Everly’s stomach was in her throat as they pulled into the small drive outside of her mother’s cabin. None of this was going to be easy. She was going to have to be careful not to scare the shit out of her dad when he saw Jack shift, and then, when he saw her mom for the first time, she was going to have to give them time to talk to one another while she and Jack went off to check in with Slate and Jack’s family to see if they’d gotten everything sorted out.Before they got out of the truck, Jack leaned over her and said, “Are you all right?”“I am right now, but I’m nervous as hell. What if he freaks out? Or what if he doesn’t forgive her?”“I don’t think there’s much of a chance of him not forgiving her, but I do think that he will freak out when he sees me shift. There’s not much chance of that not happening.”Her dad was already out of his truck and headed over to her si

“So… how did it go?” Slate asked as Everly and Jack came back into Margot’s house.“It was… really weird,” Everly admitted, slumping down onto the couch. Jack sat down next to her and took her hand, but he didn’t say anything. Slate didn’t stir from his perch on the chair.She’d had some time to think about it. Everly had driven her dad’s truck behind Jack as he’d taken her mom’s friend’s truck back to him. After they’d dropped it off, she’d slid over to the passenger side and let Jack drive back to her mom’s cabin. The whole way, all she kept thinking about was how shocked her dad was and how he hadn’t reacted the way she’d expected him to when he’d seen her mom.But then… her mom hadn’t exactly come running with open arms either.None of it was what she had imagined it would be.“What do you mean by weird, E

Everly felt a cold chill go down her spine at just the mention of Maura’s name. “What do you mean, Jack?” she asked, picking up a dishtowel off of the counter and drying her hands. The lunch dishes would have to wait until later because she needed to hear what he had to say.He took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall near the wall, folding his arms. “That was Alyson,” he began. “She said… about thirty minutes ago, Maura showed up at our house, looking for me. My mom told her that I wasn’t there, and she said that we had a school project we were supposed to be working on, and that the school sent her to come and check on me. Mom said that I was at a doctor’s appointment or something like that, but Maura spent a good five or ten minutes talking to my mom about where I was and what was going on. I don’t know, but as she was leaving, the alarm sounded from the prison that the Council members had somehow manage

Sitting in her father’s truck between her parents, it seemed surreal to Everly that she was even in a situation where it was possible to be sitting there.It also seemed surreal that she was headed right back to the situation she’d been fleeing the night before on the back of Slate’s motorcycle.Yet, here she was, riding right back there, despite the fact that most of the people she trusted in the world thought it was a bad idea.But then, she also thought it was a bad idea that her father, who was driving the truck, was going.Slate had taken his motorcycle back, but he was going by road this time, using Margot’s directions to reach the closest route that wouldn’t make it so he could only travel about five miles per hour, the way that he’d had to drive to get there.Jack was sitting in the back of the truck, stewing. She knew he was angry over the fact that Everly was going back, but he was also angry that they’d ag

“Did you find out anything helpful?” Jack asked as Everly approached him. He had been hanging out, speaking to his parents, trying to get caught up on everything he’d missed while they were gone while she was off speaking to Grandma Genevieve, but it was difficult for him to stay focused because he kept thinking about her.He was worried about her. This entire situation was dangerous, and she would be better off at Margot’s house where she was safe, and now that her father was out here, too, where he was more vulnerable, Everly was going to be in even more danger because she would put herself in harm’s way in order to try to make sure that Jim was safe.“Yes,” Everly said with a nod. “We did find out something that will probably be very helpful—well, maybe. I guess it depends on how good your acting skills are.”Jack’s forehead wrinkled as he tried to figure out exactly what it was Everly was getting at. “What’s that now?” He looked from his girlfriend to his sister, who wa