"I know," he said, his gaze fixed on the road. The car slowed a few notches.
"Liam?" I didn't turn in his direction, but from my peripheral line of vision, I saw him stiffen. White rose from his knuckles as he clenched the steering wheel.
"Yes?" he asked.
He sounded in pain and then reality dawned on me.
"Oh, my God, Liam, you're shot!"
The front of his shirt was pasted with blood. I quickly unfastened my seat belt and leaned over.
"What are you doing?" he asked. He wrapped his arm down around his mid-section, and shrank away from me, closer to the door.
"Let me see your wound." I tried to slip my fingers under where he held his sticky torn shirt, but he pushed my hand away.
"No," he said. "Get back in your seat, Charlotte."
"Stop the car." I reached over and grabbed the wheel.
"What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed." He dropped the arm holding his midsection and wrestled my fingers off the wheel. We swerved and I heard the tires hit the gravel on the side of road. I gave up and gripped my seat. He steadied the wheel as we bumped back onto the road. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" I asked. "You need to be in a hospital, Liam. You were just shot in the stomach. You shouldn't even be driving. Frankly, I don't even know how you're sitting there."
"I'm fine," he said. He didn't look at me.
"Don't give me that. Look at your shirt. There's blood everywhere." My voice cracked. This was too much. I lunged for the lower edge, and pulled it up before he could stop me.
"What are you doing?" He tugged it down and his chest heaved.
I stared in shock. There wasn't anything there.
"I...I don't understand," I said. "You were shot. I saw it. There's blood."
"I told you I was fine."
"I don't understand."
"It's the shifting," he said. "I don't really get it either to be honest with you, but it started after I became human for the first time. I think it has something to do with the body being able to reform itself into the different shapes. I heal very quickly."
I didn't know what to say. My mind raced to catch up with reality but couldn't find it. "Are you saying you can't die?" I asked, bewildered.
He shook his head. "No, I can die. You cut off my head, it won't come back." He smirked and I glared at him. Nothing about this was amusing.
"Not funny," I said.
"I'm glad you care," he said with a small grin.
I frowned. How he twisted this back to some kind of flirty banter was beyond me. We could have been killed. He almost ripped that man's throat out!
He seemed to pick up on my mood and focused on the road. "I shouldn't be telling you all of this," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"It's dangerous."
"Dangerous?" I asked. "Did you forget that I just had a gun to my head? I was almost killed ten minutes ago."
"Of course I haven't forgotten that," Liam said. "You don't know what that did to me."
"What?" I asked.
"I almost lost you, Charlotte." His voice broke. "I was going to kill that man." He started to tremble and his face twisted in a way that looked like shear agony.
"Liam," I said. I reached out and threaded my fingers with his.
"There are worst ways to die, Charlotte," he said, squeezing my hand. "The more you know about me, the more I chance others knowing about you." He winced as if what he said, told too much. "You already said you're being followed."
"That's probably all in my mind, Liam."
"What if it's not?"
"It is," I said, surprising myself at the confirmation of my tone.
Liam glared at me and the car swerved. "I don't want to lose you."
"Then why does it feel like you're breaking up with me?"
"We're together?" he asked. A small smirk tickled the corner of his lip and I groaned.
Liam leaned over and kissed me. "I love you, Charlotte," he whispered, then pulled back. His gaze fixated out the windshield.
I stared at his profile in shock. "Liam, I..."
"Don't say anything," he said, interrupting me. "Please, not now. Just don't."
"But..." I tried to protest, when he pulled to a screeching halt in my driveway. My dad's car sat in front of the large green two car garage. The incident had kept us out later than I thought. I fiddled with my pocket and pulled out the watch head. Past nine.
"Are you going to be okay?" Liam asked.
"What should I tell my Dad?"
Liam shrugged. "Just tell him you were studying late with your blonde friend. There's no need to let him know about the other stuff. He'll just worry. Besides, the fewer questions, the better."
I nodded, Liam's words bringing reality back. How were they getting out of this? Wouldn't there be a police investigation? What if the gunman tells everyone about Liam?
"Lou, the gas attendant, is taking care of everything" he said, reading my thoughts. "You don't need to worry. He's a friend of mine, remember? He's gotten us out of tight spots before."
"Does he know what you are?"
"Yes."
I was confused. "But you said it was dangerous."
"It is," Liam said tightly. "But it's different with Lou."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because he's human."
Chapter 10
"Of course he's human, Liam. What are you implying?" My stomach twisted. "Are you saying I'm not?"
The expression on Liam's face told me more than I wanted to know. "You're crazy, Liam. Seriously, that is not funny. I'm not a...werewolf," I said, barely getting the word out. "I'm human and always have been, so just...stop that."
Liam didn't say anything nor did he look in my direction. His gaze remained fixated on my house through the windshield. It made me uneasy and I swallowed hard.
"Yeah, joking," Liam said in a very unconvincing tone.
"What are you looking at?" I asked.
"Your dad. He's been watching us the entire time. He's in the upstairs window to the left with a pair of binoculars." Liam pointed.
"Oh, my god. This is so embarrassing. I'm going to kill him. I'm so dead."
Liam chuckled, shaking his head at my conflicting words. "Should I go say something?"
"Your shirt," I said, reminding him of the nice dried blood stain across the front. "Might not be best."
"Right, the shirt," he said, giving an apologetic shrug.
"It's okay. Trust me, confronting my dad is nothing compared to what we just went through."
He didn't look convinced, but he'd have to deal. I started to get out, when he leaned over, placing his hand on my cheek. "I can't," I said, knowing that look. He wanted to kiss me. "My dad." My gaze lifted to the bathroom window. It tore at me. He just said he loved me and I couldn't give him a good night kiss, not even a 'thank you for saving my life,' kiss.
I wanted to.
Looking at him sitting there like that, drove me crazy.
He threaded his fingers through mine and I felt his warm breath on my neck. I started to protest, when he rested his head against my shoulder. "I really do love you, Charlotte." He said.
I didn't know what to say, but I no longer cared that Dad watched. Leaning into him, I ran my fingers through his hair and down his jaw.
We sat speechless in each other's arms. Words seemed too frivolous to intrude. The porch light started to flicker on and off.
"I better go," I said.
"I don't want you to," Liam whispered, squeezing my hand.
I touched his cheek and he closed his eyes. Despite everything I had seen and feared, I ached to stay there. The lights flashed again, and I saw Dad standing on the front porch.
"I can't," I said. Dropping my hand, I opened the door. As I stepped out, I turned to him. "Can I see you tomorrow?"
The corner of his mouth lifted. "Definitely."
I bit my lip and skipped towards my impending fate. My own giddiness surprised me. Dad stood t
here with the most reality-grounding scowl I had ever seen. My smile waned.
"Hey Dad," I said, avoiding eye contact. I heard Liam take off in the car behind me.
"Inside right now."
My stomach clenched up and I went in with Dad following.
"Who was that boy? Do you know what time it is? Where have you been and what were you and that boy doing in that car?"
"Dad, please. It's not what you think. I'm really tired. Can we talk about this in the morning?"
I knew it wouldn't make any difference what I said. My head hurt. I just wanted to disappear up to my room.
"No, you are not getting out of this Charlotte Olivia. Who was that?"
"Dad, please. Not tonight. I can't deal with anything else right now." My voice broke. Buried emotions from the afternoon flooded through me.
Dad's face reddened. "Did that boy do something to you?"
"What? No." I couldn't believe he would draw such a conclusion. "Liam's a good guy. He just gave me a ride home from school. That's all."
"School ended six hours ago. It's quarter after nine. Where were you?"
I took a deep breath, giving in. I couldn't do this. I wouldn't lie to him. "I was at his house," I said. "It's not what you think. We were just hanging out. Liam's a good guy, Dad."
Dad's lips pursed. "You said that already." He sighed with a groan. "So, you really like this guy, huh?"
I nodded, feigning a blank face. "Yes." Please, please be okay with this.
"What's his name again?"
I couldn't believe it. He was giving in "Liam."
"Liam," he said. "Well, okay. I'd like to meet this Liam. I want to be aware of any visits to his place before they happen. Do you understand me? I'd also like to talk to his parents."
"Dad, I'm not twelve." His look of death shot through me. "I understand." Did Liam even have parents? My head hurt.
"Alright," he said. "Get some sleep."
"Thanks, Dad."
As soon as the door shut behind me, I flopped down on my bed, and screamed into my pillow. Conflicting emotions welled in me; the gun, Liam, the photographs, the vision of his canine teeth readying to impale that man's throat. I whimpered into the sheets.
When I woke, it was light outside. The clock on my bed stand read quarter to six. I groaned at my bad luck at waking so early. I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep. Adrenaline pumped in my veins at the memory of the past afternoon. I twitched and turned, then got up. Still wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday, I headed into the bathroom, and slipped them off. I needed a shower, something to clear my thoughts.
What had Liam meant by it being too dangerous for me to know about him? For some reason, that is what stuck in my mind. 'There are worse ways to die', he had said. I shivered despite the hot water, and turned it off. I needed to call Ty.
Returning to my room, I sat down on the edge of my bed, and grabbed my cell. "Come on, answer the phone," I said.
It rang until a groggy voice answered. "Hello?"
"Ty, can you keep a secret?"
"Huh? What? Charlotte, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. Look, I need to know if you can keep a secret."
"Do you know what time it is?"
Looking at the clock, I winced. "Sorry." I forgot.
I heard a breathy sigh. "I can keep a secret. What is it?"
"They're werewolves."
"What?" she asked. "Who is? What are you talking about, Charlotte?"
"I can't explain right now. Can I pick you up in about thirty minutes? I need your help with something." I lowered my voice and glanced around the room.
"Charlotte, you're kind of scaring me. Are you okay?"
I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Yeah, I'm fine. I know this sounds crazy, but I'll explain in the car."
She groaned. "Where are we going? You know it's Saturday?"
"The library."
I slipped my shoes on, grabbed a light jean jacket, and started for the door.
Ty stood outside waiting for me as I pulled the CRV into her driveway. She gave a quick wave and ran up to join me.
"Okay, this better be good. I should still be sleeping," she said, climbing inside.
I shifted the car into reverse and headed out onto the road. "Okay, look," I said. "Liam and the others are werewolves." I paused for a moment, letting that sink in. She didn't say anything, but she looked at me as if I had grown two heads. "I know what you're thinking, but I swear it's true. He told me. I also saw him change."
"He turned into a wolf?" she asked.
"Well, not entirely, but, yeah."
Ty remained speechless as I replayed the entire afternoon for her. She seemed to be growing paler by the moment.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said, her voice an octave higher than usual. "I...I just have no words. I mean this is surreal."
"I know."
We pulled into the library parking lot and I turned off the car.
"So, why the library? What are we looking for?" she asked.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to her. "Evidence, or hopefully the lack of," I said. "I saw some pretty disturbing stuff at Liam's house and I need to make sure he wasn't involved in it. If I'm going to be with him, I need to know everything about him, and whether that affects me. I'm hoping to find some records in the papers about a local wolf attack."
"Wait, you're with Liam?" Ty asked. "I thought you were mad at him?"
"Ty," I said with a groan, "more important matters here."
"Right. Sorry."
We easily found our way to the media center. The place was empty, considering the early hour, and it worked to our advantage. We had the entire section of computer terminals to ourselves. I scanned my card, and found a listing of last year's newspapers.
My fingers spun over the mouse, flipping through page after page. Nothing, even when I entered 'wolf' into the search terms. Not a single mention of anything in regards to an animal attack in the last year. It didn't make sense. Something tragic enough to take a man's life would have been reported in the town's papers.
"I don't get it," I said, staring at the computer screen. "I saw the photograph."
"Charlotte?" Ty asked.
"Hm?"
She nudged me in the side and I looked over. She had logged in herself and had a headline at the top of her page.
"I decided to take the date out of the search options. I know this is crazy, but look," she said, pointing.
Wild Beast Is Dead
Aug. 28, 1912
Maplefield, Massachusetts
Today the wild creature claiming a total of three lives has been found and killed by young hunter Philip Grant at six thirty am Eastern Time. Over a short period of two days, the 'monster', as some people have claimed, brutally killed three men, whose names, out of respect for their surviving families, have not been disclosed. Authorities are still baffled as to where this creature came from and the manner of species it is. Further inquiry into the background of the animal became futile while during investigation on its latest victim, the body of the beast vanished. Authorities guarantee that the animal was indeed dead and are actively pursuing leads to any and all pranksters involved.
My body went numb. "Ty, I don't think they're teenagers."
Chapter 11
"Teenagers?" Ty asked.
If the article truly related to Liam, it meant he had not only been alive back in 1912, but had been seventeen back in 1912. My equilibrium felt off and I turned to Ty. "What?"
"Age? Their age is what you're concerned about?"
Personally, I thought the idea that my boyfriend was really over a hundred held credence to a little wow.
"Did you read the part about the deaths and this wolf creature that magically disappeared?"
Oh, yeah, that part.
"Do you realize what this means? That murderous creature may still be out there, especially if they don't die of old age." The way her index finger jabbed at the monitor made me b
elieve she might topple it over. I had never seen her so animated.
"Ty, we don't know that," I said, trying to be the voice of reason. "The article clearly states that the creature was killed. There were witnesses."
Ty scowled. Seeing her so serious, seemed foreign. "Then why did the body just disappear, Charlotte? It doesn't make sense. It also doesn't state anywhere over the next few months or even years that anyone ever found any signs of that creature's body again."
"Ty," I said, when she interrupted.
"You said Liam instantly healed from a gun shot. What if
these wolves can heal themselves and normal things like bullets don't hurt them? What if that creature was faking?"
She had a good point. A cold chill slithered down my back.
"What if he just wanted the authorities off his trail?"
Any form of retort remained strangled in my throat. I needed to pace, yet I couldn't muster the will to move. "Even if what you're saying is true," I said. "It doesn't mean that he's here in Maplefield."
'There are worse ways to die.'
'If others found out about you.'
Liam's words rang in my head. I felt nauseous. "He knows," I whispered.
"Who knows what?"
I pointed to the article. "Liam. He knows this other werewolf is alive. He must. This is why he said it was dangerous for me to know too much. He's afraid this creature will find out and come after me."
"What?"
I nodded my head, the only reaction I could muster. "Something still doesn't make sense though. Liam said the clerk at the gas station knew his secret. He said that was different because he was human." I smirked at the ridiculous implication and forced out a small laugh. "Eh, it's crazy. I mean, come on, what? I'm not human?"
"What if you're not?"
I gave her a disbelieving glare.
"No, no, hear me out," she said. "I've seen the way all of those guys look at you, Charlotte. It's like they all know there's something different about you, something about you that drives them all crazy."
"Yeah, it's the killer heels I'm always wearing."
"I'm serious, Charlotte." She nudged me in the shoulder. "Remember that night at your house when they all ran out? You even mentioned Liam said you were different. Remember how scared they all looked?"
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