“What does she want to do?” he asked, anxiously waiting by his Jeep.
“I’m not sure—she wants to see you soon. Since the full moon won’t be for a few more weeks, she wants a record of you during both times. It could be as simple as asking you questions, or as much as . . .”
“As what?”
“I’m not sure. Ivy and Abby caught up to us and I didn’t want them to find out what Dr. Meadows was saying.”
“She might want to take pictures or film me?” he asked.
I hung my head low. “I’m not sure what her plans are. All I know is that—uh, I don’t know anything.” And I was as unsure as Brandon was about whether he should go and meet with her. But today I wanted him to meet Mr. Worthington. Maybe Pine Tree Village might have more answers for him.
We hopped into Brandon’s Jeep and headed out his private drive and out of Riverside. We were stopped at the traffic light by the school when I noticed the car next to us was Nash’s. I ducked down.
“What’s wrong?” Brandon asked.
“It’s Nash. He’s in the car next to us. I don’t want him to see me.”
“I thought you weren’t seeing him anymore.”
“I’m not.”
“Then what’s the big deal?”
“I don’t know.”
The light changed and Nash tore off.
I sat up. Brandon pulled into the lot of a nearby park.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going to take you back,” he said, turning the steering wheel.
“I don’t want to go back. I want you to meet Mr. Worthington.”
“I can find him on my own,” he said.
“I’m sorry. I just reacted without thinking.”
But Brandon was hurt.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Everything has been happening so fast, that’s all.” It was so unfair. I ran the risk of losing my lifelong friends for a guy I’d only known a short time. I wasn’t sure what to do. I just knew I wanted all of them in my life.
“I don’t blame you, Celeste. I don’t want to put you in a position you aren’t ready to be in.”
Brandon pushing me away only made my need to be with him even greater. Overcome with sadness, I turned away from him and stared out the window. A couple strolled hand in hand in the park. The girl snuggled up to her boyfriend as he gazed back adoringly.
“You must hate me,” I said. “I invited you to a party where you didn’t have a good time. You saved me from a wolf pack that left your hand maimed. I make you feel like an outsider in your own car. And the worst thing of all—because of that moonlit kiss—you’ve turned into a—”
Brandon took my chin and drew me to him. “It’s okay, Celeste. I think you feel you have the world’s problems on your shoulders.”
He brushed my hair away from my face. “You don’t have to worry so much about what is right for Ivy, Nash, or me. Just what is right for you.”
Brandon was the first guy I’d ever met who understood me. If I turned away from him now, I knew I’d regret it for the rest of my life.
“Please, take me with you to see Mr. Worthington.”
Brandon parked the Jeep at Pine Tree Village Retirement Community.
When we entered the building we heard a commotion coming from one of the hallways and nurses were running to someone’s aid.
Suddenly there was the sound of an ambulance pulling up outside. Paramedics wheeled in a gurney to the assisted living floor. I dashed down the hallway, my own heart almost stopping.
The paramedics parked the gurney next to Mr. Worthington’s door.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I turned to Brandon.
The color had washed out of his face. He’d been so close to finding a relative he’d never known and an answer to his condition that perhaps no one else could reveal.
He held on to my shoulder and I melted into his chest.
Just then Mr. Worthington stepped out of his room. I almost fainted.
“You’re alive!” I said.
“I hope so,” he answered. “This place isn’t my idea of heaven.” He told us that Mr. Lucas, his ninety-three-year-old next-door neighbor, had fallen and broken his hip.
I was surely unhappy to hear that Mr. Lucas was hurt—but grateful to know Mr. Worthington was all right. I gave the elderly man a hug so hard, I was afraid I might break him.
“I have someone I’d like you to meet,” I said, and we walked into his room.
“You have a boyfriend?” he said, trying to make me blush. “I knew there was something different about you . . . I told you that before.”
Now I was blushing.
“This is Brandon Maddox,” I said to Mr. Worthington, pleased to introduce the two. “His mother is Claire Worthington. This is your great-grandson.”
Mr. Worthington’s face went white, as if he’d just seen a werewolf. I was afraid he was going to have a heart attack right there and then.
Brandon extended his wounded hand to shake. Mr. Worthington eyed the scar and gently shook Brandon’s hand.
“I haven’t seen you since you were a little baby,” Mr. Worthington said.
“I’m so glad to meet you—I mean see you . . . again.” Brandon smiled. “My father said my mother’s family moved away from Legend’s Run.”
“We all did,” said Mr. Worthington. “But I moved back a short time ago.”
Mr. Worthington and Brandon sat together. I beamed with delight as my two friends began to converse. Brandon didn’t look like the lonely guy in our high school lunchroom or a lone wolf in the woods anymore.
“Your mother was a gorgeous girl,” Mr. Worthington began. “We were all thrilled when she got married and settled down. I only met your father a few times, but I remember him as being a brilliant man.”
“Yes,” Brandon said. “He’s a scientist.”
“After you were born, she seemed to get restless. Maybe she couldn’t handle the good things in life. And then she left, and we never heard from her again. ”
Brandon nodded.
“I always said it was in her blood. Something wild, not normal.”
“Do you think it might be the trait of your great-grandfather?” I asked, hinting toward Brandon’s nocturnal condition.
“I always blamed him for the Worthington wild streak. But we all have to take responsibility for our own actions.”
“I agree with you,” Brandon said.
“You didn’t tell him what I told you yesterday?” Mr. Worthington asked, almost embarrassed.
“I sort of . . .”
“Well, no one believes an old man,” he said.
“I do,” Brandon said. “I believe you.”
Mr. Worthington’s face lit up. “You are the spitting image of my son, Harry. He believed in ghost stories, too.”
“Was your great-grandfather ever cured?” I asked.
“No, and that’s why I was always convinced it ran in our blood.”
“I appreciate your taking the time to talk to me,” Brandon said politely.
“That’s all I have is time. Besides, it is so nice to finally have family in Legend’s Run again.”
Brandon extended his hand again. Mr. Worthington took it and hugged Brandon.
“I’d like us to meet again,” Brandon said.
“I’d like that, too,” Mr. Worthington said. “You know where to find me. I’m here twenty-four hours a day.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Werewolf Spotting
The local police officers continued patrolling the streets and developments of Legend’s Run, watching for appearances of wild animals. After the wolf incident at the high school, the town was still on alert. But so far there hadn’t been any more wolves spotted at school.
However, there was a rumor spreading of another unusual sighting.
Abby and I were heading to the library to meet Ivy when we passed Heidi Rosen talking excitedly to her friend outside the auditorium. Abby loathed being the last person wi
th the inside scoop. She stopped and we pretended we needed to check out the announcements on the bulletin board. Abby leaned in toward the gossiping girls.
“I swear!” Heidi said.
“Did it touch you?” her friend asked.
“No. But I thought it might.”
“It?” Abby said in a hushed tone. “I wonder what it is.”
“It had gray eyes,” Heidi said. “And fangs.”
“I think they are talking about a wolf,” Abby whispered to me.
“It stood on two legs,” Heidi went on.
“Maybe it’s a circus wolf,” I said to Abby.
“It was a werewolf, I swear!” Heidi said to her friend. “But don’t tell anyone. I know people will think I’m crazy, but I had to tell you since you’re my best friend.”
I was stunned. Someone had spotted Brandon. But I was confused since it wasn’t a full moon. Abby and I found Ivy down by her locker.
“You will never believe what I’m going to tell you,” Abby declared.
“What? Heidi Rosen said she saw a werewolf?” Ivy asked nonchalantly.
“How did you know?” Abby asked.
“Jake just told me,” Ivy replied.
“Who did he hear it from?” Abby questioned her.
“Nash.”
“This is so bizarre,” Abby said, lost in thought.
“I know. She’s really lost her mind,” Ivy said. “Or maybe it’s that Wolfman, Brandon Maddox,” she teased.
I wasn’t thrilled by my friend alluding to Brandon being a werewolf. But the reality was she was right.
“Well, maybe if Heidi stayed away from Nash, then she wouldn’t be seeing things,” I said.
“She’s been texting him,” Ivy said, defending my ex, “but he refuses to see her.”
“She isn’t spending any time with him,” Abby said. “We’ve made sure of that.”
“Yes, he’s all about you,” Ivy said.
“I’ve told you,” I assured them. “It’s okay. Nash and I are over.”
Ivy tried her best to hide her frustration. “If you need time to forgive him,” she said, softening, “that’s okay. But please, don’t take too long.”
By lunchtime, rumor of Heidi’s werewolf spotting had made its way around the entire school. But what was worse was the other gossip I overheard later that day. I was passing the biology lab when I heard a few tech guys talking by the door.
“I was coming back from computer club when this thing jumped out from behind a tree. I tried to get it on tape, but when I downloaded it, it was so fuzzy all you could see were trees. Here—look.” He showed his friend his iPhone.
“There’s nothing here,” he said. “Seems you need to get glasses for your glasses.”
“I saw something weird last night, too,” the tech guy insisted as his friends entered the classroom. “I swear on my iPod. I saw fangs.”
* * *
The next few days, the werewolf-spotting stories escalated. Everyone swore they’d had an encounter with some creature of the night, and I hadn’t been able to even speak about it with Brandon. I knew he must be fraught with confusion. But the person closest to him and the situation was the one he was suddenly keeping away. He hadn’t returned my calls lately, and I was worried.
Nash cornered me just as I opened the main door to exit the campus after a particularly nerve-racking day at school. “Have you seen the werewolf yet?” Nash asked.
“Not unless he’s standing in front of me.”
“Well, I don’t believe it, either. How could anyone really see a werewolf? Besides, it’s not even a full moon,” he said.
“I know, that’s what I thought,” I said.
Nash raised an eyebrow at my serious tone but then shrugged it off.
“Although, who’s to say . . .” he continued. “Maybe any moon can turn them. Wolves come out every night. Why wouldn’t a werewolf? Why would he wait for only a full moon to claim his next victim?”
I shuddered at his suggestion. Wasn’t it enough for Brandon to change under the full moon? Now we’d have to deal with all moons?
“I have to get home,” I said. I was hoping to catch Brandon before he left so I could see how he was doing. And I missed him.
“I don’t want you walking home, Celeste. Or anywhere, for that matter. I think it’s best that you are always around someone. And I think that someone should be me.” Nash didn’t speak with his usual confidence but rather with a soft, genuine quality.
“Please, I insist,” he said. “I’ll drive you.” He even took my backpack from me and started walking toward his car.
“I thought you hated wolves,” I said.
“I do—but I’d hate for you to be involved with one even more.”
I hesitated in the doorway. “Just as friends,” I called after him.
“Just as friends,” he confirmed.
It was hard, knowing Nash as long as I had, to completely sever all ties with him. And I had been so busy with Brandon, I hadn’t had the chance to miss Nash’s friendship.
Brandon’s Jeep was already gone. I’d have to seek him out as soon as possible.
I decided to work on my research that evening. I checked my notes and my calendar. The moon was waning, still weeks away from being full again. I reviewed my observations on our romantic date with the wolves, the time I saw Brandon in the woods by the gymnasium, and watching him turn. I included these new werewolf sightings in my calendar.
Unfortunately, my efforts to make contact with Brandon weren’t going well. Brandon wasn’t returning my calls or texts. I felt so awful for him, truly isolated from me, the other students, and now from the town. I wouldn’t even be able to get to Dr. Meadows, who I knew was desperate to meet Brandon. Everything was getting so out of hand. I felt the world was caving in on us.
“It has to be wolves,” my dad said at dinner about the werewolf sightings. I was like my father—skeptical about anything unfamiliar or not scientifically proven. But now I knew that a werewolf did exist and that he was being spotted by the local community.
“People don’t have anything better to do than gossip,” my mom said, referring to the town’s rumors.
“After those wolves showed up at your school,” my dad said, “I’m sure it put thoughts in people’s minds.”
“Everyone is talking about it,” my mom chimed in.
“Make sure you don’t walk home. Get a ride or I’ll pick you up,” my dad told me. “Call me anytime.”
“I have to admit a few girls at work said they saw one, too,” my mom added.
“I want you on a curfew,” my dad said to me.
“What?”
“Just for the time being,” he continued. “You’ve already had a run-in with a pack of wolves, and then they showed up at school. I don’t want it to happen again.”
“Dad!” I said.
“I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but I have to put my foot down.”
A curfew wasn’t really something I needed, as I was always back home well in advance of any grounding possibilities. But I didn’t like that the once-peaceful town was suddenly overridden with fear. It seemed full moons, folklore, and strange events were affecting not only me and Brandon but the entire town of Legend’s Run.
Chapter Twenty-six
Missing Pumpkin
Meet me at Abby’s,” Ivy said when I answered my phone after dinner. “She said it’s urgent.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but she sounded upset. I told her we’d be right over.”
When we arrived at Abby’s, our friend was waiting outside on her porch. She was only slightly bundled up, and her breath was visible in the cool air.
“Pumpkin is missing,” Abby said.
Pumpkin was Abby’s five-year-old golden retriever with an orangey-rust coat and a white spot that looked like an earring on her left ear. Pumpkin was gentle and friendly and wasn’t prone to running off.
“It’s not like Pumpkin to s
tay away,” she said anxiously. “We can’t find her!”
We began knocking on Ivy and Abby’s neighbors’ doors.
Abby was distraught. She was usually strong but today she was frazzled. She loved Pumpkin as much as I loved Champ, and I knew if Champ were missing, I’d be devastated, too.
Ivy and I tried to console her with talk of new fashion trends, but nothing was distracting her. We knocked on every door, asking if anyone had spotted her golden retriever.
After a few hours, exhausted, frozen, and dogless, we returned to Abby’s house. We scarfed down pizza as we downloaded photos of Pumpkin on the computer and duplicated them on her dad’s state-of-the-art jumbo home copier.
“We’ll post these tomorrow,” Ivy said, taking a stack with us.
“I really appreciate this,” Abby said. “I miss her so much.”
“I know she’ll come home,” Ivy said, giving her a hug.
“I bet she’s somewhere safe,” I said.
“I hope so,” she said. “She’s my best friend—besides you two, of course.”
“Of course,” Ivy and I agreed.
Ivy put the stack of pictures in the back of her car. Ivy was sweet and drove me back to my house.
“That dog is as good as dead, I’m afraid.”
“Ivy!” I said, shocked at her morbid remark.
“I’m not trying to be heartless,” she said. “It’s just with roaming wolves and a werewolf on the loose, she should have kept her locked in the house.”
Wolves were bad enough preying on defenseless felines. But a werewolf? My werewolf?
It couldn’t be.
The following afternoon I went with Ivy, Abby, their boyfriends, and Nash to post Pumpkin’s picture on every telephone pole and in every coffee shop. We hung our fliers next to ones for other dogs that had gone missing in the past few months. Any reason for Pumpkin’s absence wasn’t good, but to me, if Brandon was the reason—he’d be beside himself. He was devoted to animal rights and I’d seen how great he was with them—even wild animals. I was distracted by this concern, but as I didn’t want to steal the focus from Abby’s circumstances, I overcompensated by being lively and chatty with my friends.