The schoolhouse basement was just as dank and damp as April promised. Still, this was the freest I’d felt in weeks next to the brief stolen moments I’d shared with Mac out in the woods. My heart and my sex still thrummed from the memory of his touch. The patch of skin at the nape of my neck throbbed, aching for his mark.

For so long, that mark had represented something sinister. Now, I understood the perversion the Chief Pack had made of it. I’d been lucky. It wouldn’t last. No matter what, I knew in my heart that I would leave with Mac the next time I saw him. If it meant I spent the rest of my life as a fugitive, I didn’t care. I belonged with him.

I sat on the pallet, leaning against the basement wall. From there, I could see the stars as they came out one by one. Wherever Mac was, he was staring at the same stars. I was sure of it. He was safe, but he hadn’t gone far. Even now, if I closed my eyes and listened to my heart, I could hear his beating right along with it. He didn’t have to tell me how that feeling would intensify the moment he marked me.

Did I want that? Truly? Not so long ago, the thought of it would have terrified me. Now, living without him was the scariest thing of all.

Then, there was Birch Haven. So many girls were trapped there. If we were lucky, maybe I and a handful more could escape. But, what would happen to the rest of them? How was I going to be able to live knowing what happened...what was still happening behind these walls? What about Nikki? Was there any way to save her too?

My thoughts churned over and over. There would be no sleep for me tonight or any night until I was with Mac again.

---

April came the next afternoon, just like she said she would. Her soft knock on the window sent my heart racing. I climbed up the tool bench at the bottom of the window as she held it open. I wriggled out, catching my jeans on a rusty nail. They tore at the knee, but it didn’t break the skin. I dusted myself off and stretched my back.

“Come on,” April whispered. “We’ve got to be ten times as careful in the daylight. There are two shifters walking down the street near the yellow house, but Lena’s in the yard by herself. We’re going to go around the back. There’s a gap in the fence. Kat’s at one end of the street, Jaz’s at the other. You’ll have maybe five minutes, tops. Then we’ve got to get back to campus.”

“Campus?” The idea of going back to Camden Hall or anywhere Chris Woods might be churned my stomach.

“Jaz can cover for you one night. Not two. Nobody’s seen Nikki for two days. So she won’t be sounding any alarms. It’s just one more day. You trust your boyfriend?”

“What? Yes. Of course.”

“Good. ‘Cause we all plan on being far the fuck away from here by tomorrow night.”

I plastered on a smile as April and I crossed the street. For this late in October, the sky was clear, and a harsh sun made my shirt stick to my back. “And what if we can’t get Lena away? Or what if she won’t come?”

“Well, you better talk a good talk in the next five minutes.”

“Gee, thanks. No pressure.” Still, excitement thrummed through me. For the first time in weeks, I felt like I was finally taking control of my life again.

We ducked into the yard next to the little yellow house. Just as April said, there was a high, white picket privacy fence. Near one corner, there was a knot in the wood. April nodded toward it and took a position on the other side of the house. She’d whistle once when we needed to bail.

My heart practically in my throat, I walked to the end of the fence and peered through the two-inch hole. She was there. Lena sat on a stone bench in a small vegetable garden with her back to me. Her long hair hung past her waist. I could tell it must have shone with luster once. Now, it was dingy and dirty, with knotted clumps. When she turned toward me a little, I noticed a streak of gray running from her temple. My lungs felt tight as I imagined what might have put it there.

“Lena?” I whispered. “I’m a friend. Are you all right?”

Her back stiffened and she turned slightly, but didn’t answer. She knew I was there though. Her hand fluttered as she brought it to her throat. She looked down, tilting her head toward the sound of my voice.

“I’m here to help you,” I said. I realized I should have maybe planned what the hell to say to her. The truth was, I had never believed I’d get the chance. Now that Mac’s sister was ten feet away from me, I felt like a tongue-tied idiot. Then, the exact right thing popped into my head.

“Mac sent me,” I whispered.

Color came into Lena’s face. This time, she did turn toward me, her eyes wide with fear. The grainy live-stream from Chris’s phone lessened the shock of seeing her in real life. The scar cutting through her brow was crueler, more jagged and pronounced than what the video showed.

She fought.

“He’s close by,” I said.

Lena rose. Her movements were slow, graceful, almost regal. She was so tall. Five foot ten or more if I had to guess. She let her fingers trail over the tops of the withered tomato plants. She stopped at the one closest to the fence and squatted as if she were going to pick one of the rotted fruits.

“Mac’s dead,” she said, her voice raspy from lack of use.

“No,” I said, my heart breaking for her. She’d given up hope. I could see it in her haunted, green eyes. They were Mac’s eyes without the wolf behind them.

“He’s with others,” I said, trying to remember all the names he’d told me. “He’s with Liam and Jagger. Payne and Gunnar. Do you know them?”

Lena’s eyes flickered with recognition. I could see a tiny pulse beating a furious pace near her throat. “They’ll kill him,” she said. “They’ll kill you. You shouldn’t have come here.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Probably not. But your brother isn’t planning on disappearing again without you.”

“Who are you?” She asked, finally lifting her eyes to peer through the hole in the fence. I stepped back as she tilted her head, kneeling down to look. I didn’t know how much she could see of me, but I hoped it was enough.

My answer was a declaration and an oath. “He’s mine. Mac is my mate. My name is Eve. He won’t leave Birch Haven without me, and I don’t plan on going anywhere without you. Do you think you can be brave enough for one last fight?”

Lena swayed on her feet. Her eyes glistened with the tears she was holding back. “I’ve never stopped fighting. Eve, is it?”

“Yes.” My heart soared.

“You tell me when. I’ll be ready.” Then, she rose to her full height, shot me a wink, and headed back toward the house.

April’s high whistle cut the air. I staggered to my feet, feeling lightheaded from squatting so long and from the thrill of talking to Lena. I stayed to the fence and walked as fast as I could to the end of the yard.

April was waiting for me. This time, she wasn’t alone. She pleaded at me with desperate eyes and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.” But, it was too late. Trey stepped into view. He had a firm grip on April’s arm. Glaring at me, he shoved her forward. I reached for April and grabbed her by the hand.

“You trusted the wrong people,” Trey said. “Start walking. Chris has been looking especially hard for you.”