“She’s on pack business,” Byron said. “We may not even be able to contact her tonight.”
“I saw a couple of kids in the house,” Dominic said. “They were using the bathroom, but they must have stolen the board.” He scowled. “One of them… she was odd. I felt so cold around her.”
Perdita shot me a concerned look. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Margo?Shehad stolen the board? Perdita shook her head slightly as if to say,not now.
“Where is the board now?” Nathan asked.
“It’s in our living room,” I said. “It threw itself into the air, things started flying around the room, Margo almost got squashed by the bookcase, and the window went to pieces and flew at us.”
“I can see that,” Nathan said, pulling a shard of glass free a little harder than necessary. “My sister always said the board was dangerous, on some occasions more than others, but I assumed she was the danger, rather than the board, that it was her power giving the board the means to make mischief.”
Maybe someone else had given power to the board, someone who had made me feel invaded. “Something was inside me.” All eyes turned to me. “I felt it, another presence. My wolf didn’t like it, and we fought back. When it left, moments had passed, and I had a knife in my hand. I don’t know what happened. I must have blanked out, but there wassomething.”
“How is that even possible?” Dominic said sharply.
“No, he’s right,” Nathan said. “I felt it, too. I wasn’t sure what happened, but now that he says it, I agree it felt like an invasion. It wasn’t there for long, but it didn’t belong.”
“So where did it go?” Perdita said. “Is it still flying around trying to invade people’s bodies?” Her voice rose sharply.
“It could be,” Nathan said.
Unless it had found someone who couldn’t fight back.
“You’re telling me our teenagers let a spirit free?” Byron massaged his temples. “We need to fix this.”
“How?” Dominic asked.
“Amelia,” Nathan said. “We need her to come back and help us deal with this. It’s our responsibility. We can’t let a spirit roam the streets causing mayhem. Or worse. We’re feared enough.”
“What will we tell everyone?” Dominic asked.
“If anyone asks…” Byron sighed. “The children played a prank, took it too far. Anything beyond that isn’t us, or can be pinned on mild hysteria.”
In the distance, a scream sounded. I shivered incessantly.
“Stop,” Nathan said uneasily. “We all need to stay calm. Whatever this presence is, it almost provoked my wolf. It’s been years since I felt so out of control.”
Perdita put her hand in his.
“What if it hurts someone?” I asked. “It almost hurt Margo.” That was true, so true that it made me wonder if she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe the spirit had possessedher—that would explain the blankness in her eyes, the confusion that had felt real in her voice. And I’d accused her. She’d probably never speak to me again.
“Margo’s fine,” Nathan said. “Don’t worry. Amelia will fix everything.”
I didn’t know his younger sister well, but plenty of the werewolves didn’t trust her because she was more than just a werewolf. Whatever she was, I just hoped she had the power to fix what we had mistakenly started.
Chapter 13
Margo
I stood in endless darkness,cold hands gripping me from behind.
“Warn them,” a voice whispered in my ear. “Help me. This is yourjob.”
I awoke in a sweat,my heart racing. Another dream. Another nightmare. That spirit board drama had really gotten under my skin. The entire night had been hazy and nightmarish, and I hadn’t slept well since.
Halloween definitely fell under the crazy banner. It had gone from a near perfect kiss to disaster in what felt like minutes. Dorian had gotten hurt, people had run screaming from the party, and the corner shop was full of customers speculating on all of the suspicious occurrences that had happened ever since. Everyone had an unexplained phenomenon story all of a sudden. The town was on edge, engulfed in near-hysterical retellings of every urban myth ever.
And the last thing I’d said to Dorian had been an equally hysterical accusation about using me to pull a prank. I’d been scared and confused and a little hurt at the thought the first real connection I’d made might have been one-sided.