Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,24

creaked open and she pulled back into a wall of hanging clothing, then tried to breathe as quietly as possible.

“There it is,” Lucy said. Katelyn heard her footfalls go past the closet door. “Happy now?” They crossed back.

“I didn’t go trick or treating,” Jesse said. “A man came to our house. He and Uncle Lee were yelling.”

“Yes, well, they made up,” Lucy said. “And look at all the candy you have. Oh, here’s the gum.”

Katelyn heard the rustling of paper. Jesse must be unwrapping a stick of sour apple. “Is she dead?”

“I’m sure she’s just fine. It’s nothing for you to worry about. I don’t want you to worry about anything, Jesse James.”

“You love me. You love me more than Justin.”

“Oh, honey, everyone loves you.”

“Justin loves Kat.”

Katelyn went numb. Without thinking, she sucked in her breath. Then she shut her eyes against a tide of panic, worried that she’d made too much noise.

“You know your brother likes pretty girls,” Lucy said after a pause. “But they’re, well, they’re like candy. They’re not all that good for your health.”

What did that mean? Was she threatening Justin?

“I brush my teeth,” Jesse said proudly.

“So does Justin. Now let’s get out of here before we get in trouble, okay? Let’s leave it a secret that we even came in here.”

“I’m good at secrets,” Jesse said.

“That’s good, darlin’.”

The bedroom door opened and closed. Katelyn exhaled slowly. She tried to step off Cordelia’s shoes and wobbled to the right. She put her hand out to steady herself . . . and her hand went right through a poster of a wolf baying at the moon taped to the closet wall. Then she realized that there was an opening just behind it, like a little wall safe.

And there were some things inside. She reached in, and the first thing she pulled out was Ozark Folklore, by Theodore Switliski. The “missing” book that Cordelia “didn’t” have. Next Katelyn found what appeared to be a purple-bound blank book. Curious, Katelyn opened it.

. . . I don’t know why he’s so obsessed with finding the mine. I’m scared we will find it, and then he’ll do something to Kat.

5

“Oh, my God,” Katelyn whispered. It was Cordelia’s diary. She shut it, wishing like anything for her backpack, then slid it under her arm while she pulled out a framed photograph of Dominic Gaudin, the leader — the alpha — of the Fenners’ rival wolf pack, the Gaudins. It was like a studio portrait, very posed. His reddish-gold hair brushed the shoulders of a gray opened-neck shirt, and a golden pendant of what appeared to be some kind of wolf-like monster dangled from his neck. He had very straight, big shoulders and a broad chest. His forehead was high, his eyebrows brown, his eyes a crystalline blue.

The picture was inscribed Pour toi, ma belle Cordelia. D. Katelyn’s mother was French, and the words were easy to translate anyway: for you, my beautiful Cordelia.

Katelyn had seen Dom Gaudin when she’d accidentally spied on the Fenners during their hastily arranged Halloween night meeting with him. Tensions had run sky high, and the meeting had fallen apart. He had accused the Fenners of invading his territory and dumping silver in his streams. He had humiliated Lee Fenner by saying that word had reached him that two human girls had been killed, and probably by werewolves. Lee Fenner had denied it all, but it wasn’t until Dominic suggested that he would make peace by marrying Cordelia that Mr. Fenner went completely crazy and booted him. That had been the night Katelyn had first seen the Switliski book in this room. Cordelia must have hidden it away right after that. Maybe she’d been afraid that Katelyn had already realized that she had it.

That was the same night she said the Hellhound came onto their territory. Fenner werewolves had searched the property for invaders, but had found none.

She put back the picture of Dom and tried to smooth the poster into place again. Then she left the closet and faced the bedroom door, not sure how to leave with her loot. She looked around, then grabbed Cordelia’s Wolf Springs High sweatshirt off the back of her chair and put it on. She slipped the books under the front and hastily darted into the hall. Then she hurried through the living room to the entryway, where she had left her backpack and purse, and slipped the books inside. For good measure, she took off Cordelia’s sweatshirt and stuffed it