Dead Is Not an Option by Marlene Perez

nuzzled my neck. "You smell good."
    "Vanilla," I said. "I was baking cookies."
    "Break some of those bad boys out," Sean said.
    I went to the house and came back with a plate of cookies. I handed Ryan and Sean cookies and then waved one in front of Sam's face. She refused it.
    Sean's little sister Katie came running out, her lips and hands stained a bright red. For a second, I thought it was blood, but then I realized she had been eating strawberries.
    She was followed closely behind by one of his other sisters, Jessica I think. Sean had seven sisters, and it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who. Katie was the youngest and Samantha's favorite. Jessica was not.
    Jessica didn't resemble her sisters. The others looked like Katie, strawberry blond curls and big blue eyes, but Jessica had long, straight auburn hair, steel gray eyes, and a chip on her shoulder. She'd be starting Nightshade High after we graduated.
    "Katie, let me wipe off your face," Sam said.
    "I'll do it," Jessica snapped.
    There was a tense moment while the two girls glared at each other, until Samantha finally caved in.
    "Fine," she said. She handed Jessica the wet cloth.
    "I want Sam to do it," Katie protested.
    Jessica gave in and handed Sam the cloth, but not without giving her a dirty look first.
    Ryan gave me a quick kiss. "Thanks for the cookies," he said. He tossed the football at Sean and they went back to their game.
    "I need your help with something," Samantha said. "It won't take up much of your time."
    "What?" I said cautiously.
    "Just feeding some yearbook volunteers on Monday," she replied. "You can do that in your sleep."
    "I do have a couple of mysteries to solve," I pointed out.
    "Please, Daisy," she said. "I want everything to be perfect. It's my last hurrah as an organizer."
    Jessica snorted, then it was Samantha's turn to send Jessica a dirty look. I wondered what was up between the two of them. They obviously didn't get along well, although Katie clearly loved Sam.
    Jessica led Katie back into the house, and I took the opportunity to grill Sam.
    " What's the deal with you and Jessica?" I asked.
    "She can't stand me," Sam replied. "Or more accurately, she can't stand it that Katie prefers me to her."
    "Katie does adore you," I observed."But you hang out with all of Sean's sisters."
    Samantha shrugged. "True, but Katie and I are really close. Jessica is convinced that Sean and I are going to break up when he leaves for college and then Katie will be heartbroken."
    "A lot of couples do break up after high school," I said, verbalizing my own fear.
    "Sean and I are solid," she said. She picked up on my own doubt. "Don't worry. You and Ryan will be fine."
    I sat in the chaise next to her, and we watched the guys play. I thought about what she had said. Would Ryan and I be fine? Or would our relationship be a casualty of distance and diverging interests?
    The sun was setting by the time the guys finally got tired and plopped down next to us.
    "Hey, have you seen Wolfie in school lately?" I asked them.
    "He was out all last week," Ryan said. "Maybe his parents finally shipped him off to military school or something."
    "Wolfie probably went off in a huff and will slink back with his tail between his legs," Sean suggested.
    "Maybe," I said.
    He shrugged. "Things are weird right now."
    I sat there running over the options. If Wolfie had disappeared and it got out, there was no telling what the Weres would do. They'd blame the vampires for sure.

    Monday, I wandered through the halls of school looking for Wolfgang. Instead, I ran into Penny. "Have you seen Wolfgang Paxton today?" I asked her.
    "Why would you want to talk to him?" she asked.
    "I wanted to ask him how Elise is doing," I explained.
    "I haven't heard much about Elise, but you won't find Wolfie mooning around," she said.
    "What?"
    "Rumor has it—" She stopped, then smiled sheepishly. "I promised Tyler I'd stop gossiping so much."
    Penny must be in love to make a promise like