Page 21 of Cry of the Damned
By Friday night, we were all restless and ready for something to happen. I couldn’t wait until my meeting with Rob, especially since everyone had agreed to my course of action. They hadn’t been happy, of course. It would put me at risk, but they couldn’t argue. It was a great opportunity we shouldn’t waste, better than anything we could’ve hoped.
“I’m tired of being cooped up in here,” Maki complained as everyone took turns washing their dinner plate. We’d had beans and rice for dinner, a very cheap alternative, though Bethel had insisted on buying some sausage to add as we cooked beans. It was a good choice that greatly improved the flavor and made the meal more filling.
“I’m going out tonight!” Maki declared. “My wolf needs to run and be free.”
“That’s not smart,” Ila said.
Maki huffed. “I don’t care if it’s smart or not. I’m going out, and that’s it.”
“Of course, you would act like that,” she spat, her face flushed with anger.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what it means.”
I glanced between Kall, Novuk, and Bethel, wondering if we should interfere. They both seemed to be getting pretty worked up, and I had a feeling they weren’t exactly fighting about Maki’s wish to let his wolf run. Except the others were backing away slowly, definitely unwilling to get in the middle of their spat.
“No, I don’t know what it means,” Maki shot back. “Please kindly explain.”
“Don’t raise your voice. Mrs. Clarice will hear you,” she mock-shouted.
Maki replied, his voice a few levels quieter. “I’m waiting for an explanation.”
By now, Kall and Novuk were quietly slipping into their room. Behind me, Bethel was almost to ours. I started my own retreat. I would not be the only one left to catch the fallout.
“Still waiting,” Maki insisted to a reluctant-looking Ila.
Except, in the next instant, her expression changed in a way that seemed to say,Damn it all to hell, and I took that as my cue to slit behind my bedroom door and shut it.
“It means,” Ila’s voice came through the thin door right into my sensitive ears, “that you’re a selfish bastard who only worries about himself and thinks everything’s a game.”
“Is that so?” Maki demanded.
No answer from Ila, but I imagined her nodding sternly and jutting her hip out.
“Well, I’m not surprised, coming from the likes of you.” Maki again.
Don’t take the bait. Don’t take the bait,I thought to myself.
“The likes of me?” Ila’s question sounded irate.
She took the bait.
“Yeah, the likes of you, Ila Ashoona. You don’t know how to have fun. You used to be different, but then it was all ‘don’t do that’ and ‘act like an adult.’ You practically turned into your mother.”
“Somebodyhadto grow up. The world isn’t all fun and games. There are also responsibilities, some of them life-altering. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re fighting for the survival of our kind.”
Bethel sat at the edge of the bed, staring straight at the door and looking as if she needed a bucket of popcorn. She was thoroughly entertained by this. I gave her a disapproving glance.
“This is way overdue,” Bethel said, not one bit of guilt in her expression.
“I’ve noticed, alright!” Maki growled. “I nearly died twice fighting the Academy.”
“I lost my mother, Maki.”
“That’s a low blow. That wasn’t my fault, and we have all mourned her loss. And now our pack is in shambles.”
“Shambles, huh? I bet you would have rather stayed with Lawana and the rest of our pack.”
