Lone Girl (The Wolfling Saga) (22 page)

“He almost
died
trying to get here?” I asked, shaken.

Colt nodded. “Tom was rushed to our emergency room for treatment upon arrival.
He was delirious from sepsis and his toes were blue from hypothermia. Never the less, he made a remarkable recovery. Our nurses fed, bathed and shaved him. That was when we realized who he was. His picture is all over the news. Of course, no one knew that Thomas Stone suffered from Lycanthropy. If only we’d known he would never have gone to that prison. We take jurisdiction over criminals suffering from the illness.”

““So … after you
realized who he was? What happened?”

“Well, as a wanted criminal we had no choice but to detain him-”

“He was only arrested because of
me
,” I said. “He isn’t a criminal.”

“Tom has explained your backstory to us,” said Colt. “It is unfortunate that things panned o
ut this way for the pair of you. However, if Tom had been co-operative we wouldn’t have had to take the measures necessary-”

“What measures?”

Colt shifted uncomfortably. “Tom has a severe anger problem. He became paranoid and obsessive. We blame it partially on his delirium upon arrival. He wasn’t in the right state of mind and his memories are a bit foggy. The mind can play awful tricks when you are ill. He even attacked our Orderlies. It took several men to subdue him. Now he is convinced that we are against him - against your kind. He
cannot
be reasoned with. That is why we were so pleased to welcome you here, Rose. We hope that you can talk some sense into him.”

“He doesn’t want to
see
me. You heard him just now.”

“Tom doesn’t know what he’s saying
. He is gripped with paranoia, convinced that
we
are monsters.” The professor gave a shake of his head and sighed. “We are only trying to help him.”

The Orderly
handcuffed Tom to a table in his holding cell before allowing me to see him.

“
Do not approach him, do not touch him, do not hand him anything,” the Orderly told me as he unlocked the door.

“He isn’t going to hurt me,” I said.
He never meant to hurt anyone.
“He’s just confused.”

“It took three Orderl
ies to bring this guy down.”

You wouldn’t have expected it; Tom was quite lean.

“Just let me in, will you?” I snapped.

He complied and unlocked the door to allow me entrance before closing
it. I heard the bolt shift back into place at once.

Tom was facing away
and avoiding eye contact. I sat on the other side of the table but still he did not look at me.

“Tom,” I said, my voice fragile.

He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly through his nostrils. He couldn’t bear to look at me.

“Tom, please look at me,” I said, reachi
ng my hand forward to touch him.

“I can’t,” he said, chew
ing on the inside of his cheek.

“
Please
,” I begged.

I waited in silence for several seconds before he finally turned his head to look at me. His
expression was one of determined concentration.

To my surprise it was Tom who spoke first.

“What-” He cleared his throat noisily. “What happened to your face?”

I lifted a hand and touched the healing gash on my forehead. “I was in an accident after – after you left.”

“Accident?” he repeated with glassy eyes. I noticed that Tom moved very little. His posture was stiff; his mouth barely moved as he spoke and his voice was ragged.

“I hitchhiked,” I said. “I got into a truck with a stranger. The driver had a heart attack at the wheel and I was in an induced coma for two weeks.”

Tom closed his eyes and turned away once again. It seemed the very sight of me was too much for him.

“A coma?” He looked distressed for a moment before he contorted his face into an expression of polite sympathy. “I’m sorry that happened,” he said, his voice flat.

I pulled a face. “That’s it? It’s been weeks and that’s all you have to say to me?”

“What do you want me to say?” He looked at me again.

“
Why did you leave?” My voice was much higher than usual. “Was it because of the phone?”

“I did it for a number of reasons.”

That wasn’t good enough for me. I needed closure. “
What
reasons?”

Tom
closed his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it here,” he said in an undertone. “Not while they’re listening.”

I glanced at the Orderly who stood outside the door, appar
ently minding his own business though I knew he was eavesdropping.

“
Was it because of the car chase?” I blurted. “Because you got shot, because you couldn’t trust me anymore?”

Tom ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, watching me with those deep green eyes.
“Yes,” he said hoarsely.

“You could have told me,” I said. “We could have worked it out.
I feel betrayed. Used. Thrown away.” I turned my head and stared at the wall, blinking furiously. I didn’t want him to see me cry. No, I wanted to be stronger than that.

“I’m sorry you felt that way,” he said, his tone formal.

“Of course you are,” I snapped. “But at least you got a good fuck before you left. That should have tide you over.”

I hadn’t meant to say it so vindictively, but the pain from that last night stung worse than ever. The fact that we’d been intimate just hours before he decided to leave
was what hurt the most.

Tom paled visibly. “No, I-”

It appeared he was lost for words so I took the opportunity to tell him exactly how I felt. “You know, for half of my life I have been treated like garbage. By my parents who didn’t want a werewolf for a daughter, by classmates who could sense that I was different and by teachers who would ignore me completely. When I met you I thought-” My breath hitched in my chest. “I thought
you
were different. And for the first time in
nine years
I wasn’t alone.” I shook my head slowly. “But you walked out on me. You’re just like them. You abandoned me in an unfamiliar town with
nothing
, like I was some mutt nobody wanted. No money, no car, no food-”

“I couldn’t put you in danger anymore!” Tom blurted. “I couldn’t. You were so … that day … I just-” He struggled to turn his thoughts into coherent sentences. Finally, he sighed and put his face in his hands.
“All right.  You want the truth?”

“The truth is you didn’t trust me anymore,” I said, furiously wiping away the tears that slid down my cheeks.

“I should never have asked you to run with me in the first place,” he croaked. “The day of the car chase, you – you frightened me, Rose. Not because of what you said, but the way you looked.”

I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Tom leaned in, his voice barely more than a whisper so the Orderly could not hear. “Your eyes - that look in your eyes.” The memory seemed to terrify him. “I knew you’d go to any lengths to protect me.”

“Of course I would,” I said, bewildered. “You think
I was just going to let them take you?”

“No, it was more than that,” said Tom. “You became protective
- like a wolf. It was instinct. You – you changed.
Physically
.”

“
What are you talking about?” I snapped.

“When I tried to grab the steering wheel … your eyes went yellow and your face contorted. I knew at once that it was the werewolf inside you, rising to the surface in a time of need.”

“I … it came out? The – the wolf?”

“Partially,” Tom nodded.

“But I – I remember everything,” I shook my head. “And it wasn’t the full moon or anything. I couldn’t have.
It
couldn’t have.” The thought of the monster taking over whenever it pleased scared the shit out of me.

“It was just for a few seconds,” said Tom. “But it was enough for me to realize that as long as you were with me you would put your life in danger to protect
me. That’s what the Alpha does. So I thought … the only way to stop you from doing something stupid again was to disband the pack.”

“It’s … it’s nonsense,” I said. I didn’t want to believe that the monster within me was awake and conscious, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

“Tell me, Rose,” Tom said seriously. “Could you have ever imagined yourself acting the way you did before you met me?”

High-speed car chases and grand theft auto
? No. It was something out of an action movie. No
real
person did that.

“So that’s why you left?” I asked. “Because you saw the – the
thing
in my eyes.”

Tom nodded, seemingly ashamed.
“I couldn’t let you risk your life for me again.”

“What can I say? You bring out the worst in me,” I said, an edge to my voice.

The corner of Tom’s mouth twitched, hinting at a smile. “You did it because being strong is your gift.”

“My gift?”

Tom finally smiled at me, those beautiful eyes creasing at the sides. “It is something I have learned since I got here. Some of us have special, uh,
talents
.”

“
Talents? Like what?”

“Like my healing,” he said with a shrug. “I thought it was a werewolf thing, but apparently not.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” I scoffed, rubbing the gash on my forehead.

“There’s a woman here who can recognize any smell from a mile away.
Anything
,” Tom said. “And there’s a young guy who has phenomenal hearing. He’s like an owl – can hear the scurrying of mice several rooms away.”

“And you think I can – what? Bring out this monster in times of need?”

Tom gulped audibly, dropping his voice so low I strained to hear. “I’ve been asking around – you know, the other patients. None of them have experienced what I witnessed in you that day in the car.”

I felt disgusted; t
ainted. Was the creature inside me now, listening?

“I’d rather it wasn’t true,” I said.

“Me too,” Tom muttered. “If they found out-”

“They?”

“Colt and his team.” Tom nodded towards the door, his gaze meaningful.

“If they found out I
might be able to change at will?” I highly doubted it was even possible. And even if it was, I never wanted to experience the change more than I had to. Once a month was enough for me.

“Shh,” Tom hushed. “Not so loud. We can’
t talk about that here. Not with them listening.” I glanced towards the door where the Orderly was waiting outside.

“They’re not going to leave us alone together,” I
whispered. “They think you’re dangerous.”

“What have they told you?” Tom scoffed.

“They said you lost your temper when you found out I was here. What
’s really going on?” I asked in an undertone.

A vein throbbed in Tom’s temple. “Of course I lost my temper, Rose. You can’t be here. It’s not safe.”

“But … this would be the safest place for me. For us,” I said. “We can transform every month without worrying about – about killing someone.”

“That’s what they want you to think,” Tom breathed, his voice barely audible. He leaned forward, the handcuffs chinking against the table. “Rose, this is not a safe haven for people like you and I. It’s just another prison. I escaped from one cell and walked straight into another. I only hope you haven’t signed any documents they’ve given you.”

I stared at Tom. “Why?”

He stared back. “You didn’t, did you?”

“I just – I wanted – I-”

“Rose, please tell me you didn’t sign anything.” Tom’s stared at my disbelievingly.

“I thought – I just – I wanted to see you!” I blurted. “You left so suddenly I – I needed answers!”

Tom put his face in his hands and groaned. “Jesus, Rose, I thought you were smarter than that. I thought you would at least
read
something before signing it.”

“I did!” I said defiantly. “I read every word!”

“Keep your voice down,” he hissed. “If you read it then why did you sign it?”

“It all seemed perfectly reasonable. I can leave without notice, whenever I please-”

“Unless?” Tom pressed.

“Unless?
Unless
they deem me dangerous and a threat to others – which I’m
not
. I don’t plan on attacking Orderlies or-”

“Think about what you are saying, Rose,” Tom said. His hands were balled into fists, his knuckles white. “Think about what you are.”