Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty-One

“Wolves are very social creatures,” Jude was saying. We were sitting on the porch, overlooking the very busy backyard. Pack members of all ages were out.

The elders perched on lawn chairs as they watched the kids chase each other. Teenagers skulked around, laughing and teasing one another.

Men and women worked together to hang laundry, garden, and, from the looks of it, train in combat.

“It’s fascinating,” I said. And it was. To think that these people lived together, worked together, played together all the time was interesting.

You didn’t find too many people who were willing to live like this anymore. Intergenerational cohabitation simply wasn’t a thing.

“Everyone has a rank,” Jude explained. “It starts with the alpha, the beta, the third in command. It ends, of course, with the omega.

“We have enforcers and lookouts, peacekeepers and healers. Even if a wolf doesn’t have a specific title, he or she has a place, an expectation.”

“And you’re a peacemaker,” I said.

Jude nodded. “Not too common among our kind. The average wolf has a less than favorable temperament. I’ve been able to travel because of my rank.

“As Grant might have told you, I’ve spent time with the White Wolves and other packs. This is my home, though.”

“I’m jealous,” I said, and suddenly realized I meant it. “I’ve lived my whole life in Roseburg. I’ll probably live the rest of my life there too.”

Jude smiled softly. “There’s nothing wrong with planting roots.” I nodded absently. Jude seemed to sense my hesitation and tilted his head to the side.

“You only found out about all this recently, am I correct?”

I paused before nodding. “A few weeks ago, I was chased through the woods by a pack of wolves. The next moment I have—” I stopped myself before I said the word ~two~ and then started again.

“I have a mate, and he has a pack, and I am a witch, and I have a clan.”

“You might wish it differently,” Jude said, “but this kind of discovery is never easy. It doesn’t matter whether you get everything at once or in small doses.”

“Would’ve helped if I had always known,” I countered.

Jude shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Those of us who grow up with this knowledge face different challenges. Knowing that you’re different doesn’t always help you blend in.

“Lying to any friend you make at school, making up excuses for why your friends can’t come over, or disguising pack meetings as camping trips.” Jude sighed.

“I think the challenge is growing up with each foot in a different world. Trying to make your heritage and everyday life coexist is never easy.”

“I feel like I’m living someone else’s life,” I admitted, surprised that I did. “I feel like I haven’t gotten the chance to sit around and really think any of this through.”

Without thinking, my fingers began worrying over my carnelian pendant.

“One day you won’t have to second-guess anything,” Jude promised. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but the longer you’re surrounded by the supernatural, the more natural it all becomes.”

“Until you learn you’re not the only monster?”

Jude laughed. “Yes, until then.”

I sighed and folded my arms across my chest. “I feel like I’m running a marathon during an earthquake. I look at myself, and I’m torn between what I want to see, what I should see, and what I do see.”

I hesitated as I bit my lower lip. “I have this new magic, but I haven’t used it yet, and I’m starting to feel like I have all this fire built up under my skin—”

“Can we talk?” I looked up to see Ebony smiling above me. I cast a wistful look to Jude and then pushed myself to my feet.

Ebony led me off the porch and through the backyard, not stopping until we were on a worn-in footpath in the trees. “Morda, right?”

I nodded. “I should warn you before you ask your questions that I’ve only been a witch for a few weeks, and I’ve only had powers for less than twenty-four hours.”

Ebony smiled. “I won’t ask anything too complicated.” I tried not to squirm as she appraised me. “Why do you wear all those gems? Does that help channel your powers?”

On reflex, I reached for the carnelian stone on my chest. “Oh—no, they’re um—they were given to me as part of my ceremony. My aunt—our Keeper of Crystals—she chose which ones would best suit me.”

“Ceremony?” Ebony asked.

I nodded. “Uh—yeah. I guess new witches have a ceremony to unblock their powers. I guess that’s how you find out what kind of witch you are and—”

Ebony grinned. “I never had a ceremony, and I still got powers; ergo, I cannot be a witch.”

I trod lightly, not wanting to dampen the mood of someone who could shift into a wolf at any moment.

“When I asked my mother if the ceremony was necessary, she told me that stray witches who didn’t receive one only came into their powers at times of high stress.

“She said that those witches were prone to losing control, to endangering themselves and others…” I trailed off, reading the look in Ebony’s eyes as understanding.

Whatever had happened in her past, it must’ve been close to my description.

Ebony’s fingers worried over the tattoo on her arm. I wondered if she realized she was doing it at all.

She walked in silence for a few minutes, trying to work out some puzzle in her brain. Pity panged through me again.

I turned my gaze away, trying to give her some privacy as she thought. The trees weren’t as thick here as the spot in their territory where we had entered the night before.

The path was well-maintained and full of wildlife, which surprised me. I didn’t think animals would want to make a home on a wolf’s territory.

Then I realized that if the pack hunted, they must do so farther out so as not to dissuade animal populations from settling here. They wanted a vibrant ecosystem on their lands.

A chipmunk darted onto the path ahead of us and then froze when it saw us coming.

~Panic,~ I heard, ~flee!~ I blinked as the chipmunk disappeared, my skin rising as I again wondered where this sudden ability was from.

“I can’t believe…,” Ebony mumbled.

“Would it really be so bad?” I asked. “To be part witch?”

Ebony’s jaw was tight. “Imagine if the situation were reversed. Imagine after believing you were a witch you suddenly shifted into a wolf. It makes you feel unstable. I feel like…”

“But you already had powers,” I countered carefully, “you had already manifested some other—”

“I know,” Ebony said with a heavy sigh. “I know it shouldn’t be this hard for me to accept. Maybe it’s just because I had thought that I was…that I was special.

“That I had been chosen by the goddess, blessed with extra gifts. I thought that my mother and I were the only people…maybe half the sting is finding out that I’m mediocre after all.”

“You’re definitely not mediocre,” I said, taking a stab in the dark. I didn’t know Ebony at all, so whatever chance I took to try to cheer her up was about as likely to hit as it was to miss.

“You’re a female alpha, you are most likely a little bit of witch ~and~ werewolf. As far as I know, there aren’t many of us out there.”

Ebony smiled and pushed her hands into her pockets. “Are you sure you have to leave tonight? Might be nice to keep you around for ego-boosting purposes.”

“If you ever have any questions or want to talk, you can always find me in Roseburg. My mother would probably be a bigger help to you than me, but the offer is there.”

Ebony seemed surprised by my offer. “Thank you,” she said quickly, “I’ll remember that.” She was quiet for a moment, touching branches as we walked.

“So what is it you can do, your friend said she had…tree magic?”

I grimaced and nodded. “I think Eve is the only witch in my clan with that specific skill.” The carnelian pendant bumped against my chest as we walked. “I have fire magic, like my mom,” I said.

I opened my mouth to tell her about the rest but then stopped myself. How did I explain what I didn’t understand? “What about you?”

Ebony recoiled slightly. “Fire?” she repeated, her hand rubbing her thigh unconsciously. She pushed whatever was in her mind away and forced a smile.

“A little bit of telekinesis, a little bit of weather control, the occasional unconscious healing. Typical stuff, right?”

The foliage groaned to our left, and two wolves emerged. The first one I recognized instantly as Grant. Standing tall and proud with fur whiter than clouds in the sky or snow on the ground.

I was able to identify the other wolf from its socks. Axel had joined Grant in a run of the territory. I might’ve been surprised if I didn’t realize they were only together because Ebony and I were.

Axel stalked out of the trees and onto the path, circling around Ebony. His tail grazed her stomach and back as he checked in on her. She smiled faintly, reaching out to touch his fur.

His deep-blue eyes cut to me after one rotation, still not trusting. Then he was gone, lunging back into the trees and tearing toward the pack house.

Grant’s wolf stared at me for a minute longer. I picked up on his message. ~Hello, I hope you’re all right.~

And beyond that, I saw the way he looked at the trees around him, at the pack land. ~I’ve missed this.~

Grant bounded off as well, leaving Ebony and me alone once more. “A White Wolf,” she murmured to herself, “so odd to think he left Livy’s pack. I wonder if he’ll ever find his way back.”

The concern in her voice told me more than I needed to know. Wolves didn’t survive without a pack, even the white ones.

“You and Axel,” I hedged, intending to get some answers of my own. “You said before that all mated couples have…obstacles.”

Ebony laughed. “Axel and I had some obstacles, that’s for damn sure.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “But it worked out.”

“Barely,” she admitted. “There was a brief time of rejection on both our parts. Some perilous danger and some ego problems.” She looked over to me and started us walking again.

“Look, it’s never easy. I literally don’t think I’ve ever met a mated couple who made it work at the very start. No matter how mad he makes you, just know that life will always be worse without him.

“Wolves who lose their mates…” She drifted off and shivered. “Keep him close.”

We transitioned to easier topics, getting to know each other a little in the quick walk back to the pack house. If Ebony had any more questions about magic, she kept them to herself.

I suspected the topic was like a toothache for her, something she didn’t want to face but knew would cause her trouble if she didn’t.

Delighted shrieks of laughter and sounds of amazement drifted from the backyard. I wasn’t surprised to find that Eve was at the heart of it.

The pack’s children and some teenagers who were pretending not to watch were gathered around the witch, watching as she twisted the trees around her, making them bend and bloom.

Ebony thanked me for the walk and moved toward the group of children, sitting behind a young boy with brown hair.

She slung her arm around him and drew him to her chest, kissing the top of his head before releasing him so he could watch Eve’s show.

She didn’t look old enough to have a child that old, but she sure acted like his mother.

“You should take a whack at dazzling the pups,” Grant said as he came to stand next to me. He was dressed now but still flushed from his run.

“I’d probably burn the house down,” I stated, “maybe start a forest fire.”

To my surprise, Grant actually laughed. “Maybe fire magic isn’t the best to wield around a group of small children.”

I hesitated and then opened up. “Fire magic isn’t the only gift I got from the ceremony.”

Grant looked down at me, pale eyes sparking with interest. “No?”

I sucked in a breath and pulled down my shirt slightly to expose the arrow carved in my skin.

It was looking a little less rough today, less like it had been carved with a rusty knife and more like an old scalpel.

“I think—maybe—that because of this mark—the High Matron thing—I was given one of the Moon Goddess’s powers.” I watched Grant’s reaction closely. This sounded absurd, even to my own ears.

Grant didn’t dispute me right out. “Okay.”

“Artemis, in lore, had the ability to control and communicate with animals,” I said.

“I don’t know about the control part, but I think I may be able to hear what they’re thinking or feeling, or if I’m really hearing anything or just able to sense. Maybe it’s nothing at all—”

“Whoa,” Grant said, “don’t be so quick to dismiss yourself. I think it’s a fair assumption. You’ll need to ask your mother when we get back to Roseburg.”

I nodded, relief chipping a little bit of the pressure off my shoulders.

We both turned to watch Eve’s show. It was mesmerizing, even to me, so I wasn’t surprised that the pack children—and the rest of the pack—were completely taken with Eve’s display of pure magic.

When Eve had wrapped up her tricks, the pack began setting up for dinner. I wasn’t sure if the production was for our sake or if we had just come on a special day for the pack.

Either way, the display of food and festivity was amazing.

The pack ate outside, some people perched on picnic blankets while others squatted on the porch or foldout tables and chairs. The enforcers stood stiffly with plates in their hands and tense shoulders.

They were mostly tense because Eve was floating around, trying her best to flirt with one of them. Apparently, she really wanted to date a werewolf to add to her collection of exes.

Grant and I sat together on a blanket, both of us silent as we ate and observed. The food was amazing, an eclectic collection of food brought together by different pack members.

I felt bad we couldn’t contribute to the potluck but happy we were here to help eat it.

Logan walked by with two of his daughters, twins. “Everything all right?” Grant and I fired off a chorus of thank-yous and amazings!

Logan smiled and tugged on his daughters’ hands, propelling them toward the rest of his family.

“This is a nice pack,” Grant commented, smiling as two kids chased each other. There was a hint of sorrow at the corner of his smile. I frowned and set my food down.

“Aren’t all packs like this?”

Grant shook his head. “No, unfortunately not.”

I didn’t pry. If Grant wanted to open up about his past, then it would be on his schedule. I didn’t want to force anything.

I didn’t want to nag at him for not opening up to me. There were a lot of things I wasn’t willing to share about myself yet either.

Dinner ended with a massive cleanup. And by massive I meant more than eighty people working together to tackle dishes and put away leftovers.

Grant and I helped as much as we could before a few pack elders chased us off. Apparently, pack guests weren’t expected to contribute to the cleanup effort.

Everyone waited until the sky grew dark, and then we gathered as a big bonfire was built. I sat back from the pack, watching the flames with a morbid sense of curiosity.

I was meant to control fire, a skill that I could feel under my skin but had trouble visualizing.

Also sitting far from the fire was Ebony. She caught me on the outskirts and smiled, tugging the little boy along from earlier. “This is Jeremy,” she introduced as she approached, “He’s my pup.”

Ebony pinched his cheek affectionately, making the boy go red. He was a sweet-looking little boy, maybe eight or nine with older eyes and a stance that made me wonder what he’d seen in his life.

Jeremy ran off after a moment, hurrying to join the other kids as someone brought out a bundle of sticks and a bag of marshmallows. I smiled as I watched, remembering fires in the backyard with my mom.

We were never able to go camping because she worked on the weekends, but she pitched a tent in the backyard for me. Of course, I’d only stay out there for a few hours before I chickened out and ran back inside.

“You don’t like fire, do you?” I asked.

Ebony’s smile wavered. “No,” she said blatantly, “I was burned once, and I learn fast.”

We settled into silence as Logan got up to speak. He told stories clumsily, not exactly made to express thoughts with grace.

Despite his lackluster speaking skills, everyone listened intently. I supposed when an alpha spoke, the pack listened.

My attention was pulled to the side, and I caught the stag in the trees. It blinked its black eyes at me, lowering its antlers and using a hoof to claw the ground.

~Come,~ it said, ~I have something to show you.~

I started moving toward the stag, becoming more impressed the closer I got. It seemed satisfied that I was following its orders.

~Closer,~ it beckoned, ~into the forest.~ I almost stumbled but kept going, unaware of everything but the deer.

~Morda,~ it called to me, ~come.~ I continued forward, breath slowing as I focused on the stag. The flames danced in my peripheral vision, only urging me to move faster.

The stag suddenly reared on its back legs and then took off into the trees. I prepared myself to run after it but was yanked backward, nearly tumbling.

“Morda,” Grant said curtly, fingers wrapped tightly around my arm. He had yanked me backward. He had stopped me from chasing the deer.

I blinked as my head cleared. I looked around, thankful no one seemed to notice my disappearance.

Grant couldn’t hide the look of concern on his face. “What were you—”

“The deer,” I gasped, breathless. “It was there.”

“There was nothing there,” Grant snapped, panic making him angry. “It was like you were possessed, did you not hear me calling your name?”

I tugged my arm out of his hold and backpedaled. “No, I—”

There was a large figure looming over us. I turned and gazed up at Axel, ready for whatever insult he wanted to throw my way next.

He glared down at me before turning to Grant and saying something low enough to slip past my ears.

Grant stiffened and thanked Axel. He waited until Axel had stalked over to Ebony before placing a hand lightly on my back.

“We need to find Eve,” Grant murmured to me, his voice low as his eyes darted all over the yard. “We need to get out of here.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Cerberus,” Grant whispered.

I shivered and then upped my pace, eyes searching for Eve. I found her in the lap of one of the enforcers. He looked tired, as though Eve had spent the day wearing him down, which I supposed she had.

I hurried over to her and tapped her shoulder. She turned her green eye on me and dazzled me with a smile. “Yes?”

“We’re leaving.”

Eve frowned for a long moment before grabbing the werewolf and kissing him deeply. When she was satisfied and he was stunned, she hopped off him and took my hand, rushing over to where I had left Grant.

Grant placed a hand on my back and propelled me forward, Eve clearing the trees. I spared a moment to look back at the pack, sad we couldn’t stay longer or have a proper goodbye.

I had liked talking with Jude and Ebony, and I suspected there were more people in the Evers pack that were worth meeting.

“Quickly,” Grant urged.

I moved faster, my breath already coming in short bursts. The forest was dark, and I was starting to trip over loose rocks and gnarly roots.

Grant kept me upright as we ran, his hands never straying too far.

All of a sudden, I was staring at the ground. I tried to breathe and struggled, the fall had winded me. I rolled over and panicked, seeing nothing but a thick canopy of leaves inches from my face.

I felt Grant squeeze my hand and turned to look at him. He was lying beside me with a finger to his lips. My body froze as I realized what was happening.

We had run right into Cerberus, and Eve was trying to give us some cover.

“I don’t get this, Alpha,” a man was saying, voice full of grit. “We tell him about the bounty, he offers to help us search, and then he throws a goddamn party.”

Another man growled in response. “He thinks we have all the time in the world. Some of us need that reward to eat, you know.

“If this kid wasn’t worth so much, I’d kill him for all the trouble he’s caused. Dane won’t even think about hunting someone else now that he got away.”

“Chris is lucky he’s still alive after leaving the bounty unattended,” the first man said. “I never thought two broken legs would constitute as lucky.”

“The kid could be anywhere now,” the second man swore. “What a waste of time.”

“Nah, nah. There’s a reason he stuck around that town. He ain’t leaving.”

Their footsteps stopped, and I felt my heart squeeze. I strained my ears to listen as the two men walked nearer to us, neither one saying anything.

Grant gripped my hand so hard I was sure he was leaving tiny fractures in my bones.

“What’s your problem?” the man with the gritty voice whispered.

The other man paused. “I thought I saw something weird—some bush that didn’t quite look right.”

“You’re wasting my time out here over a goddamn bush,” the first man snapped. “I’ll break your goddamn legs next if you don’t get over here. We have an order from Dane to surround the pack.”

I looked over at Grant sharply. He shook his head at me. I knew what he was saying. ~Don’t worry, they’ll be fine, they have Haven and Ebony and Logan and Axel. They’re safe.~

No matter the reassurances, I still felt an urge to double back and stand with them.

We lay there for a long while, until Grant was absolutely sure the other pack members were far off. Once we got the greenlight, Eve began to slowly untangle the web above us.

When the trees had returned to their original postures, we took off, flying through the forest to the hidden Volvo.

No one spoke much on the return trip. The earlier panic had zapped our energy. Eve slept across the backseat as Grant drove, one hand on the steering wheel and the other constantly fidgeting with the radio.

I curled up in the passenger seat, bringing my knees to my chest as I twisted the ring around my index finger.

I turned to the window, imagining the stag running alongside the car, clearing fallen trees and dodging low branches as it sprinted with us.

“We need to talk to your mother and aunt about the Council,” Grant said.

I nodded absently and then drew my attention toward him. “Yeah,” I said noncommittally, “we do.” I was overtired and on edge. The two left me with no headspace for my next problem.

“They’ll find him,” Grant said softly, misreading my silence. I hid my face from him, knowing how much it took for him to comfort me on this particular subject.

The worst part was, I hadn’t been thinking of Ben when he was all I should have been thinking about. He was out there and alone, but when I was with Grant, I didn’t think of tawny eyes and full moons.

The rest of the ride flew by. This late, there was no traffic on the road and no cops to pull us over when Grant pushed the speed limit.

Grant slowed when he turned onto my street, fingers tightening along the steering wheel as he reached over and flicked the radio off.

I pushed myself off the back of my seat and squinted. Whatever Grant had seen was still too far for me to focus on. I looked over to him, the look on his face raising my heart in alarm.

Something wasn’t right.

“What is it?”

Grant said nothing as he pulled closer to my house, swerving next to the curb. I felt like someone had taken a knife and carved out my stomach.

Picketers. Around my house. With signs and T-shirts and flashlights.

I didn’t wait for Grant to pull the car to a stop, I threw myself out of the passenger door and hit the pavement hard.

I trudged toward my house, almost unrecognizable with the two dozen people circling it like vultures.

~Down with the Wicked Ways of the Witches!~

~No more paganism! No more Wicca! No more Magic!~

~The Salem Witch Trials Shall Start Again!~

Ice smothered any fire that had been in my veins. Despite myself, my face went warm as hot embarrassment took over.

I backed up a pace and felt Grant grip the top of my arm. But his presence wasn’t enough to stop the horror of the situation. My family was being targeted.

Nausea rocked me as I heard Kale’s voice.

“No more witches in Roseburg! Protect the children, protect the pure! This is an unholy house! They gave me this potion to poison my girlfriend! This is the proof that they’re evil!”

Kale held up a tiny vial, the fake love potion I had made Eve give him.

I heard her swear behind me.

Kale turned to my house, blond hair yellow from the glow of the streetlamps. “Leave Roseburg, witches! Go spoil some other town with your satanic ways! Get out! Get out! Get out!”

One woman yelled in agreement and lifted her sign. From the top of the sign hung a dummy from a noose.

“No one wants you here! Get out!” Her outcry sparked the rest of the group to scream profanities and slurs.

I felt Grant slip his arm around me and pull me tight to his chest. I turned into him, not sure how much propaganda I could take.

“I’m going to kill him,” Grant growled in my ear. “He won’t get away with this.”

Eve was shaking with anger, her hands twitching at her sides. A heavy oak sat on my front lawn, and she was tempted to take one of the lower branches and smack the sign right out of Kale’s hand.

After a few seconds of standing there, frustration and anger and embarrassment filled up my body. I whipped around viciously, stalking across my lawn and ignoring warnings from both Eve and Grant.

I didn’t care. I was going to raise hell.

Kale grinned when he saw me coming. “Morda, welcome, do you want a sign?”

I savagely swatted away the sign he mock offered me. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Kale?” I barked. “I gave you what you wanted. You were supposed to call this all off.”

Kale’s lip twitched. “Sorry. It was too much fun.”

“This is all because Britt won’t give you the time of day?” I asked incredulously. “Go get another girlfriend, I’m sure there’re plenty of girls who are blond, blind, and dumb enough to go out with you.”

Kale held my eyes, lifted his sign, and yelled, “Witchcraft is a sin! An abomination!” The crowd jeered in response.

I felt fire in my fingertips. “Stop all this.”

Kale was furious in a flat second. “Britt’s dad was going to get me into a good college, he was going to offer me an internship.

“And then the altercation happened in the woods, and Britt dumped me, and my future disappeared. Now instead of Ivy League, my dad wants me to work at the station.

“Can you imagine being stuck in this dumb, deadbeat town forever?”

“That has nothing to do with me or my family,” I exploded.

“If it wasn’t for you—” Kale snapped and stopped himself. “You wouldn’t believe how easy it was to gather a crowd.

“You wouldn’t think, but there were plenty of old-school Bible thumpers ready to make the leap between Satan and witchcraft. I just had to use a few buzz words.”

“You—”

“Remove this crowd,” Grant interrupted, laying a hand on my shoulder.

“Who the hell are you?” Kale asked, pausing to spout some more bullshit.

“Remove this crowd,” Grant repeated, “before I call the police.”

Kale scoffed. “My dad is the police—”

“Great,” Grant said with a cold grin, “if we’re operating outside of the law, then I will remove you myself.”

The brittle calmness in Grant’s voice was enough to make Kale waver.

“I’d like to see you try, bud,” Kale scoffed, sounding a lot more ridiculous than he’d ever realize. “You may be tall, but I played foot—”

Grant took one quick, aggressive step forward. Kale blinked and stumbled back, his face losing a little of its pallor. “I don’t care,” Grant snarled. “This gathering is over.”

Something flickered in Kale’s eyes, something primal and instinctual that told him Grant was a threat—a predator that he couldn’t outfight, outrun, or outsmart. Surrender was his only option.

“We’ll be back,” Kale promised thinly, his voice high and squeezed.

Grant said nothing, which unnerved Kale far more than any witty comeback. We hovered on the sidewalk, and Kale rallied his troops, promising to be back some other day, and left my lawn.

I watched as the mob headed off down the street, dispersing as they hit the four-way stop.

They carried their messages of hate proudly, joking with one another about how well they had scared my family as they walked.

I turned back to my house, my throat closing as I bent to pick up a discarded sign.

All of a sudden, a blast of heat rose up from deep in my chest, rushing down the bones in my arms and manifesting as flames in my hands. The board was cinders in moments.

“He will come back,” Eve stated, her eyes glassy as she stared at the ashes.

“I’ll send him away again,” Grant promised.

I shook my head. “Soon he won’t be the problem. If he’s planted the idea that we’re evil in the minds of our neighbors, then Roseburg is no longer my home.”

Grant opened his mouth to respond and then froze, his head tilting to the side as he caught a scent. His gaze suddenly focused on the fence along the side of my yard as his whole body went rigid.

He muttered a curse and then darted forward. That’s when I heard the familiar sound of a camera shutting down and the sound of footsteps sprinting away.

Grant took off after the man without another word, his bright hair disappearing as he turned sharply into my neighbor’s yard.

I started forward, but Eve grabbed my upper arm, yanking my focus to my home.

The front door opened, and the screen squealed, revealing my aunt Robin in her silk bathrobe and fluffy slippers.

Her red hair was an unruly mess around her face, made worse by tossing and turning on her pillow.

But there was something else amiss, a deep shadow under her eye and a tightness to her lip that made my stomach clench.

She shook her head. “It’s your mother.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my body numb.

Aunt Robin drew her robe tighter around her frame. “You’d better come inside.”