“Cheryl called; she was listening to your show and she said . . . she said that you almost got killed and that you said . . . you said . . .”
Cheryl was my older sister. I barely registered how the rest of the call went. Mom couldn’t bring herself to say the word “werewolf.” I said a lot of “Yes, Mom. It’s true, Mom. I’m sorry . . . no, I’m not crazy. I don’t think, anyway. No, I couldn’t tell you . . . it’s hard to explain. No, I’m not going to die, at least not right now. About three years now, I guess. Yes, that long.” Mom started crying.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to Dad. Yeah . . . Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, Kitty. How are you?” And he sounded sensible, like he always had, like I might have just been calling from college to tell him I’d wrecked the car, and he was assuring me everything was going to be okay.
I wiped away tears. “Shell-shocked. But I’ll recover.”
“I know you will. You’re a good kid. I know that, and so does Mom. She’s just a little off-balance right now.”
“Thanks—that means a lot. Is she going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. I bet if you call back this evening she’ll be better.”
“Okay.”
“Are you alone? Is there someone you can stay with? Do you want me to come up there?”
That was all I needed, for Dad to come and find me tangled up in bed with the pack. “I’ve got friends here. They’re looking after me.”
After demanding about three more times that I call back tonight, he hung up.
T.J. smiled. “I could hear him on the phone. He sounds great. You’re real lucky.”
He hadn’t let go of me all morning. No matter what happened, he’d be right there. He was pack, and he cared.
“Yeah,” I said to him. “I am.”
Carl crossed his arms. “That’s it,” he said. “You’ll quit the show now.”
I pressed my face to T.J.’s leg. I didn’t answer; I didn’t argue. In the face of all the evidence, he was right. I should quit. I didn’t know how to explain to him that I couldn’t. So I didn’t. T.J. tensed, like he knew what I was thinking.
“He’s right, Kitty,” he whispered.
I covered my ears. I didn’t want to hear this. I sat up and scooted away from T.J. until I was in the middle of the bed, and hugged my knees.
“Aren’t you even the least bit upset at Arturo for hiring that guy in the first place?” If it was even Arturo. I was going to have to find out. Maybe Rick knew something.
Carl bristled, his shoulders twitching, his mouth turning in a snarl. “This isn’t about Arturo. This is about you putting yourself in danger.”
“I have to find out if Arturo was behind this. You could talk to him. Will you help me?”
Carl didn’t answer. He just glared at me. T.J. looked back and forth between us, waiting for some cue.
T.J. settled his gaze on me and said, “If you quit the show, I’ll call out Arturo for you.”
Carl jumped onto the bed. I yelped; T.J. scrambled away, slipping off the bed and crashing to the floor. He rolled onto all fours in a heartbeat, but kept his distance. Carl pinned me, trapping me with his hands propped on the bed on either side of my head, his weight on my body. Trembling, I tried to pull away.
I wasn’t ready to take on Carl.
“I don’t bargain,” he said, his voice low. He glanced sideways at T.J., who looked away, submissive. “You will do as I say. I’ll take care of Arturo.”
I didn’t believe him.
I squeezed my eyes shut against tears, looking away even as I felt his breath on my cheek. He was close enough to bite. I nodded, wanting only for him to leave me alone, wanting only for it to stop. If we were human, and this was a human relationship, I’d have been expected to leave him. This was abuse.
After a moment, he wrapped himself around me, holding me tight. He only wanted to take care of me. The Wolf loved him so much.