Page 34 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

Intense emotions washed over us. We were so, so, happy that nothing had happened to our baby girl. Of course, she wasn’t anywhere near a baby anymore. She was hardly even a girl. Womanhood was just within her reach now that she was about to graduate. But to us, she would always be the baby.

Once the bulk of our emotions were unloaded, we shuffled into the house. Mom, not fully calm, set about brewing a pot of coffee and arranging biscotti on a plate. Once she poured a hot cup for everyone, she remained on her feet, her hands wringing nervously in front of her as if she’d forgotten something.

“Mom,” Daniella called from her spot at the table, “sit and enjoy your coffee.” She patted the chair next to her.

Mom shook herself and did as her older daughter suggested, and finally seemed to let the fact that we were all safe sink in.

“Are you all right, honey?” she asked, noticing the way Lucia was staring into the depths of her coffee.

Lucia shook herself. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Daniella and I exchanged a glance. We knew our little sister well. She was too cool to ever let anything get to her, or at least that was what she liked to pretend. But it was obvious that this had truly shaken her.

Daniella opened her mouth to say something, but Mom beat her to it. “You’ve always been brave and daring, honey. I’m sure you were the one telling your classmates that everything would be all right, even if you were scared to the bone. If you want to talk about it, though, we’re here.”

Taking a sip of her coffee, Lucia grunted in agreement. For a moment, I thought she would dismiss what had happened with some silly joke, but when she set her cup down, her expression made us all pause.

A long silence stretched before us.

“Those things scare the crap out of me,” Jake said as if to let Lucia know it was all right to admit it.

Lucia swallowed thickly. “What are they?”

Jake inclined his head toward me, indicating I should be the one to answer that question and reveal all the gruesome details. I would have rather spared them the knowledge, but soon, it would be all over the news, and they would find out anyway.

With everyone listening intently, I explained what I could, without breaking the vows of secrecy I’d sworn to the Pack Rule. I didn’t go into specifics of how the hybrids were created, or how I’d almost been turned into one. What I shared with them was enough to scare them properly, however, and it made it easier to tell them the next bit.

“I think... it would be best if you keep a low profile.”

“You mean leave the house again?” Mom asked.

I nodded.

She blinked rapidly. “But why? Are you suggesting thosethingswere there to... hurt Lucia?”

“Um, no. I mean... maybe. I can’t be sure, but better safe than sorry. There is this witch. She has it in for us and has control of those monsters.”

“What the hell kind of mess have you gotten yourself into?!” Daniella exclaimed.

“Language!” Mom said.

Daniella ignored her. “We can’t keep abandoning our lives every other day.”

“I’m sorry, Dani. It’s not my fault.”

“Is it not?”

I peered toward Mom, at a loss. Was it my fault that they had such screwed-up people in the world?

“Whether or not it’s Antonietta’s fault,” Mom said, “the most important thing is to be safe. We can’t ignore her warning, can we?”

Daniella crossed her arms, looking angry, but she didn’t argue.

“We’ll pack up and go to a hotel,” Mom said with finality.

“Can you make sure it has a pool this time?” Lucia put in, lightening the mood a bit. “And a Jacuzzi. Maybe I can invite Noah.”

“No! You’re not inviting Noah or anybody else, young lady!” Mom wagged her finger at her. “That would defeat the purpose of keeping a low profile, I’d say.”