a normal tone, I told Liam I’d be right back, then went to sit in Michelle’s spot. Winifred saw me coming and picked up Michelle’s tablet. She didn’t say anything to me, but started tapping on the surface of the device.
When Michelle returned, she had a glass of iced tea in her hand.
“May I have a drink?” I asked.
She smiled and held out the glass. Our gazes met as I brought it to my mouth. The taste of her lips still clung to the edge of the glass, a sweetness that heated my blood as I took several swallows. She knew because she looked away after a few moments. Then, she paled.
I turned, following her gaze, and found Winifred watching a video on the tablet. A huge dog was mauling a man. I frowned as I stared at the dog then realized what I was seeing. One of our kind, killing a human in the middle of a city. People on the sidewalks screamed and ran. The wolf looked at the camera then leapt over a nearby fence, leaving behind the body of a middle aged man.
Michelle’s scent spiked a moment before she made an odd noise. I caught her as she collapsed.
Liam yelled, and he and Aden came running.
“Mimi! Mimi!” The panic in their voices tore at me.
“Michelle,” I called, tapping her cheek. “Come on, honey. You’re scaring your brothers.”
“Mimi!” Aden said, reaching for her hair.
Winifred caught his hand as Michelle’s eyes fluttered. “She’s okay. She just fainted. Emmitt caught her. She’s not hurt.”
“Why would they do something so obvious?” Michelle mumbled.
“I don’t know,” Winifred said.
I smoothed my hand over Michelle’s hair, and she opened her eyes for me.
“Nice catch,” she whispered.
Humor after fainting. That was my girl.
“For you, always,” I said.
She sat up slowly, and I kept an arm around her. The paleness in her cheeks slowly warmed as she smiled at her brothers.
“I’m okay. Just got too warm. I think I need to go through the sprinkler.”
Liam wasn’t buying it, but he still allowed Jim to lead them away to play. Once they were out of earshot, I glanced at Winifred.
“I’m assuming that was Richard based on your reaction and question,” she said.
Michelle nodded, and I ached for her. She’d just witnessed how her stepfather had been murdered. Would she ever forgive us?
“This has gone too far. We need to find those responsible. They are killing, and that endangers us all. What we saw...that is not who we are,” Winifred said sadly.
Michelle offered no objection.
Winifred rose and walked into the house. A moment later, I heard her conferring with Sam. After all, Michelle wasn’t the only special human. Sam was in charge of Gabby, a young girl one of our kind had discovered years ago. And then, there was my mom. My mom was more than just a human-compatible Mate, though. She could control a human. Any human. Since I’d been old enough to understand the danger that put her in, I’d understood the need to keep her ability a secret.
That one of our own had killed a human put us all in danger. That one of our kind had held a potential Mate prisoner made me worry about my mom.
After Michelle and the boys went to bed, I met Jim and Winifred in Jim’s apartment.
“What did Sam say?”
“He would like to put out a call asking for the offender to step forward. He agrees that there’s no reason to mention Michelle’s existence or connection. It’s clear from the video that it was a werewolf. And, had we been paying better attention to the news, we would have known about this a month ago.”
“I’d like to talk to Mom and Dad and let them know the full story before you send out the call. Will you ask Dad to call from town? Tonight?”
She was quiet a moment.
“He said he will call within thirty minutes.”
They stayed in Jim’s place while I went to wait for the call at Winifred’s, the number they knew. I picked up before the phone completed its first ring.
“Hello,” I said, the universal polite way of asking who was calling.
“Emmitt, baby!” my mom said with love. “I’ve missed you so much. When did you return?”
“It’s been a few weeks. Sorry for not calling sooner.”
“How was it?” Dad asked, referring to my last few months of duty.
“Good. No issues being discharged.”
Silence hung in the air for a few moments, and I knew they were waiting for the reason behind my suddenly urgent call.