My Wolf's Bane (31 page)

“That you know of, have there been any other werewolves around here besides Daniel and the two scouts?” I asked.

“I’ve noticed others over the last couple years, since I matured. But you mean lately?”

I nodded.

“When we first moved in with Aunt Cara, I ran across a couple wolves in the woods. As soon as they saw me, they took off running. I have no idea who they were and haven’t seen them since. I thought I sensed wolf a few times on errands for my mom. Once at the bank and another time at the grocery store. There were always too many people around, so I couldn’t locate where the energy was coming from.”

“If you sense an energy, it could easily be coming from a shape-shifter too, right?”

“I guess so,” Zack answered. “But I’m thinking that since they’re weaker, sensing their energy isn’t as easy. Like with you. Are you thinking of your parents?”

“Maybe.” I averted my gaze.

“If you find out they’re human, you won’t be able to tell them what’s going on. If they’re shifters, they’re in danger too. You should be prepared either way.”

Zack parked and we bailed from my car, in a hurry to feel the wind. As soon as we were in the tree covering, we ran. When we stopped, I realized Zack had turned into a wolf.

Shift
, he told me as he raced past trees.
Try something new.

As I kept up with Zack, I pictured a lion. My body vibrated a moment, my step faltered, and then I was on all fours. I sprinted to catch up with him.

Zack slowed until I was running beside him.
Nice. I guess you like cats. You’re the total opposite of me
.

What a tool. Why did he take every opportunity to remind me how different we were and that it wasn’t going to happen between us? Just when I felt like I might forgive him, he’d do it again. I veered off to get away before I swiped at him. Zack followed.

As we sprinted through the forest, I quickly bored of being a lion. Cheetahs were supposed to be fast, weren’t they? I slowed to a stop, intending to morph. My body quivered and nausea rose up. My eyes blurred as I watched Zack become a boy again.

“Go to your human form first. Do it now!”

I fell to the ground, trees swirling around me as I shifted back to human. Thankfully, I’d worn all natural fibers.

He loomed over me, grasping my hand. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. The nausea is passing.” I used the back of my hand to wipe the perspiration from my forehead.

“Human is your other half. It stabilizes you. Always go back before shifting into anything else.”

“Got it.” Something pulled at me. Something different. Something I needed to see. My eyes drifted to his chest, down his abdomen. “You look nice.”

Zack’s hands shot below his hips to cover his junk, but it was too late. I’d seen it all.

I sat up and grinned. “Now we’re even.”

“Where are my clothes?” He morphed back into a wolf and disappeared into the trees.

I turned into a cheetah, quickly catching up to him.

I saw more of you than you saw of me
, Zack bragged silently.

You keep telling yourself that
. I laughed which ended up sounding like a cross between a meow and a hiss.

After a few minutes of racing through the forest, Zack suggested we head home. He didn’t want to risk running into Daniel, just in case he decided to switch forests, too. And there were at least two other werewolves around to be wary of.

“You’re improving.” The engine purred to life and Zack put it in drive. “And you morphed twice. Not as tired tonight?”

“I’m good,” I said, enjoying the open window and the breeze on my face.

He glanced over at me. “Um, Autumn…”

Usually confidence oozed from Zack, but now he seemed a little uncertain. Would he apologize? Perhaps say he’d changed his mind, because he can’t stop thinking about kissing me again? That he wants to be with me despite the danger. Forever.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Did you do my homework or do I still need to do it tonight?”

I’d worked myself up into impossible fantasies and the only thing on his mind was homework? I sighed and turned toward the window, the air drying the would-be tears from my eyes. “I did it earlier. How did you ever manage without me, Zack?”

He snorted. “The extra time I spend with you now, answering your questions and helping you morph? I would’ve done my homework.”

“Right,” I muttered, staring at the passing trees.

At home, Zack tossed the keys on the dining room table and located the blanket and pillow. “It’s late. We should get to bed, but first I’d like to test your strength.” He returned to the dining room table and propped an arm up on his elbow, his hand ready to grip mine.

“It’s kind of pointless, don’t you think? As a shape-shifter, I’m not going to be as strong as you.” I held my arm up opposite his on the table.

“It’ll still be challenging. Plus, if we practice, you’ll build strength and maybe next time, you won’t lose as quickly. We’ll have something to compare it with, so we can tell how fast you’re changing.”

“On three?” I asked and he nodded. “One, two, three.”

Slowly, my arm descended in the wrong direction. I fought it as hard as I could and Zack’s arm slowed. He put more power behind his push and I strained against him. Another thrust and the back of my hand lay flat against the table. I lost. Not exactly a big surprise.

He stared at me. “You’re unusually strong.”

“Not
that
strong. You beat me, remember?”

“But not as easily as I expected.” He studied me another moment. “You’re going to get stronger. I may not always be able to take you down.”

“What? Aren’t shape-shifters weaker than werewolves?

“Yeah. I don’t get why you’re different though.” He tapped a finger on the table, studying a knot in the wood grain of the table. “We’ll have to wait and see how tough you get.”

“When will I max out?”

“Never. We just keep getting more powerful as we get older. But at first, there’s a surge. From the moment I first noticed my body changing, my strength rapidly increased for a couple months before I leveled out. But that’s
me
. I don’t know what it will be like for you, since we’re different species.”

With his constant reminders, how could I forget? “So how else are you and I different?” I asked masochistically.

Zack toyed with the keys on the table. “Werewolves tend to be grumpier and shape-shifters tend to be more easygoing.” He glanced at me. “Although, apparently, that isn’t always the case.”

I pouted. “I’m
not
grumpy.”

“Whatever.” He snorted, twirling the keys around on the table.

I put my hand over Zack’s to stop the weird key frenzy.

Rising from the kitchen chair, he paced between my dad’s recliner and the dining area. “So what else did you want to know?”

“Hm.” I glanced at the box of his dad’s stuff. “Any idea why the king is so opposed to shape-shifters?”

“That’s in the book I’m reading now — the legend of Hannah and Eli.” Zack returned to lean a hip on the dining room table. “Even before them, you guys were slaves. When Hannah and Eli betrayed the king, more laws were made and penalties became harsher.”

“Who are Hannah and Eli?” Maybe it wasn’t important, but I couldn’t know what might help me and what wouldn’t. “They must’ve royally pissed off the king.”

“Oh, yeah. Hannah was a born werewolf betrothed to the king in the fourteenth century. Eli was a shape-shifter slave and the king’s top blacksmith. They fell in love and escaped. It’s believed though that they’re dead. They became so weak as mates, they ended up dying of old age as mere humans.”

The more I learned, the more impossible a relationship with Zack became. We had zero chance. Utterly depressing. “But no one knows for sure? For all we know, Hannah and Eli survived.”

“With the entire werewolf kingdom hunting them? Can you imagine the king’s rage when he discovered a
slave
stole his future wife?” Zack shook his head. “Besides, it’s too easy to detect a werewolf or shape-shifter. I can’t see them still alive after all this time.”

“Wait. To detect a
shape-shifter
?” I squinted, trying to think with that. It didn’t mesh with what had been happening to me. “If that’s the case, why don’t the scouts or Daniel already know about me?”

Zack stopped pacing and gazed at the floor. “Maybe because you’re still maturing and your scent is light. That’ll change.”

This was not good news. “How long do I have?”

“Weeks maybe? I’m guessing your scent will increase with your abilities.”

I didn’t have much time before I became a fugitive. If I stayed with my mom and dad, assuming they were humans, how much danger would they be in as a result? Werewolves had rules about not hurting humans, but rules were sometimes broken. And anything could happen with scouts around like the one who turned Daniel.

Hanging out with Zack wasn’t an option either, since socializing with a shifter would hurt his chance of survival. I’d have to run. Alone. The frustration burned through my throat like fire.

I glared at Zack. “And you didn’t think that having only a few weeks to be safe was a detail I needed to know”

His eyes widened. “It didn’t occur to me. We’ve had a lot going on.”

Although I wanted to be mad at him, I couldn’t be. Suddenly, my energy level dipped and fatigue settled in my muscles. “I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.” I rose from the kitchen chair without looking at him and practically sleepwalked to the stairs.

“Goodnight,” he said.

I was too emotionally paralyzed to reply.

† † †

When I awoke some time later, light from the moon peeked through the slit between the curtain panels. My first thought was of Zack. I wanted to tiptoe to the couch, sneak under his blanket and snuggle up with him. He’d be warm and sleepy and, very likely, would give me what I needed. But it probably wasn’t worth the agony I’d feel when he walked away saying, “I warned you I was leaving.”

In a few weeks, he would be on the run and so would I. Not to mention the other ramifications of my situation — I’d have to leave my parents, my friends, my home. What would I do all alone with no one to turn to? Even if by some miracle Zack wanted company on the road, I couldn’t continue with him if he didn’t love me.

But I couldn’t stay away from him either.  

To say I was screwed would’ve been like calling my situation
unusual
or saying Zack was
cute
. Both were gross understatements.

Huddled in my blanket, my eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling. I should get up, maybe make breakfast. As I lay in bed, it grew lighter outside, the walls of the room visible without super-vision.

A shape formed in the doorway to my room. I turned my head to see Zack.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I guess so,” I answered quietly. Hadn’t I closed the bedroom door before I’d crawled into bed last night? I knew Zack hadn’t opened it just now. He must have done it during the night. “Were you in my room earlier?”

“Why do you ask?”

Why was it such a difficult question to answer? Either he was or he wasn’t. “My door is open.”

“I checked on you a while ago to make sure you were okay.” He averted his gaze.

“Why? Did you hear something? Was someone trying to get in?” I couldn’t imagine not waking up if an intruder had tried to break in.

I rolled over and propped myself up on my elbow.

“No. Last night, you seemed upset, so I was checking on you.” Zack took a step over the threshold, his fingertips wiggling against his thigh.

Just when I thought he didn’t care, he did something nice to make me think I wasn’t just any girl. The longer I watched him, the more his fingers twitched and his eyes roamed the room.

I wanted to pursue it further, but intuition told me it was a bad idea. We’d be kissing shortly or he’d withdraw further, just like before. I couldn’t allow myself to think that his compassion didn’t extend
equally
to all people. He had no special feelings for me. And if I remembered that without fail, my disillusionment wouldn’t flatten me later.