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truck.
    I couldn’t hunt after that. I sat in the truck and waited for him. When he finally returned, he was dressed and clean with no outward sign of injury, but he didn’t get into the truck straight away. He leaned against the door, gagging, before joining me.
    “I don’t want to hear it,” he snapped.
    I didn’t say a word, but I knew I would never follow Jeremy. He could never lead me. I didn’t want to be that kind of werewolf, that kind of man. I was finally seeing clearly.
    The drive back seemed to take forever, but that was partly because of the deathly silence in the truck. No music, no talking, and we both made a point of turning away from each other. Byron had been right about us. There would always be competition and tension between us because I knew I would never let Jeremy above me in the pack, and I could guarantee he thought the exact same thing.
    We got back to the hotel to find a furious Opa struggling with Willow .
    “Where have you been?” he demanded. “She’s been throwing herself against the wall for the last hour.”
    Blood matted her hair, making it stick to her temples. Her skin was incredibly pale, but the blankness in her eyes was what stood out.
    “I’ll deal with her,” Jeremy said.
    “Sure that’s a good idea?” I couldn’t help asking.
    Opa looked at us both with a great deal of curiosity.
    “Think you’d be able for it?” Jeremy retorted.
    “No more leaving without my permission,” Opa said. “This journey isn’t over, and I won’t have you wasting your energy. We could be attacked at any time.”
    I stared at Jeremy in disgust. “Yeah. That’s the worst that could happen.”
    I stayed in the room I shared with Jeremy for the rest of the evening, going to bed early to avoid seeing him.
    My family wasn’t as perfect as Amelia once liked to make out. Opa and Jeremy were one and the same, capable of doing terrible things. I wasn’t that far from becoming exactly like them. Where did it end? Perdita’s words echoed in my head all night. I couldn’t stay with them for much longer. I needed back in the security of Byron’s protection, his roof, his rules. I needed to be around people who thought that violence and murder were last resorts, not first options.
    I needed to go home.

Chapter Three
     

    Perdita

    A trickle of red ran from my wrist and pooled in the crook of my inner elbow. I brushed the liquid away impatiently, staining most of my forearm in the process.
    “Oh, my God!” Gran exclaimed from the doorway.
    I rolled my eyes at her exaggerated excitement. “Yes?”
    “That looks amazing . He’s going to be pleased, so pleased, when he sees it.”
    That was the welcome home banner Gran was making me paint, but I was so nervous about Dad’s return that I kept making a mess.
    “Oh, I can’t wait to hang it up. I can only imagine how happy he’ll be when he comes home.”
    I couldn’t take any more. “Gran, he’s dreading coming home. He hates everyone in the world right now, and we’re going to bear the brunt of it. A stupid homemade banner isn’t going to change that.”
    Her face fell.
    “We’ll be okay eventually, but I can’t pretend he likes me very much right now. He’s never been this pissed at me before.”
    She walked behind my chair and rested her hands on my shoulders. “I know, but he’s not himself at the moment. That’s all. We’ll get through this together.” She released her grip with a breathy gasp.
    I looked around to see her holding a sheet in her hand: a picture I hadn’t torn up yet.
    “Perdy,” she said, her voice trembling, “This is just wonderful .”
    “What?” That hadn’t been the reaction I was expecting.
    She put down the page and flicked through a sketchpad, then her gaze fell upon the bin full of scrunched up pages. She glanced at me. “You didn’t.” She grabbed a handful of pages and made an attempt to straighten them out.
    “Gran, that’s private.”
    “Private?” Her face cleared of