Finally. You’re a little slow today, Max murmured, clearly enjoying this.
“What? Tell me!” Julian hissed, frustrated.
I normally always reiterated what Max said to Julian, so he didn’t feel like an outsider. But this time I didn’t answer, instead turning back to Max. “What is he?”
Oh, that’s your run-of-the-mill werewolf, he answered dryly.
We had werewolves living with us? “Why didn’t you tell me?”
There was a pause. You didn’t ask.
I groaned my exasperation. “Max, why would I ask if people are werewolves?”
Well, maybe you should.
“Arggh, Max!” I cried, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it at Max’s head as hard as I could. I missed. “Stop keeping secrets!”
“Werewolves?” Julian whispered.
I turned back to see that the wolf had taken off. “That was Yeti One,” I explained to Julian, adding bitterly, “Max forgot to mention that he’s a werewolf.”
I didn’t forget. You just—
“Right!” I snapped, throwing my hands in the air. “I forgot to ask!”
“Great. Witches and vampires aren’t bad enough. Now we’re exiled with werewolves,” Julian muttered.
I wasn’t ready to let it go. “So, who else do we have here, Max? Who else have I forgotten to ask about? Is our Russian cook a unicorn? What about the others? Any of them moonlighting as a succubus or a shifter?” My anger with Max was at its highest peak now.
No. Don’t be—
“No! Seriously!” I yelled at him, not caring that me screaming at this giant, menacing beast might concern an onlooker. “What about Valentina? Maybe she’s . . . Ursula!”
“Who’s Ursula?” Julian asked.
“Oh, no one.” I shook my head, waving my hand dismissively. “I’m just being stupid. I—”
Max’s murmur cut me off. I don’t believe it . . .
I sighed impatiently. “What don’t you believe now, Max?”
There was a long pause. How could we have missed it!
Max was rattled—such an uncommon thing that it sent shockwaves of panic through to my core. “Missed what, Max?” I asked evenly.
I have to warn him, Max muttered. Stay here. Stay away from the cabin until you hear from me again! Max raced past us and disappeared, galloping through the deep snow toward the chalet.
“What? Warn who?” I said aloud, replaying my last words to Max. I had made that insane suggestion about—I gasped, and threw my hands up toward Julian. “Help me!”
Julian had me on my feet in seconds. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” I answered abruptly, setting off toward the cabin. It couldn’t be true . . . but if it was, then Leo was in danger.
“Yes, you do. You know something!” Julian pushed.
“No time to explain!” I called back, now several feet ahead of him. “We have to get back.” The truth was, I couldn’t explain this to Julian until I knew if it was true. How could I tell him his sister was—no, not until I knew it was true. How had she found us?
Thankfully Julian stopped asking and caught up to me. Walking in snowshoes was easy; running was impossible. I settled on speed-walking. By the time we got back to the chalet five minutes later—the longest five minutes of my life—I was panting.
The side door into the great room hung limply off its hinges, the victim of a giant werebeast’s impatience. “I guess our werewolf will be fixing that?” Julian commented as we shook off our snowshoes. Julian carefully pushed open the broken door and held it for me to pass through.
We entered a war zone. Everywhere my eyes landed, they touched destruction. The antler chandelier once suspended over the dining table now sat in a broken pile on the floor beside my feet. Every piece of furniture was upturned, legs broken, torn material oozing stuffing. The fireplace looked as if someone had blown chunks of stone from it with a cannon. And the windows—every one on the far side of the room was smashed, leaving a deadly minefield of shattered glass to navigate through. Frigid air poured in.
All of that became irrelevant as soon as I saw Leo lying on the floor, a wide gash on his forehead making a bloody mess of his face. Valentina towered over him, her stance defensive. The dogs stood unmoving, watching her from various points in the room. Get out of here, now! Max screamed inside my head.
“No!” I cried, panic pinching my voice.
Julian stepped inside. “What the . . . ” He fell silent as he took in the destruction.
“Julian,” Leo called weakly, struggling to rise. “Get her out of here. Run!”
Valentina’s foot landed on Leo’s chest, shoving him back to the floor. A wicked smile touched her lips as she gazed down at the old man.