Homeward Bound Fargo Novels & Stories

“Look at you, being all domestic.” There was some scuffling on their end of the line, and I frowned. This got another reaction from Bram, who rolled his eyes. “Happy birthday, Ajax. We'll talk soon.” Before I could say anything else, or even really process the words, Bram and Mack ended the call on their side, leaving just Fargo there. Great. The man who could see the most, left with me, somebody with something to hide. “You need to be careful,” Fargo said finally. “Take care of yourself.”

As he heard the voice on the other end, his expression softened, and a hint of a smile touched his lips. Meanwhile, the fire consumed the last scrap of paper, leaving nothing but cooling ash. By the time he hung up, the question had already slipped his mind. Yuliana walked him to his car. A sudden gust of wind scattered the ashes, whisking them away across the yard. Charlie noticed how thinly she was dressed and urged her to go inside before she caught a cold. The engine hummed to life. Through the car window, Charlie saw Yuliana's lips move. He didn't hear her, but he assumed it was the usual "drive safe" or "take care" and didn't give it another thought.

"They have the Great Archive. They know things about our biology that even Silas Vane didn't. They’re going to try to turn us against each other, Elara. They'll use the Fire to melt the Ice." "Let them try," Elara said. "They don't know what it’s like to be a pack that chose each other. They only know the blood they were born with." The Approach to Bergen On the fourth day, the jagged, snow-capped fjords of Norway appeared on the horizon. The sky was a bruised charcoal gray, and the water was filled with "Ghost-Ice"—large, translucent bergs that seemed to move against the current. "Rhys, report," Elara said, stepping onto the bridge.

He chuckles lowly, "His actual destination was Stanfeld, you know, the town just two states away. We didn't know of the mix up until it was time to board the plane. Blurin had to go because there was no other plane going North for the whole week. How he got to your apartment was just luck, I guess? Because you're a nice person for not throwing him out in the cold or worse, calling the police." 'Oops?' Charlie laughs nervously, her eyes darts from his, "Yeah..." Tristan smiles and runs his hand through his slightly wet hair, tousling it and thereby tousling Charlie's heartbeat. 'So Blurin got in Steinfeld by mistake. Okay, now that that's out of the way...' "You said he's speech impaired..."

How come she was stranded at that bus station in the middle of nowhere—thousands of miles away from home but only ten from the worst mistake of her life? And just to honor her regular bad luck, that storm had hit out of the blue. So now she was forced to wait until it cleared for the buses to start running again, in order to take one heading to Fargo, the nearest international airport where she would have a chance to catch a plane back home. Back to her life, however dull and ordinary, but at least honest.

After a minute he had a map and of course it made no sense to me. “This is the middle of nowhere. How do we even get there,” Brad said, studying it. “By snowmobile probably unless you shift and run it. But I don't think these uhm, city boys will handle that too well,” he said, eyeing me. I thought I was dressed down, enough to fit in, apparently not. “What’s out there? A homestead,” Brad asked. “Ain’t no houses up that way. Nobody’s that crazy. That’s where the feral wolves live that don’t wanna be bothered,” the man said, stuffing the money in his pocket and getting up.

I could not even fake a smile. "How do you want me to give back? I'm broke." "Then pack your bags and leave. We don't shelter freeloaders here!" Dad's finger jabbed towards the door with zero warmth. Fireworks popped in the distance, but I was freezing inside. I grabbed my daughter, ready to bolt, but my purse seemed to have swallowed my car keys whole. My brother jingled the keys in front of me. "We need the car to make our New Year's rounds, Sis. Looks like you'll be going on foot."

" I stayed at the hospital for two more days. Long enough to confirm that her body was no longer in danger after the miscarriage and that the medication temporarily stabilized her emotions. Then, calmly, I blocked everything related to Clara. Then, I bought a one-way ticket to Northspire. As I boarded the plane, I remembered five years ago, when I clutched another one-way ticket and flew without hesitation to Northwood City–the city where she was. Back then, I believed love could overcome anything. Now I was holding another one-way ticket, flying south to a place where she was not .

“That’s not how the bond works. Fate chose you. And I don’t fight fate.” The SUV slowed as we approached the forest. Through the tinted window, the human world slipped away — the streets, the people, my mother’s face flashing in my mind one last time — replaced by towering black pines and endless shadows. I pressed my forehead to the glass, trying to breathe, trying not to cry again. “I don’t want this,” I whispered. “You will,” Brock said simply. --- The SUV finally pulled through massive iron gates etched with the crescent moon symbol. Guards bowed as the car entered. My stomach twisted. This wasn’t just a house. It was a fortress. A prison.

What I remembered was Mom crouching in front of me, her eyes bright and kind, asking, "Do you want to come home with me?" I nodded. She smiled. Back then, her smile was prettier than anyone's at the group home. But just now, there had been no trace of that smile in her eyes. When she left holding my brother's hand, she did not even look back at me. Neither did Dad. They must really be planning to send me back. If they were going to say it sooner or later, I would rather go first. At least that way, it would not be quite so humiliating.