The drive to the hotel was, in a word, tense. Knight kept his eyes forward as he drove them there, making minimal effort to have a conversation with Sue. For Sue, awkward silences were unbearable. She had the tendency to ramble away in an attempt to fill them.She was in the process of blathering on about what little she actually knew about fracking when she suddenly remembered the promise she had made to Sarah.“Oh shit,” she said as she slumped back in her seat. Knight looked over at her for the first time in a while.“What? You forget something?”“Kind of,” Sue said, cringing at what she knew she had to do. “Sarah called me. She and Jared are having some issues and she called off the wedding.”Knight didn’t seem surprised or particularly bothered by the news, so Sue kept talking. “Apparently Jared’s been acting weird and distant over the whole thing, so I told Sarah that you’d talk to him.”That got Knight’s attention. “Why would you do that? Why would I get involved in their rela

The moment they were shown out into the garden to their luxury treehouse, Sue felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The treehouse itself was more like a cabin built up high with a wooden spiral staircase leading up to it. It looked like something out of a fairytale with its strings of fairy lights hanging along the wraparound porch.Although Sue’s mind was whirring and she was dying to ask Knight about his conversation with Jared, she was completely distracted by how charmed she was by the place. There were a few more treehouses on the land, but they were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear each other. Considering what Knight had promised her in the car on their way there, Sue was grateful for that.“Wow,” she said after she and Knight climbed the stairs and entered the cabin. There was a big bed with a dark wooden frame and an emerald-green throw over it. There was an area with a tabl

Knight hadn’t been to visit Angel at the clinic, even though she had asked him to. Perhaps he was a bad person, but it wasn’t his job to look after her. He had paid for the clinic and he had donated blood, but that was where he drew the line. Even when he had gone in to donate, he hadn’t gone to see her. It was more than a lot of people would have done for a complete stranger.Sue had tried to talk him into seeing her once. It had led to their first real fight. Sue had gone out to sleep on the couch afterward, leaving Knight feeling like a real prick. After ten minutes of Sue’s absence, Knight had gone out to apologize, only for Sue to beat him to it.It had been a relief when Sue finally admitted that it should be Knight’s decision. He had to admit that a big part of not wanting Angel in his life was his mom. She had been through enough, thanks to Carlos. Knight wasn’t going to put her through any more.It was Saturday, the day before the pack barbeque, and Knight and Sue were stayin

“What are you talking about?” Knight’s mom asked him. She had always been kind of fragile, which was why Knight hadn’t wanted her to know about Angel. “You have a sister?”Knight ran his hand over his face and leaned back against the porch railing.“I’m gonna let you guys talk,” Leslie said as she made a beeline to the door, mouthing an “I’m sorry” at Knight as she went.Knight sighed. Of all the days to have this conversation, it had to be today. “A few weeks ago, a woman showed up. Her name’s Angel. She was hooked on wolfsbane and wanted my help.”His mom started walking up and down the porch, shaking her head as she went. She didn’t say anything, so Knight continued talking.“Carlos had her hooked on the stuff from a young age,” he told her. “Mom? I know this must be hard to hear.”Julia just shook her head again, her face the picture of shock. “No, it’s impossible. Whoever that girl is, she’s lying. She’s not your sister.”“Mom,” Knight began, keeping his tone calm and soothing. “I

Sue stood on the porch of Knight’s grandparents’ house and watched Sarah and Jared play a giant game of Chutes and Ladders with Jared’s daughter out on the lawn. There were around forty people there for the pack barbeque. Some of them were swimming in the pool and others were standing around talking. It was warm out and the smell of barbequed food wafted around her. She felt calm, peaceful even. Knight had been hovering since they got there the night before. It had been late by the time they reached the house, having given their statements to the police and gotten checked out at the hospital.It was Sue who had insisted they stick to the plan to go and stay with Knight’s grandparents for the weekend. It felt good to be away from it all and with all the werewolves around her, surprisingly she felt safe. They had spent an hour talking with Knight’s family, filling them in on what had happened before finally going to bed.Sue had fallen asleep quickly and hadn’t woken until morning. K