by Holly Hook
But I shove him away. Even though he's bigger than me, I have the strength to loosen his grip on my arm.
"Brie!"
"You kissed Olivia. You didn't have to go that far."
"She thought I was faking her out. I had to make her think otherwise."
"You are faking her out," I say. "And you're making me the side girl at the same time. Aren't I supposed to be your mate?"
"Yes, and that's not going to change. But Olivia needs to keep that pendant on, and I couldn't think of--"
"Maybe you should have asked the rest of us for ideas before you went out and acted," I say. "You're impulsive. Why are you like this, Cayden?"
He squares his shoulders. "You want too much to belong. And I'm like this because, well, never mind. I've screwed up a lot, okay? Gotten a lot of people in trouble. There's more than you know."
"Stop blaming yourself for Wyatt and work with us. You told him to stay behind. Your brother made his own choice. And you said you were going to keep us together. Now do it."
"There's more than that!" Cayden gathers his backpack. His eyes flash with pain. "I don't deserve you, okay?"
"What?"
"I don't deserve any of you. I helped bring you into this life. And now I can never get you out of it."
He bolts from the room, shoes making little sound, and into the now-thinning crowd.
"Cayden!"
But he doesn't return.
Picking up my stuff and swinging my pack over my shoulder, I follow. His scent blends with a hundred others. My heart races. Cayden's torment seeps into me. His problem isn't me. It's him, and I don't know how to comfort him or fix it. Or even find the right things to say.
Down the hall, the exit doors open, and then slam as if someone has pushed them shut. Cayden. He must head to the woods, the only place he can go to be alone.
"Brie."
Everly calls me from behind. I whirl and let Cayden go.
I let her run up. "He left," she says. "Cayden needs alone time."
"He fought to be with me," I say, leaning against a locker. I suppress the urge to punch it. "Now he's fighting to be away from me."
"He's been through a lot. You have to understand."
"Cayden kissed Olivia." I have to tell the rest of the pack what he's up to.
"He's not thinking," Everly says with sadness. "Brie, I'm sure he has no feelings for her. He used to come home, complaining about her throwing herself at him. Cayden only wanted you."
"Wyatt's getting to him," I say.
"Lately, yes. But there's more," she says.
Though Everly has been cold in the past several weeks, her tone invites me to ask for the truth.
I think. fighting back a storm of tears. Pieces snap together. "Does it have to do with Remo? I know he's adopted and wasn't born a werewolf."
Every waves me down the hall, nodding. "Cayden had to turn him to save his life."
"Cayden turned him?"
I walk beside Everly. She checks the halls and sniffs, nostrils flaring. "I don't smell Remo, either. He's left the school. So I can talk. But neither of them want me to discuss it. It was a bad time for them both."
"So, talk." I can fight back my tears. This is a distraction.
"Cayden and Remo met and became friends at one of our old schools," Everly explains. "Freshman year. Well, Remo was a sophomore. They worked on a few science projects and started hanging out. Our parents weren't happy."
"They didn't want you to have friends." So far, Everly's the only one who's stayed faithful to that. No outside buddies.
"We all thought it was okay in that town," she says. "But then the Baltic Wolves showed up. They've hunted us for years. Our father killed their old alpha, and they wanted revenge. Savage Wolves aren't the smartest, but when it comes to making others suffer, they get creative."
"So they went after Remo to get to Cayden?" I ask.
Everly frowns. Another yes. "And Remo's family, too. It was a full moon night. The Savages didn't bother to infect. They ambushed and killed Remo's parents and his sister on a hiking trail. Remo barely escaped. He got into the family car and drove away. But he barely knew how to drive and crashed into a tree. The Savages left him to bleed out. Cayden found him, almost dead."
"So he felt responsible and bit Remo," I say.
"Exactly. If it wasn't a full moon night, Remo wouldn't have turned in time. He would have died from his injuries."
I think of Remo in the woods, talking to Leonora and hoping for a cure. "Is Remo unhappy?"
"He goes off and does his science projects so much I can't tell," Everly says. "But maybe that's why."
Cayden has this over his head. Always did. The loss of Wyatt only made it worse, and then he had to watch me turn and suffer the same fate as his friend. Cayden might not have torn off my pendant, but he still played a part.
Maybe he only wanted me as a human.
I remind him of his past mistakes.
"But Remo wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Cayden," I say. "And the Savages were going to attack your family, eventually. They don't honor truces."
"True," Everly says. "Cayden doesn't understand that."
"Should we go after him?" I ask.
Until his wound closes, we can't truly be together.
And this one keeps getting deeper.
"Maybe not," Everly says. "Talk never helps him. I'm sorry you got pulled into this, Brie."
Chapter Nineteen
My shift at the store that night passes quickly--too quickly. Aunt May works with me. We don't speak much. When the store's empty, she says, "Cayden texted me. I'll help patrol around Breck on Sunday night with Remo and Everly."
If she resents taking orders from a guy in high school, she doesn't show it.
And Friday is unbearable.
Cayden won't talk to me. He thinks he doesn't deserve me.
He shows up to school, but instead of waiting at the entrance for me, he goes right in as I stand on the green. I follow, as much as I don't want to, and find him intertwining his hand with Olivia's right there in the hall. They stand by the water fountain, near a sign for the Spooktacular Dance. Tiffany and Alesha's jaws drop as Cayden whispers something in Olivia's ear.
They walk away, leaving me at my locker.
An act. That's all it is.
But Cayden has all but broken up with me. And all to escape his mistakes.
I'm one of them.
I face my locker for a long time, knees quivering.
"Yo, Brie."
Noah jars me from my thoughts as he leans against the next locker. But this morning, the light's gone from his eyes.
We're both hurt. At least I have Noah and he has me.
"Man," he says, rubbing his hand through his hair. "That was some horrible twist yesterday, wasn't it?"
I lean on Noah. He smells like the props room and of fresh paint. Of creativity. For the first time in a while, I feel like I'm home. He pats me on the back as I breathe out, holding back tears.
I thought turning would make me finally belong with Cayden. It's just driven another wedge between us.
"Let's get to class," he says.
"I want to skip. Don't you? The last thing I want to see is Olivia looking at Cayden and fluttering her eyebrows."
"Or Cayden smiling at her," Noah says. "He couldn't stay away from you before, Brie. What happened? I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, I get it, but if you do, I'm here. There's a spot by the picnic tables where the teachers won't find us."
Instead of heading to Economics, where Cayden, Olivia, and Matthew all wait, Noah and I go back outside. The woods invite me to escape into them, and the tug pulls at my insides. The full moon's getting closer. I feel it.
Noah and I sit at the farthest table, a rickety one with a crooked leg. It tilts as we sit. But no one comes out to get us.
The bell rings inside. Noah and I are skipping.
Cayden will know why, and the thought satisfies me. He can continue pretending
to date Olivia all he wants. But at the same time, my heart aches for him.
"So," Noah says. "You're working at the dance this Sunday."
"Yes." The thought sickens me and not just because I'll see Cayden and Olivia together. I must get out of there before the tug takes over. And that's if Olivia puts her pendant on. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I'll do.
"I'll go," he says. "We can feel disgusted and disappointed together."
"Noah, you don't have to," I say.
"We're best friends. Maybe if you don't have to work too much, we can even dance again. We did it at the play. Revenge doesn't hurt, right?" He grins.
Noah and I have no feelings for one another other than friendship. He's suggesting a way to screw with Cayden and Olivia, maybe even make them jealous and nothing more. "Might not be a good idea," I say.
"But friends need to stick together. I'm coming with you, even if it's just to hang out. I think Ellie's going, too. But I don't know about Matt. Knowing him, he'll ask another girl to go. Cayden's the only guy he won't go up against. And if go, I might come up with a way to warn girls away from him."
"No kidding about the Cayden thing." I scoot away from Noah an inch as I think of my reaction to Matthew.
What if Noah sees--
"Let us help you out," Noah says. "We're showing up and there's nothing you can do about it."
* * * * *
Noah and I don't go back inside the school until the bell rings to dismiss the first class. Only then do we return, sneaking in through the band doors to avoid most of the students. Cayden and Olivia never come down this way unless it's to fake making out.
The more I think about it, the worse I feel.
And worse yet, I can't escape the pack. He's alpha. No one can stop what he's doing now that I'm no longer at his side.
Noah and I eat outside at lunch, avoiding the cafeteria and the fact that Matthew's now glaring at Cayden. But Matt doesn't dare to do it for long, or while Cayden's looking. The fear remains.
And true to Noah's prediction, Matthew has his arm around another girl, Devyn from the varsity cheerleading squad, by the end of the day. And he calls Olivia a slut.
I almost skip Money Management, too, but I don't want to worry Aunt May since the school sends robo-calls home whenever a student doesn't show up to a few classes. It takes everything I have to walk into class. Cayden's already seated. And he must have already scented me because he has his face buried in his Physics book as I walk into class. Adrenaline fills the room.
We don't speak a word to each other.
There's a new rift between us and it's Cayden's guilt.
Doesn't he realize we're the same?
But when the bell rings, he darts out of class.
And I know he'll meet Olivia.
At least she'll be wearing her pendant now. She won't have to become a Savage Wolf. But Cayden has to make sure it stays that way. He's trying to protect the rest of the pack in any way he can and that's by sacrificing his happiness and mine.
And I've never felt more alone in my life.
* * * * *
"Why does Cayden tell us we don't have to worry about Olivia anymore?" Everly asks. "Is he sure Olivia believes he gave her the pendant? I haven't seen her wearing it yet."
I hold the phone up to my ear and pace my bedroom as Everly continues to bombard me with questions. They only make me feel worse than before. With each one, Everly reminds me that Cayden and I still can't be together.
And now, neither can Noah or Olivia.
I eye the darkness outside. Yawning, I flop onto the bed, wanting nothing more than to sink into the covers. Even my shift at the Grocery has done nothing to take my mind off the events of the last two days or of what I'll see on Sunday.
"He's been kissing her and disappearing to be with her," I confirm. "He'll make her wear it, I suppose."
All along, it was the one idea almost guaranteed to stop the transformation. We have to be cruel to Olivia. And how can I kiss Cayden ever again, knowing his lips have been on another girl's? Sure, he's faking her, but it won't be the same.
"Cayden," Everly says with a sigh. "He's not home right now. I would have rather done this the old-fashioned way. The last thing my brother needs is more bothering him. That girl is poison."
"I...I agree," I say, hating that I'm changing my tune with Everly. Before, Everly assured me I'd change and fight on Sunday. I'd lose any cares about hurting new Savage Wolves. "Maybe fighting would have been better." Hot tears gather at the sides of my vision. By protesting the original plan, I've made Cayden do something worse. "It's sort of my fault. I kept telling Cayden I didn't want us to have to kill Olivia."
"You were just trying to follow your morals," Everly says. "I forget you're new to the whole werewolf culture. And you can't fix Cayden. I've been trying for years, and trust me, it's futile. The best I can do is try to keep him out of trouble."
It's the closest Everly's come to apologizing. She's warming up. Maybe now we have a common ground and that's our frustration with Cayden. "Is there no chance?"
"Cayden will have to fix himself," Everly says.
"I don't think he'll do that."
"He needs to work things out," Everly says.
"But he needs my help," I say.
"You can't fix another person. Trust me, I know."
I think of his tension and his pain. Cayden's trapped in a hole. He risked his life for me, and the least I can do is—
I know how to help him and Olivia without losing him.
My plan will involve a huge risk, but it might pay off.
"I have to go to bed," I say. "Thanks for talking, Everly. I hope Cayden can come around after the dance."
"Same. I'll see you."
I end the call and get off the bed. Wiping away my already-drying tears, I let a new hope fill me.
There's a way to make sure Olivia wears her pendant and keeps it on forever.
And to free Cayden from her.
He'll hate my plan, but he doesn't have to know about it. Maybe.
I listen to Aunt May shuffling around downstairs. She's getting ready to patrol, as much as she hates it. I head downstairs and find her standing by the door with her long jacket on. Pajama bottoms hang on her skinny form as she forces a smile at me.
"Long night?" I ask.
"It's my duty," she says. "The Savages might be close to our borders tonight and I have renew the scent. My turn. Remo says Cayden needs a break."
"He just plain needs a break," I say.
If I don't give him one, he'll kill himself from guilt.
"So, you're staying in tonight?"
Translation: stay in tonight.
"Yes. I have to rest up for the dance. Mr. Saffron has me and Cayden working there. We'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Be out by around seven or eight at the latest," Aunt May says. "And if you feel the pull, get out right away. I'm not sure how long we Nobles can hold back on the full moon. Even if we don't like to attack people, scaring them isn't in our best interests. Or theirs."
I gulp, thinking of Matthew and my instinct to kill him. A human being. "The dance starts at five. Cayden and I will be there before then."
"Then you had better get sleep," Aunt May says. "I won't make you work the store tomorrow. Take the day off."
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"You take too much on yourself."
Aunt May sweeps out the door, in just her jacket and pajamas. I listen to her walk around the house in her bare feet, sweeping drying grass out of the way with her toes until she reaches the field in the back of the house. Then, unmoving, I listen as she crouches and joints pop. Even after two weeks, my mind has trouble connecting the grayish-blond wolf with Aunt May. Or that she, too, killed one of the Baltic Wolves.
And I worry about her.
Every time one of us goes out, there's a chance we won't come back.
But Olivia. I can't linger. If I hurry, I'll catch her before she goes to bed.
&nbs
p; And after Cayden leaves her.
There's one guaranteed way to make Olivia keep my silver pendant on without having to date Cayden for the rest of her life.
And that's to show her what she's dealing with.
Chapter Twenty
The moon, with just two slivers of light missing, hangs overhead and provides light. But I don't need it to see. The streets of Breck have plenty of street lamps. And besides, my vision adjusts in the dark.
I jog through downtown to the other side of town, passing small restaurants, a tourist hub advertising skiing opportunities, and Teeyah's. I can't help but glance inside to see if Cayden and Olivia are inside. Nope. Olivia became too good for Teeyah's after her parents divorced and she hung with the shallow crowd.
Olivia's street is clear except for a party happening well down the street, but the sounds of drunken adult voices tell me it's not one she'll visit tonight. The gate to her house waits, closed, and I eye the driveway from the street to find her mother's Hummer gone. The garage is shut, and I hope she hasn't moved it inside for the night. And her father's long gone, having left years and years ago. The man who opened the gate must have been an employee.
Tonight, I don't touch the speaker. Instead, I eye the fence. No cameras perch other than at the front gate. Dr. Bertram doesn't have infinite money, then. Without Mr. Bertram, some household income must have vanished. The messy shrubs and the weeds now growing in the lawn tell me that.
I'll need another way around, anyway. So I keep walking, looking natural with my hands in my jacket pockets. The Bertram property butts up against another without a tall fence. The big brick house is dark and I hear no occupants inside yet, so I cross through the yard and towards the woods that line the back of the property.
I'm breaking a lot of rules tonight.
But I won't let them shackle Cayden.
The fence to Olivia's place towers over my head by a few feet, but I can climb it. Removing my shoes so my feet get a better grip, I drop my jacket in the trees, resting it against a trunk. A cloud moves over the moon, casting the world in gloom, but my eyes adjust to where I can see the outlines of the trees' pine needles. I sniff, catching the faint scent of Aunt May from a few miles away, but the wind's blowing from her direction, so she won't detect me.
