Slade’s eyelids slid shut as he lowered his head. “She was the first person I killed after I turned into the wolf. I don’t remember much of what exactly happened—I was in such a frenzy. I thought I was going after the guy who held a knife to her throat, but she ended being the one I killed. I don’t know why I did it.”
“The wolf wants you to kill the person you love the most. She didn’t stand much of a chance once Caleb forced you to give in to the wolf.”
“It wasn’t Caleb.”
“What?”
“He was there. Caleb was always lurking up above in the warehouse. But the guy who recruited me, the guy who forced me to do what I did to Lyla—that was Talbot.”
I felt the air catch in my lungs. I shouldn’t have been shocked by this revelation. I should have seen it coming from the very beginning, since I’d already known that Talbot had been in charge of “recruitment” for Caleb’s gang of Shadow Kings. Talbot was the one who had supposedly had a talent for getting infected individuals to give in to the werewolf curse. He’d been given the task to recruit and change me—only he hadn’t.
Supposedly, Talbot was a whole new man now.
“Why did you stay with them? After what they did to you?”
“Because after you kill someone like that—especially someone you love—you feel like the biggest piece of shit on the planet. You know that you can’t just go back to your life again. But you’ve got this raging, screaming, selfish thing inside your head that doesn’t want to be alone. And that’s when Talbot and Caleb swoop in on you, telling you that you’ll never belong anywhere else. But if you’ll do what they want, then they can give you a home, and score after score, and a purpose. But really, I see it now, they just wanted me to be another foot soldier in Caleb’s terrible army.”
Deep down, I already suspected that each one of these lost boys we’d brought from Caleb’s pack—even Brent and young Ryan—had probably been through a similar experience as the one Slade had recounted. Which meant that at some point, each of the lost boys had either killed someone—or at least wanted to—or else they wouldn’t be full-blown werewolves.
But they’d each chosen to follow Daniel and me away from that warehouse, and to stay with us. Which meant they were each looking for a second chance.
And we could give it to them, just like the second chance we’d offered Jude.
I put my hand on Slade’s shoulder. “Caleb may have treated you boys like his foot soldiers, but I want our pack to be a family. I know you’ve been hesitant to truly accept Daniel as your alpha. But you’re welcome to be a part of this family, if that’s what you want. No harm will ever come to you by us.”
“Yes,” he said. “I want to be part of this family.”
“I truly believe we can learn to use our powers for good. Maybe you’re still destined to become the best damn firefighter anyone has ever seen. Imagine the good you could do with your speed and strength?”
“But I’d still be afraid of fire.”
“Talbot and the others were able to overcome their fear to help me. I think, deep down, you’ve got it in you to make a difference in this world—firefighter or not. And I want to help you. If you’ll let me.”
Slade was quiet for a moment. “Perhaps,” he said. “But before you do anything else for me … there’s one more thing I must tell you.”
“You can tell me anything.”
“I was stupid. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have let that Akh look me in the eyes. He read my mind. He knows where the other boys and I are staying. And I am afraid he may know where you live also. He got away, which means now Caleb knows. I would have told you sooner, but I thought…”
“Thought I might kill you?”
His nod looked more like a flinch. My stomach felt ill.
“Thank you for telling me. We’ll find another place for you boys to stay—and Daniel, too. And don’t worry about Caleb knowing where I live. He’s always known that. He used to live in the house next door.”