Page 12

CHAPTER 12

REDLEY

This can’t be right.

He couldn’t have been dead in the forest two hours ago and be lying here now. The Wolf took off after the killing. He would have had to move fast and I don’t think he’d beat me here by that much. Maybe it’s the other brother. The thought that I’ll have to tell the Murphys both kids are dead just about knocks me off my feet. I’m about to break their hearts and destroy their whole world, when their other son, who is very clearly not dead, steps up to put a hand on his sobbing mother.

“What the hell happened?” I ask, wondering how the fuck and why the Wolf managed to pull this off. It's a rhetorical question, but one of the older ladies my granny never cared for shushes me.

“Don’t you curse now, Red. This is an awful enough night without you giving the devil a hand.” Mrs. Crocker wears her curlers and her nightdress but still clutches her collar like she’s wearing a set of pearls.

“What happened?” I correct my language, because I need to know more than I need to stand my ground.

“They’re saying they found him just laying dead in the parking lot, mauled by a bear, they think. Not sure if he was alive when they found him, but he ain’t now. Poor thing, God bless his soul.”

My hands ball into fists around my cloak. It takes everything in me to simply breathe in and out. There isn’t fairness or justice for me, my family, or this poor kid. And if he was found on the side of the road it’s because someone tossed him there. Savage, monster—I can’t think of a word bad enough for the Wolf.

“Who found him?” I ask.

“Doc. He was on his way to help out a patient, and Henry was just lying there.” Henry. So it was the seventeen-year-old.

“How did his neck wind up like that?” I ask.

She gasps again, her face going pale and her mouth falling open. “Worry about things becoming a young lady, Red. Bears do all kinds of nasty things when they get their claws into you.”

My eyebrows rise as I think about what kind of bears she’s run into.

“I’m worried about all these people who keep dying,” I tell her.

Yvette has been around long enough to know the truth, but she denies the Wolf as fiercely as anyone.

“You need to worry about finding a husband before a bear gets you all alone in that cabin of yours.” She turns her nose up.

“I’ve got my own gun. I don’t need a man to shoot for me.”

“That talk won’t attract a nice man either.”

No, it won’t, and unfortunately for me, the only man I’ve ever been interested in is a monster and the opposite of nice.

“I’m going to go talk to Doc. You have a safe trip home,” I tell her as I step away and float a bit closer to the mayhem.

“Should just leave well enough alone,” she mutters to herself, but I don’t get to hear the rest.

“Yeah, just lying there, absolutely torn to shreds. Real shame,” Doc says, gesturing to the Murphy he found lying on the side of the road instead of deep in the forest where he actually died.

“Terrible shame, you know the mamas get this way coming out of hibernation. We’ll get him buried tomorrow,” Terry, the assumed fire chief, says.

“What about calling the authorities?” I ask, and they both turn to find me, irritated expressions already prepared.

“Redley, this is Grimm Groves business. We don’t need to bother anybody, especially over an accident,” Doc says.

“How do you know it was an accident?” I ask. “Looks pretty violent for that.”

Doc’s jaw hardens. “I’ve been the town doctor since before you were born. I think I know a bear attack when I see one.”

“It looks like his throat was cut.” My voice reveals my anger, and that’s my first mistake.

“And how would you know something like that?” Terry asks, a thread of suspicion raising but of course pointing in the wrong direction.

“She wouldn’t,” Doc insists, “She’s just a silly girl who's heard a few too many ghost stories. Don’t pay her any mind.”

They both laugh, and my cheeks burn so hot they might melt off.

“Now, why don’t you run along home, Redley. You’ve had enough excitement for one night,” Doc says.

Doc has always disliked me, though I’m not sure why. A lot of the old-timers do, so I try not to take it too personally. Mostly, I think it’s because a lot of men don’t like a woman who thinks for herself.

“Sounds like a good plan, gentlemen. You seem to have this under control.” The words are polite, but thick sarcasm laces my tone. “Have a great night.”

My boot digs into the gravel as I turn and leave them all to their bullshit. A quick jog and then I climb back into the truck. Instead of causing a scene, I decide to handle things myself. That mother has enough to worry about without me adding to it. Despite knowing the truth, I head home with it tucked under my hat.

They're down here crying about tragedies, and the Wolf is somewhere on this mountain planning which one of them to pick off next. I can’t help but think there’s a good chance it’s going to be me. When I get back to the cabin, I only check the inside for intruders. He could be out in the yard, but I just don’t care anymore. Tonight doesn't seem like the night I’m going to end this.

The fire burns a little too low for the temperature, and I put in another log and stoke the flame before going to sit at the table. Granny’s bloodstain is still there, just as thick as the day she left it, but it’s grown nearly black with age and seeped so deeply into the wood it’ll never come clean.

It’s the same for my parents' place down the mountain. Although Granny had different reasons for never dealing with the mess. I wasn’t here to do it, and now it just feels wrong to try. It’s usually easier to ignore, but it looks a little darker with the Wolf’s gift sitting on the table. I’ve seen this type of box before, but I doubt he actually gave me a ring. I breathe through my nose as I open it, but instead of something gruesome and terrible, a fat and shining diamond ring sits nestled into the silky red fabric.

My eyebrows push together, and my anger and disgust turn to stark confusion. It’s hard to stay angry when you’re shocked and maybe even a little flattered. I haven’t seen many diamonds in real life. A couple of the ladies in town have one, but my mama and Granny never did. Sure, I saw women wearing them in Pennsylvania and New York, but who knew if they were real or not?

I pull it out of the box and lay it flat on my hand like it’s a bomb that might go off, then carefully inspect each angle. This looks surprisingly real, not that I would have any way to know, but it's not glass. The setting is simple, just a gold band, and lord, is it stunning. I can’t imagine how much this thing is worth, and I can’t begin to guess why he gave it to me. It might be just lovely, but it’s the single most confusing gift I’ve ever received, and I can’t accept it.

My name is written carefully on the envelope, and I don’t dare to open that until I’m back in my bedroom. His fingerprints are in blood against the white, matching the ones still imprinted on my windowsill. He doesn’t care. He knows no man can catch him. What does law enforcement mean to an immortal monster, especially when they won’t come here or believe long enough to hunt him?

I open the envelope and spread the letter, taking a sharp breath at the neat script of his handwriting. He’s more educated than I would have assumed for a creature that came out of the woods, but I should have learned a long time ago not to underestimate him. His clothes, the cassette, he’s used to refinement too.

Muffin,

You should have said yes the first time I asked.

This is your last chance.

Marry me or else you won’t enjoy the consequences.

Love,

Your Wolf

The ring he gave me shakes in my hand. I’m not sure why I didn’t see it for anything but a taunt until now, but a shiver of intuition tells me that he might be serious. A man doesn’t usually give you a ring like this unless he has a reason and means it. Does that logic translate for a monster?

His intentions don’t really matter. This beautiful ring doesn’t matter. I’m not playing his games anymore. I’m going to kill him.

The ring seems to place itself on my finger, and I stare at the way it looks on my hand for just a minute before I tuck it back away. The lid to the box slams shut, and I speak out loud just to drive the point home.

“There is no way in hell I’d marry the Wolf.”