“Ugh,” Jules sighed softly. “Do we have to? I don’t want to. Let’s stay in bed.”

I lay back to humor him, but I was distracted. Jules ran his fingers through my hair and then plaited a lock of it into a small, skinny braid at the side of my neck. When he was done, I fingered the tightly woven strands between my thumb and forefinger. I remembered how he used to braid Storm’s hair when the three of us were together. I remember how envious it made me feel and I couldn’t believe my luck that I was the one on the receiving end of his braids now.

“Your hair has changed so much,” he murmured. “Your wolf’s changing too.”

He was right. I noticed it a few nights before when we ran. The crest on my chest had grown and spread over most of my body. When I looked down, I saw a light gray pelt on my forelegs, dappled here and there with tufts of black. I looked like a puppy that was shedding its baby hair. My wolf looked a mess. The whole hair business was strange. Highly irregular. It worried me but I was unable to give the matter my full attention. The feeling of home was too strong to be ignored. Since we’d been at the cabin, I’d hardly given a thought to our home. Other than a bit of fury toward Dalton now and again, I’d hardly thought of our families or of the vampires that were headed their way. It was awful of me. I felt like a bad son and an even worse pack member.

“We have to go back, Jules.”

“I don’t want to.”

I knew how he felt. I felt it too. Our life at the cabin was perfect. Idyllic. Up there it was easy to forget all about the world and what faced us when we got home. “Are you scared?” I asked.

He was quiet for a while and then nodded.

“I’m scared too, but I think it will be okay. I mean, Dalton has to see reason. We’re the last two Cleary wolves. What’s he going to do, kick us out of the pack?” Truth be told, as I said it, I had a feeling that was exactly what Dalton was going to do.

“What will we do if he does?”

“I guess we’ll have to make our way to Cedar Key. We’ll have to see if they’ll have us.”

“I’m pretty sure they would. Mason and Auggie are well respected in the pack. It might not be that bad.” Jules looked buoyed. I expected to feel the same but I didn’t. The thought of leaving Clearwater Valley felt terrible to me. Terrible. Rancid. Worse than death. “Do you think your folks will come with us?” he asked.