I looked at Talbot’s face, twisted with rage. The way he extended it toward the red moon reminded me of how I’d channeled the power of the eclipse in order to break away from Caleb’s demons. I looked at his other hand, pressed firmly against Daniel’s chest. The way Daniel’s body quaked and shook like something was trying to rip him apart from inside.
“He can’t be…” My breath caught in my chest so hard it hurt. I pushed myself up to standing, almost screaming at the sheer pain of my shattered leg. There was no time even to contemplate trying to heal it. I could feel Daniel calling for my help. I had to stop Talbot now.
“Stop,” I screamed at him. “I know what you’re doing, Talbot! Stop it now!
I lifted the hunting rifle Ryan had left for me.
Talbot’s jaw clenched. He didn’t let go. My body shook as I felt Daniel’s screams of terrible agony. Talbot was channeling the power of the eclipsed full moon and using it to fuel the healing power—no, the opposite of the healing power—against Daniel. He was forcing his anger and rage into Daniel, attacking him with his inner wolf from the inside. Just like we’d discussed yesterday when Talbot convinced me to teach him about the power. When he’d claimed that he wanted to know only so he could save me if necessary. Using the claim of his feelings for me as a trick.
A bloody gash gushed from Daniel’s face, another on his hand. Wounds he must have suffered and healed over during the fight. Blood soaked through the side of his shredded robe, where Caleb had clawed at him.
“You still want me to submit to you now?” Talbot asked Daniel. “Or do I need to dig a little deeper? What other past wounds does your body hold? Weren’t you stabbed in the heart once—with a silver dagger? That’s what all the stories I keep hearing about you say.”
“Don’t, Talbot!” I screamed. “Don’t you dare! Don’t do this!”
“What’s the matter, Grace? You don’t want me to rip a hole through your Daniel’s heart? The same hole you caused?”
I lifted the rifle. The flickering red beam of the laser scope danced against Talbot’s black shirt. It bounced up and down, betraying just how badly my hands trembled. I’d never pointed a gun at a person before. “This is loaded with silver bullets.” Two, anyway. “And I know how to shoot it.”
Talbot laughed. It was an airy noise, and I knew he was trying not to break too much of his concentration.
“Maybe that’s the point, Grace. Maybe I want you to shoot me. Or at least I want you to want to shoot me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m good at getting Urbats to give in to their inner wolves. Didn’t Caleb tell you that once? I’ve got more style than him. I go after the heart of the matter.” He pressed his hand harder into Daniel’s chest, making his otherwise paralyzed body convulse.
“Don’t! Stop, please. What do you want?”
“For years, I thought all I wanted was Caleb dead, and revenge on Sirhan’s pack for not preventing the death of my parents. That’s all I used to want since I was child—but Caleb’s dead now, and I’m about to win alpha of Sirhan’s pack, like I always planned. The only problem is, you made me want more than that.” His face twisted, and I thought it almost looked like an expression of remorse. “With Daniel gone, I might actually get the thing I want most.”
“So you’ve been pretending all this time? Ever since the warehouse, you’ve just been pretending to be on our side? What about all that crap you said about loving me, and how I made you want to be better?”
“No,” he said. “You really did have an effect on me. You made me want to change for you.” He glanced at me, slightly. “All I wanted when we left that warehouse was you, Grace. We could have been perfect together. Fighting demons. Saving the night. You’re everything I want now, and I tried to be a better man for you. But you wouldn’t let me change. You wouldn’t forgive me…”
My throat constricted and I knew Talbot was right. In all of this, I’d never quite forgiven him. Never really given him a second chance like Jude and the lost boys. I’d brought this upon us all.