Shifted Redemption [The Cursed Wolves Series, Book Three]

by Holly Hook

  Yes. She's in denial.

  "Dad picked it? He said you did," I say, knowing that I should have seen through that lie sooner. Of course when Dad screwed something up, it would be someone else's fault.

  Mom gives me a shocked look, and I know that this is news to her. "He rarely gives me any credit. That's new." Then she exchanges a forced smile with Gia.

  We all share a holiday dinner, and after that, things get quiet because Tyler and I can't really spend any alone time together in this environment, and I don't want to go off and worry Mom at this time of the year just in case she does remember the shift. So we hang around the cabin, playing board games and sipping on hot chocolate. We don't talk about Dad again. It's as if Mom is relieved to leave him behind. But the look in her eyes is worried for the future.

  Even Tyler seems tense, as if he fears that the curse will rear its head and offer him a horrible Christmas present. Here you go. Now attack everyone you care about.

  I can't bring my own possible curse up. Not now. We all go to bed late that night, well after midnight, and when I wake, there's a knock on the front door.

  "Huh?" I ask, rising from bed. Tyler's gone, having been lying on my bedroom floor the night before. Of course he and the Rose Pack removed themselves from the cabin, just in case I wouldn't be awake to stop anything bad from happening.

  The knock comes again. It's not a familiar one, and I open my eyes to find that the day after Christmas is a cloudy one with no sign of brightness anywhere. The snow outside looks gray in the early morning light.

  But I get up, realizing I'm already fully dressed. Finally, the stern knocking stops, and I make my way to the front door.

  But when I crack it open a hair, nobody is there. I spot the sheriff and the deputy from Tower's almost-useless police department slogging away through the snow, to the old cruiser that's parked in the driveway. Their gait is full of heaviness and regret. I almost call out to them to ask what's wrong—did Dad send the cops out here to look for Mom?—but then I spot the paper taped to Gia's door and my heart panic-leaps into my throat.

  I remove the paper as the two officers get into their cruiser and slam the doors. A bit of snow falls from the trees.

  And I turn it over. It's a printed sheet, obviously a form letter, because it's addressed to Dear Resident.

  And it's from the Roses.

  My heart stops as I read.

  Because of "operating and legal costs" they are hiking up Gia's rent—and probably all other rent in Tower—another twenty percent, and it's all due to start in just 15 days, when everyone's leases are supposed to renew. Gia's new monthly rate is going to take all the extra money she had from no longer having to support her mother. And she's going to go back to working her hands to the bone at Tower Market.

  Happy holidays.

  I gulp, throat dry, unable to speak or move for the longest time.

  This is retaliation against the people of Tower.

  The Roses know they're doomed, and they're going to take everything they can get in the meantime.

  I've got to tell Tyler immediately. I run inside, throw on my coat, and set out, stuffing the letter in my coat pocket. I don't want to ruin Gia's morning. I want to let her have another few hours of bliss even as my pulse roars.

  My mind is in such a panic that I don't even think to take a photo of the letter and send it to every reporter I've been contacting over the past two weeks. Tyler needs to see it first. And then we have to step up our game, or the curse will only worsen in response to this.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The letter is cold, without an ounce of sympathy and without an ounce of regard for the fact that it's the middle of winter and many people are struggling to keep the power on. My phone blows up with texts, probably from Marion and Gavin, as I trudge through the woods. Somewhere, emergency sirens wail, and I wonder if anyone tried to get violent with the police, who the Roses probably ordered to deliver all the notes. Cowards.

  I ignore my phone, panic swirling.

  One thing at a time. I force in one cold breath after another. This is bad for the Roses. The media won't leave them alone. They'll be gone soon. I have to keep myself sane with these thoughts.

  I find the vacation house quiet, and I knock, then unlock the door and slowly push it open. When I do, someone descends the spiral steps, and I see that it's Tyler, dressed in trunks despite the fireplace only giving off embers.

  "Tyler!" I rush to him and place a kiss right on his lips, wrapping my arms around his swoon-worthy torso.

  "Beckah. Surprise, surprise," he says, returning my kiss. "What brings you here at the crack of dawn? I mean, no offense, but did something happen?"

  "Your parents' last gasp?" I ask, hating that I have to ruin this moment. I study Tyler's eyes as I hand him the letter. He has no trace of the beast in him right now, almost as if the curse is letting up thanks to what we're doing, but then a hint of the redness returns as he reads.

  "This..." he grasps the railing of the stairs, which he still stands on, and tightens his grip so much that I wonder if the polished wood will break. "This is evil. They're trying to scare Tower back into submission." Then he takes a breath. "I've seen how much they make and there's no reason for them to do this.”

  I reach out and take his elbow, hoping to calm him down enough to keep him human, but not enough to stop the next step. I've got the thumb drive zipped into my inner coat pocket.

  My touch works. Tyler lets out a breath and casts away the curse, but he's still shaking. "Can they seriously do this in just fifteen days?"

  "Yes. The laws in this state suck," Tyler says. "That's part of the reason they came here."

  "What do we do?" I ask. "Tyler, I know you haven't wanted to do this, but we have things we can turn over to the authorities. Your parents know this and that's why they're trying to intimidate everyone."

  "My phone is gone, and if I leave town, I lose my humanity," he warns me, stepping down. "I can't go out more than a few miles from our pack's territory. And I have been smelling what's left of the rival pack out there, waiting for someone to leave or hunt for them again."

  They're still around. Great. "Then Gavin and I will drive to whatever department we need to go to and turn in this stuff anonymously. Or we'll find someone with an actual computer so we can email all the files to the right person. We'll go to the school—"

  "To use the Internet, you have to log in under your student name," Tyler says.

  Shit. He's right. We have to keep this anonymous. It was part of my promise to Tyler, to do this as safely as I can so his parents don't destroy me.

  "They might not be open until next week," Tyler says. "The holiday."

  I curse. We don't have much time and I wonder if his parents are using the holiday to run down the clock on Tyler. Do they know his curse has a time limit, and that it's running out? The thought is so horrible that I shove it away.

  "But as soon as they are, we're reporting this all," I tell Tyler.

  "Or I will," Tyler says, steely. "My parents fear me. They do not fear you."

  My phone buzzes again...and again. Maybe the reporters have already heard. In frustration I check my texts, but I see that it's Marion.

  "What's wrong?" Tyler asks, because he must see the blood draining from my face.

  "Marion's grandmother," I say. "She got the notice. Then Marion thinks she had a stroke. Gavin and I have to get up to the hospital to be with her."

  * * * * *

  Tyler runs me back to the cabin where Gavin is supposed to pick me up.

  He can't go with us. All he can do is break into the school himself and send some messages. I hand him the thumb drive, and he nods and promises to keep it safe. At least he can take care of that part of the deal.

  "Marion rode in the ambulance," Gavin tells me as soon as I'm in the truck. "This is bad, Beckah. The whole town...people are angry..." My friend can barely speak.

  "Was it stress?" Stupid question. No woman pushing eighty should
have to deal with this crap.

  Gavin says nothing as we drive to a nearby, small city. The trip seems to take forever and I wonder if Marion is going to have her grandmother by the end of the day, let alone the week. My phone keeps buzzing with more messages, and I remember that I just sent photos of Gia's notice to all the reporters on my list.

  The day is chaos. I can't communicate with Tyler, but I know he's doing his best to get through to somebody. We can't wait. Time is running out for all of us. The hospital is small, and we're shoved into a waiting room with ugly orange chairs that have absorbed the sweat, worry, and tears of countless others in this situation. Marion has nobody. Gavin mutters something about his parents having to shut the restaurant soon, and that the Roses might just take it and make them lower-paid employees, but he mostly keeps the thoughts to himself. I sit beside Marion and keep my arm around her for the afternoon as silent tears brim, until a doctor comes in and at last.

  “Marion?” she asks.

  She snaps her head up, paling. I don't remove my arm from her back.

  The doctor tells her that her grandmother has suffered a mini-stroke, and not anything that's going to kill her. Something called a TIA. The medical terms are lost on me, but Marion breathes a sigh of relief.

  "We'd like to keep her for observation overnight, given the stressful situation she's endured," the nice doctor says.

  "Can we pick her up tomorrow?" Marion asks.

  "I'll pay for a cab," I say quickly, ready to use my savings. She can't climb into Gavin's truck. I'm so relieved that I'm willing to do anything.

  "We should clear for release, yes," the doctor says. "If you want to see her, you can do so now." She tells us the room number and we find Marion's grandmother lying under plain white sheets, looking very small and frail. I knew she used a walker and worked until she was seventy-eight, but dang, she looks like she's about to break as she faces us. Darlene's eyes are dull and I wonder if she's going to have the will to live for much longer.

  "Hey," I say, unsure what to say.

  "Hello, Beckah. Hi, Gavin," she says warmly, coming back to life. "Thank you for visiting me in my moment of weakness."

  "I almost had a stroke when I got Gia's notice, too," I say as Marion hugs her grandmother as gently as she can. As if she, too, has just realized how fragile she is.

  Darlene grips the sheets so tight that I fear she's going to dig her fingernails through them. Now the fiery old woman is back to life. "You give them hell, kids. Beckah, thank you for doing all of this."

  "The Roses are giving their last gasp," I promise her, determined to end this once and for all. "Just rest and let us take care of it. It's almost over. I can feel it. The Roses can't hold on for much longer. This was a very bad PR move."

  My phone buzzes with responses from reporters. At least the news isn't going to stop due to the holiday, and the time of year is making this story so much worse. Yes. This will end soon, but I'm not sure how, and I'm not sure if the conclusion will be a happy one.

  * * * * *

  The rest of my "break" is me, Marion, and Gavin talking to reporters, mostly over the phone or email, but the Rose Pack isn't around much. Valerie stops by the cabin to tell me that the pack has been having to hunt more than usual, partly due to the curse and partly due to the lack of food at the cabin. Tyler's money has been cut off. Not that it matters. Full werewolves don't need cash. They live off the land.

  It's just another reminder that Tyler is below his parents. And the letter that Gia has left on the kitchen table is a reminder that they own us. That's one thing they don't want us to forget. Because with her income, where can Gia or anyone else in this town move? I doubt anyone here has a good credit score or savings for security deposits.

  I want to see Tyler. But he hasn't showed up at the cabin for a few days, and on the day of the new year, my heart is starting to race with stress.

  We have a week left before the full moon, and even without the scratch that Tyler delivered, it could be doom. Tyler has already let me know that their wolf instincts are stronger around that time. That part of the legend has a bit of truth to it.

  "What are we going to do?" I ask Tyler when he does show up at Gia's cabin on the day of the new year. Yeah, I start the conversation with that as I open the door.

  He steps into the house along with Chaz. Both of them seem okay for the time being, though Gia and I study them as we finish cooking the stew she's been prepping all day. I can tell from the woodsy smell on them that they've been out hunting. But has it been from necessity or the curse itself?

  "Where are the girls?" Gia asks.

  "We can't leave things unguarded right now," Tyler tells her. "I sent some incriminating information to some Montana agencies, and though they're not going to talk to me much, I did see a strange car in Tower this morning. Marked as the state of Montana, too. I think my parents are really starting to squirm."

  Gia and I put food on the table, ready to hear the story. Tyler tells us how he got on the school's computers over the weekend, while the whole place was closed, and sent those horrible files to every agency that could possibly investigate his parents and their scam, especially with the city council. Gia can barely hide her smile as he tells his story even though a bit of that redness returns to his eyes as he finishes.

  I grab his hand. "Tyler?" I ask.

  "What?" He looks right at me and blinks, probably wondering what's wrong.

  "Your eyes have that wild look. And it's not going away."

  He narrows them at me in confusion. "Well, I'm angry, but other than that, I feel fine right now."

  "She's right, man," Chaz says.

  And you're next to me, I want to say. But that won't make Tyler feel any better. I squeeze his hand, but the curse won't subside.

  The curse is almost complete, and we probably have mere days at this point to fix it.

  Our relationship is fine. Why isn't it at least starting to break?

  But it has to. Soon. Sarah would have left an out. She had a reason for this curse, a goal, and we're about to fulfill it for her. I scratch my wrist, realizing it's itching again, and then horror wells into my chest.

  My small scratch is gone, but the injury is underneath, growing, waiting to show itself.

  And when that happens, none of us will have any hope. Tyler needs an uncursed girl. And I'm only uncursed, maybe, for another week.

  Tyler looks to me and frowns, but I keep a straight face in front of Mom, who leans against the old, yellow fridge. I get up. "Maybe we should watch the news and see what's going on?"

  I'm sweating despite the chill in the cabin, and Mom is smiling with pride as we watch yet another story about the scam unfolding in Tower. Yes, an agency is investigating allegations of rent gouging, and no, the Roses have not been available for comment. Good sign.

  But my wrist itches again, and I maintain my grip on Tyler's arm, being the only one who can truly calm him down. Things are moving, and yet...the Roses aren't gone yet.

  Maybe we have to get them out of here completely.

  The day drags on, but with each passing hour I know time is running out. Mom seems happy, oblivious that the curse might jump to me, and she makes some small talk with Tyler. The two are starting to get along, and I'm glad that Mom likes him, but the longer she stays, the more I wonder if she's going to have to witness the horrible plan I've got going in my head.

  An investigation could take months.

  We don't have months. The Roses need to go, and now.

  And I need to talk to Tyler about a very dangerous, very scary idea to oust them before our week is up.

  A permanent plan.

  And after what happened with Darlene, something in me has turned into black ice. I'm going to go through with it.

  I wave Tyler into my room. He follows, leaving Gia, Chaz, and Mom out in the kitchen to make more talk about what's happening here in town. Gia's discussing her budget and how tight it's going to be, while Mom is offering her some cash
to make it for the next few months.

  "I have an idea," I whisper to Tyler, knowing that Chaz can probably hear.

  "An idea?" he asks.

  I gulp. "To get rid of your parents now. The authorities will take forever even though that's a good step. We need to stop them, period. And that means doing something dangerous."

  Tyler's dark eyes widen. "Beckah—"

  "I've done dangerous things before," I say. "You're not going to stop me. Time is almost gone. I can just feel it. Can't you?"

  We stand inches apart, and the redness remains in Tyler's eyes. "Yes. I can feel it more than anyone. The full moon on the eighth is going to be the end. I don't know how I know, but I do. I think that once you're cursed, your humanity will flow into that rose bush, and it won't be able to handle the load anymore. It's got so many peoples' humanity trapped in it. Mine. My pack's. And—" He coughs.

  "And what?" I ask.

  A knock on the door sounds, and it's loud. The tone screams let me in now.

  My heart leaps into my chest and I whirl.

  "It's the girls," Tyler hisses.

  Chaz also announces, "It's the girls."

  We run out into the kitchen. Chaz looks to Gia for permission to let them in, a worried look blooming on his face.

  "Go ahead. We all know each other," Gia calls from the living room where she and Mom are watching a movie.

  Valerie and Cammie come in, and to my shock, they're both out of breath.

  "What's going on?" Tyler grabs a chair and squeezes it as Valerie fixes him in a deadly stare.

  She swallows. "You have to come with us. It's bad."

  "Is it my DNA donors?" Tyler asks.

  Valerie grips Tyler's arm. "Alan tipped us off about this. You have to see this for yourself, or you might not believe it."