Chapter 7

A howl tore through the air.

"Shit!" Nina hissed, her eyes widening with alarm. "Lucas, show yourself out. Riley, we need to go. Now."

Before I could process what was happening, Nina grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the door. The sound had been deep, primal—unlike anything I'd heard before. Yet somehow, it seemed familiar, like the distant echo I'd heard on my first night in Wolf Creek, only much more intense.

"What was that?" I gasped between breaths.

"Just some wild animal," she replied.

But her perfunctory answer made me feel like she was hiding something.

By the time we reached my house, everything appeared normal. William sat casually with Sarah at our kitchen table, coffee cups between them. Several of his friends were clearing dishes, acting as if nothing unusual had occurred.

But Dominic was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll find him," Nina sighed as her father gave her a silent nod, something unspoken passing between them.

Was I the only one who found this weird? One minute Dominic was shaking with rage, and the next he'd vanished entirely. I felt like I was missing something important, a truth everyone else understood but me.

"Riley, William has invited us over for dinner tonight," Sarah said cheerfully. "It's a welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner. Isn't that lovely?"

"Yeah, lovely," I replied flatly, still disturbed by all the strangeness. "Where's Dominic?"

No one answered my question. They just exchanged glances, pretending not to hear me.

"Whatever. I'm going to shower," I muttered, heading upstairs. I needed to wash away the sweat and confusion of the morning.

I pulled the blinds closed in my bedroom and connected my phone to the speakers. Besides the beach, music was the one thing that could always relax me—my refuge from confusion. I turned up the volume and hit play. Ashanti's "Foolish" blared through the speakers.

"Baby I don't know why you treating me so bad," I sang, stripping off my running clothes. It wasn't even noon and already strange things were happening. "Boy you know I really love you, I can't deny." Music had a way of distracting me from what I was supposed to be doing.

Down to my bra and panties, I stepped toward the bathroom and turned on the shower. "Baby why you hurt me, leave me and desert me." I couldn't sing, but that didn't stop me from belting it out.

When the song finished, Tyga's "Rack City" started, and I let the beat take over, dancing like nobody was watching.

How wrong I was.

A hand on my shoulder made me jump nearly a foot in the air.

"Nina!" I yelled, turning down the volume. "Why are you creeping around?" My heart hammered in my chest.

"Sorry," she grinned. "Didn't mean to scare you. You've got some moves, though."

"Shut up." Only then did I realize I was still in my underwear. I grabbed my robe and slipped it on.

"You don't need to hide your body, Riley. It's smoking," she whistled as my phone began to ring.

Looking at the caller ID, my heart sank. Ethan's name flashed on the screen. I hadn't spoken to him since the day before I left California. I still missed him. I stared at the screen until it stopped ringing, unable to press either answer or decline.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Nina asked, sitting beside me.

"Nothing. I'm good," I said, placing my phone on the nightstand. The notification light continued to blink accusingly.

"You went from dancing around your room to sulking in seconds. Who was calling you? And why didn't you answer?"

"Just someone from my past," I said, trying to force a smile. His call only made me realize how homesick I really was. I missed my old life, my friends. Everything back in Malibu had been simple. Here? Not so much.

"Boyfriend?" she stated more than asked.

I nodded, rubbing my face. "I didn't expect him to call. We ended on good terms, agreed to leave our good memories in California, but now I'm worried something's wrong."

"How long were you together?" she asked, her voice softening.

"Almost two years. He's good, Nina. He treated me well, and I left him." I didn't understand why I was getting upset. I knew ending things was necessary—long-distance relationships rarely worked. I couldn't stop him from finding happiness.

"Everything happens for a reason, Riley. I believe you'll find your own happiness," she sighed. "I know how hard it is, even though I'm still sneaking around with him now." She paused, looking tense. "If Dominic or my dad discover I'm still seeing Lucas, I'm as good as dead. So if you could keep what you saw today to yourself, I'd be grateful."

"Lips are sealed," I promised as my phone vibrated with a text. I ignored it, though it took all my willpower.

"If he's your past, Riley, maybe it's better he stays there." Nina's tone softened. "Want to go out later? Maybe catch a movie or sneak into Moonmark Club?"

I'd already decided not to respond to Ethan. It wouldn't do any good, and I needed to move forward.

"Sneak into a club with no ID?" I questioned.

"Don't need ID when you're Dominic Blackwood's sister," she laughed. "So how about it? Looks like you could use some fun."

She was right. If I wanted to leave my past behind, it was time to start having some fun and shake things up. I needed to build a new life here, and I might as well start with a bang.

"Your dad invited us for dinner tonight. Would we get caught going to the club?"

"Don't worry about that. Just wear something smoking hot and let me handle the rest. I'll text Harper to meet us there. Come to my place around seven with your grandmother. Got it?"

"Got it," I smiled. "Now go so I can shower."

Turning my music back up, I headed to the bathroom. Tonight was going to be a good night. I could already feel it.