Wolves at the Door

  I hugged her. “I love you, Mom.”

  “Love you too. More than anything in the world.” She held me close. “I’m so happy you changed your mind.”

  I squeezed one last time, then let her go. “I didn’t. Moving isn’t going to happen for me, no matter how many times you ask.”

  She tilted her head, her brows drawn. “But…”

  “Do what you have to do, sell the house or whatever. I’ll deal.” I had all that extra money they’d deposited in my account, but that wouldn’t last forever. It would hold me over, though, until I got a job.

  She turned away and seconds passed before she faced me again. She looked tired suddenly, defeated. But I reminded myself that it wasn’t bad to stand up for myself.

  She tapped her thigh with the tips of her fingers. “Okay. Stay here. We’ll keep the house for now and make sure you have money for anything you need.”

  “Thank you.” I threw myself at her. “You won’t regret it.”

  She wrapped her arms around me again. “I hope you’re right.”

  I loosened my grip so I could meet her gaze. “Please spend the night. We can hang out, stay up late and watch a movie or something. Dad will live without you one more day.”

  “Yes, I’m sure he’d survive. But I have to help him wrap up this job and prepare for the next one.” Mom smiled, then glanced at her watch. “I should go. If I leave now, I can make the next flight.”

  It was absolutely baffling how my parents could do a one-eighty, from obsessively worrying to completely deserting me. Why couldn’t the New Mexico job wait an extra day? But I already knew my questions would go nowhere. And I’d just had a huge victory with them supporting me while I stayed. I didn’t want to press my luck.

  Picking up a small bag, she touched my chin. “We’ll be back soon, maybe in a few days. If I can make it on a weekend, we can spend the day together.”

  I forced my mouth into what I hoped resembled a genuine smile. “That would be great.”

  We walked to the rental car and said good-bye, then she drove away and waved out the window until her car disappeared around the corner.

  ~~~

  Chapter Five

  After John sputtered away in my old car later that evening, Zack and I hoofed it to his house to check on his mom.

  With every intake of air, her lungs wheezed as they struggled to expand.

  Zack sat on a chair at her bedside. “Mom, you need to go to the doctor.”

  “I said no. See how tonight goes. We’ll revisit it tomorrow.”

  “But, Mom—”

  “Go to the closet, tesoro, top shelf. Bring me the black metal box,” she demanded.

  Zack hesitated a moment, then did as he was told, setting the container on the bed next to her.

  “The key is in my jewelry box on the dresser.” She smiled sleepily at him.

  Locating the small silver key, Zack unlocked the box and lifted the lid. I stood beside him, spying official looking items — credit cards, stacks of money and something that looked like a passport. His eyes darted to his mom. “Why are you showing me this?”

  I backed away from the bed, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. “Um… I’ll wait outside.”

  “Stay here. As long as you’re with Zack, you’re part of this family.” Her eyes met his. “It’s all in your name. Everything you need — account numbers, cash, my attorney’s contact info. I’ve set up a trust so there won’t be any inheritance taxes or anything else for you to worry about. If you spend it wisely, it’ll last a while. You could go to college and study whatever you want.”

  “Mom.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat. “It’s not time for this yet. You’re going to be fine.”

  She waved his words away with a sweep of her hand. “Tomorrow, I want you to withdraw everything from our joint account and deposit it into yours.”

  His eyes clouded and he shook his head. “No.”

  “Yes.” Favianne’s brows rose menacingly like only a mother could manage.

  “Fine, I will. Under the condition that you’ll let me take you to the hospital.”

  “Only if I’m not feeling better.” She sighed. “I’ll be fine. I’m just tired. You two have a nice night.”

  Dismissed.

  Zack didn’t budge. “Tomorrow you’ll say you’re feeling better and refuse to go. If you don’t agree now, then this box goes back up on the shelf and you can’t make me transfer that money. Doctor first. That’s the deal.” He stood straight and towered over her.

  “Who raised you to be so stubborn?” Her mouth curved up and her eyes drifted shut. Suddenly they reopened and she grabbed my hand. “Let me have your ragazza for a moment, please. Alone.”

  Ragazza? Did she mean me? Why would she want me alone?

  “I’ll wait outside. ’Night, mom.” He squeezed her other hand, gave me a quick kiss and disappeared into the hallway.

  Favianne took my hand. “Promise me you’ll take care of him when I’m gone.”

  “I think Zack’s right. It’s too soon to talk about this.” My throat felt too tight to say much more.

  “That might be true. But promise me anyway.”

  I nodded. “I’ll take care of him as best I can, for as long as he’ll let me.”

  “You’ve learned how stubborn that boy is, I see.” She gave me a sleepy smile, then her lids slipped closed and a moment later, her breathing deepened.

  “Good night,” I whispered and tiptoed out. I found Zack waiting for me in the hallway. “Nice job getting her to agree.”

  “Only ’cause I resorted to blackmail.” He shook his head.

  Zack’s aunt Cara appeared, crowding into the narrow passageway with us. “Autumn, can I see you for a minute?”

  Zack shrugged. I have no idea what she wants.

  Cara eyed her nephew. “Alone. Go say hi to Trevor.”

  “Everyone wants her alone. That makes three of us.” Zack squeezed past us.

  What did Cara have to say that needed to be said in private? I bit my lip.

  “I want to show you something.” She motioned for me to follow. At the end of the hallway, she opened a door and waved me in. Bookshelves lined the right side of the small room with boxes stacked in front of them. The left side boasted a small bed and at the foot were more boxes.

  “It’s nothing special, but it’s a bed,” she said.

  I couldn’t imagine why she’d offer me a room when she knew I had a perfectly good one at home. Unless she knew I hadn’t been using it. My muscles bunched up. I really hoped she had no clue I’d been sleeping in Zack’s room every night. “I don’t understand…”

  “Your parents are still out of town, right? It must be lonely in that house all by yourself.”

  I exhaled in relief. This confirmed she didn’t know I’d been in Zack’s bed every night.

  She quirked a brow. “Not that you’re sleeping there much. If you take this room, you won’t have to sneak in and out after dark.”

  I cringed as heat rushed to my cheeks. “Uh, sorry.” What else could I say? I’d been caught. Yikes. Wiping the sudden moisture over my brow, I blew out a breath and screwed up my courage. “How did you know?”

  “Sometimes Mac has trouble sleeping. He happened to be looking out the window the last couple nights and saw you crawl through Zack’s window.”

  A squeak escaped my throat.

  “Normally, I’d remind Zack of house rules concerning girls in bedrooms. But I don’t have the heart to take that from him right now. Not with his mom in her condition.”

  “You think his concerns are valid?”

  Her chin trembled. “Unfortunately, yes. I worry just as much, but I was lucky enough to grow up with her and see her as a young, vibrant woman. For Zack, his mother being sick is almost all he’s ever known. No young man should have that kind of burden.”

  I gave her a sympathetic nod as I unconsciously backed into the hallway, fervently hoping she’d forget all about the previous topi
c.

  “Back to the sleeping arrangements.” Cara touched my arm and I slumped in disappointment. “It’s okay. I was young and in love once too. I know how it works. Besides, you’re both over eighteen. I just hope you two are being safe.”

  She assumed Zack and I had already slept together. I inwardly cringed and I stared at my toes. “I don’t know about Zack being in love. We haven’t known each other that long.”

  “Just because my nephew is an idioto and hasn’t told you so, doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

  I almost giggled but was still too freaked out over getting caught. “I’ll believe it when I hear it from him. Oh, my gosh, this is so embarrassing.” My voice broke on the last word and I took another deep breath. “Seems like it would be worse to stay in this room. What if Patrick or Brian caught me going into Zack’s? Maybe I should stick with the window.”

  Oh, God, did I just admit out loud to sneaking around? Shoot me now.

  She laughed and hugged me. “Whatever works for you, tesora. I haven’t seen Zack this happy in a long time. I’m thinking it has something to do with you, which makes you a part of our family.”

  † † †

  I lay in Zack’s bed, cuddling with him. Thoughts floated through my mind like a buoy, refusing to sink into my subconscious. Like the newest werewolf, Renzo. Why was he there and would he try to hijack Zack from Charles? Or worse, did this Renzo guy have other plans, like maybe taking Zack before graduation?

  Slimy as Charles was, at least he’d promised to let Zack stay and spend some time with his mom. The thought of losing Zack sooner and never seeing him again made me feel like I was suffocating. There had to be some other way to stop the werewolves. I just didn’t know what.

  Gina took up way too much space in my head, too. Whatever she was scheming would be something vile, for sure. And then there was Zack’s mom. How much time did she have with her son? With her sister Cara?

  I couldn’t get my parents out of my head either. Were they shape-shifters? If so, why hadn’t they told me I’d be hitting shape-shifter maturity right about now? Except Zack hadn’t picked up their scent in the house or on their belongings, so they had to be human. Then again, my scent was nearly nonexistent and only detectable up close. Maybe it was the same with them.

  On the other hand, if Zack was right and our scent increased with our powers, then my parents should smell like shape-shifters. But they didn’t. Which brought me full circle. My head spun.

  Maybe they hadn’t adopted me but stolen me, which was why they were reluctant to tell me they weren’t my real parents. I mentally shook my head. They weren’t capable of that kind of cruelty. Or were they? Not like they’d been forthcoming about anything in the slightest.

  “Go to sleep,” Zack whispered.

  “I’m trying, believe me, but my brain won’t shut up.” I gave him the condensed version of my thoughts.

  “Hmm. Well, I still firmly believe your parents are human, but if the mystery is driving you to sleep deprivation, you need find out for yourself.”

  “That’s not helpful. How am I supposed to do that?”

  He rolled toward me. “They’re gone and you have access to everything in the house. There has to be documentation somewhere. Time to snoop around.”

  “I’d have to poke through their things. It’s a bit of an invasion of privacy, don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely. But they’ve kept things from you and there’s no refuting that. If they’d been open with you, you wouldn’t need to go behind their back. It’s your right to know the truth. You can either live in ignorance or take action.”

  Damn. He had a good point. Tomorrow, I’d be at the hospital with Favianne, but first chance I got, my search would begin. No matter the truth I learned, I knew I wouldn’t like it.

  ~~~

  Chapter Six

  At lunch the next day, Zack and I joined Trevor and Maya for lunch. Thinking about Favianne and all the doctor’s possible diagnoses pretty much snuffed out my appetite, so I just picked at my food.

  Zack nudged me with his elbow. “You should eat. Mr. Hagar’s having a quiz next period and it’ll be harder to concentrate if you’re hungry.”

  “Can I tag along with you to the hospital?” I reluctantly took a bite from my sandwich. Zack was already stressing over his mom. He didn’t need to worry about me too.

  “I can hardly say no since I’m using your car.” His mouth tipped into a lopsided grin.

  “You seem to handle everything so well.” I studied his carefree smile. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

  “When you’re stressed, it’s contagious. My mom’s had enough to deal with these last few years. I’ve always tried not to add to it.” He shrugged. “It’s habit now.”

  Trevor leaned toward us. “We’re catching a movie tomorrow night. Wanna come?”

  “Can’t. Zack and I are going out on a real date,” I answered.

  “You did that with us,” Trevor countered.

  “A real date doesn’t include you two.” I winked. “Besides, we were forced into it.”

  Trevor laughed. “You dressed for dinner and a movie. We picked you up and paid. It was a date.”

  “Yeah,” Maya chimed in. “And aren’t you glad? Look how well it worked out. Anyway, it’s not like you guys need privacy. From what I hear, you’re getting plenty of that already.” She shared a smirk with Trevor.

  I flinched, my eyes shooting to him. “Trevor?”

  He snickered softly. “Everyone knows, Autumn. It’s not that big of a house.”

  “Oh, God.” I prayed there wouldn’t be a repeat of yesterday’s conversation with Cara.

  “If you wanted to keep your late night visits secret, you should get Zack to fix that window so it’s not so noisy.” Trevor grinned.

  Heat rushed into my face, strangling the words in my throat.

  “Sorry.” Zack squeezed my hand. “I didn’t realize the walls were that thin.”

  “What’s the difference?” Maya waved a hand. “Your house, his house. Who cares? Same thing going on, different place.”

  Knowing it was public knowledge that I’d been sneaking into Zack’s bedroom made me feel cheap. Telling the truth, that we’d only snuggled and kissed, wouldn’t be any more believable to them now than last week when I’d insisted we were just friends — which had been true at the time.

  “So what about this weekend?” Maya continued. “We should do something together.”

  They’re going to bug us until they get their way. Besides, they’re right — we still have every night together, Zack said silently.

  And we have prom coming up, I added. But why was he giving in so easily? The date do-over had been his idea.

  “Okay,” Zack said to Trevor, then resumed eating his lunch.

  Trevor and Maya got lost in each other again, which left me nothing to do but think. Something was nagging at me. Gina. I could feel her eyes on me. My eyes snapped over my shoulder to confirm her scowling at me.

  Sometimes I wished my perceptions weren’t so sharp, because then I could be blissfully ignorant. Too bad I had a few more weeks before I was free of her. And I couldn’t even look forward to it, because right around that same time, I’d lose Zack. I wanted time to stand still, even if it meant Gina would be there to annoy me.

  Returning my attention to Zack, I noticed he’d stopped eating and was just staring down at his tray. “I don’t get it. I thought you wanted a real date,” I asked.

  “I do.” He took my hand and traced circles in my palm, sending little shivers up my arm. “But I can’t imagine being much fun if my mom doesn’t get better. With Trevor and Maya there, it takes the pressure off so I don’t have to be entertaining.”

  “Who says you’re off the hook?” I nudged his shoulder with my own.

  Zack smiled halfheartedly. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to the hospital. I can take the Jeep and you’d have your car. Or better yet, Aunt Cara is going there anyway. She could pick me up.”


  My brows drew together. “Why?”

  “Well…” He rubbed his hand on his jeans and looked around the room. “The more attached you get to my mom, the harder it’s going to be for you later.”

  “Yeah, better not get too attached.” I chewed my lip. “But it’s too late. I already love her.”

  “It’s not just her, but my whole family. And me.” He glanced at Trevor and Maya who were still busy talking, then he lowered his voice. “I think about what it’s going to be like for you when I leave.”

  “What?” I stared at him. Why bring this up now?

  “I’ll never regret my time with you. Ever. But maybe you shouldn’t invest so much in us.”

  My mouth hung open. Shouldn’t he have thought this out before he allowed me to fall in love with him and his family? At the very least, before he asked me to be his girlfriend and invited me to prom. Bringing up his same objections at this point was just cruel.

  “Excuse me.” Eyes stinging from tears of fury, I steadied my hands and picked up my tray, then walked to the garbage can and stacked it with the others. As if he didn’t exist, I exited the lunchroom and walked to my next class alone.

  We still had six minutes before English Lit started. Zack had that class with me. Damn. As I took my seat and faced the chalkboard, I could sense him close by. Sure enough, he strolled in and claimed the seat next to me. We sat there, just the two of us as the clock ticked.

  Five minutes until start of class. Four.

  I turned to face him. “Almost since we first met, you’ve been reminding me that you’re leaving. Kind of hard to forget. And didn’t anyone ever teach you how rude it is to return a gift?”

  He looked puzzled.

  “Love is something you give freely. The recipient can’t get a refund or re-gift it.”

  Zack started to rise. “Wait—”

  My palm shot out to stop him and he sat again. “I shouldn’t invest so much, Zack? This isn’t a business deal. You and your family aren’t something I bought to make a profit. And anyway, friendship and loyalty aren’t things you ration out.”