by Abby Tyson
"I need to pack," Chloe said, breaking the silence.
"I could use a drink," Baxter said, his Adam's apple bobbing as he smacked his lips. "Got any of that rum left, kid?"
Savi turned wide and furious eyes on him, unable to believe that this night could get any worse.
"Rum?" said Chloe, her voice dripping with reproach.
Baxter grimaced. "Uh-oh. I guess I'll take a water, then."
"I think it's time you left," said Chloe firmly.
He looked back and forth between Chloe and Savi, shaking his head in defeat.
"I tried to tell you guys. Now we're all in hot water."
Chloe closed the door behind him and turned to Savi.
"You've got some explaining to do."
Chapter Three
They waited until they were on the way to the airport for Savi to begin her story. It took about half the ride for Savi to give her mother an abridged version of the previous weekend's events. She explained how she met Baxter at the same convenience store where Savi's dad had secretly bought money orders and mailed them to Chloe. Baxter saw Savi camped out in front of the store so often -- hoping to catch her dad in the act -- that he eventually offered to buy her some alcohol. She had said yes on a whim, and that had been the extent of their relationship until he'd kidnapped her at October Mountain State Forest and brought her to a barn where the Alters, a cult he was part of, met every full moon.
Glossing over the details, Savi told her mom that she had spent the weekend trying to escape, and that Marley and his brother Ren, who were also captives, helped her get out. Somehow Savi was able to get through all of that without mentioning werewolves, but she knew it was coming.
Chloe hadn't said a word during the recap, but her shock, disappointment, and horror were as tangible as the steering wheel in Savi's hands. Savi braced herself for the inevitable lecture about drinking and lying and how she was never leaving the house again.
"Can you pull over?" Chloe asked, her voice quiet.
Savi pulled into the highway breakdown lane and put her hazards on. Their escort, a nondescript black sedan, pulled in behind them, flooding Savi's car with the white light of his headlights. She thought the driver was going to get out, but he remained in his car.
Taking Savi's hands in one of her own, Chloe put her other hand on Savi's cheek and looked straight at her as she asked, "Did they hurt you? Because if they hurt you, I don't care what the consequences are, I'm calling the police and those people are going to jail."
Tears welled up in Savi's eyes. Of course they had hurt her. They forced her at gunpoint to be bitten by a werewolf, experimented on her, trapped her in a secret lab to be hunted by a psychotic former werewolf, and locked her in a van at the mercy of Marcia's sadist son.
I wouldn't wanna go where you're going, was all Top had said of their destination.
Savi forced a smile. She wasn't about to risk Dave's safety for something that couldn't be changed. "No," she said, a lump in her throat. "I'm fine."
Hugging Savi tight against her, Chloe didn't let go for a long time, petting Savi's long hair like she did when Savi was a child waking up from a nightmare.
"But that doesn't explain why they want us in Florida," said her mom, letting go. "Do you know this Berto character?" She pulled some tissues out of her purse and wiped her nose.
"No, I --"
I don't like Berto's way of doing things any more than you do, but he's said more than once to let him know if we come across one of these.
Top's words, spoken as Savi was waking up after Marcia's experiment, finally broke free of her foggy memory.
"Savi?" her mom asked.
I wouldn't wanna go where you're going.
Savi's stomach dropped. If even Top found Berto's facility daunting, what was her mom in for?
"I remember one of the Alters mentioning Berto, saying he's been looking for someone like us, but other than that, no."
"What does that mean, 'someone like us'?"
Savi looked back at the road. "I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to believe. I didn't believe it, even when I saw it. I still find it inconceivable."
Chloe shifted in her seat but stayed silent.
"The Alters are a group of people who believe there's only one definitive way to save humanity from itself. I thought Marcia's group was the extent of them, but apparently there are chapters around the country, maybe even the world. I'm guessing the Den is a cover for Berto's Alters facility."
"Okay," Chloe said when Savi didn't continue. "Is that what's hard to believe?"
"No, it's -- it's the way they want to save the world."
Savi had been so reluctant to tell her mom about all of this, that she hadn't given any serious thought to how she was going to say it.
"I'm not lying when I say this," she started. "I've seen it with my own eyes, multiple times, and I'm not crazy. I promise, I'm not crazy."
She still couldn't make herself say it.
"You're not crazy, Savi," her mom said softly.
Keeping her eyes on the highway, Savi said, "They turn people into werewolves."
Only when she heard her mom's shallow, staggered breaths did Savi risk a peek. Her mom was covering her face and rocking back and forth.
"Mom?" Savi's voice trembled with her own tears.
Chloe held up a hand as she attempted to calm herself. "I'm okay, I --" Cut off by her own sob, she opened the door and ran out of the car.
Savi sat, watching the cars drive past through misty windows. A light rain had started shortly after they'd left home, but that didn't seem to be having any effect on her mom, who was still outside, staring into the woods. At least she was standing upright now, instead of doubled over.
Although she knew she should probably go outside and comfort her, Savi couldn't think of anything comforting to say. And what if her mom really did think she was crazy? Her phone was in the car, so she wasn't calling the cops to come and take Savi away, but she'd been outside for a solid five minutes in the rain. She hadn't run away like this for years, not since Savi stopped asking questions about Monty.
Savi hadn't mentioned her dad at all during her recap. Before she could accept that her former lover had been a werewolf, her mom had to accept that werewolves even existed in the first place.
The door opened. Savi wiped away her tears as her mom got back into the car. With cold, wet hands, Chloe pulled Savi towards her in a tight hug that, for once, Savi welcomed, despite the water trickling down her neck from her mom's damp hair.
"I love you," Chloe whispered. Meeting Savi's gaze, she repeated, "No matter what, I love you."
"Do you believe me?"
Nodding, Chloe said, "Yes, I do."
Savi let out a sob of relief and hugged her mom again. They both wiped their eyes, and Chloe pulled out a few more tissues for each of them.
The headlights of their escort flashed. "I guess we better keep moving," said Savi, but her mom stopped her hand.
Doing her best to appear calm, Chloe’s voice shook as she tried to speak. "Did they... Are you a... werewolf?"
"No." But Dad was, before he died.
Now it was Chloe's turn to cry out with relief. The headlights behind them flashed again, and Savi started the car, still wrestling with whether to add to the long list of shocking confessions her mom was dealing with tonight.
"Then I don't understand what werewolves have to do with us going to Florida," Chloe said as Savi merged back onto the highway.
"Well, apparently we can't be altered."
Chloe waited for Savi to explain.
"When I was with the Alters, they had a werewolf bite me --"
"No," her mom whimpered.
"-- but I didn't alter," Savi added quickly. "I didn't change into a werewolf."
She considered telling her mom that Hettie, Savi's best friend, had also been bitten and had altered, but she decided that now wasn't the best time for that revelation.
"Marcia said I was
a veru malar, a hollow one, and that meant that I couldn't be altered. The werewolf who bit me actually..." Savi searched for the right word. “…unaltered -- he turned back into a human only. I guess Berto thinks you're one too."
"How does it work?" asked her mom. "The... what did you call it? Veru..."
"Veru malar. I don't know much about it, and apparently no one else does either. There are stories about it being done by touch or with a look, but all I know is that when a werewolf bites me -- us -- it will probably turn back into a human."
"So Berto has someone at his center who he wants unaltered," Chloe said.
"But that doesn't make sense, because the Alters are all about altering people into werewolves. It's their name. Marcia saw me as a threat to her mission."
"If Berto saw us as a threat then he wouldn't be so casual about only one of us going down there."
Savi and Chloe searched the road for answers.
"I should go with you," Savi said.
"Absolutely not."
"But I've had experience with these people. I might recognize a threat that you don't."
Pulling out her phone, Chloe said, "You are going to stay with Aunt Odette. I'll call her right now."
"Aunt Odette? Mom, they barely have enough room for the four of them. It'll be a huge inconvenience. How would we explain it?"
Chloe's phone was in her hand, but she didn't dial. "We'll tell her Dave's been in an accident and I need to fly down to help him."
"I'm 18. She'll wonder why I can't stay home by myself."
"I'll tell her we're having the house sprayed for termites."
"What if things get weird, and we end up putting her family in danger."
"You are not coming with me. It's not up for debate," said Chloe. "I'm not letting you within a hundred miles of those people, and you're not staying home alone. What about a motel?"
"I'm not going to a motel. I'll be fine. I'll be at work during the day, and I'll keep the doors locked and my phone with me all the time at night. I'll even call you every day to check in."
Chloe stared at her phone. "I suppose I could call the police and ask them to patrol the neighborhood on a regular basis, saying a crazy ex-boyfriend is stalking you."
"What?" Savi said with a laugh. "That's not necessary."
"Are you staying at the house?" asked Chloe, making the ultimatum clear.
"Yes, but --"
Chloe started tapping her phone. "Then I'm calling the police."
"What? Mom!"
With her hand raised to silence Savi, Chloe started talking into her phone.
"Hello? Yes, my name is Chloe Claudie, and I have a family emergency that I have to attend to in Florida, but I'm afraid to leave my daughter alone because of an ex-boyfriend of hers who has threatened her..."
Savi pulled up to the airport curb and turned her car off. "I should be going with you," she said.
Putting a hand on Savi's cheek, Chloe said, "You're exactly where I need you to be: safe."
Savi glanced in the rearview mirror at the black car parked behind them. "You should probably get moving before our escort back there flashes us again."
Chloe opened the car door, and Savi followed her mom out onto the curb. Pulling out her suitcase from the backseat, Chloe said, "You will check in with me every morning and every night."
"I'll be fine, Mom," protested Savi, "seriously."
Wrapping her arms around her daughter and holding her tight, she said, "I know, because you'll call me and tell me that you're fine."
When Chloe let go, Savi asked, "You're sure you don't want me to go in with you at least for the check-in?"
"I'll be fine, Daughter, seriously," her mom said with a smirk. "Who knows? Maybe this whole thing is a hoax and I'll be calling you in half an hour to turn around, so don't drive too fast." She looked up at the sky, as if for a star to wish upon that it really was all pretend, but there was nothing above them but the black curtain of night.
Looking back at Savi, she said, "Swear to me you'll never pick up an alcoholic beverage again."
"I swear," said Savi, holding up her hands.
"And promise me you won't shut me out anymore. We're in this life together, and my job is to help you through it."
Fighting a twinge of guilt at still holding so much back, Savi said, "I promise."
After another hug, they said their goodbyes, and Chloe walked into the airport.
Savi watched her mom until her long yellow braid was no longer visible. As she walked back around to the driver's side, the black car drove slowly past. She waited until it had disappeared around the bend before turning her car back on and pulling away.
Staring at the highway in front of her, Savi felt a little better after talking to her mom. The secret had weighed heavily on her all week.
"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" her mom had asked.
"There hasn't been any opportunity. Either Dave has been over, or you've been at work."
"That's no excuse for the drinking. I knew something was wrong -- you've been different since Christmas, but you wouldn't talk to me."
Savi told her that she'd already stopped drinking, although she left out the fact that it hadn't even technically been a whole week yet. She said she'd only started because she'd been bullied at school -- but didn't go into detail about why -- and that drinking had become a coping mechanism for dealing with that. Savi didn't want to tell her mom any more than she needed to know when it came to her senior year of high school. That was all behind her; those kids were now a week into their college careers, far away from here. Savi never wanted to think about them again.
Although she didn't have that luxury. Eric Striker and Tara Clarence, the two people most responsible for her senior year nosedive, were now werewolves because of her. She would need to face that at some point.
Savi stopped to fill up her gas tank and get something to eat. As she was merging back onto the highway, her phone rang. She was almost halfway home, but she stayed in the right lane, hoping it was her mom telling her to turn around. Without looking at her phone, she flipped it open.
"Hoax after all?" she asked.
"Hoax?"
That was not her mother's voice. Savi glanced down at the phone, but didn't recognize the number.
"Who's this?" she asked.
"Savi, this is Pearl."
Savi closed her phone and threw it on the passenger's seat.
What is wrong with these people? she thought. Don't they know I'm done with all of them?
Her phone started ringing. A honk beside her made her jerk the wheel as she realized she'd been staring at her phone instead of the road. After a few more rings, she put on her blinker and pulled over into the breakdown lane.
"Leave me alone.”
"Tell me where the torra is and I'll do that," Pearl replied, in her subtle German accent.
"The silver wolf? It's dead. One of Marcia's goons killed it."
A large truck passing by made Savi's car wobble in its wake.
"I don't believe you."
Savi scoffed. "That's not my problem."
"We need the torra to save the ona."
"To make them gods you mean."
"They're already gods."
"Do you honestly believe that, Pearl?"
The rain grew heavier, filling the car with the pinging of raindrops.
"You're only going to make things harder for yourself if you lie," said Pearl, ignoring the question. "I'm giving you a chance to come out of this unhurt."
"Believe what you want, but from what I recall, you're the liar here. The origin is dead. Good luck giving Ebony that message."
Savi hung up and turned her phone off with trembling hands. Pulling back onto the highway, she wondered how they'd gotten her number.
And Berto, for that matter.
She didn't have any personal information on her social media, but nothing was off limits if you knew where to look online. Berto knew their phone numbers, address, and thei
r connection to Dave. What else did he know?
Savi's foot came off the gas pedal as she realized she couldn't go home. If Pearl knew her phone number, she probably knew her address too. They might even be there now, waiting for her. Where could she go? Hettie was in Boston, and she wasn't about to drive across the state.
The tension in her shoulders eased as the answer dawned on her. She was supposed to see Marley tomorrow morning anyway, and after all the flowers he'd sent, he was obviously excited about seeing her. How about a few hours early?
But she'd barely spoken to him all week. She'd called him after the first roses delivery, and texted him after the others, but what if he thought she was being too needy or presumptuous showing up unannounced at his house?
The exit sign for Route 22 was coming up. If she went south, she'd go home. If she went north, she'd go to Pittsfield.
She'd played the damsel in distress role enough in front of him -- did she really want to put herself in that position of weakness again?
Route 22, Austerlitz, New Lebanon.
Time was up. She had to decide. Excitement fluttered in her chest as she took the exit.
North.
Chapter Four
"So here I am," Savi said, rolling onto her side and looking at Marley. "Luckily your dad was here to let me in. I told him that you and I had a fight and I wanted to surprise you and make up."
Marley traced Savi's face from temple to dimple. She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. He hated to ruin the moment, but he had to tell her.
"Tallahassee's where Nissa's soulmate is," he said. "We're leaving tomorrow to find the people she thinks can help rescue her."
Savi's heart started pounding once again. Her eyes flew open. "Do you think it's the same place?" she asked, but quickly answered her own question. "It must be. How could it not?" She rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. "What is my mom walking into? I should be there."
"If you had gone with her you'd be a prisoner too," he said. Sliding close enough to feel her warm body against his, he laid his face barely an inch from hers. "You're safe with me," he whispered, kissing her cheek.