Verity (23 page)

The grey werewolf crouched over Jakob Evans. His jaws wrapped around Jakob’s neck in a death grip as he shook him violently. I could almost see the life leave Jakob. He was growing weaker by the second, his struggles lessening too quickly. I realised it was probably too late for Lia, but I was determined to help Jakob.

The grey werewolf was so busy savaging Jakob that he didn’t notice me approach him from behind. I lifted the branch as high as I could, almost passing out with the pain. I slammed it down hard on the grey wolf’s head. He grunted but held on, unable to take himself away from a kil. I struggled to lift the branch again, gasping from the intense pain in my ribs, but this time I pounded it down harder, the impact making a sickening thud.

He released Jakob immediately and let out a horrible cry. He turned and looked right at me, blood dripping from his snout. I dropped the branch, unable to look away. A shadow darkened his eyes and he fel to the ground, lifeless. I froze, waiting for him to get back up.

He didn’t.

Both of his companions immediately raised their heads in our direction at the sounds. The blonde one whimpered, but the other barked and they both fled in unison, Nathan snapping at the blonde’s tail.

Jakob limped up with difficulty and nosed Lia on the ground. I held my breath, but she didn’t stir. I shook my head in disbelief. Not Lia. It couldn’t be possible. Tears roled down my eyes at the heart-breaking sound of Jakob’s mournful howl. He leapt up and chased after the two escaping wolves, folowed by Byron and some of the wolfhounds. A snarl from Byron forced Nathan back toward us.

In the back of my head, I could hear Amelia screaming, but it was dul, like there was something muffling my ears. Nathan sniffed his grandmother’s face and let out an awful howl that made me choke back a sob. I couldn’t just stand there, or I’d fal apart completely. I had to do something. I hated the thoughts of Lia being so close to the monster that kiled her, so I struggled to pul him away by his back legs. It took me ages, and it hurt like hel, but I had to do something.

Nathan lay next to Lia. I wondered if her body would return to its normal shape. I was stil struggling with the grey wolf’s body when Byron and Jakob returned to us in their human forms, barefooted and barechested, along with the other wolfhounds. I vaguely wondered where their trousers had come from. When Byron saw what I was trying to do, he helped, lifting the dead werewolf easily and carelessly throwing him as far away from his mother as he could manage.

Byron and Jakob knelt beside Nathan. Amelia crawled over to join them. Nathan shook almost as much as Amelia. I hung back, not wanting to intrude on their grief.

Jakob was in bad shape; he had deep wounds on his body, and Byron was covered in cuts and scratches. It was too hard to tel how badly hurt Nathan was, but I prayed he would be okay.

Lia would never be okay, and neither would Jakob; he lost his soul mate. He had to be heartbroken, I couldn’t begin to imagine what that felt like. Even I would miss Lia’s warm, comforting presence. I hadn’t known her for long, but she helped me. She believed me, wanted to protect me. I owed her. It wasn’t fair she was gone. She didn’t deserve to die. If I had only helped her. If I hadn’t needed help. No matter how I looked at it, the blame fel on my shoulders.

I sat down beside Cúchulain because I didn’t know what else to do. I looked down at myself and saw my clothes were now covered in dark red blood. None of it mine. The realisation of what happened hit me abruptly. I had just kiled someone. As the thought connected in my brain, my body began to shudder violently. He died, right in front of me. The animal who would turn back into a man.

Even though he was shaped like a wolf, he was human. I kiled a man. Me. A murderer. Only sixteen years old, and I had the deaths of two people on my conscience.

Lia, and the werewolf who kiled her. Cúchulain licked my face, but I was too freaked out to respond. I had watched the light go out in the werewolf’s eyes, and I had been glad of it. What kind of a monster did that make me?

“She’s gone into shock.”

I didn’t know who was talking until Byron lifted me to my feet. I was too out of it to feel surprised when he hugged me tightly.

“I saw what you did. It’s going to be okay. You had no choice.”

I tried to speak, but my throat closed up completely. Not that I could say anything that would make any of it better. I wanted to lie down and not get up again. I didn’t understand why everything had gone so wrong.

Byron lifted his mother carefuly and respectfuly, his father close by his side. Seeing her body in his arms made it sink in, and I wasn’t able to stop the tears from faling. I choked back a loud sob, teling myself I didn’t have a right to cry. I felt incredibly out of place and alone.

I was suddenly aware of Amelia’s hand squeezing mine, and Nathan’s animal form pushing against my other hand. I gripped his fur tightly and felt stronger for it.

Amelia leaned against me, but I took comfort from the touch. We al left the woods together, covered in blood and united in grief. I folowed Byron, sandwiched between my best friend and my boyfriend. Linked to each other in a brand new way.

We made it to their house without seeing anybody. I was grateful because it would have been too much to explain. Despite the risk of being seen, neither Jakob nor Byron seemed to worry. Keeping secrets just didn’t seem important anymore.

Our procession moved slowly. Even Nathan didn’t seem to care about being seen in his wolf form.

At the house, I waited in the sitting room alone while the others brought Lia’s body up to her bedroom. I felt like an intruder in their home. I sat there, covered in blood that wasn’t my own and wept. So many regrets spun around in my mind. I didn’t know where to start processing what had actualy happened. I wasn’t even close to wondering how I could explain it al to my father. Byron joined me, throwing a jumper over his head. He ignored my tears.

“Let me see your ribs,” he commanded. He pressed gently against them until I winced, then he wrapped a bandage around my torso. “This wil have to do for now.

I’m going to get rid of... the body in the woods. Stay here until I get back. We need to talk. My father is performing a death ritual upstairs, so sit here quietly, alright?” I nodded glumly, not bothering to ask how he was getting rid of the body or what a death ritual entailed. I couldn’t take any more information. He left me alone again.

Al I could think about was poor Lia Evans, and how I hadn’t helped her in time.

Nathan came to find me after he had showered the grime and blood from his body. I lifted his top and checked him carefuly, more relieved than I could say when I saw how little he had been hurt. He let me, as if knowing I would break down completely unless I saw for myself.

“Amelia’s with King.” Nathan shook his head. “They hurt him bad. He didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I spluttered, unable to say anything else. He held on to me, his presence so reassuring I almost calmed down. I felt so bad, so guilty, so sure I had caused it al. I couldn’t take it back, no matter how much I wanted to.

“I’m sorry,” I said again. He puled back and looked me in the eye, seeing everything I couldn’t say. He kissed me fiercely, our bodies entwined as if we would never let go. I thought he would blame me. I thought he might even hate me for letting the whole thing begin and for missing the chance to help his grandmother. I thought a lot of things, but they al faded away when he held me.

“I was so afraid for you, so afraid,” he whispered in my ear. “Don’t ever attack a werewolf again, please.” I almost laughed. “I won’t, if you won’t.” He kissed my tears away. That only made more fal. “I’m so sorry I didn’t help her in time,” I said, my voice shaking. I couldn’t say Lia’s name. I was afraid to look at him, but he forced me to.

“What are you talking about? You helped me, you kept Amelia safe, and you saved my grandfather’s life. You could have been kiled, Perdita. Do you understand that?
We
brought this with us, and
you
could have been the one who got hurt.” He stroked my cheek gently, and somehow it unleashed everything I was feeling.

“I kiled him. I watched him die. And I wasn’t sorry, Nathan, I wasn’t sorry.” I gasped for air as my stomach clenched so tight it felt like I had been punched in the gut. I doubled over with pain, struggling to breathe—my ribs weren’t the only cause. I kept seeing the wolf’s, no, the man’s eyes as he died on the ground in front of me. I heard the noise he made over and over. I saw Lia’s broken body, and suddenly I couldn’t stand anymore. Grief overwhelmed me, threatening to suck me into a blackness I was almost wiling to lose myself in.

Nathan helped me to the sofa, holding my hand and whispering comforting words until I calmed down.

“Listen to me,” he said firmly. “I know how you’re feeling, trust me, but you can’t let the guilt take over. He was a monster who wanted you to die. And Amelia too.

They were going to kil you both. The three of them have been stalking you for months, Perdita. It’s not your fault; you did more than most people would have. He was a kiler, remember? It’s our fault, if anything. We should have dealt with them straight away. We shouldn’t have hidden ourselves away. Don’t take on this guilt, it isn’t yours to own.”

I sniffed a few times and looked up at his determined face. He had aged in the last few hours. Seeing him helped me. He found strength from somewhere and that made me stronger too.

“I mean it,” he continued. “If we had learned from our own kind then none of this would have happened. We should have gone after them; you should never have been in danger. I won’t let it happen again, I promise you. I’m never going to let you feel like this again. You can’t feel guilty for protecting yourself. And my grandmother didn’t die for nothing.” Tears slid from his eyes then, and that was enough for me to gain control over my emotions. It was my turn to comfort him. He had lost a lot more than me.

We were stil embracing each other when the others returned. Byron’s face was pale but determined. Amelia sat close to me, her eyes bloodshot from crying. I put my arm around her, feeling her sink into my embrace. Jakob sat with his head in his hands. I couldn’t bear to look at him.

“The body was gone by the time I got back,” Byron said. Hope blossomed in my chest until I realised it only meant the other wolves had come back first. He was stil dead.

I hiccupped. “I have to talk to my Dad, go to the police.”

Byron’s attention snapped back to me. “What are you talking about? You can’t talk to anyone about this!” I stared up at him. “I
killed
someone. Someone is dead because of me. I can’t just get away with that!”

“Didn’t you hear me?
There is no body
. I forbid you to speak of this with anyone.” His words rumbled over me until a trickle of sweat roled down my back. Byron’s black eyes scared me.

Nathan tensed up next to me. “You forbid her?”

“Yes!” Byron ran out of patience. “I have to protect this family. How am I supposed to explain to the world that werewolves exist? The world isn’t ready for this, and one dead murderous werewolf isn’t worth our time. She wil not tel a soul!” His voice rose into a shout, and he paced in front of Nathan, Amelia and I for a few minutes, his face grim as he lost himself in his thoughts. Finaly, he stopped and faced us.

“Tel me exactly what happened.”

“It’s my fault,” I said. “I should never have let Amelia come home.”

“Stop it!” she cried. “It’s not your fault. We came in, saw blood on the carpet. Perdita pushed me outside and slammed the door. Made me run. I panicked and went through the woods because it’s quicker. I didn’t think. I didn’t know to be scared!”

Nathan turned to us. “We were on our way, we must have just missed you. We were trying to figure out what happened to King when I realised I had a missed cal from Perdita. I listened to the message, and we tried to get to you first.”

“They’ve been folowing me al along,” I said. “But they came here for Amelia.”

“She’s right.” Jakob raised his head, surprising us with his sudden input. “He wanted Amelia dead. He was barely able to force himself away from her even when we surrounded him.”

“Everyone get ready, we’re leaving,” Byron said.

“Leaving?” I said, shocked at the idea. How could they leave me? I looked at Nathan, my chin trembling. I felt like I lost a part of me anytime he walked away from me, how could I cope if he was gone for good?

He gazed back at me, looking as frightened as I felt. He shook his head slightly then turned to Byron expectantly.

“Don’t worry, you two.” Byron smiled, but his eyes stayed cold. “We’l take care of you, Perdita. We’re going to leave, but you’l come with us, of course. We’l hide and be safe. We’l make sure they don’t track us down again.”

I shook my head, not sure I was understanding him correctly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You have to,” Byron’s voice was a lot softer than usual. “We have to keep you three safe. You’re al connected together. They won’t stop until they hurt at least one of you. And hurting one wil hurt the others. You understand?”

This was wrong. Al wrong. I couldn’t leave my family. My mother had done that. I was meant to stay with them. I was sick of hiding from the world. Let the werewolves come for me. I was filed with enough hate and rage and sorrow not to care. I knew the connection between myself, Nathan and Amelia was powerful, and maybe even dangerous, but it didn’t feel right to run away with them.

“I understand, but I don’t agree. I’m not running, Byron. I’m not going to hide away for the rest of my life. If they come for me, wel, I’l have to deal with it then, but I’m not abandoning my family to save myself. No way.”

Nathan held my hand, supporting my decision in silence. Amelia leaned closer to me, clutching my arm.

“You don’t have a choice, Perdita.” Byron was annoyingly dismissive of everything what I wanted.

“Yes, she does,” Nathan said, his voice firm. “And so do I. I’m not leaving her.”

Byron gazed at him in concern but was even more surprised when his own father put his hand on his shoulder.