Marked (The Pack) (26 page)

Channing and Celina walked away. I waited to hear the car leave but it didn’t. Instead, doors slammed and the sheriff stood next to his car along with someone who’d been seated on the passenger side.

“You think they know who it is?”

“I don’t know.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“We’re going to find who’s carrying that mutated virus. Then we’re going to take them to Brodin. He wants to infect more people with that particular strain.”

My breath stopped, Fenryrians.

“What does Brodin want with them?”

“He says the new strain is the strongest he’s ever seen and the people who are bitten with it, if they survive, are almost as strong as the ones who are born to werewolves.”

“So what’s he going to do, start an army?”

“Exactly.”

“What about the Miller girl?”

“Looks like she’s not here. But she’ll turn up at the right time sooner or later. She should never have come here.”

The doors slammed again and the car drove away. I didn’t move. I waited until the sound of the car disappeared, then I waited some more. What if Channing was in the woods somewhere and I passed her? How could I explain where I’d been? Worse yet, what if the sheriff was in the woods waiting to see who would show up and claim the ATV?

Quickly stripping, I put my swimsuit on again and stuffed my backpack in a cabinet. I hurried to the side door, cracked it open and peered around the grounds. Nothing moved. I didn’t see anyone. I raced down the hill and waded into the lake. Taking a deep breath, I went under and started swimming beneath the surface. I didn’t stop until my lungs were aching. I only lifted my face to the top when I had to get a breath. Even then I kept my head as low as I could. Quickly checking the direction to Myles’ house I went under again. He was closest to the camp. I felt like I was being hunted, but I didn’t know why. I needed to tell them what I’d heard, even if none of it made any sense to me. 

Chapter Twenty-Five

Through the glass panes of the Branton’s back door, I could see Mr. Branton and Myles sitting in the living room with a man and woman. A younger boy sat beside them. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other then tapped on the glass. Inside, the conversation continued. I tapped harder. Myles’ head swiveled toward the door. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. He bumped his father’s leg and nodded in my direction.

Crossing my arms in front of me, I tried not to think about the water dripping from my bathing suit and hair onto the deck.

Mr. Branton left the couch and came to open the door. “Is anything wrong?”

“Umm… not exactly but kind of. In a way.”

He arched his brows at my cryptic statement. “Myles is bringing you a towel and some clothes.”

Myles appeared behind him passing the objects to me.

“Don’t forget, you have some of my clothes already. I’d like them all back sometime, soon.

His father frowned at him as he led me to the laundry room. “You can change in here. We’ve got company right now, but they shouldn’t be much longer. When you’re done go to the kitchen and Myles will get you something to eat and drink if you want.”

I nodded and my stomach rumbled in a response.

After I had changed, I went into the kitchen where Myles had stacked everything I needed to make a ham and cheese sandwich on the counter. Sticking my knife in the mayonnaise jar, I spread a glob on my bread.

“Myles, who would give Channing orders?” He’d come to sit by me at the bar while his dad walked their guest to their car.

“What? I don’t know, her parents, I guess. What kind of orders.”

“Who would tell her to get me to be on ‘her side.’ That’s what I heard her say.”

“That’s strange.” Myles said, shaking his head.

“What’s strange?” Mr. Branton came in the kitchen. I could see the car that had been in the front disappearing down the drive.

“Alexis heard Channing say she was ordered to get Alexis to join her pack.” He glanced at me. “I’m guessing that’s what she meant by being on her side.”

“That’s what I thought too. I just wanted to hear someone else say it.”

“Is that it?”

I scrunched my eyebrows at Mr. Branton. “Isn’t that enough, that she’s been sent to coerce me to their pack? Who would do that? Who would care and for that matter who the heck knows I’m a werewolf? I only recently found out myself. Channing’s been taking me to parties and trying to drug me all summer.”

“I don’t know that I can answer all those questions. You’re the only one who can make the decision as to what pack you’re in.”

I chewed my sandwich and swallowed. “There’s more.”

“More?” Mr. Branton sat on a barstool on the other side of me. “Like what?”

“Well, the sheriff came by and told Channing and Celina to leave. When they were gone, the sheriff and a deputy that was in the car with him started discussing whether or not Celina or Channing might know who was carrying a mutated virus and how much this person named Brodin wanted the virus because it has a strong effect on people that are bitten.”

I washed down another bite of sandwich with lemonade. “They said this virus was different because it made people have stronger powers, more like the rest of us.”

I tried not to notice that I now officially considered myself one of the werewolves without a second thought.

“Are you sure they said Brodin?”

“Completely sure. It was a strange name. So, who is the guy?”

“He’s the head leader of the Fenryrians and he is very powerful. I’ve never seen him in human form. I don’t know anyone who has. Heads of councils and leaders of packs keep their identity as secret as possible. It’s just safer that way. Did they say why he wanted the person who had this virus?”

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Yeah, they said he could use it to make an army.”

Mr. Branton bolted from the barstool. ”Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. The one guy said he could make an army. I think he was kind of joking, but the sheriff said, ‘Exactly’, like that’s what he intends to do. Is it important? Because it seemed really important to me.”

Myles’ dad had the phone in hand. “It’s very important.” Finish eating. I’ll get everyone.”

“There was one more thing.”

Mr. Branton paused in mid stride. “There’s more?”

“It was about me.”

“You specifically?”

“They said ‘the Miller girl’, so that’s me I guess. They said I should never have come here.”

Mr. Branton kept looking at me and didn’t speak for a moment. He turned away quickly, heading for the living room.

“I’m beginning to think they’re right.” I heard him say, almost to himself, as he disappeared down the hall.

I gave Myles a panicked look, but he only shrugged and started making his own sandwich.

Two hours later I repeated the story for the others who had arrived. In all, they numbered five. My aunt, the owner of the ice cream shop, another man I’d never seen before, Vincent Unger and an older woman who’d arrived with him.

“Why is this so important? Can this Bodin really make an army? And what’s he going to do with it?” I asked when they had finally stopped with the questions.

Vincent scooted to the edge of the sofa. “The Fenryrians have been at work for generations, trying to bring their kind to positions of power around the world. One of the ways we fight that is to find those who’ve been bitten and give them the antiviral medication. It’s a constant battle to maintain a balance so that the Fenryrians don’t take over. Right now, we don’t have a medication for this strain of the virus. We don’t know who has the mutated strain so that we can get a blood sample to make what we need to revert the person to his human form. If they’re stronger, then we’ll have a more difficult time.”

“So does that mean one of them could be the president one day?”

That’s exactly what it means.” Louise added. “Besides, people shouldn’t be forcibly changed into werewolves. It was never the intended way. We were supposed to be a pack within ourselves, reproduce among ourselves and carry the bloodlines in a natural way. Not spread viruses all over the world to make everyone in it a werewolf.”

I moved to the edge of the room as the adults continued to talk. Myles followed, then pulled me into the hallway that led to the utility room. “Do you think Channing could be the one carrying the virus?”

“I don’t know, Myles. How can I tell?”

“Well, the viral werewolves have a mark on their wrist that becomes visible right before and during their transformation to wolf form and then immediately after their change back to human form. It has a certain shape. The genetic werewolves have a mark too, but it’s different from the viral one. If the shape is different from those two, then it means that person is infected with a virus that has mutated.”

“Well, that’s kind of difficult to find out, huh.”

“Viruses don’t mutate that often.”

“So you think it’s Channing.”

He shrugged. “I don’t guess you noticed any marks on her when she changed.”

“No I wasn’t even around her.”

“We could find out way easier than they can,” he thumbed his finger toward the other room, “if you’re willing to help me.”

A part of me knew I should refuse. I ignored that part. Something I’d become very good at lately. “Sure I’m willing. But will you have to kill Channing if she’s the one? That doesn’t seem right.”

“No, we only have to collect a blood sample.”

“Oh, okay. Then I’m definitely in.”

“Good, now the main thing is not to tell anyone. We’re not supposed to be involved in this because I’m just starting my training and you, well, you don’t have any training at all and probably never will, so they’d lock us up tight if they thought we were trying anything.”

“I got it, keep quiet.”

Myles snorted. “Yeah, keeping things from Louise seems to be one thing you’re good at.”

“I guess I am.”

I saw Louise standing and looking around the room.

“I think she’s ready to go now. Tomorrow morning we can get a plan together, or call me tonight.”

“Better than that, come to your back deck around one in the morning. I’ll be there and we can discuss it then.”

I hurried into the room before Louise came searching for me. My stomach was twisted, partially with a little fear, but mostly with excitement. Of course, I hadn’t mentioned the entire scene that had occurred with Eric before I’d seen Channing. No need to drag him into this anyway. Better that they didn’t even know he’d been there. 

Chapter Twenty-Six

I climbed the stairs toward my bedroom, finally feeling the exhaustion from swimming across the lake. For a moment I’d wondered if I could do it, but deep inside I knew I could. Once I had accepted the truth of what I was, I had also acknowledged the strength I’d always felt brewing inside of me, a feeling that had only begun to intensify over the last year. With a hand on the doorknob, I saw light from the cracked door of Louise’s office. I paused then headed to the office door and tapped gently.

“Come on in.” Louise called.

I pushed the door open. Louise was at the computer hammering sporadically at the keys. When she didn’t stop or look up, I moved closer and looked over her shoulder. A headline from a news story appeared on the page.

“What’s that?”

Louise glanced back. “A story about someone being killed by wild dogs in Florida.”

“Do you think it was the other pack?”

“More than likely.” Louise pulled her hands from the keyboard and twisted the chair around to face me. “A deputy came by this afternoon to ask me about a dead boy they found at the cemetery. He was killed by some animal. They’re thinking dogs or possibly a wild bear.”

I didn’t respond.

“I’m asking you what happened that night you stayed with Myles.”

“Why?”

“Because I know you were with Channing the night this happened. I feel certain she and that group she runs with was behind this.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Letting go a long breath, I steeled myself and nodded.

“You’re right. I was there.”

Louise closed her eyes and rubbed her hand roughly across her forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me what had happened? And you got Myles to lie for you?”

I grabbed a nearby chair and slid it in front of Louise and sat down. “I didn’t ask him to lie for me. You’re right. I did go with Channing and her friends. I know you told me not to let her know about being a werewolf, but she knew it already and admitted she was one too. The way she talked about becoming and being free, I only wanted to try it with them and see what it was like.”

“And?”

I stared at the floor. “It was amazing, like flying, like being so free. I never wanted it to end. But then we came across the couple in the cemetery. I had no idea what they were going to do.” I finally met her gaze and felt a knot constrict my throat. Tears filled my eyes. “I tried to stop them, Aunt Louise. I promise I tried.”