Chapter 4- The Bonfire List

Trixie's POV

Everyone knows…

The words looped in my head.

We weren't safe, the border hadn't protected us, and our new names were nothing but thin paper shields.

That night at dinner, I sat at the table, my spoon dragging through the watery soup Mom had made, my eyes darting nervously between my parents and Yasmine.

I kept waiting for the hammer to fall, entirely sure Yasmine had run straight to them.

But as Dad quietly chewed his bread and Mom muttered something about the rising cost of utilities, it became obvious that Yasmine hadn't said a word.

She sat across from me, gracefully cutting her food, completely ignoring my existence.

“You're not eating, Trixie,” Dad murmured, not even looking up from his plate.

“I'm not hungry,” I said flatly, “Good, saves on the grocery bill,” Yasmine chimed in smoothly, a fake, sweet smile on her face that made me want to lean across the table and choke her.

Despite Harlan’s words, and Yasmine’s threat, it didn’t stop me… If anything, the terror fueled a stubborn rage inside me. If I was going to be hunted, I was going to play hockey first.

By Friday, I was walking out of Principal Charles' office for the tenth time that week. My ears still ringing from his latest lecture about “school decorum” and “budget restraints,” but as I closed his door, the sound of excited chatter down the hall caught my attention.

I leaned against a row of lockers, pretending to flip through my books while I listened to a group of popular girls giggling nearby.

“Are you going to the bonfire tonight?” one of them squealed. “Harlan’s parents are out of town so the whole varsity team is going to be there.”

“Duh. The bonfire at his mansion is literally the biggest event of the semester.”

A bonfire? I rolled my eyes, turning on my heel to finally leave this miserable building. I didn't need a party full of arrogant jocks anyway.

But as I rounded the corner toward the exit, I froze.

There, near the glass doors of the lobby, was Yasmine and standing way too close to her was Harlan.

My perfect sister looked like a completely different person, replaced by a love-sick, deranged puppy. She was giggling at something he said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. Harlan was leaning against the wall with a lazy smirk on his face as he looked down at her.

A wave of disgust washed over me.

He knows who we are, knows what happened to our pack, and she’s standing there flirting with him?

Before my brain could stop me, I marched right up to them. “Yasmine,” I snapped, my voice cutting through their little bubble.

Yasmine blinked, her expression instantly turning annoyed as she looked at me. “What do you want?”

“We need to go home. Now,” I said, glaring at her, trying to broadcast the emergency with my eyes. “Mom expects us.”

Yasmine completely dismissed me, letting out a small laugh as she turned back to Harlan. “Don't mind her. She doesn't know how to mind her own business.” She looked at me again, her voice dropping with that masked warning. “Go away and stop embarrassing yourself.”

Harlan watched the exchange, his eyes gleaming with amusement, clearly enjoying it. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek card embossed with gold lettering.

“You know, Yasmine,” Harlan said, his voice smooth and loud enough to make sure I heard every word. “A nobody can't just show up to my place tonight, because we have a strict guest list. That’s why I wanted to give you this personally.” He handed the invitation to her, his fingers brushing against hers. “I really hope you make it.”

Yasmine practically glowed, clutching the card to her chest. “I’ll definitely be there, Harlan.”

I stood there, completely paralyzed when my brain did something incredibly stupid as for a single, humiliating second, a tiny part of my spoiled self half-expected him to reach into his pocket again to pull out a second invite for me.

Maybe as a truce or maybe just because we were sisters.

Harlan caught me looking, causing the smirk on his face to widen, then he let out a dry scoff, shoved his empty hands back into his pockets, and leaned in slightly.

“Don't wait up for her,” he whispered as Yasmine walked away with him, laughing at some dumb joke, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the hallway.

I felt small and stupid, clutching my backpack straps as the realization sank in that I was completely on the outside.

That strange, bitter jealousy banged the back of my head all the way home. It wasn’t even that I wanted to go to Harlan’s stupid bonfire—I hated him.

But seeing him hand Yasmine that card while looking at me like I was a piece of trash? It stung, making me feel like the invisible, weak omega all over again.

I pushed open the door to our cramped apartment, expecting the usual silence, but instead, the place was a total disaster with Yasmine's clothes thrown over the couch.

She was already home, standing in front of the hallway mirror, holding up a dark red dress against her body.

“Why are you back so early?” I asked, dropping my bag by the door, “Lessons didn't even end yet.”

Yasmine didn't even turn around, she just adjusted the dress, looking at her reflection with a smile, “I took off early. I need time to get ready. Harlan’s driver is picking up a few people at nine, and I need to look absolutely radiant.”

“You're seriously going?” I walked into the kitchen, leaning against the counter, “Yasmine, I know you know he knows who we are and knows about the Northern pack. He literally threatened me at the rink. Doesn’t that scare you even a little bit?”

She sighed loudly, throwing the dress onto a chair, and finally looked at me with her arms crossed. “Why are you being so incredibly nosy, Trixie? Seriously, what is your problem?”

“My problem is that he’s dangerous!” I yelled back, keeping my voice low enough so Mom wouldn't hear from the other room. “He’s using you, or he’s playing with us. You saw how he looked at me.”

“He looked at you like you’re a nobody, because right now, you are,” Yasmine snapped, “Harlan is an Alpha and practically a ruler here. He’s powerful, he’s perfect, and he actually likes me. He doesn't care about what you did back home, he just thinks you're a freak who doesn't know her place. Stop trying to ruin this for me just because nobody wants you around.”

Before I could even process her words, she grabbed her makeup bag and turned on her heel. “I’m taking a bath. Do not touch my things.”

The bathroom door slammed shut, and a second later, the sound of rushing water filled the small apartment.

I stood in the kitchen with my fists clenched.

A freak who doesn't know her place huh? I'm going to make her eat her words.

My eyes drifted to the kitchen table and bullseye, there it was.

The invitation card, sitting prettily on the table as if waiting for me.

I moved before my brain could stop me and snatched the card off the table, shoving it into my pocket.

I was going to that party.

I threw on a tight, short black dress that I’d managed to salvage from the ruins of my old life. It was a bit wrinkled, but I didn't care. Yasmine always took her sweet, sweet time to get ready.

If the event was at nine, she wouldn't arrive until eleven, all because she wanted to make a grand entrance and look flawless. But by then? I’d be long gone.

The sleek car Harlan sent for her pulled up exactly on time. I slipped out of the apartment before Mom could notice, hopped right into the back seat, and handed the driver the invitation. I offered him a sweet, innocent smile as he checked it and pulled away.

When the car finally stopped at the mansion, my jaw dropped.

This place was way bigger than our old house at the pack grounds before it went down.

“God, I miss being rich,” I muttered to myself, smoothing down the hem of my dress as I stepped out.

I walked past the gate guards without a hitch and entered the party. The bass was already vibrating through the floorboards as I started dancing softly to the music before stealing a glass from a passing waiter's tray.

I couldn't help but wonder what Yasmine was doing right now… probably back at the apartment, screaming her balls off looking for her card.

The image made me laugh out loud as I downed the drink in one go. It burned horribly all the way down my throat, making me cough.

I needed more. I stumbled over to the bar counter, striking up a conversation with the bartender just to keep the refills coming and before I knew it, I was out on the crowded floor, dancing with some random dude who had his hands all over me and as things started to get a little too intense, I pulled away.

I burped out loud, my head spinning as I staggered through the sea of bodies when suddenly, I spotted Harlan's frame coming through the crowd as I immediately ducked behind a pillar to hide.

He was scanning the room, clearly looking for Yasmine, which drew another drunk giggle from my mouth. But then his expression shifted and he looked suspicious, glancing around the room before ushering him into one of the private VIP booths.

Driven by my drunken curiosity, I crept toward the booth and leaned against the wooden wall, nudging the slightly ajar door open just enough to peek through the crack.

The stranger had his back to me, aggressively hitting his hand against the wall as he spoke to Harlan. The loud music behind me made me unable to hear them, but a second later, the guy turned his head to the side and my heart legit sank.

Feeling the alcohol clear from my eyes.

I recognized him. That was the high-ranking Northern official from months back, the exact same man who had ordered the execution and burning of my pack.

I let out a gasp, despite myself.

Right then, a drunk couple stumbled hard into my back, yelling over the music as they sent me crashing back, scattering tables and chairs behind me.

And I knew that noise would draw Harlan's attention, so now my only solution was to flee.

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the pain at my back, and fled into the crowd, pushing past the sea of sweaty, dancing people, my mind reeling in horror.

Harlan's pack was involved with our executioners. But why? To spite me? No, this was a massive conspiracy, and my family was sleeping right in the middle of it.

I burst through the front doors, running until I hit the dark, open road.

Suddenly, two blinding headlights cut through the darkness from around the bend.

There was a deafening screech of tires.

Before a violent impact threw my body through the air, and the last thing I heard before the world went completely black was the horrified screaming of the girls walking along the road.