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I LEANED BACK IN THE FRONT seat of Val’s car.

“Thanks for driving me home,” I said, looking out the window as she slowed at a stoplight. “And for picking me up last night. I’m sure you’re tired of carting Gemma’s weird friends around.”

Val shrugged and fiddled with the buttons on her heating, trying to get warm air circulating. “I don’t mind.”

“That’s a lie.”

We’d already dropped Al off at their house and were now headed to mine. It had been an interesting morning, to say the least. I had woken to a text from Mateo saying he was with Javi and had made it home. The time stamp was around four a.m., and I hoped Mateo hadn’t gotten in trouble for being out so late. I had texted back that I was glad he was safe and that I would see him later, then had gone to change into my clothes from the night before.

After a homemade pancake breakfast, Gemma had volunteered Val to drive Al and me home.

“No, really.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Gemma has never really had friends. She’s been bullied, and she never had anyone sleep over or come to birthday parties or that sort of thing. Her interests are a little rigid and hyperfocused, and sometimes she’s not the greatest with her social skills.” When the light flashed green, Val turned the wheel and took the left onto my street. “I was worried for her at high school. But I’m glad she has a group. Even if it’s all psychics and witches.”

“A werewolf and a sprite, too.”

Val smirked. “Yeah. She talked my ear off about Reese when he stood up for her. It was all I heard about for, like, a week.” She eased close to the curb in front of my house. “I’m glad she found you guys. Even if it means that I am the chauffeur until one of you gets a license.”

“I’m glad we found her too,” I said, my heart twisting at the potential of losing any of my friends. “And bright side, Mateo gets a license soon. And I know Al will as well.”

“Great. But until then, I’m okay with driving you all around. As long as it doesn’t interfere with my job or social life,” she said, pointing a finger in my face. “I’m cool to be the big sister if you need one.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“Good. Now get out. It’s my day off, and I don’t want to spend it idling here.”

I hastily unbuckled my seat belt and hopped out of the car. I slammed the door and waved as she drove away. Then I quickly headed to the front door to escape the wet, chilly conditions. Fall-like weather had finally arrived to Shady Hallow.

I hobbled up the front stoop, took a breath, and braced myself for whatever conversation was about to happen with my parents when I pushed open the door. But when I walked in and called out my usual greeting, there was no answer. And huh. Well, it was Sunday. They always went to brunch on Sundays.

Yay. The house was empty. I’d totally dodged a bullet.

I headed to the kitchen and found a note on the table in my mom’s handwriting.

Out for the day. Be home tonight. We need to check in.

Okay. That didn’t sound too bad, as long as she didn’t bring up the werewolf romance novel again. I could do that. It might be nice after whatever happened at the Lopezes’. With that thought, I climbed the stairs and collapsed on my bed.

It was close to dinner by the time Mateo texted me that his parents were on their way home from their Sunday excursion. I grabbed my keys, phone, and wallet and slung on my jacket before calling a ride via a car service. It was too far to bike, and hopefully Danny or Javi would be willing to give me a ride home after—if me telling their whole family about my gruesome glimpse didn’t destroy the tenuous relationship I had with them.

The car dropped me off at the edge of the driveway, and I hopped out, tapping my phone to add a tip, before limping to the front porch, my ankle still tender from the night before.

“Hey,” Mateo said, opening the door. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and his feet were bare. His long hair was wet, the ends leaving damp spots on his shoulders, as if he had just stepped out of the shower. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.”

The cold had deepened the past few hours, and I clutched my denim jacket closer around me as I stood in the foyer of his home.

“My parents were out with Juana all day. They’re on their way back now.”

“Cool.”

“Do you want anything?”

A way out of this mess. “Um… a glass of water?”

“Sure.”

I followed Mateo to the kitchen and propped myself on a stool near the center island while he retrieved a glass from the cupboard and filled it with filtered water.

“So,” I said, my feet wedged into the bars of the stool. “Sorry again for last night. And for, like, everything.”

Mateo gave me a tight smile. “Me too.”

And I was, especially now that I’d had time to think about things from Mateo’s perspective. The more I replayed my actions after the glimpse, the more I wished I’d taken a second and just thought before taking off. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I’m aware that running away probably did. And so did ever entertaining the thought that you could hurt your cousin. I’m sorry. I know that words probably aren’t enough, but I really am sorry.”

Mateo heaved a sigh. “It did hurt,” he admitted, his voice low, his gaze focused on the countertop. “Especially right after. But I talked with Kaci, and she gave me a psychic’s point of view.”

“Yeah? What was that?”

He set the glass in front of me. “That your panic was the result of experiencing the glimpse again unexpectedly. Adding the fact that you thought I lied—I get why you ran.”

Thank gods for Kaci. “I’m still sorry, but yeah, seeing that again was not fun. Zero out of ten. Would not recommend.”

A smile ticked at the edge of Mateo’s mouth.

“So we’re good?” I asked.

“Yeah. We’re good.” He finally met my gaze. “Well, I mean, we still have that first date to go on.”

I leaned my elbows on the island. “Yeah?”

He hummed in response.

“I’d better work on my psychic blocks, just in case you get the urge to kiss me again.”

Mateo laughed. “Yeah. Good idea.”

I beamed. “I’m looking forward to it.”

We chatted about school and art class while I drank my glass of water and we waited for Mateo’s parents. It was obvious we were both skirting around the elephant in the room, but it was nice just to be teenagers for a minute and complain about teachers and gossip about the other students. Time stretched on, and when I glanced out the window over the sink, I noticed the sun would set soon. I checked my phone for the time and winced when I saw I had several missed calls from Gemma.

“Ugh,” I said. “I think I need to—”

Mateo’s phone buzzed on the table. His brow furrowed. “It’s my parents.” He scooped up the phone and answered the call. “Oh,” he said, glancing toward me. “Um… yeah. That’s okay. I guess. I just need to talk to you guys. At home. But we can wait a little longer?” He posed the second part as a question and looked at me.

I nodded in confirmation. My mom hadn’t given me a firm time to return home. I could wait another hour. Maybe.

“Okay. Love you too. Bye.” Mateo hung up. “My parents went to dinner, but they’ll be home in an hour. Is that okay?”

“Sure.” I held up my cell. “Let me see what Gemma wants.”

I slid off the stool and left the kitchen to stand in the darkened entryway. Gemma picked up immediately when I dialed.

“Cam!” she screeched in my ear.

That wasn’t her usual scream of enthusiasm. It didn’t sound like an excited Gemma. It was a panicked one.

“I made a mistake! I think. No, I’m sure I did. I’m sorry!”

Uh-oh. My stomach clenched. “Hey, whoa, slow down,” I said. “It’s okay. Take a breath.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think .”

Alarm bells rang in my head. Gemma had been trying very hard to be conscientious since I’d scolded her for posting the first glimpse. And for being a little too direct with the members of our group. And she took that in stride. An upset Gemma was a bad sign.

“I’m sure we can fix whatever it is.” I walked back to the kitchen and put Gemma on speaker. Mateo raised his eyebrows, and I brought a finger to my lips in a “be quiet” gesture, then pointed to the phone. “Gemma, calm down and tell me what you did. You’re on speaker with Mateo too. We’re both here to help.”

“Okay. Okay. Okay,” Gemma said in succession, more frantic than before. “I told Reese.” Then she made a noise as if she’d clapped her hand over her mouth.

All the air seemed to get sucked out of the room. I winced. Mateo frowned. “Told him what, exactly?” I asked, in a soft and measured tone.

“About last night! That it was Mateo in the glimpse. I thought it could help him, you know? To hear that it wasn’t him. That maybe he could come back to the group as our friend. Because he is our friend. And I wanted to help him, but I think I messed it all up.”

Ah. “Um… well… I think that’s okay.”

Mateo huffed.

She made a high-pitched squeaking noise that alerted me that there was probably more to this story coming. “He reached out to Juana.”

Fuck. Okay. That wasn’t good. I grabbed the kitchen stool to steady myself, my knees suddenly weak. Mateo’s expression was thunderous. His own hands gripped the kitchen island, and his fingernails elongated, claws dragging furrows into the tile. “He what?”

“He said he wanted to clear his name. He wanted to meet Juana in person. So she could then tell Mateo that Reese wasn’t involved with everything that happened before.”

“What?” Mateo yelled. “When? Where?”

“I don’t know!” Gemma wailed.

Mateo’s gaze snapped to mine, his brown eyes flashing silver. “My parents dropped Juana off to meet with a friend before they went to dinner.”

Oh no. Oh no. “You don’t think…?” My throat tightened. “Text your parents. Find out where.”

Mateo fumbled with his phone, frustrated, claws scratching the case, until he took a breath and his fingers shifted back to human. Then he tapped in a furious blur on the screen.

Gemma sniffled in my ear. “It’s not after the harvest moon,” she said, voice small. “Was I wrong about that too?”

“It’s okay.” I didn’t quite believe that, but I couldn’t have Gemma spiral, especially since we needed her. “We’ll think it through.”

Mateo’s phone buzzed. “They dropped her off at Drip.”

“Okay! See. That’s fine. That’s a public place, right? Are Javi and Danny around? Can they give us a ride there in the van?”

Mateo shook his head. “I’m the only one home.”

Yikes. Okay, we could figure it out. “Gemma, is Val at the coffee shop? She could keep an eye on them for us.”

“She’s off today.”

Right. Shit. Okay. We needed to find a way there and see for ourselves, just to make sure that Juana was okay.

I polished off my glass of tepid water. “Do you know how to drive?” I asked.

Mateo’s throat bobbed. “I have my learner’s permit. My dad’s car is here.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“Cam!” Gemma’s voice blared from my phone. “What should I do?”

“Gemma,” I said seriously, “do what you do best. Communicate with the others, and tell them what’s happening. We’ll keep you posted.”

There was a slight pause, followed by a confident, “Okay! On it!”

“Keep in touch.”

“Got it, partner.”

I hung up and was surprised to find that Mateo had left the kitchen. I scrambled after him, and he was already halfway out the side door that led to the garage, keys in hand. He didn’t even stop for a jacket or shoes before he slid into the front seat of the car. I had to jog to catch up or risk being left behind. The garage door opened before I was fully buckled. Once settled, I pulled my gloves from my jacket pocket and tugged them on.

“Are you okay with this? You might get in trouble.”

He shrugged. “No more than Javi does on a regular basis.”

The engine revved, and as soon as the door opened, we lurched forward. I grabbed the handle that hung from the car ceiling and gripped it tight as Mateo bottomed out leaving the driveway, and a splash of sparks lit up the rearview mirror. When the first curve had my shoulder slamming into the passenger side door, I realized that this might not have been the best idea.

But I didn’t want to tell Mateo to slow down. Not when the sun had set and the moon was visible, waxing full and bright, and cloudy skies drifted in the distance, slowly migrating to hover over us. Small sprinkles of rain dotted the windshield as we moved closer to town. My whole body tensed, and it wasn’t just because of Mateo’s bad driving. This was the weather in the glimpse.

It was happening.