Fern hugs me when we meet. I hug her back, and I almost cry again. I’ve been so weepy since I got kicked out of my pack.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” I mumble, squeezing my favorite cousin tight. “I’ve had the worst day.”

  “Well, I might make it worse. Or better! Who’s to say?”

  I frown as I pull away. Fern seems anxious, more than usual. She has a Walmart bag with her today. “I’m gonna ignore that cryptic warning. What’s in the bag?”

  Fern brightens. “Food! I remembered you said the Bonecrusher doesn’t eat.”

  I take the bag and search eagerly. Cookies, chips, lots of slim Jims. “Did you rob a gas station?”

  “I would never steal anything from humans.” Fern is offended by my joke. I laugh and she eventually smiles. “Sorry I couldn’t get more. Mom’s been on edge since…you know. She’s watching us like hawks.”

  I put the bag down on Grampire’s side of the river, suddenly uneasy. “Did you talk to the pack about me coming back?”

  Fern sighs. “Yeah. I told Dad you were safe and the Bonecrusher’s taking care of you. But he didn’t seem happy. He said as long as you have that evil tattoo, there’s no way he’s allowing you back.”

  I look to my toes, a sour taste at the back of my tongue. I don’t know why Uncle Alder hates me so much. We’re family. We’re supposed to be as close as anyone can possibly be. I don’t know what I did wrong. I mean, I know he’s afraid of the death mark, but our relationship was bad even before the lightning incident. The earlier depression is coming back.

  Fern nudges my hand. “Hey, don’t give up yet. It’s just the mark; I’m sure once it’s gone, he’ll change his tune. Did the wizard find a way to remove it?”

  “I wish. We had to fight him because he was pissed I ruined his garden.”

  “No!”

  “Yes! And it sucked! Look at this.” I hold up my shirt so Fern can see the sickening purple bruise across my stomach. Fern gasps and touches my skin. Even her fingertips hurt.

  “Oh goddess, Kudzu. This looks horrible—you almost died!”

  “Tell me about it. And now Grampire is pissed at me and she’s making me learn how to fight.” I lower my shirt, feeling rotten again. “I don’t want to fight. I want to go home.”

  I can’t stand the pity in Fern’s eyes, so I look away. She shuffles her feet, the river water making soothing splashing noises. “I hate to say it, but the Bonecrusher’s right. If mean old wizards can do this much damage, you gotta learn to defend yourself.”

  I rub my face with my hands. I thought Fern would be on my side. She doesn’t know how to fight either. At least…I don’t think so? “Do you know anything about fighting?”

  Fern shrugs. “A little. Hard not to when you have a dick of an older brother.”

  Oh, that makes sense. I’m an only child, so I didn’t have siblings to play and wrestle with. When I joined Uncle Alder’s pack at ten, Acacia and Rowan were too old to play-fight with, and Fern and I hardly ever fight. When we do, it’s usually us getting too rowdy on a full moon and we stop and apologize as soon as the play-bites start to hurt. The thought gives me an idea. “Wait, maybe we can practice! Like a spar session.”

  Fern nods slowly. “Yeah. I’d like to get better at fighting too. Honestly, this death mark stuff is kinda scaring me.”

  My heart races uncomfortably. “You’re not scared of me too, are you?”

  “No, of course not. But everyone’s really on edge lately, and where there’s one curse, there might be another. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared.” Fern nudges my arm in my silence. “Plus, I don’t want you to get zapped again. That bruise looks horrible. You should go to a hospital.”

  “No time.” I look up at the sky. It’s just beginning to get a tinge of orange. I bet Grampire will be ready for whatever she’s planning at nightfall. “Can we try it now?”

  Fern grins. “Sure, but you won’t win.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  I grin back. “Big talk for someone who still sleeps with a stuffed rabbit.”

  “You leave Rabitha out of this!” Fern checks the area, then goes behind a wide tree on her side of the river. When she emerges, she’s a wolf. Her reddish-brown fur gleams in the setting sun. “Can you understand me? Because…”

  “Yeah,” I say before she can continue to remind me I’m in exile. “I just can’t understand the others when they’re not talking to me.”

  “Perfect.” Fern looks back, ears swiveling, but returns her attention to me. “I’m not going into the Bonecrusher’s territory, so you come here.”

  I hesitate, staring at the boundary. Grampire told me never to cross the river again. But it’s my territory too. I patrolled the boundaries so often, took care of the shared cabin, helped watch the babies. I can go if I want. Besides, Grampire said never cross unless you’re fighting or invited, and this time, I’m both.

  I step out of the river and into my old territory. Shivers of fear or warning snake down my spine, but it’s over quickly. I’ll just ignore it. Everything’s fine. I bound to the wide tree and change out of my clothes, placing them carefully by Fern’s. I shake my head and I’m a wolf too. I blink to refocus my eyes and wince at the heightened noise in my ears.

  “Come on,” Fern calls. I trot over, and she bows playfully. My body mimics her position without my permission. Both our tails are wagging. Sometimes wolf instincts overpower us before we have a chance to think about it. I’m reminded uneasily of the night my life changed, when I couldn’t think of anything except GET AWAY FROM THEM. That meant Fern too at the time. But not today. Today, I’m calm and not panicked; I’m just playing a game with my cousin. My fur is smooth and I resist the urge to sneeze, the canine way of reassuring your play-partner that this isn’t a real fight.

  “What’re the rules?” Fern asks. She does sneeze, and looks embarrassed afterwards. I laugh and touch my nose to hers.

  “I guess we should see who can flip the other on their back?” That’s usually a fight-ender, because if your belly is exposed, that means you’re submitting to your opponent. I’ve never seen a fight go further than that.

  Fern nods. “Okay. If I’m too rough, just say stop.”

  I bow again. “That’s what you’ll be saying!”

  Fern shows her teeth, and I’m suddenly back to that night, Uncle Alder snarling at me. My muscles lock up in fright. But my cousin sneezes right after, and my body relaxes. It’s just a game. I’ve got to stop being so jumpy. “Ready?”

  “Ready.” Fern sounds confident. “Go!”

  I jump first and grab Fern’s scruff with my teeth. She yelps in surprise, but even when I grab her, I can’t move her. She’s not that much bigger than I am, how—

  Fern twists toward me and grabs my throat. She lifts her head and in a second I’m flat on my back, winded, staring up at the dense treetops and blue sky. I blink rapidly, and Fern’s snout appears in my field of vision.

  “You okay?” Fern asks anxiously. “Sorry, I was too rough. I’m used to fighting with Rowan.”

  I take a painful breath. I had no idea Fern was so strong! She’s on the small side for our pack, much smaller than her brother. I guess she had to learn how to defend herself long before I joined. I nod, determined. “Best two out of three.”

  Fern laughs as she backs up. “Don’t hurt yourself, Kudzu. You did almost die by crazed wizard.”

  “Key word is almost.” I roll over and shake loose leaves off my fur. “You won’t win this time!”

  Unfortunately, I’m dead wrong. Fern flips me once, twice, three times. With each takedown, it’s harder to fight back tears. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe how behind I am! I can’t even get a good bite on Fern; she’s slippery and too strong for me to muscle over. I don’t have a chance against any more wizards. If the sorcerer wants me dead, it’s just gonna happen. I’m doomed.

  Fern looks down at me after the fourth flip. “Best five out of nine?”

  “No.” I groan and roll over. I don’t bother to stand up. I’m too depressed, and my already-sore stomach is sending needles of pain up my back. “I give up. You win.”

  Fern sits on her haunches next to me. “Don’t get down. You gotta practice.”

  “I don’t wanna practice. I wanna be good at it right now.”

  Fern shoves me with her front paws, making me roll over to the side. “Nothing’s like that! Don’t be a baby.”

  I want to snap that maybe she should think about how high the stakes are for me compared to her, but that would be a baby thing to say. I’m sad and depressed and jealous, and I’m sure Grampire is gonna make me drink the blood of my enemies or something. I just want everything to go back to normal. I didn’t have to learn how to fight when I was sneaking into the Wizard’s garden. I sigh. Those days are long over.

  “Besides, we learned one good thing.”

  “What?”

  Fern looks at me, her green eyes glowing a bit in the darkening night. “You always made the first move, sometimes before I could even react. You’re very fast.”

  I blink. I start to answer, but a different voice calls out.

  “Kid? Where are ya?”

  I rocket to my feet. Grampire will kill me if she sees me on my old territory. “I gotta go.”

  “Me too,” Fern says, backing away from the river. “Seeing the Bonecrusher once in my life was enough for me.”

  I bump her side playfully. “She’s really nice, I swear! She does have a pile of bones in her living room though.”

  “And I’m not trying to add to that. Goodbye!” Fern rubs her forehead against mine affectionately. “See you later. Good luck tonight.”

  I rub my cheek against hers. “Thanks. I’ll text you later, if my phone’s not dead.”

  Fern nods and gathers her clothes in her mouth. She looks back at me one more time, but then runs off. I watch the trees swallow her up and listen to her footsteps grow fainter and fainter. When I can’t hear her, Grampire calls again.

  “This is so fuckin annoying—pup! I know you hear me!”

  I sigh, but if I was human, I’d be smiling. I grab my clothes and leap over the river into Grampire’s territory. I glance over my shoulder at my old territory after I scoop up the Walmart bag of food Fern brought me, but all I see are trees swaying in the warm wind. Grampire hollers for me again, and I turn away from my old home. My body relaxes a little as I run back toward the house and the elderly vampire calling me.