“The job posting was online, and I was looking …” Juliet pauses in a way that makes my ears twitch and my body freeze in case she’s somehow spotted me despite my dark fur blending seamlessly with the night. “I wanted to get away.”
“And Pine Falls fit the bill?”
“Better than most,” the librarian agrees with a cryptic vagueness.
There’s a certain tone in her voice I’ve heard before. Like a too-tight wire vibrating under each word. It’s how she sounded the first day I met her, when she told me her name was Juliet Adair. It’s the tone I heard when Juliet claimed to my sister that she didn’t live anywhere interesting before moving to town.
She’s either lying outright or holding back information.
Their conversation shifts, then falls silent, and I stew about the tension in her words.
Juliet—or whoever she is—is hiding something.
Pine Falls isn’t a big place, and it has far too many secrets already.
There’s no room here for hers.
10
JULIET
The beers are makingmy brain feel fuzzy and unfocused, so I rummage through my bag and pull out the components for s’mores. Best thing to soak up alcohol is to get some food in my belly.
Some in Zoey’s too. She was practically climbing Warner when he showed up. The sight made me anxious.
Tanya was right. Warner is extremely likable. I found that out when I talked to him on the phone to schedule a time for him to come repair the hole in my house. He’s charming and funny, and even through the phone I could hear him smiling.
Basically the opposite of his brother.
Unfortunately, that means Warner’s sheep disguise is even more convincing. I doubt many would see through to the wolf underneath. I only do because I know about the beast lurking there.
But Zoey is a naive human—at least naive when it comes to the fact that there are mythical monsters in the world.
I feel protective toward my new friend. She only showed up in Pine Falls a few weeks ago to deal with a piece of property her family owned. She’s new to this place, and she reminds me of myself when I first stumbled into Bear Valley.
The campfire crackles, a log splitting and sending sparks dancing through the air. We made sure to surround the flames with a ring of stones and built our firepit at a slight distance from the tree line. The residents of Pine Falls wouldn’t welcome the two of us newbies if we started a forest fire on the edge of town.
And Idowant to be welcome here. To fit in. To find friends and build a life.
Werewolves only make up a fraction of the Pine Falls population, as far as I can tell, and I figure if I keep my distance from them, I can live happily with only an occasional thought toward their existence.
I shouldn’t have mocked Roderick.
But I couldn’t seem to help myself when I made out his distinct shadow in the woods. I should have been creeped out, like I said. But for some reason, my warning signals didn’t go off. No part of me felt threatened or hunted by the man. More like he was observing Zoey and me. Checking up on us to make sure nothing was wrong.
Stop trying to make him a good guy, I grouse at myself.At best, he’s a neutral force.
But worst-case scenario, I have to go on the run again.
As I rip open a bag of fresh marshmallows, I consider how to help Zoey live a safe life in a town full of wolves. I moved here, knowing there were monsters in town. The undetectable barrier of safety that comes with living in a pack’s territory is the reason I chose this place. Which, again, brings me back to the fact that Zoey is lacking in all the facts.
But it’s not like I can just blurt out there are werewolves. Even if she did believe me, knowing about them could put her in danger. What if she says the wrong thing to the wrong person?
Better to approach this in a more subtle manner.
“So, you know that guy Warner, huh?” My voice sounds tight to my ears, but maybe Zoey is too drunk to notice. Or too distracted by the stick I hand her with three marshmallows speared on the end.
Zoey shrugs, as if dismissing him. “He’s helped me out a couple of times. And he’s, like, the friendliest person I’ve ever met.” Her whole concentration appears focused on rotating the little white fluffs over the open flames.
