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“I’ll find something,”I said, annoyed because she was right. I wasn’t good at anything—except this. “I’ll find another security job. We do this last job, and we do it big. Big enough to hold us over for a while. A fallback while Iwork.”

Jennifer sighed.“We’re able to take care of our family this way. We’re surviving. You know we’re going to struggle to make ends meet any other way,Mason.”

Though she worea stubborn expression on her face, I could see the fear that was hiding just beneath it. Most others would’ve only seen the face of a tenacious sixteen-year-old, but Jennifer was my sister. I knew exactly how she felt. I went over to a newspaper box with a copy of theWolfheart Heraldin the window and pointed to one of the headlines at the bottom of thepage.

“Look at this,”I said, and read the headline. “Break-ins continue. Blackwood burglar still atlarge.”

She smirked.“They think there’s only one ofus.”

“That’s not the point,Jennifer. We’ve made it to the front page. We’ve gone months without even being in the paper. Soon enough, we’ll be up here.” I tapped my finger against the main headline, printed in big bold letters at the top. “And thenwhat?”

Jennifer’s expressionsoftened as she digested mywords.

“If we get caught,who will take care of Mom?” Iasked.

She chewedthe inside of her cheek, looked down at the sidewalk, and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Come on,”I said. “Let’s keepwalking.”

We wenton down the street, past a homeless red wolf who lay curled up on the sidewalk. He looked up at us and scratched behind his ear with his rear paw, and then asked if we had any spare change. I dug into my pocket and tossed him the few coins that Ihad.

“You said we should go big,”Jennifer said. “What are you suggesting? We take the family jewels or something? Someheirloom?”

“No,we’d never be able to resell something like that. In the house floorplans, there’s a dedicated coat room near the front. It’s like a whole room where all the guests will be leaving theirvaluables.”

“Right,I remember that. Won’t it just be jackets and stuff likethat?”

“You’d be surprised.I’ve worked at parties like this before, and the types of things these people bring in just to show off their money can be ridiculous. But good forus.”

At the grocery store,we bought just enough to make a simple soup for dinner. Chicken, beans, tomatoes, collard greens, potatoes… It wasn’t much, especially not for two young wolves, but we couldn’t afford to buy much else. Most of our money had gone to Ackson Bellock and his fucking “clan fees”. In Wolfheart, you were nothing without a clan. You couldn’t get work, you couldn’t get a place to live. You were an open target. A wolf without a pack couldn’tsurvive.

Our family didn’t havemuch choice for clan membership. We were lowborn. Nothing. The Blood Gulch Clan were a bunch of slimy piles of dog shit, but they were one of the only ones that would accept us, not to mention the only one we could somewhatafford.

“This is delicious, you two,”Mom said, smiling as she ate a spoonful of chicken soup. “Thank you for cookingagain.”

“You’re welcome,”I said, getting up to clean up my dishes. “I’ve gotta get ready forwork.”

“Dothey have to have you working that late-night shift?” she asked. “You must beexhausted.”

“I’m used to it.”

“Oh, Mom,”said Jennifer. “I’m going over to Ava’s house tonight. We’re having a little sleepover. Is thatokay?”

“Of course,”Mom said. “That’s wonderful. You should be going out more, enjoying your vacation. Notworking.”

“Thanks, Mom,”shesaid.

Iwashedmy bowl in the sink and went up to my bedroom. I opened the closet and pulled out my loot bag, a special backpack designed to fit me in both human and wolf forms. I put it on the bed next to the old security guard uniform that I used as a cover. From a special compartment cut into the wall in the back of the closet, I pulled out a tablet computer and a small toolkit. I slipped the kit into the backpack and put the tablet on my desk. There was a knock on thedoor.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me,”Jennifer said in a lowvoice.

“Come in.”

She enteredand shut the door behind her. “Mom is having her glass of wine and watching TV. We won’t bebothered.”

“Okay,”I said, and sat down at the desk. “Take alook.”