For the next few days, things seemed to settle into a more normal rhythm at school and at home. Jordan was gone, so I had no one to talk to about the questions and fears running through my mind, but in a way, his absence made it easier for me to slip back into my new normal.

My parents had let up a little on the after-school rules, but I still didn’t feel comfortable hanging out with my old friends. Honestly, I didn’t want to put any of them in danger. I was finding that I was so quick to anger these days.

It was getting harder and harder to sleep, and when I did, the nightmares were so terrifying they almost always woke me up.

I’d started drawing the symbol again, too. I usually didn’t even realize I was doing it, but sometimes I would drift off into my thoughts during class, only to realize later that I’d doodled the strange circles over and over again in the margins of my notes.

Whatever was happening to me was getting worse, and I prayed that Jordan came back soon with some answers. I needed his help.

By the time Thursday night rolled around, I was getting nervous. How was I going to get through a full appointment with Dr. Millner tomorrow without her realizing there was something going on with me?

After dinner, I stood in front of the mirror in my bathroom, practicing facial expressions and what I wanted to say to her when my phone buzzed with a new text from Jordan.

I was so relieved to see his name on my screen, I nearly cried.

I need to see you. Can you come outside?

When? Now?? I responded.

Yes. And could you bring a towel?

That last bit was accompanied by a wolf emoji, which made me laugh. Jordan Greycloud was outside my house somewhere naked. I would have to ask him how he still had his phone.

Give me a minute.

I checked my reflection in the mirror, noticing that my eyes had brightened just from the thought of him.

I liked Jordan a lot more than I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure if it was just because he was helping me when I had been feeling lonely or if there was something real growing between us.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about it, though. I had to figure out how to get outside at this time of night without my parents noticing.

My mom was in the living room watching TV, and my dad was hidden away in his study working, as usual. I would have to go out the front door, but there was no way Mom wouldn’t see me.

I grabbed a towel from the linen closet in the hallway and tiptoed down the stairs. I peeked in on Mom, who was eating from a large bowl of popcorn and laughing at whatever was going on in her show. I made a break for the front door, but the second it opened, she called out to me.

“Marayah, where are you going?” she asked, sitting up.

I didn’t turn around, because I didn’t want her to see the towel in my hand. “I left something out in my car,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

She settled against the cushions and went back to watching the screen. I sucked in a deep breath and walked out the front door.

I had no idea where I would find him, but I knew he wouldn’t be standing naked in the street, so I walked over to the wooded area on the side of the house.

“Jordan,” I whispered. “Where are you?”

“Over here,” he whispered back from somewhere behind the house.

I giggled and quickly made my way around the side of the house, praying none of our neighbors were nosy enough to be looking out their windows right now.

It was after nine and dark out, but the moon was almost full, and I could see his bare shoulder sticking out from behind a tree. My cheeks flushed, and I tossed him the towel.

“Thank you,” he said, wrapping it around his waist as I stepped closer. “Hazards of the job, so to speak.”

Was he blushing, too? It was hard to tell in the darkness.

“What’s so important that you had to run all the way here?” I still didn’t know where he lived, so I had no idea how far he’d come tonight, but if he’d taken the risk of shifting, it couldn’t be within easy walking distance.

“I made a few calls and reached out to some friends of my father’s,” he said. “There’s a medicine woman who knows about these types of ancient drawings and symbols. She’s agreed to meet with us tomorrow night, but it’s about a three-hour drive from here, and we need to get there before the full moon appears.”

“Wait, us?” I asked. “I can’t go anywhere tomorrow. I have that appointment.”

He cursed and the towel slid down over his hip bone. I forced myself to look away.

“You have to be there, Marayah. It’s important,” he said. “The medicine woman is gifted with a special kind of sight. If the evil spirit that’s following you now is inside you, she’ll be able to see it. She’ll be able to see how strong it’s gotten.”

“Inside me?” I asked, my chest growing tight. “I thought it was just influencing me. Following me or watching me. Not inside me. Wouldn’t I know if it was—”

“Not necessarily,” he said. “It depends how strong it is. And what it is. She’ll know these things, and she might be able to help us find a way to banish it or contain it. She will only agree to see you on the evening of the full moon, when the light is at its strongest. If we have to wait another month to see her, I’m afraid…”

His voice trailed off, and my heartbeat quickened.

“Afraid what?”

He looked at me, fear in his dark eyes. “I’m afraid we can’t wait that long,” he said. “Between the drawings, the voice in your head at the bridge, and now this fainting spell, I’m scared it’s growing stronger despite my brother’s medallion.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “If whatever this thing is has been living inside me since the night of the accident, why would it just now be gaining strength? Wouldn’t it have been worse when I was weak and in the hospital? I’m stronger now than ever.”

“I don’t have an answer for you,” he said. “That’s why we need to go to see this medicine woman.”

I shook my head and leaned against the tree for support. How in the world was I going to get out of this appointment with Dr. Millner?

I wouldn’t be done with that until six at the earliest. It would be too late to make the drive there before the sunset.

“Can’t you just tell your parents you have something else you need to take care of?” he asked.

He obviously didn’t know my parents.

“Like what, exactly? A pedicure?” I asked, crossing my arms. “They think I’m not handling the transition well, so they set up this appointment to basically get answers on whether I’m well enough to even be out of the hospital. They aren’t going to just let me skip it without a good reason. And by good reason, I mean life or death.”

“This is life or death,” he said.

“Maybe, but they don’t know that,” I said. “And I can’t exactly tell them the truth. That would be a ticket back to Longview by midnight.”

“So what can we do?” he asked. “I can go on my own, but we’re not going to get all the answers we need unless you’re there for her to see it with her own eyes. I need you there, Marayah.”

He was right. This was life or death for me, and there was no therapy session or pill that could cure whatever was happening to me now.

“I’ll figure something out,” I said. “Just meet me after school. I’ll have to drop my sister home first, but after that, we can go.”

“What will you tell them?”

“I have no idea,” I said. It was difficult to come up with a brilliant idea when a hot guy was standing two feet away from me wearing nothing but a towel.

“By the way, where did you put your phone when you shifted?” I asked.

He smiled. “I carried it between my teeth,” he said. “I figured that would be easier than throwing rocks at your window without any clothes on.”

I laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” I said. “I better get back inside before Mom comes looking for me.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked.

“See you,” I said. I walked back toward the house, but he called my name.

When I turned around, he had stepped behind the large tree again. He threw the towel at me, and it hit me square in the face. By the time I had pulled it away, he was gone.

A moment later, as I opened the front door to go back inside, a wolf howled in the distance.