Unraveled

The candidates really were reporting their “dates” with him. Talk about embarrassing! “Sky’s clear right now. If you want to look at the stars, you’ll have to come back tonight,” he said, knowing full well he wouldn’t be available. First, therapy. Then di

Embracing the role of sovereign? Elijah asked.

No. Yes. Crap. Desperate times and all that. He’d only said what was necessary.

Draven popped her jaw, even as she bowed her head in acknowledgment of his command. “I will not harm your friends, Majesty. You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

“However, I ca

He had to arch his back to avoid further contact. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. That wouldn’t be fair to the others.” Impartiality, yeah, that’s what he was all about.

Her hand fell heavily to her side. “Very well,” she said stiffly. “We will postpone our date, then.”

Not if he could help it. “Great. Can’t wait.” Except that I can. Forever.

“Until then.” Draven turned and floated from the barn, leaving him alone with a sudden sense of doom.

EIGHTEEN

A few hours earlier…

THE DAY PASSED in a haze for Mary A

There were only two more days until the witches’ death curse took effect. If it did. Health-wise, she still felt fine. And yet, she’d never felt so helpless. Or more desperate. “What if” was a constant refrain inside her head. What if she went to sleep in two days and never woke up? What if her heart simply stopped beating? What if a car plowed into her?

If she had to round up every witch in the area and call a meeting to order herself, she would. And she would—hey. Wait. Her eyes widened as her mind whirled. Maybe she could do that. What if she used her…aptitude for sensing magic to find the witches, kinda like following her very own yellow brick road, and forced them into the same location?

Finally, a “what if” she liked.

Would calling a meeting to order herself count, though? Or would she simply earn the wrath of some very powerful women?

Worth trying, she thought. And besides, she’d already earned their wrath. So, next question: when to begin? Aden would be busy most of the evening; he had an appointment with his therapist and a di

Crap. Victoria and Lauren were out. Mary A

He’d commanded his brothers—the snow-white wolf and the golden wolf who had followed her and Pe

Now she pounded inside her house, shutting the two out before they could race past the front door. Her dad could barely tolerate Riley. No way she’d introduce him to two more wolves. Wolves she didn’t even know, at that. Wolves who clearly hadn’t wanted her to know them.

“How old are you?” she’d asked both after failing to gain Riley’s location.

Nothing.

“Do you have the same parents as Riley?”

Nothing.

“Are you nervous about the death curse placed on him?”

Again, nothing.

Finally she’d given up on that, too. Her relationship with their brother was over—seriously, don’t cry—so of course they hated her and wanted nothing to do with her.

She sighed. Her dad was still at work, the house silent. Mary A

At her desk, she withdrew her cell phone from her backpack and sat down. Are you really going to do this?

A moment passed before she nodded. Oh, yes. She was going to do this. There was no other way. Just after she punched the first word in her text, her house phone rang. Frowning, she leaned over to the unit poised at the edge of her desk and glanced at the caller ID. Pe

Though she felt harried, Mary A

“Hey, you. You raced out of school today before I could talk to you.”

“Sorry. I just—” What? Telling the truth wasn’t an option.

“I hardly see you anymore. Unless you’re sneaking out, that is. Which brings me to the reason I’m calling.” There was so much glee in Pe

“I can’t sneak out again,” she lied, and hated herself. Honesty was prized, but she didn’t want Pe

“Oh. Well, that’s too bad because I hear a big group of kids will be making an appearance in town tonight.”

Mary A

“The fun things never are.”

“You’re going?”

“Nah. Not if you’re staying in. The baby…”

“Are you sick?”

“A little. Only, it’s not just morning sickness anymore. It’s now nighttime sickness, too. And get this. I think I saw Tucker today.”

Mary A

“I know the feeling. He was in the trees when I walked out of school. Not that he bothered to come talk to me, the bastard. And he was gone so fast I couldn’t tell if it had really been him to begin with.”

What was he doing, lurking about? After surviving a vampire attack, he’d vowed to behave. “Just…be careful. Okay?”

“I will. Love you, Mary Contrary.”

“Love you, too, Pe

As she hung up, Mary A

She’d been without any food for nearly a week. Well, except for that one bite of Snickers, but it didn’t count since she’d immediately barfed. In front of Riley. How mortifying. His opinion doesn’t matter. You can’t have him.

Don’t cry.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, set the candy bar aside and reclaimed her cell phone. With trembling fingers, she typed the rest of the text to Riley. He rarely used his phone, but she wasn’t going to concern herself with that. It would be his fault if he missed her message.