“No one can interfere with a challenge.” Dell swirled the contents of her glass. “And no one in their right mind would step in front of a crazed wolf hunting for his mate. That’s just asking to be murdered.”

“What about Bessemer?” Imogen had sounded so sure he would help if we waited long enough.

“He made the rules.” She shook her head. “He won’t break them.”

Eight words that validated my decision to walk home or die trying.

The telltale click-clack of claws announced Graeson’s return. He took one look at us seated at the table and jumped onto the bench beside me, where he began sniffing our leftovers. Satisfied there were no ham discs hiding under the tray despite the scent from the crinkled butcher’s paper, he gave a short bark at Dell.

The sound wasn’t aggressive, exactly, but seemed to say no ham, no Cam.

“I think that’s my cue.” Her forehead creased, and she rubbed the space between her eyes. “I should be getting home.”

I shoved the wolf out of the booth and walked Dell to the door. The nest from yesterday sat forgotten where I had left it, though Aunt Dot had cleaned up the rest of the yard. Half of a gray rock that had been split down its middle rested among the eggs.

Before I flipped it over with my toe, I knew what I would find. A geode. Its interior sparkled with purple crystals that reminded me of long, hot days with my family in the mountains. To this day I wasn’t sure if they were only tourist bait or harvested locally. What did it matter? The two were indelibly linked in my mind, making this a fourth strike against whoever was leaving me these tokens.

“I’m going to smash it with a hammer.” Lori eyed the egg-sized rock in her palm. “I saw it on TV once.”

Cradling mine to my chest, I dared her with a scowl that would have sent Isaac and Theo running. “You’re not smashing mine.”

She bolted for the toolbox Dad kept in a low cabinet in our parents’ bedroom.

Forbidden toolbox.

Forbidden room.

Her infractions piled higher and higher.

I had a bad feeling about this.

“I don’t need your stupid rock.” She stuck out her tongue. “Mine’s bigger anyway.”

Was it? I compared the two, and my heart sank. It was. Lori always got the best, the biggest, the shiniest. It wasn’t fair. I hated being second best. We were sisters. She ought to share. She ought to be nice to me. But she was as mean to me as Theo was to Isaac.

Sometimes he and I wished we weren’t Gemini, that we didn’t have twins.

Ping. Ping. Ping.