Wolves at the Door (7 page)

Picking up a small bag, she touched my chin. “We’ll be back soon, maybe
in a few days. If I can make it on a weekend, we can spend the day together.”

I forced my mouth into what I hoped resembled a genuine smile. “
That would be great.”

We walked to the rental car and said
good-bye, then she drove away and waved out the window until her car disappeared around the corner.

~~~

Chapter Five

After John sputtered away in my old car later that evening, Zack and I hoofed it to his house to check on his mom.

With every intake of air, her lungs wheezed as they struggled to expand.

Zack sat on a chair at her bedside. “Mom, you need to go to the doctor.”

“I said no. See how tonight goes. We’ll revisit it tomorrow.”

“But, Mom—”

“Go to the closet,
tesoro
, top shelf. Bring me the black metal box,” she demanded.

Zack hesitated a moment, then did as he was told, setting the container on the bed next to her.

“The key is in my jewelry box on the dresser.” She smiled sleepily at him.

Locating the small silver key, Zack unlocked the box and lifted the lid. I stood beside him, spying official looking items — credit cards, stacks of money and something that looked like a passport. His eyes darted to his mom. “Why are you showing me this?”

I backed away from the bed, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. “Um… I’ll wait outside.”

“Stay here. As long as you’re with Zack, you’re part of this family.” Her eyes met his. “It’s all in your name. Everything you need — account numbers, cash, my attorney’s contact info. I’ve set up a trust so there won’t be any inheritance taxes or anything else for you to worry about. If you spend it wisely, it’ll last a while. You could go to college and study whatever you want.”

“Mom.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat. “It’s not time for this yet. You’re going to be fine.”

She waved his words away with a sweep of her hand. “Tomorrow, I want you to withdraw everything from our joint account and deposit it into yours.”

His eyes clouded and he shook his head. “No.”

“Yes.” Favianne’s brows rose menacingly like only a mother could manage.

“Fine, I will. Under the condition that you’ll let me take you to the hospital.”

“
Only if I’m not feeling better.” She sighed. “I’ll be fine. I’m just tired. You two have a nice night.”

Dismissed.

Zack didn’t budge. “Tomorrow you’ll say you’re feeling better and refuse to go. If you don’t agree now, then this box goes back up on the shelf and you can’t make me transfer that money. Doctor first. That’s the deal.” He stood straight and towered over her.

“Who raised you to be so stubborn?” Her mouth curved up and her eyes drifted shut. Suddenly they reopened and she grabbed my hand. “Let me have your
ragazza
for a moment, please. Alone.”

Ragazza
? Did she mean me? Why would she want me alone?

“I’ll wait outside. ’Night, mom.” He squeezed her other hand, gave me a quick kiss and disappeared into the hallway.

Favianne took my hand. “Promise me you’ll take care of him when I’m gone.”

“I think Zack’s right. It’s too soon to talk about this.” My throat felt too tight to say much more.

“That might be true. But promise me anyway.”

I nodded. “I’ll take care of him as best I can, for as long as he’ll let me.”

“You’ve learned how stubborn that boy is, I see.” She gave me a sleepy smile, then her lids slipped closed and a moment later, her breathing deepened.

“
Good night,” I whispered and tiptoed out. I found Zack waiting for me in the hallway. “Nice job getting her to agree.”

“Only ’cause I resorted to blackmail.” He shook his head.

Zack’s aunt Cara appeared, crowding into the narrow passageway with us. “Autumn, can I see you for a minute?”

Zack shrugged.
I have no idea what she wants
.

Cara eyed her nephew. “Alone. Go say hi to Trevor.”

“Everyone wants her alone. That makes three of us.” Zack squeezed past us.

What did Cara have to say that needed to be said in private? I bit my lip.

“I want to show you something.” She motioned for me to follow. At the end of the hallway, she opened a door and waved me in. Bookshelves lined the right side of the small room with boxes stacked in front of them. The left side boasted a small bed and at the foot were more boxes.

“It’s nothing special, but it’s a bed,” she said.

I couldn’t imagine why she’d offer me a room when she knew I had a perfectly good one at home. Unless she knew I hadn’t been using it. My muscles bunched up. I really hoped she had no clue I’d been sleeping in Zack’s room every night. “I don’t understand…”

“Your parents are still out of town, right? It must be lonely in that house all by yourself.”

I exhaled in relief. This confirmed she didn’t know I’d been in Zack’s bed every night.

She quirked a brow. “Not that you’re sleeping there much. If you take this room, you won’t have to sneak in and out after dark.”

I cringed as heat rushed to my cheeks. “Uh, sorry.” What else could I say? I’d been caught. Yikes. Wiping the sudden moisture over my brow, I blew out a breath and screwed up my courage. “How did you know?”

“Sometimes Mac has trouble sleeping. He happened to be looking out the window the last couple nights and saw you crawl through Zack’s window.”

A squeak escaped my throat.

“Normally, I’d remind Zack of house rules concerning girls in bedrooms. But I don’t have the heart to take that from
him right now. Not with his mom in her condition.”

“You think his concerns are valid?”

Her chin trembled. “Unfortunately, yes. I worry just as much, but I was lucky enough to grow up with her and see her as a young, vibrant woman. For Zack, his mother being sick is almost all he’s ever known. No young man should have that kind of burden.”

I gave her a sympathetic nod as I unconsciously backed into the hallway, fervently hoping she’d forg
et all about the previous topic.

“Back to the sleeping arrangements.” Cara touched my arm and I slumped in disappointment. “It’s okay. I was young and in love once too. I know how it works. Besides, you’re both over eighteen. I just hope you two are being safe.”

She assumed Zack and I had already slept together. I inwardly cringed and I stared at my toes. “I don’t know about Zack being
in love
. We haven’t known each other that long.”

“Just because my nephew is an
idioto
and hasn’t told you so, doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

I almost giggled but was still too freaked out over getting caught. “I’ll believe it when I hear it from him. Oh, my gosh, this is so embarrassing.” My voice broke on the last word and I took another deep breath. “Seems like it would be worse to stay in this room. What if Patrick or Brian caught me going into Zack’s? Maybe I should stick with the window.”

Oh, God, did I just admit out loud to sneaking around? Shoot me now.

She laughed and hugged me. “Whatever works for you,
tesora
. I haven’t seen Zack this happy in a long time. I’m thinking it has something to do with you, which makes you a part of our family.”

† † †

I lay in Zack’s bed, cuddling with him. Thoughts floated through my mind like a buoy, refusing to sink into my subconscious. Like the newest werewolf, Renzo. Why was he there and would he try to hijack Zack from Charles? Or worse, did this Renzo guy have other plans, like maybe taking Zack before graduation?

Slimy as Charles was, at least he’d promised to let Zack stay
and spend some time with his mom. The thought of losing Zack sooner and never seeing him again made me feel like I was suffocating. There had to be some other way to stop the werewolves. I just didn’t know what.

Gina took up way too much space in my head, too. Whatever she was scheming would be something vile, for sure.
And then there was Zack’s mom.
How much time did she have with her son? With her sister Cara?

I couldn’t get my parents out of my head either. Were they shape-shifters? If so, why hadn’t they told me I’d be hitting shape-shifter maturity right about now? Except Zack hadn’t picked up their scent in the house or on their belongings, so they had to be human. Then
again, my scent was nearly nonexistent and only detectable up close. Maybe it was the same with them.

On the other hand, i
f Zack was right and our scent increased with our powers, then my parents should smell like shape-shifters. But they didn’t. Which brought me full circle. My head spun.

Maybe they hadn’t adopted me but
stolen
me, which was why they were reluctant to tell me they weren’t my real parents. I mentally shook my head. They weren’t capable of that kind of cruelty. Or were they? Not like they’d been forthcoming about anything in the slightest.

“Go to sleep,” Zack whispered.

“I’m trying, believe me, but my brain won’t shut up.” I gave him the condensed version of my thoughts.

“Hmm. Well, I still firmly believe your parents are human, but if the mystery is driving you to sleep deprivation, you need find out for yourself.”

“That’s not helpful. How am I supposed to do that?”

He rolled toward me. “They’re gone and you have access to everything in the house. There has to be documentation somewhere. Time to snoop around.”

“I’d have to poke through their things. It’s a bit of an invasion of privacy, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely. But they’ve kept things from you and there’s no refuting that. If they’d been open with you, you wouldn’t need to go behind their back. It’s your right to know the truth. You can either live in ignorance or take action.”

Damn. He had a good point. Tomorrow, I’d be at the hospital with Favianne, but first chance I got, my search would begin. No matter the truth I learned, I knew I wouldn’t like it.

~~~

Chapter Six

At lunch the next day, Zack and I joined Trevor and Maya for lunch. Thinking about Favianne and all the doctor’s possible diagnoses pretty much snuffed out my appetite, so I just picked at my food.

Zack nudged me with his elbow. “You should eat. Mr. Hagar’s having a quiz next period and it’ll be harder to concentrate if you’re hungry.”

“Can I tag along with you to the hospital?” I reluctantly took a bite from my sandwich. Zack was already stressing over his mom. He didn’t need to worry about me too.

“I can hardly say no since I’m using
your
car.” His mouth tipped into a lopsided grin.

“You seem to handle everything so well.” I studied his carefree smile. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“When you’re stressed, it’s contagious. My mom’s had enough to deal with these last few years. I’ve always tried not to add to it.” He shrugged. “It’s habit now.”