The Wolves Are Everywhere

by Janie Marie

  Logan was finishing his food when he pulled out his phone. A big grin spread over his lips as he stood and held out a hand for Janie. He dragged the girl out the door as he raised the phone to his ear and greeted whoever was calling with a, “Hey.”

  Ryder stared after them, his frown deepening when the door fully closed, and Janie and Logan were gone. “You fucking Grimms—always stealing my woman.”

  “He must be here.” Lance shooed him. “Go. I have this handled.”

  Ryder left without uttering another word.

  So many emotions assaulted Kylie. She tried not to focus on the truth that Logan was breaking up with her as she watched Maura stare in the direction Ryder had gone. They were both fools, because Kylie stared pathetically at the door, praying Logan would come back and promise everything was all right. It wasn’t all right. Nothing was all right.

  “Damon and a team are on their way to take you and Maura to the center,” Lance said.

  “Already?” She breathed faster, darting her eyes to the door. Maybe she could leave?

  “Relax,” he said, grabbing Maura’s hand. “You’re both going to be in good hands, and as soon as it’s possible, your mother will transfer there. They have family suites. It’s just best if you two don’t stay in the hospital or crowd her while she recovers. I promise you’ll like the center. It’s very upscale, and the staff is great. We wouldn’t let either of you go if we didn’t think you’d be safe.”

  Kylie’s eyes pricked with tears; Logan hadn’t even said goodbye.

  “He’ll come back,” Lance said, as though he knew what she was thinking. “He’s going to follow before leaving to meet Nick. The team going with you will be stationed near the center.”

  “Okay.” She glanced at Maura, unsure if she should say anything. She couldn’t.

  The door opened, and Logan returned, sitting beside her once again. “Sorry. It was my brother.”

  “He’s here?” she asked, panicking because Logan’s brother clearly had it out for her.

  “Yeah.” He stretched out his legs. “He’s gonna stay with Janie at the mansion.”

  That was a relief. As much as she wanted to see Logan get his family back, she wasn’t sure she could handle meeting another member who probably acted like a true big brother to Janie.

  The door opened again, and a nurse entered, rolling a cart. “Hello, everyone.”

  Lance got up, grabbing Lorelei’s wrist for the nurse to scan. “Is this the second round of antibiotics?”

  “Yes, sir.” The nurse smiled as she typed into her laptop. “She’ll get one more. In about an hour, they’ll come in for another blood-draw. Do you know if she was having any pain before she fell asleep?”

  “She said she was comfortable,” Lance answered, carefully observing the nurse.

  Logan leaned over, whispering in Kylie’s ear, “I know you don’t believe in the stories, but in the tales, Lancelot loved more than Guinevere.”

  Honestly, Kylie didn’t care about the fairy tales right now. It was now hitting her; he’d broken up with her. Her chest throbbed in a way she’d never experienced. It wasn’t worse than the panic attack, but it hurt in a way she knew was worse because this pain wouldn’t fade in a few minutes.

  She wanted to curl up in a dark room and cry. She’d lost him. Just like that. Everything had been perfect for one day, now this. She breathed through her nose, and it hurt. It felt like her lungs were going to burn up and explode.

  Breathe, it will pass.

  She could feel Logan’s dark eyes, and they were no longer looking at her with love behind them.

  He loved your lie. He knows that, and he’s refusing to let it continue.

  He sighed, leaning forward, holding his head. “I’m sorry.”

  She nodded, turning her face away because Maura watched them now.

  “Would it be better if I left?” he asked.

  She wanted him to leave, but then she didn’t. Oh, God, it hurt so bad. He wasn’t going to stay.

  She whimpered, turning away even more.

  Logan stayed quiet, and he didn’t move. He didn’t touch her.

  “Son,” Lance called softly, “come here for a moment.”

  “Sure.” Logan stood, walking toward the door where Lance headed.

  Logan tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling as one-word replies to whatever Lance was saying left his mouth.

  He lowered his head and glanced at her with a sad smile.

  Oh, please take me back.

  The cot shifted, and Kylie jerked her head around. Her eyes went wide, and she froze at the sight of Maura sitting with her.

  Maura didn’t look at her, but she put a hand over hers.

  Kylie’s entire body shook, and she sobbed. She’d broken Maura. She’d broken all of them.

  Maura still didn’t talk, but she moved her hand until they could hold hands.

  Kylie cried harder. Her heart was being ripped out, but Maura was there.

  The door opened—he was leaving. It felt like someone was taking all her oxygen, taking her life. Was this normal? Was she supposed to feel like she was going to throw up and die? God, she wanted to somehow have never existed.

  Lance came to her side, sitting in the space next to her. He pulled her close, wrapping one arm around both her and Maura. “Cry, girls. It’s okay.”

  Kylie clutched his other hand as she squeezed Maura’s. She felt Maura shaking beside her, but she wasn’t making any noise.

  Lance caressed Maura’s hair, but he rubbed his thumb over Kylie’s hand. “This isn’t the end,” he murmured. “I’ve seen the End. I witnessed him lose himself at the sight of his love, lifeless. And you know what? They ended together, only to begin again. Nothing really ends because of this. It just changes, and we change with every ending we encounter. You have reached the end of one period of your life, and you’re beginning again.”

  Kylie cried as Maura leaned on her more. She didn’t know how to comfort her back. She didn’t deserve to comfort her.

  “Both of you loved boys who lost their ways,” he continued. “But you have each other. No matter how many men come into your life, you two are sisters. It’s time to build on that. Look back at what you’ve lost over the years and make every moment you have twice as meaningful as the moments you missed out on. This”—he touched both of their heads—“is where you find love. It was poisoned and buried in darkness, but it’s here. So is the love from your mother. I promise.”

  “I don’t deserve—” Kylie choked, unable to say any more.

  “We all say that,” he whispered. “Luckily for us, God says we do, and he created souls to inspire those who feel exactly what you do right now. He asked them to serve. He said it would be painful and unbearably long—still, they accepted their roles. They stumbled along the way, sure, but that was part of the beauty of their creation. To watch one fall again and again, but rise each time.

  “They still rise because they know we are watching,” he continued. “We become their inspiration, their strength. They know sometimes just seeing another endure something similar is all the hope they can truly see before opening their eyes to see the wonder of God’s love.”

  “I don’t believe in God,” Kylie muttered, wiping her tears.

  “He forgot me,” Maura whispered. “I wasn’t enough.”

  Kylie stiffened at the sound of her voice. She was just a girl. No monster.

  Lance rocked them. “God believes in you, Kylie. I have seen the extent of his love for you. I’ve seen your very soul rage, only to perish against its greatest enemy. But I watched love and forgiveness lift your soul into its hands. Even when others were not ready to forgive, your soul was forgiven by the one it hurt most. When you realize that, when you see what I have—Kylie, you’ll believe. I see love surrounding you, just waiting for you to embrace it and its magic.”

  He ran his fingers through Maura’s hair. “You were always enough, sweetheart.” His voice trembled, not sounding at all like the
dangerous man she knew he was. “You were never forgotten. You were always loved, and He will always believe in you. Don’t give up.”

  Eleven

  DARK ONE

  Kylie sniffed, squeezing Maura’s hand as they followed Damon King down the hall. They were being escorted through the hospital by eight other men, and Logan wasn’t among them.

  Maura shook when they reached the lobby, and some kids from school came into view. Kylie stiffened, too. It was Melody Sokolov and her little posse. There were several boys from the football team with them. And they’d spotted them.

  “Maura?” Melody turned her nose up in disgust. “What are you wearing?”

  Damon glared at Melody, but she didn’t react. The boys flinched, though, taking steps away from Melody.

  Unfortunately Melody didn’t seem to notice or care about the threatening men surrounding them. “Oh my God.” Melody chuckled, pointing at Maura’s bandaged wrists. “I thought it was just a rumor. You actually tried to kill yourself because Trevor Grimm fucked and dumped you?”

  “I advise you to move along,” Damon said, moving slightly to block Maura.

  Ricky Hermes spoke up. “Um, we’re here because our coach got hit by a car this morning. We’re donating blood.” He glanced at Maura. “Are you okay?”

  Maura whimpered, moving behind Kylie.

  Melody watched, laughing. “Who knew getting fucked by a Grimm could mess you up so bad.” She giggled, directing her eyes to Damon. “You must be their new daddy since it turned out Mr. Blackwood is psycho.”

  The girls with Melody cringed, backing away.

  When Kylie noticed a tear sliding down Maura’s cheek, she pushed Damon aside to come face to face with Melody. “Back off!”

  A nasty smirk lifted Melody’s lips. “We heard your family’s dirty secrets. The police are all over town, even the school.”

  “Leave my family alone,” Kylie seethed, ignoring Damon as he gestured for the men to stay back.

  Melody snickered. “Your family? You’re an orphan.”

  “Melody, that’s enough,” Ricky said.

  Fury lit up her eyes. “Oh, shut up, Ricky. You’re just mad because Logan already knocked Janie up. God, she’s always been such a whore.”

  Kylie stayed silent, her throat closing as the kids gasped.

  “Actually”—Logan’s voice sounded behind Melody—“I got Janie pregnant when I was in high school, and we lost our baby. It’s been hard on all of us, so I’d appreciate it if you shut up about the death of our child.” He went on as everyone gaped. “And she’s my best friend—not a whore. I think you’d know that since you’re the one who started all those rumors.”

  The kids parted, staring between Logan, Melody, and Kylie.

  He gave Melody a sarcastic smile. “One day, you’re going to realize what a bitch you are, and it’s going to be when you look around and see everyone got tired of your manipulative ass.”

  “Yeah, bitch.” Ryder strolled up behind Maura. He held one of Janie’s hands and a hospital bag in his other. “You don’t know a damn thing about us.”

  Everyone stared, their jaws hanging open at the sight of Janie and the group of men flanking her.

  Janie winked her black eye at Kylie before rubbing Maura’s back. Then she smiled at Melody. “You really should consider new methods to cope with your jealousy. It’s getting old.”

  Luc smiled down at Janie. “I believe jealousy is a disease, my queen.”

  “Oh, I see.” Janie smiled even wider, her bruised face and busted lip in full view. “Well, get well soon, bitch.”

  Ryder snickered, nodding at the football boys. “Get out of here. Coach Wolf isn’t your concern. And stop the rumors about the girls. Unless we say it ourselves, it’s not true. Now fuck off.”

  The boys didn’t need to be told twice. Only Ricky lingered, his eyes on Maura.

  What the?

  Janie winked at Kylie again before plucking a flower from the vase being held by one of her men. She pushed Ryder forward, sneakily handing it to Ricky before waving to them and disappearing out the exit with her whole posse.

  Ricky looked down at the flower before holding it out to Maura. “I hope you feel better soon.”

  Maura’s eyes went wide.

  “Um.” Ricky nervously scratched the back of his head.

  Logan chuckled, and red crawled up Ricky’s neck, settling on his cheeks. He had dimples.

  “Maura,” Kylie whispered, “take the flower.”

  Her stepsister slowly reached for it. “Thank you.”

  His face flushed. “You’re welcome.” He glanced at the eight men still left behind. “I better go. See you around.”

  Maura nodded, moving behind Kylie again.

  Logan stepped forward. “Kylie, do you have a moment?”

  Damon carefully took Maura’s hand. “Come along, little one.”

  “I’ll be right there, Maura.” Kylie gave her a smile, watching her walk away with the men.

  “I decided it’s for the best I don’t go with you,” Logan said, looking as guilty as ever. “But I wanted to see you before you left.”

  God, she couldn’t do this, and she blurted it out. “Logan, please don’t leave me. I’ll do anything.”

  He took her hand, pulling her into a hug. “Shh . . .”

  She sobbed, tangling her fingers in his shirt. “I don’t want to be like this. I didn’t mean to say those things about your baby. I’m sorry,” she cried. “Just don’t leave me. I’ll be better.”

  He sighed, kissing the top of her head. “I know you’ll get better, but you can’t do that with me. Look how brave you were without me. You’re not the girl who needs a guy to fight her battles.”

  He smiled against her hair. “I don’t regret us. I regret not being a better man and not being honest. I regret not confronting my own demons until I had to watch more than Janie suffer. Because I hurt you as well. I regret that I didn’t look for the real you. Instead, I let myself use you to escape my truth.”

  She clung to him tighter. “Please. It’s okay. I lied, too. We can make it work. Isn’t that how relationships are supposed to be?”

  “Not for us.” Logan hugged her tighter. “Take care of Maura.”

  She cried harder.

  “Don’t be afraid to accept the help they give you,” he murmured, caressing her hair. “It’s better than anything I can give you. Because I’m not even sure who I am, and I need to figure that out.”

  “We can talk and get to know each other and ourselves. For real this time.” She was panicking. “Please. I’ll even go to therapy.”

  “No, baby.” He kissed her forehead. “It has to be this way. Friendship is all I can give you.”

  “You’re going to forget me and move on,” she whined. “You’ll go back to Janie.”

  He chuckled, running his hand through her hair. “I can’t forget my Little Hood. And even though a part of me wishes I still had that chance with her, I’m so happy to see her with Ryder. He really is a perfect match for her. I just want to find the girl I lost. She was holding hands with the boy who still had dreams, who believed he was a hero. I wanted to be her hero—I was supposed to be hers. Don’t you see? I was trying to be your hero because I failed her. It was for the wrong reasons.”

  “But I love you,” she whispered, already knowing there was nothing that could change his mind.

  “You know that’s not true.” He held her away and wiped away her tears. “The real me lied to you. The real me used you.” He took a deep breath. “The real me is still in love with her.”

  Kylie’s heart shattered.

  He sighed, his dark eyes reflecting her distraught expression. “I didn’t realize it—or I guess, I didn’t accept it until yesterday.”

  She covered her mouth. It was what she feared all along. She never should’ve gone to him.

  “Listen.” He smoothed her hair back then cupped her cheeks. “I don’t mean to hurt you, and I didn’t mean to realize any
of this, but it would’ve eventually come out. This is what I mean—we have too many lies and things to work through. I’m telling you because you need to hear it so you don’t focus on trying to see us back together.”

  She wanted to stop existing. Everything wonderful Lance said could very well be a lie, just like his son.

  He caressed her cheek, searching her eyes as though he was looking for something in them. “Don’t let my betrayal affect your decisions to work out your issues.”

  “My mental issues, you mean.” She didn’t want to sound so pathetic, but she was, and he was making her angry. “Why don’t you just go to her?” She shoved his chest, but he didn’t move. “Maybe she’ll decide she’s in love with you too, and you’ll get your chance.” She jerked out of his hold and stomped her way to the exit.

  “Kylie,” he called out.

  She stopped but didn’t turn around.

  “I’m proud of you, and I’m glad you got away from Kevin. Good luck, Hood.”

  Kylie swiped away her tear and walked outside where Damon waited. He motioned for her to follow him to the black SUV waiting in the pickup lane. She noticed Ryder standing near his Camaro. He was talking to Than. That didn’t bother Kylie. It was just that there was a man standing on the other side of the car. He was leaning down, talking to Janie, as she already sat in the passenger seat. The guy looked too similar to Logan to not be related to him.

  He smiled at Janie, and Kylie gasped as she realized this must be Logan’s brother—the one who found out everything about her. Janie got the Grimms after all.

  “Don’t slip into darkness again,” Damon said, blocking her view when Logan jogged toward Ryder. He muttered something to him before walking around and smacking his brother on the back.

  The elder Grimm wore a black beanie and black T-shirt. His arms were even more inked than Logan’s, and you could see even more tattoos on the side of his neck. He no longer smiled as he stared at Logan, but he did when Janie stood up.

  Damon grabbed Kylie by the arm and helped her into the vehicle. “Neither of you need to be in a relationship right now.”