Sitting down in her chair in choir class, Everly blew out a deep breath and thought about what she needed to do after school. Maybe she could figure out a way to catch a ride to see Toby with Chase. After all, if Jack was intending to drive her to see her dog, that had to mean that Chase had also driven, right? Because Alyson didn’t drive, and Will wasn’t old enough to have his driver’s license. Would it be possible for her to get Alyson to suggest to her brother that he just take his siblings home as always and let her catch a ride with his friend? Wouldn’t that be awkward, too, riding in a vehicle with Chase when she’d hardly ever even spoken to the guy? Maybe Aly could come with her.Even if it did seem weird and stupid, she had to do something. Knowing Jack, he’d probably be waiting for her after school. Maybe his brother and sister would be riding with them. That would make sense. After all, they all lived in the same house. And it was

Maura Downey really didn’t know how to give up. Jack didn’t want to be rude to her. She was a nice girl, and she was pretty. He’d gone out with her a few times. But… there was always something lacking between them. He just didn’t find her that interesting. With the winter formal coming up in about a month, he understood what she was doing now, trying to get his attention, batting her eyelashes at him, lingering next to him in the hallway, all of that stuff.Jack wasn’t interested, though, and even though he was polite and laughed at her jokes, he was really hoping the recent rumors about him and Everly would be enough to dissuade Maura from pursuing him.Apparently… not.“Well, Maura,” he said as they walked out of class together. “I’ve got to go.”“Oh, are you in a rush?” she asked. “I thought maybe we could go to the dinner and get some fries or something. Do you

“Jack!” The words Jack was about to say to Everly caught in his throat as he heard Bridge shouting his name from across the street. “Damn it,” he thought to himself. “Why did she always have such awful timing?” He wasn’t even exactly sure what he was going to say—something about whoever Everly had called on his phone, it didn’t matter, but he wanted her to know that he’d do whatever it took to help her find out what happened to her mom and keep her safe. Or something. He just wanted her to know that he cared about her. Walking down the sidewalk next to her just then, he’d wanted so badly to reach over and take her hand, but he didn’t want to freak her out. He’d done that enough recently. And now, here was Bridge, bobbing across the street, interjecting herself into their business. He tried not to be too annoyed. She had been a big help the night before after all. “Hey, Bridge,” he said as the tiny brunette came around his car. “This is

Staring at the message on her phone, Everly tried to decide whether or not she should call Slate or text him back while she still had a signal. His text just said, “How is your dog? Is he still hanging in there? Are you okay?”It was nice. It was a pleasant text, something a nice person would send.Jack would have her believe that Slate’s motivation was to win her over and then pounce on her, hoping to get her to trust him and then rip her open and lap up her blood like some sort of a savage.While she knew that Jack did know this man a lot better than she did, it was still hard to believe he could sound so shocked and concerned on the phone with her the other day and still want to hurt her.“What do you want to do about dinner, Everly?”Her dad’s voice startled her, and Everly almost dropped her phone. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. He probably thought she was doing something she shouldn’t be, like l

By the time third period was over, Everly’s arm was driving her crazy. It was itching so badly, she had to go into the bathroom and scratch the living daylights out of it. She knew there was something wrong, but the idea that she was going to have to tell Jack that she may have been scratched by Rider made her stomach tighten up into a knot.She was just about to push into the bathroom when she heard two familiar voices and froze with the door slightly ajar.“So… now that you’re eighteen, you should have your powers, right? Why not just make Jack fall in love with you?”That was Candace. Everly would recognize her voice anywhere. Powers? What powers?“Shut your mouth, Candace!” Maura said harshly. “Someone could hear you!”“No one is in here. I already checked the stalls.”A small wall jutted out between the door and the sinks where it sounded like the two of them were standing. They wer