“You are not thinking straight!”

I expected this from Vera. Hell, I even expected it from Melanie. But, when Caroline began to shout, I knew I’d lost them all.

“What was I supposed to do, shoot him right there?”

“No,” Vera said. She stood apart from us. We’d gone down to the lake. Vera had her hand on an elm tree, picking at the bark. “You’re not supposed to shoot him. You weren’t supposed to be seen at all. That was the deal, wasn’t it? You were just gonna do recon, see if there were any new prisoners, how far the tunnel went. If you were lucky, maybe you’d hear bits and pieces that might be helpful. Now, you’ve made contact with this guy. He knows who you are, your scent.”

“He’s not going to…” I stopped myself. What had I been about to say? That he wasn’t going to hurt me? That I knew him, knew his heart? Yes. That’s exactly what I had been about to say. I also knew how crazy it would sound to the rest of them.

Shifters were the enemy. They’d been luring women to them for years, taking them against their will. We’d all seen it. We’d all lost friends and family, people we loved. Shifters did that. They were to blame.

“You don’t know what he’s going to do,” Melanie said. She was calmer than Caro or Vera. She kept her cool eyes on me, sitting on a rotted log next to Caroline. Melanie had a hand on Caro’s back.

“He could have shouted,” I said. “He could have called the guards, or even drawn the attention of the prisoner in the cell next to him. He didn’t do that. He even covered for me when his cellmate thought he heard something.”

“That means nothing,” Melanie said. “Jett, come on. I’ve seen this before. We all have. They don’t ever come at you hard at first. Well, most of them don’t. It’s more subtle.”

She rose from the log and walked toward me. I kept my position against another oak tree, pressing my back into it hard. I looked away, wishing I could transport myself anywhere but here. If only it were that easy. We’d all heard stories that things were better outside of Kentucky. The Pack’s reach extended only so far. But, every time we’d ever tried to cross the border, we lost someone. Jade had been the last. My tears started to flow, bursting out of me unbidden. This was for her. All of it was for her.

“Jett,” Melanie said, softer. She stood right in front of me. Vera kept a watchful stare, ever protective of Melanie, even from me. She put a light hand on my arm. “Jett, look at me.”

Gritting my teeth, I did. Melanie had such a kind face with big, sad, blue eyes. She wore her blonde hair long, even in the sticky heat of summer. Smiling, she gathered her hair in one hand and turned so I could see the back of her neck. Melanie had a jagged, cruel scar at the nape. The edges were puckered and purple. It was a bite mark. Three years ago, a shifter had done that to her, binding him to her for life. It was a miracle that she managed to run away. Every day, she lived with the fear that he would find her. We all did. Keeping Melanie with us was a risk we took every single day.

“He was nice to me at first too,” Melanie said, letting her hair drop. “I thought he was my friend. He wasn’t like the rest of the men in Birch Haven. Quiet, reserved. He even took a beating for me. Did I ever tell you that? A group of shifters came after me, taunting me. Powell got in their faces. They outnumbered him four to one. They beat him so badly I thought he was dead. I thanked him. I thought I owed him something. He said he was going to get me out. Because, by then, I knew what that place was. He made me trust him. Then, he did this. It made him worse than the others, Jett. Because Powell made me believe there was hope and that there were others out there that weren’t like the Birch Haven shifters. It’s a lie though. This Gunnar? He’s lying to you too.”

I had a dozen arguments inside of me. I knew what the shifters of Birch Haven were like. I’d made friendships too only to see them twist into something else. I’d been lied to. Betrayed. I’d seen everything Melanie had except I’d been lucky enough to never be bitten. Of those of us who were left, Melanie alone bore that particular burden.

“I can handle it.” I heard the words come out of my mouth and knew exactly what it sounded like to the rest of them. I’d let myself feel hope again.

Vera threw her hands up. Before this little intervention started, Caroline and Melanie had made her promise to stay silent. The good cops were going to have a crack at me first. I had to give her credit for staying out of it for this long.

“Look,” I said, pushing myself off the tree. “I get it. Believe me. He’s a shifter. That makes him no different than any of the rest of them we’ve known. Except for one thing. He’s in that place. I’m not going to go so far to say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Guys, I’m not stupid or naive. The fact that I’m still standing here breathing tells you that. But, he’s not part of the Pack. I know that for sure. He thinks for himself. For now. As long as that’s true, he’s of use to us.”

“I’ll make this simple,” Vera said. “You’re not going back there. Not ever. None of us are. It was a decent plan at first. If there had been a way to learn something about Birch Haven, we needed to try. You did. And you gave us more information about the tunnels than we had before. It was a success, Jett. I’m grateful. You’re a badass for all of that. But, it’s done now. We’re moving on.”

“We?” I asked. When Caroline and Melanie dropped their eyes, my back went up. There was something they weren’t telling me.

Vera put a hand up when Melanie tried to go to her. Of course, they’d preplanned this before too.

“We’ve been in Carter Hollow too long,” Vera said. “It’s time to head north, or maybe south. We’ve gotten complacent. It’s only a matter of time before the Pack figures out we’re here. If Birch Haven is gone, that might make things even more complicated. At least when they had that place...they were less likely to look for people like us.”

Everything Vera said made sense. It was something we’d talked about for weeks. We’d survived on our own this long in part because we stayed moving. Still, the thought of leaving Carter Hollow left a cold space in my heart. I walked along the beach. I don’t even think I made a conscious choice to do it, but I kept on walking.

I went up the hill, down an embankment, then stopped when I got to the small clearing on the north side. Deep in the Daniel Boone Forest, apple trees grew wild here in a place they shouldn’t. Some bird or other animal had probably brought the seeds here decades ago. They’d already borne their fruit for the year and several rotted, brown apples littered the ground. This seemed odd to me. Why hadn’t a squirrel or some other critter made off with them? It was almost as if the trees themselves had left them as an offering and the animals understood why.

I stood in front of the tallest tree and slowly squatted down. I brushed the fallen leaves out of the way and pressed my palm flat to the cool ground. Vera came up behind me. I wished she’d stay away for just a few minutes. She didn’t even seem able to give me that much peace.

“I know,” Vera said, her voice taking on an uncharacteristically soft tone. She put her hand on my shoulder.

“She was the best one of us,” I said, sniffing back the tears that wanted to fall all over again.

“I know that too.”

I looked up at Vera. “She died for me. Do you know that? That wolf was coming for me. Jade threw herself in his way. If she hadn’t, I’d be dead and you could have buried me here instead of her. And you know what? It wouldn’t have changed anything. You’d still be right here. Jade would be the one making runs to that prison camp and chasing down leads about her sister. I promised her, Vera. I promised her. It was the only thing that gave her any comfort that night. She died slow. You didn’t know that. Slow and painful. She stayed sharp the entire time. I think that was the worst thing.”

“Don’t,” Vera said. “Don’t tell me any more. I know enough.”

“That’s just it. You don’t know anything. Neither do I. Jasmine was in that fucking place. I know it, you know it, Jade knew it. I will keep my promise to her. No matter what.”

“No matter what? Are you kidding me? Jett, give me a break. If Jade were here right now, you know what she’d say? She’d tell you that you don’t risk the living for the dead.”

“Jasmine’s not dead! At least, we don’t know that.”

Vera shrugged. “She’s either dead, marked, or she got away. What difference does it make? If she’s dead or marked, we can’t help her. If she got free, then we need more help than she does.”

“I need to know!” I yelled, rising. “For Jade, I need to know. Dammit, I will know. You of all people. How the hell can you say we can’t help her if she’s been marked? You ready to say that about Melanie? Come on, Vera.”

“My life, Melanie and Caro’s lives, it’s not worth the cost of that knowledge. Yours isn’t either. Shit, Jett. It’s you and me. You know that. Caroline’s leg is getting worse. A wolf did that to her.”

“She fell out of a fucking tree, Vera!”

“Running from a filthy shifter. And Melanie, every night I lie awake terrified that the one who marked her is going to come back for her. She still feels him. She’s never told you that, but she tells me. I hold her in my arms when she cries out at night. Her scar burns with fever. She says that’s him. He’s trying to pull her back, and God, Jett. She wants to go! I’m terrified that one of these nights she will. We cannot stay here. The longer we do, the easier it will be for the Pack to find us. You know that. And I can’t keep Caro and Mel safe by myself. I need you. You’re the only one as strong as I am. Hell, you’re stronger. You think I don’t know that? We have to take care of them. We can’t take care of Jade anymore. She’s gone.”

I stepped back, shaking my head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But, I have to do this. I have to know about Birch Haven. If it’s been burned to the ground like we think, then there’s hope. I could use a little hope, couldn’t you?”

“No,” Vera said coldly. “Hope is the last thing I need.”

I crossed my arms in front of me. “Then I’m sorry for you. I really am. You’re right about something. I am stronger than you are. I also know I can do this. I’m not leaving you, Vera. I’m coming back.”

“But you’re going,” she said, defeated. “You’re going back to that camp.”

I sucked in a deep breath then slowly let it out. “I am.”

Vera dropped her shoulders in defeat. “Then you need to know, we may not be here when you get back. I won’t risk it.”

“You think I’m under his spell?” I asked. “You think I’d do anything to put you at risk?”

“You already have.”

Vera threw up her hands and started walking away. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. In all the years since we’d been on the run together, I think it was the first time I’d ever seen her moved that way. It pulled at my heart and scared me.

When Vera disappeared through the trees, I turned back to Jade’s grave. Everything Vera said made sense. I probably would have said those same things if the roles had been reversed. But, this was my role, not hers. When I had nothing left, I knew I could at least keep my promises.

Another promise made me rise.

My heart thundered inside of me. A slow, steady pulse ran through me. It felt different, but a part of me somehow. My head swam with it. When I closed my eyes, I could feel Gunnar’s touch on my wrist, a slow, irresistible burn.

When I opened my eyes again, I could see the moon. It was time to go. I had one more promise to keep.