When the men finished, they left their bowls by the sink and drifted outside. Mary, Ann, and I started to clean up. It was the first moment since I’d arrived that reminded me not just of home but of my mom, and I felt a pang of homesickness.
I wondered what my mom and dad thought of me. Did Mom still worry? Did she hope for a call? I wanted so badly to call them, just to hear their voices.
“Are you all right, Charlene?” Ann asked quietly.
“Yes. Fine.” Thoughts of the past should stay in the past. “I’m going to step outside for a bit.”
I left them to finish drying the dishes.
The tall trees muted the glow of the setting sun, casting the clearing into an early dusk. Only a few men lingered in the yard. Thomas spoke quietly to two of them. Grey, Henry, and Paul were absent, and Gregory was just walking into the building with the tools.
I moved away from the door and slowly walked toward the pile of metal. I breathed deeply in an effort to let go of my concerns for my parents. I was here, now. I needed to worry about these people and our future.
A heavy mass hit me, knocking me to the side. Instinctively, I stuck out my hands to brace myself against the fall as the weight brought me down. Time slowed as I watched the dried grass rush toward me. My right hand touched the ground first, and my wrist twanged painfully. I wasn’t fully able to extend my left arm in time, so it buckled as soon as my fingers touched the grass. My elbow smacked the hard surface. I scrunched my eyes and turned my head a second before my face hit. The stitches in my neck pulled at the same time the rough turf abraded my right cheek.
Before I could wonder why I was on the ground or draw a breath, a hand fisted in my hair and pulled back. My face lifted from the ground. Snarls, yips, and growls surrounded me. Legs and paws flashed by my dazed gaze.
The backward movement of my head suddenly changed, yanking hard to the right. I involuntarily cried out in pain as the move stretched my healing neck too far. The power of the wrench forced me to roll to my side, and I finally saw why I was on the ground.
Wolves and men battled in the yard and more poured from the trees. Thomas grappled with the man right beside me. The man’s hand still had strands of blonde hair between his fingers. My hair. Thomas’ teeth were no longer human, but long and lethal. He strove to bite the other man who was also shifting forms.
A yip nearby distracted me. I turned in time to see one wolf with its teeth sunk into the throat of another. Blood poured to the ground. Though I couldn’t tell from which, I could guess. The bitten wolf yipped again as it continued its weak thrashing. How could they do this to each other?
“Charlene!” Mary cried. I turned and saw her in the doorway. Ann stood just behind her. The fear in her eyes and the hold around her large stomach was too much.
Angry, I pulled myself to my feet. In the span of just a few days, I’d been re-bitten, hospitalized, bullied, bitten again—twice, and now knocked to the ground. Anger didn’t touch what I felt.
“Enough.” My voice boomed in the clearing, as unnatural as what happened next.
They stilled. Every one of them. I blinked, confused before I sensed why. Like Winifred had done, I’d managed to split my will. Each branch reached out to every man, woman, and wolf. It didn’t touch their heads, though. It struck their hearts.
Then, I saw their eyes. The fear there. The suspicion. I took a deep breath. “Forget this moment, and the need to fight as soon as I release you,” I thought at them. Then, I let go.
A sudden wave of nausea knocked me to my knees. I threw up on the ground and gagged again when the smell of bile and stew hit me. I raised my head and looked at the bleeding wolf. Its shallow pant barely lifted its chest.
“Are you okay?” Mary said. She helped me to my feet, and I wiped my mouth with the back of my shaking hand.
I looked around at everyone. They all watched me but no longer fought. I found Thomas next to the man who’d attacked me.
“Why?” I asked the man.
“You have no right to come here and force us to live like humans,” he said with obvious disgust.
“You’re correct. I have no right to force you to do anything. You’re free to choose to live as you wish. However, I will continue to change things in these buildings that no one has used for years. And if there are any who wish to change how they live, they are welcome to join me.
The man glared at me.
“You have no right to this land.”
“Do you own it?” I asked, feeling a hint of worry.
“No.”
“Do you know who owns it?” I asked him. When he didn’t answer, I looked at Thomas.
“Technically, Winifred owns it. It’s why she left and has a job. She pays the...mortgage.”
The way Thomas spoke slowly told me that he was communicating with Winifred. My heart plummeted and panic set in. I hadn’t thought of that when I’d manipulated their wills. Had one of them said something to Winifred in the seconds before they forgot?
“And does Winifred mind if I make changes?” I asked.
“She doesn’t think you’re making changes; you’re making improvements.” He tilted his head and studied me. “Why are you worried?”
“It’s nothing to think about now,” I said. I addressed the man again. “So what did you hope to accomplish by attacking me?”
“A dead woman can’t change a thing.”
The way he said it gave me chills. Thomas’ eyes narrowed on the man, and I could see the man had just given Thomas a reason to continue the fight. I stepped forward, raised my hand to set on Thomas’ arm, and cringed at the soreness in my wrist.
He wrapped my hand in his and brought my fingers to his lips. The gesture surprised me, and my pulse leapt. His lips lifted in a hint of a knowing smile.
“Winifred suggests you go inside with Ann and Mary,” he said, still holding my hand.
“I’d prefer to stay out here so no one else gets hurt,” I said looking at the wolf still on the ground.
“He’s not one of ours,” Thomas said.
“Really? He’s not a werewolf but a regular wolf? The fur in your ears is making you deaf.” He grunted in surprise, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak. “Stop thinking so narrowly. You can’t just protect your small pack. Think bigger.”
He kissed my hand once more, then let me go with a nudge toward the door. “Your neck is bleeding again. Let Mary take a look at it. I’ll look at our fallen.”
“Fine. The door stays open, though.”
He grinned at me and crossed his arms, the gesture conveying his patience rather than any stubbornness. I gave him a last, long look then walked toward the wolf that was on the ground. It growled at me as I knelt near it.
I tapped it with my will to silence it at the same time I spoke. “I was bitten in the neck, too. It hurts. If you can stand and come inside, Mary and I will clean you up and get you something to eat. It’s up to you, though.” I gently patted its side then stood and walked in.
Mary had the alcohol ready. With a sigh, I sat in the chair.
“How are the stitches?” I asked after she studied me for a moment.
“It looks like the top stitches might have torn a little.” She dabbed at the wound. “It’s barely bleeding. Your face looks worse.”
My face looked worse? I’d been bitten how many times now? My neck had over a dozen puncture holes and several tears. Since there weren’t mirrors here, I hadn’t seen it; yet I could imagine how it looked. My wrist ached, as did my elbow. I had fading bruises from the last attack and was missing hair from this one.
And my face looked worse?
I giggled; and as soon as I did, I couldn’t stop. Laughter bubbled from me. It wasn’t a pretty, feminine giggle. It was brash and edged with hysteria. My empty stomach ached as I bent over in my ill-hilarity. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my laughs started to sound more like sobs. Maybe it was the stress of my existence since Penny had tried to expose me, maybe it was being knocked to the ground—yet again—by a werewolf, maybe it was the fear that my scary abilities would cause me problems, even here. Whatever it was, I was falling apart and didn’t know how to pull myself back together.