But Dawn has trust issues at this point in time. She’s not sure who she trusts or what she believes. So Warden’s magnet eyes don’t quite captivate her; she gazes down at her feet first, and then at Warden’s tent, and he’s left the flap open in his haste to reassure her, and Dawn can see inside, see his pile of Polar Bear clothes and his nice camping backpack, and the nice headlamp and camp stove he must have earned while he was in the program.

And there’s something else in there, too. Something bright and shiny, and it catches the light from Dawn’s headlamp and gleams back at her. And Dawn can’t figure out what it is at first, and then she does and it all comes together, and suddenly she’s more scared than she’s ever been before in her life.

Chapter 70

IT’S THE KNIFE. Christian’s knife.

That’s what’s in Warden’s tent. The knife that Christian should still be holding on to, way up high near the top of the Raven’s Claw.

The knife that is the Pack’s only weapon. That probably murdered Alex.

The knife is in Warden’s tent.

Alex was stabbed to death.

What the actual fuck?

Chapter 71

IT’S SUDDENLY VERY COLD where Dawn is standing. And no sweater, no sleeping bag, no roaring fire can change that. Dawn is suddenly very aware of how alone she is here in the clearing, even with Warden and the others nearby.

“Dawn?” Warden says again.

He shifts his position a little, turns to follow her gaze, and Dawn looks quickly away from Warden’s tent and prays he doesn’t realize she’s seen the knife.

Her thoughts are racing.

She can’t figure it out.

Did Warden kill Alex?

And if Warden has Christian’s knife…what happened to Christian?

Dawn forces herself to meet Warden’s eyes. “Thanks so much for the offer,” she tells him, smiling. “It’s really kind of you, but I think I’ll just sleep somewhere else tonight.”

Warden blinks.

Then his eyes narrow.

(For a heart-stopping moment, Dawn imagines that he can read her mind, that he knows she knows.)

But instead, Warden just shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

So Dawn sleeps in Kyla’s tent that night. But Dawn can’t sleep.

The wind is picking up again. Dawn lies awake and listens to it blow and hears the first spatter of rain against the thin tent material.

She can’t sleep because she’s afraid if she sleeps that whoever killed Alex will sneak up and surprise her.

Dawn is scared.

She’s scared of the night, and she’s scared of what might happen in the morning.

She’s scared of what the knife in Warden’s tent means. She’s scared it means he, not Brandon or Evan, murdered Alex.