Fall (The Ragnarok Prophesies) Read Online Free Page B

around my face every which way, and not even the concealer I’d dabbed on hid the dark circles beneath my eyes. The sleeves of my hoodie weren’t long enough to cover the mass of tape gunk and bruises left from IV lines on the backs of my hands either.
    Beth had taken a little more care with her appearance, opting for jeans, brown knee-high boots, a leopard-print top, blush, and lip gloss. But her brown eyes were puffy beneath, as if she’d been crying. She’d tucked strands of her long, dark hair behind her ears to keep it out of her face, which only accentuated how pale she’d become since Dani died.
    Neither of us looked great.
    Chelle, Beth’s sister and my closest friend in Beebe, didn’t look much better. She stood directly behind Beth, waiting for her turn to say hello. She and Beth―and Dani―were triplets. Beth and Chelle looked more alike in their grief than they had before. Chelle’s dark eyes were clouded, her face gaunt and colorless. Had she not been hand-in-hand with her boyfriend Gage Carter, I wouldn’t have known which sister was which.
    Gage, like Dace, loomed above us, well over six feet tall. His blue eyes were a lot like Dace’s―far too bright to belong to an ordinary human. Gage was Nephilim, the descendant of an angel. He was also Chelle’s other half. He looked out for her, protected her, above anything. The first time I met him―the day Dani died―he was so focused on Chelle, he walked right past me without a word. I didn’t hold it against him, and I’d come to count him a friend in the months since.
    “Hey, guys,” I said, giving them both a smile.
    They stopped by to welcome me home. I didn’t really feel much like company, but I didn’t have the heart to tell Chelle no when she asked. Despite her own problems, she and Gage visited me almost daily in the hospital. I owed her this visit. Besides, I’d missed her since she last came to see me in the hospital.
    “Hey.” Gage stepped aside so Chelle could lean down to hug me too.
    “Welcome home,” she murmured, pulling back to look at me.
    “Thanks.”
    “How are you?” she asked, examining my face.
    “Surviving. How are you?”
    She gave me a little shrug.
    I squeezed her hand in understanding. Her life had become as terrifying as mine in the last couple of months. So had Beth’s, for that matter. The only difference was Beth didn’t know the truth about what lurked in the dark. Chelle carried that burden in silence so her sister didn’t have to endure the same awful truths we were forced to face.
    Beth, Chelle, Gage, Ronan, and Dace were all fanned out around my bedroom, but I didn’t see Mandy Chapman, Beth’s best friend.
    “Where’s Mandy?” I asked.
    “She couldn’t come.” Chelle grimaced apologetically, cutting her gaze toward the corner where Ronan sat, observing our reunion in silence.
    “Oh,” I sighed, shooting him a wary glance. As usual, he wore dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and dirty boots. He looked like the leader of a biker gang, with dark, severe features. Handsome in a striking kind of way, but nowhere near my type. He was too rough around the edges, not to mention a little dangerous.
    The night Hati attacked me, Ronan kidnapped Mandy and left her in the woods miles outside of town. He claimed he did it because he knew I’d send the wolves to find her, and he’d be able to talk to me alone. I think what he really meant was that he did it so he could get me alone in case he decided he needed to kill me. For reasons he hadn’t quite explained to me, he’d thought I killed Chiran when he found me covered in the poor wolf’s blood.
    Whatever his misguided reasons though, the results were the same. Mandy had been terrified out of her mind, and Hati nearly killed me. Chelle managed to convince Mandy to tell everyone she’d wandered too far and lost her way, but Mandy hadn’t said a word to Ronan since. When she visited me in the hospital, if he came in, she left. I didn’t really blame