Jada helped keep the fire stoked all afternoon and as dark fell early in the evening. They all ate a leisurely dinner of roast chicken and salad and some kind of rice pilaf that tasted exotic and had nuts and raisins in it. Francine loved it, asking for the recipe, and hovered around Eve the entire time she prepared dinner. Jada helped as much as possible, but Eve and Marie seemed to be conspiring to keep Jada from doing any work at all. The moment she lifted a finger to empty the dishwasher or wipe down the counters or carry in wood from outside, Marie would have a question about something and draw her away, or Eve would ask her to fetch something from upstairs, and all the work disappeared.

Jada didn’t entirely mind, although she didn’t like not contributing anything to the meal or the housekeeping or anything. She’d never been lazy by nature, even though it wasn’t allowed for anyone to be lazy in the family, so it wasn’t long before she started to get a little stir-crazy. It was like waiting for a storm that showed up in the distance, building up and up and up before it hit the mountains. Storms filled the air with static and even a dark sky turned yellow-green until it was bright enough to be noon around the thunderheads.

Jada watched the fire and sipped from the red wine that Eve poured for her. No storms brewed around the comfortable ranch house, and no lightning broke the night sky. But still the feeling tickled at the back of her mind, worrisome like something she’d forgotten. She’d spent most of the day mulling over what she’d told Kira on the phone. She’d give Cooper another chance, but she would set some rules.

Just the thought made her lightheaded with nerves and a hint of power. She’d never set rules before. She’d never even broken rules before. Telling Cooper what she’d allow and what she wouldn’t forgive meant... meant being at least an equal in their relationship. She’d take that for herself, even if he had the money and the friends and everything, but she didn’t have to just give up everything she wanted just to make sure he didn’t dump her by the side of the road.

After meeting Max and Eve, and talking with Ethan and Kira, Jada was pretty sure she could figure out a way to survive without Cooper. Even though the thought of not being with him left her heart aching and her chest empty. She didn’t want to be without him. But part of her knew she could make her own way in the world.

A red light flashed and a radio crackled, then a loud voice boomed into the quiet living room. “Alert. We’ve got trespassers on the western border. Multiple trespassers.”

Max got to his feet, as did Sean, but before either of them could do anything, another voice added to the chaos, “At least three wolves in the southern quadrant, running through the swamp. They’ve startled the horses so the herd is on the loose and broke the fence. The horses are out.”

Marie muttered a curse and went to pick up her coat. “It’ll take forever to—”

“Stay here,” Max said. He picked up a radio from a charger near the door, handing another to Sean and one to Eve. “Defend the house with Mom and Jada. Keep Francine safe. As soon as we figure out who this is, we’ll radio back and we can get the horses back.”

Jada slowly got to her feet, looking between all of them. Francine was in the basement playing pool, so at least she didn’t hear the possible threats closing in around them. But panic rose in Jada’s chest, sending her heart pounding against her ribs. The wolves. It had to be the wolves, hunting her down. They’d drag her back to the mountains and her family and a life of drudgery and misery and no color. No possibilities, no adventures, no painting. No fancy hotels or coolers full of food and no... no Cooper.

Her throat went dry, but she managed to croak, “What’s going on? Do you think it’s…them?”

Max was already out the door, but Sean paused long enough to give her a reassuring smile. “It could be regular wolves. We get them occasionally this time of year as they’re looking to pick the weak horses off from the herd. It’s probably nothing, but we’ll get the whole pack out there to make sure. You just sit tight and keep the fire going.”

Jada almost believed him. Only the way Eve retrieved a couple of shotguns from the closet near the door betrayed the older woman’s unease, since her expression didn’t change. Eve turned down the volume on the radio as the voices continued to provide locations and numbers and descriptions of the trespassers, the pack members remarkably calm as they detailed moving threats.

There didn’t seem to be rhyme or reason to the way the wolves attempted to invade Max’s land, though there were enough of them to distract and harry Max’s pack. Marie prepped a shotgun and held it out to Jada. “You know how to shoot this, right?”

“Yes,” Jada said. She took the heavy weapon and took a deep breath to steady her hands. She wasn’t going back to the mountains. She wouldn’t go back to that life. She’d fight until there wasn’t an ounce of strength in her hands or a breath in her body, but she wasn’t going back.

“I’ll get Francine,” Marie said, and headed into the basement. “There are some good hiding places and a safe room that we can hide her in.”

Eve put on her good boots near the door, all business as she pulled on a heavy jacket and checked the rifle she carried. “I’m very sure it’s nothing, my dear. But we believe in being prepared.”

Jada opened her mouth to agree or argue or just give voice to all the fears crowding her brain, but the lights flickered and went out. Every light. Even the hum of the fridge silenced. Only the fire crackled along, creating eerie shadows on the walls.

Eve cursed and went to the back of the house, grabbing a flashlight from a kitchen drawer as she went, and Jada squared up to the locked front door. She wouldn’t let anyone in. Not that she’d recognize most of Max’s pack if they tried to get in the house. Maybe she wouldn’t shoot until Eve or Marie could identify the intruders.

The older woman came back through the living room, her expression hard. “The generator isn’t working, which means someone deliberately spiked it. This is the main attack. We need to get you and Francine to the safe room.”

“I’m staying with you to fight,” Jada said. She put as much steel as she could find into her voice, clenching her jaw so her teeth didn’t chatter. “I’m not going to sit back this time.”

Eve squeezed her shoulder. “Honey, we promised to keep you safe. Cooper would—” Her face went white. “Cooper. We have to let him out. He can’t—”

A window broke and Jada sucked in a breath. Eve’s flashlight revealed dark figures jumping into the living room. She pulled the trigger on the shotgun and staggered back, hoping she got at least one of them as something heavy hit her side and knocked her down.