The Wolves Among Us

Book 1: Raven - Chapter 1

Jojo’s P.O.V.

8 YEARS AGO

I kicked off my sneakers at the front door, my backpack sliding off my shoulder with a dull thud against the hardwood floor. The house smelled like something warm and savory, maybe my mom’s stew, but as soon as I stepped in, I noticed the hushed, serious voices coming from the kitchen. Something about the tone made me pause.

I moved carefully, my socked feet making no noise as I edged toward the hallway. The kitchen light glowed softly, and through the open doorway, I could hear my parents talking.

“It’s just awful,” my mother was saying, her voice heavy with sorrow.

“Those poor kids. No mother, no father. And now this… It’s not fair.”

I frowned.

Who were they talking about?

“They’ve managed so far,” My father replied, his voice steadier, firmer.

“Adam’s done a damn fine job holding that family together. Better than most grown men would.”

The Millers.

I leaned against the wall, my stomach twisting. Everyone in Fairview knew about them—the tragic family, left orphaned when their parents died in that awful car accident years ago. Adam Miller, the eldest, had barely been an adult when it happened, but he had taken in his siblings and raised them himself. People either pitied them or admired Adam for stepping up the way he had.

My mother sighed.

“I know. I know. But it doesn’t mean those kids didn’t suffer. And now…” She trailed off for a moment before continuing in a softer voice.

“Now, Raven’s gone.”

I sucked in a quiet breath.

Raven Miller. The youngest of the Miller boys. Even though not the wildest of the bunch, he was still trouble, everyone said. I had seen him around town and in school—black hair always a mess, his sharp and dark eyes always full of something unreadable. A boy who never seemed to belong anywhere, even within his own family.

so of course… all the girls in town were in love with him…

Oh… who the hell was I kidding?

I had a massive crush on him too…

“I’m not surprised,” My father said.

“That boy had something restless in him since the day his parents passed. Never settled, never quite fit in. I’d be shocked if he ever set foot in Fairview again. A town like this is just too small for a boy like him.”

I could hear the clinking of dishes, the scrape of a chair being pulled out. My mother sniffed, like she was holding back tears.

“But where could he have gone?” she asked.

“He’s just a kid, Henry.”

Silence stretched between them, heavy and uncertain.

I swallowed. The idea of Raven Miller being gone—all alone, out there somewhere with no home, no one to look out for him—made my chest feel tight. It was strange, the way adults talked about kids like they were set in stone, like Raven had always been the way he was and nothing could have changed that.

But I wasn’t so sure myself .

Maybe he became restless, and maybe he changed, because of what had happened to him at such a young age…

I turned away from the doorway, my mind buzzing with everything I had overheard. Raven Miller was gone. Maybe for good. And I couldn’t shake the feeling that the town of Fairview would be a little different without him in it every day.

Three minutes later, I sat frozen on the edge of my bed, my heart hammering in my chest. The words I had just overheard downstairs still echoed in my ears.

"He's gone, just up and left the day he was old enough to do so," My mother had said in a hushed tone, as if trying to keep the news from reaching my ears.

"And no one seems to know where he went."

I barely heard my father's response. The rush of emotions swirling inside me made it hard to focus. Raven Miller, the boy I had secretly harbored a crush on for the past year, had disappeared. Just like that. Without a goodbye, without a hint.

How could he?

And where could he possibly have gone?

My fingers trembled as I reached for my phone, immediately dialing Eva’s number. It rang twice before Eva, my best friend, picked up.

"Hey, Jojo. What's up?" Eva's voice was casual, oblivious to the storm brewing inside me.

"Did you hear about Raven Miller?" I blurted, gripping the phone tighter.

There was a pause on the other end before Eva sighed.

"Yeah… I heard. It's crazy, right?"

"Crazy? It's more than crazy, Eva! He’s just—he’s gone! Do you know anything else? Where he went? Why he left?" I felt my throat tighten, but I fought to keep my voice steady.

"I don't know much," Eva admitted.

"But I heard my older brother talking about it. He said Blade came by their house yesterday. Something about him taking off in the middle of the night. No one saw him go. But his family didn't stop him from leaving either."

I swallowed hard.

"So, he didn’t even tell anyone? Not his friends? Not —"

I caught myself before saying me. Because what was I to him, really? Just another girl who went to school with him? Maybe someone he nodded at in the hallways? Certainly not important enough for a goodbye. We never even had a conversation. Let alone that he knew how badly my crush on him was…

"Not that I know of," Eva said, her voice softer now.

"But Jojo… why do you care so much?"

I hesitated. I could lie, say that I was just curious. But what was the point? Eva was one of my best friends. If anyone would understand, it was her.

"I just… I don’t know," I muttered.

"I just feel bad for his family. They already lost their parents, and now they lost Raven too."

Eva sighed again, but this time, it was full of understanding.

"Yeah, I get it. But Jojo, if he left like that, maybe he didn’t have a choice. Maybe something happened. Maybe he felt like it was what he needed to do for himself."

I flopped back onto my pillows, staring at the ceiling. That was the worst part—not knowing. Not knowing why, not knowing where. I had so many questions, and the person who could answer them was now gone.

"I just wish I knew if one day, he would come back," I whispered. Feeling my heart crack over my very first crush. A crush I now came to understand would never transform into anything more.