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  “Unfortunately,” I say. “The Sterlings became Hunters to erase that fact. I came from both twins. Isn't that awesome?"

  "And just a little gross," Callie says.

  "Do you share my sense of humor?" I ask.

  "Don't know. Maybe I do. Wow. Had I known you lived so close to me all this time, I would have armed myself sooner and helped you out. That's what the Hunters are here for. Us, a coven of witches, and the Noble Wolves used to make up the Noble Order." Fire bursts to life in her eyes. In the last hour, Callie's gone from a shell to a real person. "Earl won't say anything, right?"

  Earl shakes his head. It's clear his wife is in charge here. “I won't say a word. And that's on my honor. If you're right about our heritage, we need to talk. Now.”

  Fear blooms in Callie's eyes as we circle back around to the darkness.

  “Right now,” I agree.

  Chapter Six

  “You're saying I could be possessed by Romulus's spirit?” Callie asks. "All the Sterlings by blood can?" She leans over the table and pushes aside the beer mug she's poured herself. Not that I blame her for turning to it.

  “The Sterlings have forgotten about it in recent centuries. I guess no one likes to talk about crappy family secrets," I say. "He can possess anyone descended from him, but he has a harder time with humans, so you have that point in your favor. And lots of people came from him. My poor Drama teacher did, too. Romulus lived like two thousand years ago, right?”

  “Right,” Callie says.

  “But," Cayden says, shifting in the booth beside me, "You have to fall victim to Romulus's cult before he can possess you. So unless that happens, you're fine."

  Callie makes a show of sighing in relief. "So, stay away from cults?"

  "Exactly," Everly says, pacing past our booth.

  I lean back. I wonder what features Callie and my mother shared. Eyebrows, maybe? Aunt May always kept my parents' photos up in the attic. As if she was in too much pain to face them. Anyway, Callie is only like a third cousin, right?

  “How many Hunters are left?” I ask, sitting up straight. Showing strength is what I have to do. “Are there some around here besides you and Earl? I mean, I'm not saying you two aren't enough or aren't tough, because you are—”

  Callie smiles and slaps Earl on the arm. The two clearly love each other. “There are Hunters left in the world. The Sterling family has scattered after the Noble Order broke up, but once they know a Royal is still alive, they'll gladly come back. I know my uncle would. And before you ask, most of these people would only be distantly related to you."

  "If they're willing to fight, it doesn't matter. And do you believe me that I've taken this pack yet? I am a Royal, after all.” Maybe I won't have to put the new Wolves in as much danger as I thought.

  “But you're a different type of Royal,” Callie says.

  “But—” I start, a hollow horror filling me.

  "I know you could have defeated Lawrence. He'll be sour, you know."

  "No kidding." At least she and Earl believe me.

  “Don't tell anyone else about your parents,” Callie says. “Pretend we're not related."

  "But they'll know I'm a Royal. That part is out," I say.

  "Brie, they might not know about your mother," Cayden says.

  Aunt May thinks. "I'll say your mother was a non-Hunter human or another Wolf. Callie, do you know of any good candidates? My parents didn't tell us much about the local Wolves. I didn't know about the Noble Order, either."

  "I'll look around and let you know," she says.

  "Deal." I hold out my pinky, and Callie takes it with hers.

  Cayden slaps his hand on the table. “You're going to call other Hunters to stop Romulus?” His gaze flicks to me for a second. Cayden knows what this means to me.

  “If the Savage King is out there, we need all the help we can get,” Callie says, rising and pushing past her husband. I'm getting the idea that the Sterlings honor the bloodline, male or female. Those who marry in, like Earl, are secondary. "I'll start making calls today. We'll get the Noble Order back together."

  Earl forces a smile at me. I nod at him. “Does she boss you around?” I joke.

  “Well, sometimes,” he says, but I can't tell if he's sincere or not.

  Callie vanishes back into the kitchen. I wonder if she's going to say some more code words into the phone, but I hear a keyboard tapping instead. Every key makes a distinct click and I can even tell which hand she's typing with. But I don't even have the hearing to know which keys she's hitting or what she's typing.

  Cayden pokes me in the side. "Things are in our favor," he says.

  I squeak with shock and stare him in the eye. "Maybe." He smiles, full of relief and joy. This trip has brought us more than I ever imagined.

  Good or bad, I don't know yet.

  “Should we get back to the rest of the pack?” he asks. “They didn't order a hit on us after all."

  He's asking me. The power shift is settling, though the change is still in Cayden's eyes. Emotions storm in the depths. He still struggles with losing his power, as any former alpha would, but the pain is slowly easing.

  “We should tell them what's going on,” I say.

  “Lawrence is very protective of this town and the pack,” Earl says. “He knows the Savages could come back at any moment. Until him, death was a constant threat here, since we neighbored Breckenridge. He always hated that town. But the pack here, the Guardian Wolves, used to work with and protect the Royal Wolves.”

  “They what?” I ask.

  Earl nods. “The Hunters here, too. Lawrence would rather forget that, because his parents were lost doing their duty and trying to keep the Savages out of town. Watch out for him, will you? You might be getting in deep."

  I rise from the booth. “I will."

  Earl frowns while Callie continues to type. Aunt May and Everly gather at the door. Remo joins them, and though he looks much better, the air gets heavy. My own relatives can't know who I am, except for Callie.

  Only when Romulus is gone will things become safe for me.

  "I'm sorry I yelled at you," I say.

  Earl smiles and shrugs. "I deserved it."

  "You were doing your job. I got Callie's number, so we'll keep you updated."

  All of us leave together, leaving Earl and Callie in their small mom and pop restaurant. “We need to discuss how to use the Hunters and the pack,” I say, struggling to keep the swirling thoughts at bay. Once again, we have a treacherous path to navigate just to get help. Awesome. “We take a few pack members back with us and leave Lawrence here to defend Colling. That will keep him a bit happier. Then we hunt for that cult."

  “Pack members will talk to Lawrence,” Everly says.

  “Not if we lie well enough,” I say.

  “But they already know you're a Noble Royal.”

  “My mother was a Noble Wolf, too. Right?"

  Aunt May nods. "Right. And if anyone asks, you don't know much about her. I kept you in the dark."

  "True." I link my hand with Cayden's.

  "That's the story," he says.

  "Hey. We both act, so I think we'll be good," I say.

  As we walk back towards Lawrence's, the town remains dark and empty. I get the sense there aren't many normal people here. Somewhere in the trees, a car starts. The sun peeks out from hazy clouds as it sinks towards the horizon. We've been in Colling for most of the day, trying to work out our place in this new world. “I wouldn't want to stay in a place like this all my life. It's no wonder Callie and Earl want to fight.”

  “Well,” Cayden breathes. “Until Romulus is gone from this world for good and the Savages start fading, we have to live like this. All of us. Small crappy places. That's just the way it goes."

  “Well, Lawrence wanted this. We just broke his little world.”

  “I know I just sounded like Everly,” Cayden says, slapping his forehead to his free palm. “Brie, you deserve better. You deserve to go to colleg
e.”

  "I heard that," Everly says from behind us.

  His words sink in as we walk back towards the trail, now minus Hunters waiting in ambush. At least that's settled down and we're established in Colling—for now. The Guardian Wolves and the Royal Nobles have merged. It's hard to believe the surrounding towns hosted packs that worked to protect us.

  Lawrence has turned the lights on in his cabin, which shine through the trees long before we reach it. And Lawrence himself waits on the front porch. Despite the cold, he wears a tank top and jeans. Cayden seethes in jealousy again, but I reassure him with a kiss to the cheek. Wolf or no, Lawrence is too old for me.

  And he glares at us as we approach. Inside the cabin, the rest of the pack speak in low voices. Someone shuffles cards. They've been waiting for us to return.

  “Hello, new alpha,” he says with sarcasm. "Off sightseeing?"

  “Why didn't you tell me about the Noble Order?” I ask. “Callie and Earl were more enlightening than you are.”

  “We're not in the Noble Order anymore,” he says, dry and closed.

  “We need to be because the Nobles are almost done,” I say, thinking of my near miss in the diner. At least Callie and Earl didn't notice. But as I speak, Cayden tightens his grip on my hand and breathing speeds up. “If Romulus wins, you can't protect Colling anymore. And I know that you used to be a pack of Guardian Wolves. It's time to all of us to reunite. Us, the Hunters, and the Russell Coven. It's the best chance we have."

  Lawrence snorts. “The Savages are all about cold nature. And they're right. It really is just survival of the fittest out here. I think we need to take a page from their book. Alpha.”

  I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Even the Nobles have to bend to that whole strongest survive thing. I defeated Cayden and became alpha. And then I defeated Lawrence and absorbed his pack into ours. Not accepting that got me into trouble more than once.

  “See?” Lawrence asks, reading my expression. “Since when is nature good? Disease is natural. Wildfires are natural. And so is death. That's what nature is about. It doesn't care about any of us.” As he speaks, Lawrence's eyes darken and he hunches, staring into the trees.

  Ice spreads through me.

  He is right, Romulus whispers. But darkness is strength.

  I suck in a breath and look to Cayden, silently begging him to say something. As if sensing my distress, he speaks. “There are great parts of nature, too. It's up to us Nobles to find it. Ever take a walk during a nice spring day? Or go fishing? What about the fresh air you breathe, man?”

  I snap my gaze to Cayden. He's being positive. He's a flash of light in a sea of dark. I grab onto that, and the voice from the void doesn't dare return.

  “Yeah, but those fish have to die,” Lawrence says. “Take a walk in the woods, and you're surrounded by things eating other things. Even we Wolves hunt and eat."

  “Well, yes, but we have to,” Cayden argues.

  “See my point?” Lawrence asks. “The Noble Order won't change it, either. Life is dark. That's why the Nobles are fading, We're out of tune.”

  And with that, Lawrence storms into the house and slams the door behind him, leaving us in the long afternoon light.

  “Lawrence!” I shout, strengthened by Cayden's light. I march up the steps and open the door, which he can't keep shut. I step into the living room and past people gathered on the couch. “I know you're mad at the world, and I am too, but we have to reunite the Noble Order. We will, and if you don't want to help, stand aside. That's an order.”

  Lawrence stops in the archway between the vast living room and the huge kitchen. His grandmother looks up from the meat she's chopping and frowns at Lawrence. Abigail's on my side. The blond twins watch with interest, but Lawrence's mate, Kaylie, stands back.

  He looks over his shoulder at me. “You haven't seen dark yet,” he says.

  “Look, I lost my parents too, but—”

  “You don't remember them. You haven't experienced the before and after. Wait until you do. Then you'll never see the light again.”

  Leaving me with those words, Lawrence storms up the stairs, leaving me with his words.

  Chapter Seven

  “We used to have five Guardian Packs around Breckenridge, where the Royals used to be based,” Abigail tells me as we chop meat and prepare dinner for the pack. “Even with the Hunters' help and that of the Russell Coven, the Savages wore away at them over the years, and my son and his wife fought hard to keep this one alive. It was my grandson who decided to do something different and keep to ourselves. Against my wishes, I might add. But once he became alpha, even I had no influence on him. Don't let Lawrence intimidate you. He has a lot going on emotionally.”

  Clearly, with the heavy metal belching from upstairs. It's almost funny if that rage weren't directed at me. Cayden doesn't even act the way Lawrence is acting now.

  Or it could be a ruse and his way to look less threatening.

  I enjoy chopping meat with Abigail, especially since Cayden helps us prepare a huge dinner for the pack. He works the knife with precision, cutting chicken into perfect strips. Once dinner's served, I ask for everyone's names. Don. Ron. That's not confusing. Kaylie, Lawrence's mate, offers her name even though I already know it. Kaylie's twin, Hayley, shakes my hand. The boy: Allen. He's strong and offers me a fist bump. Then there's Shonna. Marleen. Abigail's younger friend, Natalie. I'm never going to remember all the pack members now. Is this what teachers go through every year?

  "Breathe," Cayden whispers in my ear. "We're doing a good PR move."

  "Feeding your new pack members is always a good move," Abigail says with a wink. "Thank you for helping prepare dinner."

  "I can tell they're good Wolves," I say. "They deserve it. Lawrence hasn't come down. Isn't he hungry?"

  I can hear him now. I don't want your pity.

  "He'll come down when he's ready," Abigail says.

  A young man named Zach grins at me as he stands and stuffs a whole seasoned chicken strip into his mouth. "Does being alpha mean you cook for us every night?"

  "Cayden's a much better cook than I am," I joke.

  He pokes me in the ribs. "I am not."

  "You have ninja skills."

  At least we're warming things up with the new pack members. Most seem alright with us so far. I wonder if Abigail put in good words while we were gone. Cayden and I eat at the kitchen table with Everly and Aunt May. Remo goes outside to talk to Leonora with a borrowed phone.

  After dinner, people scatter throughout the house to socialize. Cayden and I take the couch. I'm coming down off the high and drifting back to reality. Cayden sighs as we listen to more death metal lyrics from upstairs. Even with my hearing, it just sounds like someone grunting on a toilet. What's going through Lawrence's head?

  “I know what that's like,” Cayden said, listening to the music above. “He's more of an angsty teenager than I am.”

  "Lawrence needs to be an adult," I say. I've never seen anyone fall apart as much as him. I can see Abigail's point about my right to be alpha. "Maybe you can talk to him."

  Cayden grips my hand and gives me a look of horror. "Please don't say that's an order."

  "It's a suggestion. I don't expect you to get through to someone like that, believe me."

  Cayden frowns like I've given him a challenge. "Brie, I'll try. Let me stay here in Colling for a bit and keep an eye on him. I know what it's like to be in his position, so I'm the man for the job. Also, I'm still beta, so it makes sense for one of us to stay here. We've got to keep the pack together somehow."

  "Cayden, you don't have to." While I sit with him, warm tingles flow through me. We give each other life. And will the curse strike him if he tries to talk sense into Lawrence? That probably falls under the "protecting me" umbrella.

  "I will," Cayden says. "We'll be less than twenty miles apart, and I won't stay here more than a couple days. Letting Lawrence spin out of control is dangerous."

  I want to stay
with Cayden, here, but we still have to watch Breckenridge. Protecting Noah, Olivia, and the rest of town is still my job. I lower my voice. "But what about—my other problem?"

  Cayden licks his lips. "We have to take out the cult. Got a hunch that will solve it. Brie, don't let yourself get mad at regular people. Or at other Noble Wolves, either. That's why I'm staying here with Lawrence instead of you." He leans forward and our lips brush.

  I can always rely on Cayden. We melt together and I press my chest into Cayden's. Our heartbeats sync as he runs his hand through my hair.

  "Cayden, thanks," I gasp once we come up for air.

  "Get a room," Everly says, walking past us to the porch.

  Cayden flips her off as she leaves, and I hold back a laugh. But once she leaves, the mood darkens. A piece of workout equipment clanks in the other room. People talk in low voices in the kitchen.

  “Is it really a before and after?” I ask Cayden.

  “The before and after?” Cayden asks. “Oh. What Lawrence was talking about. Yes. I forgot you didn't really have that, since your parents have always been—”

  “Well, gone,” I finish for him. “I don't even remember the funeral. I guess I'm perpetually in the after, right?” I don't want Lawrence's words to be true. Is it really nothing but darkness in the after? I've been able to find joy and light in my life. But another loss could make the sun set. And it will happen. Is it eventually night for everyone?

  I look at Aunt May, who talks to a middle-aged man on the other side of the room. His name is Don, if I remember right. A real small town guy dressed in overalls and smelling of metal tools and a trace of oil. A handyman. She smiles and sips from her water. Maybe Aunt May entered her night with the loss of my parents and she's been hiding it for my sake. Maybe Cayden's now burying his pain for my sake, too.

  “There really is a before and after,” Cayden says. “We both know when the divider came down for me and the rest of the pack. And we both know I was like Lawrence for a while. Not proud of that fact."

  “Does it get better?” I whisper in his ear. “Do you ever get over it?”