The sky had decided to hold off on rain for now. Instead, the grey clouds hung above like a gloomy threat.

I trudged along the north road, an embarrassing amount of nerves filling my gut.

Logically that was absurd. I had just faced horrors that would scare most people for the rest of their lives. I knew Blair now. It wasn’t like I was expecting a trap or something.

But they say you fear the unknown, and things like Old Tom’s Pass were familiar in comparison to this.

I could count the number of social gatherings I had been to with the living on one hand. And half of those had been mandatory school events.

Christ, Alder. You're a grown-ass man. Get it together.

I walked a few more steps. Well, my anxiety was still there. Shit, I guess I need to work on my self-pep talks.

A tendril of something dark and greasy poked from the bushes. Was that a magical construct or physical? I went to the other side of the road. I scanned my surroundings. Oh, I was next to The Lot. So physical, then.

The empty hole where a house should go held more than the errant tentacle, but they stayed in their lane. I glanced at the tendril. Usually.

I walked past, and while the tendril twitched a few times, it didn’t try anything.

Ten minutes later, the manor's drive came into view.

A far more rational fear reared its head. This pine-lined drive held memories. Ones I was not eager to revisit.

I stepped onto the drive, and a memory did surface, but to my surprise, it wasn’t unpleasant.

Master Bram laughs, a shovel in hand as he helps me dig. The flower beds are almost done, and as Master puts it, “they will be a welcome sight to visitors weary from travel.” As we finish the last one, a wave of satisfaction rolls over me. A job well done.

I blinked away the vision, but my eyes saw the same thing, minus the people.

Bright blue flowers lined the entrance to the drive, and I had to admit, they were a welcome sight.

He never stopped tending to them, even in the throes of his madness.

I shook my head and kept going. I didn’t look at the shack I knew would be there. I didn’t think the memory that brought me would be happy.

I made it up the drive without any more issues. There had been a presence to the manor, a hot, hateful weight that had resonated from every tree, every blade of grass.

Now that was gone, and something warmer had taken its place.

I thought of those flowers on the drive.

Niall’s hatred had infused this place for a long time, but it hadn’t been the manor's foundation. That had been something warm, something welcoming. And now that Niall’s influence was gone, that foundation was showing through.

And it seemed to be distancing this place from the worst of the memories, at least enough that I wasn’t getting a flashback every step.

I paused as I made it to the top of the drive—more cars were parked out front.

There was the Pack’s van, all covered in wolf iconography and bad puns.

Stolen novel; please report.

But next to it, we’re two other large black vans, the kind you’d expect bank robbers to use in a heist film.

Okay. Had more of the Northwoods pack arrived?

From what I understood, Blair and her Pack were part of the greater Northwoods Pack, which was led by her parents, but separate as well.

Kind of like a noble house where her parents were the king and queen.

…What do I do now? Blair had invited me, and I’d said I would come.

But…more people.

No! Bad Alder, don’t chicken out.

Yes, I was being a chicken, but I didn’t have a cell phone for Blair to call if things changed. I had a landline whose number I hadn’t given her.

I stalled at the front steps for an embarrassingly long time before reaching for the knocker.

Anxiety still churning away, I knocked.

One of the doors immediately swung open. An unfamiliar woman stood on the other side.

She was average height for a werewolf, so about six foot. She had short black hair that hung past her chin, narrow features, and a black dress shirt and matching slacks.

She stared down at me, her expression cold. “This is private property.”

I looked around at the mansion and did my best to look startled. “This isn’t the bus stop?”

She frowned and took a step forward.

I raised my hands. “Hold on now. I’m not looking to get beat up by a werewolf. I was invited.”

She paused, her brown eyes switching from ice cold to mild curiosity. “Hedge mage?”

I shrugged. “I can do a bit of magic, but it’s not good for much.”

All true, and hopefully wouldn’t count as a lie to her nose or ears or however the hell that worked.

I had spent a lot of time thinking of ways to dodge questions like that one.

And just because Blair knew I was a Telss didn’t mean the rest of her Pack did.

“Invited by who?”

Footsteps sounded behind the woman, and one of Blair’s Pack came into view. Her name was… I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her name, and if I had, I didn’t remember.

“Blair invited him.”

The woman eyed me up and down again, a slightly disapproving look in her gaze.

“Man, you sure know how to make a guy feel welcome.”

The woman ignored me and turned to the other woman. “Really, Laurel? You're having guests over now?”

Laurel! That was it…actually, no, it didn’t ring a bell. I just hadn’t heard her name earlier.

Laurel cocked a black brow and held up her hand. “We have 8 days before the summit, we have the vouchers needed, and all of our other preparations have been made. Oh, and he is the reason we have vouchers. So maybe lay off, Margret.”

Margret's eyes went wide, and she took a quick step back and bowed. “My apologies.”

I blinked at the 180. “Don’t bow, please. That weirds me out. You saw a stranger at your door, and it’s a stressful time in a new town. I get it.”

She rose and gave me a smile. “I appreciate it. I was worried I had just bent our chance at vouchers over a barrel.”

I laughed and followed her and Laurel inside.

Margret had loosened up slightly, but Laurel was wound up like a spring. What was wrong?

The anxiety, which had actually fled at the confrontation, started seeping back in.

Laurel led us towards the kitchen. There were a few servant’s passages we could have used to get there faster, but I wasn’t about to explain why I knew that.

We stepped into a hallway.

“You hungry, Alder? Why don’t we go grab some food? Blair should be out so-“

A woman’s yelling voice cut her off.

“NOT DANGEROUS??”

Laurel tensed further as we turned the corner to see Blair and another woman stepping out from a side room.

Blair had also cleaned up from the Pass and wore a black turtleneck with bell-bottom jeans. Her blond hair was back in a braid, and she stood with her hands clenched at her sides, her face a cold mask of fury.

The woman across from her was…was the woman Blair had seen at the Remembering Place. Who was almost certainly her mother.

I felt my anxiety bleed away.

A hostile family environment? That’s much more familiar.