Chapter Nine
I took a seat in the bleachers, watching Fawn run through the cheer with the other girls on the squad. The day had already been long, but Rose and I were attending Fawn’s practice as a family. My stomach churned with the idea that these normal days were numbered. It was Wednesday, so that meant there were exactly three days left until the full moon and the twins’ party. I didn’t want to let the girls out of my sight if I could help it.
Sitting on the cold benches was a small sacrifice to making sure we were all right. The visit from that strange social worker had freaked me out, but even more so the idea that Morgan had reinforced—that whoever attacked Dad in that alley could be coming for us. The thought that Morgan could be connected to them lingered in my mind as well. I had reason to be on edge.
“Joe Philips got buff over the summer,” Rose said, glancing up as she turned the page of her Spanish book. “Not bad.”
“I didn’t think jocks were your type.”
“I don’t have a type,” Rose replied. “Unlike you.”
“Oh yeah, what’s my type? I’m scared to even ask.”
“Tortured and handsome, preferably with a sexy accent. Maybe wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and a green scarf...”
I nearly choked on the mocha I was sipping. “Rose!”
She tapped a pencil against her notebook, the hint of a smile on her lips. “So...these verbs aren’t going to conjugate themselves and I have a quiz.”
“Shut it. Right.” I almost felt grateful for Rose’s obsession with homework. It felt normal, and we needed more of that. “I’ll take a walk down to the trash can to give you a break.”
My sister held out her empty cup. “Take this, too.”
As I passed the cheer squad, Fawn gave me an annoyed stare. She didn’t think I needed to be there watching over her, but I’d insisted. She ignored my smile and wave and went back to her high kicks. Reaching the trash can near the restrooms, I noticed Kyle in the parking lot in street clothes, not his practice football gear. Maybe things had gotten worse between him and the coach of the team. I wouldn’t know since we hadn’t talked since Sunday.
A guy in a blue truck was talking to him, the engine idling. He handed Kyle something and then drove off. Kyle slipped what looked like a small envelope in his jacket pocket. I’d never seen that guy before, but I think I remembered seeing that little truck around town.
I busied myself with tossing the cups and recycling the plastic lids. It’d been easier not to deal with him, but now I had no choice.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Kyle called out as he approached.
I manufactured a smile. “Supporting Fawn’s cheerleader dreams. How ‘bout you?”
Kyle gave me a half-smile. “Had to meet a friend.” He stuffed his hands in his letterman’s jacket’s pockets.
“What happened to practice?”
“I quit.”
I blinked at him. “What? Coach let you do that?”
“Screw him. He made it clear I’m never going to be good enough to play at the college level anyway, so what’s the point.” His voice was flat, but I could see pain in his eyes. There was more going on with him than he’d told me. “I was probably going to take a year off, work in the city anyway.”
“The point is you loved to play,” I said, seeing the hurt in Kyle’s eyes.
“We lose a lot of things we love. So what.”
I inhaled a deep breath, trying not to absorb the sting of his words. I’d felt the pain of losing him, too. But I wasn’t going to let him make it worse. “Kyle, what happened to you? It’s not all about our breakup. I can tell.”
Kyle gave a one-shoulder shrug, as if to say he didn’t want to talk about it. “So, you doing okay? I heard you had to view a body,” he said, his tone changing.
“Yeah. I guess Fawn told half the school.”
“Well, I was relieved that it wasn’t your dad.”
I was glad to see his face registered genuine concern. “Thanks.”
“About Saturday,” he said. “The twins invited me to the party, but I’ll understand if you don’t want me there.”
“If you want to come, why not?” I said, slowly.
“Okay.” He gave me a sad little smile and walked away.
I felt a stab of guilt that he’d given up football and seemed miserable. But it wasn’t like I was responsible for his choices, and lately, he’d been making some bad ones. And really, in the grand scheme of things, losing your dad and finding out your family was cursed was a much more urgent problem than anything Kyle was dealing with.
Back at the stands, I found Rose chatting with Alex and a man I’d never seen before. At least not up close.
Alex looked up as I approached. “Hey, this is my dad.”
“Nice to meet you, Alex’s dad,” I said, waving a hand. “I’m Lily.”
“Rick Bowman.” He tipped his ball cap at me and winked.
I stared at him, remembering seeing him in the parking lot picking up Alex and berating him about something. He seemed super calm now, friendly, even. Maybe they’d been in the middle of a fight or something before. “Mr. Bowman—you’re an ecologist, right? For the government?”
“No.” He smiled. “I work for private interests. Alex probably didn’t tell you I’m a doctor of the academic variety. So I’m Dr. Bowman in some circles. It’s probably easiest to call me Rick.”
“Dad, you’re killing me,” Alex said, turning red.
“Rick it is, then.” I couldn’t help but smile at his charm. He was well dressed for a guy who spent time studying an ecosystem, I thought. A dark green work jacket over a button-up shirt and striped tie, business slacks. A navy ball cap on his head added just a hint of casualness to the ensemble, but the overall effect was tight, clean, formal. A contrast to Alex’s skater vibe with his ripped jeans and oversized hoodie. They did have the same hazel eyes and sandy blond hair, though.
“He’s only here for a parent–teacher conference,” Alex said. “Funny a school should be so anti-literacy. Apparently, it’s frowned upon to read during class.”
“No, it’s frowned upon to read sci-fi novels not on the curriculum during class,” Rick corrected.
Alex smirked. “Anyway, we saw your truck in the lot, so I wanted to say hi.”
“Isn’t that nice of him?” Rose said, twirling a strand of her hair in her fingers. I’m pretty sure it was her version of flirting with him.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “It sure is.”
“We’ve got to run. I’ve got to get back to work.” Rick stood up. “Just so you know, we haven’t had any reports regarding your father. We’ve been assisting the sheriff’s office in their search as much as we can.”
“Thank you,” I said, nodding. “It’s been amazing how the whole town has pitched in.”
“Say, Lily. One thing bothers me,” Rick said. “Can’t help but think that trap you and Alex found had something to do with it. Strange timing, isn’t it?”
“I told him you believed in Bigfoot,” Alex stage whispered. “He’s investigating that angle too.”
“I mean, I don’t know what that trap has to do with my father,” I said in a casual tone. I didn’t know if he was trying to make me nervous, but I could feel myself start to sweat.
Rick scratched at his graying hair beneath his cap, then replaced it. “Seen peculiar things up there. Some things I may never be able to explain. You can’t rule anything out when it comes to these forests.”
“I guess not,” I mumbled.
“Well, it’s been real nice meeting you gals. I’ll be keeping a lookout for your father.”
“See ya,” Alex said, adding a mouthed Sorry when his dad was looking away.
After they had left, Rose said, “His dad is almost too nice.”
Rose was right. Underneath all that niceness, there was a darker layer I’d glimpsed in our brief interaction. And then there was the way Rick had been with Alex when he’d picked him up after school that one day.
Rick may have been pretending to be charming to us, but I didn’t trust him. And I felt bad for Alex. It made sense now, how Alex seemed to be bummed about how things were at home. No wonder he needed friends like us.
***
Can u meet?
Later that night, I stared at the text from the unknown number, feeling certain it was Morgan. I hadn’t given anyone else my number. I typed in a few different responses, then erased them. Finally I decided simple was best.
Where?
I wondered why Morgan wanted to meet up. Maybe it was because he’d seen those people at the motel. Or maybe he’d seen Dad in the forest. But mostly, I just wanted to see him. Guilt flashed through me. I’d been thinking about Morgan a lot, remembering how it felt to have him so close.
Trying to put him out of my mind, I continued working on my story for the school newspaper, a profile piece on the new faculty members. I knew I shouldn’t get too excited about Morgan. I didn’t know if Morgan had something to do with Dad’s disappearance. I kept thinking about the warning he’d given me about the people in the alley. Well, at this point I was pretty sure they were wolves.
I finished up a rough paragraph about the new biology teacher and then reviewed my notes on Ms. Wilson, our new English teacher who also taught my journalism class. It was a bit awkward writing a piece to submit to the subject of the article. She’d worked at some regional newspapers before deciding to become a teacher, which was going to be my angle for the story. I jotted down some sentences in my notebook, thinking through what else I’d want to call out.
At last my phone buzzed with a text reply.
20 mins? Falls Park?
What’s up?
Tell u in person.
“Who’s texting you?” Fawn asked, turning the TV down.
“No one.” I gathered up my school stuff and headed upstairs to my room. I pulled a sweater on over my shirt and quickly smoothed my hair. I didn’t want to try too hard to look cute, but I didn’t want to look like a slob, either.
“You’re going out?” Fawn said, following me. “You’re the one saying we have to stick together right now.”
“Someone might have some info about Dad. I have to go check it out.”
Rose joined Fawn in my doorway. “Is that someone Morgan?”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Fawn said.
“I think alone is the point,” Rose said, winking.
“I won’t be long.” I politely pushed past my sisters. Down in the mudroom I put on my boots and slicked on some lip gloss. “Please stay put. If you need me, text. Call Lewis’s mom if anything happens.”
“Where are you meeting up?” Fawn asked, genuine concern in her voice.
“Falls Park,” I answered.
“This is a bad idea,” Fawn said. “You don’t even know this guy!”
“It’s okay,” I said, tucking my pendant inside my shirt and throwing the sweatshirt on over it. “Maybe he should be scared of me, actually.”
Rose handed me a raincoat. “What does that mean?”
“Just that I’m not afraid of the dark. Not anymore.”
“Congratulations. You’ve officially become super weird,” Fawn said, giving me a pat on the back.
I put my hood up and grabbed the keys to the truck. “Don’t open the door for anybody.”
Fawn rolled her eyes. “You think social workers actually come by this late?”
“Wouldn’t put it past that one.”
“Have fun with Morgan,” Rose said.
I locked the door behind me. I couldn’t deny my heart was beating a little faster than normal. Despite the circumstances, I wanted to see him—if it was him. And knowing the curse was true, that there was a monster inside of me, I really wasn’t as afraid of the dark anymore.
***
I left the truck in the lot, then walked toward the park. A dark figure waited there, pacing by the picnic shelter. The rush of the falls nearby was like a soundtrack in the distance, a pleasant rumble. Bright lights trained on the water reflected a glow onto the mist.
I licked my lips, nervous but excited to see Morgan. If we were going to have a first kiss, even with all that was going on, this park, with the beautiful light and the falls in the background, would be memorable.
“Okay, what’s up?” I said as I approached.
“You came.” Alex lowered his hood. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
I tried not to let my disappointment show. “New number?”
He nodded. “Dad took away my phone. I picked up a cheap pre-paid one.”
“That sucks. What happened?”
“He gets weird sometimes. Wants to monitor my interactions, as he calls it.” I paused, wondering if I should ask more about Alex’s dad, since I’d had my own reservations about him that afternoon, but Alex waved me toward the woods that bridged the park with the cemetery. “You ready?” he asked.
“I thought you were freaked out by the cemetery at night. Zombies, right?”
“I am, but I made a friend.”
“You made a friend? Is he dead or alive?”
Alex produced a flashlight and led me over to the trail. “Alive. The caretaker.”
Cooper. I hesitated, almost spilling the truth that I already knew him myself. But I let Alex finish his story. It wasn’t like I was going to tell him that Cooper was the guy who, shirking the family business, didn’t want to be my Protector, because, you know, I’m a werewolf.
“Yeah, he’s an ex-Army dude,” Alex continued. “Kicked me out for skating near the mausoleums the other day, but then we got to talking.”
I snorted out a laugh. “You get kicked out of a lot of places.”
Alex shrugged. “Anyway, I came back to check out the fence where you said you saw the hybrids the other day. C’mon.”
“Um...” I followed Alex down the dirt path. His flashlight was a bright, industrial one, and cut a big swath into the darkness. “You couldn’t have shown me this in the daylight?”
“No. Had to sneak out to even come here.”
We walked along in silence, my unease building. The pounding of the falls behind us faded away. The woods here weren’t thick, but they were, after all, where the wolves had been slinking along. “This better be good.”
“Okay, we’re here,” Alex said, a minute later.
A section of the cemetery’s chain link fence stretched in front of us. Near one of the metal posts was an opening where the mesh had been rolled back. A couple tufts of hair were snagged on the links, wiry and long, not short or dog-like. More human-looking than it should have been. I leaned in closer to see it under the light.
“Anyway, after what my dad said about the snare today, I got an idea...poachers.” Alex’s voice brimmed with enthusiasm. “I think those people in the alley were trading in illegal fur, setting traps, trying to corner wolves. Your dad must have been on to them.”
I had to admit, since Dad was a werewolf, any kind of poaching probably would have pissed him off. “Maybe,” I murmured.
“And what about the hybrids? Supposedly, this local dude’s been breeding hybrids for years. The trap could’ve caught one of those animals. That could be why the wolf DNA seemed different than what you’d suspect. Makes sense, right?”
I thought carefully about how to respond. It’d probably be smart to encourage the hybrid theory. Alex obviously hadn’t put together that Cooper was the Wolf Man’s son. Their conversation had probably been more about him getting kicked out than wolves. “Well, the hybrids are across the river from town, and we found the snare on the opposite side near Alpine Lake Road. So how did they—”
“Dogs swim all the time. Hybrids could too.” Alex pointed the way back to Falls Park and we started walking. “There’s something else I gotta tell you. My dad, he’s concerned about me hanging out with you so much.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I stepped carefully over rogue vines that snaked across the walkway.
“Nope. It’s super embarrassing...but he th
inks I’m interested in you,” Alex said in a matter-of-fact voice.
“Oh,” I managed to say. “I thought we were just—”
“Friends, I know. And I know you just dumped Kyle. I was there, remember?” He paused on the trail. “Maybe he’s paranoid about me getting my heart stomped on.”
“Okay, first of all, I would never do that.”
Alex smiled. “I know. Besides, I don’t like you like that. I’ve got another crush.”
“Um, yeah. That’s not obvious or anything,” I said, letting out a small laugh. “It’s just rotten timing. None of the Turner girls are exactly focused on romance at the moment.” That felt like a fib, actually. There was something brewing with me and Morgan, but it wasn’t something I would tell Alex. Another secret I had to keep to myself.
We progressed up the trail to the park, the sound of the falls growing louder.
I cleared my throat. “So, that thing about not hanging out anymore is sad. You’ve been so helpful. The best clues I’ve found have been with you. And I’m running out of time.”
“Time until what?”
I swallowed hard against my dry throat. “The birthday party. I mean, the twins will want you there. Especially Rose.”
Alex paused, flashing the light across my face. “She does?”
“Yeah.” I held up a hand, blocking the bright light. As he lowered the beam, I could see his hopeful, goofy smile. “Plus, I might need backup if things get weird. You know, if anyone gets out of hand or anything,” I added, but really I meant if we somehow transformed at the party. If Alex was there, maybe he could be useful.
“Why are you guys even having this thing?” he asked.
I picked up a rock on the trail and hurled it toward the creek. “It’s complicated. The girls act like if we cancel it’s betraying Dad’s wishes, like he’d want us to go forward with it. They invited the whole town, practically.”
“Okay. If I have to, I’ll sneak out. I won’t leave you hanging.”
A minute later we reached the park. “So, I guess I’ll see you when I see you,” Alex said, dropping his board to the pavement.
“Yeah, I hope so.” I got into the truck and started the engine. In the rearview mirror I saw Alex glide down the street into the darkness. It made me angry, thinking of Rick trying to keep him from me, from a friend, when he had so few in town.
A Curse So Dark Page 14
