“Drink up,” Harlow nodded at me, “I'm taking you home. I won't take no for an answer.”
Once Harlow dropped me—and my bike—off at home, the rest of the day was mostly a parade of phone calls until my dad got so frustrated with the constant ringing that he unplugged the landline. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for a few hours, but between worrying about Sloan, nightmares about Harris, and tossing and turning over the Venators impending plan to torture the pack, I was lucky if I stayed asleep at all.
At the dinner table that evening, I heard from Harlow for the first time since he'd dropped me off this morning.
HARLOW: We’re on for tonight. 10pm. Meet me at the oak tree if you're up for it.
RAYNA: I'll be there.
I sensed the implied “please stay home” of the text, but Harlow should have known by now that I could no longer be an innocent bystander. “May I be excused?” I asked, having barely touched my food.
My mom eyed my plate a moment too long. “Sure, honey,” she allowed, sounding as concerned as she looked. “Are you all right?”
“Fine, just tired.” I scooted my chair back and trotted upstairs, shutting my bedroom door behind me.
Upstairs, I flopped down on my bed and sighed heavily. I had to find a way to get out of the house. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially with the cops patrolling our house by mom mother's request. She wasn’t too happy about my escape this morning. Of course, they were trying to keep an eye out for Harris. The last thing they’d expect would be for me to leave again.
I got up to check my window. Shoving back the curtains, I peered over the windowsill. It was definitely too far down to jump. I paced the floor, beyond the foot of my bed, trying to devise a plan. After several minutes an idea struck me.
“Dalyn?” I called down the stairs to her.
Shortly thereafter, she stomped her way up to my room; within seconds, Dalyn was standing in my doorway. “Yeah?”
I motioned towards the bed. “Come in. And close the door behind you.”
She eyed me skeptically for a moment before obliging.
Turning to face her, I said, “I need your help.”
“I'm sorry,” Dalyn laughed, sitting down on my bed, “you can't be serious. You actually want my help?”
“Yes,” I insisted. “Listen, I have to meet Harlow. I promised him I would. So I need you to create a distraction so I can get out of the house unnoticed,” I paused anticipating her to shoot me down. “I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important.”
Dalyn's eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Sounds serious, but are you sure this is a good idea? And what happens if mom and dad figure out you're not here?”
Of course it's not a good idea, I thought automatically—but I wasn't about to tell her that. “Well, I was kind of hoping you could make sure that doesn't happen,” I trailed off suggestively.
“What’s in it for me?” Dalyn wagered.
“I'll come up with something later, Dalyn, I just need your help!...Please?” I begged her, clasping my hands together
“Okay, okay, calm down,” she agreed in an annoyed tone. “I’ll help you.”
“But you can’t tell mom and dad. I’m serious,” I warned. “If they find out, there won't be a deal.”
Dalyn rolled her eyes. “Rayna, what do you want me to do?”
I explained my plan to her without giving away too many specific details, like where I was meeting Harlow. I didn’t want her to know too much or attempt to follow me. Fortunately, the police were parked out front and only surveyed the perimeter of the house a few times an hour. I needed to get out the back door, so all I had to do was time my exit right. It was up to Dalyn to distract my parents long enough to allow me to sneak out without them noticing. How she did that, I didn’t care. As long as I got into the woods without anyone catching me.
I sat in the living room watching the police car through the window. The first officer walked the perimeter of the house at 9:15. A second officer made a round at 9:30. When 9:45 rolled around, I knew the first officer would be back for round three, and as soon as he returned to the police car, I had to alert Dalyn to cause whatever distraction she had up her sleeve. Right on schedule, the first officer got out of the car and began the walk around the house again. I had about two minutes to grab my red peacoat and get my boots on. The officer returned moments later, climbing back into the car. I knew this was the perfect opportunity to escape since they wouldn’t be doing another round for at least fifteen more minutes. I texted Dalyn:
RAYNA: Now, Dalyn!
And waited. Within seconds, painfully loud rock music blared from Dalyn’s room. The house was practically shaking. I smiled to myself. Perfect. Not only would the music drown out the sounds of the back door, but my parents were bound to go marching up there to yell at her. I definitely owed my sister.
“What is all that racket?” My mom yelled, plugging her ears with her fingers. “It's almost ten o'clock!”
“Dalyn!” My dad scolded, his voice bursting with anger. “Turn that music down!” It didn’t take long for my dad to realize she couldn’t hear him. And just as I’d predicted, both my parents hurried upstairs to her room, banging on the door. This was my chance.
I shut the back door softly behind me, trying not to make too much noise despite the blaring music from Dalyn’s room. I sprinted into the woods behind my house, clearing the backyard in seconds when I heard yelling. Stopping in my tracks, I realized it was the cops out front. They must have heard Dalyn’s music, too. Turning my back on the house, I continued into the woods, toward the clearing.
When I arrived, Harlow stood leaning against one of the trees, his hands in his pockets. He smiled half-heartedly and the dimple I loved appeared. His dark hair was unkempt and disheveled. He looked painstakingly worn out, but still gorgeous. As I approached, I stared into his deep hazel eyes, so full of emotion. I could practically feel the stress radiating off of him. Our eyes met briefly and in one swift motion, Harlow's hand cradled the back of my neck and he kissed me. The kiss was so fleeting that I wasn't entirely certain it had happened at all. And yet I sensed something different about this kiss. Our other kisses had been generally short and habitual, and even though this one was short, it was full of uncertainty. Like the future was unknown and neither of us could be sure of when we’d kiss again. “Let’s do this,” Harlow announced as if the moment between us hadn't happened.
Leaning on the other side of the trunk was a shovel, which he grabbed, pushing it into the ground near the base of the tree. Keeping the shovel balanced with one hand, Harlow reached into the pocket of his coat with the other and pulled out Cecily's necklace, offering it to me. Staring down at the hunk of metal, I couldn’t help but think about all the trouble this iron moon had caused us over the past few months. In a way, I was glad to be rid of it.
Harlow began digging at the base of the oak tree, where we were going to bury it. He worked in silence, which gave me a chance to admire his strength. His biceps flexed with each thrust of the shovel, but he made the digging look effortless against the frozen ground. A small bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face.
In no time, Harlow finished digging a three-foot deep hole. I met Harlow’s gaze. “You just want me to drop it in there unprotected?” I asked hesitantly. I still couldn’t understand why they had decided to remove it from the jewelry box in the first place.
“What’s your objection?” he huffed between breaths.
“Wasn’t the necklace safer in the jewelry box? I mean, Ivy spelled it shut. I guess I just don’t understand why we’re suddenly dumping it in the woods like buried treasure.”
“I told you, this is the only card we have to play if we want to get Sloan back. You didn’t have to come,” Harlow reminded me pointedly, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.
Giving up because, in the end, it wasn’t my call to make, I dropped the necklace into the hole and watched with an uneasy feeling as Harlow filled it back up with
dirt. We grabbed some leaves and sticks from nearby to cover the top of the hole and stood back to admire our work.
“You wouldn’t even know something was there,” I complimented, trying to sound optimistic. Beside me, Harlow seemed awfully uptight for someone who'd just rid himself of a huge burden.
Harlow didn’t say anything, his attention focused on something else. “Come on we have to move,” he said and we took cover behind a tree. He put his index finger to his lips.
Amidst our silence, a branch snapped somewhere just beyond the clearing followed by a rustling sound as four dark shadows stepped out from the trees, surrounding us. It was Harris and three Venators. My breath caught in my throat as Harlow squeezed my hand and I couldn’t be sure if the squeeze was meant to comfort or warn me.
“Idiot teenagers,” Harris commented with a satisfied smirk. “Like taking candy from a baby.” His eyes danced back and forth between his accomplices. “Don’t just stand there,” he barked. “One of you start digging.”
The man closest to the shovel picked it up and began digging. It took him much longer to dig up the necklace than it had taken Harlow and I to bury it. When the man had almost reached the necklace, Harris snatched the shovel and flung it in our direction.
“I’ll take it from here. I don’t have all night,” Harris complained as he got down on his knees and began digging with his hands until he retrieved the necklace. Standing to admire the pendant, Harris breathed, “Finally!” After a beat, he and his followers began making their way out of the clearing.
Glancing sideways, I spotted Ivy entering the clearing, muttering words under her breath and nudged Harlow. Without a word he stepped forward to retrieve the shovel. When he returned to my side, he spoke to Ivy, “We good?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we should catch up with the others.
“Hello!” I interjected, “Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, follow them?”
Pulling on my shoulder with his free hand, Harlow said, “Come on we have to get out of here.” And with that Ivy and I followed Harlow’s lead as we descended deeper into the forest.
It wasn’t long before we reached the shed in the woods where Harlow had brought me after I’d discovered his family secret. I followed Harlow through the door, only to discover the rest of his pack inside—Nick, Blake, Dean, and now Harlow, Ivy, and me, all stood around the main room. But why were we here?
“Is it done?” Nick asked immediately, disregarding my presence.
“It’s done,” Harlow confirmed.
“Is what done?” I repeated, confused by the question.
Harlow turned his attention to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Rayna,” he began gently.
“Tell me what?” I pressed as the familiar sting of betrayal started to build up inside me.
Crouching down, Ivy reached into a bag at her feet and pulled out the jewelry box, offering it to me. I stared at her puzzled as I took the jewelry box from her.
“Open it,” she nodded.
I carefully lifted the lid and looked inside. The iron moon necklace sat securely inside the box and now I was confused. “I don’t understand...” I said, peering up at the faces around the room.
“We searched everywhere for Sloan. The school, the woods, anywhere we could imagine Harris might hide her,” Dean explained.
“Every time we caught on to the Venators’ trail it vanished. We couldn’t track Sloan...” Blake continued.
“There wasn’t time to fill you in, Rayna. I noticed Walsh lurking around the hospital hours after I brought you in. I knew why he was there and that's when the idea to duplicate the necklace hit me. I didn't know if it was even remotely possible, but after talking it over with Ivy, she made it happen.” Harlow met her gaze with an appreciative smile.
“So I wasn't seeing things!” I exclaimed. That was a relief.
“Walsh was at the hospital the whole time,” he confirmed. “You woke up, and it was the perfect opportunity to dangle the pendant right in front of him.” Silence fell between us for a few seconds. “Once Walsh saw the pendant, we knew Harris would double down on his tracking efforts and maybe even attack. So we let the story slip that you and I would bury the necklace tonight.”
Relieved by the insight, I threw my arms around Harlow in a hug. When we broke apart, I shoved him hard against the shoulder with my free hand, “Don't ever do that to me again!”
“Keep the necklace close, Rayna. You’re its keeper,” Ivy added. And I tucked the necklace safely in my front pocket.
“So what’s our next move?” Dean asked, looking to the other members of the pack for an answer.
“I put a trace on the fake necklace. It’ll lead us right to Harris. Sloan has to be with the Venators. Harris wouldn’t leave her unguarded,” Ivy said. “Now let’s move,” she added with a sense of urgency.
“Harris’ call for redemption against our pack ends tonight. One way or another,” Harlow proclaimed firmly. The others nodded in agreement.
chapter twenty
WE’D BEEN FOLLOWING HARRIS AND THE VENATORS for several minutes when Harlow cut sharply off the path, yanking me unexpectedly behind a tree. He placed his hand on the tree trunk above my head and leaned in, trapping me between his body and the tree. We were so close I could feel his breath on my face. “Are you okay?” Harlow asked quietly, pulling back to meet my gaze.
My eyes searched his with uncertainty because now didn't seem like the best time to take a detour. “Completely unscathed,” I told him between breaths. It wasn't entirely true— my body still ached from my days in confinement—but I felt fine otherwise, and wasn’t about to give Harlow a reason to send me home.
Harlow's expression begged to differ.
I smiled at his serious demeanor. “I mean it, Harlow, I'm fine.”
His expression remained unchanged. “I don’t want to put you in danger, Rayna. Nick was right, you shouldn't be here. I can’t guarantee you'll be safe.”
“You know I can handle myself, Harlow. I'm here to help find Sloan and keep you safe. All of you,” I reminded him, lightly pressing my palm to his chest. “Don't worry about me, worry about Harris.”
Harlow didn’t respond and I could read the sadness in his eyes. No convincing from me was going to change that. My mind protested that this wasn't the time or place, but my heart just didn't care. I pushed up on my tiptoes and kissed him. Harlow resisted momentarily but soon gave in, leaning closer to me. Our lips moved with perfect chemistry. I ran my hand through his hair, and in response, his hand glided up my back to my neck. Allowing all obstacles to fall away. But in the back of my mind, I knew we had to keep moving, so I pulled away first.
“We should catch up with the others,” Harlow pointed out, and with that, he walked away from me.
After another fifteen minutes of walking, I followed Harlow out of the trees and down a fairly steep hill to the bank of the St. Croix Stream. It took me a moment to register where we were. It was the place I’d gotten my memories back the first time. I shivered at the memory that felt almost like it wasn’t mine at all. Like it had happened to another version of me in a different life.
Looking ahead, the group had stopped in the middle of the clearing.
“What’s wrong?” Harlow asked as we strode up to join them.
“She lost the trace,” Nick grumbled, not hiding his disdain.
Ivy huffed in frustration. “I didn’t lose the trace, Nick, someone is scrambling it. The signal is coming from every direction.”
“What now?” Dean asked as he wiped the back of his hand across his brow.
Blake cut in. “Listen!”
“We're not alone anymore,” Harlow said. And within seconds, Blake and Dean transformed into wolves, stalking toward our intruders as the ground began to quiver. A pack of startled birds chattered at the commotion, a black cloud tearing frantically from the trees.
I leaned on a rock trying to balance myself. When the shaking stopped, I looked up to see about twelve Venators s
tanding down the river ready and waiting to take us on—Harris at the forefront.
The Dean and Blake wolves bared their teeth, growling fiercely in warning, ready to attack should any of them advance.
I stood frozen to the spot. Beside me, Harlow appeared to be calculating his next move.
“Recognize this?” Harris goaded at the Payne brothers, swinging the necklace from his hand. “I knew you wouldn’t stray far from it. Come willingly and no one else has to get hurt.” His eyes flicked to the growling wolves.
“Like hell!” Nick retorted aggressively, taking a few steps forward.
The Venators advanced in response and the wolves lunged forward in retaliation. Harlow grabbed my wrist and we tore across the frozen ground away from the scene, Nick and Ivy close on our tails.
“Catch them!” Harris' voice bellowed into the frosty January night.
My body drowned out the world around me as we ran. The sound of my heart pounding in my chest flooded my ears. Feet clashing against the light dusting of snow. Breathing deep and shallow.
Harlow looked over his shoulder to gauge our distance from the Venators and I followed suit. They were gaining on us. A fiery light caught the corner of my eye followed by an agonizing cry. A second quick glance over my shoulder indicated that Ivy was using magic to throw off our pursuers.
“Rayna move!” Ivy shouted from somewhere behind me, shoving me forward as one of the men lunged at her.
Ivy’s shove sent me flying into Harlow’s back, knocking him off balance, and we both tumbled to the cold, wet ground.
Nick stopped just ahead, allowing the Venators to catch up. He threw the first punch as a second man descended upon Harlow.
I scurried backward, my fingernails hastily sinking into the earth as I dodged the Venator's reach. The man attacking Harlow had thrown him to the ground, throwing punch after punch as Harlow struggled to wrestle the man off of him. Spotting a large jagged rock, I picked it up and ran straight toward the man attacking Harlow, slamming it as hard as I could into the back of his skull. He collapsed, freeing Harlow and I shakily dropped the bloodied rock.
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