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His brown eyes rounded. “It was a nightmare come true.”
“Everyone feels that way about death.”
“No, not death. The creature that served it to me. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the gwiber as a child. They terrified me.”
“Your grandmother was a member of the Arrowhead pack?”
“She moved here from Wales as a young girl and married my grandfather. He was already a member.”
“Do you remember the details of the attack?”
“I was following a scent, and the gwiber crossed my path. I couldn’t believe it was real. My hesitation cost me my life.” He craned his neck to look in the direction of the cabin. “What happens now?”
“I can help you cross over, if that’s your preference.”
He nodded. “It is. I’d like to join the rest of my family.” He fixed me with shining eyes. “Will it hurt?”
“Not anymore.” I held up my hand. “Continue your journey, Arthur. Be at peace.”
Arthur looked at me skeptically. “That’s it?”
“It’s only complicated if you make it so.”
His form dissipated.
I emerged from the trees and returned to the cabin; my footsteps now heavier than when I left.
“Arthur's gone,” West said, “but I guess you already knew that.”
Sage grew alert. “You speak to spirits?”
“Who speaks to spirits?” Gran demanded from the other room.
“None of your business, Gran! Go back to sleep.”
“How can I sleep with werewolves dying on my table?” the old woman called.
Sage rolled her eyes.
“He was killed by a gwiber.”
West glanced at his companions. “Anybody know what that is?”
They shook their heads.
“I guess the animal attack rumor isn’t as far-fetched as we believed,” West remarked.
I remembered the cop whose body hadn’t been found. “There was a cop killed last month, presumably another animal attack. They found her blood but not her body.”
“So?” Sage said.
“So, the gwiber is a giant snake. It probably ate the cop whole.”
“It would’ve swallowed Arthur whole, too, if we hadn’t interrupted it,” West said.
“A lot of animals have gone missing the past couple months,” Sage said. “A giant snake monster would explain it.”
“If it’s that big, how has no one spotted it?” the nameless werewolf asked.
