Mag-log inAvaThe first thing I heard was a low, tired voice, reading words I couldn't quite catch yet. My body felt heavy under the sheets, pinning me to the bed. I could hear the steady rasp of my own breathing. My open eyes blinked dryly in the dim light.I opened my eyes wider. A small, pale room with a c
AvaDad let go of the shackle and sat back, his face relaxing from the concentration. He was quiet for a long moment. Then his eyes met mine."Baby," he said gently, "do you want to know what happened?"Something in his tone made my chest tighten. I had a feeling that this was a truth I wasn't ready
AvaHe stepped out of the blackness, edging closer, until I could finally see him. Unbelievable. He was so young, the age he was when...when he died. His warm brown eyes, both of them, looked at me with a fond smile.I stared, my mouth hanging open, unable to make a sound. My dad. Standing in front
LeviI settled into the chair by her bed and took her hand in mine, rubbing my thumb over the back of it. "Hey, Ava. It's Levi," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just talked to Sofia. We had some things to say to each other."I sat there, rubbing her hand, trying to find the words Maya and
LeviI sat with my father in his room, a week after Hilda's funeral. Some families had already packed up and left the pack after becoming human. Others had stayed, unsure of where else to go.My father wheezed beside me, the hiss of his oxygen tank an ever-present sound now. He was thinner, frail, h
MayaI zipped Sofia's dress as best I could with my good hand. The collar was tricky. I fiddled clumsily with the small metal fastening. "There, perfect," I said, releasing the dress and stepping back.Sofia blinked hard at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was pulled back in a neat bun. The dr
AvaFrom my window, the driveway looked like a vein running down the center of the estate, wet in the dusk, tree shadows flickering over the old flagstones.I'd been lying on the rug in my bathrobe, hair still wet, knees to my chest, staring up at the cracks in the ceiling and thinking about nothing
AvaBy the time my face was done leaking and the last ugly sob shuddered through me, the garden had gone blue with late morning and my voice was wrecked. Falco’s hand was still on my shoulder, solid and steady, thumb absently drawing little circles against my hoodie like he might keep me from unrave
AvaThe garden at this hour was a half-dead thing, all wet leaves and the cloying smell of dirt, but it was the only place on the property where I could pretend I was invisible.I took the stone bench in the east quadrant, the one boxed in by overgrown hedges and a cypress that had gone wild. With t
HildaI followed them into the study, keeping my shoulders wide in the doorway just to see if Evelyn would flinch. She didn’t. She walked straight to her desk and flicked on the lamp.Thomas went to the far side and leaned back against the bookcase, like he was trying to merge with the walnut veneer







