Claire De Lune (26 page)

Claire mistook the astonishment that flashed across Matthew’s face when she turned to him.
He’s surprised that I’m crying.

“How—how did you know it was a female?” He knelt down next to her.

Oh, crap.

“I—I think I heard it on TV,” Claire stammered. Her mother’s ears pricked up, and Claire felt the muscles in the wolf’s side ripple in concern.

“Really?” Matthew cautiously ran his fingertips along the wolf’s shoulder. “Huh. Dad really wanted to keep that secret. He’ll be megapissed if it’s gotten out.”

“Oh,” Claire said. “Maybe I’m mixed up. I thought I’d heard that, but it must have just been a lucky guess.”
Change the subject, change the subject!
“Um, how many times have you visited it?” Talking about her mother this way when she was close enough to touch made Claire nauseous.

“A few times,” Matthew said. “It took me a while to get brave enough to pet it like this, though.” While he stroked the wolf, Claire made the most of her night vision, looking for a way to get her mother out of the cage. The bars were solid—too solid to be harmed even by a werewolf in its prime.
Obviously, or Mom would already be free. They have to keep a key around here somewhere. …

Claire’s mother began to pant, and Claire could smell the hunger on her breath. “Is there any meat around here?” she asked Matthew.

“You—you want to
feed
it?”

“She looks hungry.” Claire used the word “she” carefully. The sooner she could get Matthew to see that the animal in front of them wasn’t a
thing
, but a feeling, thinking creature,
the better.

Matthew pursed his lips. “There’s food in the fridge, but my dad says if it’s fed too much, it’ll get bloodlust and they might not be able to control it.”

“Do you think there’s a chance he’s wrong about that, too?” Claire stared at him intently. “Matthew, he’s starving her.” She got up and walked to the refrigerator.
Let him chew on that one for a minute
. Inside the immaculate fridge, test tubes and bottles covered the top rack, but the bottom two shelves were stuffed full of family-sized packages of hot dogs.
Cheap hot dogs,
Claire noted with disgust. She bent down and grabbed four packages of the food from the bottom shelf. After she pulled the other packages forward, it didn’t even look like anything was missing.

Claire hurried back to the cage and knelt down in front of it. Matthew stared at her strangely while she ripped off the plastic wrappers and slid the meat through the bars. The smell of it hit her like a slap—it was no better than dog food. Her mother dragged the hot dogs to the back corner of her cage and gulped it down. The whine of relief that whistled through her nose as she ate sent desperation zipping through Claire. She couldn’t leave her mother here for one more minute, not with what Dr. Engle was making her endure.

Claire looked at Matthew, her patience worn thin. “What?” There was more sting to the question that she’d meant to show.

He leaned back. “Sorry. It’s just—I didn’t expect anyone
to understand why I didn’t hate it—I mean, hate her. But you seem to feel even sorrier for her than I do. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

Claire ran a hand across her forehead. She really had to be more careful. “You told me she wasn’t dangerous,” she said. “And I trust you.” Flustered, Claire turned to ball up the trash from the hot dogs.
It’s the truth. I do trust him.

Matthew’s warm hand brushed her hair back from her face and he leaned toward her. Out of the corner of her eye, Claire saw her mother cock her head at them. Before he could kiss her, Claire ducked to the side and gave him a brief hug.
There’s no way I’m kissing anyone in front of my mother
.

“It’s late,” she whispered. “We should get home before Lisbeth kills me.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

Claire could feel his confusion through the shift of the muscles in his back.

“Thanks for bringing me,” she whispered. Claire pulled away from him and they both looked at the caged wolf.

“We’ll come back soon,” Matthew said.

Claire couldn’t tell if he was talking to her or to her mother. He started back to the door. Claire hesitated. She stared into her mother’s gold-flecked eyes.

“Be ready,” Claire mouthed. “I’m coming back for you.”

The silver wolf blinked and twitched her tail once.

Before he could notice her dawdling, Claire followed
Matthew back through the maze of equipment. If only she’d been able to find a key!
It doesn’t matter. I’ll find it next time, even if it means that I have to tear this entire place apart. Which might not be a bad idea, anyway.

Outside, Claire took long breaths of the night air. The disinfectant smell of the lab lingered in her nose. She turned to Matthew. “I wish everyone could see that.”

He suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, but we can’t tell anyone, okay? I mean, I wish there was something we could do about it, but no one’s going to believe us instead of my dad, you know?”

Claire opened her mouth, ready to disagree, when something moved at the far end of the building. She blinked and wondered if the tree shadows were playing tricks on her eyes. The security light showed nothing but a bare expanse of concrete and a chain link fence.

But then, whatever was out there twitched again and a pair of yellow eyes flashed in the darkness. Zahlia streaked toward the fence, her blackness separating from the shadows of the trees. She was coming for them.

Claire had always heard people say that certain things happened in slow motion—a car accident, a bad fall, the moment before a glass smashed against the floor. Each step Zahlia took registered in Claire’s mind like a photo. She could almost hear the
snap
of the shutter. Matthew had his back to Zahlia. He didn’t see her coming. Before Claire made her decision, she
had time to register two separate thoughts:
If he sees me change, his father will kill me.
It was the second thought that was the strongest.
Not him, not now.
The moment those four words flowed though her mind, Claire threw off her clothes and burst into her true form.
Please,
she prayed,
let him not have seen me naked.

Without looking at his face, Claire knocked Matthew into the alcove of the lab door and bounded past him. Zahlia cleared the fence with one leap and landed in the pool of bluish light. Her head lowered and she laid her ears back.

Claire mirrored Zahlia’s posture while a low warning growl rumbled in her throat. She tried to tell Zahlia to stop, but Zahlia acted as though she hadn’t understood. Her shoulders hunched under her dark fur.

The cost of meddling is higher than you thought it would be, Young One. You will not stop me. You can’t.
Zahlia growled, baring her teeth.

Claire shook her head and whined as the noise filled her ears. That moment of distraction was all Zahlia needed. Behind Claire, Matthew let out a gasp as Zahlia charged at her.

Claire crouched low and bucked hard just as Zahlia reached her. The black wolf flew over Claire’s back and landed hard on the pavement, but not before she managed to grab the very tip of Claire’s ear in her teeth. Claire spun around before Zahlia could attack again. Blood from her frayed ear dripped
onto the ground below her.

Zahlia glanced at Matthew, crouched in the doorway.
You first,
she said, baring her teeth to Claire.
Then him.

Claire slammed herself into Zahlia’s flank, her teeth snapping at Zahlia’s dark neck. Zahlia twisted her head away at the last second, and Claire was left with a mouthful of fur. The pavement rushed up at Claire’s snout as Zahlia spun out of her grip. Claire tucked her shoulder under and rolled hard. Zahlia’s claws landed where Claire’s eyes had been only a moment before. Leaping to her feet, Claire jumped hard and landed on top of Zahlia, knocking her to the ground. There was a huffing sound as the air rushed out of Zahlia’s lungs. Winded, Zahlia rolled over onto her back. Before she could get her teeth around the soft underside of Claire’s belly, Claire slashed at Zahlia’s snout with her paw.

The dark wolf let out a howl. Blood poured down her nose and ran into her eyes. Claire looked at Zahlia, blinded and defenseless, her throat exposed. She faltered, unable to complete the kill. Without thinking, Claire snapped her jaws around Zahlia’s front paw. She heard the bones crunch under her teeth. Zahlia screamed in pain.

Claire heard a metallic clang behind her and whirled around in time to see the lab door slam shut. Matthew had barricaded himself inside the lab. Good. When she spun back to face Zahlia, the black wolf was already halfway through the open gate. She hobbled along, three-legged and blood-
covered.

Exhilaration flooded Claire. She’d stopped Zahlia, at least for a little while. Zahlia wouldn’t attack anyone with a mangled paw—she couldn’t.
Mom will know what to do.
The endorphins that surged through Claire started to fade. Her ear throbbed where Zahlia had bitten her, but it was nothing compared to the pain of realizing that Matthew had seen her transform.

Now what do I do?

C
LAIRE’S
FIRST INSTINCT
was to hide. To go wait until Matthew left the lab and then find a way to free her mother. But if she could talk to him, reason with him, maybe he wouldn’t tell his father what she was. Just maybe he wouldn’t hate her.

Pain surged through her when she forced herself back into her human body. Claire winced when she yanked her shirt
over her damaged ear. She kept one arm wrapped around her sore ribs and limped toward the lab door. It was locked.

“Matthew?” she called. “Please, let me in. I can explain!” Knocking on the metal door sent a stinging jolt down her arm. She’d been too focused to notice her injuries while she was fighting with Zahlia, but now they crowded around her, screaming for attention.

“Matthew?” she tried again. “Please, just let me in. Everything’ll be okay, I promise. I—I won’t hurt you. I
wouldn’t
hurt you. Please, just let me in.” Claire’s voice broke and tears ran down her cheeks.

Inside, she could hear furniture being dragged across the floor.

“Just go away!” Matthew’s voice sounded thin and panicky.

“Matthew, I’m not going anywhere until you listen to me. We can do it through the door if you want, but we have to talk.” She was bawling in earnest now, hiccupping between words. Her ear ached, and the blood that coated the side of her neck had gone sticky. “Please. I only did it to save you, Matthew. I didn’t know what else to do—she would have killed you!”

Claire heard him lean up against the door.

“How—how … all this time, you knew and you didn’t tell me?” Matthew’s voice sounded stronger, in spite of his stammering. “How could you?”

“Exactly,” Claire wept. “How could I have told you?
Matthew, your dad kills werewolves for a living. What did you expect me to do?”

“Cures them,” Matthew muttered from inside the lab. “He … dammit.”

Claire let out a keening sob. He didn’t understand—she’d lost him. She’d only revealed herself to save him, and now she’d ruined everything. What if he told his father? Dr. Engle would kill her and her mother both.

She heard the sound of something heavy being moved on the other side of the door. The soft
click
of the lock being opened startled her and she jumped back. Slowly, Matthew opened the door the tiniest crack. “Oh my God, Claire, you’re bleeding!” He threw open the door the rest of the way.

“Yeah,” she said ruefully, “I know.”

He reached out to touch her, but his hand started to shake.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” she whispered, “but I couldn’t just let her kill you.” Carefully, she took a step toward him and reached out her hand. “Let me—”

“No, wait!” Matthew interrupted, moving back into the lab. His foot tangled with the legs of a metal stool behind him and he fell.

“Matthew, I’m not going to hurt you!” Claire knelt down. “Let me help you up.”

“Don’t you touch me. You—you’re one of them.”

“If I wanted to hurt you, don’t you think I would have done it already? You were right. There are more werewolves around
than you think, but most of us are totally peaceful. Zahlia’s crazy, Matthew, but I’m not like that. You have to believe me.”

He scrambled to his feet, shaking his head. “Why would I believe you now when you’ve been lying to me all along? The only reason you didn’t hurt me was so that you could find this place—see the other wolf.”

Claire felt her cheeks burn.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” The scents of fear and anger rolled off his skin in hot waves.

“Matthew, you don’t understand.” She looked up at him. He’d edged toward to the door. Claire could see his muscles bunched, tensed to run.

“What don’t I understand?”

“The wolf your dad captured—she’s my mother.”

Matthew stopped dead.

“Please, Matthew. I’m telling you the truth. Think about it. Things started between us way before my mother was caught. I needed—I need—your help, that’s true, but it’s because you’re the only one who sees how things really are. Didn’t you just bring me here to see how gentle this supposed ‘monster’ really was?” Claire pointed at the cage in the far corner.

“We’re werewolves. It’s true. There’s nothing I can do about that, or, believe me, I would have done it already. Do you think I want to be like this? To know that every month, I have to turn into something that everyone else on the planet wants dead? Do you think I
like
being the thing that gives people
nightmares? I didn’t ask for this Matthew, but I’m making the best of it that I can. So is my mother. She’s never hurt anyone. She never
would
hurt anyone. Please. Even if you can’t help us, please don’t tell your father.” Claire took a breath and played her last card. “I saved your life, and I would do it again. Don’t make me regret that.”

Matthew stared at her hard. He shook his head, once, twice, and then disappeared out the lab door into the night. Claire watched him go, her insides twisting with pain and fear. In the back corner of the lab, her mother whimpered, and determination settled over Claire like dew on the morning grass. Before she did anything else, she was going to get her mother out of that damn cage. On shaky legs, she walked back to the cage.