Page 25 of A Wolf’s Wound

Ryder

I back away from the corpse. There’s nothing more I can do now. That knowledge fills me with sadness and resignation but also a strong desire to prevent this from happening again.

As I walk back through the trees, I put my hands in my pockets and feel my phone. Shit! I forgot I set it to silent last night, afraid its ring could have distracted me from keeping watch. I pull it out and turn it on to see all of the missed calls from Hannah and Gavin.

I listen anxiously to their messages, slowly relaxing the more I hear. Good, Hannah got a hold of Gavin. And he’s still at the clinic, it sounds like. That probably means Hannah is still there too. As long as she’s with Gavin, she’ll be safe.

But just to make sure, I call Gavin as I emerge from the trees. As the phone rings I pace back and forth, impatient for him to pick up.

“Ryder,” he says in greeting. “Glad you’re finally checking your messages.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Hannah said a deer was brought in? And a wolf attacked it?”

“We’re not sure about that part,” my brother says. “I caught the scent of human blood on the deer.”

“You think a person did this?” I ask incredulously. Hannah had described the wounds; they sounded worse than what a person could inflict.

“Maybe someone mid-shift,” Gavin says. “I don’t know, Ryder. But we have to consider all of the possibilities.”

“I know. Is Hannah still there?”

“She is. I’m trying to convince her to go home, but she doesn’t want to leave the deer unattended.”

“Could you get a team over to keep an eye on the deer? They could call her if the poor thing’s condition gets worse.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gavin says. “I’ll suggest it to her. Where are you?”

“Near her building.”

“Okay. If I can convince her, I’ll get her home. I don’t think it’s safe for her to be walking alone right now.” In the background I hear Hannah’s voice. I can’t make out the words, but her tone is indignant. Despite myself, I smile.

“Tell her it’s not safe for anyone to be out alone right now,” I suggest, thinking about the corpse just a hundred yards away.

“I’ll see what I can do,” my brother says. “Wait for us at her place, okay? And keep your phone on.”

“Aye-aye,” I say and he snorts before hanging up.

I begin walking toward Hannah’s building. A person is slumped over on the front steps, and I wonder if they’re sick or injured. At least this person isn’t thrashing around like the last person I found.

Still, I pick up the pace, pulling my phone out in case I need to call for backup. But when I reach the person, I realize it’s too late. It’s another corpse.

I stare into a face I don’t recognize. The eyes are closed, which is a slight relief. I sweep my eyes over the body, noticing that once again, all of the bones look broken. I know if I examine it more closely, I’ll find the telltale signs of torn muscles too.

No one is around to ask how long this body’s been here. No way to find out if it’s been dumped or if the person actually died in this spot. I sweep my eyes around the entrance, hoping to see a security camera.

I don’t, but a note is taped to the front door with my name on it. With a growing sense of dread, I pluck it off the door and open it.

Hi again, Ryder , the typed message begins. Hope you and your girlfriend won’t mind this little gift. Gruesome, I know, but I guess I’m just not as skilled as you. See you soon!

Even though I just did it, I can’t help looking around again, as if some clue will have magically appeared. I step down to the sidewalk and look up and down the street, not really expecting to find anything. That doesn’t ease my disappointment when I don’t, though.

I look back down at the note. Not as skilled as you . What the hell does that mean?

Then the realization hits me like a punch to the stomach.

Oh, shit. Oh, holy shit.

This is all my fault.

I sit down on the steps as the enormity of what’s happening hits me. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper to the body next to me. “I didn’t realize what I did.”

But I do now.

I created a rogue wolf.

I know it. I feel the truth surge through my blood.

All of those missing nights, all of those times I’d drunk so much I blacked out. All of those bar fights and lost hours. I must have done it then.

I bit someone and turned them from human into wolf. And now that rogue wolf is taking revenge by turning other humans and leaving them for me to find. Taunting me with them. Threatening me.

I don’t know where the councilman fits into this, though. I know I never bit him, but everything else makes sense.

Even the animals in the forest. The rogue wolf referred to Hannah as my girlfriend in this note. He knows where she lives so he must also know where she works. He would know that she’d be the one who had to deal with the injured animals, that she would be affected by what I did.

And the creature that attacked Hannah last night—that was someone mid-shift. Someone who was undoubtedly bitten by this wolf. I remember Gavin explaining how quickly the shift can happen. The rogue wolf must have been nearby then, watching us. I let out an involuntary shudder.

The questions I need to answer are: Who is behind this? Who could I have turned who would be so angry and disturbed to take revenge this way?

But to answer that question I’d need to be able to remember every person I’ve ever been in a fight with. I’d need to be able to recall the faces and names of every person I’d gotten wasted with. And that is an embarrassingly long list. No way will I be able to figure it out.

I need to tell Hannah and Gavin about this, but even trying to imagine starting that conversation fills me with shame. Gavin will tell the rest of our family. I don’t even want to think about what our parents will say.

No, I’m not ready to tell them. Not yet. Better that I try and narrow down the list of who could be doing this and then tell them. Maybe I’ll figure it out and be able to give Gavin the wolf himself. That would help alleviate some of my guilt and shame over this situation.

But in the meantime, I know what I have to do. “I’m sorry,” I whisper again to the corpse on the steps as I dial a number. “Hey, it’s Ryder,” I say when one of the enforcers answers. “I have another body that needs to be picked up.” I give the enforcer Hannah’s address and then hang up and wait.

As I do, I take a few deep breaths and try to steady myself. It’ll look weird if I leave before Gavin and Hannah get here. I’ll just have to hope they’re preoccupied enough with their own questions and concerns to not want to linger.