Page 64 of Werewolves Don't Howl
“This isn’t real,” Bram finally said to Cross, his face pale, horror written all over him.
I crouched against Cross, trying to disappear. He smoothed over my fur, scratching behind my ears and making soothing noises. “Yes. It’s real. Your sister survived transitioning into a werewolf over fifteen years ago. She’s not capable of infecting anyone, and her beast is fully merged with the rest of her. There is no danger to you.”
“She’s tiny,” Penn whispered. “Can I touch her?” He reached out a hand, but Bram slapped it down.
“Don’t be an idiot, Penn. You don’t pet werewolves.”
Cross held me tighter and stroked my fur, clearly demonstrating that’s exactly what he did.
“But she’s so cute. And if it’s Delphi, I’d rather be a werewolf with her than not be able to touch her.” Pen frowned as he ducked under Bram’s arm and came into our already crowded stall. He hesitated, then slowly touched my paw. I blinked at him while he slowly smiled.
“You have the same eyes,” he said, and patted my head with more confidence. “Fifteen years as a werewolf? You should have told us sooner. Mom’s going to have to find some good werewolf recipes.”
“Penn, gnomes don’t turn into werewolves. They die,” Bram said, hotly. “If she’s a werewolf, she’s dead to us.”
I flinched and burrowed my head under Cross’s armpit. He smelled delicious, like elves sweat moonlight and rainbows. Of course he did.
“Don’t say that, Bram,” Penn said while Cross held me more tightly. “You’re hurting her feelings. She didn’t ask to get turned into a werewolf. Did she?” he asked Cross.
“No,” he said, voice sharp. “She didn’t ask to survive, either. She’d rather die than be a werewolf, but she didn’t die, so you’ll have to deal with that tragedy,” he finished, standing up, and bringing me with him so I was tucked against his chest.
“Where are you going?” Bram demanded, blocking the door.
“I’m going to take her inside so I can treat her bullet wound. It seems she was shot.”
Bram’s eyes went big and then guilt was written all over his face as he tucked the gun away. “Dad didn’t shoot Delphi.”
Cross made a noncommittal sound. “You should go tell your wife that everything’s fine. If you’d like to say that Delphi’s sick, that would be better than announcing she’s a werewolf. She’s worried that she’ll lose her job when the truth comes out.”
When, not if. I shook my head and leapt out of Cross’s arms, grabbed a folded blanket in my teeth and shifted back to human. I winced as the pulling skin and muscles tore at my bullet wound, then wrapped the blanket around myself, shivering from the loss of blood.
“I shouldn’t go inside. They’ll be frightened,” I said, gripping the blanket tight.
“I don’t care,” Cross said, eyes hard. “I’m treating your wound even if I have to knock you out to do it. Do you want me to carry you, or Bram?”
I glanced at Bram, then shook my head. “I can walk, but it’s not necessary to?—”
Cross picked me up and started out of the stall, past my brothers like they weren’t there. “The blanket’s a bit itchy. I apologize,” Cross said, his beautiful eyes conveying a world of apology.
Penn snorted. “It’s not your blanket. If we knew Delphi’d be using it, we would have given you better blankets.”
Bram scowled at Penn. “She shouldn’t be in here with him. Who messes around in the barn when they’ve been shot?” He scowled at Cross. “We’ll have to see what father has to say about this.”
Cross gave him the icy look of a trained assassin. “He shot her. I don’t care what he says. His opinion is absolutely irrelevant.”
The idea of facing my father had me shrinking against Cross.
He brushed my hair with his lips and murmured, “He won’t hurt you again. I swear it.”
“Of course he won’t hurt her,” Bram blustered. “If you’d bothered to tell us you were a werewolf, no one would have shot you.”
“That’s true,” Penn said, nodding as he followed us out of the barn. “Not that I blame you, Delphi. I wouldn’t want to tell mom that I’d been infected, either. I hope she doesn’t cry.”
“Of course she’ll cry,” Bram muttered. “Her precious daughter got turned into a?—”
“If you say anything that hurts your sister,” Cross ground out, “I will personally make certain that you regret it.”
Bram pressed his lips together, and Penn nodded, all of us heading towards the house where the first aid kit was.
