Friday sits across from me on the floor, cross-legged. I have a flashback of the day before school started this year. Friday is in the exact spot Lina was in. It was her spot. Sitting here on the floor was what we did. My eyes glance over to the floor and Friday follows my gaze, looking behind her she spots the nail polish stain on the floor. Friday looks back at me with a frown. “It’s not a big deal,” she says quietly. “Lenny can get that out with no problem.” I’m quiet for a moment before I offer a small smile. “It’s not that, is it?” she asks softly.

  I shake my head. “No, not exactly.”

  Friday reaches over, placing her hand on my thigh. “I know you miss Lina. It’s okay to be sad about it, you probably will be for a long time.” She sits back, letting her hands rest in her lap. “If you’re not ready for this, we can—”

  “It’s fine. I’m fine.” I shake myself out of it. “I want to do this. I need to know what is going on with...” I trail off, not sure if I should just say “my wolf.”

  Friday nods. She sits up straighter, leaving her hands to rest in her lap. “Just relax and close your eyes,” she says. “Don’t think too hard about anything, try to clear your mind and this will be easier.”

  I let my eyes fall shut and try to do as she asked. It isn’t easy. My mind keeps wanting to go in all different directions. School. The guys. Wolves. The attack. My mother. The guys…

  I fight with my thoughts, pushing them away each time they come to the front, but then another takes over. I feel like I’m on the end of a losing battle, one that may never end. Over and over I push them from my head, getting more frustrated by the second. Why can’t they just stop? Why is my brain going a mile a minute? I know how badly I need to relax, to settle my mind but it seems the more I try to clear it, the more thoughts jump in.

  I have to do this. I’ve been putting this off for too long. Friday has been asking me to do this for almost a month now. I need her help. This is literally what her powers are. She is the prophet, she should be able to see the path of my life, give me some direction on what I need to do. I’ve avoided it for as long as I could because… well, because I’m not sure I want to know what she has to say. What if it’s bad? What if she sees nothing? What if she sees something so horrible that even she is bothered by it?

  “Leona?”

  Someone calling my name pulls me out of the infinite loop that my mind has found. I blink open my eyes, focusing on a concerned looking Friday.

  “Are you okay,” she asks quietly, looking from me to the door nervously.

  “Fine, why?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. I tried looking inside of you, trying to find your wolf but it was like a labyrinth in there. And then it was like… never mind. Did you focus on clearing your mind?”

  “I… I was trying, but I couldn’t.” My voice cracks and I look away. Friday is at my side in a second, her arm around my shoulder. I fight back the tears, not wanting to break down. Again.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I know this is stressful. It was only our first try, you don’t have to worry. We will figure this out.” She’s trying to console me but I barely hear what she’s saying. “Tomorrow is another day. We can start fresh.”

  I nod, not knowing what else to do. I’ve put this off long enough and all I’m doing is running out of time. Each day that ends is a day closer to me not being able to shift at all. We need to figure this out, but I can’t seem to push myself past it. There’s like an invisible wall stopping me from doing anything I need to do. Some unseen force holding me back and keeping me away. We can try again tomorrow, I know that. The thing is, I know I won’t want to. I’m terrified of what Friday will tell me, about what she will see. What if she sees all the horrific things I went through as a child? I don’t want her to have those images in her head, I don’t want her to look at me any differently. With pity. Seeing and hearing are two different things. Hearing about my horrors is bad, but seeing them? I just can’t have that.

  “Baby, you okay?” My head tilts up towards the door to where Thorne is standing. His face hard, but only for a second. His features soften and his eyes brighten the moment they meet mine.

  “I texted him,” Friday whispers, and I can’t help but smile. Friday gives me a little squeeze before standing and leaving the room.

  Thorne takes a seat beside me, picking me up and pulling me to him.

  “What’s wrong with me?” I ask softly.

  He takes in a deep breath, hugging me tighter to him.

  “Nothing is wrong with you. Not a single thing. You’re stressed, just stressed. This is a lot to handle in such a short amount of time. You need to go easy on yourself. We’ll figure this out, okay?” When I don’t respond, he reaches down, grabbing my chin and tilting my head back to meet his stare. “Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He kisses me softly and we stay there for a while longer. Part of me feels better being in Thorne’s arms. Another part is concerned I was losing control of my mind when Friday was looking for my wolf. And now I can’t get that thought out of my head.

  Four

  Leona

  I’m running through the woods. It’s dark and my legs are aching. I don’t know why I’m running but something is telling me to keep going. If I don’t, I fear he will get me. Who he is, I have no idea but I trust my instincts and keep pushing myself to go further.

  Trees whip by my face as I pass them. I feel as if I’ve been running for days.

  There is a clearing ahead, a faint light.

  That’s where I must go. I know it. I push my legs harder, faster. The ache is almost too much but I keep going. I’m so close.

  A hundred feet…

  Eighty…

  Fifty…

  Almost there.

  As I break through the trees, I realize I’ve made a grave mistake. I dig my feet into the ground, looking down only to realize my feet are different. They aren’t feet at all. Two large, white paws dig into the dirt, trying to stop myself before it’s too late.

  A wolf.

  Is this my wolf? Is this her?

  I’m skidding forward with nowhere to go. Before I can think more about it, I’m teetering on the edge of a cliff. Sharp, jagged rocks jut out of the water below ready to meet me. I can’t accept this. This can’t be happening.

  My heart is pounding in my chest as I lose my grip completely, sliding over the edge. Falling to my death has me opening my mouth, shouting for divine intervention, for a god—any god—to come to my rescue, but the only thing that comes out is a deep, panicked howl. Just as I’m about to reach an especially sharp rock that would no doubt skewer me like a shish-ka-bob, everything goes black.

  I sit straight up, gasping for air. My hair is glued to my head with sweat. My skin is warm and clammy, the sheets below me damp. Thorne sleeps soundly on the side of me. I look across the room to see Hunter and Castor also asleep in their beds. The clock tells me it’s a little after three in the morning. I take a few deep breaths, begging my heart to relax. It’s pounding so fiercely it hurts. I slide out of bed and head downstairs, needing a drink. I pull a bottle of water from the fridge and hold it to my scorching head for a moment, letting it cool me down. A few drops of water roll down the side of my face and it feels so good. I close the fridge, and crack the top of the water off, bringing it to my lips and drinking down half of the bottle before pulling it away.

  I sit in the chair and turn the TV on, suddenly not feeling tired at all, even though I have to be up for school shortly, I can’t imagine going back to sleep. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a vivid dream before. My heart is still pounding and my hands are trembling. Finding something on TV to watch, I settle back. I must fall asleep because before I know it I’m being woken up by Hunter.

  “Why are you down here?” he asks like the cocky asshole he is. He doesn’t try waking me up nicely, doesn’t call my name, not even shake me a little. No, it’s why are you down here? I fucking live here, that’s why.

  He narrows his eyes at me. Apparently, I said that out loud. I rub my hand over my face, my head is killing me.

  Hunter shakes his head and walks away, making his way back upstairs. I check the time on my phone and realize it’s still too soon to be awake.

  Did he come down here just to check on me?

  Was he… worried?

  No. No fucking way. Not him.

  I decide I need to stay up this time. If I fall asleep again I know I’ll only wake up with my head pounding even worse. I consider taking a shower, but as I walk up the stairs I hear it turn on and I know Hunter is in there. If he were Thorne, I’d sneak in there with him. Hell, if he were Castor I’d do the same thing. I know it would piss Hunter off to no end… thinking I can just do whatever I want.

  Actually… fuck it.

  I’m going in.

  Opening the door as quietly as I can, I step into the bathroom. I glance over at the shower and see Hunter’s shadow behind the curtain. I can’t make out much, but I can tell he’s washing his hair, or at least getting it wet. Stripping off my tank top and pajama pants, I drop them into the laundry basket and straighten my spine.

  Am I really doing this?

  Yeah, I’m really doing this.

  Taking sure steps towards the shower, knowing if I don’t just do this I’ll chicken out, I pull the curtain back and step in. I have to hide the smirk from my face when Hunter realizes what is happening. His entire body freezes, shampoo running down his face and over his chest. His very defined chest…

  Trying as hard as I can to ignore his body, because every part of me wants to look at every inch of him, I tilt my chin up, looking right into his shocked blue eyes. “Save some water for the whales, dude.”

  His jaw clenches and he blinks slowly. His hands begin to move through his hair as his head tilts back, rinsing out the rest of the soap. A small smile graces his lips, causing my core to ache.

  Damnit, why does he have to have such a gorgeous smile?

  When he finishes with his hair, he steps towards me, turning to the side. “All yours, princess,” he whispers harshly.

  I ignore him and move forward and under the water. I keep my back to him, knowing I can’t play this game as well as he can and I should have thought this over better. I am so out of my territory here. What was I thinking? I feel his gaze burning heat into my back, but I continue to focus on what I’m doing. When my hair is wet enough, I grab the shampoo and lather it up, stepping out from the water. I step forward, instead of back, wanting to keep a distance from Hunter. It’s awkward as hell and I’m regretting every second of this. All I’m doing is making a fool of myself. I don’t have the confidence needed to play this game.

  The area behind me gets warmer when I feel Hunter’s presence at my back. The sounds of the water tell me he’s under it, rinsing off his body. The small groans that leave him have me weak and my body aching. When I sense he’s no longer under the water, I back up to rinse my hair, thankful I guessed right. I gain enough courage to turn around, I blame it on the fact I’m suddenly horny as hell but really it’s because I’m an idiot, and I finish rinsing my hair. I open my eyes, fully deciding on washing up with eye contact because fuck him if he thinks he’s winning this. He may have made me horny, but he’s still an asshole. Only, when I open my eyes, there is no one there.

  He must have gotten out while I was turned the other way and I didn’t realize.

  Disappointment strikes and I’m kind of mad at myself for it.

  This is Hunter. Hunter is an asshole. Hunter asked me out on a date and completely ignored me. He’s been nothing but rude to me. Why am I playing games with him?

  “Mind if I join?” Thorne’s voice startles me and he laughs. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  I smile at him, because how can I not?

  “Of course not. I’m almost done, though.”

  “You sure I can’t convince you to stay?”

  “I don’t know… can you?”

  Five

  Leona

  The school day goes by relatively quick and normal. It’s the same routine. Teachers throwing work at us, because it doesn’t matter that this is the last week before Christmas break, we’re going to do as much as we possibly can. Lunch with the guys, which includes Hunter ignoring me and Castor barely speaking to me, though he is getting a little better. The last part of the day is only filled with work, nothing else. I meet the guys at the end of the day, Thorne drives us home and that’s when things get crazy.

  I open the door to shouting.

  “—go there and find him!”

  “No way. That won’t work. You may think you can take on a pack of wolves, but you can’t.”

  “I can and I will.”

  “What is going on?” I ask, walking right into the library where everyone, minus the kids, is gathered. Thorne, Castor, and Hunter follow behind me and they all turn to look at me.

  “We found who the piece of shit is,” Maddox says. “And I want to go kill him.”

  “We can’t do that, Maddox,” Callan says, exasperated. I can’t imagine how many times he’s had to say this already. Knowing how Maddox can be, no one would be able to keep count anyway.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  Maddox opens his mouth to speak, but Lenny cuts him off. “Elias got back to Callan today. He finally has everything back from your blood work.” Elias called Callan a few weeks back, letting him know I am, in fact, a wolf, the DNA proves it. He also let us know he wanted to do some more digging, find out which bloodline I’m from, in turn finding the pack and then my father. Seems he had some luck.

  “He found everything?” I can barely say the words.

  Lenny nods.

  “Where is he?” Why that’s what comes out of my mouth, I have no idea. It’s not like I want to go to him, to see him. It’s because I’m hoping he is as far away as he can be. Another continent maybe. Australia, perhaps. Maybe one of those toilet spiders will get him.

  “Not too far from here,” Alec says. “But I still don’t think it’s a good idea to go there,” he growls at Maddox who rolls his eyes.

  “I agree,” Castor says from behind me. All of my guys have gotten more comfortable around here, which makes me happy. It’s nice to see all of them getting along. It seems just about everyone has forgiven him for leaving me alone in the tower that day. And for whatever reason, Maddox just about idolizes Hunter while he still gives Thorne dirty looks at times. “We need to learn more about them.”

  “I’m running him through some databases now. It shouldn’t be long until I have more information on him.”

  Thorne steps closer to me, sliding his hand around my waist. “How are you handling this?” he whispers. I link my fingers into his, squeezing gently.

  “Fine so far.”

  “Damn,” Callan growls. I know that isn’t good. He never uses that tone. He looks at me. “Nothing. The guy is good. Kept a clear record.” He shakes his head, looking back at the computer. “I’m going to keep looking. There has to be something. Let me try something else…”

  I take a seat in one of the chairs as all the guys get into a conversation about what to do. I sit back and try not to focus on it or listen to what they are saying. I close my eyes and let my head rest back.

  My dad. They found my dad. They know who he is. Someone I have wondered about my entire life. I always had mixed feelings about him. At times I hated him for not being around, at other times I couldn’t blame him. Who would want to live the kind of life my mother had to offer? At the same time, maybe he would have made it better? But now, knowing what he is and what I am… the thought of him is much darker and scarier.

  “Remind me why we love them again.” I open my eyes and find Friday on the side of me.

  “Speak for yourself.” I huff out a laugh and roll my eyes.

  Love. I haven’t told Thorne I love him yet. Do I? I’m not sure. I have strong feelings for him. We have a better bond than I do with the rest of the guys, but of course, I would with how they’ve been.

  “Oh come on, I see the way you look at them.” I raise an eyebrow, not a single clue what she’s talking about. “Having a bond with someone is different than a regular relationship. It’s like… when you meet someone, the feelings meter is at zero. The more you get to know them, the more the meter goes up. Sometimes it goes back down because guys are idiots, but it’ll come back up if it’s meant to. But with a bond? It’s like meeting someone and that meter is already almost full. It takes only the smallest thing for it to reach the top.”

  “You guys should take a look at this.” Callan’s voice is more serious than it normally is. Friday and I get up immediately, going to him. He’s looking at something on his laptop and we all crowd around him trying to get a look at the screen.

  “Who is that?” Alec asks.

  I move closer, bending down to get a better look at the photo he’s looking at.

  “That’s Ms. Boone,” I say. “What is that?”

  “Who the hell is Ms. Boone?” Maddox asks.

  “She’s an English teacher at school,” Thorne says. “What does—”

  “She’s been an English teacher at the school for three and a half years. Before that, she was at the middle school for only two years.” Callan says, already putting two and two together.

  “Why is that important?” Lenny asks.

  “She wasn’t a teacher here before that, Lenny.”

  “What am I missing?” Lenny looks to all of us.

  “She started working at school the same time I started attending,” I say.

  It could be a coincidence, but I’m not sure I believe in those any longer.

  Six

  Leona

  We head over to the guesthouse, which really is ours but I still can’t stop referring to it as that, a short while later. My head is spinning with everything I just learned. Ms. Boone got a job in the school system when I first started school. When I left middle school to attend high school, so did she. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, because teachers move around all the time. She isn’t the only one who moved to the high school when I did. In fact, I believe three others did as well. She isn’t someone I’ve ever paid much attention to. I’ve never had any of her classes, I haven’t spoken to her much. But she’s here for me. I just know it. Whether it’s good or bad, I have no idea. And neither does anyone else but I need to figure it out. Because according to what Callan found, not only is she one of my teachers, but she’s my father’s sister. My aunt.