17

“No,” Cordelia whispered, sounding heartbroken, and the word echoed through Katelyn’s own heart. “I’m so sorry, Kat. I’m sorry.”

Katelyn opened her mouth and no words came. White-hot pain seared through her, tracing every nerve in her body. She screamed in agony, but the cry that came out didn’t sound like her. It was something else, and she could hear it echoing in her head. Over and over. Louder and louder.

She looked at Cordelia, jaw open, eyes wide in horror, and her face seemed to fragment until all Katelyn saw was a blur of color where her friend had been.

Her vision swam with silver. The light of the moon.

She felt a sharp prick on her lip and realized it was her own teeth growing. She felt her face shifting, elongating. And then the bones in her legs broke and she crashed to the ground. Instantly, the bones knit, but the structure of her legs was horribly wrong, backward, deformed. Her vision cleared suddenly as she tried to push herself up off the dirt, and she saw her fingernails turn into thick yellow-white claws as her hands twisted and grew into paws.

And now the screaming was howling—a raw fury that tore, aching, from her throat.

Cordelia was also changing—her auburn hair darkening to reddish brown. Her face stretched horribly. Her body made terrible cracking noises and a tail sprouted from the small of her back.

And then Katelyn saw movement flashing through the trees. Wolves bounded toward her.

But it didn’t matter, because … She couldn’t remember why. All that mattered …

And Katelyn was gone and only the wolf remained.

Pain. Fear. Mind-numbing cold. Katelyn slowly became aware of all these things, followed swiftly by a scratchy sensation under her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly and saw grass and, beyond the grass, a line of pine trees.

There was a blanket on top of her and she realized that beneath it she was naked.

She sat up quickly, pulling the blanket around her. As she blinked in the dim sunlight, her eyes swept the clearing. It looked familiar, like the one they had been in the night before, except this one was filled with people. Naked people, in various stages of waking up. The guys from the driveway. Jesse, curled up like a baby. Arial and Regan, beside their husbands. Lucy, lying on her stomach.

“Hey,” Cordelia whispered. She sat nearby, already dressed. There was blood on the sleeve of her sweater. “Kat, you’re okay. You’re a regular werewolf, like us.”

Not a hellhound, Katelyn translated. She stared at Cordelia mutely. At the moment, the difference between hellhound and “regular werewolf” didn’t matter to her. She was no longer human.

Katelyn licked her lips and tried to speak. Cordelia put her finger to her mouth to shush her and held out the clothes Katelyn had been wearing the night before. Numb, Katelyn took them. She stared down at her hand. She didn’t remember anything past the horrible pain that had wracked her body. Maybe it hadn’t happened. Maybe it had been a dream.

“This is the pack,” Cordelia whispered.

“They know.” And if they knew, Katelyn realized, so did Cordelia’s father. “You said it would be just us. You promised.”

“Someone must have known,” Cordelia said. “And brought the others.”

Her voice sounded leaden. There was fear and worry in her eyes and it gave Katelyn a horrible, sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The others were getting up now, retrieving their clothes from the forest. And there, in the middle of the clearing, a mutilated carcass glistened in the sun.

“Is that a deer?” Katelyn asked, fresh horror creeping through her. Had she helped kill it? Had she eaten it?

“What’s left of it,” Justin said.

Wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, he stood over her, his expression filled with confusion. She pulled the blanket closer and looked down at her hands again. There was blood under her fingernails.

Katelyn leaned sideways and retched. She was a werewolf. She killed animals. Her body convulsed as she continued to throw up.

She was aware that others were moving, drifting closer. Booted feet planted themselves in front of her face and she looked straight up, into the eyes of Lee Fenner. They were blazing with fury.

She had never been more afraid in her life.

He’s going to kill me.

“What did you do?” he whispered, leaning down toward her. He stared at her, hard, every muscle in his body rigid, as if he was preparing to spring. It was so terrifying she couldn’t move.

“Daddy, I can explain,” Cordelia pleaded, rushing to him.

He ignored Cordelia completely and kept staring down at Katelyn. She tucked her legs up close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. This was the end, just as Cordelia had warned.

“Hi, Kat, hi!” Jesse cried shrilly from across the meadow. “Kat came to play! We can play tag!”

“Looks like little sis wanted a playmate,” Arial purred, leaning her head on her husband’s shoulder. The man patted her absently, never tearing his eyes from the unfolding drama.

“No, that’s not what happened! I didn’t bite her,” Cordelia cried.

“If not you, then who? It’s forbidden to bite a human. Everyone knows that,” Regan said, touching her chest in what was clearly feigned dismay. “Unless the alpha gives you permission. And I don’t think he did.”

Katelyn’s mind raced. They’re going to kill me, and when they find my body, no one will ever know what happened to me. She thought of Trick and her grandfather, and she began to cry. She tried to push herself up but her muscles had gone slack. All she could do was lie beneath the furious glare of the alpha werewolf of the Fenner pack.

“I don’t know who did it,” Cordelia said, crossing her arms and keeping her distance from her father. “But there’s a wolf who tried to attack her when she first got here. Then it bit her three weeks ago.”

Katelyn glanced at Justin and saw raw horror in his eyes when he looked at her.

“Keep talking,” Mr. Fenner ordered Cordelia. “Fast.”

“I was hoping it was just a normal wolf that did it. But Kat says it—it had blue eyes,” she stammered.

That caused a stir throughout the group. Faces turned from Katelyn to each other. They were checking eye color and they looked scared.

“Guess what! Guess what! I have blue eyes,” Jesse said. “Justin has blue eyes.”

“Yes,” Mr. Fenner said, his full attention focused on Cordelia.

Cordelia has blue eyes. Katelyn looked around. How many of them did?

“Daddy, I couldn’t believe that anybody would break the law,” Cordelia said. “I wanted to be sure she was a werewolf before I came to you.”

Cordelia took a deep breath. “She had a few signs. And I—I was afraid that if I didn’t tell her, she’d go to an outsider. But we didn’t know if they were the right signs—she had rabies shots after the bite.”

“And you didn’t come to me about it?” Mr. Fenner asked in a low, dangerous voice.

Someone coughed nervously and the wind blew through the trees, causing the branches to dip and bend. Things weren’t going well. Katelyn wanted to say something, wanted to defend them both, but instinctively she knew that if she did anything, it would make things worse.

“Daddy, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for doing it, or sorry that you got caught?” Arial said.

Katelyn couldn’t hold back any longer. She forced herself to sit upright, holding the blanket around her.

“I could tell that Cordelia knew something about what was happening to me. I made her tell me,” Katelyn told Mr. Fenner. “I threatened her—”

“You don’t speak unless I tell you to,” Mr. Fenner said without even bothering to look at her.

“But—” she protested. Her life was on the line; she had a right to speak.

Without a word, Mr. Fenner charged at her. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked back her head. Fiery pain shot through her scalp and she gasped. A bone in her neck made a cracking sound.

Then he flung her away. She went sprawling. With a roar, he whirled on Cordelia, who covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head.

Mr. Fenner’s eyes bulged. “You went behind my back? Told an outsider about us? Thought to hide her possible condition from me?” Spittle flew from his mouth.

Shaking, Katelyn looked over at Justin. He was watching everything. He locked gazes with her and gave her a slow, nearly imperceptible nod.

I’m here for you.

Close beside him, Lucy was holding on to Jesse, who had taken her hand and looked scared. Her face was white. Justin put an arm around her.

“I was trying to protect all of us, including her, including you,” Cordelia rasped, looking down, her head bowed in submission.

“I do not need protection from you!” he roared.

“Daddy, I’m so sorry. I am. I’m so sorry,” she pleaded, her voice faltering. “I—you … Daddy, I didn’t know what to do!”

He stomped toward her. Balling his fists, he pounded the air between Cordelia and him. He shouted like a madman—no words, just shouts. Whirling in a circle, he threw back his head and screamed her name.

“Cordelia!”

Everyone drew back, cringing. He was working himself into a rage.

“I didn’t want to believe them,” he said. “They told me, and I came out here to prove them wrong.” He looked over at Arial and Regan, who both pulled sad faces. Regan nodded as if to herself and Arial sighed heavily. Katelyn stared at them in horror. How had they known? She and Cordelia had been so careful. Unless one of them had been the wolf that bit her?

“My girl,” he said. “My little girl.” He spat on the grass. “You are a traitor!”

“Daddy, please! I’m sorry. I—I didn’t know what to do, because you’ve been acting—”

“Cordelia, no,” Justin said sharply. Beside him, Lucy began to cry. Something shifted in the group, which had gone utterly silent.

“I expected better of you,” Mr. Fenner murmured.

For the first time, Katelyn heard more than anger from him. She heard despair. “I can’t look away from something like this. You were my little girl,” he said. He hiccupped a sob. “My little girl.”

Justin took his arm from around Lucy and stepped forward. Hope flared in Katelyn. Maybe he could make it better.

“Uncle Lee, Cordelia loves you. She’s a kid. Kids make mistakes.”

“A mistake like this could destroy us,” Arial chimed in.

Justin ignored her. “Forgive her. Can’t we accept Kat into the pack, regardless of how she came to be?”

“I can marry Lucy,” Jesse called out. “Justin can marry Kat.”

Lee Fenner’s face softened slightly. Jesse bobbed his head, murmuring, “Yeah, yeah. Kat is not a stranger.”

“You’ve got a pair, boy,” Mr. Fenner told Justin. “Maybe I should pick you to lead this pack when I’m gone.”

Justin dipped his head. “You’ll be my alpha for a long time yet, Uncle Lee.”

Justin walked slowly over to Katelyn and put a hand on her shoulder. “Kat, did you tell anyone else what was happening? Your grandfather? That … boy?”

“No,” she said. Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. “Cordelia told me not to, and I didn’t. I swear it.”

Guarded expressions of approval traveled around the group, but Arial’s and Regan’s faces were stony and unforgiving. Justin gave Katelyn’s shoulder a furtive squeeze, and she wanted to grab his hand and beg him to get her out of there, now.

Mr. Fenner turned back to Cordelia. “Your cousin makes a good argument for mercy. For his sake, I’ll show some.”

“Oh, Daddy, thank you, thank you,” Cordelia said in a rush. “I—”

His face hardened as he cut her off. “Cordelia Lynn Fenner. You were always my choice to succeed me. But you’ve proven yourself unworthy of the trust I placed in you. I’ll spare your life if you leave this pack. If you leave my home and leave my sight and never return, I’ll let you live.”

Gasps and a few soft cries of protest rose. Cordelia staggered, shock on her face. Katelyn remembered how afraid she’d been when she told her that nothing would be worse than being without a pack.

“What is happening?” Jesse asked, bursting into tears.

Katelyn’s heart pounded as she stared at her friend. There had to be something she could do. She glanced back at Arial and Regan. They both looked happy, as if they were finally getting what they wanted. It could easily have been one of them who’d bitten her. If she could only prove that, uncover the guilty—

“Better take off,” Mr. Fenner said, his voice flinty.

“But where am I supposed to go?” Cordelia asked in a trembling voice.

“You can go to hell for all I care,” he said.

“What about Kat?” she asked. “Please, Daddy, she was attacked—”

“Kat’s not going anywhere,” he said. “Certainly not with you.”

Cordelia was gray-faced. Her mouth was working but no sound was coming out as she swayed on her feet.

“Kat, you have to come with me!” Cordelia cried. “He’ll kill you!”

Justin put a hand on Katelyn’s shoulder and she could tell it was a warning. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from screaming. This wasn’t right. Someone had attacked her and killed Haley and Becky. Cordelia hadn’t done anything wrong.

“You say you care about this girl and then you ask her to leave her pack? She’d be dead inside of a year. Is that what you want for her?” Mr. Fenner demanded. “She stays.” He glared at Kat. “If you try to go with her, I’ll take you both down. Have no doubts. You’re one of us now, and she’s not.”

“Please, Mr. Fenner,” Katelyn said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Please.”

“No,” he said firmly.

She looked at Cordelia, willing her to understand. I will find a way to help you.

“Get out,” Mr. Fenner ordered Cordelia.

Wordlessly, she picked up her duffel bag and started in the direction of her truck.

“Oh, Cordelia?” Arial called out.

Cordelia stopped. “What?” she asked without turning.

“You can walk,” Regan answered.

“Better yet, run,” Mr. Fenner said. “As fast as you can.”

Cordelia turned and stared at her father and then at Katelyn.

“You did this to me,” Cordelia said. “You went home alone. You got out of your truck. And all I tried to do was help you.”

Katelyn opened her mouth to speak, to plead with her friend, but was cut off.

“You did it to yourself,” Regan said.

Cordelia held her hands out to her father. “I didn’t tell you because you’re losing your mi—”

“Cordelia!” Justin bellowed. “No!”

“Better go. Better run!” Mr. Fenner shouted at her.

“You,” Cordelia said to Katelyn.

And then she ran.

Katelyn wept as each person, male and female, kissed her cheek in greeting. They told her their names. Myrna, the woman from the driveway. Steve and Daniel Berglund, who told her he had graduated from Wolf Springs High the year before.

“Drive her to the house, Justin,” Mr. Fenner said at last. “Her grandfather’s not expecting her back until later today. There’s a lot we need to hash out.”

Justin looked at Lucy, who nodded, then took Jesse’s hand.

“Come on, darlin’,” Lucy said. “We’ll drive back together.”

“I want to go with Justin,” he said, pouting. “I want Cordelia.”

“It’s going to be okay, Jesse,” Lucy said, giving Katelyn a sharp look.

Katelyn followed Justin to Cordelia’s truck in a fog. She climbed in as he got behind the wheel, pushing back the seat to give his long legs room. He put the key in the ignition but he didn’t start the engine. Katelyn sat in the passenger seat, practically catatonic.

“It would have made things easier if you’d told me,” he said finally.

“How?” she managed to say.

His expression was a mixture of shame and amusement. He looked in the rearview mirror and all she saw reflected were his blue eyes. It seemed that everywhere she looked, the werewolves’ blue eyes looked back at her—that everyone could have been the one who’d attacked her.

“I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you,” he said. His voice was low and deep. “I kept thinking about you. Even when I’d think about Lucy, it was you who I’d come back to. And now that I know, it makes sense. You’re an unclaimed female.”

That might be true now, but it hadn’t been that first time, when he’d come to the cabin and they’d gone riding in the woods. She hadn’t been attacked yet.

He turned on the truck and slowly guided it out of the clearing. She bit her lower lip and studied the passing trees. So many, closing in on her. Where was Cordelia? Was she running? Would they go after her?

“Someone did this to me,” she said quietly. “Cordelia told me—”

“Rule number one. You can’t mention her name when you’re with the pack, ever,” he said. “She’s dead to you.”

Katelyn looked at him. This was all so crazy, so medieval. This was the real Banjo Land and she hated them.

“But she’s not,” Katelyn whispered. “You have to help me find her. Because she—”

“Of course I will,” he replied.

She stopped and stared at him. That had not been the response she’d expected.

“Kat. Here’s something you should know about me. I believe in pack harmony. I believe in honoring our customs and traditions. Lee Fenner is my alpha, and what he says goes. But it was a different world, a different time, when my pack first came to these hills. There weren’t cell phones and GPS and public schools and truant officers. For all we know, if Cordelia gets desperate enough, she’ll tell our secret.”

“She wouldn’t,” Katelyn insisted.

His face was somber. “She tried to oversee your transformation all by herself. What if something had gone wrong? Good thing her sisters found out and told their father.”

“But how did they find out?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Cordelia must have slipped up. Maybe they overheard a phone call. What I’m saying is that she could expose all of us, and we’ll have to run, too.”

Katelyn’s pulse quickened. There was so much she didn’t know.

“What about what happened to those two girls? What if Cordelia is attacked?” She tried to breathe. Couldn’t.

He pulled the truck over. Sunlight washed his face with gold. His body heat radiated toward her. Her heart pounded and she hitched a breath.

“I won’t let anything happen to Cordelia,” he said.

He leaned toward her and she breathed in. Her senses filled with him.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He lowered his voice. “Like I said, Lee is my alpha. But this is a bad call. Not only is it bad for Cordelia, it’s bad for the pack. And I think he’ll see that and regret his decision. The pack needs to stick together.” He said the last part ominously.

“She was afraid of the Hellhound,” she said, wanting to gauge Justin’s reaction. “Afraid it would come after us.”

He didn’t reply, but she saw his expression change.

“There’s a lot of scary things in this world,” he said, his face so close to hers their noses were practically touching. All she saw were his eyes. She wanted him to kiss her and tell her he would keep her safe. But he did neither. He just … looked.

“I can’t imagine anything scarier than what just happened to me.”

“Give yourself time. You’ll be able to think of plenty of things that are scarier.”

“Like the Hellhound?” she asked, pushing.

“I don’t believe in it,” he replied bluntly. “Now I’m going to drive you to our house, and Lee’s going to lay down the law. Agree to everything, no matter what. You’re on trial, and if he can cast out his own daughter …” He left the rest unsaid. “I need to do some damage control. And we need to find out who attacked you.”

“Yes. Yes, thank you,” she said in a rush. She hadn’t expected any of this from him. Had never thought the kind of guy who cheated on his girlfriend would turn out to be so generous. He was putting himself at risk by helping her.

They drove for a few minutes without speaking. She was exhausted but her body was on overdrive. Every fiber of her being urged her to get closer to Justin.

To tempt him.

Then she noticed a speck of blood on his cheek, and while part of her recoiled, another part wanted just as badly to kiss it away.

As they came to the rise above the Fenner house, Justin cleared his throat. His features went rock hard, and the tension in the cab went sky high. Bad tension. Like anger. No, not just anger.

Fury.

“Now here’s one more rule,” he said coldly, his eyes narrowing. “You need to keep the hell away from me.”