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RAIKA
I had seenShane the day before—when we kissed in the library—but when night fell and I found myself alone in my bedroom, it felt like an eternity had passed.
After the witches’ game in the morning, the rest of the day went by almost normal. Minsi had woken up feeling better. She ate all of her breakfast, but asked to stay in her bedroom the rest of the day. She promised she would do all of her lessons, but safely in here. As much as I hated for her to stay cooped up inside for several days in a row, how could I drag her out knowing Lorie and Keeva were roaming around the pack lands?
Besides, today was the attack’s anniversary. She was probably thinking of her parents and everyone else who had perished that night. I knew I was.
I stayed with her for as long as could, then I went to the school. Rue noticed I was quieter than usual; she asked me about it.
“Is it because today marks one year?”
I nodded. That and a lot of other things.
When we took the food to the pack, everyone was quieter and gloomier than usual. All of them knew what day today was.
Even Lucille wasn’t jabbing at me as usual.
“I know there isn’t much I can do for you from here, but … hang in there,” she whispered to me before I left.
Odd how things were. If a year ago someone told me Lucille would be saying kind words to me, I would have laughed so hard. What a joke.
But it wasn’t a joke.
Rue insisted she could handle cleaning the kitchen and prepping for tomorrow. “Just go home and take care of Minsi.”
I didn’t like leaving her to do it all by herself, but I was worried about Minsi, so I didn’t argue.
The rest of the afternoon crawled by. In her bedroom, Minsi worked on math and Spanish lessons, while I skimmed the crime book I had started several days ago. After all that had happened, I wasn’t in the mood to read about violence and suspense anymore.
Thankfully, no one else came to the house the rest of the day. When I went downstairs to make dinner, a demon informed me Conri had lit a bonfire in the main square and he and the witches were having a party to celebrate his reign. He would return home late.
I hoped the witches didn’t return at all.
Almost back to her usual self, Minsi went to bed early. I stayed with her until she fell asleep, then I went to my bedroom. I turned on one of the lamps flanking my bed and stared out the window, my eyes shifting from the trees to the stars in the sky. I couldn’t see the moon from here, but I knew it would soon be a full moon. Those were almost painful. Wolves had a special connection with the moon, especially when it was full, but with these damn shackles, there was nothing we could do.
I stared at the trees, as if Shane could magically appear from among them.
I would be relieved if only I could get a glimpse of him from a distance.
“What are you looking at?”
I yelped and turned around, eyes wide, hands out in defense.
And saw nothing.
A moment later, the air seemed to shimmer right before my eyes.
The invisibility potion wore off and Shane appeared two feet from me, wearing only jeans again.
“What the hell?” I asked, my voice low. “How …?” I glanced to the closed door then drew the curtains behind me. “How did you get in?”
“I slipped in earlier, when you were in Minsi’s bedroom,” he told me, a mischievous grin on his lips.
“And you have been watching for the last, what, five minutes? Creep!”
His grin widened. “What can I do? You’re beautiful. It’s hard not to stare.”
I rolled my eyes at him. I walked past him and locked my bedroom’s door. I wasn’t sure if it would help to muffle our voices, but I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and shoved it against the bottom of the door.
