Slamming the car into park, Jack took deep breaths through his nose, trying to calm himself down so that he could talk to Everly without yelling at her. He had his finger on the locking mechanism, making sure she didn’t get out of his car before he wanted her to.If he’d been even a few seconds later… it would’ve been all over with. He’d hesitated to drop his siblings and Chase off at home before coming back to check on her but thought he’d made himself clear enough to her earlier that day that she wouldn’t do anything stupid.He’d been wrong. So very wrong.She was just sitting next to him, her still-human heart beating in her chest. She was scared, and at the moment, it wasn’t of the monsters in the woods. It was of him.Well, if that’s what it took….“What the actual hell did you think you were doing?” he said, not caring anymore that he sounded like a brute.“What

“Dad!” Everly’s heart was banging in her chest as she turned to see her dad standing by the attic stairs, the angry look on his face not nearly as frightening as the terror of being snuck up on. “You scared the crap out of me.”“What are you doing up here, Ev?” he asked, coming over to where she was and taking her mom’s camera out of her hands. He put it into the box and closed the lid.“I was just… looking for Mom’s pictures,” she said. “Why aren’t they hanging up anymore?”He didn’t answer her. “I would really appreciate it if you didn’t go through the boxes up here, okay?” It was clear he was still mad, but at least he wasn’t yelling.Everly wasn’t sure she was going to let him be mad about this anyway. He didn’t have any more reason to be mad about her looking in the boxes than she had to be mad at him for not telling he

Of all of the days for her German teacher to be absent! Everly sat in her chair, frustrated, as the substitute passed out some worksheets for them to practice common nouns. It would take about five minutes for her to complete this, and then, the teacher said they could work quietly at their seats on something else.Which meant the room would erupt in chatting and laughter in less than ten minutes.Everly’s eyes scanned the room. Was there anyone in here that might be able to translate for her? Was there anyone in here who knew German well enough? She wasn’t sure. But then, she also didn’t know if she wanted anyone to know what her crazy grandmother had shouted about her mother before she was locked up in an asylum.Her eyes landed on Will. He looked tired. For that matter, all of the Greys had looked tired that day. So had the other kids sitting at their table at lunch, except for Fiona. She wondered if something had gone on in their village th

Jack realized he was scaring the hell out of Everly, but that was only because he was terrified. “Did he touch you?” “No! No! Let go of me!” Everly shook free of him, and he released her, running a hand through his hair as she walked away from him. “You’re acting crazy, Jack. I don’t belong to you, you know? I can talk to whoever I want to.” “I know that, Everly. I’m sorry. It’s just… you don’t know that guy.” She turned around to look at him. “And I take it that you do?” He nodded, still trying to calm down. He wanted to inspect every inch of her, to make sure she wasn’t hurt. It wouldn’t take much at all for her to fall victim to a Nachtwolf. For that matter, even he could hurt her if he wasn’t extremely careful. It wasn’t just a Nachtwolf that could do it—they were just the only ones who would want to turn her. But accidents could happen. Maybe he should stop picking her up. “Jack, what’s going on?” she seemed calmer. Her he

Leaving Everly when she was so confused and upset had been nearly impossible. But the second time Jim came home, Jack noticed his scent before he arrived and knew he needed to get out of there before he caused a family squabble. As it was, he was pretty sure Jim would have a few choice words for his daughter about her having a boy over without asking first.He didn’t actually leave until he saw Jim’s Jeep pull into his normal spot. He’d parked his car down by the end of the driveway and come back, in his human form, to keep an eye on the house. Once Jim was there, he decided to go home and talk to his parents before he came back for his own shift. Right now, Troy, Sam, and Bridge were in the woods near Everly’s home.He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t have much of a choice. His parents needed to know what Slate had done that day. It was atrocious that he’d be so bold. If Jack could, he’d go find the son of a bitch and