Chapter 1

Saturday, May 18

This was a big day. Not only was it a full moon—a Flower Moon, the witches informed me—the wedding day was also finally here. And it was my official first anniversary in the village. And it was Morgan’s due date. I couldn’t believe it had been that long already. It felt like only days ago that I’d pulled up to my grandparents’ lake house. At the same time, so much had happened over the last 365 days, it seemed like it couldn’t possibly have been only a year.

From my spot at the dinette in the kitchen, steaming mug of coffee in hand, I stared out the windows and realized that I could see the lake for the first time in five days. Just the edge along the shore, not all the way across it yet. And a hint of blue sky. Who could have known that as the strange mist rolled in on Monday morning, the day after my sister arrived, it would turn into such a heavy, persistent fog? I teased Rosalyn that she must have brought it with her because the weather had been perfect for weeks before that. By Wednesday, it felt like a scratchy wool blanket trying to smother us, and everyone had stopped joking about it. Now, we were all desperate for it to break. Anywhere else, this would be strange. Meteorologists from far and wide would be analyzing it, desperate to figure out what was causing the phenomenon. This was Whispering Pines, though.

Last night, while running through the backyard, I thought it seemed a bit lighter. This morning, it was definitely patchier, like some big flying creature had snaked through the woods and around the yard leaving open trails in its wake.

“Jayne!” Rosalyn burst out of her room to my right, frantic, her headphones draped over her neck. She must have been working. “Something’s wrong with Meeka.”

I swear, my heart missed a few beats. “What’s the matter with her? Where is she?”

“Can’t you hear her?” She pointed toward her bedroom. “She won’t stop barking.”

“She’s in your bedroom?”

“What?” She shook her head. “No, she’s in the front yard.”

Roz took the mug from my hand, set it on the table, and dragged me out the front door. Then I heard it: Meeka’s red alert warning bark. Something was absolutely wrong.

As we got closer, I spotted a figure lying on the ground near the tree line. A few feet closer and it appeared to be Colin Burke, the wedding photographer staying with us.

Rosalyn gasped and gripped my arm. “Is he dead?”