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“Okay, whatever. I can’t deal with this right now.” I shoved past him, and he didn’t resist me, stepping aside. “Do whatever you want. Stay. Leave. I don’t care.”

I didn’t bother to look back at them as I rounded the corner and rushed up the stairs.

Tears I’d fought to keep at bay slid down my cheeks as I collapsed onto my bed, screaming into my pillow.

It seemed Grandma sensed what I’d done last night.

While I played silly games with a book and invited demons into my home, Grandma took her last breath, paying for my disregard of the veil between worlds.

If I hadn’t performed the ritual, would Grandma still be here?

9

SHADOW FRIENDS

ZEKE

If someone asked me if I cared about the inner workings of humans, my answer would be a resounding no. I wasn’t anti-human or anything. They weren’t that different from me. But I never understood why others of my kind obsessed over them.

Why then, if I wasn’t interested, was I standing at the foot of the pretty human’s bed watching her sleep like a creepy stalker?

Yesterday, Ash stopped me from chasing her after I heard her crying upstairs. He said to let her mourn in peace. Who mourned in peace?

I hadn’t lost anyone important, but I knew if something happened to Cyn or the guys, I’d want my brothers around for comfort.

When I asked why Ash assumed she’d want to be alone instead of comforted, Cyn posed another, pointed question: “Why do you care if a human needs comfort? You don’t know her.” His words stopped me from pursuing Rae, and I questioned again why I was so drawn to her.

I didn’t like strangers. I preferred being with my brothers because they understood me.

Everyone else misunderstood me and scolded me like a child, even at twenty-one. They treated me like a bargaining tool instead of a real person, wanting whatever they could take. They made me think I was nothing more than broken and unworthy, even if they needed me.

I waited until everyone fell asleep. It took a long time because Ash and Ezra spent most of the night hashing out what we needed to do to get home.

Once they finally dropped it and went to sleep, I escaped upstairs to check on Rae. She’d spent all day alone up there, and listening to her cry made my chest ache.

When I checked on her, I found her fast asleep, curled in her bedding. I suspected she hadn’t slept well after hearing about her grandmother’s death, so I left her alone and went downstairs to sleep, only to seek her out again hours later.

My gaze traced her tanned leg as she hitched it over the comforter, rolling onto her side.

I couldn’t see higher than mid-thigh, but either she wore short shorts or she wasn’t wearing anything below the waist. The sight stirred something in my stomach, though the straps of her tank top told me she wasn’t naked.

Soft streetlight leaked through her blinds, enough to highlight tattoos on her arm and thigh, but not enough to make out the designs.

The sun would rise soon. The others would wake and question me if they found me here, but something about Rae called to me. I couldn’t tear myself away, and I knew I was meant to be here—but why?

I crept closer, compelled to see her face before I left her alone.

Her hair partly obscured her face, the hairband loose, strands slipping from her bun—another sign of a fitful sleep.

Sighing, I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair back from her face, my fingertips grazing her cheek.

She swatted my hand. “Stop it, Max.”

Max? Who’s Max?

Before I could move away, she rolled toward me and slung an arm over my shoulder, dragging me down beside her. Burying her face in the crook of my neck, she hugged me tight.

I froze at the unexpected affection, unsure of how to react. I’d never cuddled with a woman before.