by E. C. Newman
“What the hell am I supposed to believe, Sophie? I’ve tried. Convinced you wouldn’t do it. Then who did?” he asked harshly, his hands darting out to grip my arms hard. “Who would take a video like that and put it on display? Who’s been to our house and could have picked it up? Who else? Don’t lie to me. It’s right there. In your bag.”
Tears started falling down my cheeks, and I tasted their saltiness.
“You have to come with us,” Ezra said, his grip loosening some. “To the house. You can come or we can drag you.”
“But, but…” I took a deep breath, my mind racing. “If we go now, someone will know something’s up. I can’t come until school is over. We’ll all talk and hash things out.”
“Ez, we have our orders.” Nick moved closer. “Micah wants it taken care of.”
“Quiet. She never skips school. It’ll be noticed.”
After silence, a knock on the door. I jumped.
“That’s Aidan,” Nick said.
Ezra’s mouth was near my ear. “After school. Come straight to the house. You don’t show up, we’ll find you.”
“Ezra, you know how I feel about you and—”
“Shut up. I can’t stand to hear your voice,” he snapped.
“Don’t try to run. We can track you. Easy.” Nick told me before they left.
I was alone.
I couldn’t move for several minutes. I stayed there. Leaning against the wall, staring into the darkness, crying and feeling ill, with a sickness of the heart and soul.
They were going to kill me. It seemed too intense to be real. But the one thing I’d learned over and over again was that the pack truly was everything. Higher than human law.
They had killed before. Over territory.
How much worse was what they thought I’d done?
If they killed me as wolves, they’d never be suspected.
I shuddered. I hated my brain.
As I continued to stare into nothing, I had a thought. A very random, errant thought.
I had to find out who did this. No one else was going to. I had to do it.
Who could have done all this?
If it had been another pack, they swore they could smell them. Someone in the pack? Who would do it? Aidan? Naomi? They were the only two that could maybe…
But Aidan wouldn’t go after Jules or me. That didn’t make any sense. Naomi hated Jules, sure, but she loved her brother. I couldn’t believe she’d hurt her pack.
Who would know the secret?
“How do I prove it?” I whispered, wiping my eyes for the billionth time.
The lights flickered back on, and I hurried to the door to wait until everyone came back in so I could join the throng. Hopefully no one would notice I’d been missing. We got back to class and Mr. Townsend started the lesson. Seemed like everyone had forgotten about GTV. I hoped so.
But Jules didn’t come back. None of the wolves were at school for the rest of the day, as though they’d all decided to just play hooky. Probably preparing my punishment.
I sat with Connie and Mary-Beth at lunch. They didn’t comment on the fact that Jules wasn’t with me. I scanned the cafeteria, hoping that someone else, something else would stand up with an I Did It sign.
“So, nice personal ad.”
I looked at Connie. “You saw that?”
Connie gave me a “duh” look. “I put it in. I work on the newspaper which you would know if you ever paid any attention to someone other than Juliet.”
I felt tears threaten, but I refused to cry. “I forgot that you worked on the paper, OK?” I realized what she’d just said. “Wait? Who brought in the ad? You know I didn’t.”
“Of course I know you didn’t. You still stare at Ezra.” Connie chuckled.
Mary-Beth sighed. “He is so hot.”
I leaned closer. “So, who brought it in?”
Connie shrugged. “No one. We get them in an in-box outside the classroom. It was unsigned, except for ‘S.’”
“And you just put it in?”
She looked affronted. “Hey, I just put stuff in. As long as it’s not dirty, or rude, my job is to print it.”
I felt defeated. “So no ideas?”
She shook her head. “I mean, Summer hates your guts, but I can’t imagine she’d care that much about you to go and do that.” She went back to her food.
“Summer?” That wasn’t completely out of left field.
Mary-Beth shrugged. “She does hate Juliet. I mean, in the bathroom, always trashing on her. And you.”
I swallowed. “You don’t defend me?”
They both looked up. “What?”
“Never mind.” I eyeballed the cafeteria until I found the perfect red hair.
Summer.
Things began to fall into place.
She’d grabbed my bag that morning. After I’d seen Ezra.
Summer had done it. But how did she know? How had she gotten the DVD?
“If you’re going to throw up, go to the bathroom,” Mary-Beth told me.
“What?”
“You look green.”
Connie nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”
“Thanks guys,” I said hoarsely. My brain kept churning as I tried to figure it all out. I knew Summer didn’t like Jules or me, but how could she have found out about shifters? But still…
As I took a bite of my carrot, the big question flashed in my brain.
How could I prove it?
Chapter Sixteen
After lunch, I swung by my locker and opened it. I grabbed the minirecorder I still had there. Mom had bought it for me when my hands were all cut up to take notes, but none of my teachers were comfortable letting me record their lectures.
I pressed Record and spoke into it. I rewound it and pressed Play.
“What am I doing?” it asked me. My voice didn’t sound a thing like mine. More like a very timid mouse.
I slipped it into my bag and headed to Chemistry by myself, feeling so completely alone.
* * *
After classes that alternately seemed to go by really fast then really slow, I took a deep breath as I left Spanish. I reached into my bag and checked on the recorder again, fiddling with the buttons, then searched for a head of rich, perfect red hair.
My phone rang, and I answered it quickly, slipping one of the quieter halls, still focused on the passing crowds. “Hello?”
“It’s Mom,” she answered. “Wanted to make sure you were on your way home.” She wasn’t used to me being grounded either.
I closed my eyes for a split second, then remembered I was looking for Summer. “Haven’t gotten all my things together,” I replied.
“That’s fine, I’m on my way back. I expect you home soon.”
“Right.” I hoped I sounded distracted and couldn’t be held responsible for the extremely blatant lie I was spewing.
“You make up with Juliet?”
My throat closed, but I managed to say, “Not really.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.” A horn blew in the background. “I’m sure it’ll all be fine. I love you.”
I swallowed hard, and my eyes began to sting. “Love you too.”
She hung up, and I stared at my phone. I’d lied. I might not be getting back home. Ever.
I didn’t need to think like that. I just needed to find Summer.
Like that didn’t feel like a death sentence in its own right. I shoved my phone into my coat pocket and looked up to see the halls pretty much empty. I’d missed her.
I turned around and hurried along the Social Studies hall to the outside, dreading and hoping I could find her before I had to get to the Varden home. Fear gripped me again, but I shook it off, determined to get to the bottom of this. I opened the outside door and heard two very familiar voices.
“Why did you put it in Sophie’s bag? I told you—Jules!”
I stopped.
“What does it matter? You don’t tell me to do anything, by the way. I decided to help you.”<
br />
I peeked around the corner to see… Yes! Summer talking to, of all people, Naomi Varden. My heart leaped.
“Whatever, you have no idea…” Naomi glared at her. “You don’t know what you just did.”
“Who cares? Sophie’s hurt, Freakgirl is upset. It’s a win all around.” Summer flipped back her hair. “I would watch your tone. If you want to be one of my friends, you need to know your place.”
Naomi’s eyes narrowed. She smiled, but it wasn’t happy. “If you only knew…” She whipped around, heading toward the parking lot.
“Bitch,” Summer muttered.
Now or never. I stuck my hand in my bag and pressed the button. I walked out. “Summer?”
She wore her usual expression. Disgusted. “What the hell do you want?”
I took several breaths. She was alone. No minions around. I could do this.
My life depended on it…
…but I had to stop thinking about that.
“The personal ad was you.”
She snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
My stomach dropped.
“One of Naomi’s little friends did that. I wrote it though.” She grinned. “And seeing your face right now makes it all worth it. It’s not like you have any proof.”
“You also put the DVD in my bag,” I blurted. So much for trying to be subtle.
She looked surprised for a moment before she sneered. “I don’t believe you were supposed to hear that conversation.”
“Why did you?” I didn’t back off.
Her hand balled into a fist. “Because.”
“Why?”
“Where’s your girlfriend? Or your backup? Did Ezra dump you already?” She laughed. “You’re not even remotely good enough for him.”
I blinked at her. “You like him?”
Her face stilled, then the dark, angry glare returned. “What?”
“You like Ezra?”
“Whatever. He’s hot. That’s why he dumped your ass, fat girl.”
Summer’s motivation hit me hard. She really was jealous. Of me. My life needed to be filed in the weird column.
“What about the DVD? Who did you get it from?” I edged closer, hoping the recorder was picking up on everything.
“None of your damn business.” She shoved me hard.
I fell. I didn’t see it coming, although I should have. I looked up at her, determined despite the fierce pounding of my heart. “Did Naomi?”
“What?”
“She gave you the DVD… Why?”
Summer towered over me, her foot slamming down on my ankle. Pain lanced through me. I winced, but didn’t cry out.
“Why would I tell you?” She dug in her heel.
“Who’s gonna believe me? You said I had no proof.” I gritted my teeth. “Naomi gave you the DVD to show on GTV, and you got it back and put it my bag.”
She bore down with more weight onto my ankle. “So what?”
Tears leaked out of my eyes. “But she wanted it in Jules’s bag.”
“She hates that girl more than I hate you.” Summer’s foot was heavy and painful. My breathing became labored. “I didn’t even know what was on it. Naomi just came up to me and asked for my help. Seemed she couldn’t do it herself in case her family found out. I don’t know, I don’t care. All I see is you without Ezra or Freakgirl and that’s good for me.”
I nodded, having gotten what I wanted. “OK.” I tried to stand.
She pushed in her heel so hard I heard something grind. I cried out.
“What’s going on?” Not the voice I wanted to hear. Through blurry eyes, I saw Aidan approach.
Summer released my ankle and smoothed her hair, flashing Aidan a smile. “Hey.”
Aidan paused long enough to give her a quick up and down and shook his head. He looked at me. “You coming?” My escort.
I nodded and got up, trying to put all my weight on my other ankle. I tested the one she’d tortured. It hurt terribly.
“Um…” I looked at Aidan, not putting my back to Summer. “I can’t…”
He growled, grabbed me by the wrist, and started pulling me. I hobbled along, glancing back once at Summer. She waved mockingly.
As Aidan led the way, I reached back into my bag, and hit the Stop button. I sighed with timid relief. Surely, they’d listen and we’d all be OK.
Aidan stopped at my car and opened his palm. I gave him a confused look.
“Keys.”
I gave them to him. He didn’t open my door or help me in. I wasn’t sure if I was happy or sad about that. Being in a car with him was terrifying. He’d tried to choke me only… When was it? Yesterday? He radiated anger. Why had they sent him? Why couldn’t they have at least sent Nick?
The drive was the longest of my life. I didn’t put on any music. Not even good music could take my mind off what was going on. I started praying mentally, but I had no words.
I would not be killed. I had overdramatized the whole thing. That was it. I would explain my argument, and they’d listen. I would let them listen to the tape. We’d work it out. This was real life. People didn’t get killed over secrets in high school.
I couldn’t stop shaking.
My phone rang, and I checked the caller ID. Mom.
She’d be home by now, wondering why I wasn’t there. I silenced my phone. What could I say?
Right, I know I’m grounded, but I have to go plead my case with a bunch of shifters who want to kill me? Can we make an exception?
I’d be in a world of trouble when I got home.
If I got home.
“Stop it,” I mumbled to myself.
Aidan turned his head slightly, like he’d heard me, but he made no comment. I clasped my hands in my lap tightly. I looked out the window at the trees, but saw flashes of color that were definitely not trees. Wolves.
Aidan kept driving, never saying a word. I glanced at my phone again to see that Mom had called four times. I felt awful. She would worry now. Probably over being angry and just really worry. Usually moms and dads worried pointlessly. Now there was plenty to be worried about.
The car stopped, but we weren’t at the house. Just somewhere in the woods. Aidan pulled well off the road and got out. I sat for a few seconds, my heart desperately trying to jump out of my chest.
The door opened. “Get out.” Aidan’s voice was more growl than human. After grabbing my recorder and shoving it into my coat pocket, I undid my seatbelt and stumbled out. I locked my door out of habit.
He shut it and tossed my keys on the ground in front of me. I leaned over, picked them up, and stuck them in my other pocket.
I placed one foot in front of the other, finding I could walk decently. My ankle hurt so much, but not as much as it had earlier. My shaking didn’t help. I opened my phone inside my coat pocket and by memory tried to text Jules. My fingers found the familiar keys.
Summer and Naomi. In it together.
Hopefully the message came out like that.
Aidan didn’t notice. I didn’t recognize the area of the woods that we were in. We weren’t near Fangorn or the Varden house. I wasn’t sure why, but that relieved me.
I heard footsteps to my left and Nick came through the trees. Nick, the goofball, who I’d always liked, was someone I didn’t recognize. But him being there calmed me. A little. He was less scary than Aidan.
I kept walking with care, avoiding trees and roots. I stumbled a few times, but didn’t fall. I could tell the guys were annoyed with my slow pace, but how could I go faster? Each step hurt.
They never told me to veer either left or right. I was heading straight for the creek.
Would they drown me?
Stop it, just stop it.
I eventually could see the river. We’d arrived in a clearing. The pack was there. Micah, Gil, and Naomi.
Ezra was off to the side. The overcast sky dulled his blond hair and green eyes. I stared at him helplessly. “Ezra—”
Nick grabbed my arms so fast, I sto
pped talking. I looked down.
I stood at the edge of a hole. Not some rabbit hole. A large hole. On one side was a huge tree, fallen over so that all the roots were exposed. When its roots had pulled out of the earth, it had left a hole maybe nine feet deep and twice as wide. Like a small gladiator arena. A wooden board lay against the hole’s side, leading down. A ramp.
“Where’s Jules?” I asked.
No one answered.
“Micah.”
“Quiet!”
Nick and Aidan dragged me to the wooden board and shoved me in. I fell, putting my hands out and rolling haphazardly to the bottom, the rough wood, stones, and twigs scraping through my cardigan to my skin. I landed with a grunt on the wet ground. They pulled the board up as I tried to stand. I nearly fell again. If Summer hadn’t broken my ankle, the fall certainly had sprained it.
I searched around, grasping at any root sticking out from the side of the hole, and tugging on each to see if I could climb up. I stuck my sneaker into the earth wall, again trying to climb. Pain shot up my leg. The dirt was so loose and damp that I slid back down.
“Micah,” I cried. “Micah, I didn’t—”
“You have nothing to say.” Micah’s voice boomed.
I felt much smaller than five five. My eyes teared, and my stomach clenched. They weren’t going to let me defend myself.
He went on, “We trusted you. You betrayed us. The punishment is simple. I even gave you second chances and still you persisted.” He shook his head. “And you nearly revealed our secret to the entire school. Fortunately Nick got to the breaker box quickly.”
“No! I have proof!” I cried, pulling out the recorder. “It was Summer!”
“Sophie, this is—”
“You could at least listen to it.” Ezra’s gaze met mine and stayed there for a long time.
Nick took the recorder before Ezra broke our gaze.
“It needs to be rewound,” I said, my heart lifting.
Naomi stared at me. Stared like she couldn’t believe it. I heard the recording begin. There was lots of noise. Lots of people talking. Like the hall.
