by Abby Tyson
"He can wait on the sidewalk," said Marley.
"Someone might think he's a stray and take him to the pound." Savi started toward the building. "If anyone says anything, I'll say he's my service dog."
Marley glowered, but followed her and Glenn up to the apartment. They were surprised to find Ren already there, packing a large tote bag full of food. He frowned at Savi through the trim beard he'd begun to grow since she'd last seen him. Nissa sat on the couch watching TV.
“Is your dad here?” Savi asked.
“He’s at work," said Marley, staying by her side as they moved into the apartment.
"Where does he work?"
"At the mall. He's a custodian."
"You're here to say goodbye?" Ren asked her skeptically.
"Actually," started Marley, "she had --"
The apartment door opened and Warren walked in. He smiled at Marley and Savi. "Salutations! I took my lunch early so I could come and --"
When he saw Ren, he stopped talking and immediately lost all trace of warmth. "What is he doing in my house?"
Before anyone could answer, Nissa started shouting.
"No! I'm not going anywhere with him!" She was staring at Glenn with disdain. "Not --" Her face collapsed as she shrieked, "Don't you dare say you're sorry! Your words mean nothing! Your words won't bring her back!"
"What's going on?" Warren asked over Nissa's crying. "Why is there a wolf here?" He hadn't seen Glenn behind the door.
"That's Glenn," Marley said, speaking to Ren.
"Glenn?" he asked, still confused.
"That's his real name," explained Savi. "You know him as George."
"He's Marcia's son," Marley said, scowling. "A former Alter."
"The same ones who had the poor girl locked away?" asked Warren.
"You killed her!" Nissa screamed at the wolf. "You could have helped. My other half is dead because of you!"
At the words other half, Warren's eyes locked on the small girl and narrowed. Savi and Marley exchanged worried looks.
As if she were carrying on a conversation with him, Nissa said, "It doesn't matter. You were there. You didn't help, and she died!"
"Are you talking to him?" asked Savi. "Is he talking to you?"
"What does she mean, other half?" Warren asked, turning his cold eyes on Ren. "What is this creature you brought into my house?"
"She's traumatized, Dad," Marley began. "She doesn't --"
"Nissa is the other half of the silver wolf," Ren said, his tone final. "She's the origin."
Warren stared at Ren, his face tightening with hatred. "You said it was dead."
"Only the wolf half died.”
Their father strode across the room. Ren seemed to know something was coming and went even more rigid, but when Warren slapped him across the face, Ren didn't lift a hand to stop it. Marley ran over to get between them.
"You let that thing into my house," Warren hissed, keeping his eyes on Ren and cupping the hand that had struck him to his chest. "Knowing what it did to me, you let it eat my food and tricked me into treating it like a guest. I even --" He didn't bother trying to hide his disgust. "I even felt sorry for it, and all the time it was mocking me."
"I remember you."
All eyes turned to Nissa, who was still bright red, her black hair sticking to her wet face. She spoke quietly, though with repugnance. "I remember that night, and what you were doing. You got what you deserved."
Warren's already pasty face turned an ashen gray. Wincing in pain, he clutched at his heart and started to collapse.
"Dad!" Marley cried as he caught him. Ren's hands stayed at his sides.
Marley picked his father up and carried him with ease into his bedroom. Ren went back to packing food. Nissa sat on the couch and buried her sobs in her arms.
"You can't come with us," Ren said, only meeting Savi's eyes long enough to confirm that she heard him.
"Why?"
"Marley has no common sense when it comes to you. He'd put everyone else in danger for you. He already put us in danger by telling you what we are."
"I won't tell anyone."
"You might not have a choice. Marley and I can endure a lot more pain than you can."
"I'm not planning on enduring any pain. I'll be as far from the action as possible. My mom's at the mercy of the Alters who have Nissa's soulmate. I'm not willing to risk her by getting involved in your rescue attempt."
Marley came into the kitchen. "He's in bed. I called his boss and told her Dad's not going back in." He noticed Savi and Ren's dark expressions. "What'd I miss?"
"Savi's staying," Ren said.
"She can't," protested Marley. "The ona tried to break into her house, and the Alters are after her too."
"Then she can stay here, with Dad." He turned to Savi. "That way you can let us know if he alters at Anwi's Eye -- if we're not back by then."
"If she's not going, then I'm not going," said Marley, taking a step towards his brother.
Savi put a hand on Marley's arm. "Maybe staying here isn't such a bad idea," she said.
"You're coming," said Nissa's small voice from the living room. She'd regained her composure, although her face remained blotchy.
Marley whirled around on her. "What the hell was that about Dad getting what he deserved?" he demanded. "You nearly gave him a heart attack."
Ignoring him, Nissa kept her eyes on Savi. "You have to come," she reiterated.
"Why?" Savi asked.
"Was it you, or your soulmate?" Ren asked. Nissa glared up at him in reply.
"Answer me," he ordered.
Picking up her backpack, she said, "It was my soulmate. It was Karis."
Ren picked up the bags of food he'd packed and left the apartment without another word, with Nissa close behind him.
"What was that about?" Marley asked.
"I think Nissa was saying that it was her soulmate who bit your dad."
Marley looked back at the open doorway, where Glenn was now sitting.
"I'm confused though," Savi said. "Am I staying here? Because I really don't mind. I've been itching to get my hands on your dad's poetry library ever since I saw it."
"You're coming," he snapped, and went to his bedroom.
Savi surveyed the empty rooms, meeting Glenn's gaze.
"Oh, yeah," she said, "this is going to be loads of fun."
Chapter Nine
Despite Nissa's protests, Savi wouldn't go unless Glenn went, so all five of them piled into the van and started on their way. Marley and Savi wanted to sit next to each other, but Nissa was too small to sit in the front seat and refused to sit in the back near Glenn, so she ended up beside Savi, with Marley riding shotgun.
Warren called about an hour after they left, asking Marley about their itinerary as if nothing had happened. Otherwise they rode in near silence, all of them quietly stewing in their own discontent, until the New Jersey border, when Nissa startled everyone by shouting, "All right!" She turned to Savi. "The murderer wants you to know that your dad saw you once when you were a baby."
Savi waited for Nissa to continue, but she was looking out the window again. "When?" she asked. "What happened? Did my mom see him? Nissa!"
Without shifting her gaze from the highway, Nissa said, "I will not be a mouth for that thing."
"Come on, Nissa," Marley prodded. "She never knew her dad."
"You think I don't know that?" pounced Nissa. "He's been bombarding me with thoughts about Savi the innocent and Monty the werewolf, Chloe the heartbroken and Glenn the guilty since Pittsfield."
"Your dad was a werewolf?" Marley asked.
Savi was too focused on the memory Nissa had mentioned to sense the hurt in his voice. Barely glancing his way, she said, "I just found out last weekend." Her eyes were pinned on Nissa, who was covering her ears.
"Stop!" Nissa cried. "I will not be used like this! Not by you!"
Knowing the memory would be forever tainted by the way it was shared, Savi sighed. "It's okay, G
lenn. Don't bother her anymore."
The wolf whined, but a moment later Nissa stopped shouting. Savi turned back to the window beside her and watched the highway disappear behind a row of trees as Ren pulled into a rest stop for lunch.
Savi and Nissa went to the restroom while Ren and Marley bought some fast food. As Savi waited outside the bathroom for Nissa, her breath caught at the sight of a tall, skinny guy with stringy dark hair standing at a soda machine.
Jameson.
She spun around to run back into the bathroom and collided with a woman coming out.
"Sorry," she muttered, looking over her shoulder to see where Jameson was. He was heading straight for her.
Except it wasn't him. He smiled at the woman Savi had run into, and the two of them walked away hand in hand.
Leaning against the wall, she covered her face with her hands. When she had calmed down, she looked for Nissa in the bathroom, but couldn't find her. She went outside and muttered a curse when she saw her moping around the picnic tables.
She didn't tell anyone about her imagined close encounter, and after lunch they made good time until they hit traffic on the Delaware River Bridge. There was a tense half-hour where they weren't sure if they were going to make it out of the van before sunset, but at last the traffic relented and they made it across the river with barely fifteen minutes to spare.
"We're in Bristol, Pennsylvania," said Savi, studying the satellite images on Marley's phone. "There's a big forested area called Silver Lake County Park that's pretty close."
"This will be fine," Ren said, driving around a large industrial building. He pulled up next to the dense trees that lined the side of the lot.
"Is that big enough for you guys to... hunt, or... whatever?" asked Savi as she opened her door.
Ren jumped out of the van and ran into the woods. Marley waited for Savi outside. "We'll be fine," he said. "Meet us back here tomorrow."
"But --"
"I've gotta go," he said. "Can you call my dad and let him know where we ended up?" He gave her a peck on the lips and disappeared into the woods after his brother.
Savi watched the trees for a moment, then got behind the wheel. Glenn came up from the back and sat in the passenger's seat. He barked to get her attention and looked out the window.
"What's the matter?" asked Savi. "Do you want to go with them?"
Glenn shook his head.
"Do you need to go outside?"
No.
Savi groaned. "Nissa, can you please tell me what he wants?"
"No."
"Nissa!"
Glenn barked and whined, lifting his paw to the window.
"Isn't it obvious?" Nissa asked.
Savi studied Glenn, trying to see what she was missing. She looked out the window. "Oh -- those two? The brothers?"
Glenn nodded yes.
"You don't know what they are."
Another nod.
"Well, it's supposed to be a big secret..." She stared into his yellow eyes. "...but it's not like you're going to tell anybody. Let's get something to eat first though."
She used Marley's phone to find a motel, at which point she realized she'd be paying for it.
"So this is their scam, huh?" she muttered with a smirk as she started the van.
The motel was about twenty minutes away. Savi checked them in using the credit card she kept for emergencies, then ran out to get some food while Nissa and Glenn settled in.
First she called Warren, telling them where they were. He was warm and friendly, again acting as if he hadn't hit his son in front of her that very day. She asked how he was feeling, and he laughed at her concern while poetically noting that death could steal him away at any moment.
On the way back to the motel she called her mom, and told her that she was on a road trip with Marley. Her mom was not pleased, mostly because she had never met this young man who was gallivanting around the country with her daughter. Savi assured her that both Ren and Nissa were also present, and that they were sleeping in separate beds. Of course, she didn't mention that Nissa used to be half wolf, or that Marley's bed was likely under a thicket somewhere. Nor did she say that Monty's childhood best friend was with them in wolf form.
None of that seemed relevant.
Her mom calmed down after Savi gave her Marley's number, and reiterated her promise to call every morning and night. They talked until Savi was back in the motel room. Then she, Nissa, and Glenn ate dinner while Savi filled him in on what little she knew about coywolves. If he had any questions, Nissa didn't share them.
After dinner, when Nissa was taking a shower, Savi moved to sit on the floor beside Glenn, who was lying next to the door.
"I never got to explain what happened with Tara," she said, "and why I did it."
Glenn shook his head no, but Savi continued. "It was part of a plan. I was trying to make Marcia think I wanted to be an Alter so I could set the silver wolf free. I thought that even if I altered Tara, Nissa could bite her afterward and unalter her."
She leaned her head back against the wall. "Tara's not a nice person," she said. "She and her boyfriend Eric made my senior year a living hell." With a sigh she added, "Not that anyone deserves that kind of life. Hopefully I can unalter them soon."
Looking down at Glenn, she asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to try unaltering you? There's no reason for you to be a wolf for the rest of your life."
Glenn sat up and barked, shaking his head, and barked again.
"Okay, okay," said Savi. "I'm not going to force you."
He lay back down, his head resting on his black paws.
Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't talk, or that his canine eyes were incapable of showing judgment. Whatever it was, something in his serene wolf face made her bold enough to keep talking when normally she would have stopped.
"I know you know how I feel." Her voice cracked, and she paused, trying to collect herself, but when she spoke, there was still a quiver in it. "And I know that all you want is forgiveness for what you've done."
Blinking back tears, she said, "But every time I look at you, I think about how I would have had a dad if he hadn't known you."
Glenn covered his face with his paw. Tentatively, Savi put her hand on his head. Her hand sank into his thick, soft fur as she stroked him between the ears.
"I can't forgive you yet," she said, "but I'm trying." She wiped at the tears spilling down her cheek. "I'm trying because I need to know that it's possible to be forgiven for what we've done."
Glenn scooted closer to her and, after a moment's hesitation, rested his head on her lap.
Usually Savi recoiled at hugs and physical affection. Even with Marley, although she definitely enjoyed his touch, she was uncomfortable receiving it. This, however -- even though she knew it was the only way Glenn could hug her -- this felt different. There was warmth, but no entrapment; affection, but no expectation.
Nissa came out of the shower, and Savi brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. When she stepped out of the bathroom, the motel room was dark. Savi left the bathroom light on and started to get in bed.
"Turn that light off," Nissa said.
"I'd rather leave it on."
"I can't sleep with it on."
I can't sleep with it off.
Savi wasn't about to admit that, however. "It'll be easier if one of us has to get up in the middle of the night. We won't be bumping around in the dark."
Nissa got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.
"Hey!" Savi cried when the light went off. "You're not in charge here, you know."
Nissa climbed back into bed without a word.
Savi turned the light back on.
"No!" Nissa cried.
"I'm closing the door almost all the way! That's what us grown ups call compromise."
"Turn it off!" Nissa screamed. "Turn it off!" She pounded her fists and kicked the bed until Savi turned the light off.
"Why are you acting like a child?" Savi demanded.<
br />
"I AM a child!" she said with a sniffle, pulling the blankets over her head.
Savi stood by the bathroom door, trying to decide what to do. Nissa had been emotional back at Marley's place and in the van, but this tantrum seemed really out of character for someone who was supposedly super old. Since fighting her all night wasn't an option, Savi resolved to try and do what she hadn't been able to do all week: fall asleep in the dark.
With the night closing in on her already, Savi nervously felt her way to her bed and climbed under the covers. She was halfway through an Emily Dickinson poem she was trying to memorize when something jumped onto the bed. She jerked upright. In the faint light filtering through the heavy curtains, she saw Glenn pacing a circle and settling onto the foot of the bed. It creaked under his weight.
"You don't have to do that," she said. Glenn lay his head down in response. Savi did the same, the heat from his body already radiating toward her. Before she'd reached the end of the poem, she was asleep.
"Savi! Where are you?"
Marley's cries echo in the black. She tries to call his name, but there's a hand on her mouth, trapping it shut.
"Savi?"
He's so close. She could reach out and touch him, if she could only move.
"Where are you?"
He's farther away now. He'll never find her. She'll never break free.
Something cold and smooth presses against her forehead. Jameson's voice screeches in her ear, "You're mine!"
Savi bolted upright, her shirt sticky with sweat. Glenn lifted his head and whined.
"Just a stupid nightmare," she whispered, panting. There were still a few hours before sunrise, but there was no way she could fall back asleep anytime soon. Savi got out of bed and into the shower, trying to fight the sounds and images from her dream with hot water and white noise.
When Marley had spoken to his dad that morning, he'd said that they'd probably reach Nissa's friends in North Carolina tomorrow afternoon. Would that be it? Would they be done after tomorrow? More importantly, would she have to spend another night with Nissa in the darkness? Savi still had nightmares even if the light was on, but they weren't as vivid or lingering.