Eventually, me and Peter decided we’d probably been at the lake long enough.
The sun had started dropping lower behind the trees, turning the water a deep orange where the light caught it.
I could’ve stayed there for hours.
It was peaceful.
No shouting.
No fear.
No one telling me what I could or couldn’t do.
Just me, Peter and the sound of the water moving against the bank.
Peter stood and stretched.
“Right.” He placed both hands over his stomach.
“If I don’t eat something soon, I may actually die.” I laughed as I got to my feet.
“You ate before we came.” “That was ages ag.” “It was about two hours.” “Exactly.” He looked horrified.
“Do you know how much energy it takes being this charming?” I rolled my eyes.
“Apparently loads.” “Finally.
Someone understands.” He held out his hand and pulled me up from the grass.
We started walking back through the woods towards the Compound.
For the first few minutes, Peter talked almost constantly.
Mostly about food.
Apparently he had already decided what he wanted for dinner, dessert and a second dessert.
“Why do you need two desserts?” I asked.
He looked at me.
“Lilah.” “What?” “One dessert is enjoyment.” He held up a second finger.
“Two desserts is commitment.” I burst out laughing.
“You make no sense.” “I make perfect sense.” “Only to you.” “And several squirrels.” I looked at him.
“Several?” “Rosie agrees with me.” “Who’s Rosie?” “Squirrel.” “Of course she is.” Peter grinned.
“Nice lass.” I laughed and shook my head.
Walking back with him felt easy.
That was something I was starting to like about Peter.
Nothing ever stayed serious for too long.
Even when my mind started wandering back towards everything that had happened, somehow he’d say something ridiculous and pull me back into the moment.
We were almost at the Compound when I noticed two people waiting near the edge of the path.
Jace.
And Nelly.
Jace had his arms folded.
Nelly looked unusually serious.
My smile immediately faded.
Something was wrong.
Peter noticed too.
“Why do they look like we’ve been called into the headteacher’s office?” “I don’t know.” We walked towards them.
Jace immediately looked at me.
“Where have you been?” “With my new friend, this is Peter”.
“Peter this is Jace”.
Jace nodded but looked intense still “What happened?” I asked.
Jace glanced around.
“Come closer.” We stepped towards them.
Jace lowered his voice.
“Nelly and I heard something earlier.” “What?” Peter asked.
Nelly looked towards Jace before answering.
“It’s about Jack.” My stomach tightened.
“Wait who’s Jack”, Peter interjected “He’s my brother”.
“What about him?” i asked “He’s looking for you.” Silence.
The peaceful feeling from the lake disappeared instantly.
“Me?” I asked.
“And Jace,” Nelly added.
“How do you know?” “We overheard a conversation near the gates,” Jace said.
“Two wolves from another territory were talking.” “They said Jack has been asking around.” “Asking what?” “Where we’d gone.” Jace’s jaw tightened.
“And apparently…” He hesitated.
“…he says we took something.” I stared at him.
“What?” Peter frowned.
“Took what?” “That’s the problem.” Jace shook his head.
“I don’t know.” “We didn’t take anything,” I said immediately.
“I know.” I looked between all of them.
“I literally had nothing.” “My clothes.” “Mr Buttons.” “That’s it.” Nelly nodded.
“That’s what we thought.” Peter folded his arms.
“Maybe they’re lying.” We looked at him.
He shrugged.
“It’d make sense.” “How?” I asked.
“If Derrick wants people helping Jack look for you, he needs a reason.” Peter’s expression hardened.
“He can’t exactly tell everyone the truth.” “Which is?” “That you escaped because they treated you like shit.” Jace looked down.
Peter continued.
“So instead…” “He says you stole something.” “Makes you look like the criminals.” That made anger rise in my chest.
“So after everything they did…” “They’re telling people I’m a thief?” Jace shook his head.
“My dad’s always been good at twisting things.” “Making himself look like the victim.” I hated that.
I hated Derrick.
I hated that even after escaping, he still somehow found ways to reach into my life.
Peter looked towards Jace.
“Do you think Jack actually wants to find you?” Jace didn’t answer immediately.
Nelly looked at him too.
Finally, he sighed.
“I don’t know.” I frowned.
“What do you mean?” “Jack…” Jace looked towards the trees.
“He’s complicated.” “He’s always tried to please Dad.” “Even when Dad treated him like crap.” Peter raised an eyebrow.
“So Derrick’s making him do this?” “Probably.” Jace looked uncomfortable.
“But that doesn’t mean Jack won’t follow through.” I thought about that.
Something about it bothered me.
“If Derrick’s making him…” Everyone looked at me.
“What?” Jace asked.
“Maybe Jack doesn’t actually want to hurt us.” Jace frowned.
“Lilah.” “I know.” I held up my hands.
“I’m not saying we should trust him.” “But…” I swallowed.
“I know what it’s like when Derrick controls everything.” That silenced Jace.
Nelly looked thoughtful.
“She has a point.” Jace sighed.
“I know.” He rubbed one hand across his face.
“Doesn’t make Jack safe.” “No,” I agreed.
“But maybe it means he’s not exactly free either.” Peter nodded.
“Either way, we still need to figure out what they’re looking for.” Jace looked at me.
“What exactly did you take when we left?” “I told you.” “Nothing.” Then I paused.
Jace seemed to remember at the same time.
“The backpack.” Peter looked between us.
“What backpack?” “The one i brought when we escaped, i didn’t have one so i…..kind of nicked one of Jack’s,” I explained.
Jace frowned.
Nelly looked towards the Compound.
“Then maybe that’s where we start.” Peter nodded.
“Backpack investigation.” Jace gave him a look.
“Don’t call it that.” “Operation Backpack?” Peter gave Jace a disgruntled look.
He grinned.
Despite everything, I laughed.
We started back towards the Compound together.
This time, though, the walk felt completely different.
Peter stayed close beside me.
Jace and Nelly walked ahead.
Nobody said much.
My mind kept circling back to one thing.
The backpack.
It had been sitting there this whole time.
Forgotten.
Ignored.
Just another reminder of the night we’d escaped.
But now…
Jack was searching for us.
Derrick believed we’d taken something.
And there was only one place left to look.
Whatever answer we were about to find…
It was probably sitting upstairs in Jace’s room.
Waiting for us.
The four of us sat cross-legged on the floor of my bedroom while Jace tipped the contents of his brother’s backpack onto the rug.
A small mountain of supplies tumbled out.
A folded hoodie.
Two spare shirts.
A hunting knife.
Rope.
A first-aid kit.
a few packets of dried meat.
A flask.
Nothing unusual that i could tell.
Nothing that looked valuable enough for Alpha Derrick to send trackers after us when we had travelled this far.
Peter scratched his head.
“I was expecting…
I don’t know…” He picked up the hunting knife and inspected it.
“…something a bit more exciting.” Nelly laughed.
“What were you expecting?
A map to buried treasure?” Peter shrugged.
“You never know, plus i highly doubt they’ll come this far just for your brothers ratty backpack”.
We burst into laughter.
Jace sighed as he searched another pocket.
“If this is all there is, then whoever started those rumours was clearly wrong.” “I don’t know,” I said quietly.
“Our old pack didn’t panic over nothing.” “They wouldn’t risk coming here unless whatever they’re after is important.” Unfortunately…
I knew Alpha Derrick.
He didn’t care about anything except power.
If he’s sent Jack after us…
It wasn’t because he wanted his backpack back.
It was because something inside it mattered.
Peter suddenly froze.
“Hang on.” He frowned.
“There’s another compartment.” We all leaned closer.
“There isn’t,” Jace replied.
“I’ve had that backpack loads of times.” Peter smiled.
“Trust me.” “My mum says I’m impossible to buy birthday presents for because I always find the hidden ones.” He pushed two fingers inside the lining.
“There…” He pulled gently.
The stitching shifted slightly.
“A secret pocket.” Jace’s eyebrows shot up.
“How did you even notice that?” Peter grinned.
“I like puzzles.” He shrugged He carefully reached inside.
For a second…
Nothing happened.
Then…
His fingers closed around something.
“I’ve got something.” Nobody moved.
Slowly…
Peter withdrew a small bundle wrapped in faded black cloth.
My heartbeat quickened.
Even before it was opened…
Something about it felt…
Different.
Peter carefully unfolded the fabric.
Nestled inside lay a crystal .
It wasn’t perfectly smooth.
it was golden and kind of rounded Its colour was unlike anything I’d ever seen.
Golden.
But not ordinary gold.
It glowed with soft shades of amber and honey, almost as though sunlight itself had somehow become trapped inside the stone.
Tiny veins of silver shimmered beneath the surface.
For several seconds…
Nobody spoke.
Nelly was the first to break the silence.
“What is it?” Peter slowly turned it over in his palm.
“It can’t just be a rock.” Jace carefully took it from him.
The crystal felt surprisingly heavy for its size.
He walked towards the window where the afternoon sun streamed through the glass.
The instant sunlight touched the crystal…
The room exploded with colour.
Golden beams scattered across every wall.
Tiny rainbows danced over the ceiling.
The light shimmered like sunlight reflecting across gentle waves.
For a moment…
The entire room looked magical.
I couldn’t stop staring.
“It…” I whispered.
“…it’s beautiful.” “It almost looks alive,” Nelly breathed.
Peter slowly stepped closer.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Neither had I.
The crystal seemed almost warm.
Not hot.
Comfortably warm.
As though it held its own heartbeat.
Jace frowned thoughtfully.
“This has to be it…..the thing Jack was looking for.” I nodded.
“It has to be…..But…” I folded my arms.
“…why, it’s just a crystal?” Peter looked at the crystal.
“Maybe it’s valuable.” Jace shook his head.
“My parents have money.” “Ok, Richie Rich,” joked Peter “They wouldn’t send wolves after us for something they could sell.” Nelly looked thoughtful.
“So…” “If it isn’t valuable…It must be powerful.” Those words hung in the room.
Powerful.
A crystal.
Jack, Jace’s brother chasing us.
Alpha Derrick is desperate to recover it.
Suddenly…
None of us wanted to touch it anymore.
Jace carefully wrapped it back inside the cloth.
“I don’t like this, what if it’s dangerous?” I asked.
Peter looked at me.
“If it was…I don’t think it’d be glowing like a tiny sunrise.” Despite my worry…
I laughed.
Trust Peter to lighten the mood.
He smiled proudly.
“Oh i do love a good mystery.” said Peter rubbing his hands together.
Jace slipped the crystal safely into his pocket.
“Until we know exactly what this thing is…..nobody talks about it.
“His voice had become serious.
“Not at breakfast, not during training, not even to Tony.” I looked surprised.
“Wait why not Tony, he might know what it is, he’s very smart?” “She means old”, said Peter gently punching Jace in the arm.
He sighed.
“I trust him.” “Completely, but if people know we’ve got it…They might start asking questions so for now, the fewer people who know…” He said looking around at all of us.”…the safer everyone is, especially Lilah, my family, if i can even call them that, have always hated her for no reason.” Nelly nodded.
“I agree.” Peter raised his hand dramatically.
“I, Peter Walker, officially swear not to tell a single living soul about the weird but equally cool crystal rock thingy.” I laughed.
“You make it sound like we’re starting a secret society.” He grinned.
“We basically are.” “We should have a name.” “Oh no,” Jace groaned.
“Here we go.” Peter ignored him.
“The Crystal Club No, The Secret Stone Society, No wait this ones perfect.” “The Extremely Attractive Crystal Protectors.” Nelly burst into laughter.
“You only added that because you’re in it.” Peter looked offended.
“I don’t know what you’re implying.” I couldn’t stop laughing.
For the first time in years…
Actually laughing.
Not forcing it.
Not pretending.
Real laughter.
The kind that made your stomach hurt, before, Jace had been the only person who had ever made me laugh.
I suddenly realised something.
This morning…
These people had been strangers.
Now…
We were sitting on my bedroom floor making ridiculous club names over a mysterious crystal.
It felt…
Nice.
No.
It felt like home.