On the surface, the day at the school looked the same as any other. Beneath the thin membrane, though, something else was slowly brewing.
It hadn't started that day, but it hadn't stopped either. Things like raised heads, dilated pupils. Breaths that changed as Kelsey walked by. Eyes that dared to linger too long on Ethan's back for it to be a coincidence.
And seeing it through the lens of the valley's history made Nell's stomach churn.
Every tick matched lines she'd read in that cursed, faded ink.
1875 written all over twenty-freaking-something and translated into high-school corridors.
Nell watched as Kelsey pulled her locker door shut with a dull clang and hitched her bag over one shoulder.
"See you tomorrow," she said in a tone that sounded lighter than the day before, and Nell understood the reason. Her dad was getting better, she said, and had regained human form.
It was odd, hearing those words fall so naturally from a human mouth. Even after all this time.
Nell often wondered, although she never would have said it out loud, what it must have felt like for Kelsey to be the odd one out. Even among her own family. Not to mention having to deal with her father's condition, the whole circus at school, and the thing with Ethan. It would have been too much even for a lupine girl. Kelsey was bloodkin, human in all the ways that mattered, breakable as a porcelain doll yet somehow steady as a thousand-year-old oak.
There was something in that Nell had learned to respect. Perhaps even admire.
"You know the drill," she said to Kelsey, her voice stern.
"I'll text you, don't worry." Kelsey gave a tight half-smile and turned toward the entrance.
Nell moved with her. So did Ethan. They walked together down the last stretch of hallway, out through the double doors, into the thin winter light above the parking lot.
When Kelsey cut toward her car, Ethan's weight shifted almost imperceptibly after her.
Nell felt it like a tug at the back of her neck. Her eyes flew to his, stern.
Don't.
He dragged in a breath, shoulders tight. For a moment she thought he might actually follow the agreement for once.
Then he leaned closer. "See you later," he whispered. "At home."
She heard exactly what he wasn't saying.
I'm following her.
Her whole body snapped toward him. She caught his sleeve with two fingers, just enough for him to feel it, not enough to be obvious.
"Ethan," she said, barely moving her lips, the warning clear in the shape of his name. "We agreed."
He didn't look at her. His gaze stayed trained on some neutral point ahead, jaw clenched.
She let go of his sleeve. She couldn't drag an alpha heir back into line in the middle of the parking lot without ripping a hole in his authority for the entire pack to see.
So she did the only thing she could. She stepped into his line of sight and held his gaze for one precise second, her brow lifting just enough.
What the hell do you think you're doing?
His eyes flicked to hers, then away, a tiny flinch, as if he didn't like the answer either.
He still turned toward the east end of the lot, toward the road that led to Blackwell land.
Heads turned as he left the stream of students. A few boys leaned back against their cars to watch him go. Matt froze mid-conversation, eyes focused. Ryan straightened, his arm slipping off Tess's shoulders.
Nell felt something cold settle inside her gut. But there was nothing she could do besides watch Ethan until he disappeared beyond the last row of cars.
Only then did she turn back toward the main entrance.
She didn't get far.
"Hey, Nell."
Lara's voice cut through the low noise of the lot like a blade. She appeared in front of Nell with practiced ease, not blocking her path outright, but placing herself just too close to sidestep without making it obvious.
Irene was at her shoulder, just a little behind, Tess half a step to the right. They formed a loose crescent, casual on the surface, precise underneath.
Nell stopped. "Lara."
The word was neutral. It still sounded like a move.
"We didn't have much chance to talk today, so I thought we could catch up." She paused. "We missed you yesterday," Lara said, her smile sharp and pleasant. "Ethan said you had some errands downtown."
"I did," Nell replied.
"Library errands?" Irene asked. Her tone was light. Her eyes weren't. "I thought I saw you there yesterday. Down in the archives, even."
There it was. Barely a day between action and reaction.
Nell lifted her chin a notch, her spine straightening. If Lara wanted a measure of how far she could push, she'd get one.
"Yes," Nell said. "I was in the archives."
"Oh?" Lara's smile widened by a fraction. "Looking for something in particular?"
"Traditional mating rituals," Nell said, as if reading off a grocery list. Her gaze slid deliberately to Lara's face. "You know. Research. For you and Ethan."
Tess made a small choking sound and turned it into a cough. The corner of Irene's mouth twitched before she smoothed it flat.
Lara's pupils tightened. The only sign she'd been hit.
"Well," Lara said, her voice silkier, "I appreciate your dedication."
"Of course," Nell said. "If I remember correctly, you once said you wanted the traditional mating ceremony with Ethan. Or did I imagine that?"
Lara's jaw tightened. "That was two years ago."
Nell raised an eyebrow. "You changed your mind, then?"
Lara shifted her weight, her blonde braid swaying. "No. No, I haven't."
"Great. Well, with graduation this close, I doubt our parents will wait long to set a date." Nell leaned back, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I wanted to be prepared. Consider this… my gift to you and Ethan."
Lara's icy blue eyes narrowed just a fraction. When she inhaled, both Tess and Irene angled slightly backward, as if taking a collective breath.
Lara's heel clicked on the concrete. Her throat worked. "That is… very considerate of you."
Nell's smile widened, although it never reached her eyes. When she spoke, her teeth glinted in the afternoon light. "It was my pleasure."
Silence stretched. A car door slammed somewhere behind them.
Nell turned her head just enough to pin Irene with a look. "I'm curious, though. What were you doing down there? During class?"
Irene blinked.
"Oh, I—" She wet her lips. "I wasn't… I mean, I was just—"
"Helping me with a history project," Lara supplied smoothly, the words slipping in like a rescue line. "We all do what we can, don't we?"
Nell let her gaze rest on Irene for a second longer, her eyebrows drawn.
Then her gaze slid past them.
Matt leaned against a nearby car, eyes too sharply attentive for someone pretending not to listen. Ryan stood a little farther off, Tess already edging back toward him, but his gaze stayed where the tension was.
On her. On Lara.
Nell pulled in a slow breath, letting the cold air burn a path down her throat.
"Still, this is all very thoughtful of you. Going to such trouble for Ethan and me," Lara echoed, her smile looking like it had been painted on with nail polish. "You do all kinds of things for him lately." Her tone stayed light, the challenge underneath it sharpening.
Nell held her gaze another second, her teeth grinding together, then stepped sideways through the narrow gap Lara left when she pivoted.
The crescent parted for her. They had to. You didn't block an alpha's daughter outright unless you were ready to see where that line led.
As she walked away, Nell felt their eyes on her spine. She also felt the weight of the ledger pages pressing against the inside of her skull, along with the thought that Ethan was making a dangerous habit of following Kelsey toward Blackwell land.
The threads were slipping through her fingers now.
She sat behind the wheel of Ethan's car, and for a moment she hesitated to turn the ignition on.
As if the whole thing was already moving downhill with no brakes left.