“We’re werewolves. It’s true. There’s nothing I can do about that, or, believe me, I would have done it already. Do you think I want to be like this? To know that every month, I have to turn into something that everyone else on the planet wants dead? Do you think I like being the thing that gives people nightmares? I didn’t ask for this Matthew, but I’m making the best of it that I can. So is my mother. She’s never hurt anyone. She never would hurt anyone. Please. Even if you can’t help us, please don’t tell your father.” Claire took a breath and played her last card. “I saved your life, and I would do it again. Don’t make me regret that.”
Matthew stared at her hard. He shook his head, once, twice, and then disappeared out the lab door into the night. Claire watched him go, her insides twisting with pain and fear. In the back corner of the lab, her mother whimpered, and determination settled over Claire like dew on the morning grass. Before she did anything else, she was going to get her mother out of that damn cage. On shaky legs, she walked back to the cage.
Claire was startled to see the body of a woman and not a wolf waiting for her. Her mother lay on the ground in her human form, bone-white and disturbingly thin.
Why did she transform?
“Where is the key?” Claire asked.
“Dans le congélateur,” her mother whispered.
She couldn’t remember the English words. Claire suddenly knew how bad things really were.
“Mom, I—”
Marie heaved herself up onto the point of her emaciated elbow. “Freezer,” she groaned.
Claire sprinted across the lab and wrenched open the freezer door. Inside was a bottle of imported vodka, three trays of ice cubes, and a tiny ceramic bowl with a silver key in it. The freezing metal bit at her fingertips when she snatched it from its dish. She yanked a long white lab coat from a hook next to the refrigerator and ran back over to the cage. It was only a moment before she had the key’s teeth jammed into the lock, twisting it open so hard and fast that she nearly snapped it in half. The door swung open and Claire scrambled inside.
Gently, she covered her mother with the coat. Claire knelt and lifted her mother’s head into her lap. She stroked her greasy, matted hair. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “We’re going to get out of here.”
Marie opened her eyes and looked at Claire. “You should have left me,” she murmured.
“What?” Claire’s hand stopped midstroke.
“It would have been safer, for you—for the pack. I would not be the first wolf in our history to sacrifice herself for the good of the rest.” She closed her eyes and a pained expression washed across her face. When her gaze met Claire’s again, there was no reproach in it. “But I am glad you did not leave me, chérie. You should have, but I am very glad that you did not.”
Tears filled Claire’s eyes and she struggled to hold them back. “I would never leave you,” she whispered fiercely. “Never.” Somewhere in the lab, a machine whirred, reminding Claire of where they were. “Can you walk? We really have to get out of here.”
“That is why I transformed. You must help me, but, yes, I think I can walk.”
Claire’s mother rose gingerly, holding on to Claire for support. Claire helped her button the lab coat. The fabric hung awkwardly from her mother’s thin shoulders, but at least she was covered. With their arms wrapped tightly around each other, Claire and her mother slowly made their way out of the lab, stopping to put the key back in the freezer. They inched their way toward the safety of the woods. Every second that passed made Claire’s blood hum with anxiety. She was sure that Dr. Engle and his antiwerewolf militia would appear at any moment, ready to kill them both.
When they reached the shelter of the trees, Claire lowered her mother onto the trunk of a fallen ash tree to rest. Marie sat with her hands on her knees, drawing in deep breaths of the clear night air. Claire sniffed at the breeze. There was no scent of Zahlia, but she couldn’t keep her gaze away from the shifting shadows in the forest.
“What?” Marie eyed her suspiciously.
Claire picked at the bark beneath her. “I’m worried that Zahlia’s out here.”
“That bitch,” she snarled. “I heard her assault you outside the lab tonight.”
Claire hesitated. “I don’t get why Zahlia did what she did. Why did she kill those people? Why come after Matthew and me?”
Her mother struggled to speak. “Zahlia has always wanted to be second-in-command of our pack. And she was poised to do so. But then Zahlia’s mother—she thought that she had found evidence that showed our kind were to hunt humans once a year, as a tribute to the Goddess. Beatrice agreed with me when I said that Zahlia’s mother was doing nothing more than searching for a loophole in our laws in order to fulfill her horrific appetites. Zahlia’s mother left the pack before she could be disciplined. Because of her mother, Zahlia lost her chance at power. She has always felt that was my fault.
“I think that this was her idea of revenge. She thought if I were caught—blamed for murdering innocent humans—then she would be able to take my place.” She grimaced. “It almost worked. But she didn’t count on you getting in the way. I assume that’s why she attacked you. After all, you ruined her plans.”
Claire touched her mouth, remembering the feel of Zahlia’s paw between her teeth. “When we fought, I—I hurt her pretty badly. I don’t think she can sneak up on us tonight.”