“Hey, those smell just like the ones at school,” I said.
“They should. They’re from Frau Blumen’s bakery.” She pointed with the cookie bag toward a shop down the street.
I glanced at the storefront and the Blumen Bakery sign and saw something that made my blood freeze in my veins—the raised steed insignia of The Seven Horsemen. Forcing myself not to panic, I reasoned that maybe it was something the whole town displayed. But when I glanced from shop sign to shop sign, only hers showed the coat of arms. The Seven Horsemen were alive and well in Steinfelderburg, and Frau Blumen wasn’t afraid to let everyone know she belonged to the group.
“Wait a sec—that’s how you got the cookies the first time,” I said, taking a step back from Marie-Rose. “Omigod! Frau Blumen’s the one that hired you to watch me.”
Marie-Rose cheeks turned pink. “Why would you think that it was her?”
“Just tell me the truth. I won’t tell anyone that I know, okay?” I said. “If you’ve ever really been my friend, you have to tell me.”
“You’re right.” Her eyes were downcast. “It was her—and Kovac.”
“The sketchbook,” I murmured. Kovac probably faked Austin’s sketchbook. It had been her drawing skills that had seemed so familiar on the art room wall that day, and she was certainly obsessed with the duke’s silver dagger. As far as the note, Frau Blumen, with her access to the kitchen, could have written it and taped it to the tray. They’d done things to make me long for Austin, to draw him out into the open at the school. He’d been right about everything, and it had cost him his life.
“I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. They just wanted me to make sure I knew where you were all the time. Let them know if you were trying to sneak out or cause any trouble. Tell them if I saw any sign of your Austin hanging around.”
“But why would you do that?”
“I needed the money in case Maman goes through with her threats to cut me off, Shelby. And I was watching over you like a good friend would, anyway. It’s no big deal, right?” Judging by the concerned look on her face, I figured she had no way of knowing she’d helped the ones who’d probably killed Austin, who were going to try to kill his family, and maybe me.
“Well, actually,” I began, considering how much to tell Marie-Rose, when an arm suddenly looped through mine.
“I need to show you something in the yarn store, Locke. The perfect color for your baby sister or brother,” Mrs. Lemmon said as she yanked me down the street.
“Uh, can it wait a minute? I was talking to Marie-Rose.”
“Nonsense, that conversation can wait.”
“You don’t understand. I really, really need to talk to her.” I tried to pull free, but Mrs. Lemmon gripped me tightly.
“Come on now.”
Together, we barged through the yarn store’s door. The scene inside overwhelmed me. The colors all seemed to swirl together, and I felt a little faint.
“Now, do you know the sex yet?” Mrs. Lemmon said, dragging me to the wall of neat shelves and baskets.
“No, I—”
“Well, not to worry. You can do just about any color. In fact, I bet they have some special shades in the back.”
I looked at her, trying to read what I felt in her tone. Then, I glanced out the yarn shop’s front window and saw Marie-Rose suddenly swarmed by Miss Kovac and a woman in a baker’s apron who had to be Frau Blumen. Marie-Rose really was working for the bad guys!
I couldn’t breathe. I glanced around the shop, feeling trapped. They were going to find me and kill me, just like they had Austin. I was dead almost-wolf meat.
“Shelby, in the back. Are you listening to me?” Mrs. Lemmon’s hands were on my shoulders, turning me around physically.
And then I saw what she was trying to show me. The open door.
Chapter Eleven
“Go now, there isn’t time!” Mrs. Lemmon pulled a plastic sack from her knitting bag and thrust it at me. I looked at her, trying to understand what was happening. “Damn it, girl, run!”
My feet obeyed. I zipped out the back of the yarn shop, realizing that it was just down the block from the train station. I could hide a while, and then pop onto the train. Mrs. Lemmon, whatever her motive was, would stall Miss Kovac, and then I’d get on the train to Austria. The old bag had just saved my life!
Tears started to roll down my face as I jogged down the brick alley, dodging a fat cat sleeping on a broken chair and a recycling bin. I could see the side door to the train station at the end of the alley—I was almost there. But just as I was about to cross the lane, a black car pulled up, nearly smacking into me.
I jumped back and looked down the alley for another escape as a mustachioed man in dark glasses stepped out of the car. “Shelby?” he said.
I didn’t answer. All I knew was this guy and his sedan were in the way of my freedom. I was about to go all TV cop and roll across the hood of the car, but he reached out and snared my wrist.
“Shelby Locke?” he said again, a heavy accent lacing his pronunciation.
“Let me go!” I struggled to get free, but his grip was tight and unyielding.
“In the car,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you!”
With his free hand he reached out for the door handle. “Inside,” he commanded, throwing me into the back seat.
It was dark in the car, way too dark. The tinting on the windows was probably illegal. Then again, kidnappers probably don’t worry about those little details. I slid across the leather seat, intending to get out on the other side, but quicker than I could have imagined, we were pulling away. The auto locks engaged with a sharp click, but I pulled on the door handle anyway, out of desperation. I was trapped again.
“I am sorry to be so strong with you,” he said.
“You’re going to be sorry,” I said, reaching forward to swipe at him just as a clear glass partition rose in front of my face. “You have no idea who you are dealing with!”
He laughed then, a strange but familiar laugh. Even through the glass, I could hear him dial a phone and then start speaking in a foreign language. He was calling whomever he was working for. Great. I really was dead meat.
“What is going on?” I yelled when he clicked the phone shut. “Are you part of the Seven Horsemen? Are you going to kill me? Where are you taking me? Can you just let me know? Because I’m getting sick of this crap. I have people sneaking around, spying on me, probably killing my boyfriend. This is not okay!”
“Promise you will not try to strike me again,” the driver said via an intercom.
“Yes, fine. I won’t try to hit you.” My fingers were crossed, but he didn’t need to know that.
He lowered the partition, and I could see out the front windshield that we were leaving the town and heading toward a mountain highway. “I am a friend,” he said, turning his head slightly, so his bushy mustache stood out a little.
“A friend?”
“The bag,” he said. “Look inside.”
I had almost forgotten about the plastic bag Lemmon had shoved into my hands in the yarn store. I reached inside it and pulled out a change of clothes, my make-up bag, my toothbrush, and a pack of gummy worms. Mrs. Lemmon had packed stuff for my getaway! She had known the shopping trip would play out like this, that this black car would show up in the alley. She must have arranged it all.
“You’re working for Mrs. Lemmon?”
“Sì, Harriet.” The driver winked at me. “Mi amore.”
“Wait… you’re Massimo? Lemmon’s Internet boyfriend?”
“Sì,signorina.” His eyes flashed with a silvery glow.
“Holy crap. You’re a werewolf?”
“No, no,” he said with a dismissive wave. “I prefer blood. Sono un vampiro.”
“A vampire?” Mrs. Lemmon’s boyfriend was an Italian vampire? I felt no fear, only relief. He drank blood, but he wasn’t a bad guy. At least, I didn’t think so.
“The Bridges are my
friends.” Massimo lowered his glasses and focused on driving as we gained speed up the mountain highway.
“But wait! We can’t leave town,” I said. “We have to go to the woods and find Austin.”
“No need,” he said. “It is too late.”
“Too late?” My heart crushed in my chest.
Massimo nodded and we barreled around a big curve in the road. The tires slid a little on the icy pavement. Ahead, I could see signs for an airfield.
“Wait a second. I can’t leave like this. Not with—”
“Harriet will make the excuses for the school and your family,” Massimo said.
“No, we have to go back. You don’t understand!”
“Tutti va bene, signorina,” Massimo said as he drove the car through a guarded gate and onto the tarmac, where a small jet was powering up. The car skidded to a halt and Massimo popped out of the car. The back doors unlocked and I stepped out onto the airstrip.
Massimo, keeping his sunglasses on, reached for my hand. “Come. The plane must depart.”
I stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to burst into flames in the sunlight, but maybe that only happens in the movies. The old vampire guy led me toward the jet, and all I could think about was that I was leaving Austin behind. That he was out in the woods, bleeding to death or already dead and I was abandoning him.
“I can’t,” I said, balking at the door of the plane.
“You must,” Massimo said as he kissed me on both cheeks.
Tears were streaming down my face. “No.”
“Non ti preoccupare,” Massimo said. “Don’t worry.”
Maybe that meant that he was going back for Austin, or maybe that meant that it wouldn’t matter anyway. He pushed me forward, toward the steps of the plane.
“Wait. Can you thank Mrs. Lemmon for me?” I said.
“Certo.” He nodded. “Arrivederci, Shelby.”
“And there she is!” a loud British voice boomed as I entered the plane. A tall guy with long, salt and pepper hair and a scruffy beard grabbed my hand and jerked me into a chair. The chains on his leather jacket jingled. “Took old Massimo long enough to collect you. He’s slow for the bloodsucker variety,” he said. “Best buckle your seatbelt, love.”
I glanced around the interior of the plane. It was finished in wood and the seats were made of butter yellow leather. I blinked at the scruffy guy. “I’m sorry, what’s going on?”
“Fuzz Bridges,” he said, strapping himself into the seat across from mine. “I’m sorry our introduction is such a crude one.” He extended his hand.
I shook it, trying to understand. “You’re…”
“Austin’s dad,” he said.
“Oh, thank goodness! Fuzz, we’ve got to go find Austin! He’s out there in the woods probably—”
“Oi, I’m back here!” came a voice from the rear of the plane.
“Surprise.” Fuzz grinned, his teeth white and sparkling. “You’ve got a quick minute and then we’ve got to take off. The Horsemen will be on our tail soon.”
I ran to the back section of the plane, where I found Austin sprawled on a couch. My heart swelled in my chest. “I thought you were—”
“I know,” Austin said, his voice weak.
I sat down on a corner of the couch and studied him. His face was pale, and he had a gash above his right eye. I lowered my lips to his and kissed him lightly.
“I told you not to worry. That I’d figure out a plan,” he said.
“You were shot by a stupid boarding school guard. That wasn’t part of the plan.”
He laughed, which made him wince. “No, it wasn’t.”
Gingerly, I peeled back the blanket covering him and saw bandages on his chest and shoulder.
“I assure you, it’s not as bad as it looks,” he joked, wincing again.
I pulled the blanket back up over him. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was trying to figure out how to save you and how to get myself out of there. Luckily, Mrs. Lemmon ended up helping me escape.”
Austin nodded. “I told you there was someone on the inside. When Dad first heard about your being sent to Steinfelder, he contacted his European publicist, Massimo, who convinced his girlfriend Lemmon to take the job there. They thought we’d blow her cover if we knew it was her watching over you. Lemmon contacted Massimo last night after the shooting, and he rang Dad. They flew here immediately and found me in the woods.”
“Thank goodness for private planes,” I said, glancing around.
Fuzz’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “That’s enough now, lovebirds. Take your seats, please.”
I went to get up, but Austin caught my hand. “I’m going to be fine,” he said. “Now we have to worry about you.”
“So… I’m really going to turn?”
“Looks like it,” he said. “But at least you’ll be in Muldania, with us. With me.”
I kissed Austin again, but my heart wasn’t the least bit light. The change was ahead of me, but more than that, The Seven Horsemen were working to drive the werewolves out of existence. I didn’t understand what they hated about Lycanthropes, especially Austin’s family, who were good people, who didn’t kill randomly, who actually contributed to the world. But now that I was becoming one of them, I was a target, too.
I strapped myself into the seat at the front of the plane near Fuzz. After a quick takeoff, we started chatting. I tried to laugh at his jokes. I told myself to be happy I was finally meeting Austin’s family and he and I were both safe. But the worries in my mind weren’t fading.
“You’re going to love Muldania,” Fuzz said, handing me an icy can of soda. “It’s beautiful, even in the winter. And the hunting, well, it’s superb.”
My eyes must have given me away, because then he said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s not so bad being our kind. And you’ve certainly brought a smile to my son’s face.”
“Yeah?”
In Fuzz’s scruffy face I saw kindness and warmth. “Indeed. I think it was love at first bite,” he said with a hearty laugh.
“Ugh, that’s the kind of joke my grandma makes.”
Fuzz looked taken aback. “Now you’ve hurt my feelings,” he said, clutching his chest.
“Oh, geez. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Father, leave her be!” Austin yelled from the back of the plane.
His father laughed again, throwing his head back. “Sorry, only having a bit of fun. I like a giggle now and then.”
“Yeah, my dad’s a joker too. A quiet one, though,” I said.
Fuzz’s smile faded. “Don’t you worry. We’ll figure that out, too.” He patted my hand. “Maybe we’ll have him and the whole family out to the castle, even.”
“Oh, well, maybe not,” I said, and then I filled him in on Honeybun and Dad.
And after that, I kept going. I told him how I worried about the changes coming with the arrival of my little sibling. And how I couldn’t imagine my dad accepting me when he found out all the werewolf stuff. And how I’d never really felt like I belonged there in Beverly Hills with them to begin with. I told Fuzz stuff I hadn’t said to anyone.
“Shelby,” he said after I finished, “this gift of ours may seem an unusual one, but it brings with it freedom like you’ve never known.” He paused for a moment, glancing out the window, and then turned back to me. “When you’re one of our kind, my dear, you’re free to be who you’re meant to be, under the moon or not. You must hide the wolf at times, but you need never hide the real you or how you feel. Not among our kind, anyway. We live freely in the truth of ourselves.”
As we flew on toward Muldania, I leaned my head against the window, imagining what my new life would be like. I pictured the stone castle, a safe haven for the pack. I thought about my growing bond with Austin. I envisioned myself in my wolf’s body. And for the first time, I felt a surge of excitement.
Moonlight may have the power to reveal things that are best left unseen, but perhaps some of those thing
s deserve to be brought into the light. And maybe hiding the truth of who you are or how you feel isn’t really living. Suddenly, becoming a werewolf didn’t seem like such a bad thing. Not if it offered the freedom Fuzz spoke about.
I decided right then I would welcome the moonlight.
I would embrace it, danger and all…
# # # #
About the Author
Heather Davis is the award-winning author of the novels Never Cry Werewolf, The Clearing, and Wherever You Go. She lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. You can find out more about her work, including future books in the Never Cry Werewolf series, at www.heatherdavisbooks.com
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