The moon madness.
Colt grabs Grayson around the midsection before the wolf makes contact with me. The hit throws them both into the gulley and behind the popped car trunk.
The scent of blood is stronger and suddenly Lacey is there, bleeding from a set of twin scratches across her temple.
“Get up. Getup, Mandi, let’s go.”
Colt wrestles Grayson to the ground, struggling for dominance—he’s the only one strong enough to do it.
“Don’t hurt him!”
I’ve taken a step in their direction before Lacey pulls me back. Her icy fingers thread through mine.
“Please. He doesn’t know. He can’t…”
I’m trembling, jaw clenched as Lacey clutches my hand, drawing a wave of fresh blood from the gash on my palm.
“Go!” Colt screams. “Go now!”
It’s the second time tonight I’ve run away from Grayson, and I wonder which one will be harder for me to forgive myself for.
Part of my heart splits and stays behind at the crash. I bleed through the growls, the roars, the sharp yips of pain I’m not sure come from who. Lacey is a strong, cold presence urging me onward.
My double vision clears the longer we run and the harder my lungs work. The night sharpens around us. Trees grow closer here than at home, more rugged and untamed.
Darkness is thicker and alive, pulsing against my skin.
Tears drip down my cheeks and disappear as we sprint into the unknown. Then Lacey stumbles and goes down, her knees connecting hard against roots.
She waves me away when I try to help her. “I’m fine. Keep going.”
We put as much space between us and the boys as possible. Whatever threw Grayson over the edge, it’s not something we can help. It’s not something we can fix.
Time means nothing out here. We sprint until my legs give out and my muscles spasm in a clear demand to stop. Adrenaline runs its course and slips out of me inch by inch until I’m empty and carved out.
I skid to a stop then go down, clutching the ground to anchor myself.
Blood and cold announces her as Lacey runs a hand down my spine. “It’s okay.”
When I glance up, her scratches are already healing. Raised bumps dot her temple and cheek, the blood dried and caked on.
“It’s not okay. It’s never going tobeokay. What’s happening to Grayson will happen to me soon.” No wolf. Only the curse.
Never the freedom of the shift. Only the madness.
Lacey says nothing, patting me twice more for comfort before reaching into her pocket. She soundlessly dials and pushes the cell to her ear until a muffled female voice answers.
“Yeah, we might have a problem.”
“Uh oh,” a familiar tinny voice says on the other line. “What happened?”
The witches.
I lift my head, dazed.
Lacey turns but she doesn’t walk far enough for me to miss her recounting. Every inch of this evening has gone to shit.
Harried laughter bubbles up and pounds in a wave against my teeth. Laughing isn’t going to fix anything. It’s not going to keep me and Grayson from…