I passed out just as I entered my bedroom.

When my eyes fluttered open a while later I expected to still be lying on the floor, but to my surprise I was on my bed. The throbbing of my thigh was the second things I noticed. I sucked in a breath and slowly blew it out.

I still felt sick.

Reaching up, I wiped my palm across my forehead and down my cheek. I was too afraid to move in case I passed out again. I frowned, but movement caught my attention before I could start questioning things.

"Lucas," I breathed when my eyes locked on him.

He gave me a small smile but made no move to come any closer. My eyes eagerly darted over him. He looked the same yet he seemed so different.

"How are you doing?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"O-okay I guess." I paused. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy, doll."

I had imagined this a few times—the part where we somehow ran into each other. There were two different ways that meeting could go. I had imagined throwing myself at him and kissing him senseless, and the other part was where I slapped him again and yelled at him as I demanded answers.

But sitting only a few feet from him. . .I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do.

I took notice of the way his eyes kept darting to my legs and then back up to my face. He had his arms crossed across his chest as he leaned back against the wall. Lucas might look relaxed but he clearly wasn't.

"Dad said that he found you," I muttered as I pushed myself up onto my elbows.

When I wasn't hit with a wave of dizziness, I sat up fully.

"He did."

I frowned when he fell silent again. "H-how did you get in here?"

"I snuck in while you were eating." Lucas straightened and glanced at the door. "You should let your sister take a look at your leg."

My eyes dropped and then widened when I spotted the blood seeping through the bandage.

"Shit." I winced. "C-can't you check it?"

"No." He swallowed. "I don't think that it'll be a good idea."

"Why?"

"I—"

His words died down when the door handle twisted and the bedroom door was pushed open. Eva took two steps into the room and then froze when her eyes locked on Lucas. She blinked a few times, glanced at me and then surprised Lucas and me when she closed the space between them and threw herself at him.

His eyes were wide with shock. For a few seconds he stood frozen and then he seemed to snap out of his shock. Gripping her shoulders, he pushed her away, making her stumble backwards with a gasp.

"S-stay away," he ordered her. "Please, Eva."

Concern filled me when I noticed that his breathing had sped up. Eva moved towards him with her hand held out.

"Eva!" Dad's words flew through the air like a whip.

My body jerked in fright and Eva came to a stop. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I glanced from Dad to Lucas. Without noticing, Dad had entered the room.

Was he going to force him to leave? Was he going to lock him up again?

"D-daddy," my voice cracked. "Please."

Dad's eyes snapped to me. He blinked and for a moment his eyes softened but then Lucas moved, snapping his attention towards him. Anger flashed through his eyes.

"You tore your stitched," he said instead.

I blew out a breath when Dad turned around and disappeared into the bathroom across the hall.

"Are you going to run away again?"

Eva's question snapped my attention to Lucas. He had opened the window and was leaning out. Lucas glanced over his shoulder at us.

"No." His eyes darted over to the door when Dad returned. "I just need some fresh air."

"Why?"

"Because he's a leech," Dad sneered as he took a seat on the edge of the bed and opened the first-aid kit. "Get too close and he might suck you dry."

Lucas hissed at him. "I didn't ask—"

"How are we supposed to know that?" Dad yelled. "Can't really be—"

"I came here to get answers from you!" Lucas interrupted him.

Dad frowned. "I'm certain that I didn't know your mother."

Lucas's lips parted but he pursed them and turned around when Dad removed the bandage.

I focused my attention on Lucas instead.

His upper body was outside the window as he gripped the windowsill tightly. His body trembled and his breathing matched mine.

My mind trailed back to the day Eva and I snuck into his house and found him beaten by his stepfather. I had given him some of my blood in hopes of helping him heal.

Had I somehow contributed to his. . .change?

***

Dad sat behind the desk, glaring at Lucas who stood as far away from us as the room permitted. Lucas was still here so that had to be a good sign right?

Lucas had returned for answers and for some bizarre reason he thought that Dad had them. The night I confronted Lucas about the photos, he had mentioned that Dad had banished his mother from the pack so Dad have to had known her then, right?

I looked at Eva, hoping that she might break the tense silence but she was focused on something on her phone.

"My mother hated you," Lucas said. "All she ever wanted was to ruin your life which was why she trained me to fight. She claimed that I had to be prepare because you—"

"I told you that I didn't know your mother," Dad interrupted him.

Lucas's eyes darted over to me and for a moment our eyes locked but he quickly looked away.

"She was part of your pack."

Dad frowned. "Do you have a photo of her?" He stood and leaned forward on his palms. "What's her name? If you—"

"Allison," Lucas interrupted him.

He stared at Dad for a few seconds before he looked at the door. Curious, I turned and glanced over the back of the couch. My eyes widened when they fell on Ethan standing in the doorway.

"Her real name's Avery."