by Cynthia Eden
I didn’t blame her. If it were my grandmother, I’d want to be there, too.
Faster, faster we ran, and a stitch burned in my side. I could feel a pull on my body, like a magnetic force urging me closer to Granny Helen. Not far now, not far at all.
We burst through the trees, and I saw the swooping limbs of the willow. Granny Helen’s body was beneath the tree, but…she wasn’t alone.
“Get back!” My dad’s snapped order to me and Cassidy. He pushed me behind him and raised his weapon.
“You there—step away from the woman and put your hands up!” His voice was a roar that demanded obedience.
Because someone crouched over Granny Helen’s body. Someone, not something. I peered around my dad and saw the person emerge from the shadows.
Tall, strong, wearing loose jeans and no shirt—Brent.
Brent?
“I found her like this,” he said as he raised his hands. “She needs help!”
I wanted to believe him. But in the moonlight, I could see the blood on his hands.
Don’t trust Brent.
“Anna.” My dad’s voice was calm and flat. His cop voice. “Take out my phone and give the men directions to find us.”
I wasn’t sure I could give good directions, but I’d try. I took the phone. One touch and I had deputy Jon on the line.
“Listen to me!” I heard Brent saying to my dad. “An animal did this, not me. I’m here to help her!”
But some animals could be men.
“Step away from her,” my dad ordered him.
Brent eased back.
“Keep those hands up.” My dad’s weapon never wavered as he made his way toward Helen’s body.
He bent and put his fingers to her throat.
“Gran!” Cassidy’s cry. She tried to rush by me, but I grabbed her and held on tight.
I could be pretty strong when I needed to be.
Granny Helen wasn’t moving, but that bloody pool beneath her body—it looked black in the moonlight—was growing.
My dad’s gaze met mine.
Be alive. Be—
“Tell Jon we need those EMTs now!”
And I realized we might just have a chance of saving someone. This time.
***
They got Granny Helen out of the woods. She’d been clawed. Her arms and chest were covered with deep slashes, but she was alive.
Barely.
“Why was she in the woods? How’d she even get here?” Cassidy asked. Her voice was hollow, and I figured she was numb. Or in shock. Maybe a combination of both.
“I don’t know.”
“The shop was trashed, but that’s so far away—”
Granny Helen had been running from something.
I glanced back at the woods, but instead of seeing the trees, I saw Brent. Two deputies were on each side of him, and his hard stare pinned me.
The ambulance’s siren screamed on, and Cassidy jumped into the back with the attendants.
I stepped away from the vehicle.
“Anna!” Her cry rose above the siren, stopping me.
I met her stare.
“Thank you.” Softer.
I nodded.
My secret was officially out. Everyone knew. Rafe thought it was dangerous but…but I’d just saved someone.
Maybe it was time for me to stop hiding. Time for me to be just who I was. Different. Freak.
Me.
Chapter Twelve
“Tell me once more what you were doing in the woods tonight, boy,” Deputy Jon said to Brent.
I headed for them. I wanted to hear what Brent had to say, too.
“I told you four times already, I was just out taking a walk!” Brent’s gaze slammed into mine as I approached. “Anna! Anna, I have to talk to you!”
“You’re not talking to her, son.” My dad strode toward him. “You’re coming to the station, and you’re talking to me.” His gaze cut toward the other men. “I got this,” he said to the deputies. “You scout the area and see what kind of tracks you can find.”
Brent shook his head. “You know I didn’t do this, Sheriff! It was an animal attack, for Christ’s sake!”
“Yeah…” My dad’s voice dropped. “But you got a bit of an animal in you, don’t you, Brent?”
Brent’s stare held mine. I wondered…why did monsters have to hide behind such perfect faces?
***
I went to the sheriff’s station. It wasn’t as if my dad gave me much choice on that one. And it sure wasn’t as if I wanted to stay behind.
My dad talked to Brent alone. I sat in the waiting room, my gaze darting around the empty walls. Dad had taken all the bulletin boards down. For me. He was always trying to protect me.
“Brent’s mother will be arriving soon.” This came from Deputy Jon. He whistled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Won’t be much more questioning done tonight. Not once she gets here.”
Shirley frowned as she looked up from her magazine. “Don’t know why he’s grilling that poor kid anyhow. Didn’t an animal get a hold of Helen?”
“Looks that way.” Jon said, but I felt his gaze dart to me. “Another animal attack in Haven.”
“You have a lot of those,” I muttered, rubbing my sweaty palms on the front of my jeans.
“Yes.” His breath sighed out. “We do.”
I swallowed. “I—is Rafe still here?” I wanted to talk to him. To tell him what had happened. Rafe had been locked up, so he couldn’t have—
But Deputy Jon shook his head. “His dad came for him two hours ago. Ben cut him loose with a warning.”
Just like that, my certainty that Rafe couldn’t have hurt Granny Helen vanished.
My dad’s office door jerked opened. He came out, jaw tight, and he quickly secured the door shut behind him. I stood and hurried to him. “Dad?”
“He stuck to his story. Said he found the body and tried to help her.” His voice was so low that only I could hear him.
“Do you believe him?” I asked as I leaned close.
“Doesn’t matter. I know I can’t prove anything, either way, not yet.” Frustration boiled in his words. “But I’m heading to that hospital, and I’m staying there until Helen opens her eyes. Then I’m getting the truth from her.”
Because only Helen would be able to tell him what had really happened.
The station’s door flew open. A woman, tall, beautiful, with perfect make-up applied even though it had to be nearing three a.m., rushed inside. “Where’s my son?” she demanded in a voice that dripped ice.
My dad sighed, but immediately pasted on his “Sheriff” face. The bland, semi-genial expression he used when he had to deal with the public. “Brent’s waiting in my office, Mrs. Peters.”
Her gaze snapped to him, and in that instant, she seemed to weigh him, sizing him up kind of like a really beautiful snake would assess her prey.
My dad eased away from me. He headed back across the room and opened his office door. “Brent, your ride’s here.”
Brent appeared in the doorway.
Mrs. Peters walked toward them, her heels clicking. Really? Heels? At this time of night? “Why was my son in your custody, Sheriff?”
“Because we found him at the scene of an animal attack.” My dad crossed his arms and raised a brow. “Alone, unsupervised, wandering the woods at night…bringing him in was the only safe thing to do.”
Her spine straightened. “Right. Then I appreciate your concern for his well-being.” She didn’t sound like she appreciated it. She sounded like she was choking down nails. She motioned to Brent. “Come on, honey, let’s get you home.”
Brent glanced my way. I wouldn’t meet his stare.
I heard him sigh before he followed his mother.
“Mrs. Peters…” My dad’s casual voice stopped her, and her clicking heels. She looked back at him. He cleared his throat and asked, “Aren’t you curious at all about why your son was in those woods?”
Her stare sharpened, and I realize
d she wasn’t the piece of fluff she pretended to be. “Boys will be boys,” she murmured. “They do like their adventure. Brent’s been prowling those woods since he was a kid.”
Prowling. Pretty interesting word choice.
“Hunting, huh?” Again, my dad seemed casual. I knew he wasn’t.
So did Mrs. Peters. Her plump lips pressed together, and she grabbed Brent’s hand. They stalked out, and this time, neither glanced back.
I sidled close to my dad. “Do you think it was him?” My dad hadn’t given me a straight answer before, and I had to know. His instincts were usually dead-on.
Surprisingly, he shook his head. “No.”
Good but, “Why not?”
He pulled me into his office and shut the door. The better for others not to hear us. “Because he was in human form when he found him.”
Human form, with blood on his hands.
“Why switch?” My dad demanded. “Why not just finish the job and kill her?” He shook his head. “No, he’s not the one we’re looking for. Another wolf is hunting out there, and I will stop him.”
***
Deputy Jon took me back to the house. My dad went to the hospital to see about Helen, and he sent his guard dog to make sure I got home safely.
Jon even came inside the house and did a full sweep. He was kind of sweet about it. Sweet in his pushy, deputy way.
“All clear, Anna.” He held his hat in his tan hands. “Your dad will be back soon. Until he gets here, I’ll stay outside and keep an eye on the place.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do.” He gave me a thin smile, one that showed his super white teeth. “Boss’s orders.”
Well, I wasn’t going to argue with him. I’d seen too much blood lately to argue. I walked him out and locked the door.
I took a deep breath. Another. And I still saw Helen’s bloody body.
Dammit. I hurried into the kitchen. I needed to get a grip. I couldn’t fall apart now. I couldn’t—
Arms came up and yanked me back against a strong body. I opened my mouth to scream for Deputy Jon, but a hand covered my mouth.
“Easy.” A harsh, male whisper. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Brent’s voice.
I didn’t believe him.
“I can’t have you yelling for the deputy. The guy would come in with guns blazing.” His breath blew lightly against my ear. “Anna, relax, I promise I’m not here to hurt you.”
Said the guy with his hand over my mouth.
And how had the deputy missed him during the sweep? Where had the guy been hiding?
“I need to talk to you. Hell, you’re the only reason I was in the woods tonight.”
My knees locked.
“Please, Anna, just give me a chance to explain.” His sigh filled my ears. “I’ll move hand and just…don’t scream, okay?”
I wasn’t making any promises. Not like I could anyway, not until he moved that hand.
His hand lifted, and he turned me to face him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes, intent and hard, held mine.
“Then next time don’t grab me in the dark!” I glared at him as my heart raced. “How’d you get in here?”
“I picked the lock on the back door.”
I hadn’t expected that answer.
He licked his lips. “I was watching from the woods. I waited until Jon went back out.”
“Then you came in.” Goosebumps rose on my arms. I tried to play it cool, but I was starting to sweat. Brent was a big guy, and I knew he was one hell of a lot stronger than me. “What do you want, Brent?”
He hesitated. “You know, don’t you?”
“Know?” I could pretend I didn’t. Maybe that would be the safer, smarter choice. But I could tell by the expression in his eyes that Brent sensed the truth. My breath exhaled in a slow rush, and my heart did not slow down a bit as I said, “You mean do I know that you can get all furry and fanged when you run in the woods?”
He flinched. “It’s not a joke, Anna. You think I want to be like this?”
No, no, I didn’t think that he did.
I also didn’t think I wanted to be alone in the house with him. Not when I’d seen all that blood on his hands earlier. “Why were you in the woods tonight?” I stepped away from him, a nice, big step.
His jaw hardened. “I was coming to see you.”
I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or worse. “You and Rafe.” I shook my head. “You two sure tore into each other on the field.”
“I knew the jerk had told you about me.” When his lips parted, I could see the edge of his fangs. Actual fangs. That could not be a good sign. My hands slid behind me on the counter as I tried to find a weapon. If I screamed for Deputy Jon, would he have time to get inside the kitchen before Brent could slice open my throat?
Why was it that guys just couldn’t be normal anymore?
“He told you,” Brent snapped as rage rippled across his handsome face. “And I knew that you’d be afraid of me.”
“If you can turn into a wolf…” Not really such a question of if, “then, yeah, that’d make a girl scared.” My fingers curled around the hilt of a knife that I’d left out after making supper earlier. What kind of damage could it do against him? The guy had been slammed in a car wreck and been fine the next day.
But at least the knife was some kind of weapon.
“I came through the woods tonight because I wanted to talk to you.” He took a deep breath and some of the rage eased from his voice. “I wanted to tell you my side, to try and make you understand—”
“Understand what?” My fingers were curled tight around the hilt of the knife.
He shook his head. “I’m not evil, Anna. I don’t—I haven’t been the one hurting people in these woods. I’m cursed, hell, yeah.” A rusty laugh broke from him, one that held no humor. “But I’ve never gone after a human as prey.”
I didn’t ease my grip on the knife. If he came at me, I’d use it in an instant. “Then who’s doing the killing?”
His gaze held mine. “I don’t know.”
“Rafe said he’s trying to find out—that he’s tracking—”
“It could be Rafe.”
And it could be you.
“Rafe’s great-grandfather had to be put down because he started attacking humans back in the 1940s.”
This was news I didn’t particularly want to hear.
“Sometimes the wolf is too strong. The beast is more powerful than the man, and it breaks past all control.” He paused and exhaled. “When the wolf takes over, there’s no pulling him back once he gets a taste of human blood.”
Nice. “Just how often does the wolf take over?”
“Rafe’s great-grandfather is the last I know of, but there are stories of others, in his family. Their wolves are just too strong to hold back.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “A wolf is killing in Haven, no doubt, and my money is on that wolf being Rafe.”
My heartbeat shook my chest. “He hasn’t hurt me. He’s had the chance, but he hasn’t—”
A fist thudded into the door. “Anna!” Deputy Jon’s voice. “Anna, are you all right in there?”
I stared at Brent. I couldn’t see his fangs anymore. He just looked like a normal guy. Good-looking. Strong. Young.
The All-American werewolf.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, yes, I’m fine!”
But Jon’s fist hit the door again. “Anna, I want you to open the door right now, or I will be breaking it down.”
I realized that Deputy Jon was more astute than I’d believed. “Get out,” I whispered to Brent, “run now.” I slowly made my way to the door as Brent slipped away. His words about Rafe replayed in my head and right then, I didn’t know what to do.
The back window squeaked just as I opened the front door.
Deputy Jon hurried inside. “I thought I heard…” He rushed past me, heading right for the kitchen.
I raced on his heels and as he spun
around, I saw his nostrils flare, as if he were trying to catch a scent in the air.
Flaring, just like an animal’s.
He darted for the back window. The curtains billowed in the night breeze. He shoved his head out, and I heard him swear.
He whirled toward me. “Anna…”
I looked behind him and out that window. I couldn’t see any sign of Brent now, and I wondered if he’d changed into a wolf so that he could run faster.
“You need to be real careful,” Jon warned me as he pointed a finger at my chest. “Next time, I might not be able to get to you fast enough.” His gaze darted to the knife I held. “So you need to make sure you’re ready to do anything necessary to protect yourself.”
To protect myself from Brent? From Rafe? Or from another wolf who’d soon be at my door?
Before I could respond, I heard the crunch of tires on gravel. My dad was back. I dropped the knife on the counter and rushed to the front door. My bare feet pounded over the wooden porch as I hurried toward him. “Dad!” We’d talk now, clear the air and—
My dad wasn’t alone. He’d walked around his car and now he opened the door for someone. Someone with hunched shoulders and long, dark hair. Someone sobbing quietly.
“Dad?” My whisper as I realized that had happened.
He came toward me, with his arms around Cassidy’s shoulders. He shook his head once, and that was all the confirmation I needed.
My dad wouldn’t be questioning Granny Helen about her attacker. No one would be talking to her again.
Cassidy shuffled closer and the newly installed porch light fell on her shell-shocked face. Because I knew what it was like when death came and snatched away the one you loved, I opened my arms to her.
She cried on my shoulder, and I held her as tight as I could.
My gaze met my dad’s over her bent head. I could see his helpless fury and his determination. His lips moved, and he mouthed the words, “This ends” to me, and I knew that my dad was going on the hunt.
Only this time, it was the wolves who would be the prey.
***
“I’m alone now.” Cassidy’s voice came from the darkness. I’d gotten up and gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and I’d tried to be so careful and quiet as I tip-toed past her spot on the couch.