When I made it downstairs, the table was set and the food was out on display. Cassandra was bringing over one last pitcher of water, but otherwise, Andrew and Natalie sat at opposite ends of the table. Cassandra was focused with making sure everyone was materialistically comfortable without addressing the tension of the air. We had begun serving and eating for a good ten minutes in silence before anyone said anything.

"Ryder says hi," I mumbled and glanced at Cassandra and Andrew.

"I'm sure he does," Andrew scoffed and rolled his eyes before stabbing his food.

"Oh you should've invited him over," Natalie suggested before looking at Andrew. "And your girlfriend too—"

"I don't think that'd be a good idea," Cassandra said.

"Yeah. I think it's in everyone's best interest that they stay as far from you as possible," Andrew voiced. His dark eyes finally met Natalie's. "After all, there's a lot of damage to follow in your magical resurrection."

"Drew—"

"I'm right though," he pressed and looked at me. "Wasn't it difficult enough to tell Ryder and Caroline and Bailee and Stella about how your dead brother was alive and well? Let alone your mother who's been dead our whole life. Maybe Caroline and Ryder won't care much because they're in the business of lying, but the other two are your best friends and you're gonna lie to them...again? Bailee's one for the whole rumor thing and Stella...well, you've always been on thin ice with her from stealing Ryder—"

"Are you trying to insult her or me?" I asked him without taking any of it personally.

"I just want her to know that her being here is an inconvenience, that's all," Drew assured before smiling in an incredibly rude manner. Again, the entire house fell silent.

Stop being an asshole, I thought to Andrew so he would get a grip on his emotions rather than just attack me. Everyone knew he was hurt; he didn't need to act out.

"No," he told me aloud as if not caring if Natalie found out about our telepathy. We glared at each other and my wolf wanted to explode and fight the hell out of him to shut his muzzle.

"Then why are you even at this table?" I asked him with a raised voice.

"Because I'm hungry. That's about it."

"Then eat your food and be quiet," I ordered to which he rolled his eyes and ate another bite.

"So," Cassandra sighed and tried to change the mood of the room. "I passed you and Dakota on Main Street today. What were y'all up to?"

"It's none of your—" I kicked Andrew to silence.

"He was helping me pick out a dress for homecoming," I answered.

"Since you guys want to act like we're a normal family without the mass amounts of issues we aren't talking about..." Andrew muttered and pinned my shin to the side of the table leg when I swung. He looked to Cassandra after sneering at me. "Ash made homecoming court."

"Oh, that's exciting," Cass smiled.

"Congrats," Natalie added.

"Eh," I hummed. "I only got on because Ryder wants to take me down with him."

Cassandra's smile dropped.

"Well at least you'll be together," Natalie said optimistically. "Is he taking you to the dance too?"

Andrew coughed up his drink in a laugh while I saw a look in Cassandra's eyes that lead me to believe she wanted to kick him beneath the table.

"I told him I'd think about it," I said honestly because that answer would give Cassandra at least a little relief from me being head over heels for a killer and maybe some leeway from Natalie for linking us as mates because anyone would assume mates would automatically be doing everything together—even mundane dances.

"And you?" Cassandra found herself to ask to Andrew. "I heard you went on a date last night."

"I did," he smirked.

"And?" I asked. He bounced an eyebrow before indicating that was all he was going to share about his budding relationship. I rolled my eyes because my relationship with Andrew was completely fine until our mom was thrown in the picture.

The rest of the night was spent listening to Cassandra's work stories and whatever else she had to fill in Natalie within the past fifteen years in regards to her life. But Andrew and I kept our mouths shut because it was gonna take an informal meeting for the truth to come out about where Natalie had been and why or how she was back now. And I knew it would take her and Andrew being alone for him to completely hash everything out.

***

Thursday morning, I found myself sitting with Stella at a picnic bench before school started.

"So how are you doing?" I asked her.

"Um. I have a gorgeous boyfriend and I'm in the running for homecoming queen. I should be asking you how you're doing," she replied in a laugh.

"Well considering I also have a gorgeous boyfriend and am also in the running for homecoming queen, do you want to change your pity reply?" I humored. She playfully rolled her eyes.

"Fair point," she smiled. "What's troubling you?"

"My mom's in town," I revealed and she almost choked on her Starbucks. "Yeah. I thought she was dead basically my whole life and it turns out she's alive and well...and in Tyriette for some reason."

"Not 'some reason'; you're her kid," she dismissed. I shrugged. "Who all knows she's here? Just you?"

"Me, Andrew, my aunt, and Ryder," I answered.

"Ryder?" she frowned. Here we go. "Wasn't he mad about you finding out Andrew was alive because he was the last Everton or whatever? Now there's another one of you. Is he mad?"

"Nah, that was different," I assured. One threatened his reign as Alpha. The other only threatened...well his mate and his competition's sanity. "Andrew's taking it worse than Ryder took him coming back from the dead. And Ryder...geez, he's not mad at anyone for anything because apparently I'm the one supposed to be mad."

I laughed as I ate my donut, but Stella was frowning. "What's that mean?"

"It means that Andrew's still on edge and acting out by dating sluts, and Ryder is trying to get me to lash out on him for the whole Preston thing," I clarified, but her expression was still uneasy.

"I get Andrew's behavior...except the whole slut comment; we're gonna pretend like you didn't just slut shame a girl you don't know, but—"

"Are you defending her?" I asked because apparently everyone in town knew about Andrew and Meena.

"No, but I'm saying you don't know her and she's way too nice to be a slut," she reasoned. I gave her a look and she shook her head to dismiss the topic. "Whatever. They're dating. Who cares? Moving on. Why would Ryder want you to lash out on him?"

I looked around briefly to make sure no one was in earshot. "Because he told me he killed Preston," I revealed. I thought Stella's hazel eyes would widen in horror of what Ryder was capable, but she only laughed ridiculously. I sighed, stressfully. I didn't hear the joke I apparently told.

"You should be mad that he tricked you into thinking he's guilty," she commented.

I leaned in closer to her. "He did it. The night of the fire, when Zander took me to the hospital, he dragged Preston out of the house, used my family's dagger to kill Preston and then threw his body back in the fire."

"The only thing you're right about is that he got dragged out of the fire," Stella said without laughter in her voice. I rolled my eyes. How was she sitting there disbelieving me when I had a confession? "Trust me, A. My mom's the one working the case. She's closing it today, but only so people don't start to dig around before they bury the body."

"Why would they? It was obvious that the body had burns and smoke inhalation damage, but besides that, death by the dagger makes it look like some freak heart attack or cardiac arrest or something—"

I was interrupted because she was shaking her head with a serious face. "First of all, he wasn't found inside the house; he was on the back porch as if someone pulled him out and let him suffocate—that's what killed him. Asphyxiation." What? "And on top of that I snuck in my mom's office for Preston's file and, over the burns, there were deep cuts in his chest that look a lot like claw marks. Someone mutilated his body regardless if he was still alive or not."

I stayed silent, trying to process what that meant.

"I don't want to believe he's a murderer, but I also didn't use to believe in werewolves, so it's possible," she said. "But I know Ryder. If he's gonna kill someone, I think he'd do it in the quickest and least painful way possible—at least for his best friend, don't you think?"

The bell rang and Stella gave me one last apologetic look before getting up to leave for class. I sat there wondering what I was supposed to think. Ryder had told me it was him, despite my wolf not totally believing it and advocating for his True Alpha powers to be in effect. But what Stella said was true; if Ryder was gonna kill someone, he wouldn't have done it so horribly. Then again, in the moment, it wasn't a guy killing his best friend...it was a True Alpha werewolf executing a lone wolf for conspiring against him, murdering his father, assaulting his friends, and above all else, jeopardizing the life of his mate. Retaliation didn't know mercy in that moment.

This was still Ryder though.