To Right a Wrong(23)

The red, raw carving still wept tears of blood.

He studied her in the mirror, not daring to break eye contact. Keeping her in the dark wasn’t doing her any favors anymore. Against his better judgment, the game had turned from play to personal.

Ethan turned her away from the mirror, tipped her face up, and opened the bottle, spilling some medicine onto a clean towel. He was surprised to find his hand shaking. “The hate between Greggoire and I goes back before you were born, little one. In fact, it goes back to my father’s days when he battled his cousin, Greggoire’s father, for the alpha position. It has always been this way.”

She winced at the sting from the medicine, but let him continue dabbing the cuts. “This isn’t about the challenge, though. The fight for position was never meant to go to the death. I never remember any of the men fighting among the pack this way. I need to tell someone. Mrs.

Danielson isn’t safe working for that psycho.

Butch has a right to know what is happening to her. Maybe she’s too scared to say anything.”

“Dani, you mentioned that the owner of the store wasn’t normal. What did you mean?” He folded the cloth and cleaned the rest of her face.

She closed her eyes, and he felt her shudder go through him. He set down the supplies to wrap his arms around her. “It’s important, little one.”

She snuggled against him. “I’ve watched men and women shift into their wolves my whole life.

This guy shifted halfway. He had hands, but his nails turned to claws. His wolf showed up, but yet he kept his human body. It’s not normal.

You know that, I know that…werewolves can’t mutate that way. We’re either human or wolf. It was like this guy picked the strengths of his wolf, and yet kept his ability to remain upright on two legs.”

“It’s possible to reverse during shifting—”



“That’s not what I’m saying. He stayed that way the whole time I was with him. I’m talking minutes, not seconds.”

Ethan crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the bathroom counter. There were advantages of turning into a wolf. Speed.

Enhanced hearing, smelling, and sight. The ability to heal. The force of strength alone would help anyone in a battle against an enemy. But he couldn’t ignore the benefits of having limbs and the ability to communicate as a human. To merge the two using the strengths together can only happen when…

He straightened up. “Fuck.”

“What?”

If he guessed right it was even more important to find Dani’s brother now, before it was too late. He dashed to the bedroom. Maybe he was wrong.

“Ethan?” Dani, who’d followed, grabbed his arm. “Talk to me.”

“Give me a second.” He dug through his duffle and took out an old journal, then sat on the edge of the bed. Flipping the pages with thumb and finger, he scanned the words… There.

He read through the page. A heavy ball of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Christ.

He closed the book and stared at the journal, a legacy from his father. Every secret, anecdote, and genetic marker of the pack was written down and saved by the alpha. Ethan just happened to keep it when he was banned from the pack. Greggoire wasn’t the right werewolf to trust with the responsibility of keeping pack history.

“Please, Ethan. You’re scaring me.” Dani sat down beside him and leaned her cheek on his shoulder.

“Plans have changed, little one.” He tapped the journal against his thigh. “We don’t have time to wait for the challenge to find your brother.

We must find Jordan…now.”

“What's going on? What did you learn?” He opened the book, passed it to Dani, and pointed at the page. “There have been werewolves in the past who've discovered that drinking the blood of another werewolf will heighten their powers. It mutates them into a fierce being, far stronger than the typical werewolf.”

“I don't understand—” The journal slipped off her lap, and she grabbed Ethan's arm. “Mr.

Lehman?”

He nodded. “Yes. That would explain how he could half-shift and get the upper hand on you at the store. The more werewolf blood they consume, the stronger they grow.”

“What does this have to do with my brother?” She stood up and paced the room.

“He's young and growing. Too little to fight or question what they are doing to him.” He shook his head. “The longer they have him, the more dangerous they will become. Their bodies will crave more blood until…”

She bent over at the waist, and gagged. Dry heaves racked her body. Ethan moved over gathered her in his arms. “Shh…we'll find him.