Eric took a deep breath, puffing out his cheek as he exhaled. “Yeah. That's fair.” He glanced over at Jed. “And you don’t need to worry about me reporting this or anything. All…this —” he said, gesturing to Jed. “No one would believe me, anyway.”
I smiled at him. “I know these feels all too well.”
I said goodbye and then watched him walk back toward the clinic. He was still wiping his eyes and I had a feeling he really needed a towel.
“All right, you, time to change back into a human,” I said to Jed.
He turned his big, wolfish head up to me and his eyes narrowed.
“Come on,” I said. “We don’t have all day. We need to go back and get your hat and shoes. And then make our exit before animal control shows up. I mean, I assume it's animal control that shows up when you get out of control. Either way, the last thing you need is to be darted and put in a kennel.”
Jed made a whine.
“Look, we can’t have you roaming Clearwater as a werewolf,” I said. “They probably have leash laws here, you know. And I'm definitely not picking up your crap. I don't have a bag or a scoop.”
He bared his teeth.
“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I was kidding about the last thing. But not the leash laws. Look at the size of you.”
He let out one last whine and his body started to shrink, the fur starting to recede back into his skin and the size of his head returning to normal. His shirt was a torn mess, fur disappearing beneath it to reveal pale flesh. Same with his pants, where they'd caught beneath his feet. He had holes in both knees now, was covered in dirt and his hair was standing up at every angle. His suspenders were hanging on strong, though.
“I could get back a lot faster if I stayed a wolf,” he said, glaring at me.
I glared back at him. “And what about me?”
He hesitated and his cheeks turned pink.
“And another thing,” I said, as I started back toward through the trees. “What were you thinking taking off after him like that in the first place?”
“We had to question him, didn’t we?” Jed asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I was just trying to help.”
“Staying a human would have been the smarter thing to do,” I said. “Half the county probably saw a werewolf bounding down the sidewalk, chasing after this poor man.”
“Who cares what other people think?” Jed asked, noticing a low hanging branch, easily ducking underneath it and straightening up on the other side.
I turned on him and prodded my finger into his chest, accidentally poking it through one of the tears in his shirt and against a thin layer of chest hair. I ignored this contact. “That is downright stupid thinking,” I said. “I thought that part of your people’s werewolf mantra was keeping to yourselves.”
Jed frowned at me, his brow knitting together across his forehead.
“Your dad wouldn’t exactly be happy with that kind of attitude, right?”
At that, Jed rolled his eyes.
“Oh, please,” I said. “Don’t go all rebellious teenager on me now.”
Jed stormed passed me, huffing. His angry snort sounded like a dog's exhale. Seeing all these characteristics of the wolf in him, I started to wonder just how close to the surface this werewolf really was. Derrick's dad was certainly keeping his wolf up top, given how close he'd come to transforming right in the middle of our scuffle yesterday.
I rolled my eyes again and followed after him. “I agree we needed to catch him and I can see why you chasing after him as a wolf might seem like the better option at first —”
“It was the better option,” he said simply.
Anger flared and I glared at the back of his head. “No, it wasn’t.” I said. “If you hadn't been so impatient, we could’ve saved ourselves all of this trouble of having to walk back to the clinic so we can get your shoes and hat.”
Jed’s face was reddening steadily throughout our entire argument and his jaw was clenched. Still, he said nothing.
“You barked at him right out of the gate, before we even left the clinic,” I said. “When you shouted at him in the hallway. If you hadn't done that, escalating things, we could have asked him a couple of questions, gotten the information and left. No chase, no wolf, no need for the good cop, bad cop thing.”
He gave me a confused look. “What are you talking about?”
“You, snarling in his face, scaring him half to death,” I said. “Without him freaking out, it wouldn't have been necessary.”
“Nuh-uh.” Jed shook his head.
“What?” I asked.
“You just don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand?”
“What it’s like to be a werewolf.”
“I don’t have to understand being a werewolf to know that you shouldn’t just change into one willy-nilly thinking that your strength is going to be the answer to all of your problems,” I said.
He didn’t like that answer, based on his pupils dilating as he looked right at me.
“I get that you’re eager to help,” I said. “I get that you were doing what you thought was right. But that doesn’t mean it was right. And that doesn’t mean it wasn’t reckless.”
He didn’t look at me, didn’t reply.
“Right?” I asked, watching the side of his face.
He still didn’t answer.
Ahead, across the street, I could just make out the ugly, seventies-style clinic where Jed’s stuff remained. Jed walked a few paces ahead of me, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched over. Pouting, probably. Or maybe I’d been too hard on him.
I felt a vibration in my pocket. Worrying that it was Mom calling, somehow discovering that I left school, I quickly pulled it out.
It was Derrick’s number on the caller ID.
Jed, who heard the noise, turned around, watching me with his brows furrowed.
“Hello?” I asked, answering it. My heart rate had already started to increase.
“Cassie?” He was whispering and his breath came in short, quiet little gasps.
“Derrick?” I asked, my heart thundering. “What’s the matter? Where are you?”
“It’s my dad,” he said under his breath. “My dad – he’s here!”
Chapter 28
Jed glanced sidelong at me as we bumped along in the back of the Uber. “What do we do about Thomas when we get there?” he asked. His voice was low, but strained and he wouldn’t look me in the eye.
“We have to protect Derrick and his mom,” I said, fanning myself. The car's AC was struggling against the Florida heat and winning, by a little. Cool air was prickling my skin all along the sweat paths that had been carved across it by the endless trickles I'd experienced today. “That’s the main priority.”
“So, we should probably kill Thomas, right?” he asked.
My heart leapt into my throat at the same time the driver spun his head around to stare, horrified, at Jed. I guess he'd heard, in spite of Jed's attempt to keep it on the downlow.
“Video game boss,” I said, cringing and realizing that this was another lie, dammit and it had popped out so easily. “He's talking about a...” I looked sideways at Jed, with his Amish hat and suspenders. “A video game. You know, because he's not allowed to play at home.”
“Ohhhh,” the guy said, nodding, a little grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. “I hear you, bro,” he looked right at Jed. “My parents were strict, too, growing up. Probably not as bad as yours, but still. I feel you, man.”
I waited until the driver had turned back around. “No,” I said, lowering my voice while I shoved my elbow into Jed's ribs. “No, we’re not going to kill anyone, Jed, you jackwagon.” I shot him a death glare. “Why would you even suggest it?” I asked, the silly smile on my face mismatching the heat of my words.
He shrugged. “That’s probably what my dad would suggest.”
“No way,” I said. “Your dad would never —”
“How do
you think we enforce pack discipline?” Jed asked, leaning in closer to me so the driver couldn't hear. “The stakes of one of us getting loose and causing problems? They're real high. There have to be consequences on us, because the responsibility of this power is hefty. And it can't be just be shunning.”
I blinked. I hadn't really thought about how the Amish would control the pack. “How...does that work?”
“Anything we do as wolves that we can't as humans?” He looked out the window. “It's allowed.”
“Wait...so how much control do you have as a wolf?” I asked.
“Not total,” he said, not looking at me. “But enough, most of the time.”
I thought about that for a second as the driver brought the car to a halt. “Here we are,” he said, way too chipper. “I wish you the very best of luck slaying the dragon or whatever, bro.” He grinned at Jed.
“Yeah, I'm sure it'll be an epic boss battle.” I shoved Jed toward the door.
“Hey —” he said scrambling for the door handle.
“Come on,” I said, trying to put some urgency into it.
I jumped out of the car a second after him, slamming the door. We both stared up at Derrick’s house as the car pulled away from the curb.
“Damn,” I whispered, sweating again already. My hair hung in tangles around the sides of my face, drooping in the humidity.
The door was kicked in and dirty footprints covered the pristine white washed front porch.
We were too late.
Chapter 29
I hurried up the steps, throwing myself inside the house, staring around. My heart was hammering so hard against my chest, pounding against my eardrums.
I saw that things were off. A paisley-patterned arm chair was crooked. The corner of the rug was turned over. A tea kettle was whistling somewhere farther in the house.
On the coffee table, I saw a mug with a pink lipstick stain that was half full of coffee, the liquid still steaming. A cell phone sat beside it.
Jed right behind me, we pushed farther into the house. I pressed my fingers to my lips, telling him to be quiet. He nodded.
I could see the screens and white metal supports of the lanai out the French doors in the back through the dining room. The dining table that could easily seat ten was in place, flawless. That all looked normal. Silence reigned, other than a television babbling in the room we'd just passed through and the whistling of the teapot in the kitchen.
I followed that sound with my gaze, saw the opening to the kitchen was just off to the left…and I gasped.
Corinna was slumped against the flawless, white kitchen island, a trickle of blood rolling down her forehead from her hairline.
I hurried to her, hitting my knees against the hard grey tile as I landed beside her. “Corinna?” I gently touched her shoulder.
Jed came into the kitchen behind me, then stalked through the doorway to another room along the wall, shoes barely making any noise as he went.
Corinna opened her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. She looked right at me and gasped, from peaceful to panicked in a hot second.
“Easy,” I said, grabbing her hand. “It’s okay. It’s me, Cassie. Derrick’s friend.”
Her eyes were glassy for a second, but as she blinked, they cleared. She focused her gaze on me. “Cassie?” Her gaze sharpened. “Cassie, oh, thank God you’re here. Tommy – he took Derrick! He —”
“Slow down,” I said. I stood up and pulled the screaming kettle off the cook top on the island and turned the burner off. “Take a few deep breaths, get your bearings.”
Corinna was panting, her hand over her heart.
I opened the fridge and found a bottle of water. I also grabbed a kitchen towel with shaking hands, running it under some warm water in the sink. She might need that wound on her head looked at. I used to not do all that well with blood, but since vampires had become a regular attraction in my life, I’d sort of developed somewhat of an iron belly.
I sat down on the kitchen floor beside her, crossing my legs, passing her the bottle and damp towel.
She opened the bottle with fumbling fingers, downing half of it in three long sips. Then she pressed the towel to her forehead, exhaling heavily as a slow drip of diluted blood slid down her forehead.
Jed appeared from the entry again, eyes sliding around like he was hunting. He paused, looking around the entry points to the room and out the back doors. Even if I'd been about ready to strangle him back at the clinic, I was glad to have another set of eyes with me, watching my back while I helped Corinna.
My heart twanged as I realized that it should’ve been Mill…if he wasn’t so stubborn in refusing to help me.
Well, that and it was the middle of the afternoon.
“All right, why don’t you tell me what happened?” I asked.
She pulled the towel away from her head, glancing at the bright crimson splotch there and her cheeks paled.
“You said it was Thomas, right?” I said, hoping to draw her eyes to me instead of the towel. “Derrick called me. He said his dad showed up.”
Corinna nodded, closing her eyes as she did. “Yes. He showed up about an hour ago. He was pounding on the door and Derrick and I locked it, refused to let him in. He got angry, he...transformed.” She closed her eyes and composed herself for a second. “Then he broke the door down.”
She pursed her lips together and I saw a glimmer of tears in the corner of her eyes. “He came right at me, knocked me down. Then he grabbed my leg and dragged me to the kitchen here.” She squeezed her eyes shut as though trying to blot out the memory. Or maybe recall it more clearly. I don't know.
“It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to go into details if you don’t want to.”
She shook her head slowly. “No, it’s okay. He got me out of the way so I wouldn’t be able to help Derrick. He dragged him out of the house, screaming and fighting, but all I could do was sit here. I couldn’t see – I couldn’t —”
“Don’t try to move too much,” I said. “I’m worried that you might have a concussion.”
Corinna’s eyes widened.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Just take it easy.” I didn't know what else to say but that.
She sank back against the island.
“I’m guessing you lost consciousness,” I said. “Thankfully, it doesn’t look like you’ve lost too much blood.”
“I don’t care about me,” she said. “I need to get my son back before …”
“I know why Thomas is after Derrick…” I said after a few seconds of silence. “And it isn’t going to be easy to hear.”
Corinna took another slow draw from her water bottle. “I know why Tommy is after him. He told me years ago what he wanted…” She looked up at me. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I wasn’t exactly honest with you earlier.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I should have said something that day you were here,” she said. “I should’ve said something to Derrick. I think he knew, but didn't want to believe... He’s been denying it, I think.”
“I’m not surprised,” I said. Who wanted to contemplate their parent inflicting harm or a curse on them? Biting them? Because that's surely what it was going to take. “You can’t blame yourself. You didn’t know this was going to happen —”
“I should have prepared him better,” Corinna said. “That was my responsibility as his mother, wasn’t it? When Tommy showed up at the school, I should have taken Derrick and fled the state. But I was so afraid and didn’t want to believe that it would actually happen, that Tommy might actually take Derrick away from me…”
She sniffed, dabbing at her head again with the towel.
“He tried to turn me, too, you know,” she said. “Something else I should have told Derrick. He said we would understand each other so much better, that we could grow old together this way.” She sniffed. “I told him he wouldn’t live to be fifty as recklessly as he was going. I refused him. He…was angry, to say the least.”
She swallowed nervously.
“Then I told him that he wasn't allowed to turn Derrick. That I wanted him to keep his...his other side from Derrick...and he hated that. He kept going on about passing on his legacy.” She closed her eyes. “He said he wanted to make his own pack. Said he was tired of being alone. I told him over and over that he wasn’t alone, that his curse didn’t have to be what defined him. I mean, it's three nights a month. He was human most of the time...why did he let the wolf become all he thought about...?”
“It’s okay,” I said again. “I hate to keep asking, but do you have any idea where they could have gone?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I really wish I did, obviously.”
Honestly, I wished she did, too. But there was nothing that I could do now. We were too late.
Jed was standing by the French doors, staring out into the backyard. At least he was keeping an eye out. How much had he heard? I assumed all, but he didn't act like he'd heard a word of it.
“Hold tight,” I said, eyeing the wound on her head again. “I’m gonna make a phone call.”
“Wait, don’t leave me,” she said. “Please.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’ll just…go in the other room here, okay? I'll be right back.”
I slipped into a room just off the kitchen and found myself in an office. I pulled out my phone, pushing aside any more fears trying to creep in and opened my contacts. My finger hovered over the screen and then I just forced myself to press the name. That done, I held my phone to my ear and my breath caught in my chest as I pictured the conversation ahead.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Hey, Dad,” I said, starting to pace back and forth across the office.
“Hey, kiddo, what’s going on?” he asked.
“Are you at work?” I asked.
“Shift's over. I just left,” he said. “Why?”
“Well…I have a favor to ask,” I said. I chewed on my lip.
“O…kay,” he said. “What have you gotten into now?” Ouch.
Heir of the Dog (Liars and Vampires Book 6) Page 13