Page 56 of A Wolf’s Wound

Hannah

“Just one more question,” Ryder says.

“What?” Brian asks impatiently.

“Sorry, Brian. I don’t want to delay anything, but you’re the only one who can tell me this,” Ryder says.

Brian seems flattered. “Okay, fine. One more question.”

“Thanks. What I want to know is, why didn’t you just come out and say it was you?”

“Because that would have ruined the surprise,” Brian says.

“The surprise?” Ryder echoes.

Brian nods. “Yeah. It was a surprise for you, man. All of this!” He grins.

“Oh, wow,” Ryder says. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Brian says. “It’s fine that you know now. I’m not mad. It’s better this way, actually.”

“What do you mean?” Ryder asks. I’m really glad Brian doesn’t seem to notice or care that Ryder’s asked a lot more than the one question he told Brian he had.

“I mean that now that you know, we can finish this off together. That’s the way I always wanted it, in fact. You and me, Ryder. Best friends through thick and thin.”

Brian looks so happy and proud. I almost feel sorry for him. I know Ryder didn’t mean for any of this to happen, and I can only imagine how guilty he must feel. But I also know Brian isn’t in his right mind and probably hasn’t been for quite a while.

I wonder what he was like before all of this began. He must have had some redeeming qualities. Right? There must have been something about Brian that made Ryder want to hang out with him. I try to see him in that light, to look at everything he’s done from a sympathetic perspective.

But it’s hard to do that. Any humanity that was in Brian, any compassion or empathy, must have died off a long time ago.

“Finish…what off?” Ryder asks slowly.

“All of this!” Brian says, waving his arms around.

“But what do you mean?” Ryder asks.

“You know what I mean,” Brian says, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

I know Ryder’s been talking to Brian for so long because he’s stalling. But I can tell that Brian might be about to figure that out too. The worst thing right now would be for him to decide the conversation is over.

So I decide to take a turn. But what can I talk to him about? Then it hits me.

“Hey, Brian,” I call out and he looks at me.

“Yes, Hannah?”

“I’d like to know about the animals. How do they fit into all of this?”

“Which animals?” he asks. I can’t tell if he really doesn’t know what I’m talking about or wants to make me remember all the dead and wounded animals that we’ve been dealing with.

“The ones that were found dead in the forest. What about them? And the ones that were wounded, that I treated at the clinic. What can you tell me about them? I’ve been trying to figure it out for weeks.”

Brian looks downcast as he answers. “I feel bad about that, Hannah. I hope you believe me. I didn’t mean for the animals to get hurt.”

“I do.” And to my surprise, I actually do believe him right now. All of the pride and arrogance that was evident earlier is gone.

“The animals were collateral damage,” he adds sadly. “Both the ones that were just wounded and the ones that were killed.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask.

“It turns out that when humans get bitten by a shifter, they want to attack the closest living thing. Before they tear themselves apart, I mean.”

“So the animals were attacked by humans after the humans themselves had been bitten?”

Brian nods. “I didn’t anticipate that at first. It didn’t happen with the councilman.”

“You were biting people in the forest,” I realize, and he nods again. “Is that where you found them or where you took them?”

“Sometimes one, sometimes the other,” Brian explains.

“It’s isolated and dark, and so big that no one would come upon what I was doing.

That’s where I got the second one, after the councilman.

After I saw what happened to the animals, I knew that’s where I had to keep practicing.

It worked really well until you and your brothers started all the patrols,” he says to Ryder.

“I didn’t know that,” I say, trying to get Brian to focus on me. “About humans attacking other living creatures. You’ve taught me something.”

“Oh, yeah,” Brian says. His demeanor has changed again. Instead of looking sad and upset, he’s back to looking proud and boastful. “I had suspected that would happen, just through my research. But the first time I saw it was something else.”

“I can imagine,” I say.

“The thing is, though, those humans were weak,” Brian says.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Well, they didn’t survive,” he says. “It’s like they thought attacking something else would make them stronger or would help them in some way. But they were wrong. The animals didn’t deserve it.”

“No, they didn’t,” I agree.

“You saved a lot of them, though,” Brian says.

“I did, and I’m glad for the ones that survived.”

“You’re a good vet.” Brian nods.

“Thanks, Brian. I appreciate hearing that.”

“She’s really got it all, Ryder,” Brian says. “Brains, beauty, and grit.”

“She does,” Ryder says.

“Thanks,” I tell Brian again, even though hearing him compliment me makes me want to vomit.

“I’d like to take some credit for bringing the two of you together,” Brian says.

“Oh, you get total credit,” I say. “I don’t think we would have met if the councilman hadn’t tried to attack me.”

“I guess I do get all the credit,” Brian says. “Ryder, you can repay me by making me best man. How about that?”

“Sounds good,” Ryder says. From his sickly expression, I’m guessing that he finds Brian’s compliments as nausea-inducing as I do.

“Earlier, you said that the humans were weak,” I say, trying to keep us on track.

“Right, the ones that attacked the animals. They were.”

“Was there anything else that made them weak?”

“Besides the fact that they died?” Brian asks. “Come on, Hannah, I thought you were a scientist.”

“I am,” I say.

“Then you get it,” he says.

“Get what?” I ask, completely confused.

“That only the strong survive,” Brian says. “Isn’t that, like, covered in Bio 101?”

“I must have been absent that day.”

“The weak humans, they had to be weak and die to pave the way,” Brian says.

“So they were collateral damage too,” I say.

“Right. It’s unfortunate. It really is. But that’s how it works in science sometimes. And in life, really. It’s a good life lesson for us all to remember. The weak have to die to pave the way for the strong.”

“What do you mean, the strong?” I ask.

Brian doesn’t answer. I glance at Ryder, who gives a small shrug.

“Brian, I’m curious,” I try again. “Could you tell me what you mean? I’d really like to find out.”

But Brian is staring at me with the strangest expression, like he’s sizing me up, assessing me for some reason.

The longer he stares, the more uneasy I feel. He’s so quiet after talking at such length and with so much enthusiasm. It’s like someone just flipped an “off” switch that connected his brain and his mouth.

But not the one that connects his brain and his eyes. Because he’s definitely assessing me. And then my stomach drops.

The weak dying, making way for the strong… for strong humans to be bitten by shifters and survive…

Is he talking about me?