The cabin was less of a cabin, and more a mansion. It was huge. The minute we pulled up the long gravel drive, and the house appeared between the trees, I felt my jaw job. It had several floors, with large wooden balconies, and tall windows. It was rustic, built in the style of a log cabin, but the sheer size of it was overwhelming.“This is not what I pictured,” I admitted. I got out to stand beside the car, gazing up at the house. Matt got out and watched me.“It belongs to Nina’s family,” he said. “She said we could use it this weekend.”
Dinner took a few hours in the oven before it was ready. We got through a movie, and the first half of another, before the timer finally went off.We chose to eat in the breakfast nook, opting for a more intimate setting rather than the huge dining table. Matt served the food and poured me a beer. He poured himself a glass as well, before sitting down in the seat near me, his knee pressed into my thigh.I took a sip of my drink. While I still wasn’t used to drinking alcohol, I was coming around to beer. I enjoyed the somewhat bitter taste.“This looks great!” I sai
JackThe panic only got worse as dawn approached, and the light lengthened. He’d been searching for Celeste all night, to no avail. He couldn’t find her, and he was really losing it. Now wasn’t the time for her to run off.What was she thinking? Did she want him to have a panic attack? He could feel it growing as time slipped by. A tight feeling in his chest that wound tighter and tighter and tighter. It was amazing he could still breathe.He spent most of the morning driving around, hoping he might catch sight of her or Matt. At one point, a text came through from
AlyxHis plan was working.Sabrina was dead, and it was Matt’s fault. He almost couldn’t believe his luck. He knew she'd cause some chaos at the party, and that the Peacekeepers would have to get involved, but he didn’t think Matt would actually kill her. It worked in his favor, though. Sabrina was a pain in the ass. He was grateful he didn’t have to deal with her anymore.He watched Matt and Celeste leave the party. Matt had this expression on his face like someone had kicked his puppy, and it sent a jolt of pleasure through Alyx. It was rare he cared enough
We ended up back in our room, half-wet from the hot tub. Matt set me gently on the bed and leaned over me. His eyes traced my face, stopping on mine. I smiled, and he did, too. A sense of overwhelming happiness and peace came over me. There was nowhere I’d rather be. No one I’d rather be with.His expression softened at whatever he saw on my face, and he kissed my forehead. “You’re everything,” he murmured. “Everything.”“I love you,” I answered.I didn’t care what I promised Jack, not anymore. I wanted to give myself to Ma
The sensations slowed enough for me to get a better sense of my surroundings. Enough that my cheeks heated with embarrassment. Jack’s wide-eyed gaze met mine, then he spun around.Matt handed me his t-shirt, and a pair of track pants. I pulled them both on, even though they were much too big on me. I had to roll up the bottoms of the pants to make them shorter. Matt got dressed too, and Jack turned around.“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Jack snarled, taking a step toward Matt.Matt didn’t try to defend himself. “I don’t understand how this
Alyx watched me with a mean smile.I always thought I was a good judge of character, but clearly, I wasn’t. I’d believed he was a good person, and he was anything but. Every moment he’d spent helping me and being there for me after my breakup with Matt, was all a lie. He was just trying to get to me. For what, I didn’t know, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.“Let me go,” I said, struggling against the restraints.He eyed them with a slight frown. “Oh, those are there just for now. We didn’t want you to hurt yourself. You&rsq
Alyx“I’m not sure I like her,” Jeremy said the moment the door closed. He was giving it a bright-eyed look that made even Alyx a little uneasy. Anyone who thought Jeremy was the nicer brother didn’t know him very well.Alyx saw what happened in there. Celeste was trying to appeal to his humanity, but Jeremy didn’t have much to begin with, and it had dwindled in the years since they’d seen each other. That was partly why they got along so well. They were cut from the same cloth.“Not what you expected?” Alyx asked, falling into step be
EpilogueThe sounds of plates clinking together, and the low hum of chit-chat, merged into the background as I listened to Fiona describe her latest assignment. She was stuck in a geography class that she needed for distribution, and it was driving her nuts. Her professor was a mean, curmudgeonly old man, and a notoriously difficult marker.“He gave me a C–. A C–! That was not a C worthy paper.”Jack nodded. “I read it. It was pretty good.”She rounded on him. “Pretty good?”He put his hands up, a small smile on his lips. “Really pretty good?”She huffed but turned back to me. “Your brother is a pain in the ass.”I smiled. “You’re telling me.” They’d only been together for a few years, but they already bickered like an old married couple. Matt and I were actually married, but we didn’t even bicker like that. It was as endearing as it was exhausting.Matt sank into his seat beside me and slid me a cup of coffee. I threw him a grateful look. Our peacekeeping duties had kept us late the
MattThe nerves made me jittery, and I bounced my knee so hard it rattled the bench. Seth gave me a knowing look before bending over to finish tying his skates. I focused on taping my stick, letting muscle memory take over. All the guys knew what I planned to do tonight, and they kept throwing me knowing looks as I tried to stay calm.It was the last home game before playoffs started. A part of me kept thinking that I should wait, but an even greater part of me didn’t want to wait one more second. If life had taught me anything, it was that we didn’t know how much time we might have. I didn’t want to waste another second of it. I especially didn’t want to waste time just because I was afraid.“Dude, stop vibrating the bench,” our goalie James called. “I’m trying to focus.”“Sorry,” I answered. If there was one rule in hockey, it was to not mess with the goalie, especially right before a game. If he needed to focus, then I just needed to find a way to chill the fuck out.Enzo gave me a
The arena was buzzing with energy as Matt got the puck and darted forward to take advantage of the breakaway. He sent the puck into the corner of the net, and I jumped to my feet. Beside me Fiona screamed so loud, heads turned in our direction. Jack cringed slightly, throwing her a bemused look.It was the first home game of the year, and Matt was giving everything he had to make sure the team got a win. Around us, the school cheered as he skated by, knocking fists with his teammates. It was his second goal of the night, his first a tricky tip in after Seth’s initial shot rebounded. It was 3-1 with only four minutes left in the third period.“He’s playing great,” Nina said from my other side as the cheering died down, and we took our seats again.“He is.” Over on the bench, Enzo stood in a dark suit, his head bent as he talked to one of his players.He and Nina were staying one more year. Even though Nina graduated in the spring, her father was giving her the year to clean up the town
“Are you ready for this?” Jack asked, his eyes trailing over my face, looking for any signs of fear or hesitation. I schooled my features into a blank mask. Sure, I was nervous, but he didn’t need to see that. He already hated that he’d gotten me involved. Too bad I was the only one that could do this, and I’d do anything to get the Schreibers out of our town.I took a deep breath and gazed up at the towering mansion. It was on the outskirts of town, far enough away that I’d never seen it, but still close enough for the Schreibers to cause havoc. The house seemed quiet, but I knew our grandfather lurked inside. Him and whoever survived the fight.“I’m ready,” I said, keeping my voice steady. Matt and the rest of the Peacekeepers had already surrounded the house. They were keeping their distance but staying close enough just in case we needed them. It made me feel better knowing he was out there. I knew, without a doubt, that Matt would do anything to keep me safe. Just like I’d do any
Jack“Hey!” Jack called, running to catch up with Fiona. She stopped walking and turned to give him a curious look. “I’ll walk you home,” he said when he reached her side.She gave him a bemused look. Technically, her place was only five minutes from campus, but that didn’t mean she should walk alone at night. Plus, he hadn’t seen her since she moved back in with her roommate, and he wanted a moment alone with her.“Alright,” she said with a shrug. “If you insist.”He smiled. “Better safe than sorry.”“Bye,” Celeste called, waving at them. She gave him a knowing smile, and he glowered at her. She clearly knew something was going on, but it wasn’t her business. They needed to figure this out for themselves.She and Matt were headed in the opposite direction, back toward the house. Matt was still haunting the halls. Everywhere Jack went, there he was. In the bathroom, when he needed to piss. In the kitchen, when he was hungry. Even in the living room at night, making out with his sister
“I promise to protect this town,” Jack said, his hand over his heart. “I promise to fight for peace, and to not rest until it is achieved. I promise to treat all life as equal. I devote myself to this cause from now until my last breath.”Nina dipped her head in acknowledgement, and Jack let his hand drop to his side. I stepped forward next and repeated the oath. It was the same words every person in this room had recited when they agreed to become a Peacekeeper. It wasn’t something to take lightly, and I didn’t plan to.“I devote myself to this cause from now until my last breath,” I said, stepping back beside my brother. Fiona stood at his other side. She took the oath first, saying the words with the utmost confidence.I locked eyes with Matt, and he gave me a proud smile, his eyes gleaming. Our friends sat around the room, and, as if given some invisible cue, they all began to hoot and clap. They stood up and slapped the three of us on the back. I got pulled into hugs, one after t
Matt closed my bedroom door behind us and leaned his crutches against the wall. He hobbled over to the bed and sank down onto the mattress with a soft groan. “Just as I remember it,” he said, jumping a little. “So soft.”Downstairs, Fiona, and Jack were rifling around in the kitchen. They offered to make us something, but neither of us were very hungry.Matt lay back and stretched his arms over his head, his shirt riding up just enough to reveal the smooth skin along his waistline. His hip bones dipped down into his cargo pants and I bit my lip, desperate to get my hands on him, but still worried about his wounds. Sure, he was up and moving around, but that didn’t mean he should be doing physical activity. I didn’t know a lot about werewolf healing, but I wasn’t willing to risk him.“I missed this room,” he continued, turning to look at me through hooded eyes.The purple bedspread brought back a flood of memories. I’d spent so much of my life in this room. I had so many memories, and
MattI held onto Celeste’s hand, leaning heavily on the two crutches I had propped under my opposite arm. A feeling of intense déjà vu swept through me as I watched Seth step forward and light the pyre. Around us, others did the same until dark smoke rose into the blue spring sky. I hoped this was the last funeral I ever had to go to, at least for a long while.Celeste had a blank expression on her face that worried me more than anything. Beside her, Jack and Fiona stood holding hands. Fiona was crying, and Jack had a stricken look on his face. As one, he and Celeste let go of our hands and stepped forward. They lit the last pyre.“Goodbye dad,” Celeste said, just loud enough for me to hear. My heart squeezed.Jack didn’t speak, he just lowered his gaze and stepped back beside Fiona. She immediately took his hand, but he didn’t look up from his shoes. I understood the warring emotions he was feeling. He hated his father for abandoning him, and he felt guilty that he got killed right i
Those of us still on our feet spent the rest of the day tending to the wounded. God, there were so many of them. Every wound I saw, every cry of pain I heard, felt like a knife to the gut. Everywhere I went, I saw pain, death, and gore.It was all too much.“Hey,” Jack said, giving me a concerned look. “Take a break if you need to.”He was still covered in blood, and I could barely stand to look at him. He’d taken a few minutes to wipe most of it off his face, but he hadn’t stopped to change his clothes. None of us had. There hadn’t been time.“I can’t.”I couldn’t get my father’s face out of my mind. Jack took me to his body shortly after the fight ended, tears in his eyes. I allowed myself to cry only for a minute before I helped him move the body to the small grassy area behind the church. That was where we were laying out the dead before we’d give them all proper funerals.There were already too many bodies out there. Seth had collapsed beside Jenna’s bloody form and hadn’t moved