Rae’s voice gets quieter. “The way your mom looks at me…the way everyone looks at me…you don’t understand. Maggie,you should stay away from me. I saw June flying away from you after you fell. Those witches from the Hecate coven, they’re allied with the panther shifters. Witches and shifters…we’re not supposed to be together.”
I wish I could reach out to her. I wish I could pull her close to me. But instead I cross my arms tightly over my chest, trying to steady myself for what I know is coming.
She shakes her head. “Magic is dangerous, Maggie. You don’t even have a coven to protect you. You’re talented, but you have to be careful in this world. As long as you’re with me, you’ll be a target.”
This feels worse than being knocked off my broomstick. The tears, which came so easily only moments ago, are frozen in my throat. I stare at her helplessly. She gives me one last, unreadable look, and then she leaves. The wooden door shuts with a loud bang.
What was I thinking?Of course she doesn’t want to be with me. Maybe I can fly, but I don’t know anything about the magical world. If June can take me out with a witch bell, who knows what else could hurt me here. I should have known that this was a terrible idea. I never evenwantedto come here in the first place.
I’ve lost Rae. Did I ever really have her to begin with?
I think of Timothy, and John Johnson College. Painful, hot regret bubbles in my stomach. Why did I break up with him? He was theonenormal thing that’s ever happened to me. I could have gotten through this year and we could have really had something. I could have gotten out of this town and made a life. Dating in college, parties with friends, getting an internship and then a job. Starting a family. I spent years building that relationship, and I gave it up for what? A pretty girl who can turn into a wolf? Clearly, I didn’t know anything about her. Of course she was going to go back to her pack, she’s literally awolf.
I’m such an idiot…
Now the tears come. Big, ugly, ferocious tears. And an ache that has nothing to do with my fall.
EVERY WOLF'S HOWL IS UNIQUE
Rae
It’s December, and it feels like it. The air is clear and crisp. The ground is still.
Almost too still.
I wake from my afternoon nap in my den in the clearing. I stretch to shake the snow from my fur. It’s a stupid move to sleep outside with the panthers circling about, but I’m a little bit safer when I sleep in my wolf form. I’ve gotten into a few squabbles and close encounters, but nothing too bad. And I’ve been spending more time with my pack, which they’re all smugly delighted about.
But last night I needed to be alone. Classes have ended for the term, and most of the students and teachers have gone back to their packs and covens for the break. My pack don’t have anywhere to go, since the panthers have taken over Arundel, so we’re staying at the academy. I thought I would enjoy the quiet, but it’s driving me crazy. I’m restless.
And Maggie is staying over the break with her mother. I’ve taken almost all of my things out of our dorm room, so I don’t have to run into her. But I can still feel her, sometimes, when she’s scared or upset. Our fated mates connection. I try to ignore it, but it’s like it’s getting stronger. I try not to think about why. The image of her face, lined with tears, echoes in my mind on a loop.
I shake my body, releasing the tension I can feel building up. Ihadto say those things, I had to end it. It would have only gotten worse later. I have to prioritize my pack…and this is safer for Maggie.
I look around the clearing. Everything is covered in a light dusting of snow. It’s very quiet. Strangely quiet.
Then I hear a howling. A familiar howling.
No…it can’t be…
Maggie
I watch the last rays of sun disappear through the stained-glass library window. The days are short this time of year, but they feel so long. I turn the pages of my book listlessly, although I haven’t absorbed any information. I can barely see in the flickering light of my gas lamp. Seriously, would it kill them to install some motion-activated, electric lights in here? I know I’m the only one in the library, but you would think they wouldn’t want so many candles and gas lamps around all these flammable old books.
“Maggie?”
A figure peers out from behind a bookshelf, followed by a second, then a third. They’re easy to identify, with their awkward gait, long hair, and ethereal, glowing skin.
“Hi, Gwen, Percy, O,” I reply. “What are you doing here? You three hate the library.”
“Just all thepaper…” Persephone shudders at the tower of books I’ve stacked strategically around me to avoid social interaction. Not that it’s been much of a problem since the school closed for the end of term.
“We came looking for you,” says Orion brightly, “Gwen’s worried about all your moping-”
“What he means to say,” interrupts Gwen. “Is that we thought we would come find you and see…um…”
“If you were still moping!” Orion chimes. Gwen groans and shoots him a stern look.
“I’m fine, you guys,” I say, plastering on a fake smile. “Really, I’ve just been a bit…boredsince the end of term.”
