Page 102 of Wolf

Eventually, I give up on my swirling thoughts and get up to go pee, pausing on the way back to my room when I see that Mercy and Rachel’s door is open.

When I peek inside, I find Mercy fast asleep, her covers shoved to the foot of the bed. To my dismay, Rachel’s side is empty.

I creep back into the hall and explore the living room and kitchen before heading back to my room.

Although I’m annoyed by Rachel’s behavior, I can’t blame her for wanting to escape, and beyond that, I’m worried. It’s a dangerous world out there.

To distract myself from my thoughts, I dig out the phone, buried beneath my winter sweaters and stuck between two bibles before sitting on the bed.

I’d like to think God is on my side and I admit, I get a guilty thrill hiding the phone between Daddy’s supposed scripture.

My heart skips a beat when I find a new message. Eagerly I click inside.

It’s okay, I went to the doctor today. False alarm

Oh, thank God.

Relief makes me lightheaded before I tap out a response.I’m so glad, I prayed for you

Miriam:Don’t waste prayer on me, I’m already damned ;)

Lilli:Don’t say that!

Miriam:Joking…I never got to ask you what happened

I don’t know what to say. I’ve never lied to my sister, but it would be unfair to put her in the position of lying to Duke.

Instead, I settle for a partial truth.I couldn’t leave the girls alone

She doesn’t respond after that and contemplating my words, I wince and send one last message before hiding the phone back between the Bibles.

You had no choice, Mir. No one blames you

Chapter 30

Wolf

My stomach roils as I sit across from my sister, and she avoids my gaze. I know we’re not close, but she’s never had a problem meeting my eyes while she lectures me.

What happened to her in that fucking basement? She’s been quiet on that front up until now. Thank fuck she agreed to speak to me but what I don’t understand is why she refused to have Duke here too.

Between the two of us, she spent more time with our brother than she did me. I would assume she’d be more comfortable with him here. I guess I was wrong.

She clears her throat, and I eye her pulse, pounding under skin. It reminds me of Lilli in that alley, but I push the thought away.

After what happened to my sister, I can only be thankful that Lilli is far away from this mess. I love being MC and I wouldn’t trade it away because it’s a part of me but knowing Lilli would be a constant target for my enemies is not something I want to consider.

Ironically, despite her psycho parents, it turns out Lilli is safer where she is.

“Mom’s been trying to reach you,” I say and mentally wince at my attempt to break the ice when she stiffens.

“I know.”

She raises her ocean blue eyes and blinks before saying, “I’m going to tell you two things. That’s it. I’m not going to talk about…”

My heart clenches but I slowly nod. This isn’t my story and as much as I’d like to know the entirety, I can’t force my sister to tell it.

Holding up one finger, she exhales and says, “This was a few years ago. I overhead my dad and Grandpa. They were talking about Diablo. It didn’t really make a lot of sense, just that he knew something, and they didn’t like it. Does that make sense?”

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