“So, what’s the plan?” I asked as I sat down at the table not really big enough for two. Liam grabbed my bag and tossed it onto the table. “First we unpack, and then I expect to see you on your knees.” After the exchange with Diaz my brain automatically went somewhere very, very bad. “W-w-what?” I could feel the blush stretching over every inch of my body. Seriously, I think my feet were even embarrassed and angry. “I’m not… I won’t…” I knew the moment Liam realized what I was thinking because his face also shot up in flames. “No! Not… That.” He looked as though he was having some sort of episode, like maybe an aneurysm. “You were supposed to get down on your knees and beg me for forgiveness because you were wrong about the pizza guy. I don’t want… I mean, I wasn’t asking you to--” I held up a hand. “Please don’t say it. I think we’ve both been traumatized enough.”

“I don’t like seeing you hit.”“Well, to be quite honest, I don’t like being hit unless it’s by you.” As soon as it was out of my mouth, I realized what I had said. “That sounded all sorts of wrong.”“Insanely so, actually.”“To be clear,” I said to any overhearing ears, “I hit him back--”“Hard.”“It’s a very give-and-take, non-abuse type hitting situation…”The sides of Liam’s mouth folded up like an accordion. “You should probably stop now.”“I’m trying. My mouth keeps moving of its own accord.”

“I supposed that if I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead she would want one of those too. “You don’t want a fake orange tan, Munchkin.”“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “It’s pretty.”Alex was amused. “Oh, I think so too. Very pretty and informative. I have always wondered what the female Oompa-Loompas looked like.”

“Vampires? You think vampires are real? Seriously?""The werewolf is asking me if I believe in vampires?”

“The first thing I noticed as we exited the theater was how much colder it was than when we arrived. The second thing I noticed was how slick the sidewalk was. I didn’t notice that it was snowing until I was sprawled on the pavement.“Scout! Are you okay?” Alex’s face loomed above me.“I think I broke my butt.”

“Why did you come back here, then? Why risk it? Couldn’t you find a place where you wouldn’t have any other Packs to deal with?”He cupped my face in his hands, his thumb gently brushing a snowflake from my eyelashes.“You know why I came back.”My heart started beating against my ribcage as if it was trying to break free. “The fried chicken they serve at The Farmhouse?”“I came back for you, Scout.”I had to say something. Something clever. Something dazzling. Something to make this moment perfect.“I hope the snow sticks.”

“How are you feeling?" Charlie asked, adding a small bottle of V-8 juice to the bedside table."Like I just sat through an entire Justin Bieber concert.""Headache and nausea?"And an overwhelming desire to die.”