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This was getting better and better.
Dad handed me a small stack of notecards. I skimmed the words, and then looked up. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s okay,” Mr. Dawson said. “Everyone has agreed on the content. It’s time.”
I blew out a breath. “If you say so…”
I spent the next hour going over the words. It wasn’t a long speech, so I had it almost memorized by the time Dad called. In a daze, I walked to the gates with Dastien. The alphas and everyone else trailed behind us, but my thoughts were distant.
Whatever happened next, everything was about to change.
Chapter Seventeen
As soon as I stepped onto the podium, cameras started flashing. I could see through the flashes, but they still startled me. I nearly froze, but pushed myself to keep moving. I placed the now slightly crumpled piece of paper on the lectern. No less than ten microphones were taped to it, and I had to suppress the urge to tap on them while saying something like is this thing on?
I set my notecards down, spreading out the first few across the surface. Dad had said to focus on something above their heads, but all I saw were signs. Some were nice. Things like “We <3 Weres!” Others said some things that were not so nice about wolves and hellspawn.
A group of people stood behind me. Classmates. Cazadores. My friends. And Dastien.
You can do this, he said through the bond.
I took a breath in and prayed I didn’t fuck up too badly. “Thank you for coming today.” My voice wobbled and I cleared my throat. “I know the footage you all saw was shocking.” My hands shook, so I gripped the sides of the lectern. “You might also be shocked to know that werewolves have been around nearly as long as humans.” I couldn’t believe I was here, telling the world these things. I forced myself to look up, over the crowd. “And, since they’re a long-lived race, most of the people you see here—the ones all in black, and those behind me—have fought in many American wars. Including the one for our independence.”
The silence among the crowd was eerie. Only the sound of photographers’ flashes competed with my voice. “Werewolves have been protecting humans for centuries. Name a monster, and it most likely exists. Vampires. Demons.” The card said pause, so I took a moment, and then started again. The words were coming easier now. “Our leaders have been planning to come forward, but we’re extremely sorry that our presence had come to light in these circumstances.” I paused again, preparing for the hardest part. “Not everything that happened that night made it onto the video. The compound you saw is where the local coven of witches has made their home for the past fifty years. They lived peacefully within our community until their leader, Luciana Alvarez, turned to dark magic. Now Luciana has committed an unforgivable crime by murdering her coven and summoning demons into the world.”
Some people shouted questions.
“I know this might sound crazy. Believe me, I didn’t know that any of this existed until a few months ago. That’s why I’m the one speaking to you today. I was a normal human girl until a few months ago when I became a werewolf. I’ve been where you are, and I know more than anyone what an adjustment this knowledge can be, but the pack is trustworthy. They’ve been protecting you without hope or desire of recognition or fortune. They would’ve stayed in the background, content to protect us from afar, but this time, the evil is great. If you saw the recent news from San Antonio, you know about the attacks. Those were not werewolf attacks. Those were demons. Luciana Alvarez is out there somewhere, and she’s extremely dangerous. We’re working with the police to bring her to justice, but we are coming forward to warn you and make sure that you have the facts. For your safety, please stay indoors after dark. If you see one of these monsters—” I held up the drawing Chris had sketched. “Run. Do not engage. The officers who responded to the compound shot the demon many times, but bullets won’t harm this type of monster. We’ve found that you’ll smell demons before you see them. If you catch the rotten egg smell of sulfur, take that as your warning to leave wherever you are and call the authorities.”
I paused again. “It is our only wish to continue a peaceful existence, protecting you from monsters such as these. It is the pack’s dearest hope that you will welcome us as part of your, as we’ve already lived among you for a very long time.”
I folded up the piece of paper, and turned to Mr. Dawson. He gave me a little nod. “I’ll now answer some questions.”
Everyone started yelling questions at once, and I had no idea who to call on. Dad came to stand next to me. “You, first.” He pointed to a reporter in the front.
“You said you didn’t know any of this existed until a few months ago. What happened?”
Thank God Dad had prepared me for the likely questions. “I met my mate.” The reporter waited for me to say more, but I wasn’t going to volunteer anything more personal than that.
Dad pointed to someone else before the guy could think of a follow-up.
“How exactly did you become a werewolf?”
I’d been hoping for more questions about Luciana, but I guessed that wasn’t happening. “My mate changed me into one.” We’d agreed that any mention of biting would open up a can of worms we didn’t need right now, and I was technically telling the truth. Dastien had changed me.
After that, the questions came fast.
“Do you like being a werewolf?”
“Yes.”
“Can you change forms?”
“Yes.” From the way everyone waited after I said the word, I knew they wanted more from me than just ‘yes,’ but I wasn’t sure what else to say. They were going to be really disappointed if they were waiting for a demonstration.
“Can you think like a human when you’re in wolf form, or do you truly become a wolf?”
“I can think.”
