The werewolf’s ears perked up, and it spun in her direction. Bounding on all fours, it quickly closed the distance between them and snapped at her legs with its fangs. Ellie lost her balance and landed on the ground, losing her grip on the gun.
An engine roared to life as the werewolf opened its jaws to devour her. Matt’s cruiser knocked the werewolf aside, giving Ellie enough space to grab the gun and take aim. This time, she didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
“Get in!” Matt threw open the door.
Ellie pitched herself inside the cruiser. Matt put his foot on the gas, and the cruiser sped down the gravel road.
Outpaced by the cruiser, the werewolf let out an angry roar and retreated to the forest.
Rain fell as night descended over the Sullivan property.
Samantha looked from Alex to the newcomer, unsure who was the greater threat.
Alex snarled. “Stay back, Aristae.”
“I warned you about making threats. Besides, you were going to kill her anyway. I thought I would lend a hand.” Aristae held a curved silver dagger. “Remember this? It’s been too long since I’ve had a chance to use it.”
“Samantha, run.”
Aristae launched herself across the room at Samantha. Alex intercepted her at the last moment, and the two collided.
Samantha rushed toward the front door as thunder crackled overhead. “Michael!”
Her husband didn’t answer. Samantha threw open the front door to find Sarah Preston outside.
“Hello, Mrs. Sullivan. Can I come in?”
Samantha’s skin crawled. There was something wrong with Sarah’s voice. When she tried to leave the house, Sarah blocked her path. A crash sounded above, and Samantha turned around to find Aristae crouched behind her, poised to strike.
Alex appeared and threw Aristae through the dining room window, but not before Aristae seized him and pulled him into the storm with her. Aristae regained her footing first and slashed Alex’s shirt with razor-sharp nails, drawing blood.
She took hold of Sarah’s hand. “Come inside. We have to hide.”
Sarah didn’t budge. “Hide? Aristae will find you wherever you go.”
Samantha let her hand fall away. Something’s wrong with Sarah.
When moonlight emerged, Sarah’s eyes turned a deep amber. Samantha rushed past Sarah as her fingernails sprouted into claws, which she dragged along the table, scratching the wooden surface.
“Michael!” Samantha spotted him facedown at the barn, ran to his side, and shook him awake.
“Samantha?” Michael rubbed the back of his neck. “Someone hit me from behind.” He followed her gaze to the place where Alex and Aristae were fighting. “What’s happening?”
“We have to leave.”
“Follow me.” Michael ran to his office and opened a drawer before looking at her with growing horror. “My gun. It’s missing.”
It was all Alex could do evade each of Aristae’s attacks. Her partial transformation permitted her the use of her claws while allowing her to remain fast and agile.
Aristae cast a glance at Sarah, in the end-stage of her first transformation. “As you can see, I’ve brought a guest with me.”
She’s left nothing to chance. Despite Aristae’s advantage in age, Alex might have held his own against her with a little luck—at least long enough to buy Samantha time to get to safety. Another werewolf tipped the odds decisively against him.
The dagger remained at her side, unused. She was waiting for him to transform and become a larger target. He was trapped between two bad options. If he wanted a chance at defeating her, he needed the power of his larger form, but if he turned, he might lose control again. Even with his ring once more in his possession, he had to concentrate to avoid changing under the moonlight’s pull.
Alex threw his head back as if he were about to change and instead spun around and kicked Aristae as hard as he could. His boot caught her squarely in the chest, and she barely registered surprise before the impact flung her away.
Boomer, he thought, tapping into his bond with the dog. Go after her.
Alex closed his eyes and listened for the sound of Samantha’s heartbeat. He turned and saw her running from the barn with her husband, only to slip and fall in the mud. When Sarah—now fully transformed—let out a howl and leapt at Samantha, Alex hurled himself at the werewolf and met her in the air.
Although Sarah had the advantage over his human form, Alex was far more experienced. Timing her every movement, he dodged each blow and delivered an uppercut strong enough to shatter two of her fangs.
Boomer’s mind brushed his, warning him that Aristae had recovered.
“Alex!” Samantha shouted. “Look out!”
He spun around too late. The silver dagger ripped into his shoulder.
A monstrous smile disfigured Aristae’s face. “You should know better than to turn your back on me.”
Boomer launched himself at Aristae and bit her calf. The distraction lasted long enough for Alex to avoid an incoming attack from Sarah, who missed her mark and plowed into Aristae instead.
“Samantha, get out of here!”
Aristae was on him in an instant. He blunted another blow with his fist and knocked the dagger from her hand. It went tumbling into the mud and landed in a puddle. Alex and Aristae’s eyes locked onto the dagger at the same time, but before either could make a move for it, Sarah tackled him. He struggled to get out from under her, but she weighed him down.
“I expected you to put up a better showing, Alexander.” Aristae knocked Michael aside and grabbed Samantha by the neck. “Could it be your heart isn’t in it? This is your doing—all of it. You wanted her dead. Now you get your wish.”
Michael snatched the silver dagger from the ground and plunged it into Aristae’s back. She screamed, released her hold on Samantha and slashed Michael across the chest with her claws. He toppled to his knees, blood soaking his shirt.
Before Aristae could land the killing blow, a pair of headlights illuminated the darkness, and a car hit her head-on.
Ellie emerged from the car and found herself face-to-face with another werewolf—one pinning Alex to the ground. The creature stared back at her, its fangs glistening in the moonlight. Despite its monstrous features, there was something vaguely familiar about it.
“Sarah?”
The werewolf hesitated until a gunshot from Matt grazed its side; its features contorted in rage.
“Stop!” Ellie shouted before he could fire again. “That’s Sarah!”
Before Sarah could strike, clouds covered the moon, and she shrank back to human form. “Ellie? What am I doing here?”
Alex seized the opportunity to sweep Sarah’s legs out from under her. She hardly seemed to notice.
“I don’t feel so good, Ellie.” Sarah slumped over, unconscious.
Ellie turned her attention to Aristae’s crumpled, broken form underneath the car.
“The dagger,” Alex said. “We need the dagger. Aristae won’t be down long.”
Ellie wasn’t listening. Her eyes fell on her father, who lay in the rain, covered in blood. He’s hurt. She ran to his side. “Dad!”
“Ellie.” His voice was weak. “Your mother.” His eyes shut before he could finish the thought.
Ellie squeezed his hand. “It’s OK. We’re going to get you help.” She yelled to Matt to call for an ambulance. Aristae planned this. She wanted me to leave the house so she could come for my parents.
Matt rushed to her side, phone in hand. “The ambulance is on its way.”
He didn’t say it, but the look on his face told Ellie all she needed to know. Her father was in bad shape. The claw marks went deep, and more blood oozed from the wounds with each passing moment.
Hang on, Dad, she thought. Please, God, let him live.
A groan came from the car. When Ellie looked back, Aristae had disappeared, as had Sarah. It suddenly occurred to her someone else was missing too.
“Mom?”
/> There was no answer.
Her mother was gone.
Chapter Eighteen
It was her second time in the hospital in a week—only this time, her father was the patient. Ellie wished their roles were reversed.
Her father hadn’t regained consciousness since the ambulance arrived. The doctors used expressions like “‘blunt force trauma” and said, “Time will tell.” Mercifully, Aristae hadn’t nicked any major arteries, and his internal organs were spared. Still, he remained in critical condition, and there was talk of transferring him to a larger facility.
Ellie found Matt waiting for her outside her father’s room. She had filled him in on everything on the way to the hospital. “Take me home.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to be here with him?”
Ellie peered through the glass window separating her from her father. He showed no signs of stirring. “There’s nothing I can do for him, but I can still help Mom so she’s here when he wakes up.” If he wakes up.
Matt didn’t argue.
A handwritten note waited on her front door. Ellie took the note and went over the cursive letters inscribed on wrinkled yellow paper.
Child,
By the time you read this, you will have lost several of those you love. Your friends too are lost to you. They retain no will of their own. Kill them, if you can. They will not hesitate to do so to you. Do not worry. When they are finished serving me, they will be relieved of their lives.
You may take solace in the fact that your mother remains alive. I have taken her with me. There is one full moon left. If you wish her to survive the night, I advise you to find her before sunset.
You must have realized by now there is no escape from my reach. There is nowhere you can go that I cannot follow. Those you recruit to assist you will join in your fate.
Sincerely,
Aristae de Boucher
Ellie handed the letter to Matt. “I’ll understand if you want to turn back.”
“And leave you to face those things on your own? I don’t think so.”
“Good.” Alex materialized behind them. “We need all the help we can get.”
Ellie stiffened. “It’s him.”
“Hands where I can see them.” Matt trained his gun on Alex and reached for his handcuffs. “Alex Hawthorne, you’re under arrest for the murder of Patrick Doyle.”
Alex cleared the room in one bound. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Ellie stepped between them and slapped Alex across the face. “This is all your fault. My father might die because of you.”
“You’re right.” Alex didn’t bother denying it. “It is my fault. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I didn’t plan for it to happen like this.”
“Liar. What did you expect would happen? Did you think my mother would go back to you and the two of you would live happily ever after?”
Alex averted his gaze. “Believe it or not, I am sorry for what I’ve done to you and your family. Hate me if you want, but you need me to save your mother. No one knows Aristae better than me.”
Ellie put her hands on her hips. “I was doing just fine before you came into my life.”
Matt holstered his gun. “It’s not safe here, Ellie. He comes with us or he doesn’t, but either way, we need to rest before dawn.”
Ellie wanted to shout, but she knew it wouldn’t help. All the anger in the world wouldn’t heal her father or bring her mother back. As much as she hated to admit it, Alex was right. “Fine. But I still don’t trust you.”
They decided to rest and recover their strength. They would hunt in the morning, under cover of sunlight. Matt suggested a family cabin relatively off the grid. Fortunately, it was currently uninhabited, which made it the perfect place to lie low. Alex seemed to think Aristae would have a hard time finding them there, at least for the night.
Sleep proved elusive. Monstrous visages stared at her every time Ellie closed her eyes. Dawn arrived before she knew it. The light was a welcome reprieve. Ellie sat up on the sofa and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Someone—either Alex or Matt—had draped a blanket over her while she slept.
Ellie glanced at Matt, who sat in a chair across from the sofa. His pistol lay within reach, just in case. They’d all slept in the main room. Mistrustful of Alex, Matt had taken the first watch, though it seemed he’d finally succumbed to fatigue.
Alex was watching them both from across the room. Ellie doubted he’d slept at all. She wondered if his thoughts and actions were influenced by his curse or were completely his own. She still had a hard time accepting that the boy she’d grown so attached to wasn’t a boy at all. He was hardly even human, for that matter. The thought made her skin crawl. He had put on such a convincing act as a teenager. Had immortality left him with the mind of a young man to match his body?
Matt woke with a start.
“Are you all right?” Ellie didn’t blame him for falling asleep, especially after all he’d been through on her behalf.
He shuddered. “Nightmares.”
She chuckled. “Me too.”
Matt noticed Alex watching them. “What about you? Do you still get nightmares? Do the undead even need to sleep?”
Alex bared his teeth. “I’m not undead. My heart beats. I can go without sleep for long periods of time, but I have to rest eventually.”
“Call it whatever you like. You’re a monster.” Matt stared him down. “Don’t think because we’re working together that I don’t remember what you’ve done.”
Alex shrugged. “It’s no concern of mine.”
Ellie watched him carefully. “Do you mean that? Do you really not care about the lives you’ve taken?”
Alex looked away. “This isn’t going to help get your mother back. We have the sunlight. We should take advantage of it.”
Matt nodded. “You’re the expert on werewolves. What’s the plan?”
“We find Samantha first. Then we can concentrate on Aristae. Don’t forget, she has two new werewolves under her influence. They’re strong but can’t control themselves. Our best bet is to take them out quickly.”
Ellie stared hard at him. “Kill them, you mean.”
Alex didn’t answer.
“There has to be another way,” she said. “Sarah’s my best friend.”
“Leaving either alive is too dangerous. Their thirst for bloodshed will be insatiable. They will try to kill all of us unless we put them down.”
Matt agreed. “He’s right. We can’t have werewolves loose in Hazard.”
“It’s not up for discussion.” Ellie folded her arms across her chest. “Alex, what’s it like when you become a werewolf? How much of your former self do you retain?”
“It depends. Lycanthropy sometimes leaves a core personality intact but magnifies passions and unleashes inner desires. Sometimes a victim never recovers and is left in a state of insanity. Aristae wields outsized influence over your friends because they’re newly turned. I’ll always be connected to her, but twenty years have given me time to regain my own will. Winston and Sarah don’t have that luxury. They’re probably waking up right now with no recollection of what they’ve done.”
“There has to be a way to save them.”
Alexander’s expression hardened. “There is no cure. Don’t you think I’ve searched for one?”
“Can you teach them control? Or give them a ring like yours?”
“Assuming they were willing, it could take years of training. And the rings aren’t easy to come by. It would be easier to kill them.”
Ellie glared at him. “We’re not killing them.”
Matt cleared his throat. “Don’t forget about the plan. Other than sunlight, what are their weaknesses?”
Ellie studied Alex carefully. It occurred to her that she might need to defend herself from him.
Alex held out Aristae’s dagger. “Silver can kill us. Injuries from silver don’t heal well. Neither do wounds inflicted by other werewolves.” Alex pointed to a
nasty scar on his arm where Aristae had clawed him. “Aristae can endure more because she’s older and stronger.”
Matt leaned back. “Too bad we don’t have any spare silver bullets.”
Ellie dumped the silverware from her pack. “Maybe we don’t need a bullet. If I can get into a chemistry lab, I might be able to whip up something toxic to Aristae. I can use the one at the school.”
“I can get us guns and ammunition from the station. Even if the werewolves can heal, the firepower might buy us more time.” Matt groaned. “I wish I could do more. The sheriff thought I was crazy when I tried telling him what happened.”
“Now you know how I felt.” Ellie let the words hang in the air.
“I’m sorry. You were right. I should have listened earlier.”
“Anyway, these might help if we run into trouble.” Ellie retrieved the syringes she’d filled with horse tranquilizer from her backpack. “They should be enough to put Aristae or one of the others down, at least for a little while.”
Matt spoke up. “What about Aristae? Why is she doing this?”
“This is a game to her. She won’t stop until you’re all dead. Aristae is driven by a distorted view of love. Now that I’m resisting her, she’ll do whatever she deems necessary to break me.”
“Who is she really?” Ellie asked.
“Even after two decades, there is only so much I know about her. She’s at least three hundred years old, if not more. She’s a predator in the truest sense of the word.”
Matt pushed away from his chair. “Now that we know the plan, we should get moving. I’m headed to the station. I’ll check for possible sightings of Aristae or the others while I’m there. Alex, try to find a lead on Samantha.”
“Actually, I need Alex to come with me,” Ellie interrupted.
“You do?” Alex sounded surprised.
“I need a werewolf to test my theory. I’ll warn you, if I’m right, the effects might be…unpleasant.”
Alex grimaced. “I can handle it. Whatever it is, I’ve survived worse.”
Matt nodded. “Then it’s agreed. We’ll meet again after we’re finished.”
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