Page 85 of Feral Werewolves

“Maybe,” I said. I remembered how we’d talked about whatever scent I supposedly had, how we hoped it would deter the wolves, but it hadn’t. I squared my shoulders. “Anyway, I’m going to be fine.”

“Of course you are,” said Noah. “We’re all much tougher than we look, aren’t we?”

20

kestrel

I WASN’T EVERsure about Paladin when he got like this, which wasn’t often. He could slip out of it at any moment, that was the thing. Sometimes, he’d regress and forget everything he’d done.

It was funny, right, that I was the leader of this pack?

Lazarus could have done it, but he was too guilty.

And Paladin was really the brains and the strategy and the reason we evenwerea pack in the first place. But he was usually too traumatized to even remember whatever it was that he’d done.

We got to Liam’s place, and the lawn leading up to the house was dotted with bodies. There were clumps of fur in the grass, but the bodies looked human now, having shifted back in the morning light. They were even healed up, perfect and pristine, no marks on their bodies, even though they were still dead.

Paladin led the way, and Lazarus and I went behind him. It was extremely weird knocking on someone’s door totally naked.

No one answered, though.

However, we could hear movement from within.

Paladin tried the door, which was locked, and he started yelling into the house and banging on it.

One of the other wolves in the house, a guy named Ezra,opened the door and said they were on their way out to go to the compound.

“What?” said Paladin. “How many of you are there?”

“Four now, because they killed Mick,” said Ezra. “Liam’s on a rampage, though—”

“Take me to Liam,” said Paladin, pushing his way into the house.

Ezra looked us over and then looked at Paladin in that way that people looked at him sometimes. “Fine,” he said.

We went deeper into the house, into a small room that must have once been a pantry or something, but was now an arsenal, lined with ammunition and various guns. Liam and his guys on this farm had made it their business to hoard all the guns they could find. They would buy any guns that anyone had for exorbitant trades—the kind of things you couldn’t resist, right?I’ll give you enough food to last you the winter when I know that you had a blight that took out your harvest and all I want is your measly little gun.That kind of thing.

Liam was in the room, sorting through the guns he had available. “You get rid of them, Ezra?” he said without looking up.

“Not exactly,” said Paladin.

Liam turned around. His gaze went from Paladin’s head all the way down to his toes. “More of you than I was hoping to see this early in the morning, gotta say.”

“We were hoping you might spare us all an extra pair of jeans each or something,” said Paladin. “We came straight here, didn’t go back to our house for fear they’re watching it.”

“They would have sent more people to you,” said Liam.

Paladin considered. “Maybe.”

“I’m going to get my girl back,” said Liam. “So, sure, fine, Ezra, get them something to wear, but then meet me out front because—”

“We need to be smart about this,” said Paladin.

“I have the guns,” said Liam.

“Red’s got guns,” said Paladin. “We know he does. Hell,he’s traded withyoufor firearms.”

Liam blinked. “I cannot talk to you with your dick justthere.”

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