“You’re not my buddy,” I said through clenched teeth.

Koda took a step but stopped when I unleashed another ferocious growl. “She must have injured herself when she jumped from the car,” he murmured to the others.

My breath came out in quick frantic bursts. Either they were losing their minds or I was. More footsteps approached. My sisters screamed when they saw me.

Taran tried to shove her way forward. “What the hell did you do to her?”

Gemini snatched her around the waist and hauled her back. “She attacked us while we were driving. I’m not sure what provoked her.”

Furious tears leaked from my eyes. “I did not. You attacked me!”

Liam’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. She believes what she’s saying.”

Gemini released Taran and spoke with a soft but level voice. “We didn’t attack you, Celia. We merely attempted to restrain you when you assaulted us.”

My sisters drew back, absolutely sickened. “I didn’t,” I cried. “You have to believe me.”

My sisters exchanged glances. The wolves’ crimson-splattered shirts hung in tatters from where my claws had struck, and blood coated their hair and faces. Hell, I guess I wouldn’t have believed me either.

Gemini inched forward. “Let’s take her back to the Den. Perhaps the Elders can help—”

“No! I’m not going anywhere with you!” My instinct to run took over. I made the mistake of trying to barrel through the wolves. Koda immediately seized my waist. My fangs shot out and dug into his shoulder.

“Shit. Get her legs!”

I changed, only to collapse on my damaged limbs. My sisters shrieked. The wolves wrestled with me along the ground, struggling to restrain my 370-pound form. My roars of pain echoed out of the alleyway and into the darkening sky as my damaged bones snapped beneath me.

“Put her out, Taran!” Gemini hollered. “She’s going to kill herself.”

—

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up crying.

My sisters surrounded me, their faces grim. Blotches smeared Emme’s fair skin and puffy eyes. Misha waited in the corner, standing perfectly still. If it weren’t for his scent of sex and chocolate, I’d never have noticed him. Emme moved when he approached, so he could sit beside me. He pulled me into an embrace. I let my head fall against him, comforted by the knowledge that he could never hurt me.

Unlike the wolves.

“How long have I been out?”

“Just a few hours, dude. You woke up when it started to rain.”

Taran swore and paced in front of the bed. “We’ve called a psychologist. She’ll be evaluating you in the morning.”

I stared at the wall of my room. It was a soft sage, such a pretty color…peaceful. “That’s not necessary. I’m leaving tomorrow and taking Bren with me.”

Misha’s arms tightened around me. “No.”

Emme leaned forward. “You’re sick, sweetheart. You need help.”

I stood abruptly and went to the window. “The only thing I need is to get out of this cursed state.”

“Damnit, Celia. You can’t just run away from your problems!”

Shayna’s voice broke. “And what about us, Ceel? We always promised to be together.”

I began to hum. It no doubt reinforced their belief that I was loony, but it helped soothe me and kept me from having to explain myself. One by one, everyone left.

I stepped into the family room sometime later. Emme sat alongside Bren, combing through his thickened beard and trimming it with long, sharp scissors. He grinned at her and so did Little Bren.

I smiled softly. “You have quite an effect on him.”

Emme blushed without skipping a beat. “We bathed him after I healed your fractures. I think Taran was a little jealous she couldn’t, you know, get him to react like this.”

“Are you serious?”

Emme nodded. “Yes, but after all, she’s always been the man-eater.” She placed the scissors on the table and stopped smiling. “Celia, when you leave, I’d like to go with you.”

As far as I was concerned, everyone was better off without me. “You need to stay with Taran and Shayna.”

She shook her head. “They have their wolves. I’ll only be in the way.”

“No, Emme.”

She maneuvered her way around the sofa and gripped my hands. “Please, Celia. I can take care of you and Bren. Maybe you won’t need Haldol if I try healing you every day.”

My laugh bordered on fanatical and probably frightened her. She thought I needed antipsychotic medication. In my attempt to deal with my problems, all I’d managed was to convince everyone I was nuts.

Emme’s sweet expression held all the world’s hope. She didn’t want me to leave her behind. I squeezed her hands. It would be nice to have her with me. In time, I could tell her about the baby. “Okay, Emme. You can come with me.”

She threw her arms around me. I hugged her back. The way she loved, I knew she’d make a perfect aunt.

—

Emme drove us to Dollar Point in the morning to gather our belongings. I’d spent most of the night trying to reach Danny. He failed to answer my calls, texts, and emails. I prayed he was just lying low and off Anara’s radar. Knowing Anara would have rubbed Danny’s death in my face gave me hope he was still alive.

Our horrible neighbor, Mrs. Mancuso, watched us unload the empty boxes from our Tribeca. All it took was a simple glance her way and out came her middle finger. She stood behind her hummingbird curtains, keeping her finger erect until we stepped onto our porch. I sighed. Mrs. Mancuso’s sunny disposition was just another reminder that I needed to get the hell out of California.

Emme had called our sisters to tell them we were leaving. Taran flipped out and demanded to speak to me. I refused. They thought I was crazy. Nothing I could have said would’ve changed their minds. Emme also explained she would be leaving with me. Needless to say, they weren’t happy campers. Taran swore bloody murder into the phone until Emme eventually hung up. So there I was, packing like the dickens, before they could show up and drag me off to the nearest psych ward.

Misha refused to accept I was leaving. I contemplated my goodbye with him while I boxed a few kitchen appliances. My sisters were one thing. It would kill me to leave them, but they had their mates and their happily-ever-afters. Who did Misha have? The horny Catholic schoolgirls, that’s who.