Aidan is in the woods, talking to someone, but I can't make out who. They're a shadowy figure, slightly shorter, a little less broad than Aidan. Whatever they're talking about, they both seem animated, arguing, maybe.

The radio beside me brims with chatter from the front of the park from the two park rangers I'm working with tonight. They've been cracking jokes about having a Big Foot sighting tonight based on some tracks they've found.

If I wasn't currently being stalked by a killer pack of wolves, their jokes might be funnier. Where the unusual used to amuse me as much as the next person, now I've found that moments like this set me on edge.

To distract myself, I turn back to the notes that Larissa left about which areas have campers, and even she's left a rough sketch of a large hairy man on the edge of the paper.

A frown creases my brow, and I glance back out the window to find Aidan and the other man gone. His disappearance causes a vice to tighten across my chest, stealing my breath. True to his word, Aidan hasn't left my side in days. He's never more than a few feet away from me, always within my line of sight.

"Are you avoiding me?"

Hailey's voice at the door of the hut makes me jump, and I turn to face her, a hand over my heart. "Jesus, you scared me."

"What's got your panties in a twist?" She sashays into the hut, peering at the map and guest information laid out in front of me.

"The two rangers keep joking about weird footprints in the park. I guess it's set me on edge." But it's taken me a moment to come up with the half truth, and Hailey is scanning me, clearly not sure she should believe me.

"You like weird things," she says.

"Maybe I don't like massive men." But I do—at least one of them. I peer over my shoulder, out the window of the hut again, but he's still gone.

Hailey lets out a snort. "Brody is tall, but he's definitely not massive."

"What are you doing here?" I fiddle with one of the pieces of paper on the desk, unsure whether I should be getting rid of Hailey or if Aidan will just make himself invisible. At this point, I would just like him to be visible to me.

"You didn't answer my last text, and you work in a creepy state park overnight. I was worried about my best friend."

"I'm totally fine."

"Are you?" Hailey tilts her head. "You seem different." She sucks in a deep breath. "New perfume? Smells kind of earthy, not really like you."

In the past, Hailey's weird comments that were either way off base or strangely intuitive didn't phase me. They were part of her quirkiness, the thing that made us friends. But there's something about the way she says the last bit that raises my defenses in a way I've never had them go up around her before.

"What do you mean?" I frown. "I haven't changed my perfume."

"No?" She shrugs. "Made any new friends lately?" She gets close to me, almost toe to toe. But where I'm tall, Hailey is shorter.

"You know me," I say, keeping my voice light, mocking. "Little miss social."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she says, and she's searching my eyes. "Not meddling in things that might hurt you."

Her obvious concern lowers my defenses, and I give her a little smile. "You've been worried about anything and anyone hurting me since the minute you entered my foster home."

"We look out for each other," Hailey reminds me. "Chosen sisters for life." She holds out her pinky finger for me to link mine with, and I do without hesitation. "No secrets."

The reminder causes guilt to prick at my consciousness. Hailey has my entire life story tucked away inside her. But do I really have hers? An outline, maybe. If I really think about it, Hailey's rule has only ever gone in my direction. Whenever I've asked Hailey a question, no matter how direct I am, she only answers when she wants to, and even then, her answers are sometimes riddles in themselves. She might be honest, but she's never direct.

Before I can answer, I hear Aidan's voice calling my name. Unsure how to respond with Hailey here, I turn back to the desk, keeping focused on the map for a moment before glancing out the window, the one where I saw Aidan last. He's not there, but his voice suggests that he's close.

"Hails," I say, half turning back to her, but she's gone, vanished. I didn't even hear her leave. "What is with people today?" I mutter, going out the hut door to glance around. She really left, and despite how close Aidan's voice sounded, I don't see him anywhere. Frustration bubbles in me.

Where are you?

"Just checking out some footprints with someone."

Aidan sounds like he's at my ear, but when I do a full circle, he's nowhere close.

"Are you invisible?" I ask, unsure. There's no response, and I run my fingers down the sides of my face in exasperation. "If you're invisible and ignoring me, this isn't funny."

Still nothing.

Why is every man such a fucking disappointment? My thought comes to me loud and harsh.

If I had to guess, based on observation, you've been hanging out with the wrong men.

I suck in a sharp breath and do another circle. This time, instead of Aidan sounding like he's at my ear, it sounds like he's in my ear.

Are you in my head? I push the thought out with the same force as the last few.

If I had to be somewhere inside you, there are other places I'd choose, but yeah, we're in each other's heads.

"Holy shit," I whisper out loud. "This is wild."

How is this happening?

Trust me when I say, I wish I knew. Stay in the hut until I'm back. Lock the door.

I go back in the hut and do as he's asked, twisting the lock on the door. I plop into the desk chair and I let my thoughts wander over this new piece of information.

Testing. Testing. One. Two. Three. Can you hear all my thoughts?

I keep my inner voice quiet, and I don't put any force behind it. When Aidan doesn't respond, I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank god he cannot hear all the times I've thirsted after him in the last few days. It's one thing if he can kind of sense it, but it's embarrassing on a whole other level if he can hear those thoughts.

The walkie-talkie crackles beside me as the two rangers seem to be tracking something through the bush.

It's been a weird night, and I hope Hailey made it home safely.

Out the window, I notice the full moon, and I stare at it, caught up in its luminance when the motion sensor light behind the hut clicks on. The front has a light that's on constantly, but the back is only activated by movement.

Is that you? I push the thought out before going to the door, my hand on the lock, ready to let him in.

No.

There's silence in my head, but my heart has started to thump. A shadowy figure is standing just outside the light of the sensor, and I can feel a scream climbing up my throat.

Here.

Aidan appears at the door, and I let out a cry of relief. I unlock the door, and I drag him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck, pressing myself against him.

"Someone is out there," I whisper in his ear.

"I know who it is."

"Who?"

He holds me close for a moment, and his answer is a long time coming. "It was just Kaden. I sent him ahead to make sure you were okay."

The name scratches something on the edge of my subconscious, but I can't uncover it.

"What did you find out there?" I ask, peering up at him.

"More things to worry about," he says with a sigh

What do you think it is?

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