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As the group disperses, I catch the flash of a familiar face at the back that makes my stomach plummet with fear. Bryant, healed from the gunshot wound, his eyes lit with feverish hunger when they meet mine.
The shifting crowd blocks my view of him, and my heart races as I push through them, terrified that if I lose sight of Braynt now, no one will believe me.
I spot him walking down the sidewalk, his head bowed, and I chase after him.
“Stop!” I call out, my voice a croak of fear.
I catch up to him and grab his arm, my fingers trembling. But when he turns, I realize my mistake, and my heart sinks.
It’s not Bryant.
Nervousness etches Rodney’s face as he glances around the street. “Hey, Rowe, did you need something?”
I drop my hand, confusion filling me, and I scramble with a plausible reason for chasing after him that doesn’t make me look completely crazy. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”
“A bit scared, if I’m honest,” Rodney says, his voice hushed. “Is it true about the werewolf?”
My stomach tightens with sympathy. Rodney is one of the town’s three werewolves, and the change in attitude toward his kind must be scary.
I place a hand on his arm. “You can’t shift when the moon isn’t full. There’s no reason for anyone to suspect you had anything to do with this.”
He nods, but the confusion and fear in his eyes remains. “I know, but people... They’re scared now. I might ask my boss if I can work in the back for a while, until they find out what really killed Tom.”
I don’t blame him for being cautious. “That’s a good idea. Safety first.”
His expression remains uneasy. “Owen should probably watch his back. The folks who were against him being Alpha might use this as an excuse to drive him out of town.”
The words send a chill down my spine. I hadn’t considered that angle, and the thought of how that would play out makes me uneasy. Sure, the Hartford family owns a lot of the town, but if enough people turn against Owen and take matters into their own hands, it will either mean another fight or being forced to leave to avoid more deaths.
Before I can respond, Haut catches up to us. “Why did you run off, Rowe?”
I can’t bring myself to tell him that I thought I saw Bryant. He and the others already give me the side eye for thinking we have rats in the house.
Instead, I stick with my lie. “I just wanted to make sure Rodney was okay after all that.”
Haut’s gaze shifts to Rodney. “Everything okay with you?”
Rodney nods, but worry fills his face. “Deputy Arden should probably stop making house calls until this blows over.”
Haut’s expression turns grim. “You might be right. We need to tread carefully right now.”
“Stay safe.” With another nervous glance around the street, Rodney turns and continues toward the butcher shop, his shoulders hunched.
Haut and I rejoin our group, and as a somber mood group, we head inside Nesse’s Diner.
Inside, an eerie silence washes over us, and I glance around to find the faces of the diners inside all turned in our direction, their stares locked on us as we make our way to the back dining area.
There, we find Barron and Jesse waiting with Mel, and seeing her lifts my mood. Dark kohl outlines Mel’s eyes, and she wears a ripped, rock-band T-shirt tucked into tight black pants with chains jangling from the belt loops. Her dark hair is pulled up in a messy bun with a pair of sticks poking out of the top.
Aspen’s mouth drops open, and he blurts out, “What happened to you?”
Mel cocks her hip to the side, making the chains jingle. “I decided to stop being someone I’m not. I’ve realized I don’t have to conform to expectations to be a good witch. This is the type of clothing that gives me confidence.”
Aspen turns to me and raises an eyebrow.
I just stare back. I’m not the one who made Mel feel like she needed to change in the first place.
Barron interrupts the moment by asking, “What happened outside?”
