Evie

The portion of cold spaghetti I was served slid from the Styrofoam plate as I dumped it in the trash. I wasn’t sure it tasted much better warm, but it couldn’t have been any worse.

Beth checked the time as we passed through the threshold on our way toward the dining hall exit. She’d done that about three times in the last five minutes, so I had to ask.

“Okay, what the heck is up? Am I keeping you from something?” My tone was lighthearted, so she knew her incessant tracking of every second that passed hadn’t really gotten under my skin.

She smiled, pushing golden waves behind her shoulder. “Errol and I are supposed to meet in the gym. He’s never seen me in action on the field, so he’s doubting my soccer skills. I’m headed there to school him,” she added as her grin widened.

We passed Chris, Lucas, and Theo at their table. Each gave either a casual nod or wave, and as I waved back, it wasn’t lost on me that they hadn’t been themselves since Nick left. Several times, they’d asked if I knew why he took off with Roz, and if I knew of anything that may have made him run. Every time, I had to lie through my teeth.

The Elders, the Council, Elise … they all made it clear we were not to discuss the incident leading up to Nick’s disappearance.

Not even with three guys who were so worried about their friend it was practically eating them alive.

“Catch up with you later,” Beth said, smiling as she headed in the opposite direction. She was on her way to dole out a butt-kicking Errol wouldn’t soon forget.

“Don’t embarrass the poor kid,” I teased.

“No promises.”

I stepped out into the hallway alone, hearing metal chair legs scraping tile, followed by footsteps.

“Evie, wait up,” Chris called out. I turned to find that all three followed, not just him. “Anything new?”

I hadn’t known Chris long, but knew he wasn’t the sensitive type. The type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He was huge, formidable just like most of the other guys from Seaton Falls, and with that same naturally intimidating presence. It said a lot that I saw worry in his eyes.

All they knew was that Nick stepped off the bus after their return following Christmas break, then they never saw him again. Even telling them he’d run off with Roz when they cornered me with similar questions weeks ago was more than I’d been given permission to say. I couldn’t stand it, though—seeing their concern growing by the day. Like now, as none of the three before me bothered to hide their true emotions, letting their vulnerabilities show through.

I sighed, darting my eyes around before speaking. “He got into some trouble,” I shared, keeping the details to myself. “That’s why you saw Dallas pull him aside.”

It was nothing but dumb luck that they hadn’t seen Liam that day. He’d gone topside with Dallas to retrieve Nick from the bus, but must have stayed out of the guys’ line of sight. If they knew he played a part in this, it would’ve colored their whole perception of the situation and raised suspicions that didn’t need to be raised.

I couldn’t be sure what they knew about Liam and I, but I was sure Nick had shared something. After all, they were his closest friends. Even I, eventually, spilled to Beth after swearing her to secrecy. But now … she knew everything.

About Liam and I, our past.

About my lineage.

About Elise.

“What kind of trouble? What’d he do?” This time, it was Lucas who asked.

I shrugged, pretending to be all out of answers. “Not sure, but I overheard a couple monitors discussing it. Missed the details, though.”

My eyes bounced from one to the next, hoping I was convincing enough.

“Nick doesn’t get in trouble,” Chris added. “I mean, not the kind that would warrant a punishment severe enough he’d have to run away from it.”

“Doesn’t sound right,” Lucas agreed.

“But he’s done it before,” I interjected. “He took off right before we all ended up here, remember?”

I hoped that, by showing them there was actually a pattern, they wouldn’t think it so strange. Nick had disappeared without a trace for days without so much as a phone call, a message in a bottle, anything. I, nor his family and friends, heard a word from him until he was good and ready to reach out. So, was it so farfetched that he’d do the same now?

They seemed to suddenly accept that this wasn’t new behavior. “You’re right,” Chris sighed. “Just let us know if you find out where he is.”

“Will do,” I promised.

And I’d keep my word. They deserved to know Nick was okay. Even I wanted him to be okay, just … not anywhere I’d have to look at him.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

I turned, headed in the direction I was going before the guys stopped me. While I walked, I thought about everything. So much had gone wrong since I became a part of the clan. Couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else felt that way and just hadn’t had the balls to voice it.

Seemed I was a bit of a jinx.

Sure, this thing with Nick came up because he’d been making piss-poor decisions lately, but even that was simply one scenario in a long list of many that had gone wrong since my arrival.

The thought stayed on my mind the entire walk to Liam’s room. Before I could knock, he answered. He felt me when I got close just like I felt him, so it wasn’t a surprise. I did my best to smile and pretend nothing was wrong, but he had a way of reading me.

“What happened?”

I moved toward the couch as he locked us inside. “Do you think I’m a jinx?”

The question left my mouth as I dropped down onto the cushion. The soft fabric touched my thighs where my shorts cut off.

Liam smiled and a breath hitched in my throat at the sight of it. I hadn’t seen him all day, thanks to Hilda and Elise. I hadn’t really laid eyes on him when I first walked in either because I was preoccupied, but … now I did.

A tight-fitting tee hugged his solid chest, doing little to conceal what lie beneath it—a hard body corded with muscle. My eyes lingered there a moment when he first filled the seat across from me, but then they drifted up to a hazel stare and a handsomely rugged face framed in dark, shoulder-length hair. I could feel the loose waves between my fingers like there was no space between us at all. It wasn’t until he spoke to answer my question that I realized I’d zoned out observing him.

Again.

A smile touched his lips and they parted with a question. “Why would anyone think you’re a jinx?”

I sighed before responding, and all that’d gone wrong echoed inside my head again. “Because of all the bad things in Seaton Falls, because my parents’ memories were taken away … because the spell for Elise isn’t working.”

My chest tightened as all the pressure hit me at once. It felt like so many people hoped I’d become someone I wasn’t. Whether the hope was that I’d be the one to bring my brothers back, or one day reign as queen, I had no confidence I’d succeed at either. It didn’t seem anyone was satisfied with me being me.

Plain old Evie Callahan.

“Is that what this is about?” he asked.

I sighed again, spilling the contents of my heart at the feet of the one person I knew I could be completely open with.

“Is it bad that I’m secretly disappointed this spell isn’t working? But not just because I want Elise to have her sons back?”

Liam’s brow twitched curiously and I went on to explain myself.

Shaking my head, I let him in a little deeper. “I don’t want the title,” I admitted. “I don’t want to be anyone’s queen.”

I kept my gaze trained on the carpet while I thought of all it would eventually entail—heavy decisions, more high expectations, self-sacrifice. I wasn’t cut out to lead anyone.

“If I’m able to bring them back … then one of them can lead,” I added, confessing my hidden intentions. “They’re from the same bloodline and they’re all older, so … once they’re back, one of them can have it.”

I hated what admitting these things said about me. Most would jump at the chance to be royalty, to be revered by the masses. But not me. I wanted nothing more than to be normal. That’s all I’d wanted this whole time—to live the life of a normal, teenage girl. Only, fate had other plans. I was anything but either of those things. Heck, if I was being honest, I wasn’t even a teenager if we were counting the hundreds of years I lived before.

These were just very confusing, very stressful times.

My eyes followed Liam when he stood, casting a large shadow with his six-foot-plus inches. He crossed the room, his heavy, boot-clad feet echoing with each slow step. My body slumped toward his when he sat close and I leaned into him, settling my head into that space between his neck and shoulder like always. Strong arms covered in ink that told his life story closed me up tight against his chest. I hadn’t breathed this easy all day.

“You’re no jinx, Evangeline. And, if anyone thinks otherwise, tell them to come see me.”

There was an air of jesting in his tone, but I also knew he’d have no problem teaching someone a lesson, even for a lesser offense. God forbid they hurt my feelings …

My arm warmed where he rubbed it, soothing away the stresses of the day with a simple touch.

“The crown is yours. The title is yours,” he reiterated. “Regardless of your brothers being older or more fit for the role in your eyes.”

I listened, a sense of calm coming over me as I breathed his air.

“Your father saw something special in you from the beginning.” With mention of my father, I listened harder. “When you were young, he put it in writing, signed a decree stating that, one day, if he was no longer able to rule, you would take his place as leader of his kingdom. And your mother never objected because she knew you were special, too. It was always just fact that, when the time came … it would be you.”

A heaviness filled my heart. Mostly because I knew Liam was telling the truth. Partly because it sealed my fate even more so than it already had been.

I let that sink in—that my life was laid out for me and I didn’t have much say.

“What’s going on?”

Liam’s question should’ve been a simple one to answer, but it wasn’t. There was a lot riding on my ability to meet everyone’s expectations and, maybe, I wasn’t so sure I wouldn’t let them all down.

Or … maybe I was sure I would.

Instead of drawing this out and making myself feel worse, I pretended to be over all of it and faked a smile. “It’s nothing.”

He knew better than to accept that as truth, but didn’t force me to talk about it. I liked that about him. Since I made it known that I wanted to be treated like an adult, and have my feelings taken into consideration more often, he’d been mindful of doing so.

“How was dinner with Beth?” he moved on.

“Other than the food itself? Good. She went to meet Errol after,” I yawned, drawing my feet beneath me as I snuggled deeper into his side. He was so, so warm. Like a blanket.

A big, sexy blanket.

The ridiculous thought made me smile as my eyes drifted closed. A soft kiss went to the top of my head and I could have stayed there forever, with my hand resting at the center of his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath my palm.

Love.

It was as much a part of this room as the air we breathed, as tangible as any piece of furniture, as real as Liam and I ourselves. I was guilty of trying to drown myself in it, letting the feeling and him consume me.

He made it clear on several occasions he couldn’t do this again without me. Not after knowing what it was like to exist on his own, and I understood after nearly losing him a month ago.

A gentle touch to my chin tipped my head back, and then … lips.

Warm.

Soft.

Familiar.

No, I hadn’t regained any of my old memories, but I had spent my fair share of time kissing him lately. Seemed we could hardly keep space between us when we were alone, although it had never gone further than this, had always remained innocent.

Well … innocent may be the wrong word.

Strong hands made their way to my waist, and with one tug, Liam brought me to his lap—solid thighs pressing into the softness of mine as I straddled him. His palms roamed up and down my back beneath the vintage Transformers t-shirt I borrowed from Beth. My chest melded to his.

There was so much raw energy between us. Now. Always. It only added to it that we kept it locked inside, never acting on it completely, inadvertently forcing it to build like pressure inside a teakettle.

Heat and desperation covered us both like a living, breathing thing, only retreating when a frantic knock hit the door.

The sound left us both sighing with frustration. Liam eased my body aside, placing me back in my original position on the cushion. I straightened my clothes, licking my hot, damp lips that still tasted like his.

“It’ll just be one sec,” he promised me, rising from the couch right after.

Watching his every move as he strode toward the door, I sarcastically counted that one second out loud. By the time I got to four, I sank deep into my seat, disappointed.

When I groaned audibly, he glanced back with a smile just before letting Elise in. She was just as frantic as her knock, wringing her hands as the redness in her cheeks spread.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I got the words out before Liam could.

Elise’s eyes shifted to me as the answer spilled out. “They’re shutting us down. The facility,” she clarified. “The call I was waiting on from the Council? It came through and they’re giving us two weeks to get things in order. Then, they’ll send for all the kids.”

Bewildered and at a loss for words, Elise dropped down into the armchair on the opposite side of the coffee table.

“I just … I don’t understand why they would do this. We never had a breach where anyone got in,” she rambled. “Our only issue has ever been keeping Nick from getting out.”

At the mention of his name, my blood ran cold.

“I mean, I understand they see it as a risk we can’t afford to take, with so many valuable lives in our care, but … we’re owed another chance,” Elise reasoned, peering up at Liam. “After all we’ve put into this. After all that’s been sacrificed.”

She fell silent again and I imagined what a bitter pill this must have been to swallow. These facilities were a huge part of what she envisioned when joining forces with the Council and lycans across the globe. Closing even one was a huge loss in her eyes. She dreamed of unity between both races, a bridge that would bring us all together to fight our common enemy—Sebastian De Vincenzo, the Sovereign.

For a man I’d never crossed paths with in this lifetime, he’d done so much damage. I could only imagine the havoc he’d wreak should we ever meet face-to-face. In fact, the thought of it made me shudder.

“So, what’s their next move?” Liam asked, visibly concerned given Elise’s news. “I’ve never exactly been this place’s biggest fan, but I’m also not a fan of leaving the job half finished. They were supposed to learn something from this,” he added. “Being here was supposed to make up for the clan dropping the ball all these years. And I don’t know about you, but from where I stand, that mission’s nowhere near complete.”

He was totally right. Yes, we were more knowledgeable, getting stronger, but … there was still so much work to be done.

Distraught, Elise nodded. “My sentiments exactly. And now, they want to send them all home like the same threats that made this place necessary suddenly don’t exist. And do you know what their weak, half-cocked solution is?” she fumed. “They want to continue their training at home in Seaton Falls. They’re equating the preparation of these young shifters for war to some trivial, after-school activity.” She stood to pace, raking her fingers through her hair before going on. “It’s not good enough. It’s nowhere near good enough.”

“There has to be something we can say. The least the bastards can do is finish what they started. They’re willing to let one rogue shifter change their whole plan?”

Elise sighed sharply before answering Liam’s question. “Apparently, with the fuss parents in Seaton Falls have been making, this decision is meant to pacify all parties involved.”

Clearly, that meant all parties other than Elise.

“My frustration has nothing to do with the millions I, and other investors, have sunk into this place. It’s about the fact that ending our program speaks volumes about our mindset, our preparedness,” she explained. “If these families can’t even see the value in what we’re trying to teach their children, if they don’t feel the same sense of urgency, then … maybe it really is a lost cause.”

Defeat marked Elise’s expression. In her own right, she was a soldier, one who’d been on the frontline of a movement many centuries in the making, a soldier only a select few had any confidence in. Two of which were right here in this room.

Liam was all out of suggestions, and from the way Elise’s shoulders slumped beneath the white silk of an expensive blouse, I guessed she was, too.

“I suppose there’s nothing to do but notify the staff and prepare the facility for our departure.”

Another frustrated sigh puffed from Elise’s nostrils and a thought occurred to me…

Where the heck would I go?

I wouldn’t dare ask the question out loud because I was no one’s responsibility, but my heart did race. The thought of being displaced, or a burden someone would feel obligated to take on, was scarier than I could put into words.

‘Home’ had become such an abstract concept for me. My parents didn’t remember me, so I, technically, didn’t belong anywhere. My life was in the strangest limbo, dangling somewhere between being the top priority to some, and still managing to matter so little in the big scheme of things.

While I knew Liam hadn’t wandered inside my head, it was as though he heard my thoughts.

“I’ll need to make arrangements for Evangeline and I before we head back,” he asserted, passing Elise a confident glance. It was as though he had no worries at all for where we’d go or whether we’d thrive. And I guessed he wasn’t worried about that, because knowing him, he’d be content wherever we landed. If I chose to live out the rest of my life in an arid desert, he’d be okay with it, as long as we were together.

“Actually …” Elise chimed in, “that might not be necessary.”

Liam’s gaze shifted toward her, and mine did the same. With a softer expression than the one she wore as we discussed the Council’s decision, she rounded the table to join me on the couch.

“My mind’s going a mile a minute and I can hardly fathom what’s happening right now,” she confessed, “but the one thing I’m sure of is that I want our family to stick together.”

Inside my chest, when she said that word—family—my heart began to flutter in the strangest way.

“I don’t want either of you to worry about anything,” she said softly, taking my hand in hers when she went on. “I know Rebecka and Todd were the only parents you’ve known, but … not having them doesn’t mean you’re alone, Evangeline. Yes, you’ve got Liam, but you have me, too.”

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but the tightness spreading across my chest only intensified when she said more.

“I’ll be making housing arrangements for myself back in Seaton Falls. I need to sort things out with the Elders, the Council,” she added with a sigh. “Whether they like it or not, they’ll need help looking after the young shifters there,” she reasoned. “Dallas will be with me, of course, but I’ll be purposely seeking accommodations that will suit us all.”

A smile touched her lips despite the stress I knew she was under.

“If you’d do me the honor, Evangeline … I’d love it if you’d stay with me.” My eyes lifted toward hers and she added, “Both of you. Having you two with me again will be the only positive thing to come of all this.” She managed a small laugh.

Her gaze rose to Liam then. Her love for my brothers and I extended to him as well. It didn’t surprise me at all that she wanted him close, too.

Liam seemed just as moved by her offer as I did. “As long as Evangeline agrees,” he said, “it’s a yes for me.”

Elise nodded. “Of course.” Her eyes shifted to me again with a hopeful smile, one hardly dimmed at all by the bad news she just received. “Evangeline?”

I glanced toward Liam and breathed deep. The ball was in my court now. Spending so much time with Elise lately had brought us closer than I ever imagined we would be. Considering how adverse I was to the idea of letting her in when we first met. However, I believed I understood her now, sympathized with her in ways I didn’t think possible.

So, feeling no reluctance whatsoever, I nodded. When I did, her smile broadened.

“Then it’s settled,” she beamed.

And so it was.

I never would’ve imagine we’d be returning to Seaton Falls so soon, and certainly not under these circumstances, but the Council had made their decision. In two short weeks, we would return to the place where it all began.