Verity (18 page)

“Asleep,” Lia said. “She doesn’t need to hear about this.”

“She doesn’t know?”

Lia smiled. “She knows, but she doesn’t need to worry about other werewolves.”

“Other... werewolves?”

“You were chased by werewolves, we’re not certain why. We don’t know them. We ran them off, they probably won’t be back.” Byron’s voice was brisk, unfeeling.

“There’s more of them,” I said. They all stared at me. “At least one. I saw it outside my house one night. There was a dead cat on my doorstep the next day. But the... wolf, it wasn’t the same colour as those ones tonight.” I looked at Nathan, tried to see something in his face. Staring at his clothes, I realised he hadn’t been wearing them before.

“You? Are... you?”

He wouldn’t look at me, and I had my answer. I tried to imagine him as a wolf, but the buzzing got louder, and my world turned upside down. Lia held my head on my knees and told me to breathe. Her voice sounded funny in my head, like it was echoing. After a few minutes of keeping my head down and trying to understand what everyone was whispering, I found it easier to breathe and pushed Lia’s hands away.

“Wow,” I said. “I have to go home. I can’t be late.”

I stood, still shaking ,still unable to take in any of it. Jakob took my hands.

“It’s going to be alright, Perdita. I’ll drive you home now, but we can talk about this again,” he said then he spoke more sternly. “But you must never speak of this to anyone else. Do you understand?” I saw darkness in his eyes, but I nodded, wanting to get away, needing to get away.

“Wait,” Nathan said. “I need to talk to her first.”

Jakob hesitated, but Lia laid a hand on his arm. “Give them a minute. Nathan, take Cú.”

Nathan took my hand and led me outside, followed by Cúchulain. I wanted to pull my hand away, but when he touched me, I felt a little better than before. Did he have some kind of magical power over me?

My whole body went numb, but my mind kept racing, throwing the same few sentences out, over and over again.

Nothing came out of my mouth. Not when he faced me, not when he called my name. He held me close to him, and I slowly felt better.

“Is that some kind of werewolf thing?” I asked.

“Is what some kind of werewolf thing?” he mumbled against my hair.

“Making me feel better when you touch me. That’s a thing, right?”

He sighed. “That’s a thing.”

“Is that why everyone likes you?”

“What?”

I swallowed. “Everyone likes you. Is that why? You’re doing something to them?”

“No, I’m not doing anything to them except trying to fit in.” Something in his voice made me think I was asking the wrong question.

“Is it... why
I
like you? Is there something you’re doing to me?”

He hesitated, his arms pulling me tighter. “Yes.”

I pushed him away and took a few deep breaths.

“I’m sorry,” he said at last.

“For what?”

“For... everything. There’s a lot I have to tell you now, and it’s all, well, it’s pretty much just as bizarre as everything else tonight. My family is cursed, and you’re a part of it.”

“Me?” I blinked a couple of times. “How? Is this all a joke or something?”

He shook his head. “No joke. We can talk about it sometime, after you’ve had a chance to let it sink in.” I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that would probably be the best thing to do. Except, why were they chasing us? Those other... you know.” He shrugged. “Not sure. They weren’t exactly friendly, but they ran off pretty quick.”

“Are you dangerous?” I blurted out.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said firmly. “Take Cú with you if you’re scared. You know he’ll protect you.” I laughed, but it sounded small and shaky. “Don’t think Dad would approve. I really have to go.” None of us spoke in the car. I squashed myself as far into the corner of the seat as I could. Jakob hummed along to the radio like there was nothing at all strange about the world.

I made it home in time. Nathan walked me to my door but didn’t put his hands on me at all. I was grateful because I felt like I was about to burst out of my skin, and I didn’t need him doing whatever he kept doing to take away what I was really feeling. He put his hands in his pockets and looked almost ashamed, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, but he sounded unsure.

“Maybe. I don’t know yet.”

He nodded and waited until I got inside. I watched the car pull away even though Dad was still up.

“You got a lift?”

“Yeah, um, Nathan’s grandfather drove me home because he was worried.”

“Worried?”

I rubbed my eyes. “Yeah, he thinks it’s as dangerous here as everywhere else. I’m off to bed, okay? I’m exhausted. Too much dancing.” He smiled. “Well, I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

I plastered a smile on my face. “Of course.”

Upstairs, I lay on my bed and found it hard to breathe. Nothing made sense to me. Nathan kissed me—I curled up with pleasure at that memory. But then a dog came. Except it wasn’t a dog. It was a wolf.

No, not even a wolf. A werewolf. A myth come true. And Nathan was one too.

I kissed Nathan.

I kissed a werewolf.

The thought was confusing more than repulsive. I didn’t freak out at the idea of Nathan changing into an animal, or even the notion he might be able to change how I felt with his touch—but the idea he might never have told me was... bothersome. Worse, what did the other werewolves want?

I had always wanted
something
to happen, but I hadn’t meant this.

A black shaggy werewolf visited my dreams all night. Hunted by others, over and over. I woke in the middle of the night, gasping for air, still struggling to make sense of everything. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Lucky it was Sunday—school would have been hell.

I hung around my house, only speaking to Joey briefly. I tried to sound normal, but I doubt he would have noticed anyway; he and Tammie had gotten together at the party. Tammie didn’t call or text me at all to tell me about it, but in a way, it was a relief, my head was too messed up to talk to her.

I thought over what I knew. It wasn’t much. I liked Nathan, I knew there was something different about him but a werewolf? That wouldn’t have dawned on me in a million years. Even now I found it hard to believe, despite seeing a couple of wolves.

That niggled at me. What did they want? They picked an awkward time to attack, right when Nathan and I kissed. At the time, it felt like they were warning me away, reminding me of the way Cú had warned Nathan when he accidentally hurt me.

I sat alone in my living room for hours until Lia Evans knocked at my door. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to open it, but my head buzzed with questions, maybe she could help me. I invited her in, suddenly nervous around her.

“How are you feeling today?” she asked, looking me over carefully.

I shrugged. She gave a little sigh and sat down. “There’s more you need to know. I hope this isn’t too soon, if you need more time....” More? What else could there be? Wasn’t the fact werewolves existed enough? But I had to know. “I’d rather be told, thanks.
Seeing
impossible things happen is a bit of a shock, you know?” She smiled, but her eyes were sad. “There was nobody around to tell me these things,” she said. “I was older than you when I met my Jakob. I was already a believer—in a lot of ways—but it was still a shock. The whole story, it’s a big deal.”

“A shock? Aren’t you one too?”

“Now I am,” she said. “My choice, don’t worry.”

I couldn’t hide my horror.

“It’s not that bad,” she said softly. “Not always. I’m here for Nathan. He couldn’t tell you... everything. But you need to know, so here I am.”

“Need to know what now?”

“Everything. You haven’t asked questions yet, I thought you would. There’s a story behind it all, and you’re a part of it.”

“Me? How?”

“My husband isn’t the first in his family to become a werewolf. In fact, the first was in the 17th century. The story is that he was bitten by a wolf and changed suddenly—unable to control himself, he attacked a Romani Gypsy camp and slaughtered the favourite daughter of an elder. They cursed him and his pregnant wife to suffer. They would have one child, a son, cursed to become a werewolf and wander the earth in search of his soul-mate, one who would make him happy. Each generation would follow the same path, turn into a werewolf on their 16th birthday and look for their mate. The curse would only be broken when a daughter was born.”

She looked at me meaningfully. “Okay,” I said. “That makes no sense.”

Lia laughed. “This time yesterday, you probably would have said the same thing if someone told you Nathan’s a werewolf.” I stared at her, knowing she was right.

“Things changed,” she said. “I became a werewolf by choice and gave birth to twin sons, the first time since the curse that more than one child was born. We think that my choice made the difference. Things went normally for Byron, he had one son. But Luis, my other boy, he and his wife had a second child, Amelia. A girl. The first in the family in centuries. The one supposed to break the curse. Except it didn’t happen. Nathan turned last year, and he’s been looking for his mate ever since. You.”

I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh. “That’s a joke, right?”

“I’m sorry, Perdita. I know it’s a lot to take in. But you
are
Nathan’s mate. You’re cursed too. I remember what it was like. I dreamt of Jakob for a year before we met. Whenever he was near me, I felt good, well, better. I sensed his emotions and knew how to make him happy on instinct. I couldn’t keep away from him, no matter how hard I tried, and once we gave in to the curse, it was beautiful.” Most of what she described could apply to me too. It was getting too creepy. Soul-mates? I didn’t believe in that sort of thing. Then again, I didn’t believe in werewolves either.

“Nathan’s always said he would fight the curse. And he has, I suppose. He didn’t want to tell you any of this, he wanted you to have a chance. But we can’t fight the curse and win, none of us. It’s better if you give in, and let it take its course.” She held my hands in hers and nodded at me.

“No,” I said, too loud. “I’m not... I have a mind, free will. I’m not going to just... change everything I believe in because you tell me I’m cursed.”

“It’s okay, Perdita. I know what you’re going through, trust me. But the curse is strong, strong enough to make you feel good around him. Designed to make you feel bereft away from him. It’s made to last.” Lia let that sink in. The curse was really screwing me over.

“The thing is,” she said, hesitating a little. “We keep away from others like us. Very few shifters can breed like we do, it’s an important part of our heritage. Some werewolves out there believe the males in my family should always mate in a werewolf, to produce more werewolves—like I did. And then there are those who don’t want the curse to end at all, so we’ve kept Amelia... safe. If she’s meant to end the curse then she needs to stay well.”

“Amelia’s not safe?” My heart pounded in my chest. I hated the thought of those animals getting near her, they would tear her apart.

Lia shook her head. “I’m not saying that; we’re just being careful because of... things that happened in the past. We were probably overly cautious, but I need you to play down what happened with the werewolves last night. I don’t want to scare her unnecessarily. She’s not a shifter, she doesn’t need to be involved in any of this.” I exhaled loudly. Something in Lia’s face worried me. “Is that it?” I asked.

“There’s lots I can tell you, but maybe we’ll stick to one big revelation a day, yes?” She smiled at me, but I couldn’t return it, I felt too sick inside.

“How about you spend the day with my family, see how normal we are? I know Amelia would love to see you, she was so disappointed about missing the party last night.”

“Good thing she did miss it,” I said, but I wanted to see her too.

This time I asked Dad if I could go. He agreed—after he spoke to Lia on the phone. I needed to speak to Nathan, yet after the whole soul-mate thing, I didn’t really know what I should say to him. Nothing in life had prepared me for this kind of crazy supernatural deal.

At her home, Lia made a fuss over me—as did Jakob. Byron merely nodded at me. I had a feeling he wouldn’t bat an eyelid if I disintegrated in front of him. Nathan hung around a bit, but he pretty much avoided looking at me, never mind speaking to me, so when Lia asked me if I wanted to see Amelia, I jumped at the chance.

She was in bed, still sniffling. “Hey,” she said, smiling when I entered the room. “Sit as close as you dare.” I laughed and sat on the edge of her bed. She pushed her e-reader aside. I took a quick peek and grinned when I saw she had been reading a popular teen romance title. Not so different after all.

“I heard you know everything about my freaky family now,” she said, but she looked proud when she said it.

“I’ve heard one or two things alright.” I made a face.

“You’re not happy?” Surprise raised her voice a pitch.

“Happy? Of course I’m not happy! There’s all this stuff going on that apparently involves me, but not one of you came out and told me until you had no choice anymore. I thought
you
were my friend. And Nathan?” I shook my head, unable to speak.

“It’s not my story to tell. He’s my brother, Perdita. I couldn’t do that to him if he wasn’t ready. I told you the truth before. He’s a coward. He was afraid of you long before he met you. I suppose it’s scary, knowing your future is already mapped out for you.”

“No, I can’t accept that. I won’t. I know this whole curse thing is what your family is about, but not me. I mean, how do you all know I’m his, you know, anyway?” Amelia yawned. “He knew. The first day he saw you. He never said anything, but I guessed when I saw you two together and part of me already knew too. I might not be a werewolf or a soul-mate, but I’m part of this. Me and you are connected too, just in a smaller way. I knew when I saw you that we would be friends. It just seemed perfect when it turned out you might be Nathan’s mate.”

“Might,” I repeated.