THE TOM HAD DROPPED me back where we’d started, with the promise to be in touch by noon the next day, if he hadn’t heard anything sooner. The thought alone of pausing the search for that long had my hands twitching and my strides jerky, and I still had to face Dad and Ethan.
For a handful of beats, as I stood on the forest boundary, staring across the back garden of home, I considered chickening out, just finding somewhere else to hole up for the hours-long wait. I had my mobile, so what else did I need? I couldn’t do it, though. Not to Dad. Not to Ethan. If honest, I also couldn’t be that inconsiderate to the pack—not if I didn’t want them sending out a search party and hunting me down. I knew the first place they’d look would be Brook’s address, and the Toms would only see that as retal
