Nick

It would have been ideal to walk her to the door … but she insisted I get out of there before her father saw me on their property.

Officer Chadwick hated me—of this I was certain.

I watched from behind a nearby tree as Roz was greeted with a huge hug that told of how deeply she was missed. She was taken inside where it was warm, where she could be cared for the way she deserved, where she’d be safe. These were all comforts I couldn’t offer her.

Suddenly aware of how alone I was, how vulnerable I was, I ran to my grandfather’s estate, the only place I could think to go.

My bags hit the ground with a thud as I fumbled along the wall, feeling for the switch. Once the place came alive with light against its dark fixtures, I breathed deep, letting the heap of emotions that’d been dangling over my head come crashing down. It would have been nice to go home, but I wasn’t sure who might be looking for me. I couldn’t risk anything happening to my family. For now, I’d hang around here until I figured things out, decided on my next move.

Everything that could have possibly gone wrong did. Roz getting sick was just the final straw. I was sure coming home was about the worst thing I could have done right now, but we were out of options. Besides, I was sick of running. Whatever consequences I had to face … I’d brought it on myself.

Showering ranked so high on my list of things to do, I could hardly focus on anything else—even eating. I scarfed down a pizza I left in the freezer when I stayed here around Christmas. It wasn’t all the way cooked when I pulled it out the oven, but I didn’t care. I wanted to get something in my stomach, but mostly I wanted to get clean.

I wasn’t sure which I enjoyed most—the hot water or getting to shampoo my hair with real shampoo for a change. Since leaving the motel, the stream near our camp had been me and Roz’s only means of getting clean.

Well … clean-ish.

I stood there, beneath the stream of piping hot water until it ran cold. Toweling myself dry, I stared at the reflection in the mirror—at the dark mop of hair that hadn’t been cut in months, at the scruff on my face. I looked like someone nearly twice my age, but wouldn’t bother trimming or shaving until tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Maybe.

Content to sport the caveman look for a bit longer, I stepped back into the master bedroom. However, the moment my feet left the cool tile, touching carpet the next instant, I knew something was off. Sensed it.

I wasn’t alone.

There were traces of others’ scents in the air. No, they weren’t in this room, but they were definitely in the house.

Quickly and as quietly as I could, I slipped into sweats from a drawer I claimed while staying here before. I’d left things behind in just about every room, making this house feel more like mine than anyone else in the family. No one spent as much time here as I did. Especially lately.

My steps were light as I eased out into the hallway. Clenching my fists at both sides, I put one foot in front of the other. I wished I could have nailed down one scent, but there were so many, mingling with one another, making it impossible to identify them individually.

Or maybe … I couldn’t identify them because they weren’t familiar to me.

Maybe they were strangers, lycans from the Council who’d come to detain me.

At that thought, I froze in place, one foot on the stairs, the other in midair. Every light I’d turned on when I came in was out now, casting the entire first floor in darkness. I paused and listened harder, hoping to get a location on at least one.

Nothing but silence.

“Who—who’s there?” I stammered, feeling the erratic throb of my heart against my ribs.

I could hardly catch my breath, so I chose to hold it. Doing so would also keep the intruders from knowing how freaked out I was, but … I was definitely freaked out. In fact, I’d just made up my mind to sprint down the stairs and make a run for the front door when a figure emerged from the shadows.

“Don’t even think about it, kid.”

The voice … I recognized it.

“Richie?”

He stepped into the light and that’s when I saw the others, dark silhouettes all over the foyer. I counted five.

The next second, the chandelier at the foot of the stairs shimmered with light and I laid eyes on the last faces I expected to see here tonight—all three of my brothers, plus Lucas and Chris.

My heart rate slowed and I clutched my chest, easing down to sit on a step.

“Did we scare ya?” Kyle asked, grinning big. Of course he got a kick out of this.

“The theatrics were my idea,” he bragged. “Seemed only fair after you had us terrified these last few months, thinking we’d lost you.”

His smile faded a bit and I had nothing to say to that as I imagined what I’d put my family through.

I locked eyes with my friends, and both wore a mix of relief and anger on their faces, which I also understood. I’d left abruptly with no word and they hadn’t heard from me since. They were upset and I couldn’t blame them.

I pushed a hand through my hair and breathed deep.

“Guys, I’m—” The words wouldn’t come, because there was nothing I could say to make up for the things I’d done. There was absolutely no excuse. For any of it.

“I’m sorry.” That was all I could force out, hoping that, somehow, it’d be enough.

Richie lowered his gaze to the tile and nodded. “We know, kid.”

He was always so hard to read, was always pretty monotone, so I couldn’t gage whether his response was one rooted in sympathy or sarcasm.

“We thought they’d been lying to us,” Lucas chimed in. “We thought they took you and just didn’t want to tell us. It was hard to believe you’d run off like that without warning again,” he added. “You had to have known you could talk to us, right? About whatever was going on?”

I felt sick to my stomach, facing them all at once.

“It was more complicated than that,” was the only answer I could give without going into detail about what I am, what my destiny is said to be. That’d be the only way to explain why I’d gotten so desperate. Desperate enough to be fooled by the witches into doing their dirty work. It was never about helping me. They used me to get to Liam, fed off my hatred for him.

Chris shook his head. “Nah, you gotta give us more than that,” he demanded. “It’s coming up on three months since you left. Where have you been?”

I breathed deep. “Nowhere really. Cheap motels and outside once we ran out of money.”

They were all silent.

“You guys have to believe me, I would’ve told you everything if I could have.”

“You told Roz,” Lucas cut in, poking holes in my excuse.

He was right. She did know everything, all my secrets, but that was different. However, I knew they’d never understand how it was different. I didn’t even fully understand it myself. Things with her had changed, evolved into something completely different altogether, but I didn’t want to think about that right now. My head was cloudy enough.

“Let’s lay off him a bit,” Richie cut in, saving me from having to explain things I couldn’t. “We’re just glad you’re home.”

My eyes lifted when he said that, the first welcoming thing I’d heard since this conversation began. Kyle made his way up the stairs to where I sat first, bringing me in for a rough hug. Then Ben and Richie. Chris and Lucas were the last and I knew it’d take a little while for them to understand it all, but I made myself promise I’d tell them everything as soon as I figured out how.

They each settled on the stairs around me and I asked the big question. “How bad do Mom and Dad wanna kill me?”

Richie chuffed a short laugh. “Let’s not ruin the moment.”

I nodded, deciding to leave it alone for now. If I had to guess, they’d most likely ground me until I turned thirty, and I couldn’t fault them for that. I screwed up. Big time.

But my next thought wasn’t of whatever punishment my parents had thought up, it was of whatever punishment the Council had thought up.

With a sigh, my hand slid down my face. I was exhausted, but more worried than anything else.

“So, you came home for Roz, huh?”

I turned to Ben when he asked, and then nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t have much choice. She came down with some kind of flu, and it just kept getting worse and worse.”

I caught a strange look being passed between my brothers. “What?”

It took a moment for any of them to respond, but then Richie spoke. “We don’t get sick,” he explained. “We’re immune to any and everything you can think of. Especially a virus as weak as the flu.”

My brow tensed. “So … you think she was faking?” I pulled together all the details, how weak she was, how she couldn’t keep anything down.

Richie shook his head. “Not at all, but I do think the Council played on your feelings for her.”

That statement … ‘feelings for her’ … it made me uncomfortable, but I kept it to myself. That wasn’t what I needed to be focused on.

“You think they made her sick?”

Richie nodded again. “Well … I think the witches did.”

I was silent.

“Pretty sure they used her to flush you out into the open,” Ben added.

My thoughts reeled. This had all been a setup. They knew I wouldn’t let Roz suffer.

The sound of a paper crinkling brought my eyes to Kyle as he pulled something out of his pocket.

“Until this came, it was only speculation,” he explained. “But now, we’re sure that’s what happened.”

He handed the paper over and Ben spoke again. “They already had this drafted and delivered a couple hours ago.”

My bus hadn’t even gotten in a couple hours ago, which meant … they were expecting me.

“What is this?” I asked, turning the paper over in my hands, knowing I could have answered my own question if I’d just look inside. But fear stopped me.

“A summons,” Richie sighed.

I couldn’t lift my eyes to look at them. Their expressions would only make this more real, seeing the worry I was sure resided there.

“It’s just for a hearing,” Ben said, trying to ease my mind I was sure, but it didn’t work. Being summoned by the Council was a big deal.

I clenched the paper in my fist. “When?”

“Once members of the High Council make it into town,” Kyle answered. “Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow.

“It says you’re supposed to arrive alone, but we’re going with you,” Richie cut in.

“No.”

Every pair of eyes was set on me.

“What do you mean no?” he snapped. “We’re not letting you face this alone.”

“And I’m not letting anyone else suffer because of me.”

My gaze landed on Richie as soon as the words left my mouth, and a familiar sensation hit my chest. It was the same sensation I felt the day I showed up for the meeting at Officer Chadwick’s, right after so many young lycans shifted in one night. Angry, Richie had done his best to force me out, wanting to shield me from a reality I’d already begun to see the full scale of. I understood what this feeling was now.

As our pack’s alpha, he was pulling rank.

A sharp pain seared through my skin like a hot iron, his attempt at forcing me to submit. Only, it wasn’t working like last time. Dead-set against the idea of him or anyone else tagging along, I pushed back. Slowly, surely, the burn subsided, and my will was my own again.

Confusion crossed his face when I made my point clear. “I’m going alone.”

Ben passed a discreet glance Richie’s way, but said nothing.

With that, the atmosphere thickened and the mood shifted.

“Suit yourself.” I stared at the back of Richie’s head as he trudged down the stairs. Like usual, my defiance rubbed him the wrong way.

“Just understand what you’ll be walking into,” he called back, his hand already on the doorknob. “There’s no guarantee they’ll let you leave once they have you.”

No guarantee they’d let me keep breathing once they had me.

I swallowed hard and then gave a nod. One that exuded false confidence. “Understood.”

His gaze remained locked on me a moment longer, maybe waiting for me to change my mind, but that wouldn’t happen.

I made this mess and no one else would pay for it but me.