Minnie returned to the group shortly after she left, looking the same as before, albeit a bit calmer. Her steps slowed as she looked over toward the pack house. I followed her gaze, wondering what it was she saw that put tension in her eyebrows so suddenly.

What I found at the end of her gaze was mom.

My mom, that is. Animiya Blakeley.

On the phone.

I had no clue what was going on, but something about Minnie had me tuning in to her actions today. Her fist clenched at her side and her head turned, away, off to where she was staring earlier. West.

Silently, a trickle of fear ran down my spine as I wondered what was going on. Minnie’s face and the clear agitation in my mom’s expression…

I mean, she’d come out of the house wearing a button-up shirt inside out and half done up.

But then Jo, who’d been playing with the grass absentmindedly, whipped her head around, only to stare off at nothing, just like Minnie was doing. And, as I glanced at mom, she was doing it too.

It was then that I felt it. A prickling sensation running down my back, making me break out in a cold sweat. Despite my sensitive stomach lately, I was instantly nauseous at this feeling. My hand flew up to my mouth as I tried to keep the food I’d ate down.

Will’s hand lightly touched my back.

“Are you alright?” he whispered.

Dirt scattered atop my shoe, drawing our attention to Jo before I could give him a response. In her hand was a chunk of dirt, grass included, her fingers half shifted into that of a wolf. Her eyes were wide, shoulders tense, mouth in a thin line.

She was feeling it too, I realized.

I glanced toward the west, fearing I might see something strange and ominous. There was nothing. The sky looked normal. No birds were taking flight in a huge flock.

And then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

That feeling.

I let out a breath, not noticing until now that I’d been holding it.

“Lynn?”

I heard Jo mutter some swear words under her breath as she snapped out of it.

“I’m fine.” I brushed the dirt off of myself and gently grabbed the chunk of dirt from Jo, returning it to the ground as seamlessly as possible. Our gazes clashed for a moment and then hers drifted off to the side, back toward where I knew mom was.

Mom’s eyes were wild, matching her expression, as she strode with purpose over to Elena and Jacob. They finished the distance themselves, meeting her halfway, sensing her urgency. I was standing before I realized.

Will took my hand, momentarily stealing my attention, a question written in his eyes.

I patted the back of his hand.

“I need to ask her something.”

He nodded and I walked over. It started slowly, growing faster. I stopped a short distance away, feeling a sudden anxiety wash over me. I took a few breaths and moved my foot one step closer. With that step they noticed me, looking my way. I swallowed hard, awkwardly standing there.

“Lynn? What is it?”

I stumbled a bit closer, my face warming from embarrassment. Shaking my head, I tried to collect my thoughts. Nobody else in the group… Nobody else noticed it. They didn’t get that weird feeling.

But Jo and I did.

Minnie did.

Mom… mom did too.

“Mom?”

She took my hand, searching my eyes with concern.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

For a few seconds, she froze, her face paling ever so slightly. She sighed.

“We know where Myrus is.”

Startled, recalling how we’d just discussed the man a while ago, I looked back at everyone, waiting in front of Jane and Lee’s house. They were all looking this way, an air of curiosity surrounding them.

“So, he’s…”

When she didn’t finish my sentence right away, I turned back to her, only for uncertainty to make me freeze.

“He’s dead,” she finally admitted.

Dead.

Relief?

Guilt?

Happy?

Upset?

Was I supposed to be feeling… something? I was, right? Feeling things was normal. But right now, hearing that the man who held me captive, the man Will fought, was now dead, there was nothing.

I felt nothing.

But I needed clarification.

“Dead? Dead-dead?”

It wasn’t like a suspected dead, right? He was really gone?

Mom let out a strangled-sounding laugh, at least I suspected it was a laugh, before explaining. “I asked Danny the same thing… Dead-dead. He’s dead for certain.”

But that wasn’t what I really cared about.

I stared into her eyes, fearing that I already knew the answer.

“And… the vial… Will’s blood?”

Her lips were a thin line for what seemed like forever. She looked away for a moment. When she looked back at me, I took an instinctive deep breath in. And then her lips opened to tell me words that made my heart drop into my stomach.

“It’s gone. No trace of it.”

I nodded, feeling the movement rather than consciously carrying it out. Everything seemed to stop for a moment. All of it came back to me again. The fear, just like when I realized my actions had put Will in danger. That anxiety just moments ago when something intangible happened. My mouth opened and closed as I tried to search for a response that I should give. Something like ‘oh’ or ‘I see’ would suffice, right. It would be fine, if words were something possible for me right this second.

My hand flew to my mouth to stop the sob that threatened to escape in my efforts. My nose burned with effort of holding it back. Mom, who’d seen it all, pulled me into a quick hug. She pressed a kiss to my hair before pulling back.

“You should go tell them.” She patted my cheek gently, brushing aside the one tear that had slipped free. “It’s alright.”

I stared up at her and tried to smile, to ease her mind, and gave a single nod before turning away and walking across the grass, lost entirely to my racing thoughts.

Was it?

Was it alright?

Did that mean we would be leaving sooner?

Did something really happen with the blood? That strange feeling that those of us connected to magic sensed… was that connected?

I stopped at the edge of the group, uncertain on how to say the words. There was a small chorus of random questions, asking in general if everything was alright. Will rose without a word and took my hand. My head turned almost unconsciously and I gazed into eyes that weren’t surprised in the slightest.

“Minnie…”

“He’s dead.”

No fanfare. Not even a blink.

Minnie had already guessed what happened.

“Yeah…”

Will’s hand flinched in mine. His words followed just a few seconds after.

“Myrus? They found him? Did they–”

I didn’t stop him from finishing the sentence. The only thing I did was turn to look at him. His face fell before I could give him a proper verbal response. He already knew from my expression.

This was the outcome we’d secretly discussed at home, hoping it wouldn’t come to this. I think we were both holding out for those in charge to find him, to get the vial before he could use it for whatever it is he had in mind.

That hope for months… was crushed.

“It’s gone.”

He let out a breath quickly and took a deeper one, only to then hold it in as he pulled me into a light embrace. His hand clutched the back of my shirt and his chin was tucked against the back of my shoulder. I heard him utter the faintest curse, full of a heavy and difficult emotion. I patted his back as I looked at the others, taking in all of their surprised faces.

“What…? What’s going on?”

Jo’s voice was barely heard as Jane stood slowly, eyes round.

“The vial’s gone, isn’t it? The one with Will’s blood?”

“Well, maybe he didn’t get a chance to use it?” Lee asked, hopeful.

Will lifted his head and stood quietly next to me, still holding my hand. There was a tiny spark of hope in three faces. Lee, Jane, and Will. I felt more than saw their expressions crumble as Jo, Minnie, and I didn’t respond for a brief few seconds, our eyes not alight with any kind of hope at all.

“What…”

“Why are you three…”

“It’s already been used,” Minnie told them. She pointed to the west, in the same direction she’d stared earlier, the same spot both Jo and I looked to as well. “I felt it. Lynn and Jo would have felt it too.” She glanced at each of us in turn. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“What?”

“Don’t we need permission from–”

“We leave. Now,” she stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments. “Grab your bags.”

She stood and stalked over to her own bags.

Within a silent moment, we were all up and moving, gathering our things, a solemnity hovering around us.