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James came up from behind them and opened
the door when one of the officers knocked.
Uniformed officers crowded the house.
Moore pulled Janet and Kate aside, away from
ears.  They aren t harmed. Animal control will make
a sweep and ask for descriptions. Be vague.
Janet searched Kate s eyes. Kate said nothing.
Questions came from several officers.  Do you
own a dog?
 No, Janet told him.
 Have you seen these dogs before?
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Embracing the Wolf
 Only the one from the hold up at The Eatery,
Kate said.
 Do you recognize the man in the yard?
 No.
All the answers were honest. None indicated
that Richard or Max had morphed into animals.
Why would they? Saying she saw such a thing would
land her in the nut house and Joey in a foster home.
She sat back, followed Janet s lead, and waited
for the cops to leave. Joey woke at some point scared
and confused. Kate did her best to ease his fears and
put him back to bed.
It was after two in the morning before the
majority of officers left. Moore stayed behind with
two set of ears who obviously didn t know the truth.
Kate excused herself to bed, Janet followed.
Alone in her room Janet eyed the packed
suitcase.  You re leaving. It wasn t a question.  I
can t blame you. I ran too when I first found out.
Max scared the hell out of me.
Kate sat down and let her talk.
 You did see, didn t you?
 I accidentally turned on the monitors in the den
when I was trying to change the channel of the set.
Richard and Max were in the garage.
 Then the moon came up.
 I don t understand, Janet. What are they?
Why...
 Werewolves.
Of course, the full moon. Kate shook her head,
 How?
 I think Richard should explain this to you.
 Well Richard isn t here, so you get the honor.
Kate wasn t letting her off the hook.
 I don t think...
 No! Kate raised her voice to a yell.  You ve all
been lying to me for a month. You knew all along the
man I am sleeping with turns into an animal and
you said nothing. You owe me.
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Catherine Bybee
 I knew he would turn, like Max has for years.
But the thing you need to understand is Richard
turned for you. Only for you.
 I don t understand.
Janet sat on the bed next to her and lowered her
voice.  Being a werewolf, turning every month, is
something Richard and Max have chosen to do.
Richard did it for you. To help find the man who shot
you.
Kate still didn t understand. Janet must have
sensed her confusion so she went on.
 The Ritter family lives their lives protecting
innocent people from being turned into evil. See, if
you were bitten by the man who was after you, every
month you would have turned into a creature like
him.
 And if I were bitten by Max or Richard?
 You would turn, like them, but you wouldn t be
evil.
Kate stood, walked to the window, and peered
out into the night.  Werewolves don t exist.
 It takes some time to get used to. I didn t
believe it at first either, Janet sighed.  The bottom
line, however, is Richard never chose this life until
you came into his.
 I don t like the responsibility of knowing he
made the change for me. I didn t ask him to.
 I know you didn t.
 Can he change back?
 No.
Kate squeezed her eyes shut, shook her head.
 When did he do this?
 The night after he met you.
 Why do something so drastic for someone you
hardly know?
Janet walked over to where she stood and met
her eyes.  Max knew we were meant for each other
almost immediately. He calls me his soul mate.
 Oh, Janet. I don t know what to do.
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Embracing the Wolf
 Then do nothing, for now.
She needed to think. The question was could she
do so while staying under Richard s nose?
161
Catherine Bybee
Chapter Sixteen
I have to go to her. Richard panted, and
adrenaline surged in his veins.
We wait.
Did you see her face? She knows. She knows it
was me, us. Shit. How? How does she know, Max?
Richard paced the wooded area behind Max s estate.
Cops swarmed the yard. Flashes of cameras lit
up the night sky.
Already the moon was low on the horizon. The
second change of the night was coming.
Wait. It won t be long. You can talk to her then.
Richard knew his brother was right. Still, he
hated the waiting.
By morning, she could be gone.
****
Richard and Max came in after sunrise. Devon
sat with a cup of coffee and a newspaper at the
kitchen counter. The rest of the officers had left.
Richard marched over to Devon, wrapped his
fingers around his throat, and pinned him to the
wall.  You used Kate as a decoy, didn t you?
 Settle down. She didn t get hurt.
 You bastard. Richard pulled his arm back, fist
clenched. Max stopped him before he made contact.
 She could have been killed, or worse, he yelled.
 That didn t happen.
 No thanks to you!
Around the corner, Kate and Janet ran into the
room. Kate s eyes held dark circles, evidence that
she hadn t slept.
 Everything okay? Janet asked.
 Fine. Devon shrugged away from Richard,
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Embracing the Wolf
putting distance between them.
 Good, we ve had enough violence for one night.
Janet went to her husband and kissed him.
Richard watched Kate. Her gaze never left him.
 Did he call you? Richard shrugged toward
Devon.
 I called him.
 Why didn t you tell me?
Kate s eyes narrowed to thin slits.  A bit
hypocritical of you, don t you think? Seems you re
the one with all the secrets. Being bait to catch a
werewolf is minor compared to being one yourself.
 I think it s time I go. Devon moved for the
door.
 I m not done with you, Richard said, his eyes
never leaving Kate s.
 Yeah, yeah... you can kick the shit out of me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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