Meg wouldn't give us any warning. She'd pounce, and she wouldn't be alone. This was one person, and Shaun was right; she was giving us a good long approach. We waited, still and quiet, until she emerged from the trees. She was average height and build, with an edge: sharp features, wiry limbs. Her auburn hair was short, brushing around her ears. She wore a tank top and shorts, and she might have been anyone out for a morning stroll, but for the look in her eyes: hooded, anxious. Her jaw was set, and her shoulders tense, a bit like rising hackles.
"Becky," I said.
She was another one of Carl's, a couple years older than me both in chronological age and in time as a lycanthrope. She was tough, maintaining a spot in the middle to upper end of the pack hierarchy. She was one of the ones who thrived in this life. My first thought: I had underestimated him. Carl had expected something like this and sent a patrol. He was ready for us, and we'd been caught. We'd lost. Sitting here in the great outdoors, naked, along with the two men, I couldn't help but feel like I'd been caught at something illicit. That made me blush, and the blushing made me angry.
But then, she'd been the one who tried to help Jenny. What was she doing here now?
"What are you going to tell Carl?" I said. "You going to run back and tell him we're right here, easy pickings? Is that what he sent you out here to find?"
She shook her head, and her voice was low. "He didn't send me. I came out here for a walk. To think. I do that sometimes. Then I smelled you and followed you here."
I was taken aback. "Carl doesn't know we're here?"
"Oh, he will. You guys were busy last night." A smile flickered, and she looked away. To the wolves, that was a gesture of peace, of submission. It heartened me.
"You're going to tell him."
"No," she said. She licked her lips. Gaze downcast, she said, "I want to join you. Take me with you."
Chapter 11
We'd goaded our rivals, with this bright idea of luring them into the open. They'd be angry, unprepared, and—I hoped—they'd get stupid. It looked nice on paper. At least it would have if I had written any of it down.
In the meantime, the four of us grabbed breakfast. I now had a pack of four. How had that happened?
Over coffee, Shaun told me what had been happening with the pack. "You remember Gabe?"
"The bike courier from Boulder, right? Thirty something. Ran marathons."
"Right. He was the first one. After T.J., Carl flipped. Kept thinking others would try it. That we were all questioning his authority. He had to slap everyone down to prove his point. Most of us rolled over and took it. You know how it is. But Gabe…Gabe thought he could talk to Carl. Reason with him. Appeal to the human side. But Carl…" Shaun shrugged, looked away, to collect himself. "Carl went too far. Gabe listened to your show, you know. Didn't tell you. Didn't dare tell Carl. But he really liked what you had to say. About being human. I think…I guess he thought he had to try."
Great. Now I could lay him on my conscience, too. Made me question all over again if I was ready for this.
"And it's kept happening. Carl makes examples, keeps throwing his dominance at us. And we keep questioning him. I'd like to have my own place someday. Start my own restaurant or bar or something. But Carl's made threats. Says he'll make sure the place sinks. He doesn't want anyone but him in charge of anything. I can't make a move with him in the picture. I don't want him trying to shut me down like he tried to do with you." He nodded at me. "Then he starts dragging us into Arturo's turf war, not even thinking twice about getting us all killed. I'm not sure he even sees people anymore when he looks at us."
Rick had said it had gotten bad for the werewolves here. This was the first chance I'd had to really talk to them.
"Jenny wasn't strong," I said. "She wasn't confronting him. Did he just lose it or what?"
Becky nodded. "It's like he can't control himself anymore, and Meg isn't any help, she's right there with him. God, Jenny. I thought if I could get her away from him, she'd be safe. I thought if anyone could convince her, you could, Kitty. I should have looked out for her better, if we had all just looked out for her—" Shaun rested a hand on Becky's arm, quieting her.
I hadn't realized how much T.J. had been a buffer between me and Carl. How much his presence had saved me from some of Carl's ire. Another debt I owed him, that I could never repay. Jenny hadn't had someone like T.J. looking out for her.
From the first, Rick had told me that the pack wasn't healthy. A pack needed balance. Checks and buffers. Everyone needed to take part, to share in the responsibility. Carl had cowed everyone, and subsequently, had collected all the power. He couldn't carry it all by himself.
She continued. "It's like we've been waiting for something to give, waiting for something to break, to shake things up. We've just been waiting for a chance to bring him down."
"And you think that chance is me," I said.
"It'd better be," Shaun said. "Or we're all dead."
Frustrated, I said, "Why are you guys putting so much faith in me?"
Becky didn't even have to think about it. "We all saw what happened to you in Washington, D.C. And you came through. You're strong. I've been listening to your show. I can hear it in your voice. You're a natural leader. We've been waiting for someone to follow."
I wasn't ready for this. I just wanted to get rid of Carl, I didn't want to take over the whole pack. Right?
I took a deep breath. This was one of those moments where everything might change. I felt the tracks of my life curve in a new direction. "If you guys believe that, then you need to believe that I can't do it by myself. I need your help."
Becky ducked her gaze. "It'll come down to a fight. We'll have to fight, we know that."
I shook my head. "Not if I can help it. I'm not that good in a fight. I'm happier using wit and guile." I braced, waiting for a snappy remark from Ben. He only raised an eyebrow. In respect of his refraining from commenting, I refrained from kicking him under the table.
"Here's what I'd like you to do," I said. "Call up everyone from the pack you think you can talk into leaving. Or at least into not standing with Carl when the time comes. We need allies, and you know the pack better than I do now. The more defectors we can get before a fight, the better off we'll be."
Shaun grinned. "I'd love to see Carl standing there all alone, when he thinks he has a ton of backup."
"I don't want everyone to leave right away," I said. "Once they leave, they can't go back. But if they stay, they might be able to let us know what he's up to."
"Or give him a false sense of security," Ben added.
"They'd have to be really careful," Shaun said. "Carl and Meg would both pick up on it if they thought someone was turning on them."
"Then maybe it'd be better for them to just leave. I don't want anyone to get killed because of me. Anyone else."
"Don't worry about us," Shaun said.
"We're going to need help before it even gets to Carl and Meg," Ben said. "We're expecting them to go after alternate targets. We'll need help—"
"Alternate targets?" Becky said, her brow furrowed.
"Probably Kitty's family. We have to make sure they don't get hurt."
Becky set her jaw, and Shaun nodded with new resolve. The pack will grow, we will win this war. Wolf was sure of it.
"Thank you," I said. "Have you guys had enough sleep? Are you okay with keeping watch today?"
"We'll be fine. Don't worry about us," Shaun said.
I dropped Shaun and Becky off at the KNOB parking lot. "We'll call if we see anything," he said, before leaving. They left together in Shaun's car.