My Wolf’s Bane(60)

“We’re allowed to finish school and I’ll be able to spend some time with my mom after that. But once she…” He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

I chewed my lip. I wouldn’t want to be in Zack’s predicament, about to lose another parent. “You handle the situation with your mom well.”

“What choice do I have?” He stared down at his feet a moment, then back at me, his eyes red-rimmed. “Charles — the cowboy you met — wasn’t too bad. He said I could stay until my mom’s gone, hang around a few days after the memorial service. The other guy, William, wanted to take me now.”

“Leave a mother without a son during her last days? That’s disgusting,” I said, anger rising on Zack’s behalf. I flopped back onto the sofa.

“I told him to talk to Charles. I don’t think he appreciated that. I’m pretty sure he’s the one who bit Daniel so he’d have someone here on his side. Someone at school to spy on me.”

Right. They could multiply anytime they wanted. Just great. “To spy?”

“Yeah.” Zack’s eyes darkened as he picked up a vase from the mantle, then set it down. “Or to steal me from Charles and take credit for me as a new recruit. I don’t know. Werewolves have anger issues and they’re prone to fighting, but they still have laws they have to follow. The more likely theory is that William’s planning something and didn’t want to get his hands dirty. An experienced scout can’t break the law, but the king is more lenient on new wolves.”

“So turning Daniel gives William someone to do his dirty work?” I asked.

“Exactly.” He returned to the recliner and sat on the edge of the seat.

“And he turned Daniel of all people,” I said. “Anyone else wouldn’t be obsessing on me and I wouldn’t have to worry about being discovered.” It felt like the walls were closing in on me. The more I learned, the less room I had to live any kind of a normal life. I clenched a fist, my jaw tight. “Is there anything good about being a shape-shifter? Anything at all?”

Zack shook his head. “Other than versatility in shape, no.”

I glared at him. “Seriously? That’s all you got? Could you make this anymore depressing or harder for me?”

“I’m trying to help.” He crushed the now empty can of root beer. “Don’t kill the messenger.”

“Sorry.” I pressed my fingertips to my temples in hopes of holding off the threatening headache. “I know you didn’t.” There had to be a way for me to get out of this mess alive. My thoughts drifted to the first time I’d seen that man at the dealership.

“Can you guys talk telepathically?” I asked. “Is that why you and Cowboy Hat just stared at each other?”

“Yeah. We had an entire conversation right there.”

“I knew something was up.” While I was immensely relieved Zack hadn’t gotten involved with drug dealers, the scouts didn’t seem any nicer. “Could you talk telepathically with me?”

“Most likely.”

As much as I would’ve loved to try it out with Zack right then, there were more important things on my mind and I didn’t want to be distracted. I waved a hand to dismiss the subject. “Let’s do that later. I’m more concerned with the scouts and you.”

If they were all like Charles and William, we didn’t stand a chance. My stomach sank.

“I’m okay for right now. You, on the other hand...” He pressed his lips together for a moment. “We need to get you figured out. See if you really are a shape-shifter. If so, you need to get used to morphing. If someone comes at you, you’ll need to be a bear or something to fight. That ability is probably the only thing that will save you.”

“I just change into a bear and that’s it?” Could it be that easy?

He lifted a shoulder and shook his head. “I don’t know. We have all the other superhuman abilities you have, except we’re stronger. At least as a bear, you stand a chance. Maybe. In your human form, Daniel will easily overtake you. From now on, you go nowhere without me. Understand?”

“Okay.” But what would I do once Zack left town? Maybe the other werewolves would leave too. Maybe they’d take Daniel with them.

“You can’t sleep here alone. Either you spend the night at my house or I stay here.” He groaned. “I’ll have to explain it to my mom in such a way that she doesn’t start making wedding plans.”

I gave him a dirty look. “Because being stuck to me is so terrible?”