Hours later, Heidi waits until she’s sure Sierra and her mother are tucked away in their respective corners of misery. Then she slips out of her room, barefoot, creeping down the hallway like a burglar in what’s supposed to be her own house. She would have remained in her room had hunger not threatened to twist her stomach.
Her wolf murmurs, "Careful."
"Obviously," she mutters.
The kitchen glows under the dim under-cabinet lights. The fridge hums. The marble countertop chills the air. Heidi wonders if there’s even anything she could put in her stomach.
She reaches for the fridge handle when footsteps suddenly start to drift in her ears. She turns, sharp with panic, when her nose catches the scent in the air. She doesn’t need a PSA to know whose scent that is... Sierra.
Heidi’s body reacts before her brain catches up. She darts behind the tall pantry cabinet, pressing her body against the wood, holding her breath so tightly her lungs burn.
She doesn’t even know why she’s hiding when she literally hasn’t done anything wrong and can basically defend herself. However, raising her hands on a girl who has just lost everything and hasn’t realized it, a girl who is still in denial about how her life has taken a drastic turn is something Heidi knows she wouldn’t be proud of.
Hence, for the sake of peace, she would rather stay out of view and let the she devil pass.
Meanwhile, Sierra storms in, voice already raised into her phone.
"...no, Ivy, you don’t get it," she snaps. "She destroyed my family. That cursed thing. That Moon Blessed freak. She turned my dad against us and made my brother walk out. I’m done being nice."
Heidi tries hard not to roll her eyes. However, what she hears next makes her brows snap.!
"I’m going to kill her tonight."
Heidi’s pulse stops. Stops completely for one terrifying second.
Her wolf growls low. "Coward. She won’t dare."
Heidi isn’t so sure.
Sierra continues, voice like poison in a pretty bottle. "No, I’m not joking. I don’t care what the Pack Council says. She has to pay. I’ll make it look like self-defense or something. I don’t know... I’ll figure it out. But she’s not waking up alive tomorrow."
Heidi’s hands tremble so hard she has to grip the shelf to keep from collapsing.
The bitch is going to attempt to murder her? SERIOUSLY?!
Does Sierra really think that’s the solution to her problems?
The girl opens drawers, slamming utensils around. Metal clatters and a knife hits the countertop.
Heidi’s throat locks.
Sierra whispers something else too low to hear, then storms out of the kitchen, footsteps pounding, phone still in hand. Heidi stays frozen until the silence becomes unbearable. She peeks out.
The kitchen is empty.
Her lungs unlock in one painful rush of air.
Her wolf mutters, "She’s all bark."
"She literally has a knife," Heidi whispers back internally.
She steps toward the fridge, but her appetite has evaporated completely. Food feels like a threat now. Eating feels impossible. She grabs a glass, fills it with water, and hands shaking the entire time. She gulps it down, cold hitting her chest.
She heads back to her room, swearing that even if it was Darien who came for her tonight, she would follow him without a single thought.
Her mind spins in circles. If Sierra comes for me, and I defend myself... I get punished. If I don’t defend myself... I die. If I expose her... nobody believes me without proof. Dammit. Why didn’t I bring my phone?
Her thoughts wander to Lucan. He would’ve protected me.
But he’s gone. Out there somewhere with Eli. And Heidi is alone.
Again.
She reaches her room and locks the door, pressing her forehead against the cool wood. Her breathing is uneven but steady enough that she can finally think.
She sits on her bed, pulls her knees up, and starts planning. Strategy. Defense. Escape routes. Possible allies. Outcomes. Her wolf occasionally comments. They are a dry voice in the back of her head like a sarcastic roommate.
"She won’t risk her status. But you should be ready." Her wolf reasons.
Heidi nods, hugging her pillow tightly. Her mind runs in circles. Her heart won’t settle. Sleep stays away.
Minutes pass. Then an hour. Then another. She lies there in the dark, staring at the faint outline of her wardrobe.
About forty minutes later...
CREEEAAAK.
Her door groans. Her entire body goes rigid. The knob turns slowly and quietly. A bit of hallway light spills into her dark room. A shadow stretches across her floor. Someone is pushing the door open. Someone is inside her room.
Heidi’s breath stops. Her heartbeat punches her ribs. Her wolf tenses like a drawn bow.
The figure steps in.
Heidi keeps her eyes shut. Okay... she’s squinting through her lashes like a toddler pretending to sleep while their mother comes in to check on them.
Her breathing slows to something almost believable. Her fingers curl under the blanket. Her wolf is dead silent, which is how she knows things are bad. Even the wolf is holding its breath.
Heidi listens.
The footsteps aren’t careful. They aren’t sneaky. They’re rage-packed stomps softened only because Sierra is trying not to wake her mother. But the anger leaking into the air is unmistakably sharp, bitter, and hot.
And the scent? Yeah. It’s Sierra.
Perfume: fake peony.
Undertone: jealousy and emotional rot.
Top note: entitlement.
Heidi doesn’t even need to open her eyes to know it’s her.
Sierra stands near the door for a second, maybe trying to make sure Heidi is "asleep." Heidi resists the urge to snort. Sierra has the subtlety of a dying blender. There’s no way she’d sneak up on anyone unless the universe wanted to prank them.
The door quietly clicks shut behind her. Heidi’s eyelashes twitch.
Her wolf whispers, "She has something in her hand."
Heidi doesn’t ask how the wolf knows. Instinct sees instinct. Her breathing stays even... until she hears the metallic shing of something scraping against Sierra’s sleeve.
Heidi’s stomach drops. That’s a knife. That is a very sharp knife.
Sierra whispers, "Finally," under her breath with unhinged satisfaction.