“Are you okay?” Park was asking, clearly sensing some of the turmoil Cooper felt.
“I’m not hurt,” Cooper said. “You?”
Park hesitated for so long Cooper had halfway convinced himself the next words out of his mouth would be Actually, I was just clinging to life long enough to say goodbye.
“I’m not injured,” Park said finally. “But I’m having a hard time...moving.”
“Okay, in what way?” Again, the silence stretched between them. Cooper tried to help. “Aching pain? Sharp pain? Numbness? Coordination problems? Stiffness?” he asked, quickly trying to remember what each one might indicate, some more serious than others.
“Yeah, those,” Park said.
Cooper stilled. “What, all of them?”
Park shifted on the floor, and Cooper could feel him straining against him, as if trying to crack his own back into place. “Yeah, my spine feels like crumbled cement, someone’s stabbing me in my shoulder, my ass is just one enormous hunk of aching meat and everything’s...muffled,” Park said, still trying to stretch. “My nose feels all stuffed and my ears are still full of water and it’s so. Fucking. Dark. In. Here,” he went on, getting more and more frustrated, stretching his back and rolling his neck and shifting on the floor.
He was moving around so much it was really starting to irritate Cooper’s skin as their cuffs pulled together. Almost as soon as he noticed it, Park stopped tugging. “Now my wrists are burning. It’s like as soon as I focus on one thing, something else starts hurting instead.”
“Okay, okay, breathe with me,” Cooper said, trying to calm down himself. It wasn’t like Park to be so...vulnerable. “Does any of it feel life threatening?”
“No,” he said. He sounded a little more settled after matching his breaths to Cooper’s. “Nothing that bad. It all just feels sort of the same level of...unpleasant. And I feel really weak. Drained.”
Cooper maneuvered his hands a little so he could grasp a couple of Park’s fingers. He squeezed them comfortingly, and Park jerked away. “What’s wrong?” Cooper asked.
“I think I have a bunch of glass in my fingers,” Park hissed. “My whole hand just feels packed with it.”
What the fuck had happened to Park while they were unconscious?
“Okay, it’s going to be okay. Eli, are you hurt?” Cooper called out, and felt Park jerk behind him and try to turn his head.
“Eli’s here?”
The pure shock in Park’s voice chilled Cooper to the bone. “Yes,” he said softly. “He’s in the neighboring cage. Can’t you—you didn’t scent him?”
Park didn’t answer. He just sat very still.
“Eli?” Cooper tried again when Park stayed quiet. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” Eli said so quietly Cooper barely caught it. “In a way.”
“What happened? What’s going on?” Cooper asked.
Eli’s eyes slid shut, and he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t want to lie to you. But I had to, I had to, and it’s my fault. Again, again, it’s always my fault.” He dropped his head to his knees and rocked slightly.
Cooper couldn’t help but feel like he was the worst possible person to be sandwiched between two wolves having full-blown mental crises. He tried to think of what Dr. Ripodi would say.
“We’re running out of time,” Cooper said. “Just start with why you’re here.”
“I—” Eli started, and his voice cracked. He picked his head up with a deep breath and looked Cooper right in the eye, seeming to steel himself. “I wasn’t actually being blackmailed. I just told you that so you’d help me find the phone.”
Cooper blinked, not expecting that. “So it was a lie? Everything you told me about what happened to you with the rebel pack?”
“No,” Eli said firmly. “That was all true. Ollie—Oliver can confirm.” Park shifted behind Cooper, the first movement he’d made in a while. “But—but what he doesn’t know, what I didn’t tell anyone, was I... I didn’t join the rebels alone.”
“You do have a sister,” Park said wonderingly. “How could you never tell me?”
“My twin sister,” Eli confessed. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think I would ever see her again, and it was painful. And...made me feel guilty.”
“Why guilty?” Park asked.
“Because it was my fault she ever got mixed up with them anyway,” Eli snapped. “Because the first time I ever saw James, I became so ridiculously infatuated and believed he was everything a werewolf was supposed to be that I begged her to come with me. Begged her to break the promise we’d made to each other as children and show someone else what we could do. Because when I was finally free of my imprisonment”—Eli kicked out at the fencing that clanged and shook—”the entire pack was dead and I thought she was too, and it was my fucking fault.”
He emphasized each word with another kick. The wobbling metal hummed long after Eli fell silent. When he spoke again, it was a whisper. “Why on earth would I ever want to tell you about that? I was already enough of a monster in your eyes, and mine too.”
“Eli—” Park said, sounding like he was in almost as much pain as Eli. “I never thought that. I still don’t.”
Eli sniffed, turning his head to the side and wiping at his nose. Ideally, Cooper would just let them sniffle it out. But ideally, they wouldn’t be doing a three-man reimagining of the Count of Monte Cristo either.
“But she wasn’t dead, was she?” Cooper prompted as gently as possible. “She’d wound up in the WIP.”
“Yes,” Eli said. “Eventually. She thought I was dead too. It was Daisy actually who reconnected us in the end.”
“Daisy?” Park asked a little breathlessly.
“Mmmm, they were in the same WIP group for a while. I guess after she showed up in Cape Breton this February, she put two and two together, realized we were related, and my sister found me a couple of months ago. But she was in trouble.”
“She was the one James Finnigan was blackmailing,” Cooper said.
“I live in the middle of the woods of Nova Scotia watching soaps all day; he never had a chance of finding me again. And even if he had, the Park pack would have protected me.
“But Alice...my sister, she lives right here in DC. Her partner is human. She has no pack protection. Has nowhere to turn. I knew Helena would never help. Friend of Daisy? WIP? Part of the very group she blames for the death of her son? I left the pack before she’d ever have the opportunity to tell me no. With the debt I owe Alice, I had no choice.”
“So you hired us, told her when it seemed like Arthur had the phone, and she showed up at the gala to steal it,” Cooper said. “Why would she attack us, though?”
“She was just scared,” Eli said quickly. “She saw you standing over Arthur and thought you’d killed him. She thinks you’re the...” He trailed off, and the silence sat awkwardly as Eli studied Cooper very carefully, warily.
Finally, he shook his head. “No. Well, she only saw you briefly in the dark during a very traumatic situation. Even the most discerning eyes might mistake you for something special.” There was the briefest flicker of the old Eli’s biting tone before his voice got even more frantic than before. “I rushed over here to dissuade her from acting on such a nonsensical idea. But he has her, and he’ll kill her if I didn’t do what he says, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I can’t let that happen, not again, I couldn’t—”
The whine and creak of a door opening echoed from down the dark hallway. Eli fell silent, pulling his knees close to his chest again and seeming to shrink in on himself. Cooper heard footsteps and the erratic rumble of flimsy wheels on cement slowly approaching.
Ryan Basque appeared pushing a four-foot-long metal cart covered by a light blue sheet, same as had been draped over Neil. There were also shapes under this o
ne—what looked like bottles and jars as opposed to a second body, thank god.
“Wakey wakey!” he called, clapping his hands. “Oh, good, everyone’s up. I was a little worried I’d used too high a dose. That’s the first time I’ve administered through aerosol, you know.”
“You,” Cooper said, mind spinning.
“Oh yes, me,” Ryan agreed, and pulled the sheet off. The bottom of the cart was just sliding metal doors that looked like storage, but the top level was full of what looked like veterinary supplies. Various brown plastic bottles, large syringes, shiny, sharp instruments.
“It was too much,” Cooper said, hastily trying to pull it together and come up with any reason to get Ryan to open the cage. “My partner’s very sick. You don’t want him to die like this—otherwise, why keep us here?”
“Oh, he’s not dying,” Ryan said cheerfully, fiddling with one of the syringes and bottles. “He’s just human.”
Cooper’s heart clenched painfully, and behind him, he felt Park jerk, as if he’d tried to leap up and hadn’t even made it off the ground.
Ryan had stopped futzing to watch them intently. “Or as close as their kind can get, anyway,” he added. He held up the syringe in his hand and waved it. “You’ve heard of paralytics targeting one system of the body or another. This one specifically attacks the wolf system. Just completely zones in on every cell with those particular protein markers and beats the living crud out of them.” He laughed. “I got to admit this is the first time I’ve seen it work like this, though. So totally cool.”
“This is what you used on James Finnigan and Arthur Crane,” Cooper realized. “This is what made them...stuck.”
“I mean, that’s how it’s supposed to work. They’re supposed to monster out as soon as the toxin hits the bloodstream and they feel something’s wrong. It’s like literally their number one defense system—animals are so predictable—but by the time they’re mid-transformation, all the little wolf cells are totally freakin’ paralyzed. They can’t move forward, but they can’t move back either. You can see it in their eyes as it’s happening. They’re like, huh? Does not compute! It’s actually so wild to watch. Nature is crazy!”
A flash of irritation passed over Ryan’s face. “You could have seen it yourself if this one hadn’t figured out what was happening right away and refused to do his thing,” he said, wandering over to Eli’s cage and looking in. “There’s something extra abnormal about him.”
Eli pulled himself up a little taller, stuck his chin out defiantly, and with a glimmer of his old self, puckered his lips and blew a kiss. Ryan’s face turned red and his expression angry before he turned away and walked quickly back to his cart.
By the time he got there and started sorting through his tools again, he seemed to have regained his composure. “Still, all the greatest discoveries have come from making mistakes,” Ryan said practically.
Something about it set off a distant memory, but Cooper didn’t have time to contemplate it further. Ryan was still talking. “Like, look at how horrible they both look right now. They’ve never felt this way before because they’ve never felt human before. Even when they look like they’re a human or when they look like they’re a wolf, they’re not. They’re never entirely one or the other. Doesn’t that just teach us something amazing?”
“Is that why you’re doing this?” Cooper asked. “Why you murdered James, Arthur and Neil? To learn something?”
Ryan looked startled, then laughed. “Um, no, what do you think I am, crazy or something? You killed them.”
“What?” Cooper choked.
Ryan nodded earnestly. “Oh yeah. Wolf traitors hated by all, getting away with it, living guilt-free, until you swept in and punished them with your unnatural powers that banished them between worlds and left your mark on their bellies so that all will know who struck them down. Don’t you get it, yet? You’re the Moon, Cooper Dayton.”
Ryan smiled a bit, as if amused despite himself. “Or that’s what the wolf world is going to think, anyway, when I’m done setting you up for these murders. I mean, jeez Louise, even these guys were looking at you spooked there for a minute,” he said, gesturing at Eli and Park.
“What possible reason could you have for wanting to convince wolves Cooper is some...legend?” Park asked. “Even if you’re able to get him arrested, you can’t believe you can plant enough evidence to charge him.”
“What would getting him arrested do for me?” Ryan asked, bewildered. “No, no, that would ruin everything. Sorry, Cooper. You have to die tonight, buddy. But like any god worth his salt, you’ll rise again. Somewhere else when you’re needed most.”
“I don’t understand,” Cooper said, lips dry.
Ryan tucked his hair behind his ears, thinking. “You know what people do when they believe in gods? Half of them pray for him to make their problems go away.” He pressed his palms together at his chest and said in a childlike voice, “Please, Mr. Moon, the big bad wolf has hurt my pack. Here’s my donation of ten grand to punish him like you punished the others.”
His voice returned to normal. “And the other half of them blame him for their problems.” He stuck his hands on his hips and spoke like an old-timey detective. “Got another killing, Lou. Same distinct signature as the others: half transformed, gut clawed open, covered in rose heads. Must be that Cooper Dayton that’s struck again. He really thinks he’s the Moon, doesn’t he? Well, it wouldn’t be the first occasion he’s taken justice into his own hands. It was only a matter of time till he snapped, I always said.”
Ryan let his hands drop and a big grin split his face. “We’re going to clean the heck up, you and I. Well, me and your reputation, anyway. Which, like, couldn’t be any more perfect for this, by the way. I mean, when I found out the wolf who mutilated you was murdered by your ex-partner and that some wolves still think you were involved? I was like, oh wow, am I being baited right now? ’Cause this is literally too perfect. I really owe you, man.”
Ryan tilted his head. “Well, you and Neil. We wouldn’t be here without him.”
Neil... Cooper thought, and for the next couple seconds couldn’t think of anything more than the violet color of dead lips that used to say his name.
“Is Neil Gerhart who made you aware of wolves?” Park bit out behind Cooper. “Is he where you got all this nonsense about the Moon? Because it’s all wrong and I’m afraid you’ve bought into one fairy tale too far.” He sounded icily dismissive, not like Park at all, and Cooper wondered if his words rang as false to everyone else in the room.
Ryan certainly didn’t seem worried. If anything he looked passively entertained. Much the same way as people did at the zoo, standing and staring at an animal with vague, condescending interest. “I didn’t need Neil to tell me about all that,” he said as if the idea was ridiculous, then shook his head. “Well, that’s not fair. I might have known about your secret little world, but he is the only way I found out about you, Cooper. He was so excited to meet someone who ‘actually also believed in werewolves’ that it only took a month of guys’ nights out and he was showing me his creepy altar. What a jackpot.”
“Neil wasn’t a wolf traitor,” Cooper said softly.
“Yeah, no, that one’s on me.” Ryan shrugged. “Dude had literally started to believe you were some kind of magic moon fairy and was stalking you nonstop. No way he wouldn’t have noticed when you died and I took your place. Get this: he even thought you were the one who’d killed James and suspected you were going after Arthur next. I barely even had to say anything! Talk about a perfect test run.”
Ryan sighed heavily. “I was going to let him live longer, too, but the big doofus showed up here last night rambling about how he’d tried to talk to you and that you’d refused to let him in on whatever you were planning.” He dragged his finger across his throat while making a rude sound, and Cooper couldn’t help flinching.
“Aw,” Ryan said, watching him. “Don’t look sad. Honestly, you should probably be thanking me. He also said you were keeping two werewolves as pet monsters and how he couldn’t wait to do the same thing to you soon. I swear, half the time I couldn’t tell if that guy loved you or hated you. He was so...creepy. And mean. But I don’t need to tell you that.”
He made a face and went back to filling a syringe with something from a small glass bottle. “Whatever, I’ll figure out some way to explain it so it doesn’t affect our brand.”
“So this is just advertising, to you?” Park said, sounding sick. “You’re doing all this for money?”
“Oh, boo freakin’ hoo. Someone did something bad to make buttloads of money. Hello, journalism? Have I got a scoop for you.” Ryan snorted. “I’ve been making money off of animals my whole life. The bigger the animal, the more money they bring in. Getting zookeeper credentials opened a lot of doors for me in animal trafficking, and a lot of wallets. But when I found out there’s a whole animal species walking around with their own bank accounts?”
He gestured vaguely at Eli and Park. “Big leagues, baby. I started planning that very night. It’s taken me months to get everything in place but shoot, I’m a born entrepreneur, man. Do you want to live on the top or die at the bottom? I mean, what do the killers you usually run into do it for? Revenge? Love?” Ryan laughed. “Here, maybe we can make it look like that, if you want. The Moon is out, after all.”
He yanked open the sliding metal drawers under the cart top, and a woman half fell out.
Cooper only had to hear the rage in Eli’s voice as he leapt to his feet and tore ineffectually at the fencing to know it was Alice. Even so, Cooper recognized the white-blond buzz cut, the blue-gray eyes half-closed but still clearly white-less, luminescent and as inhuman as the rest of her half-transformed face.
Both Eli and Park were snarling now. It sounded different than usual, lacking the guttural, vibrating edge Cooper would feel in his throat. There was nothing wolf-like about it. Just a noise made from muscle memory and something akin to human anguish.
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