"So drowning, then . . ." Judith said, a faraway look in her eyes. "It would be easy. Not a lot of evidence. Not as easy for Amy, maybe. But it sounds like the best option."
"But—where?" Katherine interrupted. "It couldn't be anywhere with people around—I mean, imagine how horrible it would be for them to see her die like that." A disgusted expression distorted her features, like a squeamish girl being forced to pick up a dead mouse. The pain in Claire's chest swelled, stretching against her ribs.
Judith shot Claire a sorrowful look before turning to Katherine. "What it would do to some random human bystander? What about what it will do to Claire? I don't think I've ever heard you be quite so insensitive, Katherine. And that's saying something." Her words dripped with venom, and it was like she had pulled aside a curtain. Claire could suddenly see where her anger and distrust came from. The wound that killing a human had left on Judith kept her walled off from everyone and everything.
While she felt a sympathy for Judith that she'd never expected, at the same time, a fierce determination bloomed in Claire.
She was not going to let that happen. She was not going to end up like Judith, cut off from the world. Angry. Afraid.
She was a werewolf. She would do whatever it took to fix things—to keep herself safe. If that meant taking the life of a human, then she would find a way to do it. To live with it.
Amy knows. She might as well be pointing a loaded gun at us— all of us. I'm just going to stop her before she pulls the trigger.
What Amy knew might be invisible, but it was as deadly as any weapon. Claire dug her fingernails into her palms, focusing on the pain in her hands instead of the ache that wrapped around her heart. She'd harden herself somehow. And then she'd work like hell to bring herself back—to keep from living the sort of half-empty life that Judith had made for herself.
But before she could figure out how she was going to survive it, she had to figure out exactly how she was going to do it—how she was going to kill Amy.
Chapter Twenty
THE PACK—MINUS Victoria—talked well into the small hours of the morning. Discussing whether a pool or a natural body of water would be best. Where there were bridges with low sides. Whether Claire could wait a few days or if it needed to be the next night.
"The sooner it's done, the better it will be for everyone." Marie said. There was decision, rather than discussion, in her voice. "It must be done tomorrow night."
Claire quailed, her resolve wavering.
"I need time to get it set up—I mean, to find a reason to get her alone without looking suspicious." She barely managed to choke out the words.
Her mother nodded, her lips set in a hard line. "I know. But you must be quick. With every day that passes, the risk that she will tell—that she has told—increases. Spend tomorrow arranging what you must, and then find a way to get her alone. Any longer than that and the danger is too great. As your Alpha, I am commanding you to finish it by tomorrow night."
Claire squeezed her eyes shut. "Fine." It was more like a breath than a word, but it satisfied her mother.
"What about all those arty shops by the river? There are a couple of old footbridges around there," Beatrice suggested.
Claire sucked in a breath. Amy was a pottery fanatic. If she could convince her that one of those little galleries wanted to see her stuff, Amy would probably be thrilled to go down and meet with them.
Even alone.
Even after dark.
"What?" Judith asked, watching the emotions scroll across Claire's face.
"I think I know how to do it," Claire whispered. She didn't want to say the words, because then it would be true.
But, really, it was already true.
As simply as she could, she explained things to the rest of the pack.
"It's a good plan," Beatrice said. Judith tilted her head from side to side. "It's only passable," she said, "but it's all we've got."
"For now, it will have to do. It has been a very long day. Let's go home." Marie stood up and looked around the circle at the other women. "Thank you for coming—for your help and suggestions. We will come through this as we have before. Scarred, perhaps, but surviving all the same."
Katherine stood up, nodding to Marie and casting a curiously blank look in Claire's direction before slipping off into the woods. Beatrice shook her head at Katherine's retreating form and came over to Claire, wrapping her arms around her in a firm hug.
"It will be okay. You'll see. Remember what I told you at the new moon gathering? When I gave you the necklace? You are still stronger than you know." She pressed her dry lips to Claire's cheek. "Be careful. The last few months, watching you grow . . . I love you too much to stand anything bad happening to you." Claire curved her lips into a smile, but there was nothing genuine about it. Still, it seemed to please Beatrice. With a final squeeze, she turned to go, patting Marie on the arm as she went past.