Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles #2) (8 page)

That it was starting again.

She’d asked her grandfather about it. But now, she didn’t dare involve Beau. If the answers pointed to the existence of werewolves, she’d be signing Beau’s death warrant. She resolutely opened the book on her desk and stared at the words, but the letters swam before her eyes.

“Kat?” he prodded.

“Beau, I — I just don’t want to talk about . . . things,” she whispered.

Mr. Hastings and the police sergeant walked out of the classroom, leaving a buzz of whispers and texts in their wake. Gretchen was holding court, shredding Cordelia’s reputation as she made insinuating remarks about cozy “meetings” with Mr. Henderson to discuss her “history project.” Everything in poisonous air quotes, of course. Katelyn had been at those meetings and they had discussed their history paper and their bibliography and his interest in the silver mine. There was no more chemistry between Cordelia and their teacher than between Cordelia and Coach Ambrose. But the seed of a juicy rumor had been planted, and it was taking root. In a tiny town like Wolf Springs, it would be a tangled thorn patch before lunchtime.

I should speak up for her. I should say something
, Katelyn thought. Or not.

“That’s not true. They didn’t. None of that is true,” she blurted suddenly, and heads turned to stare at her. She looked hard at Gretchen. “You know it’s not.”

Gretchen just raised a brow and smiled knowingly. Then she turned her back on Katelyn and slid a sly glance at the girl sitting beside her. The other girl smiled back. There was more than one kind of wolf in Wolf Springs, and Gretchen was busily raising her status in the pack through the power of gossip. Katelyn had no idea if it was a battle she should take on, but she couldn’t stand by and let Gretchen do that to her friend. And she was still Cordelia’s friend, even if Cordelia was blaming her for what had happened.

“It wasn’t like that,” she said again.

Beau patted her arm. “It’s okay, Kat. No one believes it.”

And she felt even guiltier for not offering to help him find out what had frightened his grandmother, and what threatened their town.

What did they believe around here? she wondered. What did they know?

~

That afternoon, Katelyn told Justin about what people were saying about Cordelia. They were standing in the Fenner kitchen filling up two water bottles, and she blurted out the horrible gossip about Mr. Henderson. He blinked and guffawed, but when he saw how upset she was, he leaned forward as if to brush her cheek with a kiss. It was the way pack members acknowledged and comforted each other. But he pulled back before his lips made contact with her skin.

“You can kiss her,” his older brother said, coming up behind them. “She’s not a stranger.”

Jesse Fenner had Down’s syndrome and Cordelia had told Katelyn that one of the reasons for Justin moving the two of them into the Fenner house had been because he needed help taking care of his older brother — help that was often provided, Katelyn knew, by Justin’s girlfriend Lucy, when she was there. For the most part, Jesse stayed at home because he couldn’t be trusted to keep the family secret — he was so trusting and, left to his own devices, might talk to anyone. Sometimes, though, he got to go to the pharmacy to visit LaRue, the cat there, while a prescription was filled for some kind of medication he was on. Jesse wanted a cat in the worst way.

“I know she’s not a stranger, buddy,” Justin said. He smiled at his brother and screwed on the cap of his water bottle.

“I’m glad to see you, Kat,” Jesse said. “Justin’s glad, too.” He pulled a sad face. “I miss my cousin. Say her name, he’ll break your neck.” He mimicked doing just that, putting his fists together, then turning them in opposite directions.

Katelyn felt sick to her stomach.

“No one will ever hurt you, Jesse,” Justin said, and a fleeting expression passed over his features. It looked like anger, but Katelyn couldn’t decipher it before it was gone.

“I’m going to Lucy,” Jesse said. “She has some sour apple gum.” He grinned at Justin. “If you marry Kat, I can marry Lucy. She loves me more than you.”

“You’re a heartbreaker,” Justin said, feinting a punch at Jesse’s chin.

“You’re a neck breaker,” Jesse said, giggling and squirming away. “You, Justin, you’re a breaker!”

Then Jesse trotted out of the kitchen, leaving Justin and Katelyn alone again. Justin gave Katelyn a little eye-roll.

“What about Mr. Henderson?” she said, taking up where she’d left off. “What do you think happened to him?”

He shrugged. “Can’t say.”

“Or won’t?” she pushed. “Justin, two people have died. And a teacher at my school is missing. And I was attacked. And no one is doing anything—”

Before she realized what was happening, his hand was across her mouth. He pulled her hard against his chest and pressed his mouth against her ear.

“You don’t know that,” he whispered. “You don’t know half of what’s going on. And if you want to live through this, drop it. Now.”

It took her a moment to register that he was shaking.

“I can’t protect you if they . . . if he . . . if anyone hears you saying things like that,” he whispered. “Asking questions is dangerous. Please, don’t risk your life . . . or mine . . . that way.”

When he pulled his hand from her mouth, all she could do was stare up at him. He looked truly, genuinely afraid. She glanced toward the other room and thought about Jesse. Justin’s brother was the sweetest person in the whole world and he’d never do anything to hurt anybody. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t tell Lee or Lucy what he might have overheard. She swallowed hard and nodded. Justin worked so hard to make the whole werewolf thing seem normal, because it was, for him at least. Sometimes she actually relaxed enough to forget that she was living under the threat of death.

“I’ll be more careful,” she whispered, soft enough that she hoped only he could hear.

He bent down and brushed his lips against hers. She could taste the longing on his lips and felt herself respond to it. But she pushed away from him and shook her head.

Not careful
, she mouthed to him. And Lucy —
his girlfriend
— was in the house. How could he come on to her like that when Lucy was about?

He hung his head, looking like a puppy who knew he’d done something wrong. And the expression was so endearing she wanted to kiss him again. What kind of girl was she? Hitting on another girl’s boyfriend? No.

Before she could move he shook himself and exited the room, leaving her a bit dazed.

That did not just happen
.

Katelyn’s legs nearly gave way as she stood alone in the Fenner kitchen, her hand over her mouth, her heart thundering.

If you want to live through this
. . .

She pressed her hand against her lips as her thoughts fuzzed away, leaving her in a stupor. What if Jesse had wandered back in and seen them kissing? Or Lucy?

Which was more dangerous: the nameless predator in the forest or the one named Lee Fenner? And did Justin really expect her not to do a thing to protect herself?

Maybe Justin was working behind the scenes to help her. Or maybe he was just out to help himself. She didn’t know. She didn’t understand how pack politics worked. It was even more complicated than high school! Back in L.A., while she and Kimi had always had friends, Katelyn had been too busy to figure out the rules of the popularity game. But the werewolves of Wolf Springs weren’t playing a game. They were deadly serious about fighting their way up the social ladder of pack dominance. Cordelia’s sisters had told their father about Katelyn to bust Cordelia for hiding the news — and a potential threat to the pack — from him; Katelyn was certain of it. They must have known Mr. Fenner was planning to name her his successor as alpha.

None of them seemed to be taking Katelyn’s attack seriously. Or maybe talking about it was forbidden because it made Mr. Fenner look bad. She was expected to keep all of them safe with her silence, but no one was doing anything to keep her safe. All they did was tell her to shut up and do as she was told.

All these strangers, including her grandfather, wanted to control her. What on earth had he been thinking of in bringing her here? First he forced her to live in a cabin in the middle of the forest; then he warned her not to go into the forest by herself; but then he got her a car so she could drive through there alone. His solution to the whole mess seemed to be to teach her how to shoot.

She clenched her teeth. She was done with holding her breath in case she did or said the wrong thing.

“Screw this,” she said aloud.

She walked down the hall and went into Cordelia’s bedroom. It was very pretty, decorated in green and lavender. On the other side of the room, a sliding door led to one of the courtyards dominated by a tree; and from there, to the forest. Her walls were lined with cheerleading trophies and photographs. It all looked so normal.

Katelyn stood in the dim light. Her bravado was fading, and she figured she’d get in trouble if she was found there. But she needed answers.

Cordelia’s bed was unmade. Her school textbooks sat in the center of the bed — she clearly studied the way Katelyn did, in bed, probably with earbuds in, too. The countdown to the full moon had been murder, but Cordelia had reminded her that even if her life changed that drastically, she would still have a life. That what she did day-by-day would still matter. That included high school and homework.

Katelyn quickly poked through Cordelia’s pile of books. The first thing she wanted to locate was the book Cordelia had initially lied about having — a book by a man named Theodore Switliski. Mr. Henderson had asked her about it, too. And now he was missing.

No luck; she crossed to the desk and examined the spines of a few more books piled there. Nothing.

Then she heard Jesse’s voice in the hall. “I pet LaRue softly, softly,” he said. “Don’t want to break his neck.”

There was a beat. Then Lucy replied, “No, that’s one neck you do not want to break, sugar. But there are others,” she muttered.

Katelyn panicked. It sounded as if they were headed toward Cordelia’s room. Well, what of it? Could anyone blame her for going into the room of her absent best friend?

Yes, they would blame her.

“I left my Halloween candy in Cor . . . in her room,” Jesse said. “She gave me sour apple gum. And candy. I didn’t get to trick or treat.”

Katelyn looked around the room. Sure enough, she saw a plastic jack-o-lantern brimming with wrapped chocolate bars and lollipops.

“Sugar, we’re not supposed to go in that room,” Lucy said.

“
Please
,” he begged.

Something slammed against the door, not too hard, but hard enough to make her jerk. Grimacing, she darted to the sliding glass door to let herself out. It was locked. But she was stronger than she used to be, right? Should she try to force it?

“Okay, Jesse. Please, honey, stay calm. You know your Uncle Lee doesn’t like you to get too upset.”

“I want my sour apple!” he whined.

The closet. Katelyn darted back across the room, opened the door, and popped inside. There was a skylight overhead, bathing her in sunshine like a spotlight and she cringed, feeling vulnerable. Standing on top of a row of shoes, she also felt monumentally stupid. People who were werewolves had enhanced senses, including the sense of smell, and Lucy might realize she was inside the room. But she figured her scent was already present since she’d been in Cordelia’s room before.

The bedroom door creaked open and she pulled back into a wall of hanging clothing, then tried to breathe as quietly as possible.

“There it is,” Lucy said. Katelyn heard her footfalls go past the closet door. “Happy now?” They crossed back.

“I didn’t go trick or treating,” Jesse said. “A man came to our house. He and Uncle Lee were yelling.”

“Yes, well, they made up,” Lucy said. “And look at all the candy you have. Oh, here’s the gum.”

Katelyn heard the rustling of paper. Jesse must be unwrapping a stick of sour apple. “Is she dead?”

“I’m sure she’s just fine. It’s nothing for you to worry about. I don’t want you to worry about anything, Jesse James.”

“You love me. You love me more than Justin.”

“Oh, honey, everyone loves you.”

“Justin loves Kat.”

Katelyn went numb. Without thinking, she sucked in her breath. Then she shut her eyes against a tide of panic, worried that she’d made too much noise.

“You know your brother likes pretty girls,” Lucy said after a pause. “But they’re, well, they’re like candy. They’re not all that good for your health.”

What did
that
mean? Was she threatening Justin?

“I brush my teeth,” Jesse said proudly.

“So does Justin. Now let’s get out of here before we get in trouble, okay? Let’s leave it a secret that we even came in here.”

“I’m good at secrets,” Jesse said.

“That’s good, darlin’.”

The bedroom door opened and closed. Katelyn exhaled slowly. She tried to step off Cordelia’s shoes and wobbled to the right. She put her hand out to steady herself . . . and her hand went right through a poster of a wolf baying at the moon taped to the closet wall. Then she realized that there was an opening just behind it, like a little wall safe.

And there were some things inside. She reached in, and the first thing she pulled out was
Ozark
Folklore
, by Theodore Switliski. The “missing” book that Cordelia “didn’t” have. Next Katelyn found what appeared to be a purple-bound blank book. Curious, Katelyn opened it.

. . . I don’t know why he’s so obsessed with finding the mine. I’m scared we will find it, and then he’ll do something to Kat.

5

“Oh, my God,” Katelyn whispered. It was Cordelia’s diary. She shut it, wishing like anything for her backpack, then slid it under her arm while she pulled out a framed photograph of Dominic Gaudin, the leader — the alpha — of the Fenners’ rival wolf pack, the Gaudins. It was like a studio portrait, very posed. His reddish-gold hair brushed the shoulders of a gray opened-neck shirt, and a golden pendant of what appeared to be some kind of wolf-like monster dangled from his neck. He had very straight, big shoulders and a broad chest. His forehead was high, his eyebrows brown, his eyes a crystalline blue.