Page 146 of Coveted

Then I realize the wolf is a man, naked to the waist and running through the dark trees. A trio of witches is cackling and sprinting after him.

Shivering in my dress, I wonder how long it’d take me to walk back to Darkbloom.

Lucan’s stern, disapproving face appears in my mind’s eye. He would hate the idea of me walking alone at night.

I’m not crazy about it either, to be honest. My next paycheck comes tomorrow though, so I have no money to order a ride-share or cab.

A female voice calls out. “Hey! Sadie, isn’t it?”

Looking around, I see a vaguely familiar young woman leaning from the driver’s window of a shiny black SUV. She’s parked among the cars pulled up haphazardly in the circular driveway.

Where do I know her from?

“Come here,” she says, waving me over.

She definitely seems to know me.

Still unsure of her identity, I slowly walk toward her car with my phone in my hand. The other windows are tinted dark and show only my reflection.

Her face is painted white, with trails of bright red running from the corners of her mouth to her chin. She grins, showing what must be custom ceramic fangs, for how real they look.

“It’s Adelle,” she says. “Damon’s twin? We met at the Hale estate for dinner last week.”

“Of course! Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. Are you Dracula?”

“Dracula’s bride.” She points at the mansion, her fingernails painted scarlet. “How’s the party?”

“Really good.” I shrug. “I’m heading back to Darkbloom though. I feel like an early night.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. I heard you and Lucan are going through it.” She starts the car, the engine growling to life. “Get in, I’ll give you a lift.”

“No.” I step back from the car. “Thank you, I can walk.”

“Are you kidding? You can’t walk. There are creeps out there.”

She’s right, there are.

The problem is, she could be one of them. I barely know anything about her, except that Lucan suspects Damon and her of being involved in his cousins’ deaths.

Adelle seems nice though, genuinely.

And I know for a fact that it was a man who attacked me both times.

So what’s the risk here, really? Driving with her is almost definitely safer than making my way on foot in the middle of the night.

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” she says. “I’m serious. Lucan would murder me if he knew I let you walk by yourself.”

Tired and cold, I relent. “Okay. Thank you.”

Before I can go around to the passenger side, someone beats me to it. A man dressed as the Joker climbs into the front seat without looking at me.

“Shit,” I whisper to myself.

Who’s that?

“Let’s go, Sadie!” The fake blood on Adelle’s face gleams in the moonlight. “Get in. Damon wants to go to another spot.”

It’s her terrifying brother.