I hit the tree line, and another wolf howled. I looked back. It was the white and gray one, along with the blond-ish one from earlier. They were right behind me.
Sweat dripped down my face, but I wouldn’t give up. I zigzagged through the woods hoping that would buy me some ground.
“Tessa! Stop!” Mr. Dawson yelled from behind me. He yelled something to someone in a language I couldn’t understand. There was more howling.
I didn’t look back. Adrenaline pumped through my veins.
And then something slammed into me from the side.
I hit the ground hard, rolling a few times before crashing to a stop against a tree. I gasped for air, but somebody was weighing me down. Hot breath brushed my face, and the person lifted up enough so that I could see his face.
Oh my God. Why the hell had a naked guy tackled me? “Move, you perv.”
I focused on his crystal blue eyes. They were laughing at me. “Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I tackle you again?”
“Spare me the tired pick-up line. Where are your clothes!”
A big cloth fell over us.
“Mr. Matthews. Off Miss McCaide. Now,” Mr. Dawson said.
The guy winked at me, and hopped up. “Caught her,” he said as he pulled on a robe before I could see more than I needed to.
The wolf had disappeared, and some naked guy had appeared.
Goosebumps ran up my arms. There was no way what I was thinking could actually be right.
He reached down to help me, but I ignored it, getting up on my own.
The lady in the lab coat stood behind Mr. Dawson. Her high heels didn’t slow her down too much. Impressive, but I still didn’t trust her. I took a step back. She wasn’t getting near me again. No way in hell.
The gray and white wolf stood behind them. He growled at the blue-eyed guy and then turned around and ran back to the buildings.
Weird.
Mr. Dawson inched toward me. “Why are you afraid, Tessa?”
I was trying to be more angry than scared, but somehow I was venturing into full-on terrified-mode. “I don’t know. Maybe because someone put me in a cage and stuck me with an assload of needles!”
“Tessa—” Lab Coat woman said, but Mr. Dawson cut her off.
“You were in the cage because you were feral.”
Blue Eyes let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”
“Thank you for your help, Mr. Matthews.” Mr. Dawson kept his eyes on me as he spoke to Blue Eyes. “You can go back to campus now.”
“Anytime. I love catching pretty ladies.” He winked. The air grew heavy and shimmered with heat. Blue Eyes’ arms and legs morphed as he got down on all fours. His face changed too fast for me to follow. The robe slid off as he moved. And then, instead of looking at a guy, I stood in front of a blond-colored wolf.
Someone cursed as the world faded to gray.
Chapter Thirteen
A high-pitched noise whined in my ear. Something slimy brushed against my face as everything came back into focus. The wolf was licking me. I sat up and scooted away until my back hit a tree.
“What the hell is that?” My breath came in hollow gasps.
“Good work, Mr. Matthews. I think she’s fully terrified now.” The wolf lay down and rolled over, exposing the length of his stomach. “Go back to the dorms,” Mr. Dawson said.
The wolf gave one more whimper before he jumped up and took off running.
Mr. Dawson squatted in front of me. “Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.”
“Bullshit. Tell that to Dr. Needle-Happy over there.”
The doctor took a single step closer, and held out her blessedly empty hands. “I did what I had to do to keep you safe and ease your pain. I know it’s hard for you to understand, but you’ve been very sick for the past week. A hurt and confused wolf is a dangerous thing.”
Did she just say what I think she said? “I’m a human of the female variety, not a wolf.”
“No, you’re not a wolf, but you’re not just a girl anymore either,” she said.
“If you ever were just a girl,” Mr. Dawson said.
I didn’t like where this was going.
“You’re a werewolf,” Mr. Dawson said.
That’s what I was forgetting. He was out of his mind. Certifiable. I stepped toward him. “There are no such things as werewolves.”
“Then there are no such things as brujas.”
I laughed. “With you on that one. My cousins are a bunch of crazy hippies. Thinking they can talk to spirits and cast spells and do magic. Whatever their little religion is, it’s fake.”
“Fake? So you don’t get visions when you touch things? Because that’s so very, very normal.”
He had a point, but I didn’t have to like it.
“I won’t lie to you. St. Ailbe’s is a school for werewolves. Dastien is a werewolf. When he bit you and scratched your shoulder, he turned you.” Mr. Dawson put his hand on my knee as I tried to get up. “No more running, Teresa Elizabeth McCaide.” The way he said my name, like it held some sort of power, made me pause. “You have to face what’s happened.”
This was a nightmare. My parents had left me with some lunatic. “I’d be happy to face something, if you were speaking the language of a sane person.”