Page 1 of Make Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: All Hallows’ Eve #1)

KASHA

A gold coin spins within my palm, the decider of my fate, the perfect symbol of just how far I’ve fallen. I snort to myself. I really have gone crazy because this isn’t who I’m supposed to be. Yet, I’m desperate enough for guidance that this ridiculous ritual somehow makes sense.

Skulls, and I’m headed back to the fae in Avalon.

Full moon, and I’ll stick it out here in Crossroads.

Simple. Right?

I flick the token into the air, the metal flashing between my fingers like a falling star, then catch it between both hands. The enchanted medallion feels like it burns against my skin, heavier than it has any right to be.

This next choice weighs on my shoulders, but I don’t know what else to do. While I’ve made a life here with friends I adore, there’s a restlessness within me that they can’t soothe. Not in the way I know I need .

My heart pounds as I lift my right hand, but I slam my eyes shut before I can see the result.

Fuck! Why is this so hard?

Maybe because, as much as I pretend to be, I’m not just any fae.

And apparently, I’m also a complete idiot for letting a hunk of charmed metal decide the trajectory of my life.

Still, I haven’t been able to come up with a better solution.

Well, there is a third option, but it just might be the least appealing.

I could always stay on Earth, merely leaving the confines of Crossroads to wander amongst the chaos of No Man’s Land.

Except that doesn’t exactly scream better .

Yet, staying here—waiting, hoping—feels like I’m bleeding out one heartbeat at a time.

Maybe what I need isn’t here. Maybe it’s nowhere I’ll ever find, no matter which choice I make.

Because maybe it’s the one thing I’ve spent my whole life pretending I’m not.

The thought makes my chest constrict.

While I did everything I could when I was younger to bury my beastly side, there’s no denying what I am: half fae and half wolf shifter.

She might stay quiet thanks to the meddling I did as a child, but my wolf is still there, somewhere deep within me.

At least I think so.

For years, I’ve ignored that part of myself, pretended the animal within didn’t exist, because to acknowledge her was to acknowledge all the things I couldn’t control. All the ways I never fit.

All the ways I was wrong .

Maybe that’s why I’m too damn scared to look at the coin in my hand. Not because I care what side it lands on. But because some tiny, fragile part of me already knows…

I’m tired of running from myself.

With a frustrated sigh, I fling the coin across the room. It clatters against the far wall and thuds onto the wooden floor, rolling behind a vase before falling silent. Good riddance.

“I’m in charge of my destiny,” I mutter. “Not anyone or anything else.”

Squaring my shoulders, I push away from the kitchen counter and head for the front door of my newly rebuilt cottage.

I have a lunch date to keep, and if I’m late, Spencer will storm my house and drag me out by my hair.

While I already know what she’s going to say, I haven’t had the heart to ruin her excitement any of the ten times she’s texted me this morning to make sure I’m still coming over.

I open the door and a black envelope with a gold seal falls to the floor. Interesting. I pick it up and turn it over to open the flap, but my phone pings with another urgent, and colorfully worded, text. Odd mail is going to have to wait. Spencer has run out of patience.

Tucking the envelope into my back pocket, I leave my house and turn right, heading for the main part of town but skipping the busier roads when possible.

I miss Spencer living in my backyard, but I also couldn’t be happier for her.

After the hell she’s been through, seeing her settle down with Drake has been almost as fulfilling as doing so myself with my own future mate.

Almost.

Within ten minutes, I’m on pack lands and nearing Spencer’s cabin. Before I can get there, though, her brother Peter—who seems to be growing an inch every day lately—tackle-hugs me, bringing us both down on the grass.

“Oops.” He chuckles, rolling off me. “Sorry, Kasha.” His voice cracks.

I shake my head as I stand. He’s growing up way too fast. “All good, my little man.”

Peter lifts his head higher and puffs out his chest. “You won’t be able to call me that for much longer. I’m already taller than Pence.”

Oh, and we all knew it. I could hear his screaming shouts of joy across the pack the day it happened. Still, he has another four inches before he’s bested me.

“You here to see her?” he asks, brushing dirt and grass off his clothes.

“Yep, but I’ll come by to see you and your mom soon.” Cara, Spencer and Peter’s mom, has become like my second mother. Really, my only one.

Not only do I make sure to check on her, but she frequently visits me, doing the same. A comfort I haven’t ever had in my life.

Gods, how could I have considered going back to Avalon? A moment of weakness I won’t let happen again, even if it means I need to temporarily leave Crossroads. Idiots be damned.

By the time I walk up to Spencer’s cabin, she’s already waiting on the porch, grinning like a fool and bouncing on her toes, a green shirt bunched in her hands.

“I thought you’d never get here,” she says with a pant.

I glance at the time on my phone. “I’m three minutes early, you crazy woman.”

Her blue eyes narrow into a full glare. “I’m not crazy .”

Yeah, just hormonal, I think, wisely keeping that comment to myself.

“My bad,” I say, smirking. “Well, I’m here now.”

Without missing a beat, she shoves the shirt at me, practically vibrating with excitement. “I got you a gift.”

I take it with mock reverence. “And you didn’t even bother wrapping it. How sweet.”

Spencer crosses her arms with an exaggerated huff. “If you came over just to be a bitch, we can do this later.”

Shit. So much for not ruining her special moment.

I close the distance between us and hug her tight, ignoring her usual reluctance to touch anyone who isn’t Drake. “I’m sorry. It’s been a day already. But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” When I pull back, I paste on the world’s biggest grin. “Now, let me see this incredible gift.”

Unfolding the soft cotton, I hold it up and gasp dramatically. “ Best Auntie Ever? ” I squeal. “You’re… Oh my Gods, Spencer!”

She rolls her eyes. “You already knew I was pregnant, didn’t you?”

I grin sheepishly. “There might have been a sign or two recently. ”

“Whatever.” She shakes her head, but she’s practically glowing as she rubs her stomach with what appears to be an absentminded fondness. “Let’s check on the food. I’m famished.”

“That’s what growing a tiny monster does to you,” I tease and immediately regret it when she punches me hard enough in the shoulder that I know there’ll still be a bruise there tomorrow.

“Don’t you ever call my baby a monster,” she warns. “Or your auntie privileges will be revoked .”

I hold my hands up in surrender. “Joking! I love you and your little wolfie spawn.”

Spencer grimaces, but there’s laughter in her eyes. “Some days I don’t even know why we’re friends.”

“Because I let you live in my shed and blew up my own house to protect your family,” I remind her sweetly as we enter the house. “Among other things . ”

She grumbles under her breath. “Yeah, yeah. How long are you planning to hold that over my head?”

I wink. “Until one of us dies. Even then, I’ll make one hell of a ghost, don’t you think?” Then, I notice she has the same black envelope on her counter that I found on my way out of the house. “Hey, I got one of those, too.”

I pull it from the back pocket of my jeans, and this time don’t hesitate to open the sealed flap. Inside is a translucent piece of parchment with glittering black text and a serpent logo at the top that makes me roll my eyes.

A night of mischief, magic, and mayhem awaits you.

You are cordially invited to the first All Hallows’ Eve Ball at Crossroads.

Arrive by the stroke of ten, dressed in your finest enchantments, or forfeit your place.

Masks are optional. Secrets are not.

See you soon, Kamishola Havensflint.

V

Gods, I can’t stand that woman.

“What’s wrong?” Spencer asks from the stove as I crumple the invitation within my sweaty palm.

“Vaelora.” A fae I’d never even met while I lived in Avalon, but because she’s apparently heard of me, she thinks we should be friends.

I, however, want nothing to do with her.

“You’re still sour over her arrival in Crossroads?” Spencer sighs while she stomps toward me, then leads us into her living room and forces me onto the couch. “You know you’re our favorite fae.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like the way she looks at me.” I cross my arms as I lean back against the cushions, hating that my life feels like it’s falling apart around me and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Spencer nudges me with her elbow. “Do you think she has a girl-crush?”

The waggle of her brow grates on my nerves, and suddenly I’m the moody one.

“No. I think she thinks she knows more than she should about me.” I scowl at the far wall. “It’s annoying.”

My best friend grabs my shoulders and forces me to face her. “Kasha, is there something you should tell me before someone else does?”

I remove her hands before her nails can pierce my skin, taking in her light blue eyes and sleek white hair. Gods, if I didn’t know better, she could pass as one of my kind, but instead, her exotic features come from something possibly even more powerful.

“Kasha,” she pleads. “It’s me. You can tell me anything.”

I know that, but what Spencer doesn’t get and what I’m not ready to admit out loud is that it’s not about trusting her or anyone else for that matter.

It’s about saying the words and making them more real.

I’ve spent a long time running from my past, and I’d like to keep it where it belongs: buried.

“I’m sorry, Spence. I’ve been going through a lot lately.” I give her leg a squeeze. “Maybe it’s just where my head’s been lately, but this invitation might have struck a nerve.”