"What is wrong with me, Mom?" Jazmine asked.

  "What do you mean, honey? You just got a little overworked, that's all. You have to remember you're growing too."

  "But…what about the animals?"

  "Like I said, you’ve always had a way with animals. It's a gift, I guess."

  "Or maybe a curse?" she asked.

  Her mother smiled and shook her head. "No, baby. You just don't know how to control it yet. It'll come."

  Jazmine bit her lip, thinking about the fire she had managed to ignite. Was that why she had been so sick? Was it simply because she was new to all this? Had it drained her somehow? Because she was still so young? Her mom had to suspect that was why. Or she wouldn't have asked her if she had been to the attic.

  Of course.

  She sat up. The room only spun a little. "I’m better now, Mom," she said. "I think I'll go outside a little to get some fresh air. Probably take a walk around the lake."

  "Are you sure you're well enough for this?" her mother asked.

  As long as I don't use any witchcraft, I think I will be.

  She nodded. "I am positive."

  Chapter Forty-Five

  I was a little late to our meeting by the lake. It was hard to explain to Duncan that I had to leave so suddenly. I told him I needed to help a friend with something and that it was important. Duncan seemed sad as we drove back in the limo, disappointed maybe. To please him, I leaned over as the limo stopped in front of my house and planted a kiss on his cold cheek.

  I looked into his eyes. "Thank you. Today was lovely."

  He smiled, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. "So, does this mean I can take you out again?"

  I pretended to be thinking about it. "Will there be meat involved?"

  "I bet."

  "And ice cream?"

  "Cookies and cream."

  "Then my answer is yes."

  He sighed and grabbed my hand in his. His touch was cold, but it didn't make me shiver the way my mother's usually did. He kissed the top of my hand, then let go.

  "Until next time."

  "Until then."

  "Now, hurry up. Your friend is waiting."

  I laughed and jumped out of the limo, then ran to my house. I sprinted to my bedroom, changed, then told my mom I was going for a run.

  The others were already there when I arrived.

  "Where were you?" Jayden asked, approaching me. His voice sounded slightly angry, but he was suppressing it. He reached out and grabbed me by the waist, then pulled me close. Jazmine and Amy rolled their eyes and Amy mouthed, Get a room.

  "I was worried," Jayden continued.

  "I'm fine. I was just out when I got the message. Took a while to get back," I said. I felt like Jayden was holding me a little too tight.

  "Were you with him?" he asked.

  I looked into his eyes. "If you must know, yes. He took me to the mountains for lunch."

  I sensed how his entire body began to tremble. "I hate that you have to be with that guy."

  "It wasn't so bad," I said. "I got chicken for lunch. Do you know how long it has been since I last had chicken?"

  He stared at me like I had gone mad.

  "Meat is important to me," I said. "I know it's nothing for any of you, but when you can't have it, it's a big deal. Anyway, what's happening? What’s with that necklace?"

  Jayden sighed and let go of me. "I found it in my brother's room."

  "And?"

  "It belonged to Mrs. Sharpe. It was in the newspaper, in the old photo of her from the school."

  I stared at him. "Oh, dear," I said. "Are you sure about this?"

  He nodded. "It's hers."

  "But…surely there could be other necklaces like it out there with the same heart on them?"

  "And with the inscription JS on the back of it? As in Julie Sharpe?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows.

  I shrugged. "It's possible."

  "You don't have to make excuses for my brother," Jayden said. "No matter how you look at it, Logan killed Mrs. Sharpe. And why stop there? He probably killed Natalie Jamieson and Blake Fisher too. I mean, I had a feeling it might be him all along, so it's really just a confirmation of my suspicion."

  I approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

  He sniffled. "Well, it's hardly your fault. But what I need your help for is, what do I do now?"

  "Go to the police?" Jazmine asked.

  "His dad is the police," Amy said.

  "And if anyone would cover for his son, it's Officer Smith," Jayden added. "Family comes first. Before anything."

  "Can we tip off the police somehow anonymously?" I asked.

  Jayden shook his head. "My dad will hear about it and make sure the necklace is gone by then."

  "Can you talk to your mother about it?" Amy asked.

  Jayden exhaled. "Maybe. But what can she do? It's her son."

  "I think it might be worth a try," I said. "Knowing your mother, she will take you seriously. She’ll listen. Maybe she can ground him or something. At least make the killings stop if she knows. She is, after all, his mother."

  Jayden nodded. "That might actually work."

  Chapter Forty-Six

  "Do you have a minute, Mom?"

  Jayden waited in the doorway to her bedroom. His mom was hanging up newly washed clothes. She smiled.

  "Of course, son. Come on in."

  He went inside and closed the door. He had the necklace in his hand. His mother sat on the bed and patted it next to her.

  "Come sit."

  She was smiling so happily it made Jayden feel broken inside. He was about to crush her heart; how could he when she was so happy?

  "It's been a while since you wanted to talk to me. Ever since we told you about your future, to be exact. I know it is a lot to process and don't feel bad if you need to take your time. It's completely understandable. Your dad and I are completely onboard with giving you the time and space to deal with it, but you must know we are here should you need to talk. And now you have come, so let's talk."

  Jayden sighed. "It…I…It wasn't about that."

  She looked disappointed. "Oh. Well, then what is it about then?"

  Jayden swallowed, hard, then showed her the necklace. "I found this. In Logan's room."

  His heart was beating so fast he didn't even know it was possible without exploding. The look on his mother's face was that of confusion.

  "I don't…understand?"

  Jayden was prepared for this and brought out his phone. He showed her the initials on the back, then the picture of Mrs. Sharpe wearing the necklace. Then he waited. His mother stared at the picture, then the necklace, and then back at the picture once again.

  Finally, she lifted her eyes and looked at Jayden. "And you say you found this in Logan's room?"

  Jayden drew in a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes."

  His mother grabbed the necklace, then held it up to the light. She looked at Jayden again, then smiled. It was strained to say the least.

  "Your dad and I will deal with this, Jayden. Now, have you told anyone about this, Jayden? Anyone?"

  He shook his head. "N-no."

  She scoffed. "Good. Let's keep it that way, okay? This is a family matter, okay? We'll deal with it ourselves. No one else needs to know. I hope you understand."

  "O-of course."

  "Good, son. You did well in coming to me first. I am proud of you. I wasn't so sure of your loyalty until now. Your dad kept telling me you understood the concept of family first, of being part of a pack, but now I see what he means. You have what it takes."

  "Thanks, I guess."

  Jayden got up from the bed and walked out of the room. Right before he left, his mom stopped him.

  "Oh, by the way, Jayden?"

  "Y-yes?"

  "We have arranged for you to meet Ruelle next month."

  "Ruelle?" he asked.

  "It's French. They're French. Her father is our Alpha. She is the girl you're going to marry."

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Jayden waited in his room till he heard the front door slam shut and his brother come home from the gym. He held his breath and listened by the door as he heard him walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. Then he heard their mother approach Logan and tell him: We need to talk. She then ordered him to sit down.

  Jayden went into the hallway and stood at the top of the stairs and listened in as their mother placed the necklace in front of Logan on the dining room table, followed by a deep sigh.

  "What's this?" she asked.

  "A necklace," his brother answered, sounding indifferent.

  "But whose necklace is it?" their dad asked.

  "I don't know," Logan said.

  Jayden moved closer, walking a few steps down the stairs so he could better hear what they said.

  "You don't know?" their mother said.

  "No. I don't know."

  "But…" their mother exhaled. It made Jayden cringe. There was nothing worse than the sound of a disappointed mother. "Logan, you need to explain to us. Where did you get this necklace?"

  "Why?" he asked.

  "Because we're asking you about it," their dad said, slamming his fist on the table.

  "Calm down, will you? It's not like I stole it or anything. I…I found it," he said.

  "You found it?" their mother asked. "Where?"

  "In our front yard. This morning, when I got back from…running in the mountains."

  Jayden couldn't believe him. That had to be the worst lie he had ever heard. There was no way his parents would believe that.

  "So, you're telling me you found it in the front yard this morning?" their mother said, sounding relieved.

  What was going on here? Did they believe this lie? How? How? Couldn't they see how lame it was?

  "Why?" Logan asked. "Why is this necklace so important?"

  "It belonged to the woman who was murdered last night. Mrs. Sharpe," their dad said, also sounding very relieved.

  Jayden's mom sighed, happily. "I am so glad to hear this."

  "Wait…you guys thought that…?"

  "Well, when Jayden showed it to me, I have to admit, I thought…"

  "Jayden?" Logan asked. He rose to his feet. Jayden could hear the chair screech across the tiles. "Jayden is behind this?"

  "No, no, son," their dad said. "He was merely concerned, that's all. We all were."

  "You all thought I was some killer, huh? That's nice."

  "Logan, please, sit back down," their mother said. "We know how hard it is to control yourself in the beginning. It's only natural. Slip ups happen."

  Logan sighed. "But I am fully in control and you know that. I would never…I mean, come on…"

  "Oh, we know, son. We know you'd never hurt anyone. Of course, you wouldn't," their dad said.

  "I’m just glad we got to talk about this," their mother said.

  Jayden couldn't believe his own ears, and as Logan once again pushed the chair across the tiles, Jayden hurried back upstairs. He didn't make it very far before his brother was right behind him.

  "Eavesdropping much, huh?" he asked.

  Jayden turned around. There was a fire in Logan's eyes that Jayden had never seen before. He approached him, pointing his finger at him.

  "You have no business going behind my back like that. Don't think I don’t have you figured out, okay? You might be destined to be my leader one day, but to me, you're just my dorky baby brother, who may or may not live to see the day when he becomes the Alpha of the pack. 'Cause guess who is next in line if he doesn't? That's right, baby brother. You better watch where you're going. Or you might trip and fall. You mortals are so darn fragile."

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  So, Logan was the killer, huh? It made sense but was still hard to comprehend. I had known Logan all my life.

  I was sitting in my room, staring at Jayden's house, wondering how things were going over there, if he had been able to talk to his mother yet and if so, what they were going to do. How had she reacted? I had never liked Jayden's brother much while growing up and the killings did start once he had turned eighteen. It made perfect sense that he was the one.

  But it still scared me like crazy.

  I kept looking at my phone, hoping to see a Snapchat from Jayden, but so far, there had been nothing. He had promised he would send something to all of us, just so we would know how it went. I was worried sick, naturally. Who wouldn't be?

  Finally, my phone vibrated, and I looked at it, but it wasn't from Jayden. This was a text from Duncan.

  HAD A GREAT TIME TODAY

  It made me smile. I felt bad for suddenly cutting the picnic short and wanted to make it up to him.

  IT WAS FUN. MAYBE WE COULD GET THAT ICE CREAM TOMORROW?

  I added a smiling emoji, then sent it. The reply came fast.

  I KNOW THE RIGHT PLACE.

  "Of course, you do," I mumbled and replied: DO THEY HAVE COOKIES AND CREAM?

  YES. AND SPRINKLES.

  SOUNDS LIKE THE RIGHT PLACE THEN.

  PICK YOU UP AT THREE.

  I chuckled and put the phone down, then went back to worrying about Jayden. His house across the street seemed so quiet. I could hardly stand it. I grabbed my phone and sent a Snap to everyone with the caption ANY NEWS?

  Amy replied with a Snap of her freshly made lasagna. My mouth watered. I loved Amy's lasagna. Her caption read:

  HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING. SO WORRIED I HAVE MADE FOOD ENOUGH FOR AN ARMY.

  The Snap made me chuckle. Jazmine hadn't answered yet and I wondered what she was up to, if she was all right after what happened this morning. She had been very pale still when we met by the lake. She had told us she believed the weakness and dizziness had come because she had used magic and because she wasn't used to it. I didn't know how any of that worked, but I guessed it made sense.

  I stared at Jayden's house and the window to his room, when finally, my phone buzzed again, and this time it was from him.

  With a sigh of relief, I opened the app. But it wasn't a picture, just a message in the chat, saying:

  IT DIDN'T WORK. I AM A DEAD MAN.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Sunday mornings were usually very quiet in Jayden's neighborhood. And so it started out this Sunday, even though the house down the street where Mrs. Sharpe used to live was still blocked off by police tape. But that was all that was left to remind them of what had happened. The street was eerily quiet as he decided to go for an early morning run. He needed to get out of the house to think and to get away from his brother's constant pecking at him every time he saw him.

  Jayden ran across the cul-de-sac and in between the houses, passing Jazmine's house on his left as he ran to the park behind their neighborhood.

  Jayden had a lot on his mind and a lot of anger he didn't know where to place, so he sprinted faster than ever, watching the park and the lake approaching in the distance, thinking of all the stuff that had been going on in his life lately. Most of all, he thought about Robyn and how he worried that they would never get to be together. His parents had planned for him to meet this girl, Ruelle, next month and they were making a big deal out of it. When was he going to tell them he wouldn't marry her? After they met? Or would he wait till he turned eighteen? That would hardly be fair to Ruelle or to her family for that matter. On the other hand, he couldn’t tell his parents now. It would make the next two years completely miserable and he had no idea how they would react. They might even kick him out. Then what would he do?

  Jayden sighed and sped up. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he had felt this frustrated. Was this part of growing up?

  There were days when he wished he was back to being just a kid again and didn't have to deal with all these big questions and act so adult when he still wasn't really one. And he missed the times when he and Robyn could hang out all day, talking about movies or books they had read or how stupid someone from their class was, or even just jumping on his trampoline and singing loudly.

  When did it all become so complicated?

  Jayden ran around the lake, thinking about the day they had pulled out the body of Natalie Jamieson and how scared he had been seeing her in the murky water, bobbing up and down. Then he thought about his brother and wondered if he had killed her and maybe the other two as well, and if he had, how on earth could Jayden stop him?

  He'll screw up at some point. He's not that smart.

  But how many bodies would it take before he did? Before their parents finally realized what was going on? Could Jayden live with himself if Logan even killed one more human?

  He shook his head and sped up. He had been gone for almost an hour and he decided he had to get back. He ran down the trail leading to Shadow Hills, then in between the houses, when he spotted Jazmine coming out her front door.

  "Jayden," she said and approached him, walking into the cul-de-sac.

  Jayden stopped and pulled his ear buds out. "Hey."

  "How are you?"

  He shrugged. "Been better, I guess."

  "What happened?"

  "They believed his lie," he said. "I think it’s probably just too hard for them to realize that their own son could do such a terrible thing."

  "You shouldn't have to make excuses for them," she said.

  Jazmine crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was cold. "So, have you talked to any of the others?" she asked.

  He shook his head. "I’ve had a lot on my mind."

  She scoffed. "I bet."

  "So, what are you up to today?" he asked.

  "My dad and I are going to the mall. To watch a movie," she said.

  Jayden scoffed, thinking about back in the day when he used to enjoy hanging out with his family. Was it ever going to be that way again?