“Alf said you thought you had Changed in the woods today.”
She made a little motion with her mouth that showed her displeasure and discomfort on the subject.
“What did you mean by that?”
She didn't look up at him. “I might have hallucinated, or just dreamt it.”
He leaned in a little closer.
She peeked at his hands, catching a glimpse of his ring before looking back at her own.
“There are things that happen to us, that we sometimes can't explain,” he said. “But it doesn't mean it isn't real.”
She gazed at him, surprised at the sincerity in his tone and then wondering why. Why was she surprised he believed her? He always believed her. She smiled a small grateful smile.
“Maybe sometime I'll tell you mine, seeing as you've been so trusting to tell me yours,” he added softly.
Her smile widened.
“Why did you say 'killed'?”
Her smile froze then she frowned. “What?”
“When you were telling me my faults...”
She bit her lip; the sting of the memory only made worse by how impassively he said it.
“...you said Lora and our unborn child were killed?”
“I'm sorry I said that-” she stumbled over the words.
He made a motion with his hand that said 'forget it' without stopping his questioning. “-You didn't say died. Why?”
She thought about it for a moment, realizing he was right. Why had she said 'killed'?
Because she believed people had been either jealous, threatened or suspicious of Lora. Not just Fraya. But Fraya no doubt had a hand in playing up people's suspicions. She might have even killed her, Jaz thought. She'd considered that idea before but just like now, she didn't want to believe it. She didn't know what she'd do if it was true.
Lora had written in her diary of stories she'd heard about halfbloods, halfbreeds, hybrids- Jaz's curiosity about the subject had heightened after she began worrying she might be one too.
Lora wrote about how she had tried several times to Change and nothing happened -not even a claw- and repeatedly asked why Nik covered up that fact. Though she was smart enough not to say it out loud. Nik said she'd Changed to anyone who'd asked, but no one other than him had claimed to have seen it.
Lora, in a few sections, had mentioned the Cur Hunters, whose existence Jaz only discovered after Fraya had shot the name at her that day outside the gym.
She had written:
I asked around about the mysterious Cur Hunters.
Very few people wanted to talk about them. They 'assured' me the Hunters were a myth; a tale to scare Were children into doing as they're told. Kenna was the only one who told me something useful.
They're a group of assassins who move around like ghosts and kill off halfbreeds one-by-one in secret. Though obviously not so secret because people still suspect it. For some reason though, their actions have been covered up, either because it really isn't true, there's no proof, or someone high up doesn't want anyone else to know. My guess is that could be because the person in question doesn't want to cause alarm or because that person is working along side the Cur Hunters. Both ideas are very concerning.
There are so many varying rumours and conspiracy theories about them. Kenna told me the ones she'd heard more than once: that they killed halfbloods no matter what age; that they were hidden in various Packs- they could even be in this Pack; that they've been rumoured to be the ones responsible for humans going missing and being found dead close to Pack territories; their bodies mutilated beyond recognition; a lot of their meat and organs eaten.
Jaz had pulled a face when reading that last part -the same face she pulled now, only it was much more subdued with Driver watching her.
Jaz didn't know much about the stories of the Cur Hunters. Lora hadn't written much else on them, and Jaz didn't dare ask anyone, even Kenna. All she knew was that they didn't sound like a pretty bunch. And she was certain that though people claimed they were a myth, they said it only through fear, to console themselves rather than face the horrifying truth.
Lora wrote the same thing Jaz had felt since she discovered this place had pretty questionable beliefs.
Something isn't right about what people here have been told. What they generally believe to be fact just doesn't make sense.
I survived birth even though I'm a halfbreed. And so did my sister. Yet they say it isn't common. A rare thing. And yet Kenna tells me the Cur Hunters are known for killing halfbreeds. A rumour perhaps, but one people are afraid to even voice. Why?
Because they were afraid of whoever might be listening. They were afraid what that would mean, and how deep the scandal might run. And if someone who wasn't anyone of particular status in the Pack knew it, then surely the Pack Leader knew something.
That was why he'd hidden Lora's secret. And why he's hiding mine, Jaz realized as the pieces fell into place.
In the same way Driver was powerless to hide her 'disability' from Rufus, who swore he saw her hand Change into a claw before she slashed him with it - Nik couldn't have hidden Lora's secret for long.