by Holly Hook
They deserve their fate.
Then the man rushes over, narrowing his eyes and reaching for the bow on his back. "There was a dead wolf here before."
Behind me, Tyler takes a sharp breath.
"It's a long story, but look. He was shot with a silver bullet and he's okay," I say, spreading my arms in front of Tyler. "He wouldn't be alive right now if he was a werewolf." I pull the coat up just enough to reveal Tyler's thigh and the scarf wrap I've got around it. "He's safe now. You can see the silver bullet on the floor. And the wound. Let me take off the scarf for a bit." The scarf is bloodstained but it doesn't seem that too much blood has come out.
The hunter eyes the silver bullet and nods. "We gave those to the Roses. They shot their own son?" He pales.
So there's some human in these hunters. "Yes. And they knew it!" I shout down the hall, but the Roses have vanished. The hunters have wasted no time getting them away from everyone.
"We'll explain once things calm down and Tyler gets some medical help," Gavin says. Then he looks to me and then my hip where my phone rests. "The others. The curse is lifted from them and they're out there in the woods. You need to text Marion."
I gulp. Yes.
Cammie, Valerie, and Alan are out there in the freezing woods, butt naked, if the curse has lifted. And Dad is out there somewhere, too. My hope is that he's still in Gia's cabin, making an effort to control himself.
The curse should be gone from all of them. The rose bush might even be dead.
"We have our own medics," the hunter leader says. "They will be here within fifteen minutes." He turns to me and straightens, motioning to me and Gavin. "You and this young man are brave, whatever you did. But we have some serious questions for you. Something very fishy happened here, and the guild will need to hear your full story."
I gulp, having expected the fallout. But I'm glad the hunters are taking over this whole dumpster fire and not the regular authorities. The hunters, I'm guessing, will be easier to deal with. "We'll be glad to tell you the full truth."
"I certainly hope so. Do not move," the hunter orders, clanking his way down the hall after the others. "Or we will find you. And you two remain here as well." He eyes Mom's bloody knife as she and Gia remain near the wall.
Tyler groans. "They're really going to question all of us."
"And they should," I say. "At least they're leaving you alone for now." I know the hunters won't be happy about some things, like Gavin and I barging in when it was their job, or about us getting the Roses infected and banished, so we're going to need all the dirt about the Roses we've got. I have a feeling the hunters aren't aware of what the Roses have done to this town.
At least Marion will be ready to present the evidence after she's done running clothes to the former Rose Pack and getting them warm. I send her a text with another emoji: a frowning, shivering face with icicles stuck to its cheeks.
Got it, she responds. I'll meet them at the stump.
"What if they detain us, too? We got two people infected," Tyler says, not daring to move.
I gulp. The hunters could, and they've already shown us that they're above the law. "It's possible. But I don't think they will." The leader hunter looked disgusted that Mr. Rose fired on his own son.
"I hope they'll let us go, too," Tyler says with a smile. "I'm ready to enjoy our relationship. If we survive the rest of today."
* * * * *
Chaos descends on Rose Ranch, and the security guards all stay out of the mansion and stick to the visitors' center, probably at the insistence of the hunters that descend on the place. Two teams of new hunters collect the two wolf corpses and haul them out of the house, then spray down the areas they fell in with some kind of disinfectant that smells like brine mixed with pine cleaner. Two hunters, also in black uniforms, follow the orders of the leader and tend to Tyler. But before they heal him, the two men do what's called a silver test. And that involves poking Tyler with silver needles to gauge for some kind of reaction.
"How does that feel?" a hunter asks Tyler as he slides a needle into his forearm.
"Awesome, man. Keep doing it." He grimaces from his spot under the coat.
My amazing, funny Tyler is back. I want to hug him and kiss him right there, but now isn't the time. That'll have to wait.
"He's clear," the first hunter says.
I shrug. "I told you."
"We have to make sure he is not a werewolf," one young man tells me. Clearly these two are newer recruits. "It's not every day that you find someone lying on the floor, naked, with only a coat over them."
"I understand. Could someone please get me some clothes?" Tyler asks from under the coat. He's been stuck on the floor for twenty minutes now.
"I will," Gavin says, eyeing all the doors on the second floor balcony. "Hey! You! We need a shirt and some pants."
Turns out the security guard who almost got killed is emerging from the upstairs room he hid in. "What the hell is happening out there?"
"Things are safe. Just grab some clothes," Gavin repeats.
Once the disinfectant stuff evaporates, the hunters—there must be a dozen of them here now—work on taking down the double doors now riddled with bullet holes. One of the medic hunters tells Tyler he's lucky that the bullet didn't go all the way through his leg. They apply some new dressings to his wound, and I'm glad when one of them says the wound should heal on its own and is only an inch deep or so. Tyler hasn't even lost much blood, but he should eat a big meal and take the pain relievers they give him.
In the end, the guard tosses down a few pairs of pants and a few shirts, and Tyler is finally able to dress once everyone looks away. He stands and seethes, but smiles. "This will hurt like hell for a while, but I think I'll be okay."
"Beckah." Mom is finally able to hug me. "I'm not sorry that Gia and I got in the way. We were not going to let you do this by yourself. Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine. None of us are cursed anymore. Except for the Roses since they were bitten by a wolf from a different pack," I say, trying to breathe. "Where did you get those silver daggers?"
Gia grins behind Mom. "We found one of the hunters' SUV's with a broken window. Someone else reached it before we did."
Alan.
"They weren't your mother's?"
Mom lets go of me and turns to Gia, who speaks again. "She could never afford anything like that. And once we had the weapons, we waited in the woods for the security guards to go to the visitors' center. Then we broke into the employee door that the cleaning people must use because it was closest to the window you and Tyler planned to break."
Mom's cheeks flare with rightful anger. "Don't you ever put us through all this worry and terror again. I know you had no choice, but from now on—"
"I won't," I promise. "You are badass, by the way."
Mom smiles. "Where do you think you get it from?"
"Everyone!" The hunter leader parades back into the room with several other hunters, including the woman I spoke to, behind him. "Into the Rose Room. No one is to leave until we assess this entire situation and check everyone for their own safety." Then he turns and waves ahead several others behind him.
Marion leads Alan, Cammie, and Valerie forward, and all of them are dressed and completely human. Alan flashes us a grin as he parades into the Rose Room first and takes a seat. He even has his leather jacket back. But now there's no trace of the beast, just a slightly obnoxious guy playing a biker persona. Cammie and Valerie are beaming, too. Chaz isn't with them, but I know he's probably out by the police station. I just hope he hasn't been caught.
We're all cured.
And after the former Rose Pack walks Darlene, several security guards still in uniform, and the fellow elders Darlene brought to the visitors' center. Even the mean receptionist lady has been rounded up. It's clear the hunters won't let anyone leave until we're all cleared, and that means we'll all get the silver needle treatment. Great.
Every seat is full in the Rose Room as th
e hunter leader takes the podium that was obviously set up for the press event earlier. I'm seated in the middle of the room beside Tyler, and the hunters all fan out to stand around us. Nervous people talk to one another, especially Darlene's elderly friends, and I fear that the hunters won't want to let us out now that many of us know about the existence of werewolves, but the leader clears his throat and leans down to speak in the microphone.
"My name is Walter Scarbrough, and I am a senior hunter with the Silverlight Guild," he explains. "The Roses hired us to rid this town of werewolves, and that is precisely what we hope has happened today. However, some confusing events have happened that we must sort out before we proceed."
Mutters rise, but not many. It seems that security already knows that deal, but a few of Darlene's friends whisper to each other as if they can't believe this is happening. They seem to be the only ones in the dark. Darlene, of course, knows. Marion and Chaz were happy to show her the truth a few days ago, and she knew what she was getting into.
Walter then proceeds to call everyone up to the stand, one by one, as if we're on trial, to ask us for our side of the story and our side of these strange events. The security guards go first, and they know nothing besides the throng of people who came up to complain, and how difficult they were with the receptionist. Two tell the hunters about the kids who climbed through the broken window of the Rose mansion, but that's it.
The elders go next, and all but Darlene are clueless. One woman just asks over and over if this is serious, and Walter nods at her gently and lets her know she can sit back down.
But Darlene?
She's happy to talk.
"Oh, yes. After the Roses raised my rent to the point where I could no longer afford groceries, I was willing to do anything to stop them. Did you know I almost had a real stroke after the letter they sent us?" She glares at Walter. "My granddaughter told me about the existence of werewolves and I even got to watch one transform. She and her friends had a crazy plan for saving this town, and I'm glad they were successful." She's careful not to say Chaz's name. The last thing he needs is to be found and detained right now. So far as I know, he's still out there. Darlene finishes telling the hunters about our plan.
Darlene sits. Silence hangs over the room as two of the hunters take notes. Walter frowns in disgust at the stories of hardship these old people have just told him.
He calls up the grumpy receptionist next. The receptionist only knows about the angry old people who yelled at her for twenty minutes straight, and she's salty as she leaves the podium, too. Walter seems satisfied, and then he calls up Tyler.
"I'm going with him. We're telling this together," I say.
Tyler smiles in appreciation. This won't be easy for him. Especially as we've already agreed to tell the entire truth except for Sarah. If the hunters know Tyler has killed, they won't let him go even if he's cured now.
I help him to walk to the podium since his thigh still hurts, and holding his hand now feels different. Tyler's strength is normal now. Walter allows him to sit in a chair beside the podium as I stand.
And slowly, in bits, we tell our story. Tyler starts with his curse when he was eleven, and tells the hunters about how his parents pushed him aside. His face scrunches at the painful memories, and I hold his hand in front of everyone as he talks about his fight with Alan, Alan returning, the rival wolves, and us breaking the curse.
"So this was a transfiguration curse?" Walter asks, eyes widening. "We haven't seen one of those in nearly twenty years. They are typically nasty, but curable."
"I suppose so," Tyler says.
"And your parents refused to help you?" Walter asks. "Usually, the Silverlight Guild works on removing such curses from their victims, especially as they can hold onto their humanity for some time. There is usually a condition for removing the curse that is known to the victim. Your parents told us that a wild pack of werewolves showed up here in town, and that they had already killed at least one person."
Tyler chokes, trembling, and then he speaks. "The condition for removing it was to run them out of town, according to Alan. So they weren't going to ask you to remove it. They hired you to kill me instead because I found out they scammed this whole town, like Darlene just said. And I sent the right info to the authorities."
Gasps and groans of disgust fill the room. Many of the hunters look down at the floor. Notes get scribbled. A few people applaud Tyler, including Gia.
And Walter lowers his head to his open palm. "I am sorry, Mr. Rose. But I want you to know we are experts at cleaning up such messy situations, in the physical and the legal realm. And I will ensure that you benefit."
"Thank you, sir," Tyler says, deflating with relief.
"By the way, do you know where the receptacle is?" Walter asks.
I look right at him. "The receptacle?"
"That holds the victim's humanity and slowly kills it?"
"Oh. Yes. That's the rose bush you might have seen around that vacation house."
"I knew something was strange about it," the female hunter says. "I'll send someone out to find it, just to ensure there are no other victims' essences inside."
Now it's my turn to speak. My story isn't easy, either, but the hunters seem satisfied as they take notes to compare to the other stories. No one jumps on me when I admit that I meant to get the Roses infected and detained.
In fact, I get applause from Darlene and a few of the elders.
At last, I'm allowed to sit, and the female hunter I've met before nods to me, indicating she wants to speak to me later.
I wait for the others to tell their stories, and it's over before I know it. Even Alan spills the truth, and then Mom does the same. The hunters tell her that they'll find and test Dad, just to make sure he's okay.
Tears brim in Mom's eyes. "Send someone out right now."
Three of the hunters leave, and then Gia tells her story, too. In her version, she says her mother disappeared after it came out that she cursed Tyler which is technically true. We have to mention Sarah because we're sure the Silverlight Guild has already met with the Tower police department.
"I'm sorry for what my mother did. She was trying to help Tower, but didn't take the best route," Gia says, head down. "I had no idea."
But a few people applaud, and Gia dares to lift her head as Mom hugs her from the side. And she doesn't look down again as Gavin gets up and tells his story.
And at last, Marion takes the stand, complete with the thumb drive which she hands to the hunters.
In the end, Walter and several other hunters step outside to speak with one another while we all wait in the Rose Room. Tyler tightens his grasp on my hand as they decide our fates.
"It's going to be okay," I promise him, leaning over the arm of my seat to kiss him.
"You sure?"
I just nod. I've got a feeling I know what's going to happen.
At last, Walter walks back in, the others behind him. While the other hunters block the open doorway, he goes to the front stage as everyone tenses.
"People of Tower. I am disgusted that you have been treated so unfairly by the people who claimed to hire us to protect this town. It is clear from your matching testimony that Mr. and Mrs. Rose were only out to protect themselves. They have been taken into custody and will not be released into the public again."
Cheers rise, and Tyler's eyes widen beside me. The hunters will keep those two locked away for good.
"Furthermore, after we check each one of you for injuries, you will be released. If anyone asks about the events of today, the official story will be that Mr. and Mrs. Rose packed their things after the news interview, which I hear did not go well for them, and haven't been seen since. The Silverlight Guild will make it appear as though they have fled to another country on their private jet, and that they may have set up tax-free accounts in overseas banks. None of you are to mention this coverup as our operations must remain secret from the greater world."
Nods surround me, and I
know no one is going to go up against the Silverlight Guild. These people have money and power, and they're just the ally we need.
"And as for management of Tower, we will leave an agent behind who will work with the Roses' sole heir, Tyler," Walter continues. "Once he is of age, our lawyers will ensure that he gains full possession of the Rose Ranch estate and fortune. We hope that he will do this town right, and we are glad he is free of his curse."
Cheers erupt all around us, and I jump on Tyler just as Alan, Gavin, Valerie, and Cammie do the same.
"Hey!" Tyler shouts. "I can't breathe down here!"
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Gavin and I meet the female hunter after we're checked for injuries (again) and allowed out of the Rose Room. I have to leave Tyler for a bit, but we're beaming. Apparently, she nodded at Gavin, too.
We find her in a room off to the side of the main one, a small office where Mr. and Mrs. Rose probably used to talk to investors or potential employees. There's a mahogany desk and a leather chair behind it, plus plenty of figures of horses on the walls. We find the hunter examining one when we walk in.
"You wanted to talk to us?" Gavin asks.
"Sit down," she says simply.
We do. My heart thuds. What if something's wrong?
"My name is Amelia Waters, and I'm a senior recruiter for the Silverlight Guild," she says, getting right to it. "I don't speak to prospective new hunters often, but the two of you have demonstrated amazing skill and the ability for tactical planning that goes far beyond what we find in amateur hunters."
"We...have?" I ask as I get what she's saying. Beside me, Gavin's jaw drops.
Amelia smiles. "When the two of you are of age, you are invited to train with the Silverlight Guild and take positions as professional hunters. Training typically takes three years. Your food, lodging, and travel expenses will be fully paid, and we will also cover any college tuition or trade school costs you may incur during the next five years, seeing as most hunters do have secondary careers. If you choose to take this training and eventual position, you will have an important role in protecting humanity, as new werewolves appear all the time around the world."
