Chapter 16
Devon’s POV
The house was too quiet without Mom. The kind of quiet that made
fou stomach feel funny, like when I ate too much candy and got caught. Diana was lying on her bed, staring at the celling with her “thinking face,” the one where her nose scrunched up like she smelled something bad.
“I can’t sleep,” I whispered, even though I did not have to.
“I know,” Diana said, rolling over to look at me. “Me neither. It is because Mommy’s not here. She always kisses our foreheads before we sleep. It’s magic or something.”
I nodded, hugging Mr. Snuffles, my stuffed wolf, closer. “Maybe she is fighting bad guys again.”
“Or maybe she’s with him,” Diana said, her voice all huffy, likely jealous of the attention.
I knew who she meant. Killian. The big, funny Alpha who kept looking at Mom like she was chocolate cake. I like him so much, he was like a Daddy to us.
“Let’s go find her,” I said suddenly, sitting up in bed.
Diana blinked at me. “How?”
“We will drive,” I said, puffing up my chest. “I watched Mommy do it a hundred times. It’s easy.”
She sat up too, her eyes wide with excitement. “We are not allowed, though.”
I grinned. “That’s why it’s a secret mission.”
We snuck downstairs like ninjas, tiptoeing past the big grandfather clock that always made creepy ticking noises. The car keys were on the counter, right where Mom left them. Diana grabbed them before I could, shaking them like she just found treasure.
“I’m the driver,” she announced.
“No way!” I whispered back, snatching them from her. “I said the plan, so I drive.”
“But I’m older!” she argued.
“By two minutes!” I shot back. I did not like it when she acted like that yet she still cried like a little baby when get hurt. That’s why I always look after her.
She crossed her arms. “Two minutes is two minutes, Devon”
“Fine. We both drive,” I said, pushing open the door to the garage.
Diana’s eyes lit up. “Co–pilots!” she excitedly cheered but hushed her not to be too noisy because we might get caught by Annie, the nanny jumping like a bunny.
The car was shiny and black, and it smelled like Mom’s perfume inside. I climbed into the driver’s seat while Diana scrambled in next to me.
“Where’s the start button?” I whispered, pressing random things.
Diana pointed. “There! Push it!”
The engine roared to life, and we both squealed, covering our ears. “It’s so loud!” Diana yelled.
I adjusted the seat like I had seen Mom do, except my feet did not reach the pedals. Diana smacked her forehead
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Chapter 16
dramatically. “You are too short. This is a disaster.”
“Am not,” I argued, trying to sit taller. “I’ll use a stick or something.”
“You’re gonna crash us.”
“No, I’m not!”
Spoiler alert: I did.
We did not even make it out of the driveway, when I lost control of the steering wheel and the car jerked forward, smashing into the mailbox with a horrible crunch.
“Oh no!” Diana shouted, her hands flying to her face.
“Don’t tell me ‘oh no! You’re the one who said to push the button and was pushing the stick on the gas!”
“Yeah, but you are the one who hit the mailbox, genius!”
I threw the car keys on the floor, panic bubbling up in my chest. “What do we do?!”
Diana climbed out of the car, her hands on her hips like Mom did when she was mad. “We leave it,” she said, all serious. “No one will know it was us.”
Ifrowned. “What about the big dent?”
She shrugged. “Mailboxes fall over all the time. Duh.”
“Fine,” I muttered, grabbing Mr. Snuffles before following her outside. “But now what?”
“We walk,” she declared.
“Walk?
“Walk? Like, walk–walk?”
“Unless you wanna stay here and wait for Mom to come back and find out we broke her car, or get caught by Annie. bunny?”
That shut me up really fast.
We walked for a long time with the cool night air nipping at my cheeks. The woods were dark, the trees making weird shadow shapes on the ground. I held Mr. Snuffles tight, glancing at Diana every few seconds to make sure she was still there.
“Do you think there are bears?” I whispered.
“No,” she said, but then she looked around like maybe there could be. “But if there are, I’ll scare them away.”
“With what? Your big mouth?”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “No, with this.” She picked up a stick, waving it like a sword.
“That’s not scary,” I said, but I grabbed a stick too. Just in case.
The night felt forever long, and my legs started to ache. Diana yawned, rubbing her eyes.
“Maybe we should stop,” she said finally, dropping her stick.
“But we haven’t found Mommy yet,” I argued.
“I know, but…” She plopped down on the ground, crossing her legs. “I’m sleepy.‘
I sat next to her, leaning against a tree. The forest smelled like dirt and leaves and a little bit like a wet dog. “Okay.
Chapter 16
We’ll rest. Just for a little bit.”
“Promise you won’t let the bears get me?” she mumbled, er head already drooping onto my shoulder.
“Promise,” I said, even though I was not totally sure I could keep it.
The morning came too fast. The sun peeked through the trees, waking me up with its bright, annoying light. Diana was still snoring softly next to me and her hair was all tangled like a bird’s nest.
“Wake up,” I whispered, mudging her.
She groaned, swatting at me. “Five more minutes.”
“Nope. We have to keep going.”
She sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning like a cat. “Fine. But you owe me pancakes after this.”
We walked until the woods started thinning out and the sound of cars in the distance made my heart jump..
“Do you hear that?” I asked, grabbing Diana’s arm.
“Yeah. Maybe it’s Mommy!”
We ran toward the noise, bursting out of the trees and onto the road. Cars zoomed past, their horns blaring like
angry geese.
“Should we wave?” Diana asked, her tiny hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
Before I could answer, a big, black SUV slowed down, its tires crunching on the gravel. The window rolled down, and a man with sunglasses leaned out.
“Hey, kids,” he said, his voice was smooth but weird. “You lost?”
Diana glanced at me, then back at him. “Maybe.”
“Where’s your mom?”
“We are looking for her,” I said, stepping closer to Diana, just in case the guy do something really bad.
The man smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “Hop in. We will help you find her.”
Diana tugged on my sleeve. “Devon…”
“I don’t think “I started, but the man opened the door, cutting me off, offering us a ride. I hesitated, what if he was a bad guy?
“Come on,” he said, his smile growing wider. “It’s not safe out here.”
