Alice looked up from her phone to scan the surrounding lines of traffic. Even as they remained unmoving, the navigation app repeated directions to take an exit nowhere in sight, its artificial voice somehow sounding annoyed. In the distance loomed overpasses, miles of concrete crossing over each other at dizzying heights. Construction cranes could also be seen, ponderous and stark while lifting their loads through an overcast sky. The metallic echo of their efforts blended into the rumble of idling engines.

"It's weird," she said, looking down again. "The map doesn't show any roadwork ahead."

Colton seemed undisturbed, one hand easy on the wheel as they inched along. "Some part of I-35 is always being repaired."

She scrolled further along the map's route. The blue lines marking the highway snarled into what looked like a plate of spaghetti. "I think the directions are screwed up as well. It says we should be able to turn off right here."

"35 never follows rules, either. It'll get better when we reach 20."

She shook her head and closed the app. "I'm glad you know where to go, because this thing doesn't."

That drew an amused glance from him, but he didn't take the bait and answer the implied questions swarming beneath those words. For the next few miles, they both fell into silence. His held the sureness of an experienced hunter, the calm of having done this many times before, but hers was electric, charging the air into something hot and sharp despite the country ballad playing softly on the radio.

She hadn't known what to expect on her first visit to Texas, but the sheer breadth of it surprised her as much as the humidity it breathed. The sky stretched low and wide. The land on either side of the highway sprawled flat and endless. Striking differences from the rugged ridges of forest back home, but she found herself relishing them all the same.

"You're enjoying yourself," said Colton, suddenly, his gaze remaining on the road.

Still rare, the act of him offering up a comment unprovoked. Still startling. She laughed to cover up her surprise. "I guess I am. It's just interesting to see new things. I've never been in a place where pickups outnumber cars on the road, or where the sun looks so small. It doesn't seem as bright as in California."

Then she tugged at her seat belt, feeling as if her entire ribcage vibrated against it, as if her heart would surge until she could shift into her fur and run through this odd, open land, trying to find its end. "It's strange, because I've traveled before. I was with Magdalene on her biggest publicity tours, and before my father married Denise, I sometimes went with him on business trips abroad. But it also feels like I haven't seen much of the world at all. That I only sat in hotel rooms or at convention centers, and tried being on my best behavior instead of exploring what was around me."

"That won't happen this time." His hand lightly squeezed her thigh, as much of a promise as his words.

She smiled at him. "What about you? You haven't needed directions once, so you must be really familiar with the area. Is it nice being back?"

"Sure."

When he said nothing else, she knew he was teasing her, and waited a heartbeat before giving in. "Come on. You haven't said anything besides Fort Worth being 'easy' to get to. How do you know Texas so well?"

"Surprised you lasted a week without asking that."

"I wanted to see if you'd bring it up first. I think you enjoy dangling your mysterious past in front of me."

He almost grinned, eyes flashing with a feral excitement that appeared only on hunts. "I came here during the energy crisis in the 1970s. Texas was one of the Oil Patch states that thrived. All the other scavengers went to the areas where humans were struggling. I wanted to be alone."

"Why?"

"When you're around them a little more, it'll be obvious."

She had been watching the trees and businesses flash past, amazed at how small and squat they seemed beneath the sky and its enormous clouds, but the disgust in his tone snuffed out her excitement. "Are you... will it be hard for you to step back into the supernatural world?"

He must have sensed her worry, because the glint in his eyes softened. "Whatever you're imagining, it's not that. No terrible tragedy, no devastating downfall. I got sick of the chucklefucks. That's all."

"It's just hard to believe you're a complete misanthrope. If you were, you wouldn't have cared about a lonely girl trapped in a cabin."

"I wouldn't say I was nice to you when we first met." Simple words, but his deep voice turned them into something dark and rich. Thrilling like teeth against the neck, freeing like moonlight on fur.

Her own voice fell very soft. "No. I wouldn't have trusted you if you had been."

That drew a smoldering glance from him, but just then green signs warned of upcoming exits, and traffic shifted in response, vehicles crossing lanes in fits and starts as the highway began to split. Colton swerved with the rest, guiding their truck through pockets of space until they turned onto the I-20 exit and left the confusion behind. Ahead loomed Fort Worth and its suburbia.

They reached the hotel and checked in without incident. Their room looked sleek and clean, with beige furniture and floral decor paired together to invoke bland elegance. Murmurs from neighboring rooms drifted through the thin walls, but there was a nice view of the street below and the city beyond. When Alice tested the bed and found the slightest push of her hand made the springs beneath squeak, she raised an eyebrow at Colton, who nearly smiled.

While he prowled through each room, checking all the lights and windows, the first shiver of nerves hit her. She reached for her suitcase, hoping to calm herself through the tedium of unpacking.

It had been difficult to choose what to take; so much about this hunt remained unknown. Would Vanna run as soon as she saw them or stand her ground? Seek help? Set traps? How much time would they spend among humans, hiding true faces and intentions?

As she began putting away clothes, Colton leaned against the bathroom doorway to watch her. She began talking, too, more to herself than anything. "There's a lot of time left to reach Vanna's book signing. It's only twenty minutes away. And if we somehow miss it, or if she canceled the event, we can still search for her. Denise swears she lives here in Fort Worth. Unless Vanna lied to her. But her site bio said the same thing, so..."

"It doesn't matter what she does. We already know her scent from the ritual site. Once we catch it, we can follow it anywhere."

She wished her heart would stop racing so badly. "Do you think she'll run once we find her?"

"She might try other things first. Probably bribery. Witches love that."

"Or attacking us."

"That, too."

He looked so relaxed that she couldn't help asking, "How many times have you done this?"

"Done what?"

"Hunted people."

His answer was somehow both amused and grim. "Too many times to count."

She bit her lip. "And you're sure you won't get hurt?"

At that, he tilted his head. "Why aren't you as worried about yourself?"

It wasn't something she had truly thought about, but the answer waited anyway, ready to be revealed. "It's only natural if I'm hurt doing this. I'm the one who wants to hunt them. It feels like a fair price to pay."

She didn't realize how terrible that sounded until his expression changed. Then he repeated, "Natural?"

Her fingers fidgeted with the collar of the shirt she'd just pulled out. "Well, that's what I learned to expect out of life. If I try to do something, I'll get hurt. Either because I'm not good enough to get it, or because I revealed that I wanted it at all. Pursuing things for myself has always felt dangerous."

"Because you'll be punished for it." His voice had grown very flat.

"Yes."

He hadn't moved, hadn't even shifted from his place in the doorway, and yet at that moment he looked so wolf-like and wild that nobody would have thought him human. "You wanted me. Sought me out in the forest all on your own. How do you think you were punished for that? Through losing the pelt?"

She nodded. "It's pretty obvious as a consequence, isn't it?"

"No. It's not a consequence at all. Some crazy cunt wanted to keep you trapped. That's why it happened. You had people controlling your life until it seemed like the world, or fate, or whatever you could call it, wanted you helpless."

"I know, but..." Then she faltered, feeling the truth behind his words sink in slick and unfamiliar, ill-fitting with the emotional pathways cut deep from years of living in fear. The fear had seeped away, but those yawning holes left behind still wanted to be filled with what they were used to.

When she said nothing else, he approached the bed and sat beside her, coaxing her close with a brush of his fingers. She closed her eyes against the rumble of his voice as he said, "You're not helpless. You're not meant to be someone's trained pet. And when you let yourself be wild, you're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen."

She tucked her head under his chin until her breathing steadied, until she could feel the strength of his heartbeat against her own hummingbird-quick pulse. And then something snarled deep within, something eager to lunge out and draw blood.

"I'm ready," she murmured. "I'm just terrified of screwing this up."

"You won't." He sounded so sure that she smiled up at him even as he added, "And we'll be the dangerous things."

The rasp in his voice made her shiver, and then she really was excited, impatient to track down the woman who had tried to butcher her family.

It was a short drive to the book shop, and any doubts Alice had over whether Vanna would be there melted at the sight of the window display filled with copies of her new cookbook, Sweet Tooth. As soon as they stepped inside, sweating slightly from the afternoon heat, there was a sign for the event.

Alice studied the image of Vanna smiling and posing with a tray of frosted cookies, curious to see if she remembered the woman from any of her parents' parties. She did, and the memory of her laughing with Denise over mimosas on Sunday brunch mornings now gave her a shiver. "Her hair used to be shorter. Other than that, she looks the same."

Colton scanned the layout of the store. "It's being held upstairs. Want me to go with you?"

Alice glanced around as well. The ground floor held only a handful of people and had the hush of a library. Faint, classical music drifted through the wide spaces between the shelves, adding to an atmosphere that felt both open and comfortable. Nothing prickled at her senses. Nothing left her uneasy. "Will she know you're not human?"

"Probably."

"Then I'll just go. It's better if she underestimates me."

He nodded, yellow tinging the green of his eyes. "I'll be close by."

It wasn't fear that sent a slight shiver throughout her, but the same dark anticipation as when she caught scent of deer while on a run through the woods. Slavering at the chance to let herself go. The chance to hold nothing back.

A long line had already formed—mostly women Alice's age or older. As they all stood there, chatting lightly or scrolling on their phones, Alice grew increasingly aware of how casual she looked in her t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Every other woman in sight looked fashionable or at least well put-together: dresses or tops in bright colors accentuated with playful glitter or ruffles, hair styled to be as big and bold as their jewelry, and makeup that must have taken a solid hour to look as professional and smooth as it did. She began feeling glad she had packed more formal clothes.

As the line shuffled ahead, she heard Vanna's voice, as airy and sweet as one of her confections, but still couldn't see her. Copies of her cookbook were displayed within reach every step of the way, and Alice soon grabbed a copy and thumbed through it out of boredom.

She realized none of this was necessary. That if she only wished to remove the threat to her family, Colton could show her the quickest way to kill the witch away from witnesses. But that was only half of her purpose. She also wanted to get a good look at Vanna, and to give Vanna a good look at her. She wanted the other witch to realize she'd fucked up. Most importantly, she wanted answers.

It took about twenty minutes to reach the front of the line. There sat Vanna behind a rustic wooden table, her pink and white dress as frothy as sea foam. The colors precisely matched the cupcakes on the cover of her book, and that was when Alice realized how important this all was to the witch, and how carefully she had planned for it.

Vanna wasn't alone. A woman sat beside her, one with that particular professional appearance that Alice understood at a glance. Her agent, or publicist, or other key figure needed to boost her career, there to make sure Vanna did well in her first big public outing. It was something Alice had seen many times thanks to Magdalene and her literary circles. She was glad the woman was present; it meant Vanna couldn't just run off.

When it was Alice's turn to have her copy signed, she stepped forward smoothly, for once glad that her parents' parties had taught her how to put on a smile even while her heart seethed.

"What's your name?" Vanna had already looked down at the book in front of her, pen poised against the first page.

"It's for my stepmother," said Alice, amazed at how pleasant she sounded. "I wanted to do this as a surprise, because I think she'll really treasure it."

"That's so sweet of you. Her name, then?"

"Denise."

At that, Vanna's head snapped up. For one moment, her smile froze into something more like a rictus grin. But she was good, and recovered quickly, voice turning warm even as her eyes remained sharp. "Alice! I can't believe I didn't recognize you. Why didn't you tell me you were in town?"

"Like I said, it's a surprise for Denise. I wanted to keep it completely secret. She's really excited for you." Alice's gaze flickered over as the other woman looked up from her phone, suddenly interested.

"You're an old friend? Good. We don't have many of those. Come to the private release party tonight."

Vanna cleared her throat. "Heidi, don't rope her into something she knows nothing about. Then she'll have to go even if she isn't interested."

"The more people who can spread this, the better." Heidi's focus jumped back to Alice. "I'm her publicist. We're trying to get the widest reach possible. All you need to do is post about the party on your social media accounts. We'll tell you what hashtags to use."

Hot glee rose within Alice at such an opportunity, but she knew better than to seem overly eager. "It sounds great, but I don't want to crash something that's private."

"We call it that because 'exclusive' sounds too elitist, but we still want control over who gets in. So far, we have about 60 people, all with substantial followings, but we still need that human factor. That sense of genuine emotion from friends or family excited to see Vanna realize her dream."

"Heidi," murmured Vanna, smile frozen in place. "Are you sure about this? I don't want to force her into anything."

"Forcing her? She's a friend. Friends want to help each other. Right?" Then the woman looked at Alice.

Alice put on her most practiced smile. "That's been my experience."

A muscle jumped in Vanna's throat. "Seven o'clock for cocktails and confections. Give me your phone number and I'll text the address."

Alice pulled a drive thru receipt out of her pocket and offered it. "You can just write it on the back of this."

As Vanna's pen dug into the paper with a violence she couldn't otherwise reveal, her publicist added, "Bring anyone else who might be interested."

"Thanks." Then Alice took back her copy of the cookbook. "I can't wait."

* * *

Vanna's house looked gorgeous from the outside, a sprawling single story built from brick and wood. Clusters of oak trees and swathes of lawn offered privacy from neighbors. Traffic cones indicated where guests could park on the street.

Alice studied the property carefully while getting out of the truck. When Colton joined her, hand sliding down her back, she smiled up at him. "Ready?"

In his understated suit, he looked sharp and hungry, blending into the thickness of night as easily as when he wore his fur. "Sure. What do you want to do while we're here?"

"Get her to talk. Unless you think it's better to first—"

He interrupted her with a shake of his head. "Do what feels right. I'll tell you when there's trouble."

A waiter let them in, balancing his tray of empty glasses on one hand while bubbly music washed over them. Alice's first impression was of constant laughter, polished people, and colors bright as confetti. Both the guests and rooms had the slick look of liquor bottles or neon signs—picture perfect, attractive, and bewildering in such large groups.

There was even a small film crew and a photographer busy at work, obvious among all the sparkling bodies in their plain t-shirts and worn shorts. At the first click in her direction, she almost froze, but Colton ushered her along.

"Don't worry about it," he murmured as they moved past the first groups of people.

"But their footage..."

"Won't make it out. We're in a witch's house. She won't want evidence of us being here. We'll be blurs on any film, nothing more."

Before she could respond to the dark implications behind those words, she saw Heidi, who spotted them at the same time and hurried over, already frowning. "Don't look straight into the cameras. You have to seem natural. And don't worry about what to say, because there's no audio equipment. This is all for what will be a voice-over segment. Why are you wearing black?"

"It has some gold at the neck."

"This is a release party, not a funeral. And your makeup is much too nude. We want all the girls to have eyeshadow that brings to mind sprinkles on a cupcake. Go down the hall and into the second room on the left to see the makeup artist. She'll give you some pop." Heidi next surveyed Colton. "Put a smile on, sweetie."

Then she was gone, vanishing into the crush of bodies that waited in every room beyond.

Alice exchanged a glance with Colton, her brief amusement fading as a fresh thought came to her. In the roar of so many conversations, they had more privacy than if they were alone, and yet she still drew closer, lips brushing against his ear to make sure her words were audible over the grinding bass. "Is there anyone else here who isn't human?"

"No. She didn't have time to give us a distraction."

A waiter stopped before them with a large tray of cocktails. The rims were crusted with gold sprinkles. "Miss? Sir?"

"What is it?" said Colton, sounding like he dreaded the answer.

"A cake batter martini with frosting-flavored vodka and white chocolate liqueur."

Alice took one out of politeness. Colton didn't. "Any plain liquor around?"

"There's a full bar to your right, sir." The waiter pointed for good measure. "Toby Buck is the bartender."

When that only garnered their blank stares, he elaborated. "The fella who's been winning all the awards in the past two years. It's amazing Ms. Moore pulled him away from Dallas long enough to be at her party."

As they drifted in that direction, Alice murmured, "If Vanna's trying this hard to impress people as a celebrity figure, why isn't she living in Dallas? It seems like she's already rubbing shoulders with all the right people."

"It's a place for millionaires, and she isn't. Despite how it looks, your family's much richer." He said it matter of factly, without a hint of judgment, yet she still looked at him in surprise as he added, "It's probably why she picked your sister and stepmother to be butchered. Jealousy over Denise being able to buy bigger diamonds."

For a moment, she couldn't imagine anyone being that petty. Then she thought back to the pitiful remains at the ritual site and winced, falling quiet as they moved through the rooms.

Despite the odd fits and starts to conversations as people reacted to the cameras whenever they stopped to linger, Alice still recognized the preening. She had experienced it many times before while out with Magdalene, a mixture of people trying to see who was worth listening to and who could be abandoned at the first chance.

Yet while the parties and events on Magdalene's book tours had remained very restrained, more about networking with the right critics, editors, and other industry figures, this party of Vanna's seemed all about whipping up a reality as frothy as marshmallow and just as calculated for easy consumption.

The largest room held a huge display of cupcakes stacked in five tiers, handwritten tags noting the flavors of each as well as the page number of its recipe in the book. All around it, people chatted, posed, and ate, pulling together for selfies and then parting again, their movements as rhythmic and repetitive as waves against a shore.

After that, Alice caught glimpses of the kitchen through its saloon-style doors, a seething pit of waiters fighting for space with the catering staff as they all added finishing touches to fresh trays of sweets. A towering cake decorated with lavender fondant and gold polka dots waited in the middle of the chaos, obviously meant for some sort of grand finale.

When they reached the right room, Alice was surprised by how restrained it looked in comparison to what she'd just seen; the only extravagance was a three-level champagne fountain set in the center. The bar itself looked quiet and comfortable, burnished in chestnut and gold. Syrupy liqueurs and sweet-flavored vodka filled the rows of glass shelves, their bottles shining from the yellow lights beneath. The bartender was a man in his early thirties, busy laughing with a handful of women his age while he rattled a chrome cocktail shaker as bright as his smile.

Vanna was there as well, glittering brightest of all while she talked and sipped at a cake batter martini. Something about her seeming so normal and so happy while she mimicked the kind of people she had torn apart left Alice swallowing back a snarl. It took everything she had to keep a pleasant expression in place while she and Colton moved nearer.

Vanna waved as if excited to see her and then pulled her into a hug. As soon as her face was angled away from the nearest camera, though, she hissed into Alice's ear. "You little bitch. What do you want?"

Alice pulled back, feeling the spit in her mouth thicken from the urge to bite. "An explanation."

"I'm not about to abandon the party to speak with you. What's there to say?"

"Plenty. I have a lot of questions, and I won't leave until I have the answers."

The other woman smiled lightly. "Unless you're willing to make a scene, that's not happening. I've been at this longer than you. I'm better at it. What can you threaten me with? You won't have your dog kill me in front of my wonderful guests."

Alice stiffened at the insult toward Colton, but Vanna was already brushing past, infuriatingly smug. The sting of defeat replaced the churning in her heart, and she felt as deflated as when she had tried bringing down her first buck and found her jaws snapping on thin air. "I fucked up."

"No. It's good she's refusing to talk. Means she's frightened." Colton eyed the bar and the man behind it.

"She's right, though. I can't keep bothering her in front of so many people. She'll turn it against me."

"I'll take care of that." He ran a hand along her arm in a brief caress and then stepped away. "Keep chasing her. It'll leave her focused on your movements."

"What are you going to do?"

He only winked, the hunting excitement back in his eyes.

Despite the party's life and glamor, it soon proved to be as dull as any of her parents' gatherings. Alice always made sure she stayed within a few groups of Vanna, who always made sure to slip out of speaking reach. Meaningless conversations rose and fell as she gave compliments over dresses and listened to tales of luxury trips abroad. Celebrity names were sprinkled in like sugar pearls, meant to be noticed and appraised in the constant dance of inciting envy in others and yet burning with it at the same time.

Alice slipped through it all, recognizing the nature of the party even if its sheen looked unfamiliar. Vanna's smile grew tighter each time their eyes met, and that was enough to keep her steady and focused as the bubbly chaos continued. Waiters passed by with trays of mini cheesecakes flavored with lavender and lemon bars drizzled with white chocolate. Drinks were replenished until the buzz of conversations grew into a droning roar.

The film crew appeared in and out of sight, obviously trying to catch as much footage as possible. Alice managed to avoid ever being directly caught by them, but she did get close enough to see how Vanna's publicist snapped at them as much as the guests. One in particular, a girl who looked a few years younger than Alice, seemed particularly flustered, her face reddening against her video camera each time Heidi barked out an order.

Colton never appeared in sight, but Alice didn't expect him to; she had recognized that look. Not many would call him playful, but he could be. It was just that his idea of play was being relentless.

Whatever he planned, she stuck to her part in it, eventually pinning Vanna into a room the color of butter. Alice had just offered to help a sick-looking girl, who admitted to feeling nauseous from taking so many bites of marshmallow-stuffed brownies for the cameras, when a crash and a collective gasp cut through all conversation. Then the screams started. Alice watched Vanna's face tighten before everyone moved toward the noise.

The glittering cupcake display was now a splattered mess on the floor. Alice heard people asking each other if they knew what happened, but she just looked over to the other side of the room and saw Colton at the edge of the gathering crowd. There was a bottle of whisky in his hand, already half-empty. When their eyes met, he merely winked again.

One of the guests shouted that frosting had gotten all over her favorite shoes. Another, that some of the blueberries flying through the air had hit her phone and now it wasn't working. All other phones were angled toward the pile of crumbs and frosting, and Vanna was soon rubbing at her temple even as Heidi ordered the nearest waiters to start cleaning it up.

The film crew knew enough to stop and take a break. Curious about how much time she had left, Alice approached the girl she had seen earlier, the one who had looked so nervous. "How much longer could this take?"

The girl lowered the equipment from her shoulder and sighed. "We probably won't be done until after midnight. And that's if nothing else happens."

As soon as the girl was called away by another member of the crew, Vanna took her place, looking ready to throttle Alice. "You little—"

Alice interrupted. "It'll stop if you talk to me."

The other woman scoffed, but Heidi appeared then, silencing whatever else she might have said. "Vanna, Hubert Ritter is here. Where the hell is the 25 Year Laphroaig? You know it's the only thing he drinks."

"Why would I know that? Ask the bartender."

"He's gone."

Alice and Vanna both looked across the room at Colton, who swallowed the last mouthful of whisky and let the bottle drop.

A vein visibly throbbed in Vanna's neck as she turned away with Heidi. "We'll give him whatever we have. Jim Beam, Jameson's, it all tastes the same."

"He's the biggest name we could pull in. You don't give someone like that cheap liquor."

"Where are those people going?" said Vanna, her voice sharpening for the first time as a notable cluster of girls all moved for the front door, some of them still indignantly flicking frosting from their dresses.

"They're leaving," said Heidi, her voice flat. "That's why I was trying to find you. The champagne fountain has a plug in it and stopped running. The refrigerator broke about ten minutes ago. There was also a minor problem with the film crew, but I already resolved that. In my professional opinion, everything's turning into a shitshow, so go have your face freshened up while I do damage control. We'll have the toast early while the cameras can still capture a full room."

Vanna seemed ready to argue until she noticed Alice again. Then she forced a pained smile. "Not ideal, but we'll just have to work with it, won't we? Give me fifteen minutes."

Alice considered trailing after her, but decided it was safe enough to leave her stuck in the makeup chair. Colton had slipped back out of sight, and didn't reappear even when Heidi began calling people together. Unwilling to listen to any more bullshit, Alice moved for the nearest door outside.

It wasn't until she reached fresh air—humid as it was— that she realized how it had smelled overwhelmingly sweet inside, like being suffocated by cotton candy. For a few heartbeats, she stood in the grass and merely watched the clouds cover the stars. Then she heard someone sniffle.

The girl from the film crew sat on a narrow cement pathway that bordered the house, the stub of a cigarette in one hand. She looked even more flustered than before, gaze vacant and blonde hair tumbling free of its clip. From her red nose and eyes, it was obvious she'd been crying.

"Are you all right?" said Alice, stepping closer.

The other girl tried a watery smile. "I'm not sure. I was fired about five minutes ago. She won't even let me finish out this night."

"Vanna?"

"Her publicist. That lady is..." Then she shook her head. "No. I shouldn't say it."

"Rant away if you want. It won't bother me."

"I'm just really mad right now. That's all."

The girl looked too miserable to walk away from. Alice found herself sinking down to the damp cement next to her, uncaring of her dress. "Whatever her reason was, you couldn't have done anything that bad."

That drew out a bitter laugh, and the girl looked up with a mixture of defiance and shame. "I worked in porn."

Alice just shrugged.

The lack of reaction seemed to shock her. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No. The heathen state of California." Then she smiled a little. "I'm Alice."

"Caroline." The girl's voice still sounded thick with tears, but also a bit steadier. "I got out of it as soon as I could. I'd hang around with the crew and ask how all the equipment worked until I learned enough to get into film production. I can use a camera as well as any film student. I thought that'd be enough to get into a legitimate career."

Alice could read between the lines. "But Vanna's publicist somehow found out."

Caroline nodded, looking ready to cry again. "Just tonight, I guess. She told my boss that they'll go to a different company if I stay. Vanna's image can't be connected to something so sordid."

Alice couldn't help it. She laughed.

Caroline's eyes widened. "You know, don't you? You know she's not as perfect as she appears."

What way was there to imply the horrors she had seen? "Do you?"

"Sure. I'm a local gal. Born and raised here in Fort Worth. Vanna Moore's cupcakes glitter, but her business practices don't. When she first opened her bakery, she bribed whoever she could on the city's zoning board to make sure no other restaurant or coffee shop made it onto her block. The one that already existed closed down within a year over zoning violations. Nothing can be proven, but... Vanna's stepped on a lot of people's dreams to get where she is. Maybe I'm naive to think it wouldn't happen to me."

After that, a brief silence fell. Crickets sang. Clouds floated past the moon, heavy and thick with rain. Alice swallowed back her anger. She had already hated Vanna, but the complete pettiness to her actions had added a fresh layer of contempt. She worked hard to keep her voice calm as she asked, "Do you have a way to get home?"

"I called a ride. That's what I'm waiting for. In fact, that's it right there."

As headlights flashed at them, they both rose to their feet. Caroline offered a final, faint smile. "Thanks for talking to me."

Alice nodded, wishing there was more she could do for the other girl. "It says nothing about you. I mean, why they fired you. It says a lot more about them."

"Maybe. But that can't stop the past from following me." Then she was gone, swallowed up in the dark as the shadowy car waited by the driveway.

After it disappeared down the street, Alice smoothed the front of her dress, hating how helpless she felt. Some part of her sensed Colton was nearby, and she looked up to find him walking toward her, relaxed and silent. When he wrapped an arm around her, she leaned into him, feeling herself shake as he said, "You all right?"

"Just impatient." After another breath, she looked up at him. "Let's hit her hard."

"Already did." Then he offered her a plate with a slice of cake on it. It had the same lavender fondant with gold polka dots as the one that had been waiting in the kitchen.

"You didn't..."

A shriek went up from somewhere in the house.

Alice bit back something between a laugh and a gasp. "How did you avoid getting caught? I saw people guarding that thing."

He just gave her a sly look.

The front door flung open, bathing the lawn in yellow light. Within moments, Vanna appeared, looking ready to kill. "You asshole. You just fucked yourself over, too. The party is ruined. Over. There's nothing else to sabotage."

"Never said I'd stop with the party." Then he took a bite from the cake.

"You..." Vanna's body suddenly hunched, as if she were about to attack them both.

"Try it," growled Alice, some part of her hoping she would.

As guests began trickling out, already on their phones to call a ride home, Vanna straightened up again, still glaring. "Fine. I'll speak to you tonight after everyone's left. But only with you and only for half an hour. And if I see you again after this, I'll—"

"Any threats and I'll kill you right now." Colton sounded calm, but for the first time he was truly looking at Vanna.

The witch made a hissing sound entirely alien to her sparkling appearance. "Half an hour. That's it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to convince my publicist to stop crying."

When she disappeared back inside, Alice felt her skin break out into shivers. Fear or excitement, she couldn't say.

The house looked much dimmer and greyer without the music, confections, and guests. A few of the catering staff had remained to clean up, too tired to even give Alice and Colton a spare glance. The lingering smells of buttercream and liquor followed them into back rooms that had been off-limits during the party. A home office. A bedroom. Sterile glimpses of a facade. She knew without looking that Colton was fully alert as Vanna waved her into a room that seemed more like a small study, sleek and geometric and colorless.

"Well?" said the other woman, when she hesitated in the doorway. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Alice nodded and gave Colton a final glance before shutting the door behind her. Even when Vanna sat in one of the beige chairs near the window, she remained still, standing.

"Don't look so uptight. Do you think I'd try anything with that monster of yours waiting just outside?" A certain calm had come over Vanna, all her previous fury softened to a cynical gleam in her eyes. She had changed out of her dress and into the type of fluffy, shapeless robe that Denise loved to wear.

A wave of disorientation passed through Alice, a sense of facing a creature that mimicked many identities without ever revealing her own. It left her words blunt, perhaps too much so. "Why not? You hate me as much as I hate you."

"A perfect stalemate, then." The other woman reached for the glass and wine bottle waiting on a nearby table. "In truth, I expected to see you again. We all felt Portia die."

Alice finally sat in the chair closest to the door, feeling as tense as if bracing for a physical blow. "You don't seem upset by it."

"We hated each other to the point where I feel like I owe you a favor." Then Vanna cocked her head at her. "Even though you're here to kill me."

"I saw what you did to the bodies," said Alice, voice low. "You were going to butcher my family."

"They aren't your family. They're human. And weak as you are, you're one of us. What happened to your mother? She should have taught you some of this."

When Alice only curled her fingers into the arms of the chair, the other woman leaned back in her seat. "You're vibrating with rage right now. Are you aware of that? But you're curious, too. It's all right. Both feelings are very natural to us."

"I'm not like you."

"Well, I will admit you're extremely weak. Barely even perceptible as a witch. I'm not sure what you could do even if you had the power of a coven behind your will. You do know what a coven is, don't you?"

"You can mock me all you like. I don't care."

At that, the smile faded from Vanna's face. A more speculative look replaced it. "You really are curious. What do you want to know?"

"What were you doing that night?"

"Our most treasured ritual. Summoning our king." Then Vanna took a large gulp of wine, the line of her mouth shrinking into something bitter.

"For what?"

"To see if he was ready to sow his seed. You don't look any more enlightened. Do I need to explain further? Fine. Portia offered her daughter in the hopes he would find her acceptable. He didn't. Portia looked even more crushed than when he refused her." Vanna laughed, the most genuine emotion she'd yet shown.

"But... if you're all part of his coven..."

"There's a difference between belonging to him and bearing his heir. Our king is very particular. Strangely..." Vanna paused and then laughed again. "No, you'll need to hear this first. It's hard for us to have children. We're so used to consuming things that the little body growing within our own often doesn't stand a chance. Most pregnant witches have to feed constantly to bring their baby to term."

"You mean, on people?" whispered Alice.

"Obviously." Then she smiled again, a hot, vicious one that dared Alice to deny the implications.

Alice swallowed hard. "Always?"

"Always. It takes a very doting mother."

It felt like her heart stopped beating and shriveled up instead. Like one more breath would fracture her.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to know anything more?"

Alice just closed her eyes, unsure if she was going to scream or throw up.

There was a long pause before Vanna spoke again, her tone sliding into something free of mockery. "You know, a better way to learn answers is to find out for yourself. If you want to know what it means to be a witch, join our coven."

"Excuse me?" said Alice, looking up to make sure the words weren't further sarcasm.

Yet Vanna appeared serious. "You have a good chance. It's not like we hold any hard feelings over Portia. After all, our king didn't care about her."

For a moment, Alice could only stare. Was she serious? Could the attempt to stop her hunt be this clumsy? This oblivious to what her heart really wanted? "You've spent all of this conversation mocking me for being weak, ignorant, and pathetic, and yet now I'm supposed to believe your coven would actually want me?"

Vanna's smile looked small and strange. "It's the very weakness to your nature that makes you a good prospect for our king. Ironically, witches whelped from normal men don't have any problems with carrying their children. It's as easy for them as with human women. You could have a real chance at gaining the most prestigious position in our coven as soon as you're introduced to it."

Alice started shaking, fingernails digging into the arms of her chair and peeling away ribbons of wood.

Vanna noticed, and her voice quickly rose. "Hear me out."

Alice just bared her teeth.

"And if you don't want to hear me out, then leave. There are still people here. Are you willing to kill witnesses that heard you attack me? Do you have that ruthlessness?" Vanna matched gazes, unblinking.

Alice rose from her seat, trembling as she took a step back. "No. I'm not like you."

"Not like me?" Vanna stood as well. "Then what do you think you are? It's time to face reality, little girl. You're exactly like the rest of us. We took from the flesh our mothers fed on. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll realize it's simply natural for us to take whatever else we want."

Her heart hammered in her chest. Her bones ached to change. Only the awareness of the door slamming open and Colton lunging through it kept her still. Vanna recoiled at the sight of his bared teeth, her voice growing hoarse. "Witnesses. You'll have to kill them, too."

Colton just snarled, a thundering noise that filled the room. Yet even as the witch cowered, Alice managed to catch his arm. "Please. I got what I wanted. Let's get out of here."

His response was a terse nod, but his gaze remained on Vanna for a moment longer.

Vanna watched them warily as they turned to leave, but seemingly couldn't resist some parting words. "Then it's settled. The next time we see each other, one of us won't walk away."

Alice refused to answer, knowing gut-deep that as soon as she opened her mouth, the urge to sink her teeth into Vanna's throat would overwhelm her. She didn't speak until they were out of the house and alone in their truck, safely driving away. "Well. I wanted answers."

When Colton offered his hand, she clutched at it, feeling like it was the only thing keeping her from being swept away.

After miles of silence, she finally said, "How much did you overhear?"

"Enough." His fingers flexed against hers. "Witches know how to twist things. She knew it was hurting you."

"But it is true, isn't it?"

"I didn't know your mother. Neither did she. There's no way to know what she fed on. Whatever she did, it says nothing about you."

A bitter laugh escaped her. "I said that to someone earlier tonight. Almost those exact words. Now I'm not sure I believe that."

There was a soft growl from him before she wiped at her eyes and looked ahead, taking in the angry clouds. At the first flash of lightning, Alice leaned closer to the window, some part of her wanting to get lost in something, anything. Thunder cracked loud and low. "The weather looks pretty bad, but... do you mind if we just drive around some more? I don't feel like going back to the hotel and being surrounded by people."

"It smells like nothing more than a thunderstorm. You want to get a better view? There are plenty of back roads that will show you more."

She nodded, fingers still tight against his, gaze still fixed on a sky whose roaring matched the one in her heart.

Under those same roiling clouds, a naked figure squatted in an open stretch of grassland as if daring lightning to strike her. Vanna Moore looked very different from her party hostess role, her hair now disheveled and clotted with drying blood, her fingers curling against the worn granite of a gravestone. Whenever lightning flashed, the cross from a nearby historic church cast its shadow over her face.

She waited. She had called, and knew the power behind her coven would respond. Not the hag king, no. She had lost her chance at his favor. But there were other things attached to the coven, other things that might be pulled close out of curiosity.

When she saw him, she remained still, giving away her tension through quickened breathing. The figure approached with the silence of a shadow, long and lean, panting hard enough to reveal sharp, white teeth. Even in the churning darkness of the storm, his eyes glowed.

A black wolf entered the graveyard, but a man rose before Vanna.

She smiled up at him to hide her fear. "I thought your kind couldn't stand holy ground."

"Don't believe everything you hear."

She stood as well, fingers digging along the hard planes of his chest in a gesture that might have been threatening, might have been teasing. "You better be as good as the hag mother promised."

"I am." Then he licked the blood trailing between her breasts.

She swallowed hard as he pulled her close, but let his teeth replace his tongue. In between the stinging flashes of lightning, she whispered one final thing. "I need the girl alive and unbroken. She might be precious."