“Hello, Everett,” Amerie responded. She needed to tread lightly. An Ancient was intimately involved and Everett could be in danger. “How are you feeling?”“I’m okay. Come sit.” He patted the space next to him on the edge of the hospital bed. Amerie obeyed and sat with her ankles crossed. “I was visited by an Ancient. He told me that you needed someone worthy to stand by your side and offered me a deal.” Amerie’s stomach dropped, but she simply nodded for him to continue. He took her hand in his and proclaimed, “I would have died today if I hadn’t taken the deal. He also told me that you would have died in the near future if I wasn’t there for you.”“What was the deal?” Amerie choked. Everett sighed. “He gave me the ability to heal myself quickly and made me immune to the venom.” Amerie waited for a moment, but he didn’t continue. “In exchange for what, Everett?”“It was nothing. He said he’d grant me these gifts and help protect you in exchange for telling him what Minera told you.”

The next day, Amerie sat on her back porch with a mug of coffee in hand and Milo laying at her feet. The edges of the lake had started to freeze, but the ice couldn’t yet reach the warmer and deeper water in the middle. A light dusting of snow had blown in while she had been with Minera last night and it clung to the trees, giving them an eerie yet beautiful look. Everett had been released from the medical ward early this morning and had gone into work today as if nothing had happened. She’d let his call go to voicemail this morning. When Mae had texted her to check in on her, she hadn’t mentioned her trip to the cave pool to her either. Amerie had simply told her that she needed a day to think things over and determine her next move. Mae hadn’t pushed but had told her Apollo was eager to discuss the development of Everett’s decision. She had also let Amerie know that Tyler was still unconscious but improving greatly. Amerie had put her phone down after thanking Mae for the update an

Amerie stood with her elbows rested on her porch railing and watched Milo play enthusiastically with a stick. He tossed it in the air and chased after it as he played fetch with himself. She grinned at his innocence and happiness as he was pleasantly unaware that his owner prepared to face the oldest beings of the universe. A war of Ages and Power reared its ugly head on the horizon, yet, in this moment, Amerie found the normalcy that her soul craved. She found peace and reveled in it, refusing to acknowledge the obvious fact that it would too-soon come to a screaming end. A carefree chuckle escaped her lips just as Milo laid down in the snow panting and facing the tree line. She at first thought he had simply tired himself out, but when he remained focused no matter how many times she called his name the realization sunk in that something stalked the woods. Amerie’s smile faded and her face went blank as she strained to see what Milo was focused on. There — something moved between tw

Amerie chewed on the inside of her cheek as she sat opposite of Apollo, his words sinking in to her and everyone else. Mae stood leaning against one of the bookshelves to the left. Kierian sat in a chair to the right, leaning forward with his thumbs under his chin and fingers pressed together in front of his mouth. His eyebrows were drawn together as he considered everything that had been said. Brynn shifted uncomfortably on her feet beside the door. Her sister had not showed up this morning— likely working the store. Everett sat leaned back in the chair to Amerie’s left, lightly scratching the stubble along his jawline. “Eight people,” Everett murmured. He shook his head, not bothering to lift his gaze from the floor as he added, “They’re calling for a hunt. They want to see the Wolf Man strung up in the town square.”Amerie’s eyes flitted to Apollo. His face was hard and his golden eyes looked ready to burn through armies of Embertaurs and beasts. He was not bothered by the fact th

Asteri burst through the trees like a shadow of fur in the sun, panting hard as she threw herself at the pack house ahead. She shifted when she hit the front steps and gasped to catch her breath. Just as she reached for the door, it was thrown open and she met Apollo’s wide golden eyes. “Beasts,” she managed to say between gulps of air, “coming this way.” Another gasp. “Ambush.”Apollo pursed his lips and gently grabbed her elbow to pull her inside, wrapping her exposed body in a gray blanket.He guided her to a bench in the hall and motioned for her to wait. Amerie attempted to concentrate on slowing her breaths but she knew the beasts were approaching. There had to be nearly a hundred of them closing in. She finally calmed her breaths enough to focus on listening for who was in the house. Blaze and Kierian were giggling in a room up the stairs. Everett talked on the phone about the town riots, likely to his deputy that she’d met at the nature center. Knives thudded against a wooden