I gulped and gripped the handle of my backpack tightly between my fingers. A warm hand covered it and I focus on that. It helped.

It was Friday: my third day back to school since the coma. I shouldn't even be nervous anymore, the past two days happened just fine, yet still my hands shake and my eyes dart to every car we pass in the parking lot. Searching would only drive me crazier, but I couldn't help it.

It had been just about two months since Kota and the others brought me to the pack. I wasn't sure if he was even looking anymore, or where he would be looking if he was. While Kota doesn't know about my previous Jack situation, he was still unsettled at the prospect of going back to school. But I wanted to. Even though it made each day stressful, I just wanted normalcy.

The truck came to a stop and Kota helped me down — not that I needed help, but the gesture was sweet. I swung my bag across my shoulder and we walked in together, hand in hand. I liked this, even though each day we had gotten some looks, I felt like I finally had a boyfriend. Which, I guess I did, it was just we had skipped the typical formalities because of the whole werewolf thing. It was actually incredibly nice; it made the relationship way smoother and way less stressful, especially because I knew how innocent and inexperienced I was.

And I could blame the fated bond, but I was falling for him hard, harder than I would ever have thought possible right weeks ago when his first impression was scaring the living daylights out of me. Now, every time he wasn't near I craved his touch and his voice in a way that still shocked myself.

Gentle pressure on my fingers brought me back to the reality of school. We were in front of my Homeroom doorway, and this was where he dropped me off, basically just passing me to Jaycee. It didn't feel that way though because I could easily say Jaycee had become my best friend. Although, it was an annoying nag in the pit of my stomach that missed Kota the second he disappeared down the hall as Jaycee tugged me into the room.

The morning passed without any major issues, though at the end of Homeroom, that raven-haired girl decided now was best time as ever to place her manicured nails on my desk and taunt me again.

"Your back, huh?" Her voice was so condescending it was like venom dripping through her perfect white teeth. "Tired of hiding?"

It would seem like that to her, I realized. The day she came after me was the last day I had stepped foot in the school for two months. She must have just been watching me the past two days until she couldn't help herself but say something.

I guess she was right in a way, she just didn't know it. I was hiding, just not from her and her pathetically weak jabs at my insecurities.

I caught Jaycee's horrified glimpse from my peripheral view, but I beat her to it with a growl I tried to match to Kota's the best I could. Give me a break, I'm still new. It worked, though, because even Jaycee recoiled a bit.

The girl's mouth popped open, obviously not expecting that. I may not have had a voice yet, but my wolf sure did! Backing away in defeat, she slipped out the door and hopefully I would never see her again.

I stood up and grabbed my bag as casually as I could muster. Jaycee followed suite and when we got out the door, she held her hand up. Instinctively, I flinched but I quickly covered it by matching her hand with a soft slap.

"Way to go! Didn't think you had it in ya, but you even got your eyes to glow!" I did? She draped an arm around my shoulders and grinned. "I feel like a proud sister." A soft giggle hitched in the back of my throat. Thankfully, Jaycee doesn't comment on it, but I knew she heard it.

After that, Jaycee sent me to my next class, which had none of our friends in it. Then I passed myself to Sydney for Physics and then it was time for lunch. Of course, Jaycee had to tell the whole story at lunch, and I just wanted the floor to swallow me whole. So, I decided to look around. It was still strange sitting at the lunch table with them instead of hiding in the bathroom, or eating on the grass outside — though the frost this morning proved it would be too cold for that now anyway!

It was because of my avoidance of Jaycee's retelling that my eyes landed on what would bring my entire day spiraling into the garbage disposal. No no no. My entire body became dead stiff in my seat and my breath caught in my throat. It's happening. The very thing I had been so stressed about all week was actually becoming real.

Kota, having felt my body tense against him, immediately knew something was up. He followed my gaze to the window as my eyes followed the man walking across the parking lot. I wasn't sure which was better: staying here surrounded by my friends, or finding somewhere to hide that Jack couldn't spot me.

"What's wrong?" Kota finally asked, and Jaycee trailed off as everyone eyed me with concern.

I shook my head. There could only be one reason Jack would be at the high school right now. Me. I had to get out of here. Right now! Standing up and keeping my eye out the window, I drifted to the other side of Kota. I placed a hand on his shoulder, pleading with unspoken words to get me out of there. I told myself I would be done running, but this was just a situation I was not ready to handle yet.

Confused but willing to do whatever it took to keep me safe, he shot up and pulled me out of the cafeteria. We got halfway down the hall before he stopped and looked me right in the eye. "Okay, you need to tell me what's going on." I opened my mouth and closed it several times. "Eirenae you're scaring me. You're scaring us."

My gaze darted sideways, realizing the others had promptly followed us out. Past them, I see him and I tremble. In a rush of air, I choke out "Jack" before throwing myself through the nearest door to us.

"-and that's why. . . Hello Miss Leigh, can I help you?"

I freeze, my heart echoing in my ear as I face a room full of students. I inhale, feeling an anxiety attack rising from the horror of seeing Jack to the humiliation of stumbling into an occupied class. Cole appeared behind me, and I relaxed ever so slightly, but wondering why he wasn't Kota.

"So sorry, Mr. Kuiper, this was a misunderstanding. C'mon Eirenae, this class isn't until next hour." A couple people snickered and my face flushed bright crimson. Thanks Cole, you're a real help! Ignoring everyone, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back out to the hallway. I fought him the last few steps, terrified of what waited for me out there.

"Hey, chill! Kota is distracting him. I don't know what's going on, but it's obvious you're in a lot of distress and completely panicking. I'm getting you out of here, okay? There's an easy running path from here to the pack house, but we have to cross the fields first."

My eyes stray to the hallway, but it's empty. Kota and the others are gone, and so is Jack. My best option is to run with Cole right now. Nodding, I let him take my hand and we jogged down the corridor and out the set of double doors at the back of the school. Once outside, he picked up speed to the point I was struggling to match his pace.

"Here, get on." Dropping my hand, it took less than three seconds for him to disappear and a powdery brown wolf to take his place. Startled, I skidded to a stop on the field turf, the woods just ahead of us. Get on. His voice echoed from before his shift. He wanted me to sit on him like this?

A whine slipped through his teeth, and he bowed his head in submission. His eyes weren't gleaming or beady, they were soft, deep chocolate swirls that mirrored his human ones. Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer to the animal and he lowered himself for me to climb on. Knowing I didn't have much time or choice, I did as he wanted, gripping the soft fur between my fingers. It was surreal once he stood up to his full height. It was like sitting on a wide, very fluffy horse. Until we were running, then it was not so much like a horse.

The trees zipped by and the frosty air stung my face as his paws thundered along the dirt-trodden path. I held on tightly, praying I wouldn't slip up and tumble to my death at any given moment. As we ran, I got more comfortable, and eventually I sat up taller, and paid more attention to where we were. After a moment or two — even though we were racing faster than what should be possible — I recognized the path that Kota had once carried me on, after I broke down to Eva in the restroom. I had run back to the school this way. Wow. That felt like a lifetime ago, yet also only yesterday. So much had happened in these last few weeks I couldn't believe it. And here I was now, literally riding on a wolf. Insane.

We arrived at the house in the back, and I realized this was my first time seeing the backyard. It was beautiful, but I bet it was even better looking in the summer time. Walking through the gated opening in the stone wall that separated the forest from the lawn, we headed along a path that patched the stone of the driveway in the front. We followed the stone past a winter-covered pool and patio and through a half-circle trellis structure that was surrounded by brittle bushes and covered in thick brown vines. I pictured how it would look when the bushes had leaves and the vines were alive and sporting various shades of green. I smiled and brushed my fingertips along the wooden structure as we turned towards the house.

A hedge wall stood in front of us, stopped by two wide stone pillars that opened up to a spacious patio. A large dining table set was placed under the balcony being held up by columns and two curving staircases. The stairs led to another porch, which I couldn't see all the details of from down here.

I figured we were going to head up the stairs, but Cole's wolf brushed my side and guided me to the left, past one of the staircases and around the side of the building. A smaller stair set was waiting for us and this one we did go up. It led us to a door, that was easy to spot now, but when the tall bushes were full I could see how this was more of a hidden entrance.

Cole panted and looked from my eyes to the door, waiting for me to do something. Why won't he just shift back? Slightly confused, I obliged and turned the door handle, letting the wolf go first and lead me into the room. Which turned out to not be much of a room at all.

It was dark, barely enough light to see my own feet in front of me, and all that it held was a spiraling staircase. Cole nudged me forwards and I led the way up the stairs, which seemed silly because I really had no idea where we were in the house.

"I'll tell you which door you'll stop climbing at."

I stopped and turned my head. "No! Don't turn around. It may be dark in here but you can see well enough." Puzzled, I continued along the steps. "And the hell I'd get from Kota!"

I honestly did not understand what in the world he was talking about, and I couldn't speak up and ask. So we walked. And I thought about it.

Hold on, is he completely naked behind me? I sucked in a breath, but didn't stop moving. It made sense: when he shifted I could hear seams tearing and it looked like scraps of material had flown. I was just too caught up in getting away from there that it didn't cross my mind until now. Plus, when I added the way someone threw a blanket over me after I shifted, the best explanation is that we shift back unclothed. Goddess there's still so much for me to learn!

"This one." Cole spoke up and I turned off the stairs and through the door, which opened up to the hallway my room was on. I rushed away and into my room, kicking my shoes off as I did. Cole didn't follow me, but I assumed he was going to go find some clothes.

As I sat on the bed, movement caught my eye and I looked up to see Kota and the others filing in through the open doorway. Without a second thought, Eva picked my shoes up and walked into my closet, coming out a second later without them. I smiled my gratitude, she didn't have to do that.

"Okay, what is going on?"

"I think I know." Holly's voice made everyone jump. We hadn't realized she had come in here.

"Holly, how did you-"

"I saw a wolf sneaking her in through the side door and figured something was up." Her deep eyes settled on me, and I fidgeted with my fingers. "They showed up, didn't they? And whatever has been pressing down on your mind all week happened, didn't it?"

She was mostly right. My anxiety had come from the thought of being abducted by him at school, which didn't happen. But he did show up, and if the situation had gone a different way, I could very well be in his house battered into a pulp on the floor.

"The man I talked to," Kota started, "he was the one who answered the door when I came to return your backpack that one time. Is he your father?"

I have a curt nod, not breaking eye contact with Holly. Her eyes asked permission and I hesitantly gave it. She knew, she had known since I broke down in her arms that first day in her infirmary.

"That man," Holly said slowly, "may be her father, but he is also her perpetrator."

Jaycee's eyes seemed to bug out of her head in disbelief, and quickly she spoke to Eva softly. After a split second of defiance, Eva shuffled out of the room. I wanted to say she could stay and listen, but we all knew it was better if she didn't. She was still Jaycee's little sister, an "innocent pup" as I once heard Jaycee put it. She was protecting her, and that was understandable.

My upbringing was not something a fourteen year old should know every detail of.

"You mean, all that time when she came to school with black eyes or an injured arm, was because she was being hit?" Sydney's voice was the softest I had ever heard it. I recalled her eyes picking up every signal of pain I had shown that first week here. She'd guessed, but she didn't want to be right.

I stared at my lap, at my hands trembling as I tried to calm my breathing as Kota let out a very menacing growl. I didn't flinch or shrink back, though, because I knew he was directing it at basically anyone but me. I picked up a low, pained whine at the end; his wolf was hurting for me. My eyes welled up, but I made no move to wipe the tears away.

"You're saying I just let the man that has been hurting my mate, our Luna, get away unscathed? I led him away from the direction of the school for Eirenae's sake without knowing why, when I really should have been snapping his neck!"

I finally looked up to meet his eye, but he wasn't looking at me, his head was turned to the ceiling. His fists were clenched tight and he looked just about ready to run all the way to Jack's house and make him pay for everything he did to me. He didn't have to say it, but I knew he was going to go kill him.

"Please don't." I croaked in a hoarse whisper. Instantly everyone's eyes bore into me. Kota was at my side in half a second, clutching my shaking hand in his.

"Eirenae, he needs to pay for everything he has done. Don't you want that?" I did. But I should be the one to do it, not Kota. Jack hurt me, not them. And Kota snapping his neck was not going to solve all my problems. Jack couldn't reach me here.

Kota sighed as he rubbed his thumb across my knuckles. "Fine, I won't go over there. But I think it's best we don't go back to school for now. Thanksgiving is around the corner, so we would only be missing two extra days." I nodded in agreement. We probably shouldn't have even gone back this week, but I had been so desperate for a normal routine back.

Jaycee crushed me in a hug, soon followed by Sydney, then Cole and Dexter. Releasing me, Jaycee held both my hands and glanced from me to Kota. "I think we need a game plan, though. He's going to find her eventually," Kota growled, but she shut him up, "it's not like he doesn't live near here. We don't know what he knows, or how much he cares. For all we're aware, he could be a wolf too!" She sighed as she saw the fear in my eyes. What if she was right, though? We didn't know what Jack knew about me, about us.

"She's right," Sydney spoke up. "He could be stronger than we think and we should be ready for it."