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Annie’s eyes snap open, and she fights back a grin. “Very well,” she says. “I suppose we should all go.”

“Youdon’t have much of a choice, sweetheart,” I laugh.

“I guess I could use some puppy time, sure,” says Ben, giving Rex the side-eye. He’s not much of a cat person, but Rex loves him anyway. We all roll out of bed and slowly get dressed, then each pour a bowl of Lucky Charms and eat in relative silence, exhausted from the night before. Ben keeps looking at mewith a small smirk on his face, and I know he’s replaying the entire thing in his head, just like I am. Once we’re all dressed and fed, with coffee in our hands, we stumble down to Ben’s car and head for the shelter.

“Won’t make it to Mass or lunch this morning obviously, but…maybe we should try to get to a family dinner at my parents’ house sometime this week?” I say softly.

Ben glances at me and raises an eyebrow. “As roommates?”

“I…I’m not sure yet,” I reply, dropping my eyes to the travel mug in my hand. I know I should’ve thought about this before suggesting it, but I was a little caught up in the moment.

“I don’t want to do anything until you’re sure, Theo,” Ben says gently. “I’m patient, alright? No pressure from me.”

I nod and take a sip of coffee, then stay silent the rest of the drive, considering what the consequences would be of introducing Ben to my family as my boyfriend. Molly already suspects there’s something there. She all but said it at the soccer game, and she’s also teased me over text a few times the last couple of weeks. My mom would probably be confused, mostly that I’ve moved on from Ros so quickly, but she would be alright eventually. My dad though…he’s traditional, and his reactions can be unpredictable. I’m honestly not sure if he would be more upset about Ben’s history with the priesthood, or about the fact that he’s a man. It could go either way. He isn’t the type to get loud or over-the-top angry, but his jaw twitches like he’s a snake about to open his mouth and swallow you whole.

Molly got pregnant with Tabitha when she was nineteen, after she and Gabe had only been dating for a few months. Gabe hadn’t even met our parents yet, and I remember Dad’s reaction. He was calm, but he point-blank refused to let them get married in our family church. Molly insisted she didn’t mind, but it upset Gabe enough that he went and had a man-to-man talk with my dad, which is the ballsiest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do. Dad softened toward Gabe a lot after that, especially when Tabby was born and we all saw what an amazing father and husband he was. I know exactly what Gabe would advise me to do if he was here.

“Idon’t want you to feel I’m trying to hide this…hide you,” I tell him, reaching over to take his hand. “You deserve so much more than that, so if you’re ok with it…I want to tell them the truth. This week, in person. If it goes badly, well…then they lose me too, and that’s on them. Anyway, they’d be very lucky to have you around. I know I am.”

Ben glances over at me, his eyes shining. “Maybe…we don’t tell them thewholetruth,” he laughs.

“Oh, yeah, definitely not,” I reply with a grin. He doesn’t let go of my hand the entire rest of the drive, and I feel like maybe I’m finally starting to get things right. I just want to show him that he means more to me than anyone’s judgement or bad opinion. As much as I want to shield him from experiencing more rejection, I know that whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.

The animal shelter is just outside town in a more rural, wooded area, and as we’re coming around the last bend in the road, Annie grabs the back of the seat and leans forward.

“Something is wrong,” she murmurs.

I glance back at her. “Wrong? Wrong how?”

“I smellsmoke.”

40

Annie

Theo sits up straightand grabs his keys, which he needs to open the big automatic gate at the front of the shelter parking lot. The entire property is surrounded by a tall chain link fence to prevent dogs from running away if they get loose, and when we pull up to the gate, my chest clenches.

Black smoke is pouring from the very back of the building.

Theo lets out a string of curses under his breath, then opens the glove box and pulls out an old t-shirt Ben uses as a cleaning rag, while Ben rolls down his window and uses the keys to trigger the gate. Before he can drive the car through, however, Theo unbuckles and gets out, grabbing his keys from Ben and running across the parking lot.

“Theo, wait! Don’t go in there!” Ben yells. He stops the car just inside the gate, then jumps out too. I am right behind him, heart pounding in my ears. All those animals. My friends. I cannot let them get hurt.

“Call 911!” Theo yells over his shoulder. “I’ve got to get the kennels open and grab the cats!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Ben groans, pulling his phone from his pocket. I run past him and catch up with Theo just as he reaches the front door, fumbling for the key.

“Theo, you cannot go inside, it is too dangerous! Let me go alone!”

He yanks the door open and looks back at me. “I’m going. You can either come in and help me, or stay here with Ben, but I’m going.” For a moment, I consider binding him with my shadows and forcing him to remain outside, but I may need all my strength just to keep the fire and smoke away from the animals. Theo must be the one to open the cages and get them out.

I call out a swirl of black shadows, forming them into the massive wings that unfurl from my back. When the horns and tail appear too, I realize how emotional I am. I do not have full command over my powers, but I cannot let it show, so I give Theo a firm nod. He pulls the t-shirt from his back pocket, dunks it in a rain barrel beside the front door, then ties it over his mouth and nose.

“I will go first,” I tell him. “Stay close to me.”

“What the fuck are you two doing?” Ben cries. I enter the lobby, hands held in front of me and wings tucked, but Theo turns back for a moment.

“Stay out here,” he shouts. “There’s an emergency lever on the gate that will hold it open for the fire truck. I’m gonna start letting the dogs out, so try to keep them contained.”