by Holly Hook
My heart is pounding. "Yes." I struggle to remember what to say. "The town is, actually. The Roses bought most of it several years ago, and now they charge the residents super high rent on the properties they used to own.” I explain the whole situation while Tyler sits there, full access to the truth I'm spilling.
But he doesn't move.
Will, on the other side of the phone, is horrified. He's silent as I finish telling him about the situation and when I'm done, he finally lets out a sigh.
“I can't believe this,” he says. “Well, I can. You know what I mean.”
Tyler motions for me to hand him the phone. And I do.
“I'm the Roses' son, and I can confirm that my parents are doing this,” Tyler says. “Will you be able to come out? Internet access is spotty for me since I don't live with my parents and haven't for years.”
Tyler pales as he waits for Will's answer. And then I lean close, hip touching Tyler's, and wait for his answers. I catch the sounds of papers shuffling on the other side of the phone.
Will responds at last. “I can come out early next week, if my boss will pay for my airfare. If you can find me some people to interview, and find me some hard evidence for what you're saying, I think we will be able to run a story.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tyler is gone from school the next day when Gavin, Marion, and I arrive in Gavin's truck. I notice that the entire Rose Pack is gone, and they're not standing in their usual spot at the edge of the parking lot. The snow there is stamped down and flat as it always is but the Pack is nowhere to be found. People still stand in tight cliques as if the Rose Gang is there, casting that mysterious sense of dread over the school, and no one goes inside the building this early because no one wants to break the unspoken rule.
“You know, it's super cold out here and people should really think about breaking the rules,” Gavin says, linking his hand with mine.
Today I don't mind being his beard. It's freezing and he's warm. We turn towards the school and I pull off a public display of affection by kissing Gavin on the cheek. The football players, Gavin's bane since junior high, don't even pay us attention anymore. At least the head of that group now associates picking on Gavin with being attacked by a wild wolf and he probably won't try to expose Gavin's secret again.
The Rose Pack isn't inside the school, but it's nice to be alone in the building so we can talk.
“I'm glad you two have gotten over the effects of the curse,” I say, unlinking from Gavin. “You're officially the bravest people in this school.”
“Do you think the Rose Pack is trying to get those records? Finally?” Marion asks.
“Well,” I say with a smile. “Since Tyler hasn't gotten them yet, and now that we have a deadline, that's the most likely reason they're missing.”
Knowing that Tyler has been able to take a huge step like this warms me. We've both made some amazing progress. “I know it is. I just hope he stays safe. That I haven't pushed him too far.”
“He's the most qualified to break into Rose Ranch and find something dirty,” Gavin says. “Sure, they have high security, but Tyler is a powerful werewolf.”
“Still,” I mutter, watching Gavin fish his books out of the top shelf of his locker.
We get to class, and the Rose Gang stays absent for the entire day. I don't encounter any of them in my classes, and I get a text during lunch confirming that Will should be arriving in Tower on Monday. He asks for a place to meet, and Gavin offers the Tower Eatery, and I offer Gia's place, and he agrees.
“Grandma will want to talk to him,” Marion says.
“We'll make sure that he does,” I tell her, itching my wrist. “It's going to be a packed schedule next week with Art Club and the Christmas Walk prep.”
“We'll get through it,” Gavin says. “I bet Tyler's going to be gone during the school day so he can spend the evenings with you.”
I ache to see him. We haven't been able to do much more than homework together lately. I want another actual date, one away from everyone else. “We have Art Club tonight, right?”
Marion nods with a frown. “Maybe he'll turn up then. I know he's not an official member, but Mr. Bright is too scared of him to turn him away. And I think he's hoping for Tyler to get some money for the school.”
“Mr. Bright tolerates Tyler,” I say.
The rest of the afternoon can't pass quickly enough. I meet Gavin after our final class and, hands linked, we parade through the school to Art Club. My heart races as we get closer to the door and I peek inside.
Tyler, Chaz, Valerie, and Cammie all sit at one table together and I know something has happened. The girls rarely show up to Art Club unlike the guys. The mood in the room is, of course, tense thanks to their presence. Everyone else sits on the other side of the room, and there are a row of empty square tables between the other kids and the Rose Gang.
We sit at the table over from them. At least by now, people don't stare at us as we get close to the forbidden group. Everyone in Tower High seems to have accepted that we can be around the Rose Gang and not die.
I lean close to Tyler, knowing I can't show him affection when I still have the guise going with Gavin. “Any progress?” I keep my expression businesslike.
“Yes. A little. As wolves, we were able to circle to the back grounds of Rose Ranch. There are trail cameras back there, but Chaz is working on a way to interrupt the signal on one.”
“Need help?” Gavin asks.
“Maybe,” Chaz tells him. “Someone can circle around just right and then deactivate the camera. But it has to look like an accident. Once we do that, we might be able to get inside. But while we were checking things out, the cameras did catch us. I saw the light on one come on. Security rushed over and we had to leave. So the Roses must be on higher alert.”
I have to appreciate what Tyler and the Rose Pack are up against. Have his parents seriously turned the place into a fortress to keep Tyler out? I manage to hate them even more, something I hadn't thought possible.
“Good luck,” I say. “I'm sorry I got mad about you not being able to get in before.”
“They want no one in,” Tyler whispers, twirling a pen on the table. He leaves a dark spiral on the already heavily-marked surface.
At least we have a plan. Marion and Gavin talk about ways to block camera signals, coming up with nothing, while Tyler and I sit back to back, working on garlands as if we're just acquaintances. Mr. Bright parades around the room, keeping his distance as we work.
“Okay, everyone. We need to get these hung up around the school before anyone leaves today,” he announces. “We have some extra help, so I expect we can get all the garlands up today. By the end of the week, we need to get the cafeteria Santa display and the lights done as well, and I think that will be the bulk of it.”
“He's been working us like crazy,” Marion says as me, Gavin, and her collect the longest garland. Gavin grabs three folding chairs from the wall and carries them into the hall.
Of course we've been assigned the main hallway, the main drag, hence the reason it's a team effort to carry the tinsel garland and the lights. People scatter around the empty school and work on hanging their decorations while Mr. Bright patrols.
I get on the chair and try to wrap the end of the garland around nails that have been half-driven into the plywood already, probably from past Christmas Walks. It keeps falling off the nail, which isn't well-placed, and I try to bend the nail upward so the garland will stay put. Meanwhile, Gavin and Marion work farther down the hall, leaving me alone.
“Hey. I can get that,” Tyler says.
I jump on the chair I'm standing on. “You startled me.”
“Well, we haven't gotten to spend any time together today.” From his position on the floor, Tyler reaches up, takes the garland, and bends up the nail without effort.
I huff, dropping my hand. “No fair. Women have no advantage in that department.”
Tyler frowns and takes my hand, rubbing h
is thumb along the back. “Yeah. I agree. It's not fair. There's no benefit to not having much upper body strength. I'm not sure why evolution didn't—”
Tyler's thumb freezes on my wrist.
And slowly, his eyes widen.
“Tyler?” I ask. “Is there something wrong with my wrist?”
He pales once again, not letting go, and nods to a nearby classroom, the Chemistry room.
I jump down from the chair and follow him.
It's dark inside, but he pushes the door open and pulls me in, leaving Marion and Gavin to work farther down the hall.
He takes a sharp breath and runs his thumb over my wrist again. “Did you get injured here?”
“I had a scratch there before. I don't remember where I got it." Why is Tyler so worried about that? My wrist isn't broken.
Tyler flips on the light, and thankfully my eyes don't have to adjust since we've only been in the darkness for a few seconds. Then he looks down at my wrist, keeping his gaze on my skin.
I do the same, not sure what I'm seeing at first. And then I see the fine hair.
Light hair forms a faint line where the scratch once was, and it's thick, not quite like my normal hair. It's of a different type of texture.
“What the heck?” I ask. “That wasn't there this morning.”
“Shit,” Tyler mutters, over and over, as sheer terror fills his eyes. “Shit, shit, shit. I jumped right past you when I was attacking Sarah. Beckah, did I scratch you by mistake?”
We look right at each other.
And the meaning explodes between us and I let out a sharp breath.
“Do you think I'm...infected?” I ask.
Tyler lets go of my hand and looks at the wall, anger clouding his features. But it's anger at himself. “I must have. Shit, I'm so stupid.” He shifts leg to leg like he wants to run away.
The memory comes back.
Tyler did scratch me.
And I, in the aftermath of Sarah, forgot all about it.
The room seems to expand and then close in, over and over. I can't breathe.
“But you never bit me,” I say. "Tyler. Look at me."
“I don't know entirely what this means,” Tyler says, pulling himself together. “The full moon was two nights ago, and nothing happened. You still smell human." He draws close again and holds up my wrist. "But this hair...Chaz took two months for the curse to take hold and I only gave the girls shallow bites, and they took two months as well. Alan only took one month to transform but he had a deeper wound. This is an even shallower wound, but this hair...it's not good. This might be why I no longer feel aggressive around you. You could be marked for the curse. But around others...I still feel that the curse is a problem.”
“What?” I breathe, lost for words. I eye the hair and pull at it, and it hurts when I try to tug it out. I pace around the room, and Tyler lets me work out my panic.
Think, Beckah. This is no bite. But the hair—
“That won't last long. It'll fall out in no time. But this might be the start of an infection. Beckah, we don't have long. You're not cursed right now, but if we don't remove this, then you could be. Maybe in a month. If we're lucky, two.” Tyler appears in front of me, grabs my arms, and holds me in place, and his brown eyes are dead serious.
I take a sharp breath and beg my panic to ebb, but I can't. "Then what do we do?"
He nods. “Gloves off. I'm getting into my parents' mansion tonight, and I don't care what it takes. We're freeing Tower of them and kicking this curse to the curb once and for all. When I see you again, I'll have those records.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
I don't remember most of the night, just that I put on my mittens, complain that I'm cold, and absently hang up garland.
The curse might jump to me.
I might—
No. Don't think about that.
Tyler vanishes at some point from the school during the evening. So do Chaz, Valerie, and Cammie. Mr. Bright says something about them shirking on their duties as I wander the halls, alone, unsure where to go or what to do. I want him here but I also understand that by leaving and doing what he must, that he's trying to save my life.
Tyler's right that the hair doesn't stay long. I keep taking my gloves off to check, and it falls out over the course of the next two hours, leaving my skin bare. And I can't even show Marion and Gavin what's wrong when they find me in the hall, slumped against a locker.
How did I get here?
I'm going to throw up.
“Did you and Tyler have a fight?” Marion asks.
I look at her, focusing on a piece of tape stuck to the front of her sweater. My throat is raw and I can't bear to tell her what might happen.
If the curse takes me, all hope of a happy ending will be gone.
Tyler needs to love an uncursed girl and he needs to free Tower.
He has to do both, according to Alan.
“No,” I say, mind scrambling. How can I tell Gavin and Marion that the curse might take me? They both looked so happy as they rounded the corner. “He's breaking into Rose Ranch tonight without having a plan together.” I should be honest, but I can't form the words. Even my parents might divorce would be easier to say.
“But we talked about this. I was supposed to help with the cameras,” Gavin says, whirling. “Chaz and I were supposed to take out the camera so they could get in there. Dammit!” He slaps his palm down on a locker.
"But you didn't have a plan." He's legit disappointed. “I guess they don't want us humans to get in the way? As wolves they can move faster and maybe even cause better distractions. Nothing but silver is likely to kill them.”
I might have a month left.
Maybe two.
And then my life will be effectively over. My humanity will funnel into that cursed rose bush and die with it, falling with the petals into the ground.
“I can tell you're worried,” Marion says, leaning down to help me up. “Mr. Bright was wondering where you went.”
“Well, my locker is out here in the wilderness,” I say, motioning to the empty hallway. “I also have a stress headache and can't stand up very well.”
I can't even go help Tyler work against his parents.
And I hate not telling Marion and Gavin that I could be a danger soon. They deserve the truth. I'll have to brace myself for that conversation since we have another month. The full moon was two days ago, on the eleventh or something. We have time.
Marion gives me a hand. “We should be okay for the Christmas Walk this weekend. We got everything done. Turns out the Rose Pack did a lot before they left.”
I'm not surprised. “That's good.” My throat feels like sandpaper.
“Come on. Let's get Beckah home. Mr. Bright was going to order from the Tower Eatery but we don't need to stay for that,” Gavin says.
I don't remember much of the ride home either. Gavin lets me ride in the front. Once home, I say something to Gia about the Christmas Walk being about ready for the weekend and then I pace around my room for a while, waiting for Tyler to knock on the window. Even Chaz, Valerie, or Cammie would have been good.
But he never shows.
I got the records, Tyler says in my dreams. Next week, my parents will have no choice but to leave. I did this for you, Beckah. You inspired me. Now we can focus on our future.
But I wake the next morning, Saturday. It's the morning of the first Christmas Walk, and I'm expected to hand out candy to the kids near the Santa display in the cafeteria building.
How can I focus on that this weekend and the next?
Slowly, I wander out to the kitchen.
“Hey, Beckah. I plan to show up at the Walk tonight,” Gia says. “I might go for both of the weekends. I participated back when I was in school so it's a bit nostalgic for me.”
“Well, you need to do something besides hang in the kitchen,” I say. I'll of course be glad to see her tonight.
I might not be safe around her for much longer.
If w
e fail—
A steely resolve fills me. I've already fought a vicious pack and taken one or two of their lives. I've stood up to my totalitarian father. I've done things most people wouldn't have the bravery to do. We have one final step to ending this and it's shaming the Roses out of town for good. Then Tyler and I can focus on our relationship and that will be that.
We can do this.
I will not let this stop us.
But has Tyler accomplished what he wanted? Is he safe?
“I agree,” Gia says, scrubbing a plate and drawing me out of my thoughts. “You'll have fun. Just making the kids happy is worth it.”
“I'm sure I will,” I say, eager to see Tyler. He won't want to make me worry.
He might have news.
I have to know he's all right.
We're all to report to the school at three in the afternoon so Mr. Bright can let us in. It's snowing out (again) and Gavin has to drive slow across the roads. My heart races as I look for Tyler, and I see him and the entire Rose Gang, unhurt, standing near the door and waiting for it to be unlocked. And of course, everyone else is waiting in their vehicles.
I walk right up to Tyler, not caring about what everyone else thinks. So long as I don't hug and kiss him, people will still believe Gavin and I are together. “How did everything go?” Ugh, why can't I kiss him? I'm so relieved he's safe that it's painful not to.
“I can see you're holding up,” Tyler says. “I'm sorry I couldn't be with you last night. Shitty move, I know.”
“But you had something important to do. I know why you couldn't comfort me. You're trying to fix this.”
Valerie nods. No one is smiling.
“We got the records,” Tyler says in a low voice. He holds up a gray thumb drive. “Risky as hell to get them. I had to break into my parents' house and use one of their computers to download everything. Basically, I darted in as a wolf so fast that the game cameras probably only caught a blur. Security came out, and I had to get inside while the door was swinging shut. And I was inches from those guys."
