An all too familiar Range Rover pulls into the driveway, and my blood turns to ice.
“Is Laken here?” Marky calls from the kitchen. She’s been baking cookies for my “date,” and now Laken brought someone entirely different to eat them with.
“Yeah, I think so.” My stomach drops like a stone. I should brace Marky, coach her on what to say and what not to say—lock her in her bedroom—but Wes and Laken have already sprung up to the porch, and I open the door without bothering to wait for them to knock.
Wes huffs a quiet laugh at my overeagerness. I’m a fool if I think he’s not onto us—that he doesn’t have the upper hand like he does with everything else. And I hope to God, he doesn’t have it with Laken.
“Come in,” I say, holding the screen open for them.
“Smells like heaven,” Wes chirps. “You bake those for me, cupcake?” He gives a playful wink in my direction, and the urge to sock him in the nuts goes up tenfold.
“Who’s this?” Marky appears next to me with a spatula frozen midair. Her tiny brown eyes are already filling with grief.
Laken swallows hard. “This is Wesley.” Her voice shakes. “He’s my boyfriend, Marky. He’s really nice.”
Shit. She’s pulling out all the stops.
I take Marky and spin her back in the direction of the kitchen.
“Hey, shortstop.” I press a kiss over her head, walking her the hell away from Wes.
“What does she mean he’s her boyfriend?” Marky’s lips quiver with a resolute sadness as if all her sisterly dreams of Laken becoming a part of the family have been pulled from underneath her.
“Laken likes him, too,” I whisper. No use in offering her false hope anymore than she’s already been privy to. “But he’s sort of an ass.”
Marky looks past my shoulder at the two of them and shoots Wes the stink eye.
“He looks fake,” she whispers. “I can already tell he’s not as nice as you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m one of a kind.” I give her shoulder a squeeze as Marky and her fragile heart slink back into the kitchen.
“Rumor has it you have the results.” Wes darts a suspicious glance around the room as if I’ve jammed the place with ninjas ready and willing to take him out once his guard is down.
“Results are in the office,” I say it low, sad. Laken’s right. I can’t let my emotions or anybody else’s, ruin her ability to get into the Celestra tunnels. Lives are at stake. And once we set them free, an entire river of truth will be unleashed, including whom Laken really wants to be with. Deep down inside I’m hoping I’m that person, but realistically I don’t even know if she considers me a contender.
I lead us back and give a knock to the office door before the three of us step inside.
“Wesley.” Dad gives a placid smile. He’s got on his thick cable sweater, his oversized glasses that frame his face like cartoon outlines. “Nice to see you. Nice to see you, too, Laken. Please, take a seat.”
I pull out a chair for Laken and Wes, before leaning against the wall.
“I don’t know the results,” I say, grazing Laken with a glance. “I wanted to find out with you—the both of you.” I add that last part for the safekeeping of my balls.
“It’s curious.” Dad looks over the notes as if they were written in hieroglyphics.
“What’s that?” I peer over his shoulder. I wouldn’t mind speeding up the process, especially since I left Marky in cookie distress. Wesley is pretty much screwing things up all around.
“This girl, Hattie”—Dad glances up at me before reverting to Laken—“she’s a purebred Celestra.”
The room stills. Laken and I exchange a quick look.
“So…” Dad relaxes back in his chair. “No particular monsters here. Her DNA has all of the required human markings and then some. She’s definitely one of us—a Nephilim through and through.”
“I guess there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Laken sinks in her seat.
I know for a fact if Wes weren’t in the room, this conversation would be a hell of a lot more animated.
“Nothing to be afraid of,” Dad echoes.
“Not true,” Wes counters. His jaw clenches as he takes us in. “Celestra is always the enemy.” He turns to face Laken in full. “Did she threaten you? Do you think she was trying to hurt you?”
“No. I just thought she was creepy.” Laken touches her hand to her chest. I have a feeling Wes is going to take this down a path I don’t want him to.
“I’ll dig in deep and find out everything I can about this Hattie girl,” he says with a sense of bravado designed to make Laken feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
And there it is. Once Wes dives in and discovers two dead Tobias sisters with the same face, it’ll make him wonder what the hell is going on like the rest of us.
“No, please don’t.” She’s quick to stop him. “Flynn is doing that. In fact, when she came to the library tonight, she was looking for him.”
“That’s funny,” I say mostly to myself. “He wasn’t in class today or football practice. He hasn’t missed a practice ever, not even the day after Casper went missing.”
I pluck out my phone and stare at the bizarre text he sent last night.
H me
“He sent this while we were at the restaurant.” I show the phone to the three of them.
“H me?” Laken looks perplexed.
“Help me.” Dad nods up at me. “Sounds like your friend, Flynn, found himself in hot water.”
Shit.
Laken looks up at me and swallows hard because she knows exactly what this means.
We need to find Flynn, like yesterday.
Wes hardens his glare in my direction. He’s observed one too many secret glances between Laken and me. His body language alone clues me in on the fact I might be the next one to disappear.
Wes smirks. “He probably partied too hard and ended up in a different state entirely.”
I give a sober nod at Wesley’s almost plausible explanation.
More like another state of being.
“I wouldn’t be too worried.” Wes pats Laken on the knee. “He probably forgot what day it was. He’s functioning on half a brain.”
If the Spectators have anything to do with it—he won’t have a brain at all.
Laken insists we conduct a manhunt in the woods that line Ephemeral, which I wouldn’t have minded so much if she also hadn’t insisted on dragging Wesley along with us. The fact it’s near thirty degrees, and dark as hell didn’t seem to detour her either. Laken is dead-set on regaining Wesley’s trust. Not that I blame her. We have everything on the line if she loses it.
The woods snarl around us as the ground clouds hiss and swirl with our every step.
“Flynn had taken Hattie out here more than a couple times.” Laken shoots me a look.
I know what she’s thinking—we should keep all mention of our Spectator expeditions close to the vest. Wesley’s orders were to kill them, not resurrect them one by miserable one.
“We should get Hattie.” Wes turns toward Ephemeral without missing a beat.
“No,” I say. “I doubt she had anything to do with this.” Not only that, but I’m worried she might spout off about trying to find the Tobias clan and why. The less Wes knows, the better.
Laken steps over roots that sprout from the ground, thick as dinosaur tails. I wish it were just Laken and me—that it was Wes the Spectators ate for dinner last night and not Flynn. I shake my head at the thought. I don’t really want Wes dead. I just want Laken. But she’s in too deep. Her old life clouds her vision of this new reality, and I may never win her heart, God knows, Wes will never surrender his post.
We head deeper into the maze of the forest, and the path leading back to campus dissolves in a tangle of murky shadows. The cedars and pines interlock sharp as knives until it’s almost impossible to move any further.
“We’re going to get disoriented.” Wes slips his arm around Laken’s waist without thinking abo
ut it. The bastard doesn’t even know how lucky he is to have her, to touch her so easily whenever the hell he feels the need. “Coop”—he nods over to me—“you thinking what I’m thinking?”
I was thinking it hours ago, but I don’t call Wes out on being slow on the uptake. He probably thought the same thing, too.
“Yeah, man, I am.”
“What?” Laken looks horrified. “You think they took him?” She draws her hands over her mouth. “You think he’s dead don’t you?” She closes her eyes, and an entire stream of white fog swirls from her mouth.
“It’s not looking good,” I say.
Laken steps away from the two of us and bows her head in sorrow.
I don’t give a shit about Wes and his imaginary line in the sand. Instead, I go over and take up her hand.
“Everything happens for a reason, Laken,” I say pulling her in. Get Wes out of here. I’ll get Hattie and see what I can find. Flynn is a Count. He has a fighting chance if he’s dead, remember?
“You’re right,” she whispers, glancing down at our interlocked fingers. What if they bit him? What then? Laken’s silver eyes shimmer in this dull light.
I don’t know. I shake my head just enough. There’s always Ezrina.
She killed Pearl—twice.
She’ll improve her method. I’m quick to point out. I can only hope it’s true.
It had better be true. Laken turns back to Wes and gasps.
I twist around to find a large looming shadow standing directly behind him.
I recognize those long speared horns, that misshapen head, the body of a man, the face of an ox—Asterion.
Looks like Flynn might not be the only one in need of a resurrection in the very near future.
Wesley
The forest sizzles and snaps around me. A shadow lingers over my shoulder, thick and smothering as a blanket.
Laken seizes. Coop holds out a finger for me to stand still.
A weighted hand crashes over my shoulder, dirty with hair covering the back like an animal.
“Shit.” I close my eyes a moment because I know what’s coming, what’s already here—a Fem, ready and willing to distribute an ass kicking. “Get Laken out of here.” I say it low and careful so as not to incite the creature any sooner than necessary.
Coop keeps his eyes focused on whatever lies behind me. He picks up a stick from the ground and hands it to Laken without taking his eyes off the beast.
“Run.” He roars it out as a command, but Laken doesn’t move.
Coop swipes a knife from his pocket and holds it low against his thigh.
It’s nice to know that neither of them listens to logic and reason when times get tough.
My legs kick out from underneath me. My torso is caught in the air before I ever have a chance to hit the ground. The world spins. I rise to the uppermost branches of the evergreens and look down to find a Minotaur just like the one standing proud in the middle of campus. He looks up at me with his fiery red eyes, his body gleaming like burnished bronze, his feet glow orange like molten steel.
“Fuck.” It comes out with far more fear than I ever anticipated. I’ve never been a fan of Asterion. Truth be told, he’s scared the shit out of me a time or two, and this just so happens to be one of them.
Coop backs up and tackles the beast by the legs, buckling it at the knees from behind, and I fly forward, catching myself on the skeletal branches of a birch. My face and arms get scratched to hell in the process.
I hit the ground with a thud, and the wind knocks out of me by way of my already cracked ribs. If I didn’t know better, I’d think those damn Olivers paid the Fem to inflict a little extra damage.
“Shit,” I seethe, trying to get my bearings as I struggle to my feet. “Laken?” I turn to find her a good distance away on the other side of Coop and the beast.
Cooper staggers from the creature only to have it reach out and yank him back like a ragdoll.
“Wes!” Laken screams in a panic.
Asterion snatches Coop by the ankle and swings him like a baseball bat against the fat trunk of a pine. Coop holds out both arms to deflect the blow, and something cracks, loud as a snapping branch.
Shit. I limp my way over.
It slams Coop down over the floor, and his head bounces like a melon.
Fuck. I watch in horror as Coop lets out a groan, his face bloodied along one side.
Just one more blow, and things could get fatal. My heart thumps as my feet nail themselves into the dirt. This could prove to be a lethal jaunt in the woods for Coop, and I wouldn’t have to worry anymore about Laken. A wall of fog enwreathes me as my breathing becomes erratic.
“Wes, do something!” Laken howls it out over the expanse, and her voice echoes for miles.
My legs carry me to the towering menace, and I pause. Laken etches herself in my mind. The image of the two of them holding hands a few moments ago reverberates like a heartbeat.
“You fucking ass.” Laken looks right at me before diving in low and taking out the creature’s legs.
I run over to help and trip on a root, landing on my busted rib. The air expels from my lungs in one quick push. The world warps and bends as I try to get up without passing out.
The beast lands on the forest floor. All I see from this vantage point is the bottom of Laken’s boot traveling in a half-circle as she lands a kick in the creature’s nose. It bucks and grunts as she comes back down over the top of its head with her elbow.
Asterion rears its head and lets out a roar that mimics a freight train screeching to a halt. It tries to rise, but Laken proceeds with her assault and skewers it through the eye with the stick in her hand. She plunges the branch so far into its skull she piths the creature.
It staggers to its feet. It bucks and seizes like its about to explode before tipping forward.
“Coop!” Laken screams, dragging him out of the bullseye just as the beast flops down to earth.
“Good job,” I whisper, limping my way over to where she’s cradling Coop’s head in her lap. She’s rocking him, touching her hand to his forehead, telling him everything is going to be all right. And despite all the drama, the hostile aggression, a small shallow part of me still boils with jealousy.
Laken helps Coop to his feet and slings his arm around her shoulder. He’s banged up as hell but still manages a painful smile.
Coop lets out a breath. “You okay, man?” He gives me a once over while fresh blood tunnels down from his temple.
“I’m fine.” Just hurts like hell to breathe or move. “Let’s get you to the hospital and get you checked out.” I make my way over and try to lift his arm over my shoulder, but Laken moves him just out of reach.
“I’ve got him, Wes,” she hisses. Laken needles me with a look that could saw my body in half with its laser precision.
The two of them hobble on ahead as I try to keep up.
Laken knows I hesitated.
The only thing worse than watching Cooper Flanders almost get killed was wanting it to happen on some level, waiting. And that’s exactly what I did.
I doubt Laken will ever forgive me.
I watch as they carefully walk around the minefield of tree roots, Laken with her arm around his waist.
She saved him.
And now they’re closer than ever.
By seven in the evening the entire school is overrun with every local authority, including two different news crews.
Laken and I huddle under a blanket while sitting on the steps in the foyer of Austen House. An ambulance took Coop away. You’d think Laken were going to self-destruct the way she insisted on going with him, but they wouldn’t let her leave school grounds without a permission slip from her parents. Of course Jen called her uncle and he insisted on driving down.
“Jones should be here any minute.” Jen shifts from one foot to another. “I don’t like this.” She shivers, warming her arms with her hands. “First Casper, now Flynn?” Her forehead wrinkles as she takes in the explo
sion of red and blue lights flashing outside the window.
“I’m sure he’ll turn up,” I offer weakly. Freaking Flynn.
“Wesley?” Kres bounds through the door in her tennis garb with a pink band in her hair twisted to the side. “Oh my God, I ran all the way here.” She lunges at me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
Instinctively, I hold my breath until she lets go. My entire right side throbs with pain from the unwanted encounter.
“What happened?” Kres snaps while searing her hatred over Laken.
“Flynn happened,” I say, trying to breathe in small increments.
“Flynn got lost in the forest.” Laken’s eyes glaze over as she glances out the window. She looks miserable—afraid, as if she were seeing wickedness spread over the forest like a plague. “He’ll be back. They’ve just got to find him.”
Kres postures herself in defiance. A crowd gathers as the girls pepper each other with questions concerning the ruckus brewing outside.
Kres scoffs into Laken. “Don’t you think it’s strange that as soon as you set foot on campus all sorts of weird shit starts to happen?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Laken hangs her head in frustration as if maybe she does.
“Well, for one, you stole Wes.”
Laken gags as she tries to get the words out to somehow refute this.
“Nobody stole anybody,” I say it curt and expend all of my breathing capacity in the process.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that you’d make this about you.” Laken closes her eyes a moment.
Kres scoffs. “No sooner do you room with Casper, and she takes off—now her brother’s done the same?” She ticks her head back a notch while Grayson and Fallon come in on either side of her like a pair of bitter bookends.
Laken springs to her feet. I try to snatch her back, but my ribs suspend the effort. She stands toe to toe with Kres, and already I know this isn’t going to end well.
“First, you are so naïve to think I stole Wes from you.” She jabs her finger in Kresley’s chest. “Get it straight. He walked away, bitch.”
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