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He doesn’t growl this time; he just lies there, looking so peaceful, lost in the joy of change. I wonder if he’s been changing this entire time since we fell asleep in each other’s arms.
I walk into the main section of the barn, an instinctive smile on my face. It feels like we overcame so much last night, both of us pushing past our fears of being together.
It felt so good and right, like all the pieces of my life were fitting.
My smile falters when I see Liam and Mom.
Mom’s changed into simple clothes, her hair tied back, her eyes glassy with tears. Liam looks stern, his face hard-set, his eyes hard.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Ramsey’s changing,” he sighs. “He’s joy-changing. I can scent it. We can’t wake him up.”
“What’s happening?” I say. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
Liam sighs and looks at Mom.
“I’m sorry,” Mom says, almost crying. “I didn’t mean to. I just....”
“What happened?” I walk over to Mom, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can fix it.”
“The stories were true,” Mom cries, collapsing against me and bursting into tears. “All those stories he told me, Master Pete, but he never showed you. The demons, hewasa demon...but he didn’t have horns. He had teeth and red eyes, and he….”
My heart is thumping. I look at Liam, and he just nods.
“Pete is awolf?”
“He only showed some of us,” Mom sobs. “The special ones he wanted toreallyscare. I told you to trust your eyes, Ruby, and I meant it. I trusted my eyes. I saw the wolf. I knew how much he could hurt us.”
I’m crying now, too, squeezing her tighter. “I can’t believe it. You never told me.”
“What was I supposed to say?” she laughs bitterly. “I thought maybe Ihadgone insane, but then I saw Liam and Ramsey and....”
“Fucking hell. They’re getting closer.”
Liam walks over to the closed-off area, looking in on Ramsey. When he turns back, his face is severe.
“We should be running right now. There’s one wolf and at least ten men coming right here.”
“The hunters?” I say. “How do they know we’re here?”
“I called him.” Mom breaks into fresh sobs. “I wanted to make him stop. I hid in the bathroom and I called him, and by the time Liam heard me and stopped me, it was too late. They’d already tracked my phone. Or something.”
“And then it was a simple matter of scenting us,” Liam continues. “I came here so we could run. But we can’t.”
My heart is drumming.
“Wait. You called Pete, and so thehuntersare coming here?”
Mom looks at me flatly, her eyes glimmering. “He’s a hunter, Ruby. He hunts his own kind. He used to brag about it. Calling himself a monster killer. He’s done and said so many things I never told you about. I just wanted to make it all better.”
“Oh, Mom.” I hug her tighter. “I know you only wanted the best.”
After a pause, I ask Liam, “What do we do now? How do we fix this?”
My head is rushing with all the new information about Pete and the hunters. I’m trying to fit it together.
There’s so much I want to ask, but the urgency is too sharp.
