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The last of the man’s strength seemed to leave him and he slumped. Caleb reached for him before he hit the ground and lifted him easily in his arms. He turned to Regan. “The house keys are in my pocket.”

She reached in and got the keys, went ahead and unlocked the door. Caleb followed her inside carrying the now-unconscious Jason. Regan stood aside to let them go past. He led them into a large sitting room and lowered Jason onto one of the sofas, uncaring of the blood that stained the cream leather.

He stood staring down, a brooding expression on his face. After a minute, he swore, turned around, and left the room.

Regan looked at the woman. Kelly was staring at the unconscious man, her face furrowed with worry, and a tear welled up and trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

“Sit down before you fall down,” Regan suggested.

Kelly jumped at the sound of her voice, but she backed up to one of the matching chairs and collapsed onto it, all the time never taking her eyes from Jason.

A minute later Caleb returned, carrying a first aid box. He put it down on the floor next to the sofa and crouched down. Ripping open Jason’s shirt, he swore again. Regan came to stand beside him. The man had been savaged; his chest scored with livid claw marks that ran from his right shoulder to his waist. The shoulder was a mangled, bloody mess. It was obvious he’d been attacked by another werewolf.

Caleb glanced up at her. “Why don’t you go and make some coffee?”

Regan shook her head.

No way.

She wanted to know what was going on. Caleb shrugged but didn’t push it. “Then at least go get me some water and towels from the kitchen. It’s at the end of the hall.”

Instead, Regan whispered a few words and a bowl of steaming water and a pile of towels materialized beside them. Behind her, Kelly gasped, but Regan ignored the sound. Caleb’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything further, just got to work cleaning the wounds. When he was done, he rose to his feet and turned to Kelly. “He’ll be fine. He’ll recover. When he wakes up, if he can he should shift. It will stop the scarring.”

“Thank you,” Kelly said stiffly.

Caleb glanced back at the man. “My father did this?”

She smiled bitterly. “Who else?”

“What happened?”

She ran a hand through her short hair, her fingers trembling. Regan crossed the room, poured a glass of whiskey, and handed it to Kelly. She looked at Regan, as though about to ask something, but didn’t have the energy. Instead, she took the glass and swallowed the contents down. She coughed and handed the glass back. Regan refilled it and put it on the table beside her.

Kelly took a minute to gather her thoughts. “You know what’s been going on in the pack?” she asked Caleb. Then she laughed bitterly. “No, of course you don’t. Why would you? You left us all behind, didn’t you?”

“I had no choice.”

Regan glanced at him in surprise, he sounded almost defensive. Who was this woman who could make Caleb sound guilty? Regan studied her closely. She appeared to be in her late twenties, but she knew that meant nothing for a werewolf. Caleb had told her that they could live hundreds of years, although they mostly came to a violent end before that.

“You always have a choice,” Kelly said, her voice tinged with bitterness and exhaustion. She picked up the glass and swallowed the contents. Regan decided not to get her a third.

“No, you made your choice. You chose to pretend to be human, but that’s not an option for most of us. We’re not like you. We need the pack. You never needed anybody.”

Regan turned to Caleb, fascinated by these revelations. He glanced from her to Kelly as though he really didn’t want this discussion in front of Regan.

Hard luck.

She wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, it looked as though here was someone who knew Ethan Stone’s whereabouts. Or at least where he had been last night, which was a lot closer than Regan had gotten so far.

Caleb changed the subject. “Tell me what happened.”

“Ethan’s been working with someone else. He wouldn’t tell us who, just that it was going to bring major changes, and the wolves would finally get the recognition they deserve. You know what he’s like.”

Caleb nodded, and she continued. “Not everyone in the pack agrees with him. Many of us don’t want any more recognition. We’re happy to live quietly, not bring attention to ourselves.”

She picked up her glass, realized it was empty, and put it down again. “Last night there was a big meeting set up for before we all went to run. A few of us stood up and said we weren’t happy.”

Another tear welled up, and she swiped it away impatiently.