Wolf Bound

by Holly Hook

  Cayden clears his throat. “The girl's family wants to keep things quiet, so they're not releasing her identity. You haven't heard?”

  “Obviously, no.”

  “A girl got attacked by wolves after leaving the rehearsal this afternoon. I thought it was you. She's alive and expected to recover, but she's traumatized. Who wouldn't be?”

  “But I thought werewolves didn't attack people?"

  Cayden holds me with a serious look. His forested eyes darken or maybe it's my desk lamp that makes them appear that way. “You've only met a few of us,” he says. “That's a big assumption to make.”

  “Well, was it werewolves?”

  He swallows and nods. “Yes.”

  My stomach turns. “Why did they attack—”

  “Not all breeds of werewolf are good,” Cayden says. “There are different breeds who have different cultures. All werewolves are territorial, though, and some kinds have no regard for human life. One breed even has no regard for their own kind. It's possible they thought—never mind.”

  “Never mind what? Tell me.” My mind goes to Sarah and Ellie. I have to check on them. But then let out a breath and think, letting my shoulders drop. I haven't realized I've been holding them up. If something happened to one of our friends, Noah would have texted me.

  “They must know I'm in the play, and they're going after those they think have connections to me. They want to convince me to fight.” Cayden releases my arms and motions like he wants to push me away—literally—but instead he paces around my cramped room. “That means they're watching me. I'm sorry, Brie.”

  “It's okay,” I say, not feeling my words. There's a shaking forest before a storm instead. But I have to keep it together for Cayden. The wild fear in his eyes breaks my heart. There is more than one group of werewolves here in Breck now. My suspicions are confirmed. “We've been careful. The props room, remember? Noah isn't even sure what's going on. I mean, he suspects it—”

  “This is my fault,” Cayden said. “All of it. It's our fault for even coming here to this town.” Anger flashes in his eyes. “We just wanted our own quiet territory. To stop being hunted and fought. Now they've followed us and they will go after everyone they see with us. I can't do this to you, Brie.”

  “Cayden,” I whisper. “No. It's okay. I chose you. You don't have to do this alone.”

  “You're lucky to be human. Normal,” he tells me. “We can't see each other anymore. It's the only way to keep you safe.”

  “No,” I choke out.

  I reach out to Cayden, but he wrenches his arm from me, crouches on my bed, and jumps out the window. Gripping the tree, he scrambles down and out of sight, but not before he glances back at me with more pain than anyone deserves.

  "Cayden!"

  No response.

  Who was the girl?

  And does Cayden mean what he says?

  Chapter Seventeen

  The night passes like a long, drawn-out storm. So much confusion fills me that there's no space left to cry. I've gotten used to Cayden going back and forth, even though things have improved. Or, I thought they had. When I sleep, nightmares about wolves with raised hackles and red eyes fill the universe. Dark forests spread out like an evil reflection of the day Cayden and I took a walk along the trail. I run through them with growling jaws snapping at my feet, waking always before the pack descends on me and rips me to shreds.

  The girl. How bad is she injured? Cayden mentioned that not all werewolf bites infect humans, and I hope for the girl's sake she'll have a clean bill of health. But her mental scars will remain.

  And so will Cayden's. The look in his eyes, the pain, as he climbed back down the tree still haunts me. He didn't mean what he said. There's no way.

  I toss and turn, but at last, the alarm blares and I force my eyes open to the early morning light. Other than the alarm, the house is quiet. Aunt May isn't scrambling around, making her morning coffee. When I descend the creaky steps, I find that she's already left, because my car's the only one in the driveway. It's just another brick in the wall of fear that's growing.

  Blinking sleep from my eyes, I reach school and stagger to the entrance. Matthew and his friends stand by the picnic tables, having finished their run, but he turns away from me as I pass, as if he fears that Cayden will return and humiliate him. But Cayden's nowhere to be found this morning. I like to think he's watching from the distance.

  I'm so tired that I tune out everyone's chatter on the way to my locker. Noah leans against it, tapping his fingers on the scratched metal as he waits for my approach.

  “Morning,” I say. “And if you respond and add a 'good' to it, I swear—”

  “Did you hear?”

  The tone of Noah's voice makes me snap my head up. We face each other. Noah's eyes are wide. Struggling to make connections in my foggy mind, at last I tie two wires together and get my synapses going again. “Someone got attacked by wolves last night.”

  He nods. “It was Olivia. Last night. She was walking home past the woods, and that's when it happened. Three of them went after her. She ran, but one got her on the leg before a cop car rolled up and scared them off. They're not saying it on the news, but...but when I tried to text her last night to ask how she was with the rehearsal, her older brother told me the deal.”

  I let his words sink in. They mix with the fog inside at first. My mouth falls open as it all clears. “Olivia was the one who was attacked?”

  Noah nods. He turns his mouth down in a grimace.

  “I heard she would pull through,” I say. “Isn't that the story?”

  “Yes,” Noah says, but it's obvious I'm failing to make him feel better. He turns away and lets his hand slide down the locker. "It helps that her mom's a doctor at the hospital, so they at least won't jack her around. That's part of the reason they could keep the news away."

  Thoughts of Cayden vanish. Olivia might be a brat, but she doesn't deserve to get attacked by some vicious breed of werewolf just because she danced with Cayden. Olivia's been turned into a pawn in some werewolf war. The nightmares of red-eyed dire wolves return.

  “How bad is she?” I know Noah cares for Olivia. This must be hard after he got to dance and fake kiss with her yesterday.

  “Her brother says her leg got torn up. Wouldn't give me details. The police officer got her to the hospital before she lost too much blood. She was very lucky and only got one injury."

  "What kind of injury, exactly?"

  "I'm not sure. Her brother didn't want to talk about it. They all had a long night."

  Maybe it was a set of bad scratches and not a bite, or a bite that didn't go too deep. “Look, I agree this is terrible,” I say, swallowing a lump in my throat. Olivia's screams fill my head. I've heard them before, not real screams, but actress shrieks. The memory makes everything too clear. “And I know you were hoping you could dance with her and make out.”

  Noah faces me with a nod. “Thanks.”

  “What? Did you think I would say I'm glad?” I slap him on the arm, trying to lift the mood. “I'm not.”

  “Her family wants everyone who knows to keep it quiet,” Noah says. He forces a smile. “She won't be able to lead in the play. Her brother said they'll tell Mr. Saffron themselves.”

  “Oh.” With a crash to my psyche, I realize what he's saying. “I'm the understudy!”

  “Have you been practicing?” Noah asks with all seriousness.

  “Well, yes.” The words tangle on themselves. The play shows September twenty-ninth, plus that entire weekend. That's less than two weeks from now. The thought of leading in such a short time feels alien and I don't know what to make of it—though I wake as if I've just injected coffee.

  Me. Cayden.

  Leads.

  I can't breathe until I remember last night.

  “Have you seen Cayden?” I ask.

  Noah leans on the locker again, dropping his hand. “Haven't. I bet the guy's sitting in class right now. He's always first and eager to
learn.”

  “I need...I need to talk to him about the play,” I say.

  Noah nods with a stupid grin. He doesn't believe me. So he suspects the truth, too. Maybe we haven't been hiding as well as I thought and Cayden's right to worry about the bad werewolves coming after me.

  On the way to class, I wonder if Cayden's family attacked Olivia. It could be why he hasn't had them around me much. I finger my pendant as I think, rubbing the pad of my finger over the point of the sword almost hard enough to draw blood. Maybe Cayden's siblings and parents—whoever they are—found out about him associating with us normal people and want to pull him away. So his own hurt someone they thought he might care about.

  I shake my head, weaving through groups of people. The idea makes little sense. Cayden's sister Everly, while she hasn't welcomed me with open arms, hasn't hated on me, either. And Wyatt is a cute kid and Remo is too busy in all the science clubs to attack people. The idea doesn't fit into any puzzle I can conjure.

  And why go after Olivia? It's obvious Cayden wants nothing to do with her other than his role in the play. If his family didn't want him to mingle with everyone else, they would have come after me—right? I'm the thread holding him to the rest of the world.

  But the other howl in the woods—

  Another group of werewolves, then. Cayden's telling the truth.

  And now he's not in class. The first thing I do is check his desk when I walk into Mrs. Connors's class, and both his chair and Olivia's are empty. Last night delivers a punch to my gut as I walk over to my chair and take my seat beside Noah.

  Did he mean what he said? Is he no longer going to come back to school because of this attack? How does he think his plan will keep me safe? Well, I know why, but aren't I in more danger when he's not around me?

  Even all my practice molding my face into whatever expression needed makes it hard to hold back tears.

  * * * * *

  I go through the day putting on a play for Noah, Ellie, and Sarah. Cayden's not at his usual table, though his siblings eat together. Everly and Remo keep their backs to me. The signal is clear. I'm not to approach, and the fact that Ellie and Sarah are drilling me on Belle's lines right at the lunch table makes it impossible, anyway. Somehow, I go through them, and I don't miss too many. Noah gives me a thumb-up, which is encouraging.

  But Mr. Saffron isn't as optimistic when we get to rehearsal that afternoon. He orders us to sit on the stage like children and wait for him to pace and speak like a big boss.

  “As some of you might have heard,” he says, “Olivia can no longer play Belle due to a leg injury. Her family called me and told me she will need to be in a cast for several weeks. I don't know the extent of her injury, but her mother, Dr. Bertram, doesn't want her dancing until she's healed."

  A shudder passes over me. Either Olivia fell and busted her leg or she sustained a very bad bite.

  “Olivia will recover, and I want all of you to show her kindness once she gets back to school,” he says. “That might be early next week if her family has given me the right estimate.”

  I pat Noah on the shoulder. He smiles at me. He's worried about her all day, though we already know she'll recover.

  “In addition,” Mr. Saffron says. “Cayden Lowe has dropped out of the play.”

  I flinch from the blow. “He's dropped out?” I ask amid gasps from the girls.

  “He has not given a reason,” Mr. Saffron says, shaking his head. “We are working to convince him to come back, so if any of you know him, please talk to him.” He speaks to no one in particular. Unlike Noah and Ellie, he's oblivious to my situation. “Opening night arrives in two weeks. We will need to be ready. Noah, you are the Beast until further notice. Brie, you are Belle, and that is not likely to change. Nicole, you will take Belle's place and Ryan, you are to take Noah's previous role as the head butler. I'll ask some the extras who did well on the audition if they will take yours. Now let's break a leg, people.”

  The rehearsal is an awkward blur. There's no time to think about Cayden as Mr. Saffron waves us together until we're arm in arm. Though Noah and I have hugged plenty of times, the awkward level is in the stratosphere as Noah sings to me, and me to him. Our dances are stiff, our voices strained, though Mr. Saffron doesn't seem to notice.

  * * * * *

  I'm glad I have the Beater. It prevents me from having to walk past the woods at all on the way to Cayden's house, and it gets me to his obscure cabin in just a few minutes after rehearsal ends. I fear that if I didn't have a car, I'd try it, anyway. Fury pumps through my veins, and not so much at Cayden wanting to protect me by staying away. I'm angry that we've made progress, and he's taking that away all over again. Now I know what an animal feels like after being teased too many times, and why such creatures snap.

  While I've never been to his house before, I know which one it is: the cabin-like one tucked back in the woods. Walking up to the door or onto the driveway might be a risk, but I'm willing to take it. I park on the road in case I need to make a quick getaway and turn off the car, half-waiting for someone to come out. But no one does, and I get out, leaving my door unlocked and my keys in my hand. Birds chirp and twigs snap in woods around me, but nothing emerges from the foliage. Things seem to be normal on the end of my street.

  But I move at just under a run, pounding up the gravel driveway and knocking on the door. No one approaches the first time, and I stare at an old barrel on the side of the house while I wait. Then I knock again, louder, even though a family of werewolves should be able to hear me with no issues. At last, footsteps approach the door from the other side and I tense, ready to demand an answer from Cayden once and for all.

  But on the other side stands the female version. Everly. Cayden's twin sister. Red highlights sparkle in her hair as the sun lands on them, and she glares at me as she opens the door. It's as if she could pick up my scent before even opening the door. Maybe.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks, curt. She puts her hands on either side of the door frame, blocking the view of the house within.

  “Cayden,” I say. I'll give it back.

  “Hey.”

  Wyatt pushes his way under his older sister's arm and stands in front of her as she glares at him. “Are you looking for Cayden?”

  The Lowe family is putting on an act. If he's here, he must have heard me already. But revealing I know their secret will not earn me brownie points with Everly. “Yes. I am. All I want is to talk to him.”

  “I'll get him,” Wyatt says. He vanishes inside before his sister can grab him. Then she waits as if she wants to make sure I try nothing. I imagine a growl coming from her throat. She has the same wild eyes as her brother.

  The few minutes that pass are even more awkward than me and Noah fake making out because Everly stares at me with an intensity that makes me nearly go back to my car and drive away. Making me super uncomfortable must be her goal, so I focus back on the barrel and move my gaze to some weeds growing on either side. But at last, waiting pays off, and footsteps come down stairs within the house.

  “Sis, I've got this,” Cayden says from inside.

  She sighs and moves aside. Cayden strides through the door, expressionless, and closes it behind him. Not that it'll do much good against a family of werewolves.

  “You shouldn't have come here.”

  “Your enemies. Do you smell them?”

  Cayden pauses, then flicks his gaze to the surrounding woods. “Not now. But it could change. They're here, leaving their scent around our territory. They won't honor any truce for long.”

  “I don't care,” I say. “You don't have to be a hermit, Cayden. It's not as if you can't sense whoever it is you're afraid of. I'm not Olivia. I'm careful.” What am I saying?

  “Brie, stop.”

  “Why did you leave the play?”

  “To stop others from getting hurt. To stop you from getting hurt. You're safer without me. Everyone is.” As he speaks, shining pain fills his eyes. "This is the wa
y it will always be for me."

  “What is going on? Isn't that the best way to keep me safe?”

  “It's family business. Go home and forget about me.” Cayden grips the door handle and glares at me, growling.

  The look in his eyes is savage, unlike the noble wolf I've seen before. It's meant to drive me away. I step back, fearing he'll shift next, but instead, he backs inside and closes the door.

  “I can't forget!” The door clicks shut as I raise my fist. “I won't forget!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  I stand at the door, fists clenched. There's no one I need to impress here. Quaking, I debate heading back to the car and driving off with a screech or pounding on the door and making a demand. But of what? I'm just an ordinary girl while the entire Lowe family have supernatural powers beyond my understanding. There's nothing I can do to keep whatever's happening from hurting people. I'm not important in this fight or a part of anything. Shoved aside. I'm not sure what feels worse: Cayden's rejection or myself.

  Minutes pass, and at last, I turn to walk off the porch.

  “Idiot. He's putting everyone in danger,” Remo says from inside. “I don't know why you worship him.”

  I stop on the porch. One of the front windows is open a crack, and the acoustics of the place allow voices to escape. The window's high, stopping me from seeing inside, but I don't need to.

  “Cayden's not an idiot,” Wyatt says.

  “Even joining the play was a bad idea,” Remo continues. “That girl got hurt.”

  “But you're off inventing stuff.”

  “I'm working alone. Cayden wants the spotlight, and so do you.”

  “I do not. Maybe some of us don't want to sit around at home all the time and be good boys.”

  I cup my ear, trying to hear better. A chair scrapes the floor.

  Remo sighs. “The Baltic Wolves will destroy this nice town. They're Savage for sure.”

  “Then why don't we drive them away?”