Nina James and I quickly and quietly made our way through the abandoned little town. As we walked, keeping to the rapidly growing shadows, I couldn’t help but notice the occasional blood stain on the ground or torn bits of clothing. The most disturbing thing that I saw was a child’s teddy bear layi
Nina “If you’re only going to get in the way with that, then… I’ll have to kill you, too.” As James spoke, his voice was dark and sinister. He slowly backed me into a corner, leaving me nowhere to go. I felt a slight chuckle escape my lips, wondering if he was just joking… But he wasn’t. As I look
Nina I was jostled awake by a bump and a swaying sensation, followed by the feeling of a searing pain shooting through my leg and the sound of a car engine. I groaned as my eyes flickered open. “Oh! Honey, she’s awake.” “Hold on. I’m pullin’ over. Coast clear out there?” “Hmm… Mhm. I don’t see a
“Anyhoo,” Dan continued, “I heard there’s a safe zone just a little ways further north. This… disease, or whatever it is, spreads like wildfire. Just before the news stations went out, I saw that all of the towns in the nearest fifty-mile radius are crawlin’ with the Prowlers. I dunno if the rest of
Nina With the way that my leg was feeling, my journey across town was slow and painful. I didn’t seem to be healing anymore, since my wolf was too weak for some reason, so each step was agony. But I had to keep going. My friends were still out there somewhere and I needed to find the antidote and h
But I was finally here. I circled around, avoiding the cabins as I was certain that Crescents would be there. Even Lisa or Ronan, who I hadn’t seen so far, could be there, and for all I knew they may have been on high alert for me. But, as I remembered how they had taken not only Tiffany’s body but
Nina The antidote shined up at me like a beacon of hope from Tiffany’s medical bag. Even just while looking at it, I felt a few tears of joy begin to well up in my eyes — but the mission still wasn’t over. I needed to find my friends and cure them, then get everyone to safety. Once I finished that,
Enzo I hardly even had time to process what had just happened before the portal closed and Selena suddenly grabbed my arm, yanking me out of my stupor as she opened another portal nearby. “Come on,” she snarled as her nails dug into the skin of my arm. I felt so numb at this point that I couldn’t
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied