hesitated. “...Yes, I’m Adria and this is

Harry; friends of Zia.”“And Isaac?” Her grin just seemed to get

bigger.

“Uhhh, yeah, I guess so.”Harry came back up the steps to stand next to

me. I got the feeling he was as uncomfortable as Iwas now.

The tall girl stepped aside and waved us in.“Please, come on in and ummm, make yourself athome. I’ll get Zia for you.”

Daisy stood with her back against the wall,looking as though she wanted to speak, butdared not to. Warning lights were flashing likecrazy in my mind, but I wanted to see Isaac andso I ignored them. The den was not full of peoplethis time, just the tall girl, who went toward thestairs and now Daisy as she made her way to thecouch.

I heard muttering in the stairwell above.“You should leave,” Daisy whispered. “This is

a really bad time.”

“But why, what’s going on?” I whisperedback.

Daisy kept looking at the stairs, watching foranyone that might be listening, or coming downfrom them. The worry on her face set me onedge, but still, I wasn’t convinced I had any realreason to leave just yet.

The tall girl came back down the stairs andstopped in the middle. She waved at Harry andme. “Come on up.”

We both looked at Daisy once more beforefollowing the tall girl. “She’s in third room on theright,” She said in a low voice.

Harry started to follow me, but the tall girlstopped him. “Can you wait here?” she said. “Ithink Zia still isn’t fully dressed.”

“Ummm, sure,” he agreed.I left him with her and headed toward the

room, my steps much slower the closer I got. Idon’t know why I was so nervous. I heardstrange noises coming from the direction I waswalking. Whimpering. Whispers. I wasn’t sure ofanything. I could hardly make anything out. Thedoor in question was cracked just barely and atfirst, I knocked upon it very lightly. “Hello?” Isaid, but there was no answer.

I went ahead and carefully pushed open thedoor.

My heart drowned in my stomach. I think Iwas dizzy enough for a few seconds that I couldhave lost my balance. Isaac lay across his bedwith Rachel curled up next to him; her headpressed against his bare chest, her long, gracefulfingernails tracing the contours of the musclesover his ribcage.

My hand flew over my lips; they trembled

under my fingertips. I wasn’t going to be able tohold back the tears for long; my throat burnedintensely.

Rachel slowly rose up from the bed. It didn’tmatter to me that Isaac was fully clothed from thewaist down; just seeing her half-naked in a pairof pajama shorts and nothing but a bra, told meall I needed to know. I couldn’t understand. Itried. I tried so hard, but there was no otherexplanation.

The room was uncharacteristically hot andsticky. I didn’t know if it was simply because ofthe nearby burning furnace, or because my bloodwas on fire.

“What?” said Rachel, “you thought he wasyours, didn’t you?”

Isaac seemed to be asleep, but his eyescracked open and he barely looked at me. They

were full of nothing warm, his eyes. They seemeddarker, more perilous and cold.

“He would never want you,” Rachel went on,mocking me, making me feel like the total idiot Iknew I was.

The first of many tears streamed down myface.

“You’re nothing,” she said, “You’re a weak,ghastly freak of a girl with a fantasy.”

Rachel then leaned down and started kissinghim.

I saw him kiss her back.I ran out of the room, tears barreling from my

eyes and I dashed down the stairs as fast as Icould, almost tripping halfway down when Ziacame running up and caught me.

“What are you doing here?” she shouted. Shewasn’t being rude, but she was genuinely

concerned. I didn’t care. I was crying and Ziaknew that I had seen something. She knew I sawthe one thing that I did not want to see.

I hated her for it, for knowing all along, butnever discouraging me from Isaac. No, Zia hadtried to push Isaac and me together. And for that,Zia was as guilty as he was.

“Leave me alone!” I pushed my way past her.“Harry! Harry! Let’s go!” The tears choked me.

Harry came down the stairs after me. I didn’thave time to ease the utterly confused look on hisface yet. I just wanted to get out of there and asfar away from the Mayfair’s as I could.

“Adria,” Zia shouted, “You don’t understand!”I ran toward the front door and then heard

Isaac shouting my name from the stairwell. “Wait,Adria!” he said, his voice hoarse probablybecause he just had Rachel’s tongue down his

throat. “It’s not what you think! Please wait!”How dare he give me that cliché line.I ran right out the door and jumped in Harry’s

car. Harry followed and tried to get me to calmdown, but I would not have it.

“Please, just take me home.”Without another word, my best friend lived up

to his title and we sped away.

I DIDN'T TELL HARRY what I saw until muchlater. The one time I really did want him to justleave it alone, Harry was sure to pry it out of me.

“That’s harsh,” he said, “but you have to see itfrom Isaac’s perspective.”

My lips parted in disbelief. What happened tomy best friend whom I could confide in and Icould trust to be on my side? And then I realized,he was the ‘guy perspective’ and that I couldconfide in and trust him more than anyone. Harrywas not telling me what I wanted to hear, he wastelling me what I needed to hear.

“You’re not his girlfriend,” Harry said plainly.We were sitting on the hood of his car in mydriveway. “I admit, he could’ve been a little moreclear about his intentions, but you two weren’t anitem, so technically he didn’t do anything wrong.”

The truth stung.

“He hurt my feelings,” I said simply.Harry nodded, agreeing. “True, but you did go

to his house uninvited and you did go into hisroom, uninvited. I’m sure he didn’t mean for youto catch them.”

Needed to hear it or not, I wasn’t buying ityet.

“But he held my hand,” I argued, “and he putme in his lap. I didn’t instigate any of thosethings.”

Harry leaned his back against the carwindshield. I did too. The freezing glasspenetrated straight through my coat in seconds.

“Didn’t you tell me before that the first timeyou went to their house there were girls all overhim?”

“There were,” I said, “but he wasn’t into them.It was weird....”

Harry hesitated in a long, brooding pause as iftrying to get over the unforgivable fact that Iseemed to be making up excuses. We bothlooked up at the star-filled sky. It was just theway it used to look back in Georgia. I used to sitout in that barren field around our house and gazeup at the stars for hours. To think, if I had onlydone that instead the night Alex and I saw whatwe saw, none of this would have happened.

“I hate to say this,” Harry went on, “but it’syour own fault for falling for someone who madea bad first impression to begin with.” I could seehim shaking his head from the corner of my eye.Harry was straightforward and cruelly blunt, but Ione hundred percent respected him for it. “If Isaw Zia in a situation like you saw Isaac, there’sno way I could ever be attracted to her.”

I looked over at him defensively. “But Harry, I

told you it wasn’t like that.”“Are you sure?” He looked right back at me

harshly. “Don’t make excuses for him, Adria.Unless you can really find a reason to back themup.”

I could find no reason to back them up.But it didn’t matter to me that it was my fault

for letting down my guard, that I got my hopes uptoo quickly, or that I read too far into a situationand twisted the events to make them something inmy mind that they weren’t. Isaac Mayfair still ledme on. Subtly I know, but sometimes subtle canbe more powerful than straightforward flirting.This was one of those times.

Well, I was definitely not going to let it happenagain.

When I was alone in my room that night afterHarry had gone home, I had time to reflect. Or

rather, I had time to see just how embarrassed Iwas by what happened and I didn’t know how Iwas going to show my face at school for the nextday or two, or at Finch’s Grocery when Nathancould show up there. I was sure the wholeMayfair house was buzzing with rumors abouthow I ran away crying and that I was such adumb girl to think Isaac was ever interested inme. I can’t think of anything more embarrassingthan that.

All day Sunday, I dreaded Monday. Still madat Zia, the last thing I wanted to deal with washaving to avoid her at school.

To my relief, Zia was absent on Monday.And she was absent on Tuesday.Wednesday.Thursday.I was getting worried, and the school was

starting to talk.“I bet she dropped out like Julia Morrow,”

said a girl in the hall between classes.“That girl’s a freak show,” Tori said at lunch

while passing me alongside her new friends, sothat I would hear her.

“What if she was kidnapped like Sebastian?”said Harry.

We were in Geometry and Harry waswhispering into the back of my head again.

“I’m really worried,” he said, “I haven’t heardfrom her at all. I even tried calling her landline lastnight, but no one answered the phone.”

It was strange. There were only two hundredpeople living in that house and for not one personto answer just didn’t seem right.

By the time I got home from school, I wasprepared to dismiss everything. No one had

reported Zia abducted like they did Sebastian,and it was true that Zia had a problem withkeeping school hours before I ever met her.

Things weren’t so strange after all, I thought.Until Beverlee came home from work and Ioverheard her talking to Uncle Carl about howNathan had not been back to work since Fridaynight.

I lay in bed staring at my cell phone thatcontained Isaac’s number, which I had nevercalled. I thought about calling a hundred times,but all I had were a bunch of lame excuses Iknew anyone would see right through. Isaacnever told me I could just call him. He only gaveme his number in case Alex ever came home.

But I didn’t want to talk to him anyway.I tossed the phone on the end of the bed a

little too hard and it bounced off and clunked

against the hardwood floor. I curled up on myside with my pillow and fell asleep crying andangry. Only crying now because I was angry.

The knock at my bedroom door scared meawake. My eyes flew open and I lifted my headfrom the pillow.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” saidBeverlee peeking around the door. “Zia’sdownstairs and wants to talk to you.”

I lifted quickly, my mind still trying to catch upto being awake and I looked over at the clock onthe nightstand. I thought it would be much laterthan nine. I felt like I had slept for hours.

I forced myself the rest of the way awake, butwith incentive. I could only wonder why Ziawould be at my house. Now I just had a fewseconds to decide how I wanted to act towardher: still angry about the Isaac thing, over the

Isaac thing completely, or just glad she was okayand full of questions about where she had been.

“Thanks,” I said to Beverlee, “can you sendher up?”

Soon, Zia was knocking lightly against myopened door. She came inside; smilingcautiously, but there was also an apologetic glintin her eyes.

“Hey girl,” she said.“Hey.”She came over and stood near the bed,

picking my cell phone up from the floor on herway.

“I really hope you don’t mind I’m here.”I looked down at the swirly colors on my

bedspread.“No, I don’t mind,” I said and then I stared up

at her, subconsciously trading the subject before

it was too late, with a less embarrassing one.“Where have you been? Harry and I have beenworried.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” She looked awaybriefly. “Isaac was really freakin’ sick withpneumonia and then Nathan got it, along withDwarf and me. It sucked hardcore.”

“Pneumonia?”Zia smiled softly as if there was some kind of

hidden meaning behind it that I should know. “I’llhave tons of homework to catch up on.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” I said, “andHarry’ll be relieved to know. I’ll have to call himlater. Soon. Soon, but later; I mean after youleave.”

Zia stopped my babbling. “I just don’t wantyou to be mad at me.”

The more embarrassing subject was inevitable.

I just wished it held off a bit longer.“I’m not mad at you,” I said, sitting up the rest

of the way while for the first time realizing thatwas the truth. “Look, I know what Isaac doesisn’t your fault and since you’re living with hisfamily, you can’t necessarily go around telling hissecrets, or he’d probably kick you out.”

Zia shook her head. For a second, it seemedshe wanted to say something and I guess I waskind of expecting her to explain herself, but shejust looked away from my eyes.

I sighed.“I would’ve done the same thing though,” she

said finally, “if I were in your shoes.” But I gotthe feeling those were not the words she hadwanted to say. They felt more like a tradeoff.

“So then what happened?” I said.Zia went over to my vanity then and ran her

fingers through her short, spiky bangs. Herreflection looked back at me through the mirror.“I told you why we’ve been M.I.A for so long.”

“Yeah...” I waited a moment longer, just incase she wasn’t finished. “And what aboutIsaac?”

Not sure why I cared; maybe I just neededsome closure.

She put one last piece of hair into place andturned back to face me again. I couldn’t figureout her expression and it bugged me.

“I never speak for Isaac,” she said, “but hewants to talk to you and tell you himself.”

“What?”“Yeah,” she nodded, “he sent me over here to

pick you up. Damien is outside waiting.”There was no way....“If you don’t want to talk to him, I understand,

but I really think you should go and hear what hehas to say. Just my advice.”

I didn’t want to deal with this. It was badenough I fell for a guy and then was completelyhumiliated by him. Honestly, I had never been sohumiliated before by anyone.

“If he wanted to talk to me, why didn’t hecome over here himself?”

Zia grabbed my sweater from the ottoman bythe window and threw it into my lap. “You’llhave to let him tell you that,” she said. “Comingor not?”

I just stared at her.I had nothing to say to Isaac Mayfair. I

accepted he was never my boyfriend to beginwith, but I was still hurt and bitter. I cursedmyself for ever allowing myself feel this way. ThatI ever allowed myself to fall for Isaac at all. I had

always been so careful...okay, the truth is that Inever felt about anyone the way I felt about Isaacand it scared me. But it was wrong. That love atfirst sight stuff was, quite honestly, a load of crapand I never believed in it.

My mom used to say it was love at first sightwith my dad, who left us when I was so young,and then later she said the same about JeffBradley.

I rest my case.For a long moment I just sat there; distractedly

clinging onto the sweater in my lap and that eviltwin of mine trying her hardest to win this fight.

But I came out the victor this time.I looked straight at Zia then and set the

sweater aside. “No,” I said. “I don’t want to seehim.”

Her expression failed under a shroud of

defeat.I stood from the bed and began picking things

up from the floor. A pair of gently worn socks, astack of paper which I had scrawled randomnotes and doodles upon when Harry had spentthe night. I could still smell the ink that had beenpressed over and over again deeply into thepaper. I tossed my dirty clothes into the laundrybasket beside the door and lined my shoesagainst the wall. It was all just to lessen theawkward feel of the mood. I thought about howZia should come over more often on behalf ofIsaac like this because at least then my roomwould stay clean.

“Adria,” Zia said almost pleadingly, “comeon.”

“No,” I snapped, stopping in the center of theroom and turning to see her at my left. “Sorry,

but I won’t change my mind.” My voice trailed.Zia’s perfectly manicured hands dropped

lightly at her sides. She wore a form-fitting graycoat that tied stylishly around her hourglass waistand stopped just past her hips. I don’t know howshe always pulled it off, but every time I lookedat her I had to swallow a tiny dose of envy. I wasthe girl-next-door compared to her, who always,with powder-white skin and black bewitchingeyes, looked like a walking Photoshop ad.

I went over to the mirror and pretended to becleaning off the vanity when really I was lookingat myself. I could see Zia behind me, finallydeciding to sit down in the wooden chair near thenightstand and the bed. Absently, she poked herfinger at the soft wax in the heart shaped candleholder beside the clock.

It never bothered me before this night, as I

looked at myself in that brusque and spitefulpiece of glass, that maybe I just wasn’t hitting themark. Maybe that’s why guys always chose Alexover me. Maybe that’s why I spent everyweekend night reading a book, or staring up atthe stars alone instead of going out like everyother girl I knew.

Maybe that’s why Rachel was with Isaac andI was not.

Suddenly I slammed the hairbrush I hadunknowingly been clutching the whole time,against the vanity. The mirror shook and I couldsee Zia behind me in the chair, no longerinterested in the candle wax.

“Where’d you get those boots?” I said, turningaround quickly and stealing from her the openopportunity to question my little fit.

Zia glanced down at her black, lace-up boots

and then back up at me. “Amazon.” I could tellshe was still confused about the shift of reactions.

“I love them,” I said.“Better love them a lot for one hundred-twenty

bucks.”“Ouch,” I said. “Well, I hope you don’t think

I’m copying, but I’m definitely getting a pair.”Still, I could tell Zia was trying to sort out what

might have really been going on inside my head,but finally she took the hint and went along withit.

I was glad to have her back and so was Harrywhen I called him later that night after Zia hadgone home. And like before, the three of us atschool were inseparable. Zia and Harry had somuch in common, I thought there was no waythey wouldn’t end up together. But despite theamount of attention she gave Harry, I noticed too

that she seemed to keep it at a certain level. Shenever made a move forward, or indicated directlyor indirectly that she might’ve been interested inHarry for anything more than friendship. I couldsee it, but thankfully Harry could not. Hecontinued to walk around the school with abeaming smile on his face even when he wasn’tactually smiling.

I couldn’t break it to him, that Zia seemed tohave a lot on her mind and Harry wasn’t part ofany of it. At least not in the way he hoped. Ifigured it was best to just let him believe therewas still a chance. After all, I wasn’t sure myselfeven if my suspicions were right.

It was just an instinctive hunch.On Thursday, Harry and I waited out front on

our usual bench for Damien and Dwarf to pickZia up from school. It had been only her brothers

lately. Isaac was nowhere to be seen andhonestly, I was thankful for that. I think.

But on this day, Isaac was in the backseat ofthe Jeep and the second I saw his dark hair andeyes peering carefully at me through the tinywindow, my heart trembled and hardenedsimultaneously.

“There’s my ride,” Zia said, slinging her bagover one shoulder. I could tell right away she wastrying to be nonchalant, knowing my comfort-level went down about a dozen notches uponseeing Isaac for the first time since I saw him withRachel.

“Want a ride,” Damien waved at me from thedriver’s seat.

“No thanks,” I said, warily skirting a glance atIsaac who, sure enough was looking right back atme.

I turned away and left with Harry toward theschool parking lot.

It was the same on Friday. Isaac was withZia’s brothers when they picked her up in theafternoon. And also like the day before, Isaaclooked at me at least once and I looked backjust before walking away without saying a wordto him.

If Isaac had something to say to me, he hadopportunities, but instead he kept to himself. I felthe hid some enigmatic need to say something tome each time his gaze passed over mine. Itfrustrated me to no end that he didn’t just speakup. That he didn’t demand Damien wait for himwhile he dragged me off to the side to explainhimself. Isaac was way too controlled, so muchso that it made him unreadable. But what Istarted to get from it was that maybe he was

losing interest in me altogether.Fine. I really didn’t care. Much. What I

wanted was nothing more than an explanation.Closure. And I felt it was his obligation to makesure that was exactly what I got, no matter howmuch I avoided him.

~~~

“Hurry up!” Harry waved at me from his carwindow and I picked up the pace, gliding downthe front porch steps. The sun was blazing, whichmade it feel about five degrees warmer. I tookwhat I could get when it came to the tiny notcheson that rooster temperature reader Beverlee hadnailed near the front door. I was relieved I couldget away with wearing my dark red jacket and

just a sweater underneath. Winter clothes alwaysmade me somewhat claustrophobic.

I hopped in the passenger’s seat and shut thedoor fast as if trying to dodge a downpour. Itwasn’t frigid out, but it was still cold and myGeorgia blood wasn’t used to it.

Harry nudged me while I was preoccupied byadjusting the seatbelt. I looked over and sawUncle Carl standing on the porch. I took a deepbreath then, preparing myself to open the cardoor again and get hit with a cold blast of air.Really I was over exaggerating the situation. Thewind was hardly blowing at all.

“What time will you be back?” Uncle Carl saidfrom the porch as I looked over the roof of thecar at him. He held a magazine low at his side;two fingers keeping his place.

“Before dinner,” I said, waving. “I told Aunt

Bev.”“Oh,” he said, “well then you have a good

time.”I smiled brightly, hoping to make him feel less

awkward about always being the last to knowthings.

“I’m a little nervous,” Harry admitted as Ishrank back inside the warm car.

He had the heat blazing inside now and it onlytook a few seconds before I felt suffocated by it.“Whoa, Harry,” I said, reaching over to turn itoff, “way too hot even for me.”

I took off my jacket and set it on the seatbetween us, adjusting the seatbelt againafterwards, pulling the scratchy edge of it awayfrom my neck.

“What’s there to be nervous about?” I said.“You’re awesome at skateboarding. A pro.”

Harry glanced over at me squeamishly.I pursed my lips, looking at him with an

incredulous upturn of my mouth. “Come on, youknow you are.”

We drove away, hitting the pothole at the endof the driveway at just the right angle. My wholebody jerked sideways and against the car door.Instinctively, my hand went up for the handgrip.Few people have ever missed that pothole,except Beverlee and Uncle Carl, who were soused to it that they never cared to get it filled in.

“But this is different,” Harry said, pulling ontothe main road. “There will be sponsors.”

“Guess you better start sucking it up and get ittogether then, huh?” Like Harry, I was cruellyblunt when it came to telling him the truth.

Except when it came to Zia.He just glared over at me and I grinned,

satisfied with the result of my playfulaccomplishment.

When we arrived at the skate park minuteslater, even I was a little nervous for him. Theparking lots were packed full and we had to finda place on the grass, which clearly displayed asign that read: NO PARKING ON GRASS. Butwe weren’t the only ones with the same idea, so Ithought it was good Harry’s car wouldn’t besingled out for a ticket.

I got out, leaving the door open while I slippedmy jacket back on and zipped it practically rightup to my chin. I buried my hands deep in thepockets and bumped the car door with my buttto close it. My head was spinning there were somany people. I wouldn’t have chosen to comehere on my own, but I wanted to be supportiveto Harry, who had been waiting for this

opportunity for two years. He said the last timethey had a sponsorship skateboarding event inHallowell; Harry was bedridden with the flu.

Harry popped the trunk and pulled out hisskateboard.

“There’s Zia,” Harry said, waving at her as shewalked up with Damien, Dwarf and two girls Isaw once in passing at the Mayfair House.Immediately, I felt out of place, seeing Damienand Dwarf with girlfriends and then there wasHarry who had a hopeless crush on Zia.

I pushed Isaac’s face out of my mind quickly.The truth was, the more I thought of Isaac, themore indignant I became. I could never forgivehim for being such a jerk, but I just couldn’t letgo of the whole closure-thing, either.

“What a turnout,” Zia said stepping up. Shewore my favorite boots again and a leather

antique bomber jacket.“Hi Adria,” said the blond girl holding

Damien’s hand. She looked at me with anenormous, toothy smile.

“Hi.” I had no idea what her name was, orwhy she knew mine so well. But really, that smileof hers felt out of place. It was as if she knewsomething about me that...

Oh great...Well, so much for a day aroundanyone from the Mayfair house who didn’tsecretly think I was the epitome of naïve. Ireturned a less comfortable smile and quicklylooked away.

“I’m going to head over,” Harry said, noddingin the direction of the action. I could detect thedilemma in his face: he wanted to hang out longerwhile Zia was standing there, but he didn’t wantto be late. He looked at me then. “If I break any

bones you’re driving me to the ER. I don’t doambulances. Got it?” He dropped his car keys inmy hand and I just stared at him.

“What if I can’t drive?” I said. “Did you everthink of that?”

Harry laughed. I wondered why that was sofunny.

“Well then I hope you’re a fast learner,” hesaid, and then smiled once at Zia and walkedaway into the crowd.

Of course, I knew perfectly well how to drive.“Adria, this is Paige,” Damien said about his

girlfriend. He nodded at Dwarf’s girlfriend then.“And that’s Sara.”

Sara was beaming at me as awkwardly asPaige, but I continued to pretend I didn’t knowwhat they might’ve been thinking about me.

I couldn’t be more relieved when seconds

later, Damien and Dwarf went off on their ownwith their girlfriends. It was much easier to bearound Zia.

She and I huddled together on the dead grasswatching the event. Many of Harry’s skaterfriends were there, all showing off for the crowd,but especially for the three men standing off tothe side that everyone knew as some big shotscouts from California. When it was Harry’s turn,I felt my body tense up with apprehension. All Icould think about was that I hoped he wouldn’tfall, or be so nervous that it got in the way of histalent. I hated this. My stomach swirled aroundso much that the back of my neck began tosweat.

I knew nothing about skateboarding.Absolutely nothing. But when Harry was finished,I could tell by the blushed smile on his face (and

the fact that he didn’t fall) that he was happy withhis performance.

I felt like I could breathe again. And that sicklyfeeling in my stomach finally dissolved.

“Can you see their faces?” Zia said about thescouts, while standing up from the grass. “Y’thinkthey were impressed?”

I stood up with her, clutching onto the sleeveof her coat and trying to stay warm. “I don’tknow,” I said, peering through the crowd. “Ican’t see them at all.”

There were just too many people.Harry left the skate bowl and stood off to the

side with two of his friends.Zia grabbed me by the wrist. “Let’s go talk to

him,” she said.Just when I started to follow, I noticed

something far to my right that stopped me dead in

my tracks.Zia stopped too and looked at me, searching

for a reason for the resistance.“Go ahead,” I said, looking away from Isaac

across the lot so that Zia wouldn’t know. “I needto get something out of the car. I’ll be there in aminute.”

Zia nodded and slipped into the crowd.I chewed on my bottom lip angrily as I turned

around again to see Isaac. Two dark-haired,beautiful girls were with him. I just stood there;my feet anchored to the ground, my whole bodylocked in a quiet, furious pose. But this time hedidn’t see me...at least that’s what I thought atfirst. But as I watched him walk through the lotwith both girls at his side, I could’ve sworn heknew I was watching; that somehow he couldsee me out of his peripheral vision. Seconds

passed by like excruciatingly long minutes. Eachfigure that walked between our distance coveredIsaac completely from my view for what felt likeforever. He never looked at me. But I knew hewas completely aware that I was looking right athim. I could feel it.

And this was the moment in which I began topanic inside.

I looked away from him and down at myshoes then, lost deeply in thought, inside anunforgiving bubble of realization.

“I’ve become my mom....” I said aloud tomyself; resentment laced every word. I clenchedmy fists inside the pockets of my jacket.

On the ride home, Harry talked so much aboutthe event and about Zia that I could get awaywith hardly saying anything at all. He wasn’tchosen by the scouts, but he was ecstatic that

two out of three of them complimented his skillpersonally. “Two more years,” said one scout toHarry, “and we might be asking you to come toCalifornia.”

Harry couldn’t get over it; not that it botheredme. I was totally happy for him and proud that hedidn’t let this year’s rejection get him down, butinstead made him want to work harder. His facewas bright with dreams of California andprofessional skateboarding events and trophiesand probably having Zia at his side. It made mesmile to see him so exultant.

“What’s on your mind?” Harry said, lookingacross at me from the driver’s seat.

I guess I wasn’t hiding my misery as much as Itried to.

We pulled onto my street and finally over thepothole and into the driveway. Harry put the car

in park and turned fully around to see me.“Spit it out,” he demanded.I couldn’t look at him at first, not only because

I worried what he would think when I fessed up,but I was also ashamed that I let this get in theway of his happy moment. This was supposed tobe Harry’s day, not a day for my ridiculousfeelings to get all of the attention.

But I knew Harry, and there was no pointholding it in when his voice was that stern.

“I saw Isaac today,” I said, looking out thewindshield.

Harry’s left hand slid off the steering wheeland he pressed his back firmly into the leatherseat.

“You’re gonna have to go over there,” he said.I turned to see him; a perplexed expression

twisting my face.

“Confront him,” he said so convincingly. “If it’saffecting you this much then you should dosomething about it.”

I sighed deeply and then started to snifflebecause of the cold air that I had been inhaling allday. I looked straight at him then so he could seethat I wasn’t sniffling because of anything else.

“Harry,” I said, “I’m really sorry. You wereawesome out there today. I—“

Harry grinned so wide and placed both handsback on the steering wheel just at the wrists,letting his fingers dangle. “You don’t have to tellme something I already know,” he said jokingly,trying to brighten my mood.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I felt my miserable,taut face break into an inevitable smile.

He was serious once more. “I don’t like theguy,” he said. “But you should confront him.

That’s all I’m going to say about it.”I stared hard into the dashboard, picturing

Isaac’s face in my mind. The way I saw him theday with Rachel, how cold and heartless, yetempty, his eyes were. I thought of him at theskateboarding event, walking alongside the twoflawlessly gorgeous girls. His beautiful face heldno emotion. He walked with his hands buried inhis pockets. And I pictured every other time Ihad seen him; every single instance in whichbrought me closer and closer into his apparent,unintended snare.

I was so confused that I was furious!I shook it off.“Thanks Harry,” I said and leaned over to hug

him tightly. “If only you weren’t so skinny, I’d beinto you.”

Harry roared with laughter and reached out,

rummaging his hand destructively through myhair. “And if you weren’t so brunette, I might beinto you.”

It was no secret, Harry loved blonds.“Alright,” I said, “I’ll talk to you later. And I

mean it; you were awesome.”He smiled his thanks and I got out of the car

and ran to the front porch, looking back once towave Harry goodbye. By the time I got into theden, I heard his car scrape over the pothole.

For the next two hours, I stayed in my room,thinking.

So mad at myself for letting Isaac get to melike this, I started cleaning again; anything to takemy mind off it. But cleaning did not do its job asplanned. I thought heavily about my mother. Iwondered where I went wrong, how I allowedmyself to be so besotted by a guy who was

plainly bad for me. It made no sense. I wasentirely the opposite of my mother, strong-minded and strong-willed.

I couldn’t get over this inexplicable weakness.Hanging the last of my clothes up, I shut the

closet door and stood there for a long moment,staring across the room at my cell phone sittingon the nightstand, taunting me.

But rather than calling Isaac, I decided to doexactly what Harry said and confront himpersonally.

“Hello?” Zia said on the other end of thephone.

“Hey, Zia,” I said apprehensively. “Got aminute.”

“Sure, what’s up?”I paused and took a deep breath, trying to

word it all right in my head in the few seconds

that I had.“Hello?” Zia said as if our call had dropped.“I’m still here.”“Is something wrong?”I took one more deep breath.“Do you think Isaac still wants to talk to me?”

Instantly I hated how the question decided tocome out. It made me sound desperate and so Iquickly covered myself before she had a chanceto respond. “I mean, do you think I could comeover and confront him? I just need some answersso I can forget about what he did and get on withmy life.”

I don’t know how, but I got the feeling Ziawas smiling on the other end.

“We can come over right now and pick youup,” she said, eagerly.

I didn’t expect it to be so soon and so it took

a moment to agree.“Sure...,” I said nervously, “now would be

good.”Might as well. This needed to be over with

and the sooner the better. Though it made mefeel sick to my stomach.

Zia and Damien were at my house within thehour.

“Zia,” I said from the back seat, “Maybe thisis a mistake.”

She turned to see me, smiling. “Hey, I’ve gotyour back.”

I had only been thinking of facing Isaac.Rachel had failed to cross my mind, until now.Even more reason not to go through with this.

“No really, Zia,” I begged, “I don’t want to dothis. Everybody in that house looks at me like I’ma disease.”

Truly, that fact didn’t bother me so much. Iwas just looking for other excuses.

“If you’re worried about Rachel,” she said,“then don’t be because she’s been dealt with; be-lieve me.”

“How—”Zia put up her hand. “Nope. I’m not going to

say anything else. This is Isaac’s deal,remember?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said mockingly, “you don’tspeak for Isaac. Well, I still don’t feelcomfortable in your house.”

“That hurts my feelings.” She smiled.“Can you blame her, Zia?” Damien said from

the driver’s seat.“I guess you’re right,” Zia agreed. “But they

only look at you that way because they’re jealousof you.”

“Jealous? Why would anyone in that house bejealous of me?”

I saw Damien’s dark eyes gazing at me fromthe rear-view mirror. “Because you havesomething every one of them do not,” he said.

“I do?” Trying to figure out what that might bewas a severely wasted effort. “What could Ipossibly have that they don’t?”

“Isaac Mayfair, of course,” Damien replied.

WHEN YOU WANT TIME to drag by slowly,it will be sure to disappoint you. We were at theMayfair house in minutes after Damien’s absurdresponse. I couldn’t speak the rest of the drive. Iwanted to. I had wanted to tell Damien that Ididn’t appreciate his asinine jokes. I wanted totell Zia that that was twice now she didn’t takeup for me.

I was prepared only to sit outside in the Jeepand nothing else, but Zia and her recurring,bothersome persistence would not allow it.

“Girl, come on,” she said beaming as shelooped her arm through mine and walked me intothe house.

The den was as empty as it was the last time Iwas here. I didn’t even see Daisy, or the tall girlwho I know had it out for me all along. A flameburned in the fireplace.

It was quiet. So much about this house alwaysintrigued and frightened me. And every time Iwent inside, rather than getting used to it, I feltfurther and further away from any familiarity. Itseemed darker and more vacant, yet the chillsdown the back of my neck were proof that eyeswere watching from every corner, every shadow.I never heard a breath, but I could feel thewarmth of a hundred breaths all around me. Theywere there; all of them watching as they were myfirst visit when I sensed them outside watchingfrom the dark woods. Some things you justknow.

I went further into the dim, spacious den andstood near the burning fireplace. Above themantle, high on the wall a painting of a man andwoman hung, framed in antique and exquisitebeauty. The man was someone of great

importance and power; handsome and dominantwith flowing dark hair and scars peeking from theneck of his military coat. Scars on his unshavenface. Scars were probably all over his body. Buthe was still attractive, even though he looked tobe in his forties and that wasn’t exactly my thing.The woman with him seemed much younger. Shewas so frail, so gentle and innocent with thesoftest cinnamon-colored hair.

I fell in love with their story and I didn’t evenknow who they were.

A shadow moved in the kitchen near the stairs.Daisy and two more faces were watching fromthe darkness. I half-raised my hand to wave atDaisy, but then just put it back down. I noticedmore faces here and there, watching me fromrooms to my left and right and from upstairs. I feltlike a spectacle, but that was nothing out of the

ordinary in the Mayfair house. It was the onlything I was used to.

“Where are you going?” I said to Zia.She stopped near the kitchen entrance. “To

make something to eat,” she said. “Isaac’scoming.”

My heart sped up in half a second.Before I could respond, Zia disappeared

around the corner and at the same time, therewere footsteps moving down the stairs.

Isaac was coming...but so was Rachel.The moisture evaporated from my mouth.

Revulsion and fear; the only two things I felt forRachel, devoured me.

This was not at all funny. I thought that Isaacwanted to talk to me, maybe to apologize and‘explain’, but with Rachel in the mix, it could onlymean one thing: they were going to apologize

together. They were going to tell me that theynever meant to hurt me, and that they were acouple, but Isaac didn’t know how to break it tome. He was going to admit he led me on and thatit was wrong of him and that he was so, so sorry.

Rachel had every right to treat me the way shedid. I mean, I would have gone about it lesscruelly if it was me, but she had every right. Isuddenly felt like the other woman. It was ahorrible feeling.

Damien was an idiot and I couldn’t wait to tellhim off.

Rachel descended the last step first with Isaacnot far behind. She approached with awithdrawn, hateful reluctance almost as if everyone of her steps were forced.

“I-I’m sorry,” I said as she moved forward.She turned to glance at Isaac standing behind

her. That hateful glare in her eyes and the wayher mouth stayed tight and angry, kept me onedge.

Rachel looked back at me. “You’re not theone that should be apologizing,” she said. “That’swhat I came down here for, even though you—“

Isaac stepped right up behind Rachel then;interrupting something she apparently was notpermitted to say. The tension in the roomsuddenly thickened. Isaac growled, low andguttural, and Rachel’s hateful expression failedunder a more controlled one.

“What you saw that day,” Rachel said, “was alie.”

I listened intently, trying to not to let the shockshow in my face just yet.

“Isaac was sick and messed up on meds and Itook advantage of it.”

Already I felt the Idiot of the Year labelattaching itself to me. The picture of what reallyhappened was clearing up in my mind. Myshoulders, stiff with every uncomfortable emotionimaginable, began to relax. “You set me up?”

Rachel hesitated. She didn’t want to tell meany of this. She would rather walk barefootacross broken glass.

“Yes, I set you up and I’m sorry.”Though I knew her apology was as sincere as

Jeff telling my mom he’d never drink again, thatdidn’t matter to me. Knowing the truth trumpedsincerity.

My gaze met Isaac’s. I wasn’t sure what tosay at this point. I felt stupid standing there,wordless and still so unsure of everything. Ibelieved Rachel; nothing could take that awayfrom me, but I was unsure of everything else:

whether Rachel was going to jump me, or if Isaacwas ever going to speak.

And then he did.“Rachel and every other girl here,” he said,

stepping past her and toward me, “knowI’m...not the one for them.”

He chose the words very carefully“And I never want you to feel again, the way

she made you feel,” he added.The faces watching from the shadows moved

as if disturbed by Isaac’s words. From thecorner of my eye though, I saw Daisy smile atme.

Isaac turned to Rachel then. She nodded onceas if quietly acknowledging some secret demandand then she left the room. I had expected her toglare at me one last time, to threaten me withsecret gestures, but she didn’t even look in my

direction.“But...I saw you kiss her,” I said in a soft

whisper. It felt awkward having a discussion likethis with others listening. “At least, I could havesworn....”

“I’m not denying that happened,” Isaac said,“but I don’t remember it if I did—Oldest excuseever, I know, but it’s the truth.”

I did believe him.“But what about the girls I saw you with

today?” I let my expression become slightlydefensive and accusing.

A slim, knowing smile spread carefully acrossIsaac’s face as if my obvious jealousy pleasedhim in some way.

“My sisters,” he revealed. “Shannon andElizabeth.”

I felt so stupid. For a second, I couldn’t bear

to look him in the eyes.“Adria,” he said to me, “you did nothing

wrong.”“Look at me,” he added after a pause.I raised my eyes.Isaac started to explain further, but then took

hold of my hand. “Let’s go somewhere moreprivate.”

The tremors were back, making my wholebody tingle uncontrollably. I had already forgivenDamien and Zia and even apologized profusely inmy mind for thinking such harsh things aboutthem.

It was a great relief to step outside and getaway from everyone listening. I pulled mysweater tight in the front and covered my handswith the sleeves. I think he had started to put hisarm around me, maybe to keep me warm, but he

backed off at the last second. I tried once moreto use those elusive super mental powers of mine,but still to no avail.

“Where are we going?”“Harvey’s Coffee,” he said. “We’ll take my

car this time,” he added as he walked me to astandalone garage on the other side of the house.

He opened the door for me and I got inside. Acouple of beaded black necklaces hung from therearview mirror. His car smelled strongly ofcherry air freshener and there were a few emptywater bottles in the floorboard.

“Sorry about the mess,” he said, hopping intothe driver’s seat. “Blame Zia; she drove it last.”

“At least you have a car,” I said. “I’m stillriding a bike.”

We pulled out of the garage and away fromthe Mayfair house. I secretly looked over at him,

glimpsing the delicate yet strong set of his jaw,the unfathomable beauty of his eyes. I couldn’tbelieve I was with him at that moment. A millionthoughts were swimming around inside my head,but most of all I tried unsuccessfully to tame adozen new emotions.

Harvey’s was a cozy coffee shop with boothseats pressed against the large windows and acouple of small round tables placed throughout.Other than Isaac and me, there were two othercustomers inside, both of them sitting with theirnoses buried inside a newspaper and a laptop.Only one barista was behind the counter and shegreeted us along with an offer to try the newesticed coffee blend. I never liked coffee much, buthad always loved the smell of it. Isaac ordered itblack for himself.

“Come on,” he urged, “you should try

something. I’ll get you a small one if you want.”“Ummm, sure, thanks. I’ll have whatever that

was she said.” I couldn’t remember what it was,but it wouldn’t have mattered; I knew nothing ofcoffee lingo. Alex had been the Starbucks loverof the two of us.

We took our drinks to an empty booth seatand Isaac sat across from me. I never wouldhave taken him for a coffee hermit; he didn’t lookthe stereotypical part, but then he didn’t exactlyorder any of those fancy drinks, either. I decidedhe probably never actually sat inside this placeand this was just a necessary exception.

Isaac was even more striking in the light. Itried not to look at him directly too much, but Iwas noticing more about him. He was unlike anyteenager I had ever met; reserved andmysterious, dangerous and devastatingly

gorgeous. All qualities combined that often makea person irresistible. But there was more to hisrough exterior than I had noticed before. Scars.Like in the painting over the fireplace mantle,Isaac had more scars than the average teenager.One noticeable on his throat, several on his handsand wrists I saw when he took his jacket off andlaid it on the seat. I wondered about his chestand back; instinct told me there were probablyscars there too.

Then I noticed one thing that should have beenquestionable all along: was he really a teenager?He didn’t go to school and was apparently olderthan Zia, but I really had no idea....

“Did you graduate already?” I said, taking asip from my straw. The drink was surprisinglygood.

“Graduated last year,” he said.

“So...you’re like eighteen now?”“Turned nineteen in July.”Two years older than me, that was good.

Older, which was kind of mandatory in my book,but close enough to my age I didn’t feel like Iwas infatuated by a pervert. I began wonderinghow Beverlee and Uncle Carl would take this,since he was officially an adult.

Isaac raised the coffee mug to his lips andblew away steam rising from the rim beforetaking a sip. When he placed the mug back ontothe table I reached out and touched his hand.“Where did you get this scar?” I said, turning hishand over, palm down. The scar had been deep,cut straight along the top of his hand betweentwo knuckles. But then all of the visible scars hehad seemed to be deep.

“That one and these here,” he said as he pulled

the neck of his shirt down. “I got from fallingthrough a sliding glass door.”

I winced. “Oh god, I can’t imagine what thatwas like.”

“Excruciating.”He pulled up the sleeve of his left arm. “And

this one I got in a motorcycle accident.”“One of those,” I said smiling.He smiled right back at me, which was quite

charming. I had never really seen him smilebefore. Not like that.

“One of what?” he asked.I played around with him first, taking a longer

than usual sip from my drink and then fingeringthe straw, sloshing it around in the blended ice.

“Come on,” he laughed impatiently, “one ofwhat?”

“A scar junkie.”

“Never heard that before.”“Some guys think scars are their battle

wounds. They sit around in circles comparing sizewith other guys and showing them off to girls.” Ireally didn’t think of Isaac that way, but it wasfun to harmlessly tease him about it.

Isaac laughed again. “Well, you asked meabout my scars, so that label doesn’t fit me, doesit?”

“Nah, I guess you’re safe.”A quiet moment passed between us. I think

maybe we both knew that getting the obvious outof the way first would be the best way to goabout things.

I sloshed the straw around in my drink somemore.

Finally, Isaac spoke up.“The girls that live in my house,” he began,

looking right at me, “they aren’t all that bad,just...young.”

If you say so, I thought.“My sisters would never treat you the way

Rachel did, but the rest of them, they’ll get overit.”

“Get over what exactly?”I pulled my legs up and sat cross-legged in the

booth, my hands folded together atop the table.“You,” he said.I glanced up at him, feeling a sudden nervous

sensation swimming around in my chest.“They could just sense it,” he went on, “before

I could I think, that...well, they could sense theattraction.”

It was my turn to speak, but I didn’t want tosay the wrong thing. If I misunderstood what hewas trying to say, I wanted to be the only one of

us that knew it.I needed a quick diversion.“I’m not trying to be nosey,” I said, taking the

topic slightly off course, “but why do so manypeople live in your house anyway?”

“We’re a large family,” he said. “I have fiveblood sisters and three blood brothers. Each ofus has a friend, or girlfriend, or whatever, whomy father has allowed to stay with us.”

“And who does Rachel belong to?” I said, asif she were a stray pet.

Isaac laughed a little and sipped his coffee.“Definitely not me,” he clarified. “I think my sisterShannon brought her in.”

“Then who did you bring?” I regretted theinquiry, fearing it would be a girl.

“Zia,” he answered.That definitely caught me off guard. It made

me feel good though that since it was a girl, that itwas Zia. On the other hand, it worried me more.The last admission I wanted from Isaac was thathe and Zia used to have a thing. Zia was my bestfriend, other than Harry, and I wouldn’t knowhow to deal with that.

“We met in New Hampshire,” he began, “shewas homeless and I talked my father into lettingher stay with us.”

“So, you two weren’t...,”“No,” he laughed, “we’ve always just been

friends. Anyway, she brought Dwarf and Damienin and Dwarf and Damien brought Cara and hersister in. You get the idea.”

“Well, your dad must be a really caring personto take so many people in like that.”

Isaac rolled my straw wrapper into a tiny ballbetween his index finger and thumb. “Truth is,”

he said, “my father could do without so manybeing around all the time, but...well, it’s just theway of things.”

“The type that can’t say no,” I said.Isaac shrugged.“Hey,” I continued, shifting my body to sit

more upright instead of so slouched, “where isyour dad, anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever seenhim around.”

Isaac slowly took another sip of his steamingcoffee and set the mug softly onto the table.

“Very busy man,” he replied. “He’s in and out,but has too much to deal with to be hangingaround here.”

I didn’t sense any animosity for his father’sconstant absence, but that didn’t mean it wasn’tthere.

“Does he even live here?”

“Oh, yeah he lives with us,” Isaac said, “buteven when he’s here he keeps to himself. Arameineeds a lot of care and he’s the only one she fullytrusts. Or, I should say; he doesn’t trust many totake care of her.”

Aramei. I remembered that name from my firstvisit. Zia had left me with Isaac to help take careof her.

“Is she...” I paused, hoping to find the way toask without offending Isaac, “...sick, orhandicapped? Is she your sister?”

“No, no she’s—Sorry, I shouldn’t have saidanything. We really shouldn’t talk about her.”

I left it at that, but really I was so curious that Isquirmed anxiously inside my skin.

I was surprised how easily the conversationscame and how natural it felt to be around him.

Customers came and went, but we hardly

noticed. In my mind, we were the only twopeople in the world. I loved the way he smiled,the way he laughed, the way his dark gaze metmine, which made me feel like a little girl all overagain. I felt on air with Isaac, like I could doanything and he’d be right there with me.

Normally, I never liked to be alone with anyguy, or in the company of one even with Alexclose by. I wasn’t scared of them—that wouldbe ridiculous—they just made me uncomfortable.Usually they read into things the wrong way, orassume too much. Like the time in seventh gradewhen I offered Blake Sooner a pen in Englishclass because he didn’t have one. Next thing Iknow, he’s asking my friends personal thingsabout me. Then there were always those guystoo confident for their own good. Smile once justto be friendly and instantly they think it’s an

invitation.All my friends were into boys long before me.It was true that I was what my mom called ‘a

late bloomer’. I was born one week late, decidedI wasn’t ready to walk until I was over a yearold, got my first bra when I was fourteen (andstill can barely fill one) and had my first kiss justlast year.

Around Isaac, I felt like a new girl. I kind ofhated it, but that was just my pride screaming atmy happiness. And for the first time in my life, Iwas ignoring the pride and letting life happen.

Gotta let the walls come down sometime.“So where’s your mom?” I said.His charming smile faded and the mood grew

dark.He wasn’t going to answer at first. I sensed a

major urge to withdraw completely.

“I don’t have a mother,” he said with a secretharshness.

I should have let it go right then, but I was tooslow to realize such things.

“But everyone has a mom,” I said, urging himon teasingly.

Only after I said that did I understand howmuch Isaac did not want to talk about this.

“Her name is Sibyl—haven’t spoken to thatwoman in years.”

“Sorry I brought it up,” I apologized. I put mylips to my straw this time only to look as though Iwas doing something.

“No, it’s okay,” he assured me. “Sibyl madeher own choices.”

I heard him say then, “Traitor,” under hisbreath.

Like the subject of Aramei, I knew it was best

to leave the one of his mother alone too, but Iwas frustrated with my inability to avoidseemingly hazardous topics. I was learning littleabout Isaac Mayfair and raising even morequestions. One day soon I would need theanswers, but now wasn’t the right time.

“Isaac,” I said, changing the subject, “whydidn’t you talk to me before? I mean, about whathappened with Rachel?”

Another customer entered, letting a cool blastof air fill the space around us.

Isaac shook his head, smiling very faintly atme. And then his eyes met mine, making my heartlock up in my chest. “I tried; remember? But youdidn’t want to talk to me and I respected that.”

“But you could’ve come over,” I said, “insteadof sending Zia.”

He slid the half empty mug away from him and

crossed his hands upon the table in its place. Iloved his hands; so strong and persuasive. Iimagined my dainty hands enveloped by them,protected by them.

“I could have, yes,” he said and I looked backup at his face, “but Rachel would’ve put up afight and I thought it was better she didn’t knowwhere you lived.”

Isaac sighed and reached his hands across thetable then, palms up. Gently, he slipped themunderneath mine, uncurling my fingers with hisown and brushed his thumbs across the sensitiveskin above my knuckles. It was exactly as I hadimagined it just seconds ago, that just his handscould make me feel utterly protected. I lookeddown at them; the warm blush in my face forcingmy eyes to stray from his gaze.

“I never expected this when I came here,” he

said. “That I would meet you.” He was stilllooking right at me, but it was difficult for me tosee his eyes, as if I were nervous about theunfamiliar world they would surely pull me in to.Though, I wanted to be in that world, no matterhow nervous the thought of it made me. I tried tofind a worthy response; one that might make meseem more confident than breakable, but I couldthink of nothing.

“Tell me about your family,” he said suddenly,and finally I could look at him for a longer time.“Tell me about you.” He was beaming; eager forme to begin.

I smiled softly and felt his fingers slip awayfrom my palms as he leaned back into the boothseat again.

“Not much to know about me, really,” Ibegan, “but what do you want to know?”

“Everything.” His close-lipped smile was moreeager; his irresistible eyes, brighter. “Where wereyou born? Where have you been? What makesyou tick?” He laughed. “I don’t care; anythingyou tell me I know will be interesting.”

I thought to myself about how he must beeasily entertained. And also to myself, I laughed.I couldn’t imagine how anything about myaverage, dull life would be conversation-worthy.Sadly, the most exciting thing in my life was mymasochistic mother and her idiot husband andthat wasn’t a topic I cared to bring up.

“Well,” I began, “I was born in Atlanta,Georgia—moved to Athens when I was aboutfive and lived there since until recently.”

“Why did you move?” He sipped his coffeeonce more, but never took his eyes off me evento set the mug down.

I didn’t want to lie to him. It was different thanwith friends at school who I had just met anddidn’t feel comfortable telling the truth to. WithIsaac, I felt like I could tell him anything. I didn’twant talk about anything negative, but more thanthat, I wanted to be truthful.

I hesitated at first; taking one last sip of mydrink before deciding that if I drank anymore Imight feel sick.

“Bad home environment, I guess.” I shrugged.“My mom married a guy who thinks she’s apunching bag when he gets too drunk.”

He frowned and I could detect a hidden sparkof anger behind his eyes.

“Did he beat you?” he said.I felt like he was secretly fishing for answers

now that he would surely file away for later whenhe could retaliate.

“No,” I admitted. “He pushed Alex and mearound some several years ago, but he neveractually hit either of us.”

I saw his jaw tighten subtly and could tell rightaway that the next sip of coffee was merely toconceal his expression.

“Push around, hit, verbal abuse,” he said, “it’sall the same.”

“I guess so,” I said, “but my mom needed meand I personally wasn’t affected by any of itmuch.”

I suppose that wasn’t entirely the truth; Iwouldn’t be the already grown up seventeen-year-old that I was, who had never been intorelationships much, otherwise.

“Let’s see,” I went on, looking upward at theorange-glowing light above our table, “whatmakes me tick?”

He grinned then, waiting readily.“Can’t stand reality TV,” I said. “And when

someone uses my bar of soap—it’s gross tothink you’re washing yourself with somethingsomeone else has rubbed all over their privateparts.” I visibly shuddered and noticed Isaacquietly laughing at me. “Hmmm,” I contemplated;surprised it was this difficult to remember thesethings. “Oh! Litterbugs. And smokers who flicktheir ashes out the car window—got some in mymouth once when mom was stopped at a redlight. You think my soap phobia is funny;should’ve seen me flailing around in the front seattrying to spit the ashes out. The people in the carnext to us probably thought I was retarded.”

Isaac laughed. “I think I would’ve beenthoroughly amused.”

I smiled back at him.

“What about travel?” he said. “Other thanMaine, have you ever been anywhere outside ofGeorgia?”

I nodded. “Went on a field trip my freshmanyear to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Dug for diamondsin Arkansas once.” I thought about it further untilI realized I had not really seen much outside ofGeorgia. “I guess that’s it.”

“Did you find any?” he said.“Find what?” And then I realized. “Oh,

diamonds? No, I found a bunch of rocks that Ithought were diamonds until the park employeeslooked them over and shattered my dreams.” Ilaughed and took another drink regardless of thecaffeine overload.

“What about you?” I said. “Surely you’remore interesting than I am.”

“I doubt that,” he said with a soft smile. I

knew he meant that out of context and onceagain he managed to make me blush.

“Come on,” I said. “Indulge me.”He smiled and breathed in deeply. “I love the

smell of rain and the sound of silence,” he said.“Nature. The ocean. The Universe.”

I laughed. “You and my Uncle Carl woulddefinitely get along.” I let him go on.

“I’ve travelled a lot,” he said, “but I’d reallylike to get in one place and stay there.”

I pulled forward some, folding my hands onthe table out in front of me. I thought back to thenight at The Cove, remembering what that mansaid about the Mayfair’s travel expeditions.

“You must’ve been everywhere,” I said. “Kindof hard to choose a favorite place among somany, I bet.”

“No,” he said simply. “Without thinking about

it, I can say that Maine beats them all.” His smilewas warm and unquestionable.

A car pulled into the tiny parking lot then andIsaac turned his attention immediately to it.Oddly, he seemed to be smelling of the air as heinhaled a deep, abrasive breath. He glared outthe frost-covered window next to us, watchingthe car with a curious intensity.

“Someone you know?”“Yes, and I think we should leave.”He didn’t wait for me to say anything in

response, but stood from the booth seat, slippedon his coat and took me by the hand.

“Who is it?” I said as he walked me to thedoor.

It seemed he never took his eyes off theparking lot. The car was still running, itsheadlights shining brightly through the dimly lit lot.

I heard the engine rev when Isaac opened theglass doors and we stepped outside.

“Bad company,” Isaac answered, practicallydragging me to his car. “Looks like your sister isnever going to give up.”

I swung my head around to see into the car,but the windows were tinted too dark and Icould see nothing.

Isaac urged me into the passenger’s seat andshut the door behind me.

“Alex is in that car?”“Don’t get any ideas,” he said. “She’s not your

sister anymore.”Isaac threw the car into gear and we sped

away. The car didn’t follow, which surprised me.I kept looking back over the seat and through thefrosted window, but all I saw was blackness.

“Why didn’t they follow?”

“No need to,” he said, “They already knowwhere to find you. This is just their way ofwarning me.”

I didn’t have to ask for Isaac to know that Ineeded more answers.

“Your sister has an agenda,” he said, “one theVargas family won’t let her forget.” He lookedover at me harshly. “What did she say to you thenight at The Cove? I need to know everything.”

I just wished he would keep his eyes on theroad. It seemed they were on me a little toomuch and I wondered how he could continue todrive without swerving once. His harsh starepenetrated me and made me uncomfortable.

Telling Isaac ‘everything’ was out of thequestion; at least in this particular instance. Icouldn’t bring myself to put him or Alex inanymore conflict. Bringing up the part about them

threatening my life was a seriously bad idea.There was no telling what he might do.

“Alex just wants me to stop hanging aroundyou and Zia.”

“She said more than that, I know.”“How do you know?” I said. “Are you calling

me a liar?” I was a liar, but that was beside thepoint. I pretended to be slightly offended, butwas impressed by his profound ability to readright through me.

“Adria,” he said softening his eyes, “theVargas family wouldn’t go through so muchtrouble if it were that simple.” He finally put hiseyes on the road for a longer time, though Idoubted he really saw it much. “And Viktorwouldn’t get involved if it was just a simplesisterly disagreement.”

“Viktor?”

“He’s their leader...well, their father, the oneyou saw at The Cove,” Isaac said, “but don’tchange the subject.”

“Okay,” I went on, “the only other thing shesaid was that she wanted me to move out andlive with her and those jerks. She threatened meand tried to guilt-trip me, but that was all, Iswear.”

I could tell right away that Isaac didn’t believeme, but he didn’t pressure me for anymoreanswers.

“Oh no!” I said, noticing the time in bluenumbers on the dashboard. “Beverlee is gonnafreak! It’s so late.” I reached in my coat for mycell phone, but realized I had left it at home,which explained why I had not received a callfrom Beverlee long ago.

“I’ll take you home now,” said Isaac.

I hated how focused and apprehensive he hadbecome. His interest in me drained by the turn ofevents and our time together, cut short.

Isaac dropped me off at home and insisted onwalking me to the door. “You shouldn’t be out atnight by yourself,” he said. It wasn’t necessarily adecent gesture as it was a concerned one.

“I think I can manage the distance betweenyour car and the front porch,” I said, grinning.

He still went along, finding nothing funny aboutit.

“Remember what I said about calling me ifyour sister comes here.”

“Yes, I remember.”Finally, Isaac loosened up some and relaxed

the serious expression in his eyes. He reachedout and brushed my cheek with his fingertips.“But that doesn’t have to be the only reason you

call me,” he said. “You know that too, right?”I could feel the blush in my cheeks hot like fire.The front door opened and Uncle Carl and

Beverlee stepped out together; light from theliving room spilled out onto the porch

Isaac dropped his hand to his side.“Sorry I’m so late,” I said smiling.Isaac was very charming and much less

intimidated by my Aunt and Uncle than I thoughthe would be. He reached out to shake UncleCarl’s hand and he hesitantly accepted. Heseemed suspicious of Isaac and against thegesture entirely, but his hand had a customarymind of its own.

Isaac nodded and smiled at Beverlee.“Damien’s Jeep was having some trouble,”

said Isaac, “and they were waiting for me to getback so I could give Adria a ride home.”

Uncle Carl and Beverlee looked over at mesimultaneously.

“Yeah, and I forgot my cell, or I would’vecalled.”

“You couldn’t call from their house?” saidBeverlee.

I hadn’t thought of that, but apparently Isaachad. On the other hand, maybe he was just goodat lying—not a good trait, but then again, I guessit is in necessary situations.

“They were broke down about two miles fromour house,” Isaac said. “I saw them as I drovepast on my way home.”

“Really sorry, Aunt Bev, Uncle Carl. Didn’tmean to worry you.”

They lightened up then and Beverlee urged meinside.

Uncle Carl reached into his wallet and took

out a twenty. “Some gas money for bringing herhome. We appreciate it.”

Isaac respectfully waved the money away.“No, but thanks,” he said. “It really wasn’t out ofmy way. I’m heading to pick up one of my sistersnot far from here.”

I think that was a lie, too.“Alright then,” said Uncle Carl.It was obvious Uncle Carl and Beverlee had

their doubts about leaving Isaac and me togetheralone on the porch, and so that didn’t happen.There was a split second when all four of usstood silent, until Isaac knew it was time for himto leave. He stepped off the porch. “Have agood night, Adria. I’ll tell Zia you wanted her tocall you in the morning.”

Our minds were synched almost perfectlyalready. I never told Isaac that, so I knew it was

his way of telling me to call him in the morning.I watched Isaac walk toward his car and I

couldn’t resist making a mental note of every stephe made, how incredibly beautiful he was evenwhen most of his features were obscured by thenight. He glanced back at me once after heopened the door, and he smiled.

I was completely into Isaac Mayfair.Everything just felt right, like it was meant to be.Whatever ‘it’ was.

UP BEFORE TEN IN the morning, I decidedthat as much as I wanted to call Isaac that Iwould just let him sleep. At least that was theplan to tell him if later he asked why I waited solong. Really, I just didn’t want to seem so eager.

Beverlee and Uncle Carl left early for workand I was alone in the house. I watched televisionfor a while and then tried reading a new book,but I wasn’t much in the reading mood. I cleaned—seemed to be doing a lot of that lately—sweptoff the giant front porch and even wateredBeverlee’s poor, dehydrated plants.

I eventually did try calling Isaac before noon,but his cell didn’t ring and went straight tovoicemail. A sure sign his phone had been turnedoff. “Hey, it’s me,” I said into the phone. “I knowyou’re probably still asleep; just wanted to call.Not necessarily the morning anymore, but you

can’t say much now can you?” I laughed. “I’mcleaning the house for Aunt Bev, so I’ll talk toyou later.”

It was nice having the house to myself, butafter a while, I was so bored I was going out ofmy mind.

I ended up in the barn, sifting through stuff thatlooked like it had not seen sunlight in fifty years.Nothing of interest. Nothing I could identifymuch, either. A couple of old rusted bikes layagainst the barn wall, a wooden baby bed tossedon a pile of other unknown junk. A desk coveredin sawdust, lots of hay, though I wasn’t sure of itspurpose since there were no animals to use it.The only thing that looked as though it had beentaken care of was the bright red ridinglawnmower parked near the front door. I onlywished the barn were one of those that had a

second floor. I could picture myself hiding up topwith a good book and nothing to disturb me. Thisbarn wasn’t as welcoming as those you see inLifetime movies. There were spider webseverywhere; the air stank of mildew. The roofprobably had a year left in it before it startedgiving away completely, especially in the farcorner where it looked close to falling through. Icould even hear rats squealing and scurryingaround.

When I walked back out of the barn andstepped into the sunlight, I could’ve sworn I sawa figure move past the kitchen window in thehouse.

Approaching the house with caution, I almostscared myself enough not to go any further. But itwas the middle of the day, the sun was high in thesky, birds were singing and I could hear a plane

passing by somewhere. Bad things don’t happento people when the weather is nice; definitely notin broad daylight and when birds are chirping.

It probably wasn’t anything at all, I thought.I walked up onto the porch, tiptoed to the

living room window, and peeked around to lookinside.

Nothing.Ditching the paranoia, I walked right in and

went to the kitchen to make a glass of iced tea.As I squeezed a lemon into it, I heard a creakingsound coming from upstairs. I had heard thatdistinct sound before, but only when Uncle Carlwas walking out of his office and into the hallwayrestroom.

Someone was definitely inside the house and Iwas too afraid to move. Quietly, I set the glass oftea onto the counter and opened the drawer

closest to where I stood. Great. It was thedrawer where Beverlee kept her collection ofharmless wooden cutlery. The big, sharp kniveswere on the far side of the kitchen sitting securelyin a knife display. I would have to walk aroundthe enormous bar to get to it.

Footsteps came down the stairs. I could seethe shadow of a figure accompanying them.

I dashed across the kitchen and reached forthe knives, but instead knocked the wholedisplay into the floor and even still the knives didnot come out of it.

“Adria,” said Alex, “what are you doing!”Shocked to see that it was my sister, I didn’t

notice that I did manage to get one of the knivesinto my hand. I clutched it close to me.

“Put down the knife.”When my heart rate slowed and I could think

clearly, I placed the knife beside me on the bar.“What are you doing here?” I said. “Scared

the crap out of me!”Alex was slow to answer, or maybe I was just

so scatterbrained that I absently refused to let herget a word in.

“Seriously,” I went on, “what are you doingback here?”

“Am I not welcome?”Alex opened the refrigerator and began

drinking straight out of the orange juice carton.Only after she finished it off did I answer her.“Well, after what you’ve put Beverlee and

Uncle Carl through, I’m not so sure anymore.”Suddenly, Alex looked dismayed. She paced

the kitchen floor a few times and finally sat downat the bar. I watched her as she played with theends of her fingertips, head lowered, quiet and

clearly poignant. I knew then I had to drop themad act with her and become her loving sisteragain. I sat down on the empty stool next to her.“Alex,” I said, “what’s wrong? Look, I was justmessing with you; Beverlee and Uncle Carl willlet you come back, I know they will.”

Alex sighed heavily and looked over at me.“That’s good to know,” she said, “and I know

I screwed up big-time, but I’ll talk to them.”“Good,” I said, smiling, “then that’s settled.

I’m so glad you’re home.” I went to hug her, butsomething about her demeanor stopped me andalso stripped the happiness from my face.

“That’s not the only reason I came here,” saidAlex.

I looked at her probingly.“I have some bad news and it isn’t about me.”I waited impatiently, but at the same time I

wasn’t sure I even wanted to know.“Julia's dead.”I think the world stopped moving for a

second, at least my world did. When a personhears news like that, it can play tricks on themind. What did she say? Did I hear her right?Seriously, is this some cruel joke? Death? I hadforgotten all about its existence. No...It can’t betrue.

After an extremely long pause I said,“...How?”

“She got really sick,” Alex began, “andrefused to go to the hospital. She just died. Herdad found her. It was awful.”

To speak was an effort for me. I couldn’t seeanything in front of me either; just blurs ofmemorable faces and random objects. “Whatkind of sickness?” I said.

“Not sure. The flu, pneumonia; I don’t know.The coroner picked her body up early thismorning.”

Hearing that Julia had died was enough; Ididn’t really want to know about the coroner andthat whole dismal process. But it hit me then;Isaac and Zia had been sick recently, too. CouldJulia have died from the same illness? I waspanicking inside all over again.

“Have you been sick?” I said, worriedly. “Youdon’t think you have it, do you?”

“No,” she answered. “I feel great.”It was odd how she said that. In a time like

this, one does not usually feel great, or nice, oranything above okay. I was having a hard timereading her.

I was supposed to call Isaac if Alex ever camehome, but so far, I found no reason to. Alex was

being civil, definitely more herself without Asheand the rest of them around. I sensed no sarcasmin her tone, no threatening attitude.

My sister wanted to come home. She hadfinally admitted to herself that she made a hugemistake. Maybe Julia’s death helped her to see it,but whatever it was, my sister was seekingforgiveness and change and I could find nothingwrong with that.

My cell phone almost vibrated right off thecounter. Isaac’s name displayed on the CallerI.D.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Alex, and I waiteduntil I was outside on the front porch before Ianswered.

“I slept late,” he said on the other end.“Should’ve left my phone on, but I’m so used toturning it off at night before I go to bed.”

“It’s alright,” I said. “So, what’s up?”Our conversation was awkward before it

began. Unlike Isaac, I wasn’t a good liar and itwas difficult for me to talk to him with the wholeguilt-thing hanging over my head.

“Not much,” he said, “Zia and I wanted tostop by later on, if you’re up to it.”

“Ummm, I don’t know if I have time today,” Isaid, nearly stuttering. “I think Beverlee andUncle Carl wanted me to go somewhere withthem tonight and right now...I’m still doing stuffaround the house.”

I paused for a moment and said, “Did—.”Julia never left my thoughts and I had started totell Isaac what happened, but caught myself justin time. He would want to know how I knewabout it and that was a lie I knew I could notcome up with successfully on such short notice. I

would use the rest of the day between spendingtime with Alex to figure out how I would goabout the horrible news of my ex friend. Besides,I had many more questions to ask Alex aboutJulia and the Vargas family and everything in-between.

I hated this so much I wanted to just spill itand tell Isaac that Alex was home. The only thingI wanted more than spending time with him washaving my sister back. You never really expect tohave to challenge the two best things ever.People are usually lucky just to get one.

“Okay,” he said with a slightly leery pause,“then I’ll just talk to you tomorrow then—iseverything alright over there?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I said, faking a smilein my voice. “I’m just exhausted from all thecleaning.”

I was confident he believed me. I think I wasmore worried about Isaac thinking I didn’t wantto see him than I was worried about him findingout that Alex was in the house.

After hanging up, I went back inside to findAlex in the den, kicked back with her feet on thecoffee table. She had not one, but three largeglasses of iced tea lined in a perfect row next toher feet. A bag of chips sat next to her on thecouch.

If Alex was going to win back the respect ofBeverlee and Uncle Carl, she was going to needa lot of work.

I had less than five hours to help her.“Alex,” I said approaching, “you know

Beverlee doesn’t even let Uncle Carl put his feeton the coffee table.”

She looked at me, smirked and then slid her

feet onto the floor. A few seconds later and shewas gulping down one glass of tea without takinga breath.

I sat next to her.“Thirsty?”The empty glass pinged against the coffee

table as she set it down.“Definitely.”I expected more of an answer and so I waited

in case she had more to say.“So,” I went on, “what made you decide to

come home?”“I missed my little sister.” The chip bag rattled

as she dug around inside it.Okay, this was ridiculous and I was already on

the verge of saying something to Alex I mightregret. It was hard to take her seriously with howher attitude flip-flopped from promising to

impolite from one second to the next. She justneeds time, I thought. At least she’s home andmaking an effort—can’t expect a miracle.

“What about your boyfriend?” I said as Ireached into the chip bag too.

“Ashe is awesome,” she answered. “You twoshould start over and get to know each other.”

The news that she and Ashe were still togetherwilted all my hopes about her reasons for cominghome. Even if she had said something more likehow they were fighting and might break up, Icould’ve worked with that. But ‘awesome’ andanything about me giving him another chance waslike being punched in the stomach.

Still, I held my tongue.Alex continued with a mouth full of bright

orange. “He was even the one who brought it up,about starting over with you and getting to know

you and stuff.” She stopped long enough toswallow. “I told him I’d talk to you, but not toexpect anything.”

Yeah, the sun would extinguish before thathappened. I moved around unnervingly on thecouch.

“But really, sis,” she said finally with eyecontact and no food in her mouth, “I missed you.No guy can come between blood and I’m reallysorry for letting it even just a little.”

I was screaming inside. A little?“It’s alright,” I said calmly, “and I missed you

too.”We sat there for several long and silent

seconds, but I was the only one that seemedbothered by it. Alex was eating away and gulpingdown more tea, her gaze fixed across the room,probably on nothing in particular. I wondered

what she was seeing in her thoughts, whose faceswere looking back at her. Somehow I got thefeeling none of them were truly mine.

“Are you going to go to school?” I said.Alex laughed. “Coming home is good deed

enough,” she said. “I won’t be going to school,that’s for sure.”

“Why not? You graduate this year.”Alex sprung off the couch and went back into

the kitchen. “It’s just not for me, Dria. I’d ratherjust get a job.”

I heard the refrigerator door open and the teapitcher slide off the top rack.

“Hard to get a decent job if you’re a drop-out,” I said from the living room.

“Oh well,” she said, “it’s not like I want to bea psychiatrist or anything.”

“You need a psychiatrist,” I mumbled under

my breath.Alex came back into the living room with a

glass of water this time. “And you don’t need adiploma to be an actress or a model—I think Icould do either one.”

Wow. Rude, inconsiderate and nowconceited, too.

“Yeah, I guess you could do that....”“Enough about me,” Alex said, “What’s with

you and that Mayfair guy?”Something told me this was a risky topic, but I

ignored it. It was nice that Alex wanted to knowabout me. I had started to wonder if she cared atall.

I brought my feet up onto the couch, my legsbent at the knees.

“I know you’d like Isaac,” I said with a smile Icouldn’t contain. “I’ve never met anyone like

him.”“Have you slept with him yet?”I think I stopped blinking. “No....”“Good,” Alex said, “and don’t because that

wouldn’t be too smart.”I stood from the couch and looked down upon

her with a tight, angry jaw. “That’s really not yourbusiness,” I said harshly, “but you could be a littleless blunt...” I was tired of this and went towardthe stairs. “You know what?” I said lookingback, “I’m going to take a shower. Beverleeusually gets home around five and Uncle Carlaround five-thirty. I’ll be up in my room if youdecide you really want to talk to me.”

I left Alex sitting there.My shower was much longer than usual and I

made it a point to spend more time brushing myteeth, combing out my hair and washing my face

so I could avoid Alex. I kept telling myself thatshe just needed time and that progress wouldn’thappen as quickly as I wanted it to. It was adream to see Alex home. As much as I hated itthough, I had to accept that she would probablynever be the sweet, caring Alexandra Dawsonshe used to be and that I was going to have toadjust.

Excuses. That’s what they were. In my heartsomething ominous lingered, but like every otherobvious warning, I ignored it too.

Beverlee was not as welcoming as I was whenI first saw Alex. It seemed she was more in tunewith the warnings I so recklessly disregarded, butshe didn’t kick Alex out.

I listened from the top of the stairs to Alexapologize and explain how she had made somebad decisions and such. It all sounded fake to

me, so I know Beverlee probably wasn’t buyingit. But being the kindhearted person that Beverleewas, she retained a calm and accepting attitude.Uncle Carl reacted the same way as Beverleewhen he made it home from work.

Trying to show Alex that she was welcomehome and that people here loved her, Beverleemade a huge dinner and asked that we all eattogether at the table. It went as well as it could,considering. I had been holding my breath theentire time, just waiting for Alex to say or dosomething to completely ruin the evening. But itturned out that Alex’s weird obsession withwater, tea, milk, orange juice and even V8, wasthe biggest concern.

“Alexandra,” said Uncle Carl, “maybe weshould set you a doctor’s appointment.”

“I agree,” said Beverlee, “you could have

Diabetes.”Alex’s brows wrinkled and she moved her

fork around in her peas. “There’s nothing wrongwith me,” she said. “No need to waste money ona doctor.”

“It wouldn’t be a waste,” said Uncle Carl,more verbal than I had heard him in a while.“We’ll take you anyway just to play it safe.”

Alex shrugged. “Whatever.”By the time dinner was over, there was nothing

left in the kitchen to drink except water from thetap and a few beers Uncle Carl kept hidden inthe crisper behind the shredded cheese.

“We’re going to see the late showing of ASecret Soldier,” said Beverlee, “Want to come?”

“Nah, go ahead,” Alex said from the couch inthe den.

It would have been nice if she had turned

around to see Beverlee and Uncle Carl, but shejust waved her hand, dismissing them. I thought itwould be good for all of us to go out, but sinceAlex clearly was not interested, I knew I shouldstay home too.

I didn’t trust her alone in the house.I was finally beginning to listen to those

warnings I had been ignoring, though still notenough to call Isaac.

Upstairs in my room, I sat at my desk surfingthe net. Like my extra lengthy time in thebathroom earlier in the day, I did whatever Icould to keep busy and out of Alex’s sight. Justhaving her in the house made me immenselyuncomfortable. I started to wonder if that waswhy Beverlee and Uncle Carl decided to see amovie. They had never gone out like that beforesince we moved in.

After checking my email and new uploads ondeviantART, I ran out of things to do. Therewasn’t anything to clean that was for sure. Ithought about calling Isaac; I wanted to call himmore than anything, but I worried Alex wouldwaltz into my room and give herself away whilehe was on the other end of the phone.

But then something just clicked in mind.“What am I doing?” I said aloud. “I can’t let

her do this to me.” I was a prisoner in my ownhome all over again. Hiding out in my room,afraid to venture too far out into the open—shepushed me too far this time.

I practically flew off the chair and swung openthe bedroom door, rushing out of the room withretribution in my steps. Telling her exactly what Ithought of her was long overdue. I passed UncleCarl and Beverlee’s open room, feeling ashamed

that someone with the same blood as me wouldtreat them so badly. Pressing on to the end of thehall, I barely stopped to watch my footing as Iglided down the carpeted steps.

But when I got to the end and stepped ontothe hardwood floor, I froze.

Alex stood at the bar with her back to me, herpetite shoulders hunched over the countertop sounnaturally that I could hardly make out whereher neck started and her back began. Herelbows peeked out from the sides, movingfuriously back and forth as if she were eatingsomething ravenously with her hands. I glimpseda meat packaging tray and ripped Saran-wraphanging over its edges. Blood dripped from thebar and oozed over the side and onto the floor ina red, slimy mess. Frightening, gruntsreverberated from Alex’s chest.

Against everything my instincts were telling me,I crept up further from behind to get a betterview. Blood smeared the side of her face anddripped down her wrists. The sound of raw meatstretching and ripping was stomach turning as sheshredded a raw roast with her teeth.

My fingers found my lips and I felt like I wasgoing to vomit. “My God....” I gasped, but Ididn’t mean to say it out loud.

Alex’s bloody, ravenous face swung around tosee me. Her eyes were black like marbles, herteeth...her face....Something was very wrong withthis, something so much more than Alex standingthere eating raw meat.

My cell phone. My hand jerked from mymouth and went to my pocket, but I left myphone upstairs on the bed. I began to back myway toward the front door.

“Stop,” Alex demanded. “You have to helpme.”

I was screaming inside. The sound of her voicewas not...it was not human. It was familiar.Demonic.

Running for the door, I almost made it when Ifelt my body lift into the air and I was sentsoaring through the room. I flew past the lamp,clipping it with my head and I crashed into thewall; pictures of family came falling down andaround me. Alex stood over me, her black eyeswider and more deadly. Her breathing was rapid.I could see her chest rising and falling so fast, sodesperate that I thought her heart would stopbeating any second and kill her in an instant. Istarted crawling past her, my palms moving overpicture frames and broken glass, but I didn’t getfar.

Alex grabbed the front of my shirt and liftedme off my feet. I heard the fabric ripping and theweight of my body dropped slightly, but Alexgripped tighter to hold me in place. I hoveredinches from the floor that I so desperately wantedto touch. I couldn’t breathe and I was choking.Black and orange flashes of light attacked myvision.

I began to cry. “Alex,” I managed to say,“Stop. P-Please. Alex!”

She dropped me.I gasped and choked for air until it found my

lungs again.Alex gripped her head suddenly with both

hands and screamed out. Her cries pierced myears so intensely that it made me cry harder. Ichoked on my tears, feeling my sinuses and theback of my throat relentlessly burn.

Her flesh began stretching over her face andneck and arms, as if she were growing too fastinside for the flesh to keep up. Long, blackgnarled hair grew from her skin. Her head tiltedback as her face began to grow outward; a snoutpenetrating through her skull. Alex roared. It feltlike the whole house shook around me. Her bodygrew taller, the hair longer, her feet had becomedeformed, her long legs, hind-like and grotesque.

She drew her clawed hands behind her, liftedher chin and howled.

I lost it.A part of me could still see her and everything

in my view, but my senses were disconnectedfrom it all. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. Itried desperately to jump out of my skin, out ofthis restrained comatose state, but I couldn’t dothat either.

Only when I heard yet another howl and thesound of the large window in the den shatter, didI come out of that coma.

Counting Alex, four werewolves stood in myhouse.

Werewolves.Alex ran with a chilling ease at the other three.

She and one other clashed in mid-air; Alex’shead-start propelling them both back out throughthe broken window. The others followed.

I got to my feet and ran out the front door. Itdidn’t matter that I should’ve tried to hide, or runaway from them. Hypnotized by the event, all Icould force myself to do was watch.

FOUR WEREWOLVES QUICKLY TURNEDinto five and then six. My heart quavered;fascination and fear working together to keep meconscious. I had lost sight of which one was Alexso fast, as they all looked the same to me.

Amid the chaos, I thought of Beverlee andUncle Carl, hoping they wouldn’t come homeearly. If I was going to die like this, I didn’t wantto bring those I loved down with me.

Not like this.The porch rumbled and shook beneath me; the

dead plants hanging above swung back and forth.A pungent stench suddenly filled my nostrils andslowly I turned around to see the seventh beastcoming toward me on the porch. I took off in theopposite direction, leaping over the porch railingand landing in the wide open where the otherscaught in the bloody brawl could clearly see me.

I didn’t know where I was running, or why Ithought running anywhere was going to help, butI ran. I ran and ran. I could feel the hot, rancidbreath of the one chasing me, moistening the fleshon my back.

Don’t run into the barn, I said to myself. Butthere was nowhere else to go.

I ran right into the barn and fell to the ground,backing my way against the nearest pile of rustedjunk.

The enormous beast bore down on me,walking slow and methodically in my direction asthough wanting me to look it in the eyes before itripped me to pieces. And I did look it in theeyes. They stared back at me so cold andpredatory. I thought to myself: Please God; justdon’t let that one be my sister. I did not want tobe killed by Alex. Anyone but Alex.

It happened in a blink; but the beast soaring atme was not of its own accord. Another werewolfhad entered the barn and dove at it, sending itcrashing violently into the wall right past my head.I rolled out of the way seconds before debriscrushed me.

They fought so fiercely they almost brought thebarn down. The weak roof in the corner fell,exposing the darkness to the moonlight andanything mounted along the rotting walls camefalling down in every direction.

The force of their feral blows wassupernatural. No human could have survivedeven the weakest one. Blood glistened in theirlong, mangy fur and deep gashes as long as myarm were cut into their massive bodies.

I started to run out of the barn, but fell over anold tire obscured beneath the hay.

One last violent blow struck one beast down. Ididn’t know which was which. Thinking that oneof them had actually been there to save me wasnot in my thoughts. All I knew was that they wereboth werewolves and I was a human girl. Ilooked at them, wondering which one was goingto win me as the prize...the meal.

The one still standing glared across at me, butit did not advance.

Those outside howled.It glowered at me, contemplating. Blood and

thick saliva dripped from its massive teeth. Itsdark gaze going back and forth between me, thebarn exit and the werewolf lying wounded on thefloor.

One last seemingly dominant howl fromoutside and the werewolf took off for the exit anddisappeared; the barn door ripped from its hinges

and splintered into a million pieces.I was paralyzed. It felt like the breath keeping

me alive had become something thicker, moretoxic in my lungs. I choked several times before Icould breathe steadily.

It had become utterly silent outside. Thehowling and gnashing of teeth, the clash of theirlycanthrope bodies; everything stopped.

I was too afraid to move to see if they werestill out there. Hot breath emitted from mybarely-open lips in rapid puffs of freezing air. Mybreath was the only sound.

One werewolf still lay wounded just feet fromme—a small sense of relief short-lived.

It stirred.I saw the rusty machete next to me on the barn

floor, covered by even rustier saw blades. Igrabbed it and stood up. I knew that no matter

how wounded it was, this would still probablyend badly for me, but by this time I wasn’t goingdown without putting up a fight.

And if it was Alex, then I had to help her byending this savage, murderous life.

From a deceptively safe distance, I gazeddown upon the beast. It panted and moved itsmassive head around in a circular motion. Mywhole body tensed. I felt my courage quicklydripping out of my body along with my sweat.Before I lost it all, I took two steps closer andraised the machete above my head. I felt my legsweak and shaking, barely holding up my weight. Icould scarcely hold the weight of the machete asif my arms were as frail as paper.

I should’ve killed it right then; I had theopportunity, but the beast opened its eyes andlooked right into mine. The eyes staring back at

me seemed to bore into my soul, stripping fromme everything that made me violent and vengefuland detached. A conflict tore my mind apart. Itold myself that if I didn’t kill it that it would killme, but my heart dictated those thoughts.Something was in its eyes, so true and sincere, soabsolutely pleading.

The beast’s form then began to shift as thebody lay there on the blood-soaked hay. Iwatched, every one of my senses pulling me inevery direction. I still had the machete. I still hadone last chance to strike the blow and take off itshead.

I think only fate kept me from using it.The hair began to disappear into the flesh, the

snout fading behind the skull, its skin slowlyturning from grey-black to a more human-likecomplexion. The sound of bones cracking was

horrific in my ears as they set themselves backinto place. The gnarled hands and hind-like legsdistorted and shrank to normal size.

Not realizing I had ever moved, I saw that Iwas pressed into the wall behind me. I hadbacked away, but could go no further.

Isaac lay naked and bloody in the floor of mybarn.

Tears began burning my eyes and throat again.I wasn’t sure about what I was seeing, who Iwas seeing. I wasn’t sure of anything, not thebitter taste of blood in my mouth, or the ground Istood upon, or the light wind rattling the hole inthe roof. Nothing.

I heard the machete hit the ground, pingingagainst something else old and rusted as itdropped from my hand. I went with it, falling tomy knees.

And I wept.I put my face in my hands and let it all out; my

whole body shuddering in a tumultuous display.Finally, I could look up again and I did so

slowly.Isaac carefully sat upright. I heard his neck

crack as he rolled his head to both sides. Hemoaned through tightly gritted teeth until the painof resetting his shoulder passed.

He stood, facing sideways from me to shieldhis nakedness and he walked to the lawnmower,took a filthy, tattered blanket that had been usedto cover it, and wrapped it around his lowerbody.

Sebastian, my missing friend from school, ranshirtless into the barn and stopped at theentrance.

I couldn’t handle this, seeing Sebastian alive,

seeing Isaac who had just shifted from awerewolf into Isaac again. My eyes darted backand forth between them and then I was evenmore shocked when Nathan Mayfair stood nextto Sebastian. He was completely naked.

The pieces of this puzzle were all fittingtogether at once, overwhelming me.

It took seeing Nathan naked and in partialdarkness to realize where I had truly seen himbefore. He was who fell onto the path in Georgiaand told Alex and me to run away. He was theone who turned into a werewolf and fought theones after him.

No words exchanged between the three ofthem, only nods of acknowledgment as Isaacassured them that they could leave.

Isaac and I were alone again.He approached me and instinctively, I

recoiled. “Have you been hurt?” he said as hecarefully knelt down in front of me.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. My bodyshook all over.

Carefully, I gazed up into his face and hereached out his hand and touched my lips softly,wiping away a trickle of blood. How amazing atouch so gentle could come from such a violentbeast. When finally Isaac sensed my fear of himbegan to diminish, he took me into his arms andheld me pressed against his naked chest. Myposture only rejected him for seconds before thewarmth of his embrace eased my trembling body.

“Adria,” he said very carefully, “Where elseare you bleeding?”

I hurt all over, but none of my wounds stung asthey do when the skin has been seared. I pulledaway from Isaac slowly and looked upon myself.

“I-I think I’m just sore,” I said and then Itouched my lips where the blood had been,where his fingers had so gently grazed me.

I wasn’t sure how to answer his question;everything was surreal to me. “I busted my lip—not sure how—I’m okay....”

Isaac inspected both of my arms and thencarefully turned my body at the waist and pulledup my shirt to see my back.

“Are your jeans ripped anywhere?” he saideagerly as he helped me to straighten my legs outinto the floor. He inspected them also, back andfront and then put his hand on the end of the frontof my shirt. He waited, looking to me first forpermission. I let him pull my shirt up enough sohe could see my stomach. He was respectful andwent no further.

Isaac leaned in and kissed me long and hard

upon the forehead. I could feel the unbridledemotion in his touch, the undeniable need toprotect me from everything. The warmth from hismouth spread all throughout my body.

“If you had been Turned by one of them,” hesaid, “it would have been the death of me.”

I think I had been in love with Isaac Mayfairall along, but now was the moment in time inwhich I knew it.

He drew me toward him again and held methere, pressed against his warm body. I neverwanted him to let me go. I know he felt the sameway.

“I admit,” Isaac said, “I expected more of anunconscious reaction.” He didn’t laugh, but Iheard the faintest hint of humor in his voice.

“This isn’t my first time,” I revealed.He pulled my head carefully away from his

chest and stared at me. “Explain that.”“In Georgia,” I began right away, “Alex and I

were, well not necessarily attacked, but caught inthe middle of a fight between—” I stopped andpictured Nathan’s face. “Your brother was there.I know that now.” My voice became distant.

Isaac’s embrace tightened.“He told us there was only one girl,” he said,

more to himself though it seemed.“The worst part about all of this,” I said, also

more to myself than to Isaac, “is that somehow,hidden in the deepest part of me, I knew Alexwas one of them....”

Isaac remained quiet, giving me my moment ofrealization.

When I had had enough time to go over thatunderstanding in my mind, I turned my attentionto him again, dismissing Alex altogether.

“But you are hurt,” I said, rising up to examinehis wounds. “There’s blood everywhere.” It wastrue, about the blood, but as I examined himmore closely, I saw that his wounds were not asgrave as they should’ve been. The gash on hischest I knew had been deeper just seconds ago.I looked at him interrogatively.

“I heal fast,” he said. “It won’t completelydisappear, but most of it will.”

“That explains your scars, doesn’t it?”He nodded.I reached up and grazed the skin around the

fresh wound. To see any part of him mangled likethat, it broke my heart.

“You don’t have to tell me what the Vargasfamily is,” I said, “but which one of them wasthat? The one I saw in here.”

He couldn’t look at me then. “That was Sibyl.”

His mother. She attacked her own son? I feltso awful for him and so much hatred for her.

“You saved my life.”“I didn’t save anything,” he said. I could hear

the shame in his voice. “She would’ve killed youif Viktor had not of called her off.”

He added, “I’m really sorry, Adria, for whatSibyl did.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” I said. “I just hatethat your mother would be so cruel. I don’tunderstand it....”

“Nothing much to understand,” he said whilestill looking at my arms for wounds. “Sibylbetrayed my father with Viktor when I waseight.”

I said nothing more about that.“How did you know then?” I said after a quiet

pause. “About Alex being home. I don’t buy that

you all just happened to be in the neighborhoodat the right time.”

“I could sense it in your voice on the phoneearlier,” he said.

So, I sucked as a liar, after all.“But you still saved my life.”Sibyl was his mother and bound to be

somewhat stronger than him. And as far as I saw,they both seemed neck and neck up until that lastsecond. And I think it was my fault. Iremembered just before the last blow which tookIsaac down, that I had started to run for the exit.

“You were distracted by me, weren’t you?”He tilted his head slightly to one side. “No, I

was too preoccupied to be distracted.”“And here I thought you were an excellent

liar,” I said, “You saw me try to run out of thebarn, didn’t you?”

Reluctantly, he gave up just to appease me. “Idid see you, but Sibyl is much more powerfulthan me; not to mention older, and probablywould’ve won still.”

“How much older?” I said. “And really, whatdoes age have to do with it?” The way he said‘older’ piqued my curiosity.

“By at least one hundred twenty years,” hesaid. “So it has a lot to do with it.”

My buzzing mind came to a sudden stop. Notthat I knew a thing about real werewolves tobegin with, but I least expected them to beimmortal. I thought that they could be killed bysilver bullets and fire. I thought that they could bekilled by rusty machetes....

“I couldn’t have killed you if I tried,” I said,realizing.

Isaac laughed and stood me up with him, his

free hand holding the blanket tight around hiswaist.

“No, that would’ve killed me maybe if itweren’t so dull and as long as you weren’t a badaim.”

“So, you’re not immortal?”“Not technically,” he said. “We can be killed

by anything that can kill you except sickness anddisease—we’re immune to everything. And it’snot quite as easy to kill one of us—better havesomething bigger than a shotgun.”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted, “So you didn’treally have pneumonia? None of you were sick?Then where—”

Isaac curved his big fingers gently around mywrist. “We can talk about this later,” he said. “Ithink your Aunt and Uncle are home.”

“Oh no...” I looked toward the broken barn

window. Headlights shone brightly up thedriveway, bouncing in the darkness as the carwent around the pothole.

“Just tell them you went for a walk andsomeone broke in while you were gone.”

That was one excuse down, but I knew itwasn’t going to cover everything. Alex was goneand my shirt was covered in blood. I was goingto have to hone my story-telling skills in less thantwo minutes.

“But what about you?” I didn’t want Isaac toleave. I had so many questions, but more thananything, I never wanted to be apart from him.“Where will you go? What about your clothes?What if they come after you?” I was a bit frantic.

Isaac took me possessively into a kiss.He enveloped me in his arms, his lips pressed

against mine so devotedly that it made me mad

for him. The warmth of his arms, the smell of hisskin, the taste of him; combined, it sent me overthe edge. I pressed myself even further against hischest, my lips becoming heavier upon his own thelonger he held me there. It was like a dream andI never wanted to wake up from it.

He pulled away reluctantly, staring into myeyes. “Adria,” he said, “I won’t let anythinghappen to you, ever.”

If he wanted me to walk away from him anddo what I needed to do, he was not making iteasy for me. But I knew I had to go. Uncle Carland Beverlee were getting out of the car, rippingthat eternal moment with Isaac Mayfair right outof the air.

We looked at each other, words unspokenthat said so many things we both had wanted tosay, passed between us. And I left him in the

barn, feeling the rest of the night that the next dayjust wasn’t coming fast enough.

~~~

How I came up with such a perfect story to tellUncle Carl and Beverlee and in such a short time,was fueled by betrayal. I knew without a doubtthat Alex would never be coming home. Shenearly killed me. Alexandra Dawson was nolonger my sister. She and the Vargas family were,just as Zia and Isaac had tried to warn me, adanger to me and my family. Doing whatever Ipossibly could to keep her away from them waspriority.

The story I gave them was that I suspectedAlex was on drugs and I confronted her. Alex,

angry and defensive, went into a rage andattacked me. We fought inside the house and shepushed me through the den window. Because ofeverything she had done, it was easy for them toaccept drugs as the cause. The raw meat on thebar? Drugs could be blamed on many things.

I convinced them after an hour that I wasphysically okay and that a trip to the hospital wascompletely unnecessary.

But Uncle Carl was about to call the policeafter I told them my story so convincingly. Ibegged him otherwise. The police, no one, couldget involved in this. I explained how it would onlymake things worse and that I couldn’t handle itemotionally. They worried about me. I was theonly one of my sister and me they felt they didn’tfail. They agreed to leave it alone. But Alex wasnot allowed back. She was eighteen and

responsible for herself now.It hurt me to have to do this to Alex, to lie

about her and get her banned from coming home.It was not in my character to smear someone’sreputation the way I did hers. I knew thatBeverlee would innocently talk to her customersat Finch’s Grocery. Rumors would begin tospread. Alex wouldn’t be able to go into anypublic place in Hallowell without suspicious andhateful glares from the town’s residents.

Something told me that Alex wouldn’t care.Sure, everything seemed resolved, but there

was still one thing I couldn’t resolve myself: TheVargas family wanted me dead in order toprotect what I knew about them.

A part of Alex was still my sister at one time,when she convinced them to give her a chance totalk me into living with her. That was what her

threats were about at The Cove that night. But Iknew now that all of the chances Alex had beengiven were used up and that time had run out.

~~~

Isaac was at my house before seven a.m.“You should’ve told me what Alex really said

to you at The Cove,” Isaac argued from thedriver’s seat. “I had no idea you knew about ourkind.”

“Why didn’t Nathan tell you?”I sat quietly on the passenger’s side.“He didn’t see both of you that night; said that

it was dark and he was shifting—you sort of losesight of everything in that moment.”

Isaac insisted that only he take me to and from

school every day from now on. He even spokewith Beverlee and Uncle Carl and surprisinglythey had no objections.

It was difficult hanging out with Harry onlybecause he was the one out of the three of us thatdidn’t know. He could sense that somethingbetween Zia and I had changed. He knewsomething was wrong and that I was perfectlyaware of it. Of course, I was, but what hesuspected was far from Zia being a werewolf. ByGeometry class, Harry felt snubbed andwithdrawn. He probably thought I told her allabout his crush and that she wasn’t interested.He assumed neither of us knew how to break itto him.

I hated that feeling. It wasn’t even the truth,but I felt like I betrayed Harry. In a way, I wasbetraying Harry by not telling him that his best

friend, Sebastian, was alive and well. It didn’tmatter that I had no choice; I was a horriblefriend because of it.

Zia and I had to make up a quick excuseabout why Harry couldn’t join us at Zia’s houseafter school that day. He wasn’t supposed tohear us talking, but he did as I stood at Zia’slocker.

“Uhhh, sorry Harry, but we’ve got plans,” Itried to say.

Zia interrupted, “We’re having a girl’s night.”Lamest excuse ever, especially since it was

obvious it wasn’t true. If anything helped Harryto confirm his suspicions then that was surelywhat did it. We couldn’t talk at all with himaround and talking about ‘it’ was what I wantedto do more than anything. Having normalconversations just seemed so pointless anymore.

How can a person sit next to a werewolf at lunchand act normal?

Harry didn’t talk to either of us for the rest ofthe day. It hurt me to see him that way, feelingousted by me and the girl he liked. As much as Iwanted to put his feelings first, I knew therewasn’t anything I could actually tell him thatwould fix it.

The day dragged by in a blur. I couldn’tremember anything that we went over in anyclass, and in Geometry, Mrs. Schvolsky madesure to point out that I looked ‘awful’ andneeded ‘some serious sleep’. I quietly thankedher for those observations and laid my headdown on my desk.

I just wanted the day to end. The whole thingwas an act; school was the last place I wanted tobe and Geometry, the last thing I wanted to learn.

Unfortunately, going to school and pretendingthat nothing as preposterous as, I don’t know,werewolves, had attacked me the night before,was a necessity for Uncle Carl and Beverlee’ssake.

I just never imagined a seven hour day couldtruly feel like seventeen.

After school, I would be going back to theMayfair house, but this time I knew theexperience would be completely different fromevery other time before.

“I'M NOT READY,” I said, standing at the door

of the Mayfair house with Isaac. “I never feltwelcome here before; now things are just—”

Isaac cupped my face in his hands, gentlyparting my lips with his own. “No one here willever hurt you,” he said, slowly breaking the kiss.“And things are different now. In a good way;you’ll see.” He pulled away just inches from myface; the sweet smell of his breath only made mewant to taste it longer.

I knew things would be different all right, but Icouldn’t imagine how they would be any better. Iknew their secrets. My sister was their enemy. Iwas with Isaac, whom many of the girls were alittle more than fond of.

If anything, I was a threat.When we stepped inside, Isaac interlaced his

fingers through mine and held my hand tight.Walking through the foyer, it was like going

down a dark tunnel where at the end I wouldmeet my doom. I heard voices in the den like awave of whispers. The fireplace crackled fromafar and the sound of footsteps in the upstairsrooms all shuffled to the same section of thehouse at once. I noticed right away when I stoodat the den entrance that people were above me atthe top of the stairs, watching.

There were more faces in the den than I everwitnessed previously. So many people. Somany...werewolves. I squeezed Isaac’s hand sotightly I thought I could crush it, if that weren’tcompletely absurd.

“Hello,” said some random girl carrying a traylined artistically with crackers and cheese. Sheheld it out to me with such a bright smile.“Cheese cracker? I made them for you.”

Mentally, I was scratching my head. I turned

my eyes slightly to see Isaac on my right. He justsmiled.

The last thing my body could handle right nowwas food, but this was one of those times wherecourtesy is an uncomfortable necessity.

“Thank you.”I held the cracker in my hand. A hundred silent

faces were staring back at me. I then ate thecracker because that cracker felt like the linebetween acceptance and something much worse.I resented Isaac a little for not saving me, but justa little.

At least it wasn’t a full course meal.“Come with me,” Isaac said, pulling me along.As we came upon the couch, those sitting on it

moved immediately and with Isaac’s guide, Itook the center cushion.

Why is everyone staring at me like that? I

thought.If something didn’t happen soon to shift the

nerve-racking atmosphere in this place, I wasgoing to die of anxiety.

Just then, Daisy Mayfair waltzed through thecrowd and sat next to me; her long curly, blondhair fixed neatly over her shoulders. Nathanfollowed and stood in front of me.

“I could never be sure if you were there thatnight,” Nathan said about the Georgia incident.“Sorry you had to see that.”

“I have one question about that night,” I said,looking up at him.

“Shoot.”“How was it you were naked before you

shifted?”Mild laughter erupted throughout the room.“Nathan can’t keep his clothes on,” Isaac said

jokingly.Daisy chuckled and added, “He walks around

naked a lot. You’ll see him from time to time,everything hanging in the breeze.”

The mortified look on my face caused thelaughter to raise a level.

“Don’t listen to them,” Nathan said, ploppingdown on the other side of me. “Isaac’s justjealous and Daisy was born an English smartass,so she can’t help it.” He put his arm around me.“Really though, to answer your question, I hadshifted once before you saw me. Had beenrunning through the Appalachian’s all evening.”

He dropped the casual tone a notch andadded, “It was a long night.”

“Of all the things she could be asking,” saidRachel from the crowd, “she chooses Nathan inthe nude.”

I tensed immediately and my insides turned tostone.

“That should tell you all you need to knowabout her, Isaac,” she added.

Rachel glowered at me from across the roomwith that same devilish smirk she always seemedto wear. She would never like me. That shouldn’thave mattered, but it did. I wanted to feelwelcome by everyone in the Mayfair house. Evenone enemy would always make me feel as thoughI shouldn’t be here. But worse than anything, thiswas not a high school bully; Rachel was awerewolf and capable of much more than rumorsand after school beatings.

Nathan stood from the couch. I could see theveins throbbing in the side of his neck. The wholeroom went from whispers and quiet laughter todisciplined silence.

“A wise decision,” he threatened, “would beto leave Adria alone. She outranks you, Rachel.”

I cringed. Nathan didn’t know how to letsomeone else’s enemy down lightly, that was forsure.

I outranked her? I couldn’t grasp that in mymind at all.

Rachel lowered her head obediently toNathan. “Forgive my disrespect.” She raised herdark eyes and I could see them boring into mine;her posture giving Nathan one thing and her gazegiving me another.

Isaac stood in front of Nathan. “This is myproblem, brother,” he said, “and I’ll deal with itaccordingly.”

They spoke so different when speaking toeach other, so proper. I felt like I went back intime about two hundred years.

Isaac guided me to stand. He looked out thenat everyone. “Adria is my girl,” he announcedand I felt my insides melt, “and she will be treatedas you would treat me, by all of you.”

“But she isn’t one of us,” argued Rachel,pushing the emphasized word forcibly throughher teeth. “And Trajan will not allow it. Youknow this, Isaac.”

As much as she was defiant, Rachel was stillmaintaining a great amount of respect for Isaac.

But I didn’t like where this was going.“Trajan is my father, not yours,” Isaac said,

“and I know more about what he will and will notallow than you do.”

“Is that right?” Rachel stepped up and let afraction of her respect turn to boldness. “Youthink because Zia screwed up and Turned herboy-toy, Sebastian, and got away with it, that

you can do the same?” She grinned and lookedat me once. “Besides, she’s a female and youknow what that means.”

Everything about Rachel’s last statementworried me a great deal. The cold bitterness inher face was haunting.

Wait a second... I thought, Turn me? No...Ihad never thought about that. In fact, that wasdefinitely something I didn’t want to think about.

Suddenly, Rachel and the few girls with her allturned around as if something had come upbehind them. Everyone began staring toward thedarkness of the hallway that led toward thekitchen and under the stairs.

Rachel jumped backward quickly and clung tothe ceiling behind me by her hands and feet. Hereyes went coal black; her teeth grew into fangs,her nails into claws. I gasped.

Then I saw a man’s face, though shrouded bydarkness I knew it was a man. The outline of hisbody stood tall and enormous against the wall.His eyes flickered when they grazed the limitedlight from the den. I shuddered. The hair on myarms rose. I couldn’t help but stand from thecouch, both from fear and out of respect, whichseemed necessary.

Rachel jumped down from the ceiling and leftwithout a word. Many others followed, all ofthem shuffling through different exits, those at thetop of the stairs thinned out to about two. I hadnot noticed, too preoccupied by those who wereleaving, but the man in the shadow was also gonewhen I looked back.

“Who was that?” I whispered to Isaac.I knew it was Trajan, Isaac’s father, but I had

to ask anyway and I was right.

“My father is the leader,” Isaac began, “theAlpha Male. No one here, not even Rachel, isfoolish enough to defy him.”

Nathan pulled the coffee table forward withone hand and sat on it in front of us. “He’ll begoing back to Serbia soon,” he said, “and mostof us won’t be going with him. So, there’s a lot ofuncertainty when it comes to who’ll be incharge.”

“Nathan is next in line,” said Isaac. “He’ll beAlpha when our father is gone.”

“If I decide not to go with him that is,” saidNathan.

Daisy jumped in, “That’s where most of theuncertainty lies.” She was looking at me.

I was having a hard time trying to absorb allthis information.

“Serbia?” I said.

“He was born in Serbia, in the BalkanMountains,” said Isaac. “He never liked theStates. And his men are in the Balkans.”

“So he’s just going to leave you?”“No, if we wanted to go,” Isaac said, “we

could go, but I’ve already decided where I’drather be.”

He pecked me softly on the lips. I heard thechildish giggling of girls in the background. I hadnever experienced this before, being someone soimportant, someone cared for by a personeveryone else wanted. I think I understood thenwhy popularity was such an addiction.

“This is a lot for me to take in,” I said. Just as Ibegan to ask more about Trajan, Zia walked intothe den hand in hand with Sebastian Reeves. Iwas beginning to see how much of a crash courseI was getting in all of this. I hadn’t even gotten

started in my ‘werewolf lessons’ for the daywhen I had to start deciphering news ofunexpected couples and how I was going tobreak that news to my only non-werewolf friend,Harry.

I shot straight toward Sebastian.“You!” I said, pointing at him. “What

happened to you? You disappeared; everybodythinks you’re dead. How could you dosomething like that?”

Sebastian embraced me in a hug, whichsurprised me. He hardly ever spoke to mebefore.

“Sorry, Adria,” he said, “but I had no choice.”Zia stepped up. “It was my fault,” she said.

“Sebastian and I kind of hit it off when I firstmoved here—met at The Cove one night. Wewere...ummm...,” she couldn’t get the words out.

I knew what she was getting at, but I wasn’tabout to save her from having to say it aloud.

“We were making out one night and things gota little out of hand, if you know what I mean, andI lost control.”

I was having a hard time picturing it. My mindcouldn’t wrap itself around Zia shifting into awerewolf and biting Sebastian. Wondering howthat worked exactly was suddenly a curiositydigging harshly into my brain.

I just looked at her, waiting for her to go on.“I hope you’re not mad,” she said, tilting her

white-blond head repentantly, just enough tomake me cave.

“Mad?” I had to think about that for amoment; it wasn’t the information I needed orhad expected from her. “No, no tell me how ithappened. I don’t understand; is it like in the

movies, or what? Do you get really angry orlustful and then shift? Can you not control it?What about the full moon thing? That doesn’tseem to apply with you, either.” I thought aboutthe barn then. Did I see the moon last night? Ithought I saw it, but I couldn’t remember. Icouldn’t remember if it was full.

Zia laughed. “Calm down, girl,” she said. “No,it’s not quite like it is in the movies.”

“Nothing ever is,” Nathan added.“And they always butcher the books,” said

Daisy.Isaac jumped in, “First of all, the experienced

ones, the older ones, can control the Change forthe most part.”

I needed to sit down for this, so I went backto the couch.

“Anger and lust,” Isaac continued, “are the

two most dangerous emotions and can evenmake an Elder lose it every once in a while. Butfledgling werewolves, like Zia and Sebastian,have little control at all.”

“So, you turned into a werewolf and bit him?”I said to Zia, still unclear.

“No,” she said, “I was in my mediate form. Iscratched Sebastian and infected him. If Iwould’ve bitten him in full-fledged form, hewouldn’t be as pretty as he is now.” Zia glancedover at Sebastian flirtatiously. It was weird seeingeither of them act that way, especially with eachother.

The girl who made the crackers for mestepped forward and pulled up her shirt to revealher stomach. Or, what was left of it. I tried not tolook aghast, but my face betrayed the intention. Icould see where the teeth went in and dragged

across the flesh.“That’s how I was infected,” said the girl. She

pulled her shirt back over the scars. “I was lucky;few ever live through a wound like that,especially females.”

That was the second time I had heard mentionof ‘females’ and their strange misfortune withwerewolf life.

“Zia and Isaac tried to get me to come hereafter it happened,” Sebastian said, “but I thoughtZia slipped something in in my drink one night. Ididn’t trust them.”

“Yeah,” said Zia, “and we couldn’t tell himwhat was happening to him because he definitelywouldn’t believe that.”

Sebastian went on:“The Change took days. My temperature rose

so high I should’ve been dead. I was craving raw

meat and drank everything I could get my lips on—I couldn’t stay hydrated!—but still wentthrough days when I vomited everything I ate ordrank. Mom took me to the hospital. They rantests and did the usual, but couldn’t find anythingwrong with me. Said I had a few extra whiteblood cells; that it was normal to fight offinfection or some hospital mumbo-jumbo likethat. So, they prescribed antibiotics and sent meon my way. A few nights later, I shifted for thefirst time, right there in my bedroom. I don’tremember anything from that night except wakingup in the basement here, chained to the floor.”

I imagined it all as he told the story of whathappened. Sebastian had gone through hisbedroom window, cutting himself on the glass,which left blood.

Alex’s face crept up in my thoughts then. I

thought back to the night in Georgia when I knewshe must have been infected. Then I turned to seeIsaac standing beside me. “So Alex was thereason you came to Maine then?” In my heart, Iknew it was not for anything other than tomonitor her, but a part of me despised Alex forit. It was the first time I had ever been trulyjealous of my sister.

“Yes,” Isaac said. “We followed the Vargasfamily to Georgia from South Carolina and fromGeorgia to Maine. We follow them everywhere,especially the humans they newly infect.”

“My father and Viktor Vargas are mortalenemies,” Isaac went on. “They’ve been at warfor three hundred years. Over time, that warspread out among their fledglings as Viktorrecklessly created hundreds of them to keep myfather and his loyals busy.”

Nathan said then, “And every time a Vargasfledgling infects a human, we try to...take controlof the situation.” He was careful to say it, but notcareful enough to keep the obvious from me.

“You kill them, don’t you?” I said. “You allwere going to kill my sister.”

Isaac put his hand between my knees. “Notexactly,” he said. “We watch them first; see ifthey show signs of becoming a rogue like the restof the Vargas bloodline. If they can’t becontrolled, we have no choice but to kill them.”

“No matter the bloodline you’re Sired by,”Daisy spoke up, “chances are you’ll be just likethem.”

“A fledgling of the Vargas bloodline isdangerous to humans,” Zia added. “A savageplague.”

A horrible thought crossed my mind. I almost

couldn’t bring myself to ask. “Did one of you killJulia?” I couldn’t bear the answer, but it wasimperative that I knew.

“No,” Isaac said, “fortunately we weren’t theones that had to end Julia’s life. The Change didit for us.”

Zia added, “Yeah, it was probably Alex thatinfected Julia; not sure, but girls have a hard timeliving through the Change. According to Trajan,the world’s werewolf population is about eighty-five percent male.”

“We were surprised your sister made itthrough,” said Nathan.

I looked around the room then, noticing howmany girls were there. There were a lot. Therewere always a lot.

Isaac was still in-sync with my thoughts. “Mostof the girls here,” he said, “are not fledglings of

ours. Some of them infected by smaller randombloodlines; a few even kin to the Vargasbloodline.”

I felt the color drain from my face.“You can easily pick them out of a crowd,”

Nathan said.I knew that Rachel was one of them. There

was no doubt. Now I had more reason than everto be afraid of her.

I looked toward the exit where Rachel laststood.

“Rachel is a bitch,” said Nathan. “She can’thelp it because it’s in her nature to be hateful. Butshe despises the Vargas brothers and has neverbetrayed our trust.”

“A woman scorned,” said Daisy.Isaac added, “She has to be put in line every

now and then, but she’s not a bad person.”

“So this place is like a refuge?” I said, skippingover adding my own opinion about Rachel’scharacter.

Nathan smiled and hit Isaac gently on theshoulder. “Your girl catches on quick, bro.”

“Sort of,” Isaac said to me. “Most of themfollow us wherever we move; a few find us hereand there. It seems to grow by five every year.”

I had more questions, tons of them, but I wasso overwhelmed by everything already.

I looked at Isaac then. “You really weren’tsick then,” I said, “were you?” He had alreadyconfirmed this before in the barn, but since lastnight I still didn’t fully understand it. And I wastrying to wrap my head around all of these damnlies.

Isaac shook his head.Zia said, “I really hope you’ll forgive me for all

the lies and stuff. I’m really, really sorry.”“I think your situation sort of lets you off,” I

said. “It’s okay, honestly.”“A week before a full moon,” Isaac began, “is

when all werewolves are the most volatile. Noteven an Elder can be one hundred percent sureof himself during that time. We have to makeourselves scarce, just to be safe.”

I laughed lightly under my breath. “Sounds likea time-of-the-month thing.”

Nathan’s mouth fell open. “Sick, but funny,”he said. “I like her!”

The cracker girl said, “Better than your lastgirlfriend, Isaac.”

I think she soured the mood worse thanRachel had, but I could take it. It wasn’t like Iexpected to be his first ever girlfriend, especiallysince he was...I had no idea how old Isaac really

was.I had to know.And though already the very thought of it was

making me nervous, I was fascinated by it justthe same.

“Just how old are you anyway?” I said. “Wasthat a lie too?”

Isaac shifted, uncomfortably.“You don’t really want to know that, do you?”

he said grimly.“Of course I do.”“Don’t tell her, bro,” said Nathan playfully.

“You’ll run her off.”“No, really,” I said. “Just tell me.”Isaac breathed in deep. I, on the other hand,

wasn’t breathing at all.“I’m...” he hesitated and I was turning blue,

“...I’m nineteen.”

Silence. I could hear my stomach makingfunny little noises.

“Really, Isaac,” I said finally, “the truth.”“Love,” he said, “I am telling you the truth.

I’m nineteen years old.”“But....”Nathan started laughing and then Daisy and

Zia joined him. When I saw Isaac’s face finallybreak into a smile too, I knew I was the butt ofsome innocent joke.

I just sat there, looking at each of themcritically, waiting to be let in on it.

“How old did you think I was?” Isaac let theplayful smile leave his face and he was on myside again.

“Ummm,” I said, gently biting my lip, “well, Idon’t know. You’re sort of immortal, so Iassumed—“

“She thought you were really up there, littlebrother,” Nathan said, still laughing. “Better startlooking into wrinkle creams andmicrodermabrasion kits at Lancôme.”

Daisy laughed out loud and turned Nathan’sown joke around on him. “How do you knowabout microdermabrasion kits, Nathan?” she saidaccusingly. “Is there something you’re not tellingus?”

Zia and Sebastian were eating this up as theystood off to the side; Zia enveloped bySebastian’s arms. I wondered how long thatwould feel awkward to me.

Nathan’s eyes grew perfectly round, but evenhe couldn’t help but laugh.

Isaac kept his full attention solely on me,discounting anymore laughs on my account.“Yes,” he began to explain, “I’m only nineteen,

but next year on the first full moon after mytwentieth birthday, my aging will begin to slow asit does with all of our kind.”

I was instantly fascinated. “How does it...slowexactly?”

“Well, after that,” he went on, and by noweveryone else had stopped laughing and werelistening too, “for every ten human years, we willphysically age only one human year.”

“Wow,” I said. “You’re like a real lifeFountain of Youth.”

“I guess you can look at it like that.”“That’s amazing,” I added, still not fully

grasping it. “So then how old are you, Nathan.”He stopped smiling then and I heard Isaac

fake a small cough into his hand next to me.“Nathan is pushing seventy,” Daisy happily

answered for him.

“Hey!” Nathan said. “You’re a witchsometimes; you know that, Daisy?”

Inattentively, I began jotting down formulas inmy head, trying to pinpoint this wholehuman/werewolf aging process and I was comingup short. “But that’d make you...” I thoughtabout it harder just to be sure, “...you’d have tolook seven-years-old, Nathan, and believe mewhen I say you definitely don’t look seven. Morelike around twenty-five.”

“Technically, I’ve lived fifty years afterAbating,” Nathan explained, “but you have toadd the twenty years I lived before Abating,too.”

“So he’s seventy-years into wrinkle creaminevitability,” Daisy laughed from behind.

“I think I get it…” I said and then went back atopic or two. “Wait, what about when you

shifted, Zia? I mean, how did Sebastian notknow something was...well, not exactly normal?”

“Like I said,” Zia began, “I was in my mediateform; easier to disguise, especially if it’s dark andother things are going on.”

I thought someone might tell me what a‘mediate’ form was exactly, but apparently,everyone had forgotten so soon I was onlyhuman.

Finally, Isaac spoke up:“It’s the form in-between human and full-

fledged werewolf,” he said. “Like you sawRachel earlier.”

“Oh....”Isaac and I stayed with everyone in the den for

about an hour before we migrated up to Isaac’sroom. I learned so much in that hour that Ishould’ve been mentally exhausted, but I was

alert and ready to know more.Nathan told me some about their father.

Trajan Mayfair was actually General VukašinPrvovenčani, dominant Black Beast of thePrvovenčani bloodline. His was the oldest andmost powerful lycanthrope bloodline in existence,and Trajan, the most feared leader in lycanthropehistory.

He killed his own father to take control of themassive army that his father commanded.

Trajan Mayfair was no do-gooder saint. Hewas a dangerous killer and only by time and agedid he begin to tame his ways.

“My father doesn’t mingle with humans,” saidIsaac, “unless he has to.”

Suddenly, I was no longer afraid of Rachel. Iwas completely afraid of Isaac’s father. This wasa very different kind of fear; this fear demanded

respect.Isaac said then, “It’s another reason he’s going

back to Serbia. Other than taking control of hisarmy again, there are too many humans andfledglings here. My father has never beentolerable to fledglings, not even his own.”

“And humans,” I added, “He doesn’t trusthimself around them, does he?”

Isaac just looked away from my eyes.“Humans have always been,” he began, “a

liability to my father; oblivious to the real dangersof this world and the weakest of all species.Though my father can be counted among themost notorious leaders of our history, it’s thoselike Viktor Vargas, reckless and power hungry,who are the greatest threat to the human race asa whole.

“Unlike my father, Viktor must steal the

respect of his loyals,” he went on. “And he doesit without regard for the consequences.” Heglanced at me once. “You see; my father doesn’tprotect humans because he has a soft spot forthem. He protects them only to keep Viktor’sbloodline from wiping them out.”

I couldn’t speak for a moment. I feltinsignificant and anxious.

“It’s been going on forever,” Isaac said, “thiswar between them—from the time I was born, Ican only remember this war. My brothers andsisters and I were…” He stopped and stared atthe wall, his jawline more pronounced. “…itshouldn’t bother me because I’ve known nothingelse, but spending so much time around humansand seeing how they live and love, I guess it doesmake me somewhat envious.”

My heart fell heavy for him and I still had yet

to learn exactly why.“Envious of what?” I urged him softly.Isaac shook his head. “My father never loved

Sibyl. She was chosen because of her strength.At the time, there was no female more powerfulthan Sibyl.”

Isaac looked right at me then. “We were bredmerely for war,” he revealed. “My trainingstarted before I could form a full sentence.”

My lips parted gently, stunned. I started tospeak, but stopped myself because what I hadwanted to say about Isaac’s father was nothingkind.

“I love my father,” Isaac said, “and I don’tcondemn him for our ways, but experiencinghuman ways has made me envious.”

“So you were born this way,” I said. “Youweren’t Turned like Sebastian?”

Isaac nodded once. “No, I’m a Pureblood,”he said. “Like all of my brothers and sisters. I’mproud to be who I am, proud that he is my father;don’t get me wrong.”

He stood from the bed and went to thewindow then. I followed and sat on thewindowsill. “You don’t want to go with him toSerbia?” I said.

He looked down at me, his eyes soft withassurance. “I was going to go, until I met you. Icouldn’t leave now for anything.”

It made me feel guilty. I didn’t want to be thereason he separated from his father.

“Adria,” he said, detecting that guilt, “I wantto stay, not only because your life is in danger,but because I want to be with you.” He movedto stand in front of me and cradled the back ofmy head in his hand, pressing my face gently

against his chest. “I won’t lie and say I didn’t tryto stay away from you at first. I wanted nothingto do with you. I knew that if I followed myheart, I’d put you in more danger.”

I jerked my head away and looked up at him.“I don’t care,” I said. “You can’t take it backnow anyway.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” Isaac said.“Leave me?”“No. You’re stuck with me.” He grinned.I stood from the windowsill and pressed my

lips against his. “I’d have it no other way,” I saidand then he kissed me more deeply.

Something had been bothering me since longbefore I knew the truth about Isaac and althoughI didn’t want to ruin this moment with him, I hadto ask and get it out of the way. As embarrassedas I knew it would make me.

I bit the inside of my mouth gently and crossedmy arms, turning away from him. He detectedsomething off right away.

“What’s wrong?” He appeared concerned.I paused for an even longer awkward time

than I had wanted. “Those girls…” I hesitatedonce more—just couldn’t get the words out in away that satisfied my need to not seem overlyjealous, or obsessive. “…well, obviously you’reattractive, but….”

He smiled knowingly, which made my faceburn hotter.

By now, I had given up trying to word it right.“It’s an Alpha thing,” Isaac said. “The girls

around here naturally and instinctively want apowerful male.”

I think even Isaac was blushing a bit now.“It’ll either be me or Nathan when my father

leaves,” he added.Half of me was relieved by his answer. The

other half, undecided. I needed to get used to somany extraordinary things as it was. Thepossibility of Isaac becoming Alpha wasn’tsomething I could understand yet.

Isaac took me home late. I lost track of timemore at his house every day, but I think he wouldrather I forgot altogether. I wasn’t safe at home.But I couldn’t worry Beverlee and Uncle Carl.They had been through enough.

ISAAC AND I SPENT every day together.When I was apart from him at school, he waswith me in text messages, or watching the schoolfrom across the parking lot. To anyone else itmight have appeared stalker-like, but Isaac hadplenty of reason.

He and many others in the Mayfair house werehell bent on protecting me, including Nathan andDaisy Mayfair who had become like family.

Sebastian finally came back to school, shortlyafter Julia’s funeral, which none of us attended.Her parents decided on a private funeral forfamily only. They moved away from Hallowell thefollowing day.

Sebastian was welcomed by everyone, eventhough his excuse for what happened was that heran away; tore his room up out of rage.

Tori was not so welcoming, however. She

hated him for leaving her like that, but hated himmore for choosing ‘the freak’, Zia, over her andso every time she and her new friends passed us,Tori always had something spiteful to mutter. Iwas proud of Zia for keeping her cool, but onlySebastian and I knew there was more to it thanmaturity. Zia couldn’t lose it, or else Tori and therest of the school would get one nasty surprise.

“Why do you even go to school?” I said to Ziaoutside on the football field at lunch.

“Well,” Zia said, “I don’t really have to. I onlyenrolled to keep track of you because of yoursister. Now, honestly, you’re my agenda.”

I rolled my eyes.“Here comes Harry,” I whispered.Harry had not hung out with us in two days. I

tried to talk to him on the phone, but he wouldn’ttake my calls, and at school, he wandered

around alone. This had to stop and Zia and I hadto think of something worthy to tell him. It was nosecret that Zia and Sebastian were together. Ijust couldn’t take this anymore, seeing Harry actthis way and knowing it was partly my fault hewas so hurt by everything.

I had never stopped thinking about what to tellhim since he last spoke to me. But all of thatthinking got me nowhere.

Harry approached swiftly, as if he too wastired of the silence.

Zia looked at me and I could tell she was asunsure about what to do as I was. WithSebastian in the mix, the situation couldn’t be anyworse. I winced when he stopped in front of us,his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans.

“I’m sorry, man,” he said to Sebastian. “I’mjust glad you’re not dead, y’know?”

Zia and I locked eyes. We couldn’t move themuscles in our faces, but apparently this wasgoing to resolve itself and I’d be able to breatheagain soon.

Sebastian man-hugged Harry, gripping his fistin one hand and patting his back with the other.“Hey, no problem,” he said and then he droppedhis voice. “I didn’t know about...,” he indicatedZia with the movement of his eyes. “...I reallydidn’t.”

Zia walked around in front of them. “Harry,I’m really sorry. Sebastian and I liked each otherbefore I came to the school.”

“I know,” Harry said. His posture wasawkward, but he was slowly becoming himselfagain. “It’s cool; I just wanted to get this out inthe open so we could all get back to normalagain. Sucks eating lunch at the loner table.”

I couldn’t help but smile. This was perfect. Igot one of my best friend’s back without turmoilin-between.

“And Adria,” said Harry, “I feel like a real assfor dragging you into this.”

“No way,” I said, “I should’ve told yousomething.”

Harry argued, “You were stuck in the middleof it and that’s my fault—”

I put up my hand and stopped him.“But enough of this,” he obeyed, “it’s done

and over with. Have you guys heard what Tori’sbeen saying around the school?”

“Which part?” said Zia, “That I sleep around,or that Sebastian hit her when they were goingout, or that she found Sebastian and I togetherand she busted my lip?”

“Yeah, I guess you have heard then,” said

Harry. “That girl is psycho.”“Yeah,” Zia grumbled, “there’s no way she

could bust my lip.”I was glad things were back to normal. The

school rival stuff was no big deal. I didn’t carethat because I was friends with Zia that therumors about her included me also, or that I hadenemies. Nothing anyone at school could dowould ever match what I faced on the outside.

~~~

The days were getting colder and I dreaded thecoming winter, especially in Maine. I hoped itwould hold off long because I hated snow. I wasa southern girl, used to heat and humidity and theoccasional tornado.

Friday morning was blustery and I know Ilooked like an Eskimo when Isaac picked me upfor school.

“Cold?” he said, making fun of me.I pulled the faux fur hood away from my head

and scooted over next to him. “I’m not going tomake it through the winter,” I said.

He wasn’t even wearing a jacket; a long-sleeved, tight-fitting thermal black shirt was hisidea of warm clothing. Not that I had anyarguments; he looked awesome in black.

“It’s technically not even winter yet,” helaughed and then said with a grin, “But I’ll keepyou warm.”

He did that already. The hot blush in my facewas kind of standard around Isaac Mayfair.

“I had a dream about you last night,” he said.“Oh?” I felt a nervous twinge in my gut. “What

about?”Isaac smiled over at me and shook his head.

“Don’t worry,” he said, detecting the hesitation inmy voice. “It wasn’t anything like that.”

We pulled away from my house. I hated howdreary everything was; only adding to the miseryof the cold. The sky was gray, blanketed by thickdepressing clouds with moving specks of blackas crows flew over. The trees had already lostmost of their leaves. Just looking at it all made mecolder.

“Well, go ahead,” I urged him; “you got me allcurious now.”

Isaac pressed the Power button on the radioand shut it off even though the volume was solow it was hardly a distraction.

After a long hesitation, he began. “You weresitting at the edge of a creek and had your shoes

off and your feet in the water. You were singingand I was leaning against a tree, watching you.”

I snickered, interrupting him. “Proof there’s notruth to dreams,” I said. “My singing is awful!”

“Well, I didn’t say the singing was good,” hesaid, grinning.

My mouth fell open halfway with anunbelieving spat of air.

Isaac laughed and pulled me closer, resting hishand between my thighs.

“Anyway,” he went on; “you kept looking allaround until finally you saw me. At least, Ithought it was me you saw.”

“It wasn’t you?”“No,” he said, “I got the feeling you were

staring right through me instead. Then you stoodup, slipped your shoes on and walked away.”

“That’s not what I would’ve done if that really

happened,” I said.No, I would’ve drawn it out like an overly

dramatic run-toward-each other scene. Therewould have been butterflies and sparkling water.Slow-motion. My hair like a feather in the wind.Okay, so maybe it would’ve been cheesy, but itwas better than walking away from him.

“That was it?” I said.Isaac turned too early onto Litchfield rather

than going on toward my school. I was toointerested in Isaac’s dream to ask where wewere going yet.

“No, I must’ve followed you to your house,”he went on. “You still knew someone waswatching, but you were afraid of me. I think Iwas a ghost.”

My enthusiasm for his dream began todiminish. I wanted to comment about how I

didn’t like where it was going, but I thought I hadinterrupted him enough already.

“You stood near a fireplace then,” he said,“gazing out a window with your arms crossed. Ireached out to touch your face and...”

I waited, eagerly.“...And what?”I heard Isaac sigh.“I woke up.”I felt gipped. It was such a crappy ending.

Then I realized most dreams have crappyendings.

“Well, at least I was in the dream,” I said,laying my head against his shoulder. “That’s agood sign.”

“Yes, that’s a good sign,” he said with lessoptimism than I thought he should have.

Raising my head to look at him, I saw the

sadness disappear from his face. He had beenhiding something.

The car drove far past everything I knew inHallowell and then past things I had never seenbefore.

“Where are we going?”Isaac slowly pushed on the brakes. His gaze

was harsh as he stared out the windshield, onehand gripping the steering wheel.

“Isaac?”He stopped the car completely, pulled forward

on the road, and made a sharp U-turn.“I think it’s best you get your Uncle to drive

you to school tomorrow,” he said regretfully.“And next week.”

Anxiety built up inside me quickly, and at first,I took it all wrong. I was just glad I caught myselfbefore accusing him of dumping me.

“Isaac, what’s wrong?” I practically turnedaround to face him enough my back was almostpressed into to the dashboard. “Did somethinghappen?”

“Not yet,” he said finally making eye contact,“but it will.”

I had a feeling then what his strange attitudewas all about. “A week before a full moon?” Isaid simply.

“Yes,” he answered. A sort of pain layexposed in his face. “I hate not being in control,Adria.”

A truck sped by in the opposite direction andIsaac wasn’t exactly staying on his side of theroad.

I tried not to pay attention to us narrowlyavoiding a head-on collision.

“But you are in control,” I said. “You saved

me from Sibyl that night in the barn. You knewwhat you were doing.”

Isaac sighed miserably. “Most of the time Iknow what I’m doing, but even just a second canbe the worst second of my life.” He added, “Andyou see how clouded my mind gets; I could havedriven to Portland if you had not said something.”

Hard lines appeared around Isaac’s eyes. Hekept his attention on the road, but I began toworry about where his mind was. He seemeddeep in thought, frustrated with himself. Both ofhis hands gripped the steering wheel so tight.

I covered his right hand with my left and saidsoftly, “Isaac, pull over up there.”

He glanced over at me. I let the softness of myvoice show in my face. He needed to understandthat I was not afraid of him. At least…he neededt o believe that I wasn’t. The truth was that I

couldn’t be more afraid. I knew it was recklessof me to put so much faith in him when he didn’thave much in himself. I knew that he could verypossibly kill me, but I wanted to believe in myheart that somehow he could overcome this. AndI never wanted him to feel ashamed that I wasafraid, or fragile.

Reluctantly, Isaac pulled off the road into amakeshift parking lot.

I reached over, turned the car off and pulledthe keys from the ignition.

“What was the real reason you told me aboutthe dream?” I said.

His cheeks blew up with air and he let it all outat once. “You don’t miss anything, do you?”

I smiled, leaned forward and pecked him onthe cheek; his skin was so warm and soft againstmy lips. “It was kind of obvious,” I said. “Now

tell me.”Isaac’s long face turned into a smirk suddenly.

“You’re real demanding for, what, one hundredtwenty pounds of human girl?”

My mouth fell open. I would’ve put my handson my hips, but it was awkward to do sittingdown. I settled for crossing my arms. “One-twenty?”

Of course, I loved every minute of this.“Am I wrong?”“No, but most guys don’t go around guessing

a girl’s weight. It’s dangerous; don’t you know?”“Well, I’m not most guys.”“How’d I know you were going to say that?” I

laughed. “Oh well; I guess a werewolf doesn’thave anything to be afraid of anyway, let alonesomeone like me.”

The playful tone faded from his face. “That’s

not true, Adria.”The wind began to pick up; a gust hit the side

of the car and shook it just a little. Fallen leavesscattered all around us.

“What are you afraid of then?”Isaac just sat there, staring intensely out ahead.

His hands gripping the steering wheel as if hewere still driving. His posture was rigid, his gaze,unbreakable. “I’m afraid of losing control. I fearemotion,” he said. “Most of all, I fear you.”

My heart wrenched a tiny bit in my chest. It’sa funny thing how one’s heart can react to wordsand emotions as though it has a mind of its own.

Still facing forward, Isaac went on:“Do you remember when Cara brought up my

last girlfriend?”That detail wasn’t something a girl forgets

easily, but I pretended to have to think about it

for a moment. “Oh, yeah,” I said. “I remember.”Finally, Isaac rested his back into the seat,

letting his fingers fall from the steering wheel andthen he turned to me.

“She was just a girlfriend,” he said. “I don’tmean to put her down and I’m not telling youthese things because you’re here and she’s not;she was a decent girl, but I didn’t love her.”

That should’ve made me feel better. Itprobably should’ve even made me gloat a littleinside, but it didn’t. The pain in his face wasdevastating and I just wanted to make it goaway.

I listened.He took a mild breath. “She was human too,”

he said. “And she was terrified of me.”“Really?” I said, more decided now about

keeping my own fears secret. “How did she

know what you were?”“Her mother was Turned by an Unknown,” he

paused. “None of that’s important. What’simportant is that you know I hurt her. I hurt herreally bad.”

My palms began to sweat, or maybe themoisture had been there all along and only nowdid I realize it. A million different kinds of ‘hurt’went through my mind, including the worst kindof all: death.

The wind blew against the car again, withmore force this time. I could feel a cool draft ofair coming in from somewhere near me, nippingat the back of my neck.

“Adria,” he said, detecting the edge in myposture. “You have to know everything aboutme.”

Now I wondered how could I make him

believe I didn’t fear him, especially now that Ilooked every bit of afraid? I could sense hisdespair, his regret, the hatred he felt for the partof him that could not be tamed. Sometimes thelook of fear and anguish are not so different.

“I know you didn’t mean to,” I said.Once I said it, Isaac’s posture hardened.He went back to the subject of the dream

quickly.“Dreams are just subconscious metaphors,”

Isaac began, “They’re Life’s way of warning usof future events, explaining the past anddeciphering the present.”

“You think your dream was warning you?”He nodded slowly.“Wait a second,” I said, “but you said you

were a ghost in that dream.” I couldn’t believe Iwas even entertaining Isaac’s dream theory—I

refused to accept him being dead. That part hadto be the metaphor....

“Yes,” he said, “and I think it represents myneed to protect you without being in your life.”

All of my organs stopped working in thatmoment. So, maybe this was about him breakingup with me, after all.

Like his death, I refused to accept that, too.“Look at me, Adria.”I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to see me cry and

I was going to if this was heading in the directionI feared the most.

“But in one way like my father,” he went on,“I’ll ignore that need and I’ll ignore the warning.As much as I know I’m a danger to you, I’m alsoselfish. My heart will go against everything mymind tells me.” He sighed and said almost in awhisper, “And later on, I’ll regret it....”

I started to cry anyway.Wiping away the tears, I turned to him. The

topic of his last girlfriend, I wasn’t going to lethim avoid. I needed to know the truth. “How didyou hurt her?”

Isaac looked down toward his lap. It felt like along time before he answered.

“I gave her what she wanted,” he said. “ITurned her.”

I started to speak, until I realized I wasn’t surewhat to say. Being a werewolf myself wassomething I never thought about much. Truthfully,I avoided those thoughts as much as possible.The things I had seen, the terrifyingtransformations, the pain; everything about itmade me want to run the other way. Everythingbut Isaac.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

What more can you say to something like that?I wanted to; I felt like I should, but anything Icould think of sounded stupid.

“She was relentless,” Isaac continued,“threatened to have her mother do it if I didn’t.My family did not trust, nor like her; warned meshe was unstable.”

“Why didn’t you just let her mother do it?” Isaid, “If you didn’t want to be the one.”

“Because her mother was a rogue werewolf,”he said. “We, my brothers and I, were huntingher mother. There was no hope for her.”

“Well then you saved her,” I said withconfidence. “Don’t you see? If you hadn’t, she’dbe dead no matter what.”

“S he did die,” Isaac said, draining thatconfidence right out of me. “I killed her, Adria. Icould’ve refused to Turn her, let someone else

do it and my conscience would be clear, but Ididn’t.”

“The transformation killed her?”“Yes,” he admitted, “and I knew the possibility

existed that it would, but I did it anyway.”“Isaac,” I said with intent and calm, “I know

you hate what you did, but you’re not amurderer. And I know this probably won’t makeyou feel any better, but I just want you toknow...,” Our eyes locked; I could’ve staredforever into his eyes. “...I would never ask you todo that for me. I don’t need to be what you areto be with you. All I care about is that we’retogether.”

I meant every word. Isaac Mayfair was myworld now. Asking for anything else would beasking too much. The thought of being awerewolf was frightening, yes, but the process

killing me was much worse. Only death couldtake me away from him and I wasn’t about toinvite it early.

His lips were soft and tasted like fading mint.Every time he kissed me, it felt like an assurancethat my life was complete, even a little magical.

He pulled away slightly; I could still feel hiscool breath upon my lips. “It does make me feelbetter,” he said.

We sat quietly for a moment.“I was wondering,” I said, finally breaking the

silence, “why is it only girls that can die during thetransformation? Kind of sexist, I think.”

Isaac chuckled and fell back into the seatagain. “Honestly,” he began, still sort of laughing,“No one knows how or why it turned out thatway. Just like how some human diseases affectdifferent sexes and races more than another, I

guess.”“Well, it makes girls look weak.”He held up his index finger. “Not true,” he

said. “Girls that do survive the transformation areusually stronger than men. Zia can take downDamien and Dwarf easily.”

“Wow, really?” I pictured Zia taking herbrothers on at the same time, and winning. It wasa comical mental image, which I’d mess withDamien about later.

“I guess Zia can beat you then too, huh?”“In her dreams,” he said with a big grin. “She’s

too new.”He added then, “I should get you to school.”The abrupt change of subject caught me off

guard. If all this talk was Isaac’s attempt to coverup his mention of someone else taking me toschool, it wasn’t going to work with me.

“Not unless you promise to take me the rest ofthe week,” I said.

“I can’t do that.”“Yes, you can.”“Adria—”“No, you take me to school, or I stay home.”He looked uncomfortable, and although I got

the sense I was slowly winning this game, I knewhe didn’t like it. It wasn’t a joke to him like it wasto me.

“I know you can control it,” I said putting thejoke aside. “Maybe you should learn to trustyourself more.”

“Maybe you should learn,” Isaac said, “to trustme less.”

Okay, then the game was back on.I smiled wickedly, thrust open the car door

and ran out into the cold. “No promise, no deal!”

I said as I ran away from the car, climbing over asmall stone wall and down a path.

Finally, I dashed straight into the woods,looking back only once to see how far behind hewas. Who was I kidding? Isaac was a werewolfand could catch up to me easily. But he wasplaying fair, still barely past the trees andobviously running like any human would. I ranhard, trees and bushes whipped by. I jumpedacross a small flowing stream and then over afallen tree, surprised I could leap that far. I couldhear Isaac behind me, the sound of leavescrunching and sticks snapping underneath his fastand heavy feet.

It was so cold. I swear the temperaturedropped ten degrees since he picked me up. Theonly thing that kept blood flowing through mewas how hard I ran. It pumped fast and intensely

through my veins. I was beyond the point ofbeing out of breath.

“Is it a promise?” I kept running.“No!” he shouted.When I thought the woods would never end,

finally I made it to the outskirts and ran out intoan endless field.

I stopped, trying to catch my breath andadmire the sight before me at the same time.Isaac stood behind me then, not the slightest bitwinded.

“It’s beautiful,” I said with unsteady words.It was just a field. I had seen hundreds of them

in my life. Somehow, even those underneath abright blue sky and blanketed by springtimeflowers were nothing compared to this one. Itappeared endless, stretched across the horizonby a blanket of frost-covered, dead grass. The

sky suspended over it with thick, draping grayclouds that hung so low they seemed to touch thegrass in the far distance. The air smelled so clean,as if never touched by human pollution. Only theswish of windblown trees and the low whicker ofgrazing horses could be heard. There were threeout ahead, standing closely together, completelyoblivious to the cruel world around them.

“Must be someone’s farm,” said Isaac.“Let’s get closer,” I urged, taking him by the

hand and pulling him along.“That’s not a good idea.”“Oh come on,” I said. “No one will see us. I

just want to look at them.”I ignored his warnings, even the hard

reluctance in his body as we walked along theborder of the trees. I hoped we weren’ttrespassing, but usually signs are posted on the

trees and there were none.“Adria,” he said, tightening his hand to stop

me, “I mean it; we should just leave.”We were already close enough to the horses

that I could count the black splotches on one ofthem.

I let go of his hand.“Why?”Isaac backed a few steps into the cover of the

trees, but he didn’t answer.In the corner of my eye, I saw the salt and

pepper speckled horse rear up onto its hind legs.The other two followed, and neighed frantically.At first, I thought they were going to run righttoward us. I pulled back and stood next to Isaac,holding onto his waist. The frightened horses rana full circle before dashing hard through the fieldand away from us; the sound of hooves hitting the

ground left in their wake.I looked to and from Isaac, back and forth,

questionably.He watched out ahead where the horses had

been standing. A look of guilt lay in his face. Thecold air was finally beginning to affect him too; hischeeks and around his eyelids were slightly red.

“We should go,” he said simply.“No,” I said with concern, “what’s wrong with

you?”He looked at me. “I’m a predator, Adria; they

can sense it.”I lowered my gaze, shamefully.“Don’t do that,” he said. “I just didn’t want to

scare them off since you wanted to see them sobadly.”

Part of what he said was true, I believed. Therest of him was bothered by it, that such peaceful

creatures were afraid of him. That’s how I wouldhave felt if it were me. But Isaac hid that smalltruth from me and I let him believe that he did itsuccessfully.

The cool kiss of tiny raindrops touched myface. The trees shielded us mostly from the rain,but in the field, it came down like a delicate veilof mist.

“It’s going to snow soon,” Isaac said,interlacing our fingers.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t as disappointed to hearthat as I thought I’d be.

I guess Isaac just made everything better.“You run fast for a human,” he said.I shook my head. “No, no, no,” I scolded him,

“you’re not getting out of this one. Are you goingto drive me to school every day, or not?”

My body shivered. Isaac reached behind me

and pulled the hood of my coat over my head,adjusting it to fit snug.

“Adria, listen to me,” he said.This time I did, but that sense of victory I had

before was gone.“I don’t want to hurt you.” He placed both

hands on my freezing cheeks, warming theminstantly. “I hate to bring it up, but you saw methat day when Rachel was in my room.”

“But you were out of it,” I argued. “I can takecare of you when you’re like that. What’s wrongwith that?”

I knew he was right and I had known it allalong, but I had been relentlessly trying to trickmy human mind into believing that he could neverhurt me.

Isaac let out an uncomfortable breath anddrew me into the tight fold of his warm arms. “If I

begin to Turn and you’re there....”“I know you can control it, Isaac.” It didn’t

seem to matter how many times I said it.He jerked his chest from mine, his hands

gripping my arms. The desperate look in his eyesparalyzed me.

“No, you don’t know that,” he growled.“Would you ever put a child in a cage with abear? Would you?”

He shook me.“Learn a lesson from the horses,” he snapped.

“They knew what I am and what I’m capableof...and I’m still in human form.”

I still didn’t want him to be right, so I pulledaway from him fully and started walking backthrough the woods. I crossed my arms tight at mychest and buried my hands in the bends of myarms. My fingers were finally starting to feel the

sting of the cold.I heard Isaac’s footfalls behind me every step

of the way.“Adria, I love you too much....”It was the first time he ever said it to me.

Hearing it, the way he said it with so muchdevotion and pain, it pierced my soul. I felt myheart stop and start again more rapidly. I turnedaround to see him.

I went back into his arms where he held metighter than ever before.

IT FINALLY DID START to snow. I expectedschool to let out early and the roads to bedeserted when the first flake fell, but life in Mainewas much different than in Georgia. In the Southwhen it snows just a little, because it doesn’tsnow often, life comes to a halt. Bread flies offthe shelves in the grocery stores, wreckers gearup rather than salt trucks. School is closed. Aninch of snow is the major newsmaker. In thenorth, well, it seems the only thing that changesare the coffee and hot cocoa sales at Finch’sGrocery.

Saturday morning I agreed to help Beverleewith the register again.

Beverlee moved the mop around near myregister, after minutes ago a customer haddropped a glass bottle of soy sauce. “Looks likeNathan won’t be working tonight,” she said. She

dipped the mop in an industrial-sized yellowbucket, squeezing back the handle to wring theblackened water from it. “He’s called in morethan any employee I’ve ever had.”

“I’m sure he has a good reason,” I said,knowing that was entirely true. “Want me to helpyou with that?”

She gave the floor one more swish of the mopbefore lifting it back into the bucket. “No thanks,I got it,” she said. She looked winded, but thenagain that mop was huge and had to be heavy.

After wiping her hands on her apron, Beverleeplaced them on her hips and stood there lookingat me.

“Do you have plans tonight?”Oh no, I thought. That uneasy look on her face

gave her away. I knew I couldn’t tell her no.Besides, I didn’t have any plans anyway and

Isaac was ‘incapacitated’ for the next few days.“No, I don’t,” I said. “You need some extra

help?”“Would you mind?” she said, unease turning

into relief. “With Nathan gone, I have no one tostock that new shipment and it’s double the size itwas the last time. But, you don’t have to liftanything heavy.”

“No, it’s cool,” I said, “I’ll lift what I can.”“Maybe Harry can help you out,” she offered.That was a great idea, actually. Suddenly, I

wasn’t dreading the work as much.“Yeah, that’ll be perfect,” I said aloud. “I’ll

call him in a few.”Beverlee gave the mop handle a push and the

yellow bucket’s wheels began to squeak acrossthe floor. The bell above the door chimed as acustomer entered, bringing a gust of cold air in

with him.“Good morning, Mr. Deter,” Beverlee waved

from the bread aisle.The elderly man held up two fingers and

waved them as he slipped down an aisle.“Watch him,” Beverlee whispered harshly

behind me, “he’s a shoplifter. Stole a lighter lastweek and a pack of cheese the week before. Wecan ban him from the store, but he always comesback.”

I stuck my head out to see around the aislewhere the man stood reading the label of a soupcan.

“Cheese?” I whispered back. “Who stealscheese?”

Beverlee laughed lightly. “People who can’thelp but steal, I guess,” she said. “Just keep aneye on him.”

The bell chimed again.“Good morning, Mrs. Perry,” I said,

remembering her from my first day at the grocerystore. She was one of Finch’s most loyalcustomers. “Come for some coffee?”

I think I was getting the hang of this customerservice thing.

“Well, hello,” she said, hugging her big purseagainst her stomach. Her head looked like awrinkly cabbage buried under a giant hat. “Goodto see you again. No coffee today. Just peanutbutter and hot cocoa.”

I smiled. “Well, I guess I don’t have to tell youwhere to find it.”

“No, no,” she said, “but thanks anyway,sweetheart.”

She slipped down an aisle too, her thick-soledgranny shoes made a squishy sound as she

walked.The snow was picking up and since the night

before, Hallowell already had six inches on theground. Being Saturday, the streets were filledwith kids. A few flying snowballs had smashedinto the window of the store and I hoped theglass was thick. Those snowballs could easilypass as baseballs.

I felt awkward standing there doing nothing, soI went to the front door to sweep the dead leavesfrom the giant rubber mat. It was a lessconspicuous way to watch Mr. Deter, too. Hewas still reading the soup cans. I got bored withhim fast.

I got bored with everything fast.It wasn’t Beverlee’s fault, or even that I was

stuck working. When you want to be withsomeone else so badly, nothing else you do can

take your mind off it much.Honestly, this sucked.All I wanted to do was see Isaac. How could

he expect me to stay away from him an entireweek before every full moon? Nathan never hadto stay away from the world for that long, so whydid Isaac? Nathan’s older, I thought. He’sprobably got more control than Isaac has.

I swept the floor absently, not even realizingmy aim was doing no good.

My cell phone rang in the leg pocket of mycargo pants.

“Harry,” I said, “I was going to call you later.What’s up?” I placed the broom against the wall.

“Mind if I come over later?” he said.“I’m working at the store tonight,” I said. “I

was going to ask if you wanted to help out.Nathan called in.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he said. “For howlong?”

“The store closes at seven; we’ll probably stayafter to stock for a couple of hours.”

Harry agreed.“I have to go,” I said, seeing Mr. Deter come

up the aisle to check out. “Got a customer to ringup. See you around seven?”

“I’ll be there.”I walked around the counter and keyed-in the

amount of his items on the register. It was an old-fashioned store, without the advantage of barcode scanners. Beverlee said Mrs. Finch refusedto ‘upgrade the Devil’s technology’.

“Find everything alright?”Mr. Deter nodded. He never seemed to

speak.“Good then; that’ll be $14.84.”

For a second, Mr. Deter looked confused ashe began counting out his money. He handed mea twenty and I gave him his change.

“Have a great day, Mr. Deter,” I said. “Andstay warm.”

The bell chimed over the door as he left,waving with two fingers above his head. Moreleaves blew inside that had been pressed againstthe building and untouched by the snow.

Beverlee came up beside me.“I think you overcharged him,” she said.“Nope.” I pointed to my shirt. “I saw him slip

a package of triple A batteries down his shirtpocket when I was on the phone with Harry.”

Beverlee smiled hugely. “So you charged himfor them; nice move.”

Mrs. Perry approached. The squishing of hershoes on aisle two was getting louder.

“Harry said he’d be here later.”“Oh good.” Beverlee was delighted. “I was

going to change my mind about you working if hecouldn’t help you.”

I rang up Mrs. Perry’s peanut butter and hotcocoa. She and Beverlee talked for the longesttime—more town gossip stuff, which I admit, Iwas starting to pay more attention to lately. Ipretended not to be interested when Mrs. Perrysaid something about Lester Mann’s dogs founddead in the woods, ripped to pieces. They talkeda lot about ‘that poor dead girl, Julia Morrow’,but Beverlee did her best to change the topicquickly with me standing nearby. By six o’clock,I heard enough gossip to start my ownscandalous town newspaper. But I neverexpected to learn so much, either.

After Mrs. Perry left, Joan Something-Or-

Another, came in. She expressed concern for herneighbor’s son, David Shanks, who had been sosick with ‘pneumonia’ they had to hospitalizehim.

“He was hanging out with that new crowd,”Joan said to Beverlee, “up past The Cove.”

Beverlee knew as well as I did that Joan wasreferring to the Vargas family, but she pretendednot to.

“Jonathan Forrester,” Joan went on, “he livesover on Academy; I heard he was coming downill, too. It might be something health officials needto worry about.”

This was getting bad.Shortly before seven, I called Isaac. He

needed to know what was going on, but therewas no answer and I had to explain everything ina voice mail.

I was completely worried about everyday lifeand people around me now. I felt vulnerablewithout Isaac or even Zia to protect me. Howcould they leave me alone for days like this, tofend for myself?

Maybe it really is more dangerous to bearound them when they’re like this, I thought. IfIsaac had to leave me alone, unprotected,especially when Alex and the Vargas familywanted me dead, then Isaac was right. Hisuncontrollable nature was more of a threat to methan the Vargas brothers were. This revelationnot only struck me numb, but it changedeverything.

If Isaac and I were going to be together—andI would have it no other way—something neededto happen. Something needed to change. I justknew in my heart that me being human was going

to put a serious divide between us. It was startingto already.

I couldn’t let that happen.“Here are the keys to the store,” Beverlee said

standing at the front doors. “Keep these doorslocked at all times, except to let Harry in.”

“There he is now.” I pointed to the parking lotas headlights moved in, illuminating the snowfall.

“Carl will stop by in about an hour,” Beverleecontinued, “just to check on things. He keeps myemergency key to the store, so he’ll be able toget in if you’re in the back and can’t hear him.”

She seemed nervous about leaving me in thestore without her.

“I’ll be okay, Aunt Bev,” I said. “Go homeand get some rest.” Beverlee always workedlong hours on the weekend; up before the suneven.

She stopped babbling and smiled withconfidence.

“Alright, I’ll be back at nine-thirty to pick youup.”

Beverlee pulled open the glass door to letHarry inside. Snow fell off his shoulders and theback of his coat as he stomped his shoes cleanonto the mat.

“Thanks for the job,” he said.“You’re more than welcome, Harry,” Beverlee

said, putting money into his hand. “Glad you’rewith Adria, too.”

Harry looked surprised. “Didn’t expect to getpaid before I worked, but I’m not complaining;thanks!”

Beverlee slipped her hood over her head andwent to leave.

“Lock the doors,” she demanded one last

time.Harry and I were in the stockroom near the

bay door. Boxes piled high against every wall.Old shopping carts with three legs had beenstored near the giant cardboard recycling crate.Every kind of junk food and cola imaginable wasstored back here, along with a lifetime supply oftoilet paper and headache-inducing laundrydetergent. I rummaged an unopened box ofaspirin and took a few just to be on the safe-side.Strong smelling anything always gave meheadaches.

“What do we start with first?” said Harry,looking a little overwhelmed.

“None of that stuff,” I said, pointing, “justthese boxes in front of the bay door.” I whippedout my box cutter and sliced open the tape onone box to look inside.

“You know,” said Harry, “you could just readthe side of the box to see what’s in it.”

“Oh shut up!” I laughed. I tried to hide theembarrassment in my face, but best friends noticeeverything.

“It’ll be easier to take boxes to the aisles ifthey’re not opened,” he said all brainy-like.

Harry lifted two boxes into his arms andstarted to carry them out.

I stopped him, smirking. It was my turn.“Harry,” I said, standing there with my hand

on a dolly, “it’d be a lot easier to use the dolly.”His face turned bright red.In an hour and a half, we stocked everything

from canned goods and deodorant to paperplates and garbage bags. I was exhausted andmy back hurt.

“I could never do this for a living,” I said,

sitting on the floor of the cereal aisle with myback against the generic brands of pancake mix.

Harry was still placing boxes of cereal neatlyon the top shelf in front of me.

“Shouldn’t have tried to carry the cans likethat.”

Groaning, I reached behind to massage myback with my fingertips. “I know, but you don’tknow it’s a bad idea until long after you’ve doneit.”

“Well, you just do the light stuff then,” Harrysaid with his back to me. “I think I saw a box ofmini marshmallows over there.” He failed tosuppress the laugh entirely. It came out like hewas snorting. I swung out my foot and nudged hisshoe. “You’re so cruel.”

He agreed, still laughing.“So, how are you and Isaac doing?” he said,

putting another box into place. “I notice youhaven’t been texting tonight.”

It never occurred to me how obvious some ofmy new habits were to others.

“We’re doing great.”“Just great?” he said, turning around. He bent

over and took out three more boxes of cereal.“Well, yeah,” I said. “Great is pretty good, I

thought.” That sounded backwards to me, but Iwent with it.

“How great?” Harry finished shelving thecereal and started breaking down the box it allcame in. He tossed it on top of the pile we hadmade over time.

“If you’re implying something is not-so-greatbetween us, then you’re wrong.”

“I never said that.”“It sounded like it.”

“Why are you getting defensive?”I guess he was right; I was getting defensive. I

had to be careful. Harry would want to knowwhy and I would have no idea what to tell him.But it was too late to pretend that nothing waswrong. I pushed myself up from the floor and cutopen a case of instant oatmeal boxes.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Harry began, “butif something happened and you need to get itout....”

“I know, Harry. Thanks,” I said. “Nothinghappened. We’re still together, just trying towork out one minor issue, but it’s no big deal.Nothing major.” That was probably the biggestlie I ever told.

He knew I was lying, too.“Hey, isn’t your uncle supposed to be here?”I glanced up at the clock above the customer

service booth, glad he didn’t probe further aboutIsaac.

“Probably just the roads,” I said.The snowfall had reduced to light flurries

within the past hour, but outside, everything wascovered by it. Only one snowplow had drivenpast the store since before Beverlee left. I tookthat as a sign the weather wasn’t going to get anyworse. Traffic, although light, was moving alongat a normal rate.

I started to go back to the oatmeal boxes untilI noticed a dark figure standing in the far cornerof Finch’s parking lot. Moving out of the pool oflight shining above from the fluorescent, I stoodcloser to the end of the shelf.

“Thirty more minutes and he won’t need tocome anyway,” Harry said from behind.

I walked further up and edged my way toward

the window to get a better look. The figure stoodjust out of the glow from the street light. He, if itwas a man, wore dark clothes from head to toe.The way he stood there, still as a statue andstaring toward the store, made my nerves shortout like electrical wires.

“Me and Sebastian don’t hang out muchanymore,” Harry went on, still shelvingmerchandise. “I mean, I get it and all, but it stillsucks. Y’know?”

“Harry,” I whispered, as if the man couldactually hear me from that far away, “comehere.”

I felt him standing behind me then.“Do you see that guy?” I said, taking my eyes

off the parking lot for just a second.“No,” Harry answered. “I don’t see

anybody.”

I did a double take. The man was gone.“No,” I said, moving quickly to the store

window and almost pressing my face against it.“He was standing right there, off in the corner.He was staring this way.”

I turned around fully to face Harry.“I can’t believe this,” I said.“Don’t get so worked up, Adria.” Harry

started to walk back to the aisle. “Could’ve beenanyone; you’re really jumpy tonight.”

I turned around again. The man, with agrinning, maniacal face dripping with blood stoodan inch from the glass.

I shrieked and stumbled backward, my footcatching under a metal newspaper rack. I fellhard on my side and newspapers came tumblingdown.

Harry came running over.

“Holy shit!” he said.Harry grabbed me and pulled me to my feet.

The man’s eyes swirled black; his knifelike teethglistening with blood.

Suddenly, Harry fell over the same newspaperstand that I did. He almost took me down withhim, but let go of my arm just as he hit the floor.

“What the hell!” he shouted.The man came closer to the window. His

wicked, smiling face was like staring into the faceof the Devil.

His hands were behind his back. He pulled hisright arm out slowly and pointed his index fingerupwards, the nail two inches razor-sharp andblack like his eyes. His hand was covered inblood.

Blood stained the snow beneath him.“I imagine uncles taste better than German

Shepherds,” the man said so cold and menacinglythrough the glass.

I gasped. Harry had gotten to his feet and wastrying to pull me backwards with him, but Ipushed him away from me. I threw myself againstthe window, my face and the werewolf’s faceseparated by nothing more than a false sense ofsecurity. I banged my palms once against it,feeling the entire window shake and shudder.

“What did you do to him?” I screamed. “Whatdid you do to my uncle?” I banged the glass oncemore; the palms of my hands stung.

The man grinned, revealing his deadly teetheven more to me in his malign expression.

Harry grabbed me more intensely andmanaged to pry me violently away from thewindow. I was mad with rage, trying to fight myway free, but Harry was too strong. I felt my

shoes scraping across the floor as he pulled meinto the nearest aisle.

The werewolf let out a menacing growl fromoutside, jerking back his head. The last I saw ofhim was how his hot breath had melted the coldfrom the glass.

“We have to leave!” I said. “Now! Can youdrive me to my house?” I ran into the back of thestore and grabbed my coat and canvas backpackfrom a file cabinet.

“Adria, what the hell was that?” he shouted,following behind me. “I’m not going out there. I-I’m not going anywhere.”

I forced my coat on angrily because it wasn’tcooperating. “Harry, listen to me.” I stoppeddirectly in front of him. He couldn’t hide the fearin his face. “That was a werewolf. I know itsounds stupid and you probably won’t believe

me, but I’m telling you the truth. Now, we haveto find my uncle, alright?”

Harry’s head drew back in disbelief.“A what?”“I don’t have time for this,” I said, pushing my

way past him. “If you won’t take me, then I’llwalk.”

I pulled the store keys from my pocket andunlocked the front door before tossing them athim. “Lock up if you decide to leave. In fact,lock up after I leave.”

And I went out into the cold night.I didn’t give Harry a chance to pull his head

together and speak, but I left him standing therein shock, completely disoriented.

I ran down the snow-covered sidewalk andpast the streetlights, far away from Finch’sGrocery. I ran until I was out of breath and my

throat burned from the cold. My shoes were wetwith snow, all the way through to my socks. Thestreetlights became fewer and darkness began tosurround me. A couple of houses were on eachside of the street, but nestled many feet away andencroached by trees.

I unlocked the keys on my cell phone andcalled Beverlee. There was no answer and Ibroke down and started to cry.

The phone rang and BEVERLEE lit up on thescreen then.

“Aunt Bev,” I answered frantically. I fumbledthe phone to my ear and dropped it in the snow.“Where’s Uncle Carl?” I said, after finally gettingthe phone back into my hand.

“Adria, calm down, okay? I need you to calmdown.”

Her voice shuddered quietly as if she had been

crying, too.“I can’t calm down. Please, just tell me what

happened.”I heard Beverlee take a deep breath.A car drove past me; the sound of snow

crunching under its wheels.“Where are you?” she said suddenly. “Did you

leave the store? Are you outside?”“Beverlee!” I couldn’t help but yell at her. I

needed to know the truth and she was angeringme by holding it from me for so long.

“Carl is in stable condition,” she said finally,the tears choking her voice, “but he’s not beenconscious at all since they brought him in.”

“Oh no, what happened? Beverlee, whathappened to him?”

Headlights bore down on me from behind. Ipulled the phone away from my ear and turned

swiftly, on my guard. It was Harry. Thank God, itwas Harry.

“Harry’s here,” I said into the phone. “I’mcoming to the hospital.”

Harry hung his head out the car window andmotioned for me to get in. I ran around the carand slung open the door, jumping inside with thephone still pressed to the side of my face.

“He was in an accident,” said Beverlee. “Noone knows for sure, but by the looks of the car itmight’ve been a deer, possibly a moose, that ranout and hit him.”

Oh my God, oh my God, I kept saying overand over in my head.

“Please tell Harry to be careful,” she said.“I will.”I hung up and just sat there, gripping the

phone.

“First, your Uncle,” Harry demanded, “andthen you have some explaining to do.”

All I could do was nod, agreeing. I had tocatch my breath. I had to calm myself down andthink clearly.

“We need to go to the hospital,” I said. “UncleCarl was in an accident.”

“Okay, we’re going now.”I got quiet again. I kept picturing the so-called

accident in my mind. I saw the werewolf bashinto the side of my uncle’s car, tossing him fromit. I saw the car become crushed and mangledbeyond identification, because that is exactlywhat would happen. Werewolves are enormous,formidable beasts. A car impacted by one wouldbe like hitting another, better-built car head-on.

But the blood. The werewolf at the store wascovered in blood. His teeth, his hands, all

dripping with blood. He did this. He mentionedmy uncle. But what exactly did he do?

“Oh no....”I was never going to be able to think straight.“Adria,” said Harry, “you have to tell me what

that was. I’ll believe whatever you say, if you juststart explaining.”

Harry needed answers as desperately as I did.“I told you,” I said. “It was a werewolf.”“I know, but I thought you were screwing with

me.”I swung my head around to look at him. “Why

would I joke about something like that?” I wasshouting, but trying not to. “You saw what I saw.You know it wasn’t normal.”

“Yeah,” he said, “but dude could’ve beenwearing contacts, or something. Anyone can looklike that.”

I stared at him in that are-you-for-real sort ofway. Nothing in any local costume shop couldduplicate that nightmare. Harry knew it, too.

“Okay, so it was real,” he admitted, “but thatdidn’t look like any friggin’ werewolf I’ve everseen.”

“And how many werewolves have you seenexactly?” I said.

The car slid a bit when he turned left at the endof the street.

“Well...none in person,” he said, “but like onthe—damn, Adria, you know what I mean!”

He slapped the steering wheel. “How do youknow so much anyway?”

“Because I’ve seen them Turn. Because I’vebeen chased and attacked by them,” I snapped,“and because my sister is one of them!”

Harry shut up in an instant.

It was like telling him I just robbed a bank andshot someone, that look on his face.

“Yes, you heard me right,” I said. “Alex is awerewolf. That man you saw back there was awerewolf. There’s quite a few in this town,actually.”

I was steering too close to revealing theMayfair’s secret. Sebastian’s secret. Zia’s secret.

“I can’t believe this,” he said and then shookhimself free from the stun. “But why did he looklike that? I thought werewolves were supposedto look like, well, like werewolves.”

“He was in-between his human and werewolfform,” I said.

Blue, red and yellow lights flashed on the roadup ahead. As we got closer, I recognized thetotaled car immediately.

“Jesus,” said Harry.

We crept along past the accident sceneslowly. The yellow lights were coming from awrecker, which already had the car halfway liftedonto it. It was nothing but a twisted heap ofwarped metal.

How Uncle Carl survived that crash wasbeyond me. I couldn’t get the reality of it out ofmy mind, how he might have survived. I felt guiltyfor thinking it, but I knew that Uncle Carl wouldbe better off dead than one of them.

All the way to the hospital, I tried to preparemyself for the unthinkable, about losing my unclethe same way I lost my sister. Who would benext? Harry? Aunt Bev? Me?

The nurse at the desk directed me to thewaiting room where Beverlee joined us. Shehugged me so tight I thought she’d never let go.Her face was stained with tears where they had

run down her cheeks and through her makeup.Her hair was wild and the butterfly barrette shealways wore hung hopelessly on one side of herhead. I reached up to fix it for her. She hardlynoticed.

“I can’t lose him, Adria,” she cried. “I justcan’t.”

I hugged her close to me. “You said he’sstable and that’s a great sign. Just try to bepositive.”

Harry stood nervously off to the side. Heprobably wasn’t one for tragic family gatherings,but he was also giving us our space.

“I-I don’t know what happened to the dog,”Beverlee said, her voice trembling. “He’sprobably out there in the cold.”

“What dog?” I said, pulling away from her.“Carl adopted a German Shepherd from the

animal shelter,” she said. “It was supposed to bea gift to you. He had just come back fromAugusta. I was on the phone with him. The car. Iheard him yell and the dog whimper. Oh God, Ithought it happened because he was talking onthe phone while driving.” She buried her face inher hands. “That still could’ve been why. Adria,oh God, it’s probably my fault!”

I held her close again, rubbing her back withmy hands. “No, Aunt Bev, it wasn’t your fault.” Ifelt so awful for shouting at her earlier on thephone. Now I was the one trying to calm herdown. “You said they think it was maybe a deer,remember? Why do they think that? Did they saywhy?”

Beverlee dried her eyes the best she could andbegan pacing; a tissue crushed in her fist.

“There was no other vehicle,” she began, “no

second set of tire marks and his car was foundon the side of the road, not against a tree so hedidn’t lose control and drive into anything. That’sall I know.” She wiped her nose with the tissue.

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything aloudabout there not being a dead deer in the road.Beverlee would have gone back to the cell phonetheory and blaming herself.

But Beverlee gave me hope that I didn’t havebefore. Maybe the blood was from the dog. Ithad to be. The werewolf’s only words indicatedthat it was a dog he attacked, not my uncle. Yes,that gave me hope, though very little.

A nurse opened the waiting room door.“Mrs. Dawson, you can go back now,” she

said, gesturing her back.I took hold of Beverlee’s arm. “Can I go?”Beverlee looked across at the nurse who

nodded her approval. I went over to Harry.“Wait for me, okay?”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’m notleaving anywhere without you.”

To Harry, I was the one with all the answers.If I had actually wanted to get rid of him, I knewI couldn’t.

WE FOLLOWED THE NURSE down thesterile-white hallway. I never liked hospitals, thesmell of them, the bright lights, the cruelatmosphere, the death. The last time I wasactually in one, my great-grandma wasrecovering from heart surgery. She died two dayslater.

I held Beverlee’s hand the whole way.The nurse stopped us at the door to Uncle

Carl’s room before opening it. She held a limegreen clipboard pressed against her breasts.

“Dr. Derringer will be here in an hour,” shesaid. “Your husband is awake, but the painmedication will keep him from making muchsense for a while.”

Beverlee listened carefully, tears glisteningupon her cheeks.

“He’s conscious?” Beverlee’s face lit up.The nurse smiled and pushed open the door

slowly. I felt like I was taking a deep breathbefore jumping off a cliff into water. I expectedto see flesh ripped from my uncle’s bones,maybe even an arm or leg missing. I wanted toshut my eyes and not look at all, but someinvisible force locked them wide open.

Machines were hooked up to him on bothsides: an IV taped to the top of his right hand, ablood pressure cuff resting around his bicep. Anannoying little machine with flashy colors andlighted numbers displayed his heart rate andblood oxygen. One leg and one arm were incasts. Bandages wrapped around the upper partof his head with thick gauze taped over his left

temple and eye. Blood was there, soaked up inthe dressing. A long, clear tube hung from the leftside of his chest as bloody fluids pumped throughit into an ominous contraption that sat in the floor.It made such an eerie sucking noise that I wantedto plug my ears.

Uncle Carl’s head fell sideways onto thepillow so that he was facing us. A tiny clear tuberested in his nostrils, feeding him oxygen.

The nurse set the clipboard onto a table andbegan adjusting this and that, poking andprodding his tubes and needles.

Beverlee took the chair pressed close to thebedside, where I knew she had been sittingbefore.

I didn’t feel comfortable sitting down. I didn’tfeel comfortable being in the room at all. Myuncle looked horrible and technically, it was

because of me. I choked back the tears and theymade it only as far as the edges of my eyelids.

“I’ll be back in about half an hour,” the nursesaid just before leaving.

I walked closer to the bed, every step morehesitant than the last. Uncle Carl’s eyes werepartially closed; they were bruised and swollen.

“What is that?” I whispered to Beverlee aboutthe machine on the floor.

“His left lung collapsed,” she said. “They hadto insert a tube into his chest to help it inflate.”

An unpleasant shiver went up the back of myneck. I didn’t even notice when my hand wentover my mouth, or how long it had been there.

Beverlee leaned in close to Uncle Carl’s face.She kissed his forehead where it was free ofgauze. “Carl?” she said in a low voice. “Honey,can you hear me?”

His eyes opened a crack and he mumbledsomething neither of us understood.

“What was that, honey?” She was trying reallyhard not to cry anymore. It was a struggle forher.

“It...hit me,” he said. Still, his voice was so lowI could barely make out the simplest of words.

Finally, I pulled a chair next to Beverlee’s.Leaning forward, I said to Uncle Carl, “What hityou?”

“An...animal,” he said weakly. “I-I don’tknow...huge.”

The more he struggled to speak the worse hewas in pain. His face tightened in agony. Theheart rate numbers went up on the machinebeside him.

“Shhh,” Beverlee said, brushing his eyebrowwith her fingertip. “Just try to sleep.”

He took Beverlee’s advice; shutting his eyesand allowing his face to rest on the pillow.

“I just can’t believe this is happening,”Beverlee whispered aloud to herself.

Secretly, I began inspecting Uncle Carl’svisible wounds, though most were bandaged orcovered by the hospital gown. I didn’t knowwhat I was looking for anyway. A scratch? Adeep cut? Bite marks? Any wound would looklike any other wound to me, unless it wasblatantly obvious. But I needed to know.

I thought of Isaac suddenly and then my heartsank.

If Uncle Carl was infected, Isaac and hisfamily would want to kill him. I panicked inside.

My cell phone rang in my pocket and startledme. Beverlee looked up, motioning with her eyesto hurry and answer it. Uncle Carl barely stirred.

I pressed the phone to my ear and stepped intothe restroom to talk.

“I was at the store,” I said to Isaac, “but I,well, I had to leave in a hurry.”

“Nathan said he found the store keys in theparking lot,” Isaac said on the other end.

Harry must’ve dropped them, frantically tryingto get into his car to come after me.

“Adria,” Isaac warned, “I know something’swrong. What happened?”

I hesitated, peeking my head around the doorto see Uncle Carl lying on the bed.

“My uncle was in a car accident,” I whispered.“Is he alright? Are you at the hospital?”“Yes and yes.”Silence.“Adria,” said Isaac. “Please don’t keep things

from me.”

I hung up on him. Just like that, I shut thephone off and dropped it in my pocket. Icouldn’t believe what I had done, what Isaacmust be thinking. It tore me up inside.

But I couldn’t let them kill my uncle.I wasn’t going to let them kill my sister, either.I wanted to crawl inside a hole and die. How

cruel life is to make a person choose between thepeople she loves most. I cursed the Powers ThatBe, God, or whoever was listening at thatmoment. I didn’t care. I pressed my back againstthe wall and slid down into the floor. Therestroom was pitch dark, only a tiny slither oflight beamed in through the cracked door. Iburied my face in my hands and cried. I cried andcried until my throat felt closed up and I couldn’tbreathe. I tried to keep Beverlee from hearingme; she didn’t need to console me of all people.

It’s difficult to cry softly when your body wantsto do exactly the opposite. But I managed to getthrough it in private.

The whole world spun around in my mind. Isaw the face of my mother, screaming with rageat Jeff. I saw my dad walk away and never evensay goodbye. I saw my great-grandma lying inthe hospital bed as her heart rate machine flatlined. I saw Alex, her face ravenous and evil.And I saw the face of Uncle Carl.

“Oh my God!” Beverlee screamed from theroom. “Oh my God, someone help him!”

I stormed out of the restroom. Nurses camerunning inside, crowding around Uncle Carl’sbed.

Everything moved in slow motion.I ran toward Beverlee, grabbing her by the

waist and trying to pull her away so the nurses

could resuscitate him. But it felt like I was underwater, struggling to move, stuck in time. I heardBeverlee screaming, her body thrashing andfrantic, yet I heard nothing at all. Surreal. Time iscruel like life. It slows down so that you can trulyexperience the worst moments of it. Only if youmake it through them do you get to say ‘It allhappened so fast.’

The next thing I know, Beverlee and I arestanding outside the room. The door to UncleCarl’s room burst open and he was rolled downthe hallway in his bed.

We were forced to sit in the waiting areaagain. Beverlee was inconsolable. She stood nextto a giant window overlooking the snow-coveredstreets. I left her alone. It was where she wantedto be. Alone.

Harry and I sat next to each other, my head

resting on his shoulder. We stayed like that for aneternity. The clock high on the wall ticked andticked. I heard water dripping from a faucet nearthe visitor coffee pot. The sizzle of coffee hittingthe hot plate when a woman filled her cup.Intercoms with voices reverberating through thehalls. Hospital gibberish. Secret codes forsickness and death.

Finally, a doctor came in.“Mrs. Dawson,” he said, “I’m Dr. Derringer.”He was smiling. In a time like this, a smile is

the most important facial expression a familywaiting can hope to see. Anything other, even thetiniest downturn of the mouth always means badnews.

The doctor shook Beverlee’s hand.“Mr. Dawson is going to be fine,” he said.That was really all I heard. It was all I needed

to hear. Relief and happiness took over my abilityto pay attention. The doctor went into detail withBeverlee about what happened: pneumothorax,bleeding in the chest. I was too happy to tryputting the grim pieces together.

Harry looked up toward the double-doors.Isaac, Nathan, Zia, Sebastian and Daisy

entered the waiting room.Panic mode set in. That elated feeling I had,

fled at the sight of them. I paused, thinking, andthen ran over to Isaac and pulled him off to theside.

“I won’t let you kill my uncle,” I whisperedhatefully. Tears streamed down my face again. Iwanted to be held by Isaac at the same time. Allthese mixed emotions were tearing my atoms inhalf.

Isaac grabbed me and pulled me against his

chest, his arms wrapped protectively around me.“We’re not going to hurt your uncle.”

“But he was attacked,” I said, “I know he wasattacked and by what.”

He whispered into my ear, “Your uncle wasn’tinfected, Adria.”

I looked up at him. “How do you know that?”“We can smell them; the blood, the infection.

The only ones in this hospital are us.”He hesitated a moment. “And one other on the

first floor.”“Who?” I said desperately. “Who else is here?

Is it the one from the store?” My whole bodytensed up.

“Shhh,” Isaac said, holding the back of myhead. “No, it’s a new one. Probably the guy youtold me about in your voice mail, David Shanks.”

I heard Harry’s voice behind me, talking to

Sebastian and the others about what happened.My ears perked up. I hoped he wouldn’t mentionany of the ‘forbidden information’. Harry wassmart. I thought surely he wouldn’t.

“Isaac,” I said, “I have to tell you something.”“Adria,” Beverlee said from across the room,

“I’m going to see Carl.”I left Isaac and walked over next to her. The

doctor had already gone and a nurse was waitingto take Beverlee back.

“They said only I could go back to see himright now.” She hugged me tight. “I want you togo home, or leave with your friends and stay withthem, but I don’t want you hanging around here,okay?”

“But—”“It’s fine,” she urged me, “they’re not going to

let you go back for a long time anyway. Go get

some sleep and I’ll pick you up tomorrow andyou can visit him.”

She turned to Harry then, who had walked upafter me. “Do you mind taking Adria home?”

“Not at all,” he agreed.Beverlee hugged Harry too and then Nathan,

just before she slipped out the door with thenurse. I watched her go, feeling I should be withher. Isaac came up behind me and I felt his armsslip around my waist. Instantly, they comfortedme. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply of the air.I could detect the sanitized scent of hospitalsoap.

“He’ll be alright,” Isaac said.I felt his lips press into the back of my hair.“What did you need to tell me?”I glanced over at Harry, hoping he didn’t hear

Isaac’s question. Harry was too into listening to

Daisy talk in her English accent about how muchshe hated hospitals.

“Dreadful tombs,” she said. “That’s what theyare.”

“I’ll tell you later,” I told Isaac. “Can we justgo?”

Zia stepped up with Sebastian at her side. Shelooked to see if Harry was listening and thenleaned into me. “Girl,” she said, “you know youcan’t come with us. Not right now.”

“So, I’m supposed to go home?” I said,purposely above a whisper. I dropped my voicejust a little and added, ripping the words outsternly, “Zia, one came to Finch’s. He threatenedme. Look what he did to my uncle.” What Ireally wanted to do was scream at the top of mylungs.

I saw Harry look over, but I noticed that

Daisy’s conversation with him was also her wayof keeping him occupied.

“She can’t go home,” Isaac spoke up. “Notnow; it’s worse than I thought.”

“He’s right,” Nathan jumped in. “At least wearen’t out to get her.”

Isaac let go of my waist and took my hand.“We’ll have to take our chances. I think I’ll befine for another night or two, but after that....”

Nathan nodded.“But I’m not fine,” Zia snapped, her voice still

a whisper. “And neither is Sebastian—you knowthis!”

I wasn’t used to seeing Zia so incensed, so onedge. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thoughtshe hated me, but she was only worried aboutwhat she and Sebastian might do to me.

“What about Harry?” I said to Isaac.

“Absolutely not,” Zia demanded.“Look, he knows,” I said. “He was with me

when the one came to the store tonight. He saweverything and I told him what he was.”

I thought Zia’s eyes were going to fall out ofher head. Sebastian and Nathan even stiffened.

“ I had to.” I let go of Isaac’s hand andstepped in front of him. “But I didn’t tell himabout any of you. I haven’t told him much ofanything really...only about Alex.”

“Don’t blame Adria,” Isaac said. “It’sprobably better if Harry be a little more on hisguard around here anyway.” He looked straightat Nathan as if trying to justify his words. “Viktorisn’t going to stop this. It’ll get worse.”

Something secretive passed between Isaacand Nathan. I saw it. Isaac knew as much.

Harry walked over and joined us then, though

the conversation ended immediately.“Ready for me to take you home?” Harry said.“Thanks, Harry,” said Isaac, “but she’s going

to go to our house tonight.”“That’s cool,” Harry said, slipping his hands

inside his jean pockets. He stood there in thatawkward, uneasy way he always does when hefeels out of place.

“Harry can come along,” Daisy said, smilinghugely from beside him. “If you want to, ofcourse.”

Not even Zia could say what she was thinking.No one wanted to hurt Harry’s feelings, least ofall her and Sebastian. But by the looks on theirfaces, it was a certainty that Daisy would neverhear the end of it later.

“Sure, that’d be awesome,” Harry said.“Good, it’s settled then,” said Daisy.

Uncle Carl crept up in my thoughts again, notthat he ever left. Pain and guilt haunted me andlikely would forever.

Isaac took my hand once more and led me outof the hospital.

All night I gripped my phone; worried I’d putit down somewhere and miss Beverlee’s call.Finally, after a couple hours I tucked it safelyaway back inside my cargo pants pocket.

“No call from her is probably a good thing,”said Isaac sitting with his back against theheadboard of his bed.

I sat next to him, curled up in the bend of hisarm; his chin rested upon my head. “Not true,” Isaid. “She didn’t technically even call me whenhe was in the accident. I called her first.”

“I’m sure she would have when she had theopportunity.”

That was probably true, but I couldn’tconvince myself of it.

The Mayfair house was quiet for such a feraland populated haven. A few footfalls shuffledpast Isaac’s room; voices faint as they fadeddown the hallway. Zia and Sebastian were in thebasement. She stayed with him when Nathan hadto chain him to the floor. I would never treaddown there. The very thought of that placefrightened me.

I moved from Isaac’s bed and went to lookout at the snow. The wind blew lightly against theside of the house. It hadn’t snowed in hours, butwhat had already fallen would probably be therefor days. It was quite beautiful, actually. Notsome evil nuisance come to halt my life as Ialways thought of it before. The white glistened inthe darkness, such a heavy blanket of glitter that

was frail and soft. There is something mysteriousand magical about snow.

Two shadows moved into the light from theporch below. They grew larger as they movedoutward into the yard. Daisy and Harry, bundledin thick coats, walked side by side; tracks in thesnow left behind them, disturbing the smoothnessof it. I watched until they were no longer in sight.

“Isaac?” I said with my back to him. “Will theyhunt Harry, too? Since he knows?”

“I don’t know,” he said softly. “They want youbecause of Alex. I think Harry will be safe aslong as he doesn’t let anyone know what heknows.”

I stared at the footprints left in the snow. “Hedoesn’t even know Daisy is one. How is she socasual about it?” I turned around at the waist, myarms crossed. “What if she loses control and

hurts him?”Isaac shook his head. “Daisy has complete

control of her transformations,” he said. “All ofmy sisters do, except Camilla. She’s theyoungest.”

“Is that part of being a powerful female?”Isaac nodded slowly in response.“Daisy will keep Harry safe,” he said.I turned away from him again.“Why didn’t that werewolf just kill me? If they

wanted me dead, or even Turned, that onecould’ve done it easily.”

The bed moved as Isaac stood up from it.“Nathan and I have been wondering about

that.”I wanted there to be more to his answer, a

theory at least. Something. Their concern about itwas surely what I saw pass between them earlier

at the hospital.Earlier at Finch’s Grocery, everything

swarmed me at once, the realities of me beingwhat I am and Isaac being what he is.

Finally, I turned around and looked himhopelessly in the eyes. “No matter what,” Ibegan, “you’ll outlive me, Isaac. Either I’ll growold and die, or something like a car accident willend my life too short. My heart might give outand surgery will fail to repair it. Or, worst of all,I’ll be Turned by someone other than you andeither die in the process, or become one ofthem.” I felt the nerves in my lips jerking, myeyes watering.

Isaac, for a moment, couldn’t look at me.“I promised I’d never ask it of you,” I said. “I

meant that. I could never put you in that position.I wouldn’t let you.”

I walked away from the window and awayfrom Isaac. Something inside me knew that whatI was about to propose would require I not benear him.

“What if I get Nathan to do it?”Isaac’s eyes turned black in half a second. He

rushed at me so fast I never saw him move. Myback suddenly pressed against the bedroomdoor. My throat wedged behind his powerfulhand and though he wasn’t hurting me, the breathleft my lungs.

With his razor-sharp teeth an inch from myface, a growl rattled Isaac’s body. I froze. Icouldn’t move if I wanted to; my body and minddisconnected completely from one another.

Isaac moved his head around in a circularmotion, cracking his neck. Veins bulged from it,pulsating. But I had to trust that he wasn’t going

to hurt me; that this display wasn’t an act ofviolence, but instead, one controlling a violenttrigger.

He shook it off. I felt his hand on my throatease until finally he let go. The lids fell over hiseyes and when they opened again, the blacknesswas gone.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said, moving away from me.He backed further away, punishing himself, his

head lowered in shame and regret.He went to his knees in the center of the floor.I knelt in front of him.I placed my hand on the side of his face. “You

didn’t hurt me, Isaac. You see?”The pain in his face was unmistakable. He was

breathing so hard. Nothing I could say was evergoing to make this better.

“Please tell me,” he said, “that you don’t really

want that.”“I don’t,” I admitted. “Isaac, I just don’t know

what to do. How am I supposed to go on likethis, knowing what you are? That any future wehave together is limited by my humanity?” Thatword, humanity, felt acidic on my tongue. I feltbetrayed by destiny that I should be so differentfrom the one I loved.

I thought Isaac would cry. Everything abouthis face suggested it, the hardness of his eyes,and the tightness of his mouth.

The door to his bedroom opened and Rachelstood there, smirking across at me. Isaac’s headjerked up quickly, angrily, suspiciously. “Rachel,”he growled, “this is a bad time.”

“It’s always a bad time with you,” she grinned,“isn’t it?”

The girlfriend in me wanted to stand up to her,

punch her in the face. The human in me kept mequiet and still.

“We overheard you talking,” Rachel added.Two girls, werewolves, stood behind her in thehallway; their smiles just as slippery. “I thoughtby now you’d propose the Blood Bond to yourprecious human.”

Isaac was on his feet so fast I hardly noticed.He stood toe to toe with her, noses practicallytouching. Her defiance was frightening. I didn’thave to see his eyes to know they had changedcolors again.

The two girls backed away, the smilesdissolving from their faces at once.

“What is she talking about?” I said, but hedidn’t answer.

Without moving her head, Rachel averted herattention to me. “They say that if one survives the

transformation, the other often can too. Don’tknow why you won’t just Turn her, Isaac.”

“One what?” I said, baffled.I felt the frustration boiling inside of me.“If you don’t leave now,” Isaac threatened,

“my brother’s approval will no longer protectyou.”

Rachel’s eyes slowly moved back to faceIsaac. Staring each other down, I got the worstfeeling from the silence. I stood up carefully, but Icouldn’t take it anymore; I wanted answers.

“Blood Bond?” I said, walking up to them.“Isaac, please tell me what she’s talking about.”

Still, he ignored me.Rachel broke her stance first, leaving Isaac

there stiff and ready to kill her. She reached outand touched my cheek. I remained as I was,refusing to let her intimidate me anymore.

“You are pretty,” she began, “I give you thatmuch, but that’s all you have.”

My hand to Isaac’s chest stopped him, but Iknew he wouldn’t honor my request for muchlonger. It was only because of me that he hadn’talready killed her, that he hadn’t turned into theviolent, brutal creature that he was.

“Rachel,” I said, “What are you saying?” Ireally just wanted her to be honest with me, stopplaying her hateful, puzzling games for once. Ihoped the sincerity was visible in my face. Ihoped she would respect it.

Her hand fell away; it had felt soft against myskin.

Nathan stood in the doorway then andRachel’s posture changed. Still defiant as ever toIsaac, but now with less mockery. She held herchin high. The girls who had been with her,

disappeared.“Anymore of this, Rachel,” said Nathan, “and

you’re on your own with my brother. Do youunderstand?”

She didn’t answer. One last look at me beforeshe slithered out of the room. Nathan passedIsaac an apologetic nod before following her,shutting the door behind him.

“She’s more trouble than she’s worth,” hegrowled, still staring fiercely at the door.

“Isaac,” I said softly, pleadingly, “what is aBlood Bond?”

Something about him seemed differentsuddenly. Behind the pain-stricken exterior, Isaw in him, a sliver of a thought. It was faint, butjust enough that it was there. His gaze met mineand it held there, suspended in time.

Then it all fell apart.

“No...,” he said aloud to himself.He began to pace, uncertainty and fury in

every step.“Tell me, Isaac. Please.” I approached him.

“Don’t do this to me. What’s wrong?”“No, I can’t,” he said. “I won’t do it.” It

seemed he was arguing with himself.“You won’t do what?” I tried to take his

hands, but he carefully pushed me away fromhim.

Much like he had done to me, I grabbed Isaacand pushed him into the wall. It barely stunnedhim, but he let me have my way by not rejectingit.

“You won’t do what, Isaac?” I had hadenough of these broken sentences, thesesecretive little topics that somehow weredifferent, yet connected to one another.

He shut his eyes in surrender. I heardSebastian howl from deep inside the basementagain, but nothing could break this moment.Nothing.

“I think it’s time you met my father,” Isaac saidto me.

ABSENTLY, I STEPPED AWAY from him andmy hands fell to my sides. He grabbed my coatfrom the foot of his bed and urged me to put iton.

“But—”“No, Adria,” he said, placing his hands upon

my cheeks, “it’s the only way you’ll understandany of it.”

What had I done? Did I push Isaac too farwith my unwavering persistence? To most girls,meeting your boyfriend’s parents is a simple,possibly unnerving event. For me, it wassomething very different.

Isaac kissed me fully on the lips. “I need to dothis,” he said and I could taste the sweetness ofhis breath. “You’ll be safe with me. Just trustme.”

“...but, why do I need my coat?” Between

confusion and fear, there was no hope for me. Icould hardly form a sentence anymore. All Iwanted to do was stand my ground and refuse.

“He isn’t here,” Isaac revealed, zipping mycoat up. “He’s in the mountains, far away fromhere.”

I just stood there, becoming more baffled bythe second. Isaac did all the moving and talkingfor the both of us. He grabbed his car keys andthen my hand.

He wasted no time. We were out the door andin his car in seconds.

“What about my uncle?” I said. “I can’t justleave.”

“We’ll be back by morning. You have yourcell on you, right?”

“Yes,” I said, patting my leg pocket just to besure.

The question was merely his way of assuringme that it was okay to leave, that the phone wasmy link to Beverlee.

The car trudged through the thick, undisturbedsnow down the long driveway. It got easier topass once we made it out onto the main road.Only silence filled the air around us and the soundof the heat blowing gently from the vents. Isaacwatched straight ahead, focused and distressed. Icould only imagine what he was thinking. No,honestly I couldn’t even do that. To pretend Ihad any clue as to the importance of what wasgoing on was absurd.

I sat with my head against the car window.The world flew by outside. A blanket of glitteringwhite surrounded by night. Houses dotted theside of the highway. An old factory rose high onthe horizon, one-dimensional, like a silhouette

against the night sky. Lights from 24-hour gasstations and the occasional oncoming car werethe only source of light for miles. Mostly therewas nothing but trees and asphalt, winding blackroads with yellow lines moving eerily in my vision.I watched the stars a lot; hard not to when theyare the only things that seemed attentive to me.Isaac was lost somewhere in his thoughts, sodeeply I was afraid to disturb him.

At least an hour into the drive and the starsand the moon were the only light source left.Street and headlights were non-existent, likehouses or anything else that signaled signs ofmodern life.

Finally, I fell asleep.And I dreamt:I was sitting at the edge of a creek with my

shoes off and my feet in the water. Such a

peaceful place, surrounded by spring. The smellof honeysuckle lingered in the air. I could sit hereforever. Water trickled gracefully over smoothrocks in the creek’s bed. I reached out and let itrun through my fingers. The wind blew throughmy hair, ruffling the bushes nearby. The sky wasnever bluer. Thick, cottony clouds driftedgradually in spots.

“Who are you waiting for?” said my mother,Rhonda.

She stood at the bank, her shoulder proppedagainst a skinny tree.

I looked up. “No one,” I said.She walked toward me, but I continued to

watch my own reflection in the water.A hand touched my hair. “It’s not safe for you

out here, Dria.”“It’s perfectly safe,” I said. “And I’m not

waiting for anyone.”“What are you waiting for then?”“I...” I paused. I was about to say that I

wasn’t waiting for anything, but then thought thatmaybe I was, after all. “I don’t know,” I said.“Do you?”

I glimpsed my mother’s reflection in the watertoo, smiling softly as she combed her fingersthrough my hair.

“Death,” she answered.I stood and turned to face her, but my mother

was gone.Suddenly, the cool wind turned warm upon my

shoulders. I looked to my left into the trees.Something was there. It felt like someone waswatching me. My skin crawled all over....

“Adria.” I heard Isaac’s voice and I woke up.“Come on.”

Lifting my head, I peered out the window,expecting to see something else other thandarkness and trees.

Still, nothing but darkness and trees anddevouring white snow everywhere.

“Are we there?”“Not quite,” he said. “Put your coat back on;

you’re going to need it.”I let the disturbing dream fade from my mind.

Maybe some other time I would tell Isaac aboutit. Maybe not.

“Where are we?” I said, standing outside thecar somewhere deep in the wilderness. I felt thecruel sting of cold air through my pants. Mybreath exhaled in puffs of smoke. Wherever wewere, it was much colder here than in Hallowell.Even the snow was deeper; my boots coveredby it.

Isaac stood at the opened car door, stuffingsomething inside my canvas backpack. I peeredfurther into the car on my side, noticing the itemsas clothing. The car door slammed shut and hewalked around, putting the backpack over myshoulders.

“Sugarloaf,” he answered. “Werewolves tendto stay deep in the mountains away from thecities. My father has an underground sanctuaryabout an hour from here. Can’t get to it by anyroad.”

“An hour?” I gazed harshly out at nothing butforest and snow. “We’re going to walk an hour inthis?” I was ready to take that stand now andrefuse.

“Not exactly,” he said, pulling me along.We left the car parked on the side of the road

and entered the forest.

“Isaac?” I said; uncertainty laced my voice.“We have to get enough away from the road,”

he said, “just in case.”“In case of what?” It was difficult to walk

through the thick snow, much less keep up withhis much faster pace.

He stopped next to a tree stump.“Don’t be afraid,” he said. He held both my

hands in his. “You trust me not to hurt you and soI’m going to trust myself because of that.”

He didn’t have to explain further. I knewexactly what he was about to do. My heart spedup.

Isaac stepped backward and away from me.“Just don’t move, speak or walk towards me.Do you understand?”

I felt my head nod in quick, nervous jerkingmotions.

Isaac gave me one last loving gaze, finallystopping his backward trek many feet away fromwhere I stood.

His whole body jerked forward, plunging himonto the frigid, white ground. He was on hishands and knees, his head rolled up andbackward, the whites of his eyes churning black.The first fiendish growl ripped through the air,echoing off every looming tree. A burning screamforced from his lungs and his body began tothrash, throwing him onto his back where hewrithed in agony.

Everything told me to back away further,every sense and emotion. But I had to be still.No movement. No words.

He leapt up then, his legs growing along withhis massive body. His face contorted. I heardbones snapping, his flesh ripping. Birds sleeping

in the trees above went wild and flapped theirwings in a fleeing rage.

Isaac howled, standing feet taller in adominating stance. His enormous, razor-sharphands pulled backward. His snout heaving withhot, visible breath.

He howled again and then dropped hismassive head and looked right at me. I felt theperilous graze of his eyes scan over me.

No movement. No words.Towering on two feet, Isaac approached me,

his much heavier footsteps crunching the snowloudly in his wake. I trust you, I thought. I trustyou....

I was terrified.I shut my eyes tight as he got closer, his form

so enormous that I felt engulfed by its shadow. Ishook all over, uncontrollably, feeling his hot

breath moisten the skin on my face. He was rightthere, an inch from me. I could hear the salivasloshing around in his mouth, the heavy breathfrom his nostrils.

Only when I heard a low guttural growl fromdeep in his chest did I slowly open my eyes. In asplit second, Isaac hoisted me up and pressedme between his colossal chest and the fold of hisarm.

I never saw it coming.The whip of tree limbs thrashed against Isaac

as he ran; his body protected mine. Branches andeven rocks crushed hopelessly under his giant,beastly feet. Rock reduced to dust. He moved sofast, covering a distance I could never possiblyimagine. I had to shut my stinging eyes. Thebattering wind was too cold; snow from the treespierced my face like tiny shards of glass. If it

weren’t for the warmth his body gave, I wouldhave frozen to death.

I seized desperately to his fur, but the hold hehad on me was all that I needed. His chest wasrock hard; his arm I knew had a grip strongerthan a boa constrictor. One slipup and Isaaccould so easily crush me like brittle bone.

We moved so fast through the mountain that Iwas lucky to make out anything as we racedpast. The sound of water thrashing against rockswas all that I heard distinctly. I opened my eyes acrack, just in time to see the ravine out ahead.

The trees ended and my heart fell into the pitof my stomach. Isaac leapt over the deep chasmand skimmed the waterfall. Only seconds felt likean eternity suspended in mid-air as I held mybreath. But he covered the ravine flawlessly,landing hard on the other side. The whipping

trees were back as we pressed on. One caughtme, cutting a tiny slit along my cheekbone.

Finally, we stopped.My eyes crept open as Isaac laid me on the

cold ground. My hands and legs had fallenasleep. Tender ribs caught me off guard. He hadheld me tighter than I realized.

Isaac went to his knees and raised his head;pain reverberated in his screams. I covered myhead in the snow with my arms, my breath hot intheir confines. I couldn’t take it anymore, seeinghim in such agony. I wondered why when I sawAlex Turn she didn’t show to be in as much painas Isaac. She didn’t writhe on the floor of ourden. Her body didn’t thrash about.

Isaac lay naked on his side, the snow aroundhim melting from the excessive heat of his humanbody. I could even see the ground, wet and dark

as though only touched by rain.I ran over to him.He reached for me, his finger running gently

across the cut on my face.“It’s nothing.” I pulled the backpack around

and set it on the ground, rummaging through it. Itwas why he had packed the clothes from the car.“Isaac?” I said, handing him the long-sleevedshirt. “Why does it hurt you so much to Turn?”

“Because my concentration is filteredelsewhere.”

He lifted and sat in an upright position, one legbent upward to shield his nakedness. “Usually theconcentration is to keep the pain to a minimum,”he said, slipping on the shirt, “but making sure Idon’t hurt you is more important.”

Next, he put on the jogging pants.“What about shoes?”

“Sort of forgot the shoes,” he said. “Theentrance is right there. I can get some later.”

I stood and turned, but saw nothing but theusual, darkness and trees.

“Right there between the rocks,” he said,pointing further. “Stay close.”

Not until we came right upon the mouth of theentrance did I see it. And not that I hadtechnically forgotten why he brought me here, butsuddenly it plagued my mind again.

Once we passed the threshold and stoodbetween the towering boulders, Isaac could rest.

“Remember,” he said, taking my shoulders,“stay close to me. My father doesn’t know we’rehere and really, I’m not supposed to be here.”

“What?” Worry twisted every muscle in mybody. “But I thought—”

Isaac quickly placed his hand over my mouth.

My voice had echoed down the dark passage.Wincing, I realized and he slowly moved his handaway. “I thought you were bringing me here tomeet him?” I said in a whisper.

He whispered back, “I did....”Isaac paused, looking upon me with warm

eyes.“Adria,” he said, “do you remember what I

said to you about how in one way I would be likemy father?”

I thought back to that day in Vaughn Woods,remembering everything he said to me almostword for word.

“Yes…you said you would ignore the needand the warning.”

He looked down and away from me. Icouldn’t read his emotions at all; I couldn’t tellthe difference between shameful and

contemplative.“I will ignore the need to protect you without

being in your life,” he began, “but in another wayI will not be like my father. I won’t....”

It seemed like a warning and a promise, whichleft me feeling disenchanted.

Isaac held my hand through the cold, darktunnel under ground. Wind whistled throughcracks in the ceiling until we were too far awayfrom the entrance to hear it. The passage snakedleft and right and then minutes later I felt like Iwas walking down a steep hill. I could seenothing, hardly even the white of my hands. ButIsaac could see perfectly in the darkness.Without his guide, I would have tripped manytimes over rocks and uneven flooring. I brieflywished I had a flashlight; a primitive fiery torchwould even have been welcome.

I was beginning to feel a gnawing pain throughmy wet socks. My feet were thawing. I noticedthat the air was getting warmer, the rosy tip of mynose no longer chilled to the touch. I could inhalewith my lips parted and not feel the sting of frigidair drying and scraping my throat anymore.

We were close.We came upon the end of the tunnel. Warm

firelight glowed against the cave walls in the shortdistance. Shadows moved upon them.

There were voices.Isaac stopped about twenty feet away.He turned to me; his hair looked darker in this

light, his eyes, more fierce. “Don’t speak toanyone if we’re seen,” he whispered. “Let me dothe talking.” He leaned in even further, hisexpression fixed. “Those here are not like me orNathan. They’re soldiers, loyal to my father, but

more beast than man.”The mere fact that Isaac seemed worried at all

put me completely on edge.He led me around the first corner where the

stone and dirt hallway turned into a V. Thefirelight source, I was surprised to see my wishfulprimitive torches mounted along the rock walls. Ipeered down the left tunnel as we passed quietly;guards were posted far off in the distance. I wasglad Isaac took me in the other direction. Soonwe came to a section of the hallway where therock separated. Ducking halfway, we squeezedinto a hidden niche. It was a good thing I wasn’tclaustrophobic.

More voices reverberated through the space.Generous firelight brightened the blackness of thecave from a room just beyond. We crouched lowbehind a rock wall; a jagged oval-shaped

opening allowed us to peer inside the roomunseen. My fingers pressed against the moistnessof my palms, sweating like mad from both theheat and my rattled nerves.

The room was vast, towered by rock andearth that had been carved perfectly over time.The ceiling shaped like a dome, which seemed tocradle the room beneath it. Three more entranceswere visible, one just behind the long black tablewhere a man sat at the head, a delicate woman inhis lap. Guards, werewolves that wore the skin ofmen, stood at each entrance; swords sheathed totheir backs. They were ridiculously tall even intheir human form.

I was trembling. Isaac put his arm around mywaist, pulling me gently toward him.

Six chairs were on each side of the table.Random food and what looked like old maps

and yellowish-brown paper lay strewn across thetabletop. Thick, dusty books were stacked nextto candelabras. I truly felt as though I was in thewrong time.

“Milord,” said a man standing near theentrance at the other end of the table. “He ishere.”

The man at the head looked up from thewoman. I knew the man was Trajan, Isaac’sfather. There was no mistaking it. He was thepower in the room. When he simply moved hiseyes, all attention shifted to him. He was the oneI saw in the painting above the fireplace in theMayfair house. Unapproachable and imperial. Heappeared in his middle forties, rugged andunshaven, scarred and beastly, yet handsomebeyond words.

Trajan didn’t answer the man and then I

noticed something, something disturbing. I felt mycheeks flush under my already warmed skin. Atiny gasp of disbelief escaped my lips.

The woman sat facing Trajan, straddling hislap in the chair. The long, thin white dress shewore covered what was happening underneath it.I didn’t want to look, but the shock of it forcedme to. “Oh my God,” I whispered, “...is she?”

Isaac nodded, but there was sadness in hisface.

He began to explain until four more menentered the room, the two in the center obviouslyled by the guards beside them. A dark piece ofcloth lay against the front of their shirts. Irecognized it as what had probably been placedover their eyes by the guards, before cominghere.

One of the visitors gawked, realizing instantly

what I had realized about the woman. It sickenedme, to see this man so excited by a seemingly sadsex act. I don’t know why it was sad, but itloomed in my heart. Maybe Isaac’s expressionrubbed off on me, or maybe it was the woman.Something about her, even though I could barelysee the side of her face, was tragic. There was noemotion in her except for sorrow and emptiness.

I had to shake it off.Trajan carefully took the back of the woman’s

head into his giant hand. Pressing his lips againsther forehead, he whispered something to her.

I was completely confused.Trajan, this man of total domination and

power, a werewolf known to be cruel anddeadly, respected the woman.

Another woman stepped out of the shadownear the exit behind Trajan’s chair. She took the

woman’s hand and led her out, leaving Trajanfree to the visitors.

“Nothing says power,” the gawking visitorbegan, “like having whores at one’s disposal.”

No time at all for me to quietly display mydisgust, Trajan was out of the high-back chair,pressing the man into the stone wall. Every guardin the room stiffened, one hand raised to thehandle of their swords. The quiet visitorwithdrew, feeling for the exit behind him, only tobe grabbed by one of the guards who broughthim here.

Trajan held violently to the man’s throat. Ragehad become him. The muscles in his neckthickened and pulsated, the glint of his eyes weregolden in the light of the fire. Gold on black andfury.

Isaac held me tighter. I was shaking all over.

Without a word, Trajan crushed the man’sneck in his hand. I felt my heart stop, literally, fortwo seconds. Vomit churned in my stomach asthe man’s neck fell over to one side, danglinggrotesquely. The tongue lolled out of the corpse’smouth so unnaturally, so horrific.

Tears burned the edges of my eyes.“I s-swear to you—” the other visitor had

started to say.Trajan stepped into the man’s space, his hands

balled into fists at his sides. Tilting his head to oneside, he said calm and dangerously, “Innocentand precious is the beloved that your friend sofoolishly insults.” He tilted his head to the otherside. “Do you share his views?”

The man shook his head so harshly it couldhave rolled off his shoulders. “N-No....” Theguard holding him jerked his body forward,

forcing him into a deep, painful bow.He screamed out and grimaced under the

pressure. “I m-mean...n-no, Milord,” hecorrected himself.

Trajan walked gradually back to his chair. Helooked across at the man, brought one hand outfrom behind his back and gestured. “Sit,” he said,just before sitting himself.

The man took the chair, his body shakingworse than mine was. A lone candle sitting in asilver tray fell over onto its side as his fumblinghands grazed it. Apologizing profusely, the manpicked the candle up before it caught a stack ofpapers afire.

“What information,” Trajan said, “do you havefor me?” He never looked at the man; it seemedthe man was not worthy of such a gesture.Instead, Trajan began scanning a nearby text.

“Viktor,” the man began, “he has—”Trajan put up his hand and the man stopped

cold; worry plagued his expression. His eyesgrew wide with dread, his face stricken pale andnauseous.

Suddenly, I knew how he must have beenfeeling. Trajan looked in our direction.

He knew.I slid down, sitting fully onto the dirt floor,

praying silently.“Isaac,” Trajan said, “go to my chamber and

take the Dawson sister with you.”Isaac stood carefully from our not-so-secret

spot behind the rock wall. He held his hand outto me, but it took a moment for me to gather thecourage to accept it.

“Adria,” he said to Trajan. “That is her name,Father.”

Was he insane? I froze, all except for myhand, which tightened around his in alarm anddisapproval. Isaac’s comment wasn’t acorrection; I think even he knew that would beunwise. It was merely an introduction; adangerous introduction that could so easily go thewrong way if one syllable was out of place. Beingthe son definitely had its advantages.

Trajan nodded so lightly that it was almost as ifhe never moved his head. He sat with his elbowsresting upon the table, his fingers touching in asteeple.

The frightened man gawked at me from acrossthe cave room. It felt intrusive.

“Forgive me,” he said to Trajan, “but is thatthe sister? The one that—” The man swallowedthe rest of his words and slunk back into thechair. A simple threatening turn of Trajan’s head

was enough to steal his voice from him.“Leave now,” Trajan demanded Isaac.“Yes, Father.”Isaac bowed halfway and pulled me through

the room toward the exit behind Trajan’s chair. Ididn’t want to go that way; for a second I felt myfeet become heavier. But Isaac kept me closestto the cave wall, away from the man’sreach...away from his father’s reach.

Every ravenous eye in that room was on me,except for Trajan’s. I could feel them all, like tinyspotlights alerting hunters of my whereabouts.And though Trajan was not looking, he was theone I feared the most.

We slipped into the tunnel and made our waythrough the torch lit hall.

“Is he going to kill me?”“No,” said Isaac as we turned a corner.

“What was that man talking about?” I said.“The sister that what?” The hallway snakedaround another corner and then we descended aset of makeshift stone stairs. “Isaac? I got a badfeeling about it.”

“So did I,” he said simply, pulling me along.We came upon another room where four

guards, three on each side were posted at theentrance. Like the ones in the room we just left,they were giants. I felt like an insect standingbefore them.

“Isaac, you shit,” said one closest to the tallwooden door. “What are you doing here?” Heglanced over at me, inspecting me. He raised hishead and sniffed the air—they seemed to do thata lot, I noticed. “Human. Ah, I see,” he said.“Come to show her what it’s like, have you?”

Isaac was not amused.

“You know it’s forbidden to speak of her,Raul.”

The werewolf smiled a big, toothy smile. Itwas an odd way to apologize.

Raul stepped aside to let us pass.Isaac closed the door softly behind us. The

room smelled of flowers and scented oils. Therewere so many candles placed throughout that theroom was bright with intimate light. The spacewas enormous. A giant bed sat centered againstthe stone wall, the most delicate fabric dressed itlavishly. Great pillows, large enough to sleepupon themselves laid out upon the floor. A deskand a sofa sat against one wall, a claw footbathtub against another, where three women saton short wooden stools in front of it. Two morewomen stood to the left of me, one holding awhite robe. All of them were dressed the same:

simple black gowns, their heads covered by thinblack veils. They were servants.

I HEARD THE SOUND of trickling water.Looking further, another servant knelt near thebathtub. Steam rose up out of the water, swirlingaround to veil her face briefly. The woman whohad been in Trajan’s lap sat blankly in the tub;her dainty white arms resting upon the length ofthe sides. I wondered where they drew the waterfrom to fill the bath, but insignificant curiositieslike that did not matter.

Few servants paid mind to our presence, mosttoo attentive to their duties. All of those dutiesinvolved the woman in the bath in some way.

A servant bowed deeply in front of Isaac.“Shall we leave you to her, Milord?”All of the proper addressing of titles and such

was foreign to me.“No,” said Isaac. “I won’t be here long.”She bowed once more and went back to

stand where she was before.The woman rose from the water. I began to

turn away to shield my eyes from her nakedness,but I seemed the only one in the chamber whofelt the need. To everyone else, including Isaac, itwas perfectly normal. Drops of water ransmoothly down her pale, lithe form. Her dry hairflowed to the center of her back. Frailty. Shewas frail and innocent beyond mycomprehension. I couldn’t understand it, thisthing inside of me that ate away at mywonderment. No part of her was capable ofsavagery.

She was human.A servant dressed the woman, slipping another

white gown over her body. It seemed the womandid little on her own. Another servant had to lifther arms for her, while a third brushed out her

hair from behind.She looked across at me. I would have frozen,

but you only do that when you’ve been spotted.It felt as if she was staring right through me. I feltlike I was in Isaac’s dream again, but I was theone watching through the trees. I was the ghostand she wasn’t aware I was there.

“Who is she?” I whispered to Isaac next tome. I never took my eyes off the woman. Shewas beautiful and soft; pure beyond words. Pure.Yes, that was it.

Isaac’s breath tickled my earlobe. “She isAramei,” he said, “my father’s wife. She is hissoul.”

Softly stunned, I could only stare at her forseveral long minutes. Aramei wasn’t a child, afterall.

Two servants led Aramei to the bed where she

sat on her own. Still, the act of sitting seemedonly achieved due to repetition. Nothing in herface suggested she even knew where she was.

I felt sorry for her.Lacing my arm into Isaac’s I said, “What’s

wrong with her? Is she sick?”“...No,” he answered absently. “It’s the price

she and my father pay for her immortality.”I think I stopped blinking. “Immortal? How?”“The Blood Bond.” Isaac walked with me

toward Aramei. Reluctance weighed my feetdown again, but this time for a different reason. Iworried Aramei might be scared of me.

She didn’t stir.Aramei was the woman in the painting with

Trajan, only she was more alive then.Isaac went on, “It’s a sad story, really.” He sat

down on the far end of the bed. I sat next to him

though I felt I was being disrespectful.I watched the servants tend to Aramei while

he told me the story.“There was a war between my father’s clan

and Viktor Vargas’, many years ago in theCarpathians. My father was wounded on thebattlefield and he woke up in a barn in one of thenearby villages. Wounded so badly, he wasn’tstrong enough to shift back into his human form.”

A servant lit two more candles on the bedside,while another rubbed Aramei’s skin with scentedoil.

“Aramei, the poor daughter of a fisherman,found him in the barn.”

“While he was in his werewolf form?” Icouldn’t imagine being her and seeing somethinglike that.

“Yes,” Isaac said, “and she wasn’t afraid of

him; not like a human should be anyway. Shepulled the swords from his chest and back. Sheeven sewed the gash on his throat. My fathercould have killed her. In fact, when we’rewounded severely enough that death is apossibility, blood is the one thing that can sustainand heal us. But my father was powerful eventhen and could control his rages, the pain.”

Aramei lay against the pillows on her side. Aservant covered her middle body with a silksheet. Her feet were so delicate, so small.

“If she were anyone else,” Isaac continued,“my father would have killed her without athought. He almost died himself because hecouldn’t.”

“He fell in love with her.”“Yes, he did.”The servant stroked Aramei’s hair and face

softly as a mother would do to her child.“When he was healed enough to shift,” Isaac

said, “he wouldn’t shift because he didn’t want toscare her—I know that sounds dumb, but—”

“I know why,” I interrupted. “Trajan wasafraid if she saw him shift into a man, it would betoo overwhelming.”

Isaac nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s right. Abeast is one thing, but a beast that is also a man ismany things. He left one day and couldn’t evergo back. He knew that just being near her wouldsooner than later only get her killed.”

Isaac looked into my eyes. I knew what hewas thinking. He was thinking about me beinghuman, about the danger he posed. And I foundit disturbingly beautiful how similar our storieswere, that I would meet the real Isaac woundedin a barn, too.

He turned away.“A few years later,” he went on, “Viktor’s

men were ravaging villages and Turning the men.He wanted an army that could defeat my father’s.Aramei’s village was one of them. By the time myfather made it there, her family had been killed orTurned. He found Aramei lying in the woods,bloody and dying, but she had not beeninfected.”

Isaac took a deep breath, watching Aramei.She shut her eyes.“My father fed her his blood, bonding her to

him,” he revealed.The dancing candles cast shadows upon the

walls. The light dimmed slightly as a servantgently blew the candles out near the bathtub.

Isaac turned back to me, severity in his face.“Our blood, male werewolf blood, will protect a

human from age and disease. It can heal gravewounds and ward off sickness. It’ll make themimmortal, though just like us; a human can still bekilled.”

It was the answer to everything, this BloodBond. My mind was running a million miles asecond.

“Milord,” said a servant, “will you be sleepingwith Milady this evening?”

A weird lump caught just below my throatsuddenly. I stopped blinking again.

“No,” Isaac said to the servant, “Adria and Iwill be leaving soon. You can lay with her untilmy father comes.”

Isaac placed his hand upon my leg and turnedback to me.

“The price,” he said, “of her immortality is hermind. Aramei has not been herself for at least

two hundred years. She knows only my fatherand few people can be left with her.” He glancedat Aramei and then back at me. “She can neverbe left alone. Tonight you’ve seen her quiet andemotionless...and well, you know. But sometimesshe goes into these uncontrollable episodes.Sometimes she cries and hurts herself. Othertimes she’s violent toward others. Never knowwhat it’s going to be.”

“So awful....” I said.As Aramei lay there sleeping, I saw nothing

but peace in her. I never wanted to witness herviolent or suicidal. The thought of it wasblasphemous.

“But why was she...on Trajan’s lap like that?”I had to ask. It was obvious Aramei was no‘whore’, but I couldn’t understand therelationship between her detached personality

and what I saw at the table.Isaac’s gaze strayed toward the floor, his

posture suggesting pity and regret.“She’s barren,” he said lamentably. “The

blood made her barren. She had been trying togive my father a child since before the bloodstarted taking its toll on her mind. Her thoughts,they sort of…stuck that way. My father willnever tell her she can’t have children. Her mind istoo fragile. He’ll do anything for her; let her haveher way with him whenever and wherever shefeels the need.”

He added, “My father is her life, as she is alsohis. If one of them died, the other would follow.”

It was the most heartbreaking thing I’d everheard.

It was also a devastating end to my so-calledanswer to everything.

I stood carefully from the bed and watchedAramei from afar; my hand cupped my mouthand nose. A servant curled up next to her,stroking her hair.

Aramei was like an angel laying there.Isaac moved in front of me, taking my hands

away from my face. “Now do you see why Ican’t do it?” The way he said it, with suchdevotion, crippled me. I put my hands to myeyes, trying hopelessly to wipe away the steadystream of tears. “Adria, you have to be the wayyou are. I’ll never risk killing you with theChange. And like my father, I’ll keep you in mylife, but unlike him, I’ll never leave you to herfate.”

My tears won. They kept coming. Isaaccrushed me devotedly against him. I could hearhis heart beating so fast. I knew I was going to

have to accept the way things were, that Isaacand I would not be forever. It shattered mywhole world, the world I created when I metIsaac Mayfair. The one that had only him and mein it.

The giant wooden door came open softly.Trajan stood in the doorway.“Adria Dawson,” Trajan said in a calm, low

voice, which still managed to frighten me. “Theone to win my son’s heart.” He let the door closeas he walked further into the room. I saw hisgaze fall upon Aramei as she slept. I could tellthat even after a few hundred years, his love forher had not withered an ounce.

“Father, I had to bring her here.”Isaac never let go of me.“Your reasoning,” said Trajan “is what

disturbs me most.”

Isaac glanced over at Aramei, too.“It was important that she know.”All of the servants scurried out of the room,

leaving Aramei alone in the bed. She stirred justslightly, but that seemingly normal movementcaught Trajan’s vigilance.

He wore a dusty old black leather trench coatwith no shirt underneath. I tried not to look, butcouldn’t help but notice how muscular his chestwas, though not as scarred as I would haveimagined.

“Yes,” Trajan admitted. His attention never leftthe sleeping angel. “It is important that she knowbecause you feel that she must be given achoice.”

A hidden pain lay quiet in his face.I spoke up:“She...Aramei, I mean, didn’t have a choice,

did she?”Trajan looked at me. Another seemingly

normal movement, but it meant so much morecoming from him. Either I had offended him byspeaking of Aramei, or I was worthy of thegesture.

“No, Adria,” he said, still composed. “I wasselfish. I took everything from her. Death wouldhave been kinder.”

“That’s not true,” I said, pulling out of Isaac’sembrace. “She would’ve wanted you to do it,because she loved you that much.”

Trajan and Isaac locked eyes.“And how would you know that?” Trajan said

to me.Isaac moved to stand behind me, resting his

hands around my arms.“Because I love Isaac, and because I don’t

want to be without him, or him without me,ever.”

Silent words passed between them.Trajan turned away. I could feel Isaac’s hands

get warmer against my skin. He kissed my hair.“As long as I am the Alpha,” said Trajan, now

approaching Aramei on the bed, “there will be noBlood Bonds. If my son goes against me, you willboth regret it.”

I said nothing in response and Isaac knewbetter.

Aramei’s eyes opened carefully and she gazedup at Trajan. She reached out a delicate hand tohim. Trajan leaned over, placing his armsunderneath her small body and lifting her intothem. He held her like a child. She draped herarms around his neck and rested her head againsthis naked chest.

Like in the previous room, Trajan whisperedsomething to her, which I could not hear. I knewthey had to be words of love and affection.

He sat upon the bed with her in his arms.“Onto other matters,” Trajan announced.

“Seems our skittish little visitor out there told mesomething quite interesting.” He turned to seeIsaac and then me. “You both should know.”

“What is it, Father?”Aramei lifted slightly and turned her body to sit

upright facing Trajan. She wrapped her bare legsaround his waist and laid her head back downagainst his chest.

I was just glad that was all she wanted to do.Trajan’s giant arms enveloped her tiny frame.“Viktor Vargas has found a potentially strong

female in which to make his mate,” said Trajan.“I feel sorry for her,” said Isaac, “whoever she

is. Why does that matter, anyway?”“Because your girl there,” Trajan said nodding

once toward me, “is the one he wants.”Isaac’s body jerked around; eyes already

churning black like oil. It felt like the oxygen hadbeen sucked right out of the room.

“What?” Isaac’s voice growled and echoed.“Calm,” demanded Trajan. His voice sent a

ripple through me. “Never here, Isaac. Never infront of her.”

I knew he meant Aramei. I thought Trajanwould come off the bed with churning blackeyes, too.

Isaac calmed, as much as he could.I, however, was as far away from calm as I

could be.“No...Why?” I said absently.“Because your sister survived,” Trajan

revealed, “and because siblings are almostalways alike in that way.”

“That’s why they haven’t harmed you,” Isaacgrowled, pacing. “It’s why Viktor called Sibyl offthe night in the barn. Why didn’t I see this?”

I was in shock.“But he could’ve done it already,” Isaac said

to his father. “He’s had opportunities. The barn,even one night at The Cove, Viktor was there,feet from her.” Isaac was utterly enraged.

I stayed far away from him. I let him pacefuriously back and forth.

“He wants her to be willing,” said Trajan. “Hersister was supposed to bring her first and whenthat didn’t work, he sent others to scare her.”

“Oh no...The bastard used my uncle tothreaten me.” The realization hit me hard. I waseven more the reason Uncle Carl was in the

hospital than I knew.Remembering I had my phone on me, I

reached inside my pocket and yanked it out. Nosignal. That was no surprise, considering.

Trajan looked at me. “Adria,” he said, “yourfamily is safer without you there.”

“But Father,” said Isaac, “what am I supposedto do? I will kill every last one of them.”

“And I don’t doubt that you’re capable,”Trajan said, “but Viktor is the one who wants herand he is also the one you cannot defeat.”

Isaac raised his fist and sent it crashing downupon the desk against the wall, breaking it in half.Splintered wood, papers and other items flew upand around him before scattering about the floor.

My breath caught and I froze, only my eyesmoving to see if Trajan was going to get up fromthe bed with reprimand.

As calm as ever, Trajan remained; holdingAramei as if she was all that mattered. “ViktorVargas will soon be dealt with.”

Isaac turned swiftly. “I’m sure you said that toyour men three hundred years ago.”

I never even saw Trajan place Aramei ontothe bed.

He was kneeling over Isaac, gripping Isaac’sthroat and crushing him against the rock floor. Apicture of the man I watched die earlier in aneerily similar predicament flashed through myhead.

I screamed. “Please! Please don’t....”I rushed over and knelt, my knees touching

Isaac’s head. I didn’t care if it would be the lastthing I did. One hand held Isaac around the chin,the other I put up in front of Trajan pleadingly.“Please....” More tears streamed down my face.

Slowly, Trajan’s haunting figure rose andstood tall over us.

With his back to us now, Trajan said to Isaac,“One day you yourself will know the perils ofbeing an Alpha.”

Isaac got up from the floor. If he was in anypain, he wasn’t showing it.

“Forgive me, Father,” he said. “I’m—”“You are your father’s son,” Trajan said

proudly. He inspected Aramei once more andthen turned around to face Isaac again. “Adria isstrong,” he said. “I can smell it on her; thecontrol, the impending power.” His voice gotlower. It was as if he didn’t want me to hear, yetit wasn’t entirely a whisper.

“You might have to do it yourself, beforeViktor does.”

Isaac shook his head and stepped back, letting

his father’s hand fall away from his shoulder.Aramei lifted from the bed, the silk sheet

barely covering her. “Vukašin,” she called him byhis real name, but the rest I could not make out.She was speaking in a different language.

Trajan went over to her, cradling her head inhis giant hands and kissing her eyelids.

“Until I go back to Serbia,” Trajan said asIsaac led me toward the door, “I will be stayinghere with Aramei. I won’t risk her with Viktorand his vendetta.”

“And what about Adria?” Isaac said stoppingat the exit.

“My men and I will do with Viktor what isdecided when that time comes,” he began, “butas Aramei is to me, Adria must be to you. AnAlpha protects his own. It is the way it hasalways been.”

~~~

As promised, Isaac had me back in Hallowell bymorning. I had fallen asleep during the long drive.All that had happened, emotionally and physicallyexhausted me.

I saw someone die. I couldn’t decide if it wasaffecting me the way it was supposed to. Itworried me.

When we arrived back at the Mayfair housethe shrouded sun was just barely rising over thevast blanket of white. Cold and gray would bethis day too, even with sunlight; I knew because Icould feel it, like when you know it’s about torain.

Isaac guided me up to his room. Hestraightened and fluffed his bedding for me so

that I could go back to sleep. I felt him cover megently, just to my waist.

He went to leave; his footsteps quiet acrossthe floor.

“Isaac,” I said, holding out my hand, “Staywith me.”

He paused, but only long enough to know thatI meant it. I wasn’t ready for anything more, buthaving him next to me already felt natural. Ineeded him. We needed each other.

I fell fast asleep curled up in his arms and Inever slept as soundly as I had that day. Andthat’s when you know you feel totally safe,undeniably loved. I was in more danger thanmost humans could imagine, yet in Isaac’s arms, Iwas completely at peace.

THE CELL PHONE VIBRATING against myleg woke me. I crept awake, a little disoriented.1:42 p.m. showed next to Beverlee’s name. Ianswered quickly.

“Carl is doing better,” she said. “You can visithim this evening. Are you with Harry?”

“That’s so great,” I said, relieved. “I was soworried. No, ummm...” I glanced down at Isaaclying next to me. He was beautiful when he slept.“No, I stayed at Zia’s place.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “In Zia’s room,right?” she added skeptically.

“Uhhh, yeah. Definitely.”“Alright, hon, if you need me to come pick you

up to bring you to the hospital, just call me.”“I will. I love you, Aunt Bev.”I knew she was smiling on the other end.“I love you too.”

Isaac opened his eyes as I reached over andlaid my phone on the nightstand. I had a feelingmaybe he wasn’t sleeping after all.

“Uncle Carl is going to be fine.”He smiled softly at me and then brought me

back into the fold of his arms.“That’s awesome,” he said. Then he sighed

heavily and pulled me closer. I buried my headunder his chin. “Now we just have to figure outhow to keep you away from them withoutmaking it seem like you’re abandoning them.”

There was a tiny knock at the door.“Yeah?” Isaac said.Zia peeked her white-blond head around the

corner.“Safe to come in?”“It is,” Isaac answered.She practically tiptoed inside as if still unsure

whether she was intruding upon something.I smiled across at her. “It’s alright,” I said.

“Don’t get any ideas.”Zia snickered and plopped down on the end

of the bed.“You two have been asleep all day,” she said.

“What’d you do last night?”Isaac sat up straight. I stayed curled up next to

him.“I took Adria to see my father.”“Oh,” Zia replied, her smile replaced by a

more serious expression. “You mean Aramei?”I felt Isaac nod next to me.Zia looked at me then. “Tragic, isn’t it?”I didn’t want to answer, but my face did it for

me.“Well,” Zia slapped her palms against her

jeans, “that’s none of my business. I guess you’re

both too tired then to go skiing with us, huh?”I rose finally. “I’d love to,” I said, “but I need

to go see my uncle later.”“I’ll be taking her to the hospital,” said Isaac.

“She’ll be forced to endure me looming over herpretty much everywhere from now on.”

Forced? Hardly.“I’ll need to talk to Nathan, Seth and Xavier,

too,” he added. “Father told me that Viktorwants Adria as his mate.”

Zia’s body went rigid, pushing her instantly toher feet. Her mouth formed the letter O.

“It’s true,” Isaac said, “but I won’t go into itright now. Not again.” He combed his fingersthrough my hair. “Just tell my brothers if you seethem before I do, that the circumstances havechanged.”

“Okay, I will,” Zia agreed.

She lightened up then, though her bright smileseemed forced. I sort of felt like a little girlshielded from all the bad words and bad people.But that was okay. For now.

“I probably should tell you,” Zia said to me,“Daisy and Harry really hit it off. He’s still here;passed out on the sofa in the den.”

“Wow, seriously?”“Yep,” Zia said. “I was almost jealous!”I laughed.Isaac eased his way out of our ‘girly’

conversation and went to change his shirt. Icouldn’t help but watch. He was so perfect.Sculpted, scarred chest. Dark, messy hair. I evennoticed a large birthmark along his ribs. He had‘flaws’ and that’s why he was so perfect to me.

“Girl, you’re not even listening to me!” Hermouth and eyes were wide with over

exaggerated shock and then she winked at me.I shook myself attentive. Isaac secretly smiled

across at me. He knew I had been watching himinstead of listening to Zia. It wasn’t a conceitedsmile; just an innocent, knowing look.

Blushing, I turned back to her. “Sorry, I wasjust—”

“Distracted?” She grinned like she was hidingsomething behind her back.

“I’m glad your uncle is doing better,” she said,changing the subject from whatever she had beengoing on about before.

“Thanks,” I said as she hugged me.“Who all is going skiing?” Isaac said to Zia.“Sebastian, my brothers, Harry and Daisy,”

she said. “That’s all I know so far. You know,I’ve never been skiing before. I kind of likeMaine. Except for the trouble that came shortly

before us.”“Don’t get too comfortable here,” said Isaac.

He slipped on a pair of socks and slid his feetdown into a pair of black Doc Martens.“Depending on how this all turns out, we may bemoving again.”

Zia’s face fell somberly, but when she placedher hand on the door and looked back at me onelast time, she was smiling again. “See yah later,Dria,” she said before slipping out of the room.She called me Dria. Like my sister used to. Itkind of made me feel good.

“What was that supposed to mean, aboutmoving?” I was still on the center of the bed,sitting with my knees drawn up to my chest.

Isaac leaned over me, easily lifting me into hisarms, my legs wrapped around his waist. Idraped my hands on his shoulders; he kissed one

arm and then the other.“I don’t know how any of this is going to turn

out. I have no idea what we’re going to do aboutViktor and that worries me. It’s why a meetingwith my brothers is imperative.”

“But if you move?”“If I move?” he said, with extra emphasis on

the word to indicate it was incorrect. “If wemove, Adria. I would never leave you here, oranywhere.”

I started to speak, but he hushed me with apeck on the jaw line.

“I know you don’t want to leave your family,”he said, “and I would never in a hundred yearsask you to do that, not even for me. But in thissituation, it may be the only thing that savesthem.”

My head fell in despondency.

“I know,” he whispered, trying to console me.“We’ll figure it out.”

“I know we will,” I said, raising my chin.We rode around for a while to waste time

before visiting hours at the hospital. Spent anhour at Harvey’s Coffee Shop and drove intoAugusta. I wanted to get something nice forUncle Carl and flowers just seemed weird. Weended up at Barnes and Noble where I bought abook titled On the Shoulders of Giants: TheGreat Works of Physics and Astronomy byStephen Hawking. Uncle Carl loved his Science.I just knew that it would be the best gift ever.

When I saw him lying in the bed, I tried not tothink of how he looked last night. It was hard notto. All the same machines were still hooked up tohim, even an extra one that I refused to ask AuntBev about.

I didn’t come here for that. I came to see myuncle getting better and to make him smile seeingmy awesome gift-picking abilities.

He couldn’t smile when he saw it. He couldn’teven hold it and flip through the pages. I guess Ihadn’t thought about any of that. I imagined himripping open the bag, lifting it out and turning itthis and that way. I imagined the biggest grinacross his face as he read the book details.

None of that happened.His car had been totaled by a monster bigger

than his car was. He almost died when at first heseemed to be stable.

And I would never forget that it was allbecause of me.

Even he being in his car at that very momentwas because of me. If only he hadn’t gone toAugusta to adopt a dog for me, he wouldn’t

have been on that road. And even if the dog wasout of the picture, Uncle Carl was still in his carto check on me at Finch’s.

Me, me, me.I sat quietly in a chair, farthest corner of the

hospital room. He fell asleep again.“I know he loves the book, Adria.”Beverlee came over and stood beside me.“The doctor said Carl’s going to be here for a

while,” she began. “I’ll be home as much as Ican. I’ve even talked to my sister about comingto stay with us so you won’t be by yourself somuch.”

I just let her talk. I didn’t have it in me to saymuch about anything in return. Nothing matteredreally.

She knelt in front of me, placing her hand ontop of mine. “He’s going to be okay.”

I smiled weakly, giving her the okay to stopworrying about me and my feelings. The smilewas totally fake, of course, but as long as shedidn’t know that.

Isaac had waited for me out in the waitingroom.

“Let’s go to your house and get some of yourthings,” he said.

The sun had set sometime while I was withBeverlee. I recalled it getting darker outside fromthe hospital room window. It was also snowingagain, but only light flurries. The ride to my housewas quiet. All I could think about were things thatrequired every bit of my attention. Things thatsucked any happiness from me that might havebeen there. Isaac left me alone; I guess he felt Ineeded the time to think, to grieve. If he knew Iwas using any part of it to blame myself for

anything, he would’ve tried to put a stop to it.Pulling up into my driveway, I saw that the

porch light wasn’t on. I never noticed before howeerie that old Victorian-style house was in thedark even though I’d seen it a hundred times justlike that.

Isaac put the car in park.“Are you okay, Adria,” he said turning

sideways, one arm resting on the steering wheel.“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”“You will be, or you are?”Leaning across the seat, I pressed my lips

gently to his cheek, just under his eye. “I am,” Isaid. “I wouldn’t be if you weren’t here.”

A smile softened his face.I placed my hand upon the door handle of the

car and Isaac grabbed me.“Stop,” he demanded, smelling deeply of the

air.His eyes darted around apprehensively.Suddenly, Isaac threw the car back in drive

and slammed on the gas. My body lurchedforward and then backward, thrusting me harshlyagainst the seat. I fumbled for the seatbelt, butcouldn’t get it on. The car swerved through thesnow, mud and slush, tossing me sideways.

“Isaac!”“Hold on!” he shouted.I braced myself against the dashboard, one

foot pressing on the door. Slam! Clunk! Thehood of the car caved in. Steam and anti-freezewhistled and spewed from the wreckage. The carwas dead. Black eyes and dripping teeth boredown on us through the windshield. I screamed.My body pressed so hard against the seat I felt itjump the track forcibly and fall backward.

The windshield crumbled into a thousandnugget-like pieces of glass. The beast’s headentered the opening and roared, blood and thicksaliva spewed from its blade-like teeth. Imanaged to get into the back seat, cowering lowhalfway into the floorboard.

I heard an uncanny pop! and then a long,grating sound. Isaac’s seat pushed backward andsnapped completely off its tracks. I moved overjust in time before the seat crushed me. Isaac’sdoor flew off, landing feet away in the snow.Another deafening roar ripped through the carand Isaac, massive and beastly, burst throughwhat was left of it. The wreckage tossed with mein it. I held onto the back of the front seat. Treesand white ground flip-flopped in my vision manytimes before the car landed upside-down. Snowcushioned one side of my face, the roof of the car

pressed against the other. The taste of bloodfilled my mouth and I could feel something hardand cold penetrate my side. At first, no painfollowed, but then a burst of pain surged throughmy body.

I tried to call out for Isaac, but it seemed myvoice was gone. A giant mass of gangly black furand gnashing teeth skidded across the ground inmy limited line of sight. I tried desperately to pullmyself out of the car; dragging my body forwardwith...I didn’t know with what. Maybe I wasn’tmoving at all.

Maybe I wasn’t really there. Something wasn’tright.

I could see the deadly fight, the torn flesh. Icould see the dark red stain upon the bright whitesnow. My vision went in and out. More than twowerewolves? I wasn’t sure. I heard voices in my

head, not my ears, but my head. I couldn’t makeout what they were saying, but I knew they weretalking to me. Their voices were familiar, butintuition told me they were not real. I saw mymother’s face. She was so beautiful, like sheused to be before she met Jeff and let herself go.She held out her hand to me and in it, the tinyceramic cat she gave me when I was six.

It fell from my fingers and shattered on thesidewalk.

I saw her lips move to tell me not to cry, thatshe would glue it back together. But I only heardher voice in my head.

The car jerked violently and my eyes sprungopen. Though they might not have ever beenshut. The sound of metal ripping apart shouldhave been much louder, but something muffledeverything around me. I felt my cheek lift away

from the coldness of the snow. I could havesworn in a glance I saw a naked woman lyingdead; hair as black as paint contrasted heavilyagainst the snow.

The voices were back. Alex was there withme. No, not really there. At first, I thought shewas. I thought she came to help me, but shestood in the field outside our house in Georgia.The grass came up to her ankles. I took her handand she helped me up. The sun was bright overthe Georgia sky, but the wind was mild and itwasn’t so hot. I saw the house had been painted.No longer did I live in a dirty speck in a green,treeless pasture.

“Drink it,” Alex urged, holding out a cup ofwater. Words actually came from her lips. “Idrew it from the creek for you. It’ll be hot soon.”

The creek? There was no creek by our house.

But I reached out my hands and took the cupfrom her anyway. And I drank.

Was I dreaming? I had to be. Where wasIsaac?

Suddenly, I was running fast and hard throughthe field with Alex close behind. We werelaughing hysterically. I never felt so happy, sofree. And when I saw the horses out ahead I ranstraight for them. At a safe distance, I stopped,out of breath. My hands propped upon my kneesto keep my balance. Alex ran up from behind.

“You think they’ll...let us ride them?” She wasalso out of breath.

Time moved forward, jumping ahead instrange jerking intervals. Alex went toward thehorses. Further. Further. I noticed then that asshe got closer, I stood farther away by hundredsof feet. Alex waved at me from afar, smiling so

hugely. I waved back, but my heart doubted her.“Adria,” said another familiar voice. “He’s

coming. I love you, Adria.”This voice was echoing from somewhere else,

from where I was truly supposed to be.This field wasn’t real....The horses reared up. Alex was no longer my

human sister. She took one horse down anddevoured it. I cried out in horror and felt my feetrun toward her of their own accord. “No!” Ishouted; rage filled every part of me. By the timeI made it there, Alex was gone.

The field was covered in snow, the sky grayand frigid, dominated by thick winter clouds. Thehorse lay dead in a pool of blood. I fell to theground beside it. Blood and snow soaked up inmy hair. And I just lay there, staring out at theendless nothing until the dream became nothing

and everything went black.

THE HEAT OF A fire warmed my skin. Itcrackled softly somewhere nearby. So weak, atfirst I couldn’t even open my eyes; my bodydrained of energy and sore beyond tolerance. Icould still smell the offensive stench of blood. Butit wasn’t my own. My blood could never smelllike that. My blood was human. Some kind ofcloth lay underneath me. My feet were bare and Icould tell I wore clothes that were not mine,either. Thin. A nightgown maybe.

I opened my eyes a slither. Viktor Vargas satat a table in the room, watching me.

Had my nightmare gotten worse? No, this wasreal. I would have preferred to lie in that bloodyfield and die with the horse, than to be here.

My first instinct was to try to run, but I wastoo weak. I shut my eyes and hoped that it wouldall be over soon, that he would infect me with

his...disease, and the transformation would killme quickly.

Isaac, I thought.I was strong enough to lift my shoulders

suddenly.“Where is he?” I demanded weakly. “Where’s

Isaac?”Viktor strolled over and sat beside me. I

shrank back against the wall. “Get away fromme,” I lashed out, fear lacing every syllable. “Yousick bastard!”

He was unfazed.A woman walked in. Familiar. I hated the

cunning of her walk, and the way she looked atme; a venomous smile tugged the corners of herlips.

“Isaac,” she said, “He almost had me—such astrong boy. That part he got from me, of course.”

“Sibyl.”She looked mildly surprised, until I realized it

was sarcasm. “Oh,” she said, “he told you aboutme, did he?”

The dead, naked woman. A flash racedthrough my mind. She was the one I saw lying inthe snow....

Sibyl walked toward the fireplace, a skin-tightdress hugged her voluptuous curves and draggedthe floor behind her. How could someone sohateful, so vile, be so stunning? Just like themonster that sat near me. He was calm andmysterious.

“My son,” Sibyl said, prodding the fire with apoker, “will make quite the Alpha one day—”

“So then he’s alive?”Sibyl rose up, grinning over at me. “He’ll make

quite the Alpha one day...if he lives.”

What is that supposed to mean? I thought.Was it a threat, or was it a prediction based onsomething that had already happened? I felt thetears rushing up from behind my eyes. I looked atViktor who confused me more and more as hejust sat there, listening to us.

Finally, Viktor spoke:“Sibyl,” he said; his voice deep and abrasive,

“bring food and drink for our guest.”I would have thought someone just asked her

to wash their feet. Her thin hands dropped to hersides and her face went cold and mystified.

“Why would you treat this one as so?” shesaid as she stepped closer. “Give her to the sisterand be done with it. It is Alexandra’s duty to killher. Those were the requirements of her initiation,her so-called unwavering loyalty.”

I felt my body jerk forward, but I couldn’t go

anywhere. I couldn’t move; every bone suddenlyattacked by pain. I lay back completely againstthe pillow.

Viktor pressed his hand to my chest. “No onewill harm you,” he said.

He turned back to Sibyl. “She was notbrought here for that reason.” He stood andapproached her, authority in every step. Hegrazed the side of her face with his fingertips.

Sibyl shut her eyes softly and breathed indeep, taking in his sadistic scent.

“Then why is she here?”Viktor did not answer. His silence did that for

him.“You wouldn’t,” she ripped out the words

and took two steps away from him; her faceovercast with revulsion. “You mean to receiveher?”

Still, Viktor did not speak. Sibyl looked at himone last time and left angrily.

“I know what you want,” I said and he turnedaround. “You’re crazy if you think I’ll let you.Now tell me what happened to Isaac!”

The sound of his boots went across thewooden floor slowly.

Where was I? There was no window in theroom. I needed an idea so that I could figure outhow to get away.

“I left him where I found him,” he said simply.“Please just tell me...Is he alive?” My heart

was breaking. I wanted to cry and throw up atthe same time, but I could do neither.

No answer.“Was that you that attacked us in the car?”Viktor laughed lightly. “You offend me,” he

said with a twinge of humor. “I am an Alpha

Elder, over four hundred years old. Sibyl’s sizecould never compare to mine.”

It didn’t surprise me that it was Isaac’s motherwho attacked us, who nearly killed both of us yetagain.

“You were severely wounded in that car,” hesaid. “Lucky to be alive, I must say.”

Keeping my attention on Viktor’s every move;I also tried to examine myself. My arms and legswere blue and purple. A finger-length gash on myshin had been cleaned and stitched up. My backwas sore and something protruded through thethin nightgown below my ribcage. I touched it.More stitches. A burning pain shot through me.

“And it was because of Isaac that you werealmost killed in that car,” he said.

I felt the side of the bed move as he sat downagain. I didn’t want to look at him, but I did

anyway.“No, it was because of you.”Viktor smiled. “Isaac shifted inside the car

with you in it, Adria. Neither I, nor Sibyl didanything to harm you. Isaac is young. He’ll not beable to control the Change all the time.” Hemoved a strand of hair from my face and added,“And you see how well he can protect you.”

Disgusted, I jerked my head sideways eventhough I knew it would hurt. “Trajan will dealwith you,” I snapped. “Isaac can take care ofeveryone else in your abomination of a family.Your sons, even my traitor sister, all of them.” Ithurt me inside to say that about Alex. It wouldalways hurt, no matter what.

“Trajan,” Viktor began, “will not kill me, AdriaDawson. I admit—because I am not so awfulthat I have too much pride—that Trajan is more

than capable of destroying me. He is the mostpowerful and feared Black Beast since his fatherbefore him. If he wanted me dead, I would havebeen centuries ago.”

“That’s a lie.”Viktor’s dark brow rose just slightly. That

confident, knowing expression never left his face.It haunted me.

“Believe what you want,” he said, “but don’tlet your human weaknesses get in the way ofyour good sense.”

Thankfully, he left the bed and began casuallypacing the room. I hated him. Six inches from mefelt close enough to be infected by his evilmaladies.

“If you had the opportunity,” he went on, “tobe with the Mayfair’s long enough, you wouldhave started to see the truth.”

“What is the truth then?”He stopped. His back was to me, but I got the

sense he suddenly felt more confident thanbefore.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” hesaid. “All you have to do is be willing.” He facedme, his expression more sincere. “I am not theatrocious villain you think I am.”

“Believe me, you are,” I said. “You’re the onewho forced me here, who sent people to attackme. Because of your ‘family’ people in this townare dying. You’re the reason my uncle is in thehospital! Your son is why my sister is one ofyou!” I was shaking, uncontrollably. I felt myblood pressure rise, my stomach swirling.

“Calm down,” he said softly. “You’re in nocondition—”

“To what?” I shouted. “No condition to tell

you what you don’t want to hear? No conditionto tell you I’ll never be willing and that you’ll haveto kill me?”

“Oh, I won’t kill you.” The sincerity in his facefaded, replaced by something more displeased,arrogant. “I’ll still infect you, whether you’rewilling, or not.”

“Then what does it matter?” I lashed out.“Why don’t you just get it over with then?”

“Because a willing mate creates a strongerbond.”

My face scrunched up in a fit. “Do you knowhow disgusting that sounds?”

No reply.“I’ll never submit to you in any way,” I

threatened. “Never!”“I’ll give you some time to think about it,” he

said placing his hand upon the doorknob. “You

have until morning. Feel free to...,” he gesturedwith his hand, “...look around the place, if youwish.” Something about the way he said itseemed to have hidden meaning.

I was appalled; shocked that he actuallythought I would change my mind. Viktor Vargaswas not only a power-hungry abomination; hewas completely mental.

There was a clicking sound as the door lockedfrom the outside.

I was alone in the room.It was strange, but I already felt stronger than

moments ago. I hadn’t noticed I was sittingstraight up in the bed; must’ve managed whileshouting at Viktor. Amazing what anger can doto a person. Getting ahead of myself with a falsesense of independence, I tried standing. My legsbuckled underneath. I tumbled onto the floor,

dragging the blanket off the bed with me. Thewound under my ribcage shot me withexcruciating pain. My hands went up instinctivelyto put pressure on the area, but that proved to bea mistake. Pressure made it worse. Bloodsoaked through my gown. Carefully, I lifted thegown up above my waist. The gash was deep. Icounted twelve stitches, two of which had splitwhen I fell.

With difficulty, I turned my body, put my backagainst the bed and just sat there on the floor.

I must have cried for an hour, in the same spotwith my knees pressed to my chest. I didn’t carethat it hurt. I thought about Isaac the most, feelingthis dread in my heart. If only I could see him,just to know that he was okay. Eventually, angertook over. I wiped my face harshly with myhands, mad that I let Viktor cause me to cry at

all.I looked up and all around this room. Nothing

of interest. Nothing out of the ordinary except therotting wooden chest set against the wall near thecorner. I glanced at the door, checking to makesure no one was coming. No shadows movedacross the floor through the crack underneath. Iheard no voices, no movement. I grabbed thebed firmly, expecting to fall this time so I’d beready for it. Pulling myself up, I bit through thepain and walked over to the chest. Winded, I satdown on the floor next to it. I hoped to findsomething inside I could use as a weapon.Anything to give me any chance at all.

The hinges creaked and squealed as I lifted theheavy wooden lid. I was surprised I could lift it.The wood smelled old, like dust and waterdamage. It also smelled strongly of salt, just as

the ocean did when I saw it for the first time.Old weathered books. Parchment. Maps. I

was no antique expert, but this stuff couldn’t beanything else. A broken compass and a spyglasstelescope lay in the bottom next to a case of sortsthat held tiny glass vials plugged with corks.There was liquid inside the vials, but I wasn’tabout to find out what kind.

I leaned further over into the chest, reaching asfar into the bottom as I could. There was nothingthat would help me to escape, or fend off awerewolf. I never expected there to be, really,but when all you have is hope, you tend to dowhat you can with it. I settled with what lookedlike a journal. A thick, leather bound book withcoarse vellum pages. Twine tied the spinetogether, though it had snapped in sections andthe pages were loose. A tiny spider crawled out

of the water-damaged pages and scurried up theside of my hand. Gently, I blew it away. I neverliked to kill them.

The journal opened with a slight crunchingsound. The pages so worn and thick they stucktogether in spots and curled unevenly in others. Iwas almost afraid to touch them they were sofragile.

I held history in my hands, an unmistakablefeeling that awed me. But I couldn’t read the text,a deep ink flourish in an unknown language.

Disappointment swept over me.There were medieval-like drawings with

names underneath that struck me in the worst ofways:

The first sketch depicted two men with darkhair, beards and mustaches. They stood side byside in a portrait pose; strange armor dressedthem. Trajan and Viktor. A drawing on the nextpage showed them in a field of soldiers, a battle,where men with black eyes and long claws laydead all around them. In every drawing, the onething that remained the same was Trajan andViktor standing together. I flipped several pages,skipping many in-between and stopped atanother sketch that was different. With Trajan

and Viktor, there was also a woman, a soldierlike them. Next to their names another nameread:

If only I could read the language!I slammed the journal shut and tossed it back

into the chest. “That’s what he wants,” I said.“That’s what he meant by telling me to lookaround. Why else would a random, out-of-placechest be sitting in the room with me?”

I didn’t care. So what if those pictures of him

and Isaac’s father seemed friendly. They wereobviously not on the same side now. The past isthe past.

At least, that’s what I kept trying to tell myself.Viktor succeeded only in making me curious,

raising my worry somewhat, I admit. But thatwas all. Nothing he could do or say would turnme against Trajan, and certainly not Isaac. Itinsulted me he thought I was so easy tomanipulate.

The isolation of the room was my onlycomfort. Hours went by; the sound of bodiesmoving quietly past the door, voices that seemedto whisper, until eventually, I heard nothing at all.I could feel that it was the dead of night. Itseemed I was the only one awake, accompaniedby the constant smell of mildew and salt; theunsteady exhale of my breath. I lay in the bed

staring into the fading flame of the fireplace. Itdanced sideways as if constantly licked by a draftin the wall. A draft, I thought and raised my headfrom the pillow suddenly. I went to investigate.The giant wooden shelf to the left of the fireplacecovered something. I tried to move it, but it wastoo heavy for me even if I was in top condition.The draft came from behind it, where I noticedthen that there was once a window nowbarricaded by boards. Frustrated, I moved overand stood in front of the fire; smoke rose fromthe wood in a steady coil. My mind in overdrivestill, trying to find a way out of this place, I beganto wonder where the smoke was going. Twoceramic pots sat on the floor holding frail, deadflowers. I pulled the dried stems from the potsand lay them on the floor beside me. Pouring thewater over the flame, I snuffed it out. I got down

on my knees and leaned over the sizzling smoke,twisting my body at an angle so I could seeupward inside the chimney. Nothing butblackness. I peered further, hoping I was justmissing something, that maybe it was so darkoutside that I couldn’t see the opening, but Iknew in my heart that there wasn’t one. At least,not the kind of opening that I could crawl myway out of.

“He wouldn’t put you somewhere,” said afamiliar, frightening voice, “where you could finda way out.”

Startled, I hit my head on the fireplace. Sootand dirt fell off the stone and dusted me. Myhands were black from holding onto the insidewall.

Sibyl closed the bedroom door behind her andstood in front of it.

“What do you want?” I snapped. I wasn’tafraid of her; I was, but I couldn’t let her know it.I pretended to be more interested in wiping thesoot from my hands onto my gown, but really, Iwanted to scream for help. I felt Sibyl was moreof a danger to me than Viktor was.

Sibyl slithered across the room. Immediately, Iglanced at the door. It was unlocked. I could tryto run for it.

“I came to talk, that’s all.”“Yeah, I kind of doubt that,” I said with a

snarl. “And what if I don’t want to talk?”“Oh, I think you will.”My legs hurt, but I remained standing. I

needed to be strong, to show her I wasn’t asweak as I truly was.

I got the feeling no one but I knew she was inthe room with me.

Sibyl grinned faintly and walked toward thechest, grazing her fingertips across the lid.“Viktor didn’t tell you why Trajan won’t kill him,I presume.”

She had my attention suddenly.“No,” I said, “he didn’t, but I don’t care.”“Of course you care; what if I told you the

reason,” she said. “Would you do something forme in return?”

The atmosphere shifted. She wasn’t here tohurt me, but I got the distinct feeling if I didn’tgive her what she wanted, she’d have no secondthoughts about it. Dilemma. Sibyl’s offer orViktor’s?

“What do you want?”Sibyl opened the chest and pulled the journal

out, smoothing its cover under her hand. Shepressed her lips to it softly and then set it back

inside, leaving the lid open.She turned to face me.“I simply want you to tell my son what I’m

about to tell you.”Relay a message? It couldn’t be as simple as

that. Everything about this felt wrong anddangerous.

I stepped toward her a few steps.“That’s it?” I said. “Tell Isaac? Why?”“That doesn’t matter,” she smirked. “What

matters is that he knows. You wouldn’t want tokeep things from him, would you? You would tellIsaac because he has a right to know.”

Hesitation froze me. There was some kind ofcatch. There had to be.

“Wait,” I said, “how am I supposed to tell himanything in here? And when Viktor is done withme, things will be different. I’ll be different....” I

swallowed hard. I didn’t want to think about that.“I’ll get you out of here.”No, this was too good to be true. I stepped

away from her again. I waited for the catch, thefine print, but so far there wasn’t any.

“A Blood Bond,” Sibyl began, “is a trickything.” She laughed suddenly, whirling her indexfinger above her. “Tricky is an inadequate word,really. It’s more a complex, deal-with-the-Devilsort of thing.”

She sat on the side of the bed, crossing herlegs and pressing her palms against the mattress.

I didn’t budge.“Young werewolves,” she went on, “think they

know about the Blood Bond, how it reallyworks. Only the Elder’s know because it’s theLaw. A Blood Bond is forbidden by anyone whois not an Elder and anyone who breaks that law

must be killed by the Alpha of his pack.” Shesighed. “When a Blood Bond is made, the humanis tied to that first drop of blood for eternity ordeath, whichever comes first and death usuallydoes.”

“I thought it made humans immortal.”Sibyl’s grin grew wider.“It does,” she said, “but if the blood that made

that bond ever dies, so then does the body itbonded to.”

I tried to put it together in my mind, what shewas getting at, but I couldn’t.

“Aramei is very precious to Trajan,” she said,“and Trajan protects Viktor. It should be obviouswhy.”

“Protects him?” I couldn’t grasp this at all. Irefused to believe something so wicked. Trajanwouldn’t protect Viktor, not now. But if Trajan

was so powerful, then why would Viktor still bealive after all this time? Maybe the things Viktorhad tried to tell me were true.

Then something clicked in my subconscious.My hand went up to my chest and I shook my

head, trying to find any reason to substitute therevelation infecting my thoughts.

Sibyl smiled. I wasn’t looking at her, but Icould feel that wicked smile move over me.

“You figured it out,” she said. “Yes, it wasViktor’s blood that Aramei drank first, notTrajan’s. When Viktor dies, so does Aramei.”

I stood there in mute. Sibyl moved from thebed and approached me. I felt the stiff heat fromher body so close to mine.

“Trajan’s blood does keep Aramei alive,” shewhispered, walking around me in a circle, “butViktor’s blood is what gave her life.”

Shock beset me.“Such a sad, pathetic little situation really,” she

added; her words laced with sarcasm andamusement.

“You want me to tell Isaac,” I said, “because itwill pit Isaac against his father.”

Sibyl nodded.“My sons should know the truth about the

parent they choose to give their loyalty to, theone they choose to admire.”

I swung my head to the side so I could faceher. “Then why didn’t you just tell Isaac thisyourself?”

“I told you why.”“Because it’s the Law?”“Part of the reason,” she said, “yes.”“But you’re telling me. You’re breaking the

Law now.”

“I don’t care about that anymore,” she said.“The other reason I don’t do it myself is becauseIsaac despises me. Can’t blame him, I admit.”

“You’re right about that.”A smirk barely broke in her face.“You’re jealous,” I said, “aren’t you?” I

wasn’t actually trying to mock her, but it seemedto come out that way.

Sibyl snarled, grinding her teeth behind herclosed lips.

“Viktor is a fool,” she barked. “He’s only everwanted what Trajan had. The respect of his men,the fear the very mention of Trajan’s name inflictsupon others. The love of women.” Sibyl smiledthen, as if reminiscing. “It’s even how I came tobe here, trapped in Viktor’s snare.”

“Seems to me you like being in his snare.”“I do,” she admitted proudly. “And that’s why

I have to get rid of you.”“That’s what I thought,” I said. “Jealous. Well,

trust me, I don’t want to be here and I’ll never bewilling. I just want to go home and back to Isaacwhere I belong.”

Sibyl smiled a soft, dangerous smile.A loud crash! caught us both off-guard. I

turned around swiftly, facing the door. At thesame time, the door swung open and Viktorcame rushing inside, pushing Sibyl violently intothe massive wooden shelf. I thought at first hewas there to keep her away from me, but thegrowling and shouting in the hall told me rightaway that something else was going on.

Viktor grabbed me by the arm.He made it as far as the exit when I saw

something move fast behind me. I droppedquickly to my knees, missing the swipe of Sibyl’s

deadly fingernails coming right for me.She hit Viktor instead.I think I swallowed my throat. The look on his

face, I thought demons were about to burst outof his eyes at any moment.

“She’ll never replace me!”Her eyes were the abysmal black I had seen

so many times before. I crawled on my handsand knees out of the way, only hoping bothwould be distracted enough by each other so thatI could take advantage of the open door.

Sibyl’s body went flying across the room.Viktor’s hair didn’t even stir.

“Tell him! Tell Isaac!” Sibyl screamed at methrough blood-glistening fanged teeth.

There was no time to hear her further; Viktorhad me in his arms carrying me out the door.

“Father,” Ashe said running up, “he got in. He

killed William! William’s dead!”I knew right away where I was once out of the

room. The Vargas house was in a vicious frenzy.Werewolves in their mediate form ran through thehallways, most in the same direction. Viktorgripped me so aggressively he was hurting me. Islapped and bit him, but I was like a mosquitoagainst the likes of him.

I heard Isaac’s voice from afar. I couldn’tmake out what he was saying, but I knew it washim. Relief and worry rushed through my veins atthe same time. He was here for me, but I knewhe couldn’t defeat Viktor.

Just then, I went from being crushed byViktor’s hold to laying face-first on the stairs. Icaught my breath and my balance before lookingup. Isaac was at the bottom of the stairs; bloodcovered his face and hands. I thought I would roll

right down them when Viktor moved past me,knocking me into the stair railing, but I held ontight and only skidded one step.

When Isaac and Viktor clashed, it shook thehouse like thunder. Fully transformed withinseconds, I watched in horror until I couldn’twatch anymore. I pulled myself up holding fast tothe rail and then practically flew down the steps. Ihad to help Isaac. It was crazy and stupid, but Ihad to do something.

I could only tell them apart by their sizedifference. Isaac was like a pup next to ViktorVargas. I thought I would faint as Viktor struckIsaac so hard I could hear Isaac’s neck crack. Igrabbed my ears and cried out.

When three other werewolves rushed fromdifferent rooms and leapt into the fight, Viktortossed them all like ragdolls out of the way. One

soared above me, falling into the stair railing.Splintered wood shot in every direction. Thewerewolves recoiled instantly, obeying Viktor’sorders. He wanted Isaac for himself.

I ran for the nearest weapon, a heavy lionstatue on a nearby inn-table, but just as I went tosmash it across Viktor’s back, Alex grabbed mefrom behind.

“Not a good idea, little sister.” The smell ofher breath choked me. “That’ll only piss him off.”

“You’re not my sister,” I screamed. I spunaround and my hands came up fast, pushing heraway hard enough that she let go of me, but shehad me in her grasp again in no time.

She held me there, forcing me to watch as Istruggled against her. She knew Viktor would ripIsaac apart and Alex wanted me to see ithappen. I thrashed around in her grasp, but she

was so strong.To the shock of everyone watching, Isaac

lunged at Viktor and buried his teeth intoViktor’s collarbone. An excruciating growlripped through the air.

Isaac was beating him....I even felt Alex’s hands loosen from around

my arms out of disbelief.Isaac had Viktor on the ceiling, pressing his

head against a massive wooden beam. Isaac’sbrute head reared back, mouth wide open, andcame back down on the other side of Viktor’sneck.

Viktor fell to the floor like a slab of meat.Ashe and one other stepped out into the room,

but Viktor, grasping his bleeding throat, orderedthem away.

“I want him to kill me,” said Viktor; blood

gurgling in his voice. He lay there naked, slumpedagainst a coffee table already back in his humanform.

But Isaac, he wasn’t about to shift and give in.He was going to kill him.

And in turn, he was going to sentence himselfto death by killing Aramei.

I jerked my way free from Alex again andstumbled forward, catching my fall by holdingonto someone’s shoulder. I didn’t care that itwas Ashe. He didn’t seem to care either.

“Stop!” My hands were out in front of me.The room became quieter.“Isaac, don’t kill him!”Isaac’s head, teeth dripping with saliva and

blood, turned to see me. His eyes drifted to andfrom me and his prey.

My voice dropped and I pleaded, “Don’t....”

It was in that very moment that I decided notto tell Isaac about Aramei. In that crucial momentin time when everything I knew became clear.Isaac could not know the truth becausesometimes the truth does more harm than good.If Isaac knew his own father chose to risk thelives of his sons to save Aramei, Isaac would beabandoned twice; first by his own mother andworst of all by the father that he revered.

Isaac let go of Viktor, but stood over him inwarning as I approached. I moved againstIsaac’s beastly chest and looked down uponViktor.

“Humans are so soft,” Viktor said. “Youwould want me to live after what I’ve done toyou? Stupid little girl.”

He didn’t know. Viktor had no idea why Istopped Isaac. I wanted to keep it that way.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Sibyl watchingme from the second floor.

“I guess being human has its disadvantages,” Ideceivingly agreed.

Zia and the rest of Isaac’s family entered thehouse in their mediate form.

“No!” Viktor roared at his fledglings, keepingthem at bay. “Let them leave, all of them.” Helooked at Isaac then. “One as powerful as hisfather,” he said. “Of your brothers, I alwaysknew it would be you.” Viktor’s eyes met minethen and I felt a remarkable sentiment in his gaze.“In more ways than one, I see,” he added.

The stealthy comment was directed at me andthe meaning behind it, to which I feared I’d neverknow, weighed heavily in my heart.

Isaac’s massive body hardened. I stoppedhim. “Let’s go home,” I said softly, hoping he

would continue to listen to me. Already, I felt Ihad asked too much of him.

“We’ll stay to make sure no one follows,” saidNathan.

Zia took me by the arm.But Isaac wasn’t following. He was staying

behind?I tore away from Zia.“What are you doing?” I shouted at Isaac. I

wished he could speak in werewolf form. Hewouldn’t even look at me.

Isaac knew something that I didn’t at first. Heknew that Viktor was not ready to give up.

It wasn’t over.In a flash, Viktor sprung up and bounded

toward Isaac in mid-air. Claws and teeth at theready before his feet fully lifted from the floor.My body flew backward, crashing into Ashe

who tossed me aside as if I were weightless. Iskidded into the kitchen, landing pressed againstthe legs of dining chairs. My skull jolted aroundinside my head as I hit the metal bar holding themassive tabletop to its base.

I couldn’t move; beasts were all around me. Icouldn’t tell who was who, except for Isaac andViktor. Viktor was a titan among the others, andIsaac, I knew him now enough to distinguish himover anyone and in any form.

The house began to come down all aroundme, the table barely shielding me from brokenglass and projectile debris. A giant chandelier hitthe table hard, shattering in all directions,reflecting light like glitter as it rained down ontothe floor. I wondered how the table was stillstanding when everything else was destroyed. Ihoped it would hold. I hoped it wouldn’t crush

me.I drew my legs into my chest and pressed my

hands over my ears. The roaring, the gnashing ofteeth; I couldn’t take it anymore.

Savage fighting everywhere. Bloodeverywhere.

But Isaac was beating Viktor still.I couldn’t breathe. I sat huddled, watching; my

eyes so wide open. My heart had thickened inmy chest.

Isaac’s beastly claws whirled around and cutViktor’s neck once. Once more and I knewViktor would be dead.

Everything moved so slowly. In the back ofmy mind, somewhere beneath the pandemonium,I wondered if I would be able to say how fast itall happened.

And then the unthinkable.

A beast more colossal in size than Viktor, heldIsaac’s arm just before the fatal blow.

Isaac was thrown right through the wall of thehouse.

I gasped and felt my insides dissolve intomush.

“Nooo!” My scream was the only noise.I came slowly out from underneath the table,

watching everything and everyone around me andI crept forward. Many others slunk out of sightwith Trajan’s presence, knowing if they didn’tthat they would surely die. Viktor stoodwounded, blood soaking his fur.

I looked directly at Trajan, so tall against me,so enormous, so absolutely frightening. “AnAlpha protects his own....,” I said, my wordspoisoned with resentment.

I did not fear him, not even on the inside.

He let me be.I ran outside through the new opening in the

side of the house and found Isaac in human form,lying naked in the snow. Blood covered him; hishair thickly wet with it. I fell to my knees next tohis body.

“Isaac!” I touched his face and head all over;blood quickly stained my hands and clothes.

He wasn’t responsive, but I saw that his bodyshivered in the cold. His skin was not hot like itnormally was after he shifted form. The snowaround his body did not melt away. I ran to anearby parked car and yanked open the backdoor, searching everywhere for something tocover Isaac with. I pushed the button in the frontto pop the trunk where I spotted a duffle bagstuffed full of laundry. Tearing it open, I tossedeverything until I found a large bath towel.

I covered Isaac with the towel the best Icould. He had started to gain consciousnesswhile I rummaged through the car, but he wasweak.

“My father...” he said. “Was that...my father?”I looked toward the house. Indecision crippled

me.And I couldn’t lie to him.“Yes,” I said and I leaned down and kissed his

forehead softly.Isaac lifted with difficulty and pain. I couldn’t

believe all the blood and how he was still alive.“My father has always been greedy,” he said,

holding onto my shoulder for balance.“Greedy?”“He won’t let anyone else kill beasts of rank,”

he said. “Not while he’s Alpha. It can threatenhis position.”

The secret was still safe, but it was painful forme. Isaac didn’t know that rank had nothing todo with what Trajan did, that he saved Viktor’slife. But I knew. I knew and I hated myself for it.

I helped Isaac to his feet.“My father will kill him,” he said, staring

toward the house. I could sense a big part of himwas angry; he wanted to be the one.

I couldn’t say it, that I knew otherwise. Trajanwould not kill Viktor Vargas. It hurt so much tokeep the truth from Isaac.

“I need to get you out of here,” he said.He kept looking back as we walked toward

the main road where his car had been parked outof sight. I thought at any moment he would barrelback into the chaos and finish what he started.

We drove away from the Vargas house and Ihoped I would never see it again.

ON THE WAY TO Isaac’s house, over thewinding black roads and snow-covered land, Ikept looking back, afraid that we would beambushed again.

“They won’t come,” he said as he pulled menearer.

I sat pressed so close to his body that I couldhear his heart thrumming calmly against mycheek. I could faintly smell the soap he hadshowered with and underneath it, the naturaldelicious scent of his warm skin. Every now andthen when I would shift in his embrace, his heartwould quicken and his arm would constrictprotectively around me, calming me.

I was so tired; I could hardly keep my eyesopen, but in a short time we were pulling into thedrive and Isaac killed the engine.

He carried me into the house and though I

was more worried about his injuries than mine, Icouldn’t bring myself to object.

The house was rich with warmth and firelight;the fireplace blazing behind the hearth, licking thecool air coming from the chimney above. Briefly,I glimpsed the painting of Trajan and Aramei andsoftly shut my eyes, as if to forget that I knewanything about them at all.

My bare feet began to thaw as Isaac walkedwith me up the staircase. I could feel my toescoming to life with pain. My back and ribs beganto throb, but I hid my discomfort from him well.Carrying me into a spacious bathroom, Isaaccarefully sat down on the side of the deep tubwith me enveloped in his lap. He reached out andturned the squeaking faucets, letting the tub beginto fill up with water. Steam rose from the top ofthe water, fogging the nearby window, which had

already been covered by frost and snow. Onlyone light burned low over the pedestal sink.

“Isaac,” I said, and I noticed how weak evenmy voice had become, “I’m fine.”

Reluctantly, he let me go and I raised myself tosit more upright on his lap, though it was astruggle. I was a bloody mess; the gown Viktordressed me in drenched in Isaac’s blood.Glancing down, I noticed that both of my legswere covered in bruises and cuts, but I ignoredthat too. Isaac was more important.

“Look what he did to you,” I said, my voicetrembling with tears. I traced a long, bleedinggash down the length of his neck with the tip ofmy finger. Tears began to stream softly down myface.

I moved out of his lap and cautiously went tomy feet, holding onto his arm for balance. But he

would never let me fall; he sat rigidly with bothhands resting on my hips; vigilant and quietlyobjecting my movements, but letting me have myway for the moment. I didn’t care that he wasimmune to sickness and disease, or that hiswounds, no matter how grave they appeared tome, would heal on their own. The human in meand the deep love that I had for Isaac, made mewant to care for him.

I made my way to the sink and opened acabinet above it.

Isaac was behind me every step, afraid thatmy weak legs would give out.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said, placinghis hands on my waist from behind.

I continued to rummage through the cabinet,moving every tube and bottle out of the way insearch of antiseptic, or bandages; anything that

could pass as First Aid, but all I found wastoothpaste, perfume and lotion.

“There’s got to be something,” I said,impatient and frustrated.

“Adria,” said Isaac, turning me around andstaring deeply into my eyes. “This is why I loveyou,” he whispered softly, devotedly. “Becauseyou curb my envy for human life, by allowing meto experience human love.”

He lifted me onto the countertop where I satwith him standing between my suspended legsand he pulled me into him, letting my head fallagainst his chest.

And he held me there; his strong hand cradlingthe back of my head.

“I’ve never known anyone like you,” he wenton and I looked up at him again. “So much lovefor your mother that you stayed with her to

protect her. That you would risk your life foryour uncle. And your sister—even aftereverything she’s done to you, I know you stillwant her in your life.” He held me tighter, andover my quiet sobbing I still managed to hear thebeating of his heart. “And for me…,” he saideven more softly than before, “…you know whatan abomination I am, how dangerous I am, yetyou love me—”

He stopped abruptly as though his mind hadbeen snapped into another place; his deep gazeimmersed in some powerful thought or memory. Istarted to speak, to stir the peculiar silence, buthe came back out of it so quickly.

“And I love you, Adria Dawson, with thatsame undying passion.”

I began to feel…strange. My legs felt heavy,my arms weaker every time I moved them even

just slightly.A steady stream of tears poured from the

corners of my eyes and I looked up at him,vaguely realizing how heavy even my head hadbecome. “If that’s true,” I said, though I did notdoubt it for a second, “then do one thing for me.”

“Anything,” he said.I pecked him lightly upon his soft, warm lips.“Promise never to call yourself an

abomination.”There was a faint, yet unmistakable smile in his

eyes.Suddenly, I felt his lips upon mine again, but I

couldn’t recall the few seconds before, when heleaned in to kiss me. I could taste his lusciousmouth; his perfect, deep kiss as he held my facein his hands. I could tell, even with my eyes shut,that the room was getting darker, the air colder. I

shivered. My bones were frozen and strange, asif I were still lying out in the frigid snow withIsaac, surrounded by darkness and winter andblood.

I heard voices. Just like the night when Sibylattacked us in the car, there were voices in myhead; odd, indistinct whispers.

I couldn’t open my eyes.My body felt light like air; my chest devoid of

breath. When I tried to lift my hands, it felt asthough a cumbersome veil of magic lay overthem, preventing any movement. I tried to speak,but my lips were as heavy as stone.

In a flash of a second, I gained control of mymind and felt my lids open just a slit. I wasincredibly dizzy; Isaac’s face spiraling around inmy gaze.

“Isaac?” I said, but I realized the words never

actually left my lips.My lids slammed shut over my eyes again and

I felt my body lift viciously into the air; nothingbut blackness and cold all around me as if I werebeing hurled through Time and Space. Iscreamed out Isaac’s name once more.

The voices were getting nearer; I could hearthe hot breath of whispers upon my ears, feelfingers grasping around my elbows. “Get her intothe water,” I heard one voice say, but it hadsounded so muted, as if she were speakingthrough a thick wall.

“Get into the water,” a different voice said soplainly that it jolted me alert.

I looked up and I was knelt by the creekagain.

“Adria,” Alex said, standing over me, “weneed to get you cleaned up.”

Confused, I looked all around me toward thewater and then back at Alex. Her dark hairrested softly over her shoulders. Her eyes werebeautiful and serene like they had always beenbefore she was infected by evil. She smiled downat me.

I looked at myself; still wearing thebloodstained gown, still covered in bruises andcuts and soot from the fireplace in my prison.

“Where’s Isaac?” I said; my words stilldetached from my tangled mind. “How are youhere?”

I felt trapped in some vivid dream, yeteverything was too real, too convincing to be adream. Yet, everything about it was incrediblyfamiliar.

Water flowed gently over the rocks and thewind brushed through the trees with delicate

breezes. Flowers were in full bloom, linedperfectly along the creek’s bank; vines crawledover the forest bed and wrapped themselvesaround every tree, every branch, in an intricatedisplay of green.

Alex was kneeling in the water with mesuddenly and I was naked. I don’t know howshe got there so fast. I don’t know how I gotthere at all. The water was warm, almost hot.Instantly it soothed me. I felt my eyes close oncemore as Alex guided my body backward and Ilay within the water, propped against her lap.Tenderly, she cleansed my hair, combing herdelicate fingers through every strand. I glimpsedthe blood staining the water around me as itwashed away.

“She’s waiting to speak to you,” Alex said andI looked up to see her face. “She’s watching you;

can’t you see her?” And then Alex pointedthrough the trees and I lifted from her lap,wearing a new gown; thin and clean and white.My hair was completely dry; my body left noevidence of taint.

I looked raptly through the trees, but saw noone. I could feel a presence, one so compelling,yet so absolutely cryptic. And when I turnedaround again, Alex was gone.

I heard the ground crack lightly like a branchburning in a fireplace and then I looked down.The creek bed had dried up; nothing left butdust-covered rocks and tiny pebbles andparched earth. The flowers on the bank behindme were gone; the crawling vines withered andbrittle. The sky was eerily gray, yet I saw not asingle cloud moving across it.

But in front of me, everything was still

beautiful. Everything was in full bloom; awonderland.

I took a step forward and the vines under myfeet turned to dust and blew away. Another stepand the flowers upon the bank withered and diedin an instant. I stopped then, afraid to kill anymore beauty with my presence.

Aramei walked toward me through the brightand colorful forest and reached out her frail hand.

“You must drink it,” she said, but her lipsnever moved.

I went a few steps toward her, but she neverappeared any closer. I tried again, but thedistance between us refused to change.

“Drink what?” I said, and my lips never movedeither.

“The water from the creek,” she said.I glanced down at the dried-up creek bed and

then back at Aramei.“But it’s gone.”She reached out her hand once more and

although she appeared to be many feet away, Ilooked down right into the palm of her hand as ifshe were standing directly in front of me.

A single droplet of water rested there. I couldsee my reflection within it.

I looked up at her, unsure, wary of her words.But I could never distrust an angel and Aramei

was to me the closest thing to an angel that Iwould ever know.

I took her hand into both of mine and I leanedover, placing my lips over the droplet of water.And I drank. My eyes shut softly and I drankmore and more and more until my body washurled through the blackness of Time and Spaceagain.

And I woke up.I lay in Isaac’s bed, surrounded by crisp,

white sheets and fluffy pillows. I was curled upinside a thick, warm comforter; white with a fainttapestry print and ruffles. It was early morning;the day had barely gone through an hour of dimsunlight, still subdued by thick, dreary winterclouds. A muted ray of light pushed through thefrost-covered window and pooled on a spot onthe floor. The room had been cleaned; everythingpositioned neatly into its own place. I couldfaintly smell lemon furniture polish underneath astronger layer of white tea fragrant candles. Oneburned on the night stand beside me; the tinyflame steady and calm.

Someone had dressed me. I wore the sameclean, white gown I had worn in my dream. Myhair was clean; brushed so thoroughly that it felt

like silk. My cuts had been tended to; the bruisesupon my legs had already started to fade.Brushing my hand over the wound under my ribs,I noticed that the stitches were gone. Gently Itouched it through the thinness of my gown,feeling a small mass where a scar was alreadybeginning to form.

I touched my lips with my fingertips by theinfluence of some sort of familiarity, some kind ofmemory to which my conscious mind couldn’tquite recall. The gesture seemed significant, as if Ishould know what had last been there, upon mylips. And I thought of Isaac.

“Are you feeling better?”I saw Isaac then, sitting in the far corner of the

room enveloped by the shadow. I heard the chairmove as he stood from it and walked toward meand into the subdued light; the sound of his boots

gently moving across the floor.He sat down beside me upon the bed and

reached out, brushing the back of his fingersalong my cheekbone.

My eyes closed of their own accord and Ibreathed in his scent; it was more prominent thanever before; more intoxicating.

“What happened?” I said, slowly opening myeyes. “I don’t remember….”

Isaac leaned in and grazed his lips along mycheek until he found my lips and kissed metenderly.

“You passed out,” he said, pulling away.“Everything must have overwhelmed you at onceafter I got you here. All that you had beenthrough at the Vargas house, everything you saw,the injuries.”

He brushed his fingers through my hair and he

smiled.“Zia and Daisy helped me,” he said, “with the

bath and getting you dressed. Oh, and cleaningthe place up.”

The thought of him seeing me naked in such astate, had never even crossed my mind. Itwouldn’t have bothered me. I knew in my heartthat Isaac would never do anything to violate me.

I thought of the dream then, worried that myintimate time in the bathroom with him beforemay not have been real. I looked up into his eyesand paused for a moment, taking in every secondof the way he looked so devotedly back at me.How could this beautiful, godlike creature be inlove with me?

“You promised me,” I said. “That you wouldnever call yourself an abomination. Do youremember?”

“Yes,” he said, smiling. “But you fainted soconveniently before I could request my terms.”His smile became more of a grin then.

“Oh?” I said a little surprised.“Uh huh,” he said and went on, “You have to

promise me that a week before every full moon—”

I put up my hand, stopping him. “No,” Idemanded, “you can’t ask me to do that. Isaac, Iwant to be here…I—“

He placed his fingers upon my lips to hush me.His face was unreadable, but still, he was smiling;his dark eyes soft with adoration.

“You have to promise that you’ll be at myside,” he said, and my heart quickened. “BecauseI know that without you here, I’ll becomesomething far more dangerous.”

I almost cried, but instead I choked it back

and smiled, nodding slowly. “I do promise,” Isaid.

After a thoughtful hesitation, I added, “Butwhy the change of heart? I thought you wereafraid.”

For a moment, Isaac’s gaze strayed frommine. Patiently, I waited for his answer, but at thesame time, I was desperate for it.

“I can trust myself around you now,” he said,still not looking at me but then finally he did. Isensed a mysterious longing in his expression; anemotion dark and unresolved. “I could never hurtyou. Ever.”

Isaac stood and went over to the window,pulling the curtain open the rest of the way. Moresoft, gray sunlight flooded into the room. I couldsee the tops of the trees outside covered inglistening white, but nothing fell from the sky.

“Isaac,” I said as he turned around to face me.“For now—and I’m not sure how long now willlast—I can live with the way things are, but…” Istopped and inhaled a deep breath, lookingdown toward the sheets. “But what about later?What do we do when my fear of being withoutyou becomes a burden?”

“What are you saying?” He stopped in thecenter of the room as if he could go no furtheruntil my answer permitted it.

I waited, thinking my answer over carefullybecause I wasn’t even sure of it myself.

“I need some time to think,” I said looking upat him.

It wasn’t what I had expected to say, but thesudden depravity of struggle and frustration insideof me, left me with no other choice. I neededtime alone, away from everyone and everything.

“I can leave you alone,” he said, “as much timeas you need.”

“Not here,” I said gently. “I need to go homefor a day or two; just to be able to clear myhead.” Immediately, I could see the obviousprotest in his face. “I’ll be okay—you have to letme do this.”

He had made it back to the bed by now andstood over me, looking down upon me with sad,conflicting emotions.

“Okay,” he said, nodding. “If that’s what youneed, I won’t deny you.”

He hated himself for agreeing; his posture thickwith condemnation. I glimpsed his fists unfoldingcarefully at his sides. I stood upon the bed and hereached out for me instinctively. I wrapped myarms around his neck and he gathered my bodyinto his; my legs straddled around his waist.

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered laying my headdown.

He crushed me against him.

ISAAC BORROWED NATHAN'S FJ Cruiserand took me to see Uncle Carl in the hospitallater that day. Beverlee asked why I looked so‘worn’. Good thing she couldn’t see any of thewounds underneath my clothes. There was noway I’d find a worthy excuse for any of that.

Uncle Carl was doing good, considering. I feltguilty for thinking about so many otherextraordinary things the whole time I was there.

“The book is great,” Uncle Carl said weakly.“Beverlee read some of it to me earlier.Awesome stuff.”

The smile on my face was genuine, despite myworries elsewhere. It was the best thing ever tosee my uncle able to talk again. I stayed with himuntil visiting hours were over, and I picked upwhere Beverlee left off on page fifty-six.

I went back to my own house that night. I

wasn’t afraid to be there anymore. I was hardlyafraid of anything. I had a lot of thinking to do,many dark secrets to tuck away properly insidemy head; choices to make and the equallydevastating consequences that all of themthreatened, to consider.

“I really don’t like this,” Isaac said as westood together on the front porch; the house keysdangling in my hand.

“Think about it, Isaac,” I said. “After last night,this is probably the last place they’d expect me tobe.”

I glanced over then and saw Sebastian, Dwarfand Damien watching us from the barn entrance.

“No,” I said, looking back at Isaac, “They gowith you. I don’t need babysitters.”

“I’ll tell them to go home,” Isaac agreed, but Iknew he was lying. I knew there wasn’t a chance

in hell that he would leave, himself. But I left it atthat. I let him believe that I was oblivious to hisintentions. It wouldn’t have mattered otherwise.

Isaac kissed me deeply and reluctantly walkeddown the porch steps, looking back twice beforehe made it to his car. He stopped with the dooropen, maybe in case there was the possibility Iwould change my mind and I admit I almost did.I didn’t want to spend even an hour away fromIsaac, but this time to myself was important.

He drove away.The house was cold and empty. As I walked

through the kitchen and then the rest of thehouse, I made it a point to look at absolutelyeverything, trying to find something that didn’tfeel changed. Uncle Carl’s favorite chair wasempty; the navy and red zigzag afghan thatusually hung over the back of it lay sloppily in the

floor. Dust had begun to settle on everything.Aunt Beverlee had always kept the house dusted;once every other day at least. The fireplace hadbeen abandoned; no lingering warmth or thesmell of recently burned wood came from it. Iwent upstairs to find Uncle Carl and Beverlee’sroom a chaotic mess. Clothes were strewnacross the bed, the chest of drawers half open.

The door to Alex’s room was always shut. Istood in front of it for the longest time beforedeciding to go inside. It had been cleaned, evenmore so than my room. Everything had a neatlittle place upon the shelf, or dresser, or desk. Allof Alex’s clothes had been tucked neatly in thedrawers and hung away inside the closet.Beverlee had hoped that Alex would come back,despite her being banned from the house, and soshe did whatever she could to make Alex feel at

home. Just in case.From across the room, I noticed a photo of

Alex and I together that had been taped to thedresser mirror. I walked over and took it into myhand, staring down at the memory. Alex’s loving,smiling face looked back at me. Quietly Ilaughed, recalling that moment. We were sittingtogether on the beach in Savannah; her armaround my shoulder. Minutes before the photowas taken, Alex had dumped a bucket of sandcrabs on me as I lay on the beach.

I put the photo away inside a drawer. Icouldn’t look at it any longer.

I slept alone in my room, but I knew that IsaacMayfair, the love of my life, was nearby watchingover me. I slept without dreams. I slept withoutmemory of them if there were any, and that was agood thing.

I stayed home from school the next two days.It was like Georgia all over again, skippingschool to mentally recover after what I’d beenthrough. No one came to my house, not eventhose who had tried to kill me before. No one.But I saw Isaac’s car in the distance, from thewindow in Uncle Carl’s office upstairs.Sometimes I saw Damien’s. Beverlee finallycame home only once to get some clothes to takewith her back to the hospital.

“They’re going to start Carl’s physicaltherapy,” she said so happily. “As soon as nextweek.”

I rushed to hug her. “That’s great, Aunt Bev!”“Yes, it’s wonderful,” she said. “I’ll have to

hire someone to build a wheelchair ramp outfront for when he gets to come home.”

“Did they say if they expect him to walk

again?”Beverlee had mentioned at the hospital that

Uncle Carl was paralyzed from the waist down.She buried her hand in the bottom of her purse

and fished out her keys. “He’s already moved hislegs a little.”

Beverlee hugged me one more time before shehurried out the door.

I spent the rest of the day inside, having noreal recollection of anything other than mythoughts. How does a person overcome things sotragic and unbelievable? I thought about theworld around me; the oblivious world filled withbillions of oblivious minds. And I contemplatedeverything. My solitary life, the differencesbetween it and every other life. And I thoughtthat maybe I wasn’t so different after all.Everyone has their own troubles, their own

battles to fight. Everyone eventually facesdarkness and hardship. Mine was just a little outof the ordinary and I could live with that.

But I never came to a decision and so my timealone to think had been not wasted, but spentmaking me more torn between lives than before.I knew that I didn’t want to live as a beast; thatwas one thing for certain. I could never imagineenduring such pain. The very thought of itwrenched my insides with trepidation. AndAramei, the Blood Bond, I didn’t want thateither, though I admit it was more acceptablethan the latter.

Remaining human, continuing on with thismortal life, trapped inside the body of aninevitable death, was also something I didn’twant.

But those were my choices.

For now, I decided that choosing none ofthem would be the best choice.

Day by day; to live and enjoy what life I had atthat moment, was ultimately the only decision Icould make.

~~~

Isaac was waiting outside in the driveway when Iwent to leave for school the next day.

“Need a ride?” he said, smiling, though we haddiscussed it late the night before over the phone.

The sun was out. It wasn’t helping to melt thesnow much, but it was nice to see it. The graygloom of clouds and weather was beginning toget to me.

I smiled back, tossed my canvas backpack

into the front seat and jumped inside his newJeep; newer and shinier than Damien’s.

“Where’d you get this Jeep?” I said, testingout the feel of the leather seats. “Better yet,where’d the other car go?”

Briefly, I thought about that car, but all I couldremember was flipping around inside of it.

“Nathan and Xavier ditched it behind ourhouse,” he said.

“What are they,” I chuckled, “the clean-upcrew?”

Isaac laughed too and pulled me next to him.“Sometimes.”Almost to my school there was a long, silence

between us, both of us surely thinking along thesame lines. He wanted to know what was on mymind, what sort of conclusions had I come to inmy time away.

We pulled up into the parking lot.He put the Jeep in park, turned the key and

gazed out the windshield. His thumbs tappedundecidedly upon the steering wheel.

“Nothing happened, Isaac,” I said. “She didn’tcome back for me.”

“I know.”“Then what’s the matter?”His thumbs stopped tapping and then he

looked at me. “I thought about leaving with myfather to go back to Serbia...,”

My heart sank like a stone. The bright morningwas turning gray again.

“...but it only crossed my mind,” he went on.“Just my conscience at work. But don’t worry;I’m still selfish.”

“If you left me, it would hurt worse thananything.”

“It would me too,” he said. “I could neverleave you, and I won’t.”

He lightened up then, pulling away from thewheel and slipping his arm around me.

“Good news is Viktor is dead and his family isleaving.”

“Really?” I was careful, still.“Yeah, Nathan found out from Rachel; Ashe is

Alpha now and they’re heading north.”It was all a lie, one that I knew and Isaac did

not.“Are you going to follow them?”“Xavier and Seth might,” he said, “but right

now it’s too early to know anything.”Isaac touched my earlobe with his fingertip; a

shiver went up the back up my neck.“Adria?” he said. “Why did you not want me

to kill Viktor?”

I knew this was coming. I knew it the momentI saw the look in his deadly black eyes as hestood over Viktor that night.

I thought about the answer carefully. I hadbeen thinking about it since.

“I guess I just don’t want to get used to seeingpeople die.”

He regarded me quietly for a moment and thenan empathizing smile crept up on his gorgeousface. He kissed my lips first and then myforehead.

“How is that wound?” he said, placing hishand softly against my stomach.

“It hasn’t hurt for a while,” I said. “Kind ofweird. It looked really bad before.”

He patted the area lightly before pulling hishand away.

Isaac reached over into the back seat and

grabbed a black shoulder bag.“What’s that for?” I said.He grinned. “I need something to carry my

stuff around in at school, don’t I?”I blinked.“Huh?”“I’m enrolling,” he said. “Kinda had to be a

Senior, so we won’t have any classes together.Thought that if I’m going to live in Hallowell,might as well become part of everybody else inthis town.”

“Are you...I mean, really? Seriously, you’regoing to go to school with me?” I never expectedthis. I mean I completely expected to have towerewolf-proof my aunt and uncle’s house, but Inever imagined Isaac would attend school.

I threw my arms around him and plantedkisses all over his face. “This is perfect!”

Isaac laughed. “I take it you have noobjections then,” he said. “I worried you mightnot like the idea much.”

“Are you kidding? No way.”I walked with Isaac Mayfair, my werewolf

boyfriend and by the looks of it, the hottest guy inschool, to the office. Everyone watched; the guyswith envy and discomfort, the girls with theirhormones in overdrive. Even Tori, which I quietlythought was hilarious.

I couldn’t force the smile off my face. I neverwas the type that liked public attention, but thiswas just fine by me. Doesn’t hurt to let it happenevery once in a while.

Still living up to his Best Friend title, Harry wasstill Harry towards me despite being totally inlove with Daisy Mayfair. It made me happy tosee him and Daisy together, to see him in such

high spirits. And of all the surprises lately, Daisysurprised me the most. She could skateboardwith the best of them. Who’da thunk it?

My life in Hallowell was finally beginning tofeel normal. I was in love with a werewolf andsome of my best friends were werewolves, butsomehow the not-so-normal managed to fall intoplace. Even with the hollow my sister left in myheart; I was able to go on without her. I knewsecrets, yes; terrible secrets I had to learn to livewith and I intended to do just that.

Sometimes you just have to let go of the bad inyour life, or it’ll only smother the good.

But there’s just one thing I still can’t quiteshake: this wound under my ribs...well, it’salready gone and I’m a little worried aboutwhy....