chapter 11
Last night Selene had finally forced herself to sleep after waking from that nightmare and then had been woken again at some ungodly hour by the ringing of the telephone. It had been Ellie, alerting her of the night’s events.
Selene didn’t get the newspaper, so she’d flipped open her laptop and went to a site that had local news. There it was, in black and white… two campers had been killed by a wolf. A white wolf. A third camper had survived.
And then Selene realized why Ellie had called. “It’s wasn’t me, Ellie! At least, I don’t think. I mean. Well… it might be. I’ve been having these nightmares.”
“Well, we’ll have to deal with that. I have an idea on how to handle this. Can you meet me at Hugh and Lucy’s place?”
“Sure… but I don’t see how that will help, unless you’re planning on killing me when I get there.” She frowned and briefly wondered if that wouldn’t be for the best.
After Ellie had hung up, Selene sat for minutes, paralyzed. All she could think over and over again was, What if I did this? She didn’t want to believe it. She’d never directly killed anyone before. It didn’t make sense that she’d start now.
Griffin will never, ever believe me, she thought as she forced herself to get dressed. He already has reason to hate me. Doesn’t remotely trust me.
The anger in his eyes when he’d looked at her had broken Selene’s heart. The connection she’d felt with Griffin was undeniable—she’d felt it from the first time she’d seen him. She’d visited him in his dreams for years. But he hadn’t known she was real. And now he hated her.
As Selene pulled up outside Hugh and Lucy’s house, her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. After so many years of living, she knew that moments like this—life-altering, road-less-travelled type moments—were preciously rare. She’d never felt so petrified.
She raised a shaky hand to the door and knocked loudly. Ellie answered, and Selene smiled at the friendly face.
“Hi,” Ellie said quietly. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Hi… sure,” Selene mumbled.
“We’ve got a little work ahead of us, and I’ll need your complete trust and cooperation.”
Selene nodded. “You have a plan?”
“Yes, but it depends on you.”
“Anything,” Selene vowed softly. “Anything it takes.”
Ellie stepped aside and invited Selene in. They stood in the hallway, and Ellie proceeded to explain her plan in detail. Particularly Selene’s part in it. As she spoke, Selene’s heart became heavier and heavier, turning into a rock in the pit of her stomach. But she kept nodding. She’d meant what she said—she would do anything.
No matter how painful it would be.