Wolves at the Door (26 page)

“No,” she conceded. “We’ll give away our tickets.”

Zack groaned. “Guys, forget it. I’ll go with her. It’ll be… nice to get away, I guess. And if Autumn’s running around all over the place, it’s going to be
work
. You guys will probably get bored anyway. It’s not like you’ll have your own car. If you do, it defeats the whole purpose of driving together.”

“True,” Maya said.

Zack, saving me again.

† † †

I helped Zack clean up the dinner dishes. After a chat with Cara, then Maya and Favianne, it was almost time for my meeting with Renzo. My stomach felt queasy but I’d feel worse if he came after me.

It was seven on the nose when I walked through the side door of the coffee house. After getting my drink, I made my way to the front patio. The werewolves were already there. Waiting to pounce.

I took the seat next to Alura. Zack could sit next to scary Renzo this time, if he stopped by.

“Good evening.” Renzo nodded at me, unnerving me with his steady gaze.

“Hi.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Zack will be here later, maybe our other friends, too. So if you’re going to grill me, you should get it out of the way now.” I hoped Renzo bought my attempt at being nonchalant. In reality, my nerves were frayed from angst and my fingers trembled. I was a wreck.

“Uncle, yo
u’re making her nervous. Please stop.”

“If she weren’t afraid of getting caught in a lie, she’d be more relaxed.” He brought his coffee cup to his lips, his eyes steady on mine.

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that our species have been at war for centuries. Or that you could probably kill me with one strike.” I shot him a scowl, then sucked in a lungful and released it. “Plus, I’m not used to being forced into meetings with werewolves.”

Renzo leaned forward. “Then tell me what happened to Charles
.”

“You keep asking me that, but I can’t magically know something simply because you want me to.”

“You’re lying.” His deep dark eyes bore through mine. “I saw you in the woods yesterday.”

My body froze.

I was so dead.

~~~

Chapter Twenty-two

I cleared my throat, stalling for extra seconds, but it was impossible to think with his heated gaze bearing down on me. “All right. I’ll tell you the truth.”

He sent Alura a smirk. Her frown deepened.

Taking a breath, I said, “I went running Friday night and came across a dead wolf. It was a bloody mess. You kept asking about Charles and yesterday I put two and two together. Thought I’d check it out.”

“You killed him,” he accused.

“Me?” I laughed. “Attack and kill a werewolf much older and more powerful than me? You give me too much credit.”

“Uncle Renzo, another werewolf could’ve done it. Sorry, but I just don’t see Autumn capable of overpowering him.”

“Exactly,” I said.

Renzo didn’t look convinced. He leaned back in his chair and eyed me. “Why do you barely smell like a shape-shifter?”

“How should I know? I thought it was because I was still maturing and the scent would become stronger with time.”

“It’ll get stronger, yes, but I should’ve been able to spot you immediately.”

“Really? Then why couldn’t you?”

His eye twitched. “That’s what I’m asking
you
.”

“Look, anything I know was learned on the
Internet and they didn’t cover that in Shape-shifter 101.” I blew out a breath. “
You
should be the one telling
me
.”

“Do your parents know you’re maturing?”

“I told you, they’re human. I don’t plan to inform them.”

Renzo picked up a stir stick and impatiently tapped it on the table. “If they’re human, you couldn’t be a shape-shifter.” A corner of his mouth lifted, but not in a friendly way.

“I must’ve been adopted. Or maybe my real dad was a shape-shifter and my mom never knew what he was. Maybe when she found out she was pregnant, he wasn’t around. For all I know, he could’ve been taken as a slave or something.”

“So when you began to mature, you had no one to help you?”

“No one.” I called upon my years of practice at faking calm for my parents’ benefit, then met him eye to eye. “My first morph was shocking, to say the least. I remember looking down at my paws and freaking out. When I came home, I did a bunch of research on the net. A lot of the info was myth, but I weeded out the garbage by trial and error. As my senses got stronger, I realized Zack was a werewolf. I was afraid if he knew what I was, he wouldn’t want me. So I kept my mouth shut.”

“Wow,” Alura said. “I couldn’t imagine going through that all alone. You must have been scared.”

“Yeah, I had my moments. But the rest of the time…” I grinned. “It was like finding out I was a superhero. Isn’t that everyone’s dream growing up?” Thinking of Charles, I reminded myself to speak of him in present tense since I was supposed to believe he was alive and well. “I had no reason to be freaked out until Charles came into the picture. But it hasn’t been a problem since he thinks I’m human.”

“You know, of course, it’s illegal to mix species?” Renzo said, his voice quiet.

I kept my expression neutral as I made an extra effort to breathe. Denying it would be stupid since our last coffee date he’d smelled Zack on me and knew I was lying about being broken up with him. Plus, I’d freaked and asked if he was going to kill me. He’d have to know I was fully aware of the laws. “Yes. Which is why I’ve made sure Zack doesn’t know about me.”

“You must be very careful. It isn’t just about legalities, but safety too.”

“
Um…” Was Renzo talking about sex? Ugh. I stared into my coffee cup, praying that my admission of guilt wasn’t like signing my death warrant. But he’d already known this and hadn’t killed me. “Mixing species causes some weird chemical imbalance and makes both weaker, right?”

“Yes, you wo
uld be putting Zack in danger. Promise me you’ll
never
do that,” Renzo insisted.

My arms prickled in fear. “I would never put Zack in danger.”

“You’ve not seen Charles since Saturday, you said?”

Another attempt at trip
ping me up. I wasn’t falling for Renzo’s trick, now or ever. “No, Friday night. Are you going to tell me how you got those scars?” I knew he wouldn’t cough it up, but I hoped turning the questions on him would make him feel like he’d had enough of me and maybe he’d leave.

“Be careful, little one. The next werewolf to arrive at your doorstep might not be as forgiving as me.” He rose from his chair and glanced at his niece. “Alura?”

Still reeling from his threat, I swallowed. “You’re leaving?”

“Yes,” he answered.

Alura gave him a tight smile. “I’ll stay a little while and visit with Autumn.”

“As you wish.” He nodded once and walked away, stopping at the blue Jaguar.

“I apologize for my uncle’s behavior.” She rolled her eyes.

It was hard to gauge if they were playing good cop bad cop or if Alura was being sincere. She sure seemed genuine and I needed answers.

“Your uncle’s a werewolf. You guys don’t like my kind, right?” I asked.

“Not necessarily.” Alura gave a delicate shrug. “Depends on the werewolf and how he or she was raised. I’m neutral.”

She seemed responsive and I had so many questions. God, where would I begin? Looking around to make sure nobody was close to our table and could hear us, I still lowered my voice. “Are you a born werewolf or were you bitten? That’s how you make a werewolf, right?”

Her
brows rose. “Just dive right in. Yes, it only takes one bite.”

“Is it a saliva thing? Or is there something with the fangs? How does it work?” I took a sip of my coffee.

“The bite creates a path into the body and the saliva carries the virus. I’m a born werewolf, so I didn’t go through that, thank goodness.”

“Born werewolves are rare though, right?” I’d been wishing for Zack’s early arrival, but now that Renzo was gone and I could pump Alura for information, he could take his time. “Because females can’t carry a child to term.”

“Right. We’re incapable of having children because our urge to morph is too strong and the baby dies when we change form. My mother was human when she had me, as was Zack’s.” Her lips curved up. “Being on your own with no one to talk to about this, you must have saved up a bunch of questions.”

“Yes. I have tons. I—”

“Hi, Zack,” Alura called out. “Would you like to join us?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Zack heading toward us from the Jeep.

“Hey,” he said, once his feet touched the concrete of the patio. “Let me get a coffee and I’ll join you guys.”

“Is Maya coming too?” I asked him.

“Yeah, she and Trevor are in the car. They’ll be out in a minute.” Zack passed through the front door of the coffee house.

I made sure he was gone, then whispered as quietly as I could. “Remember, he doesn’t know I’m a shape-shifter or that you know we’re still together.”

“Gotcha covered.” Alura smiled. “And there they are.”

I glanced over my shoulder and beamed at Maya. Thankfully, werewolves had rules against hurting mortals or involving them in anything that would flag the police and expose us. At least I didn’t have to worry about my friends’ safety. “Hey, get your drinks and sit with us.”

She grinned. “We’ll be right back.”

Wait… what if Maya or Trevor mentioned our road trip in front of Alura? Not only that, but what if someone from school saw Zack and me hanging out? If Gina heard we were friendly, then his attempt to gain her trust and trap her would be a waste of time. That would ruin everything. Unless Zack had made progress with Gina tonight, but I hadn’t heard from him yet.

My stomach constricted as I battled to keep the pleasant smile on my face. I had to get out of there.

“You know, I don’t think I’ll stay after all. I’m tired and still have homework to do. I’ll let Maya know. Want a ride to your hotel?” I stood, the chair scraping on the cement.

“Sure. It’ll save my uncle a trip.” She flashed me perfect, white teeth.

I went inside to say
good-bye and reminded Maya and Trevor that Zack couldn’t hang out with me. I told Zack telepathically that I’d see him later and exited the front just as Alura was throwing away her coffee cup.

My moment of solitude couldn’t come quickly enough. I was exhausted from the intense stress and fear of being caught in any of my vast number of lies.

“Where’s your hotel?” I asked.

“We’re staying at the Cavalli in La Crescenta.”

Now that I knew I’d be home soon, the stress of the day — especially my time with Renzo — hit me hard. I sat up straighter in my seat to perk up. “I’m exhausted.”

She chuckled. “Yes, my uncle has that effect on people. I’m sorry about the interrogation. I’d tell you it’s all out of his system, but it probably isn’t. He doesn’t trust people easily. So prepare yourself for more.”

“Well, thanks for the heads up.” I sighed, pulling out onto the street. “If you and Renzo aren’t scouts or watchers, what do you do for the king?”

“We do… other things.”

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“Maybe another time.
”

It was just as well.
I shouldn’t be talking to Alura at all. My brain was fried and it would be too easy to slip up in this condition. I melted into the driver’s seat and concentrated on the road.

“
Make a right into the second driveway after the light,” Maya said after a few minutes.

Biting my lip, I crossed the intersec
tion and turned the steering wheel. “Alura? Can I ask you a question?”

She swiveled toward me. “Sure.”

There was no easy way to ask, so… “If Renzo knows of my crimes, then why doesn’t he kill me? Or report me to the king?”

She paused as if mulling over her answer. “We’re not scouts.”