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Finally, a "what if" she liked

Would calling a h? Or would she simply earn the wrath of soht And besides, she’d already earned their wrath So, next question: when to begin? Aden would be busy ; he had an appointment with his therapist and a dinner at the D and M Ranch But Riley and Victoria, and even Lauren, could help her They’d all planned to meet up anyway, but if Mary Ann struck out on her own, she could find the witches, call her friends, and they could bag and tag Of course, Victoria and Lauren ht wonder exactly how Mary Ann was able to sense witches now, and Riley had told her not to tell anyone about her new ability With very good reason

Crap Victoria and Lauren were out Mary Ann would have to rely on Riley Only Riley Her stoain After all, she hadn’t told him about Aden’s possible murder And she’d broken up with hie her mind Don’t cry That didn’t h Didn’t ether, amicably, to save their lives Couldn’t they? Yes Yes, they could And next time she saw him, she would tell him so Even yell at him if she had to

He’d coolden ho had followed her and Penny that night--to walk her hoone, she didn’t know She’d asked the brothers, but they had ignored her,step beside her

Now she pounded inside her house, shutting the two out before they could race past the front door Her dad could barely tolerate Riley No way she’d introduce him to two more wolves Wolves she didn’t even know, at that Wolves who clearly hadn’t wanted her to know theain Riley’s location

Nothing

"Do you have the same parents as Riley?"

Nothing

"Are you nervous about the death curse placed on hiiven up on that, too Her relationship with their brother was over--seriously, don’t cry--so of course they hated her and wanted nothing to do with her

She sighed Her dad was still at work, the house silent Mary Ann sprinted up the stairs, down the hall and into her bedrooether and created a bright rainbow haze Usually she found comfort in that Today, not so much

At her desk, she withdrew her cell phone fro to do this?

Ato do this There was no other way Just after she punched the first word in her text, her house phone rang Frowning, she leaned over to the unit poised at the edge of her desk and glanced at the caller ID Penny

Though she felt harried, Mary Ann answered "Hello"

"Hey, you You raced out of school today before I could talk to you"

"Sorry I just--" What? Telling the truth wasn’t an option

"I hardly see you anys lee in Penny’s tone, Mary Ann had no doubts about what her friend was thinking

"I can’t sneak out again," she lied, and hated herself Honesty was prized, but she didn’t want Penny involved in tonight’s hunt "I need my rest" Now that was the truth She needed it, but she wouldn’t get it

"Oh Well, that’s too bad because I hear a big group of kids will be roaned "That’s not safe"

"The fun things never are"

"You’re going?"

"Nah Not if you’re staying in The baby…"

"Are you sick?"

"A little Only, it’s not just httiet this I think I saw Tucker today"

Mary Ann straightened, her ears perking "Me, too Yesterday, IHe was in the trees when I walked out of school Not that he bothered to coone so fast I couldn’t tell if it had really been hi about? After surviving a vampire attack, he’d vowed to behave "Just…be careful Okay?"

"I will Love you, Mary Contrary"

"Love you, too, Penn"

As she hung up, Mary Ann spied another of her candy bars from the corner of her eye Herpast the wrapper, lifting the chocolate sticks and holding the of moisture in her mouth

She’d been without any food for nearly a week Well, except for that one bite of Snickers, but it didn’t count since she’d i His opinion doesn’t matter You can’t have him

Don’t cry

She sed the lump in her throat, set the candy bar aside and reclaiers, she typed the rest of the text to Riley He rarely used his phone, but she wasn’t going to concern herself with that It would be his fault if hewitches Either come with me or don’t Up to you Either way, I’m headed out without the others

Good or bad, she had to try to find theot ho with friends, be back later--and not have to endure the Spanish Inquisition

Are you really going to do this?

Yes, she thought again She was Though her tre increased, she pressed "send"

ADEN LAY ON Dr Hennessy’s couch again, the rooround He waited…craving answers…