What does this have to do with my daughter?"
"It's contagious. This thing we have, it's a disease, and you can catch it. Gabby just did. We're going to get her through it, but there's not a doctor in the world who can help. Right now, I'm your daughter's best chance. I can make sure she gets through this, but you cannot be around her unless you want her to attack you."
A fist pounding at the door kept me from asking anything else. Ian jerked it open to show Lane on the other side. "When's the full moon?"
"Fuck if I know," Ian replied.
"Well, we need to find out, because she's trying, man. You gotta stop her."
The moment Ian moved, I darted past him. I had no idea what kind of drugs they were on, but I had to make sure Gabby was ok. I only made it back into her room because it was so close. The guys were right on my heels. I still made it, and the sight before me was worse than I'd feared.
Her back was arched and twisted, her mouth open as wide as it could go. Gabby's fingers were tense like claws, but both Trent and Pax were holding her down, keeping her from writhing off the bed. She still knew when I walked in, and her face whipped around to stare at me, bubbles of spit frothing at her mouth.
Then I saw her eyes. My little girl had dark brown eyes. They'd always been the color of rich soil or unsweetened chocolate. The eyes staring back at me weren't those. They were paler, almost a caramel color, but with the strangest yellow undertone.
Just like everyone else in Wolf's Run.
I barely had time for the thought to register before Lane grabbed me, lifting my feet from the ground. I screamed. I kicked. He didn't care at all. Just like Ian had, he walked me right back to the guest bedroom and pushed me inside. The difference was that when he blocked the door, I didn't have a chance of getting past him.
"What are you doing?" Ashley snapped.
"Making sure she's not exposed," Lane told her. "She wants to check on Gabby, but the girl's fevered. She already bit Pax."
"What?" I asked.
"It's ok," Ashley told me. "Pax can take it, trust me."
"Ash?" Lane asked. "When's the moon? She's trying to change."
Blowing out a breath, my best friend in the world pulled out her phone. The calm way she was handling this made me feel a little better, but not much. Someone needed to start explaining to me what was going on, and fast.
"It'll peak Sunday morning, two a.m."
"Little over a day," Lane said. "Then we can hold her. I need you to close the community."
"Already done," she promised. "Dad's on it."
And I couldn't take any more. "What the fuck is wrong with my daughter!" I demanded.
"It's a virus," Ashley explained. "Bloodborne. A retrovirus." She bobbed her head once. "Elena, this entire community? Everyone's infected or related to someone infected. They all know about it. Everyone... but you."
"And you knew about this?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I have it too. It's not something you can just catch, though. It's only transmitted through blood and sexual contact."
Suddenly, all the little things finally made sense. I'd noticed, but I'd thought it was none of my business. I'd said I was making too much money to care. Instead, I'd put my daughter in danger? What kind of mother did that make me? And then the last part of that hit, feeling like a punch to the gut.
"That's what Seth was trying to tell me," I breathed.
"He did?" Ashley asked.
"Condoms. Oh my god. Is it HIV? Worse?"
She sucked in a deep breath. "Lycanthropy."
"I'm serious!" I told her.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Me too. It's called lycanthropy, Elena. The technical name is some letters and numbers, but those of us who have it call it lycanthropy."
"So you're trying to say you're all werewolves?"
"Yeah," Lane grumbled, sounding resigned.
"Fine. Prove it."
His grunt made it clear what he thought of that, but Lane still began to kick off his shoes. Next, he pulled off his shirt, then he bent down and peeled away his socks, tossing his clothes into a heap. When he reached for the waist of his pants, I expected to call his bluff and have him stop. Instead, those came off and Lane never even looked at Ashley before he exposed himself.
"Just remember that I won't hurt you, ok?" When I didn't reply, he ducked his head, making