Page 66 of Lupo

A warehouse. My hands around someone's throat just like this.

An alley. Choking someone until they're still.

A basement. Multiple bodies.

But no names. No faces I recognize. Just the knowledge that I've done this before.

That my body remembers what my mind has forgotten.

Draco's struggles weaken. His hands fall away, twitching uselessly. His eyes roll back.

I hold on until he stops moving completely. Until I'm absolutely certain.

Then I hold on for another thirty seconds.

When I finally release him, my hands are shaking. I sit back, staring at the body.

Draco Vitale. Dead by my hands.

I’m not sure how long I sat there staring at him. Glad he’s dead at my hands.

Eventually, I hear soft footsteps outside the barn door.

"Lupo?" Her voice is tentative.

I stand, positioning myself between her and the body. "I told you to stay inside."

"Elena's still sleeping. I locked her door." She steps into the barn, carefully not looking at Draco. "Is he...?"

"Yes."

She's quiet for a moment. "Thank God."

"You shouldn’t be here. I killed him.”

She moves closer, her hands shaking but her voice steady. "He was going to take Elena. Take us both." She looks up at me. "You saved us."

"I murdered him."

"You protected us." She touches my face, and I flinch. I'm covered in his blood. "You did what had to be done."

"When I was killing him, I remembered things. Not everything, but... enough." I step back. "I've done this before. Killed people. Multiple times. My hands knew exactly what to do."

She goes very still. "You remember who you are?"

"No. Just... what I'm capable of."

"And you're telling me this why? So I'll be afraid of you?"

"You should be."

"Maybe." She steps closer again. "But I'm not. Right now, all I feel is grateful that you came back. That you stopped him. If you hadn’t come back, we would’ve been trapped with him again. I was so scared."

The words should comfort me. Instead, they make me feel like I'm pulling her into my darkness.

"We need to move him," I say finally. "Before anyone notices the car."

"Where?"