Unraveled

Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. Because yeah, it was an excellent plan. She wouldn’t get out of the car, of course. She wasn’t that stupid. She would simply drive around, people-watch—or rather, creature-watch—and take notes. And, even better, she would take Pe

Yep. An excellent plan.

Mary A

Excited, nervous, she switched off her lamp, then arranged her bed to look like she was lying in it. At the room’s only window, she opened the glass and peered down…down. Her bedroom was upstairs, and there were no nearby trees to scale. Smart daddy, digging up her supposed only way down. But he hadn’t been able to alter the shape of the roof. If she dropped a wee bit, she would hit the first story. From there, she could drop and roll to the soft grass below. Simple. Easy. Please be simple and easy. She’d never snuck out before. Never really broken any rules before. Now, she was breaking every single one of them. But this was a new world, she reminded herself, which meant new rules were needed. And the first new rule she was implementing was that the survival of her team was more important than curfew.

Dad would not agree, her conscience shouted.

Well, Dad didn’t have all the facts.

Palms sweating, Mary A

She let go. Her feet hit—thud—and her knees buckled. She slid along the shingles before catching herself on the gutter, sprawled out, scratched and bruised. Well, more scratched and bruised. Her workout with Aden had left her unbelievably sore. And in places she hadn’t even known she possessed!

She panted, grateful for the shadows as she waited for her dad’s light to turn on and his head to peek out his window. One minute passed, two. Her arms shook. There was nothing, no movement.

In the distance, several wolves howled.

She gulped. Riley? Had he spotted her?

Probably not, she quickly decided. He would have called her cell, texted her, something. So who did that leave? His brothers? She knew they were out there, patrolling the area and fighting goblins, but she’d never met them. And if they had spotted her, they would have contacted Riley. Right? Right. So again, she would have been called or texted. That she hadn’t been had to mean no one was watching her.

Okay. You can do this. Slowly, she inched her way over the final edge. The shaking in her arms intensified as she once again dangled. Had the first-story roof always been this high up? Couldn’t have been. She would have noticed. Just do it.

Mary A

When she hit, her legs were jarred, her kneecaps slamming straight before bending. She flipped backward, rolling far more inelegantly than she’d intended, air knocking from her lungs and dirt and grass filling her mouth.

Thank God she still hadn’t eaten. She would have vomited for sure. But it was odd, her lack of appetite. More and more, she was actually…repulsed by food. The thought of it, the smell of it. Ick. Even odder, she wasn’t weak from lack of nourishment.

Two days had passed. Shouldn’t she be shaky?

Think about that later. She popped to her feet and stumbled next door to Pe

Stars winked over Mary A

Three more stones were needed before the glass rose and Pe

Her jaw dropped when she spotted Mary A

“I need your help. Get dressed. And bring your keys.” They’d take her Mustang GT. Mary A

Pe

Mary A

Hurry up, Pen.

A few minutes later, the front door of the house squeaked open, then closed with a snap. Mary A

“What are you doing?” Mary A

“Won’t care, believe me. The shock of my new ‘condition’ wore off and they gave me a pardon. I’m no longer grounded for life. Besides, I rarely sleep anymore, so they hear me padding around the house at all hours. Sometimes I get bored and take off.” She shrugged. “No big. So where we going?”

“Let’s get warm, then talk.”

When they were situated inside the car, buckles in place, the engine revved and Lady Gaga blasted from the speakers. Pe

Mary A

Pe

“Tri City.”

“Really? Why? It’ll be dead this time of night.”

Maybe. Maybe not. “I just want to drive around and see if anyone’s out.”

“Try again. I don’t believe you. There’s something else…expecting someone in particular to be there? Someone like, oh, I don’t know, the oh, so gorgeous Riley?” The last was said in a sing-song voice. “’Cause he’s the only person I can think of who could make Mary Contrary finally come out to play.”

“Mary Contrary,” Pe

“Well?” Pe

Mary A