Clarity (16 page)

Jeremy straightened in his seat. “How is that possible?”

“I couldn’t figure it out at first,”
Opa
said. “Couldn’t understand what was going on. So I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions. I eventually found out quite a bit. It took a lot of effort, but to make a long story short, a certain group of wolves were headed by a particular alpha who wanted to fix their pack. They had been unable to breed properly for years. The werewolves were dying out, becoming weaker with each new generation. All except our family. We kept getting stronger, and they wanted to break the line, to make sure we weren’t stronger than them.”

He moved to the window, keeping his back to us, as though he couldn’t bear to face us. “The wolves had a special… tracker. She could find the mates, intuitively. I don’t know if it’s anything like what we do. The werewolves planned to use their tracker to find my potential mate and kill her before I found her. Just like that. No guilt. I found the tracker and…
persuaded
her to talk to me. She told me where to find
Lia
and said
Lia
was my true mate, even though the dreams of her had already stopped. So I found her, and I made her mine. Eventually, the alpha lost his role. He was overtaken by another wolf named Vin. Vin wanted to breed his own wolves, and he was convinced that our curse was actively selecting women who were capable of breeding with werewolves.
He thought we were essentially stealing potential breed mates for his wolves.
But he lost his tracker, so he had no way of taking the potentials away from us anymore.”

“That’s sick.” Amelia sounded ill.

He inclined his head. “Their werewolves will die out. I can understand why he would take desperate measures.”

“Well, I can’t,” I said. “And we could have used this info ages ago. This is madness. If our mates die, we’re assigned a new one? What a load of crap!”

“No, no,”
Opa
insisted. “Only if you haven’t connected yet, haven’t bonded. The curse has to continue one way or another. At least until it’s broken.”

“I still don’t get why they’re doing this,” Jeremy said. “Why not let us have our mates and keep prolonging the curse if they’re worried about extinction?”

“If they take the mates, they increase their chances of breeding themselves,”
Opa
said. “Maybe it worked once. Maybe they’re simply desperate. That’s all. We’re strong. They’re struggling to survive. It’s sad, really.”

“But they didn’t try to take
Perdita
,” I reminded everyone.

Opa
inclined his head. “True. I don’t know why. Maybe you met her before they figured it out. Maybe they wanted you to meet her so they could kill her and ruin your chances of reproducing. Maybe their coming here to attack the girls was a cover-up for something else. Maybe it was some kind of cruel sadism that sent them here. I’ve no way of knowing.”

I couldn’t figure out the whole story. One thing would make sense only to be muddled by another aspect. I kept thinking there was more to it all, something that might click everything into the right place.

“So this is what, revenge? Domination? A reminder that they can cut us down at any time if they wish?” Byron sounded different, as if realising he actually had a family depending on him.

“I don’t know for sure,”
Jakob
said.

“So why now? I mean, why are they coming here now? What’s changed?” I asked.

“I assume it’s something to do with Amelia, at least on some scale. I’ve no qualms about thinking the worst of a wolf like Vin. People are in hiding because of his methods. I don’t know his plans, of course. I can only guess. And things change. I’ve no way of knowing if he wants to kill or kidnap. Or even hurt those outside our circle. But I don’t care what he wants. All I want is to face him. Just once.”

My stomach turned. “So you let
Perdita
be exposed to danger? And Amelia?”

He ignored me. “What interests me is the girl’s father, the one who was bitten.”

“Could you stop sounding so bloody fascinated?”

Byron laid a hand on my shoulder. I couldn’t stop shaking with anger and frustration. I was terrified, not for me, but for my sister and girlfriend.

“But I am. Fascinated, I mean. It seems interesting to me that he would react to his own blood type in such a way, and I truly believe it has to do with the bite. If we could prove that the soul mates come from bloodlines more susceptible to the change, it would turn everything around.”

The growl came before I could stop myself. Jeremy stepped in front of me.

Opa
carried on, but his voice was shakier. “If we prove this, they may leave you all alone. They’ll have already gotten what they wanted—evidence that successful changes and breeding can still happen, with the right bloodline.”

“If that’s what they really want,” Byron said, scratching his jaw. “I don’t understand the gap. Why are they coming after us like this now? Why not my wife? Why not my brother’s?”

“Not only now,”
Opa
reminded him. “My time, too. And who knows what happened to Louis? What if that was Vin’s work, too?”

“So what, then? They forgot about it? Lost interest? Got their taste of blood and went home?” Bitterness darkened Byron’s tone.

“There was never a female born to us before,”
Opa
said. “Your mother was turned, but Amelia was bred. And if the curse ends, they’ll have no way to find the potentially viable mates.”

“We’re talking about people,” Byron exclaimed. “Not dogs. Stop talking as though we’re breeding litters here.”

“Maybe that’s how they see it.”

“Right.” All eyes turned to me. “But how does this explain why they keep going after
Perdita
? They don’t have anything to gain by hurting her, right?”

Opa
shrugged. “Like I said, I know nothing for certain.”

I sat down wearily. Too much talking. Not enough action. Not enough things making sense.

“I don’t think the man will recover,”
Opa
said.

I almost jumped out of my skin. “You think
Perdita’s
dad is
gonna
die?”

“Not die. At least, I don’t think so. But I believe the transfusion he received is causing all of the problems. His own blood could adapt to the bite, but the new blood… well, let’s say it mixed things up in the wrong way. I think I can help him if the malady continues. I believe we need to cleanse the corrupt DNA from his body.”

“So how do we do that?”

“If you give me time, and your loyalty, I’ll figure it out. Without those, I won’t lift a finger to help you. Think about that the next time you disobey me, Nathan.”

I got up to leave, but hesitated at the door. “What about Amelia? Do you think her dreams mean something?”

“I hope they do,” he said, staring into the distance. “I hope they are the last piece of the puzzle.”

I left, feeling as though there was a lot going on just above my head. One thing was clear. I had to be prepared for anything.

And I could trust no one.

Perdita

Seeing Nathan worked its magic on me. I wandered around with a huge smile on my face, half-forgetting everything I should have been worrying about. I was so distracted that I walked straight into Dad’s hospital room without checking to see if he was alone.

He wasn’t.

Two
Gardaí
stood at his bedside, one studiously taking notes.

“Oh, sorry.” I started to back out of the room.

Dad called, “Wait. They’re here to take my statement about the attack. Nobody’s found the animals, so they think someone might own them.”

“Possibly training them to attack,” the older officer said in a deep voice, his sharp blue eyes never faltering from my direction. “And we hear there was another attack here yesterday, young lady. We could do with a statement from you as well.”

“There wasn’t an attack,” I said. “I mean, nothing actually happened.”

“A sighting then,” the younger Garda amended.

I took a seat by Dad, feeling apprehensive. What I wasn’t supposed to say ran through my head, and my thoughts were so loud that I felt sure the police would hear them.

“As I was saying,” Dad said, “I’m almost certain it was a wolf.”

I smothered a cough.
Crap.

The two men exchanged glances. “Funnily enough, we’ve had reports about wolves already. And rumours that the property on which you were attacked is being rented by the very owners of the wolves.”

“What?” I blurted without thinking.

Blue Eyes peered down at me with interest. “Ah, yes. Your father said you’re… ahem, close to the family. Can you confirm they’re training wolves? For dog fighting maybe?”

Deep down, I knew he was looking for a rise, yet I couldn’t stop my reaction. “That’s ridiculous! Dad, tell them! Nathan’s family owns wolfhounds, which don’t even look like wolves. As for the… animal that attacked my dad, it wasn’t a wolf. They’re some kind of hybrid breed. You know, the ones you hear about on the news sometimes. People breed them to look like pretty-coloured wolves, but they always turn out to be big mongrels.”

The Garda raised an eyebrow. Maybe I had gotten a little too defensive. Even Dad was looking at me suspiciously.

“Well, that’s what I think.” I slumped back into my chair, a bead of sweat dripping down my temple.

“She’s right that they own wolfhounds,” Dad said. “They seem like a decent enough family, too.”

“Maybe so.” The young Garda scribbled furiously as he spoke. “But we’ve received more than one sighting of wolves on that estate. We spoke to the old man, and he didn’t have a clue about it. Strange, isn’t it?”

They asked a couple more questions while I sweated buckets next to Dad. As soon as they left, I exhaled loudly, thankful the ordeal was over.

“What was that about?” Dad asked.

“What?”

“
Perdy
, you just lied to a policeman. What on earth is going on?”

I struggled to look indignant. I prayed I wasn’t blushing.

“Dad, what are you talking about? I didn’t lie.” It sounded lame, even to me. “The
Gardaí
make me nervous. That’s all.” I picked up a magazine, studying it as though it were the most interesting thing I had ever seen.

“I’m worried about you,” he said. “Why would the police be asking questions about Nathan’s family if there wasn’t something going on?”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t honestly think they own wolves, do you?”

He sat up straighter, pulling against the tubing of his drip. “I know something’s going on. I know you’re been acting miserable for over a month, like there’s something on your mind that you’re afraid to tell me. Ever since you got hurt by what might be wolves. And you’re relying on that boy far too much. The nurses are all talking about the boy who came here yesterday. You haven’t stopped smiling since. Suddenly, you’re happy because you saw him? That’s ridiculous. And he’s a little too polite. What’s he really like? What’s he doing to make you so dependent on him and just… depressed all the time? It’s been going on for too long, and it isn’t right.” He took a deep breath. “Did you really get attacked by those wolves… dogs… whatever they are, or did he hurt you? You can talk to me,
Perdy
. I can help you.”

“There’s nothing wrong,” I insisted, suddenly seeing his viewpoint.

“I’m not particularly stupid, and that’s a damn lie. We need to talk. About everything.”

“We really don’t.”

“Actually, we do. There’s a lot going on right now, and to be honest, I’m concerned about your mental health. I don’t trust the decisions you’re making.”

“My… Dad! There’s nothing wrong with me!”

“I’m not saying anything negative about you. But I think maybe having a chat with a professional will help. It’s understandable that you would fall hard for the first boy you like. And maybe you can’t see that he’s doing things that are hurting you, one way or another. But keeping things from your family is wrong. I know quite well when you’re lying. I know when something’s troubling you. And you’ve had a lot on your mind that you haven’t been able to talk to me about. The only reasonable explanation is that you’re in a toxic relationship right now. So maybe talking to a professional is a better option for you. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

My face grew hot. “First of all, I’m not ashamed. Second of all, there’s nothing wrong with me or Nathan. Anyway, you’ve been—”

“Stop. I heard the things you said. Besides all of that, you haven’t given me a chance to explain the
Erin
situation. You’ve been completely unreasonable about it, and that’s not like you.”

“I don’t need an explanation,” I said, a little sulkily. “You’re running off to live the easy life, and I’m stuck with a stranger. And Gran, who doesn’t count because she’s acting as if an alien stole her body.”

He blinked rapidly, and I knew with certainty that he thought I was completely mental.