“Okay.”
“When is Chris back?”
I remembered what Sam had said. “Soon, likely.”
“Good. He’ll handle it.”
What the hell does that mean? I gritted my teeth and told myself to calm down, Chris was as close to Peter as I was. He wouldn’t turn enforcer unless he had no choice.
“Liam?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Thanks, Doc. Take care of yourself.”
“You too. Keep me posted.”
I sat and ate, my stomach twisting so I could barely swallow. Should I have called the doc about Peter? No matter how I chewed on it, there was no obvious answer. Josh had witnessed Peter having problems, so he would tell Chris even if I didn’t. When it came down to it, I didn’t understand enough about how these things worked.
I lifted my phone again, reaching for red-haired advice.
The call went straight to voicemail. I hung up and watched as fat raindrops splattered the windshield.
A moment later, my phone came to life, singing about the beast inside. That’s a little too close to home.
I punched the button.
“Hey, soldier. What’s up?” Her husky voice gave me a much-needed lift.
“Maybe I just want to gossip,” I said, meaning for it to come across light, but clearly failing.
“What’s wrong?”
I told her, trying to keep everything as factual as possible. When I finished, she was silent for a few moments. “There may be more than one thing going on here. When the hare jumped out, Peter should have kept control over his wulf. Hunting pushes the boundaries, and for someone of Peter’s experience, it shouldn’t have been an issue. But if he’s experiencing blackouts . . .”
Blackouts? “He killed the hare the second it jumped out in front of him. Like he wasn’t even thinking about it.”
“That means the wulf must have been close to the surface. He may have been losing control over the course of the run. The hunt took him over the edge. But afterward, when he forgot it ever happened—that could be a different problem.”
“Is that as bad as it sounds?”
She sighed. “Chris is on his way home.”
The lack of an answer was in itself an answer. I struggled to remain calm. “That’s part of what I’m worried about.”
A hesitation, as if she chose her words with care. “I realize you’re new to the wulfan way. This thing with Peter may be temporary, or not. Either way, Chris loves Peter. He’ll do right by him.”
Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I cleared my throat. “So, have things wrapped up there?”
Sam hesitated. “I’m telling you this because I’m sure Chris will tell you, anyway. We had to put down five wulfleng in that Brandon uprising. They all were teetering on the edge of losing it. They fought back hard and we had to take them out.”
She sounded unsure as to how I’d react. I tried to imagine Sam ripping out their throats.
“Doesn’t seem like you had any choice,” I said.
My comment elicited a sigh. Relief that I accepted she could kill another living being? Not a talent normally admired in a potential girlfriend. Is that what she is?
Oblivious to my internal debate, Sam continued. “A medical examiner, one of ours, autopsied two of them. She found some—anomalies—in their physical makeup.”
Anomalies? What did that mean?
Sam went into information mode, but I thought I detected strain in her voice. “Do you understand that if they die in human form, there isn’t anything obvious that tells them apart from other humans? Unless it’s a full moon, the virus lies quiet until called upon for the change, and they would have to code the DNA to detect the difference.”
I hadn’t known. “Okay. But the DNA would show they weren’t human, right?”
“The virus alters our DNA, but the code for human is still present. So testing shows human, with anomalies. Usually, with a body so clearly human on the table, the techs decide the sample has been compromised. It isn’t easy to believe monsters walk among the general population.” She exhaled. “The boards monitor these things, so if something looks like it’ll become an issue, the enforcers step in to deal, and they ensure the evidence is destroyed. Wulfan don’t often end up on the average medical examiner’s table.”
Interesting, and the information raised other questions I set aside for the moment. “Right. But what was strange about the bodies?”
“Two died in wulfleng form and were evaluated by our examiner. Now, two is hardly conclusive, but still a bit much to be a coincidence.”
“Sam, what did she find?”
“Enhancements. Their hearts and lungs were enlarged, teeth and claws too. Muscles, double the girth of usual.”
“But the virus enhances those things.”
“Not like this. They were more than your average wulfleng.” Something in her voice resembled fear. Couldn’t be. My Sam was not afraid of anything. My Sam? When did I start thinking that?
She continued talking. “It’s no wonder it took so much to bring these guys down. If we hadn’t been well armed—no way we could have taken them out with tooth and claw. My dad’s still healing.”
I tried not to visualize Sam sliced to pieces by some mutant wulfleng. “What does it mean?”
“We still have to figure that out.” She paused again. “When I saw Dillon that night, it twigged for me. Chris and my dad now agree about these Brandon wulfleng—in wulf form, they were dead ringers for him. Huge, all muscle. And full of rage.”
“How’s that possible?”
“I don’t know. But the examiner’s wondering if we’re looking at a new variant of the virus.”
My heart stopped. “A new version?”
“Yeah. The examiner, Chris, and my dad have been hashing it out.”
A firm rap on my window made me jump, spilling my forgotten chow mein all over the passenger seat. Mandy stood there in the rain. I raised my eyebrows as she mouthed something that included pretty colorful language without the usual substitutions, before she turned and ran back toward the doors.
“I’m sorry, I gotta go.”
“Chris will be home tonight. I’m
