Just then, the scent of a wolf filled my nostrils. Alarick tensed, and the others turned in that direction as well. An unfamiliar grey wolf stepped from between the trees, and a second later, Mr. Wolf emerged from its body, standing tall and broad in a patch of midday sun filtering through the pines. “I couldn’t help but overhear you,” he said, his greedy eyes raking over the group of wolves he’d assembled on the island. “Sorry to ruin your little plan, but no one is going anywhere.”
Chapter Eleven
“You’re not stopping us from leaving,” Alarick growled at his father.
“I’ve worked too hard to assemble this group to let you leave now,” Mr. Wolf said. “Not when I’ve finally found a viable candidate.”
“We don’t have to leave,” Vance said, taking Lindy’s hand and pulling her over to join Mr. Wolf. “Lindy and I will stay here. I’ve found my mate. We have no reason to leave.”
“And the rest of you will find your mates, too,” Mr. Wolf said. “If Timberlyn stays. If she leaves, you’ll never find your mates. Brooklyn is the only one I can allow to leave this island.”
I glanced at the girl, wondering how she felt about being singled out, about being the one wolf allowed to leave. Mr. Wolf might as well have called her expendable. She stood glaring, a furious frown darkening her brow.
“You can’t stop us,” Alarick said. “You don’t own our lives.”
“I think I can,” Mr. Wolf said, prowling forward. “Timberlyn has a gift even I couldn’t have predicted. She can find our mates and bring them right here. There’s no need to leave.”
“I can’t bring them here,” I said. “And some of them may not accept your invitation. Then what?”
“Then we have ways to make them comply,” Mr. Wolf said with a cruel sneer.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll call my parents and tell them I want to leave Ravenwood. You can’t stop them from taking me out of your school.”
Mr. Wolf threw back his head and laughed. When he recovered, his expression remained amused, which made shivers crawl down my spine as he spoke. “I can make you an orphan,” he said. “Your parents could die in a tragic accident on their way to visit you, and that grandmother of yours, well, she’s knocking on death’s door already. Lucky for you, a kind benefactor at the school would be willing to take you in until you finish your education.”
“You sick fuck,” I whispered, staring at the monster in front of me.
“Not sick,” he said, leering down at me. “Determined. I let nothing stand in my way.”
“Leave us alone,” Donovan said, stepping forward. “You had no use for us for most of our lives, Dad. Why don’t you go back to pretending we don’t exist?”
“Your answer is in your question,” Mr. Wolf said. “Now, I have a use for you. None of you will be leaving the academy except Brooklyn. If you’d like her to go searching for your imaginary wolf pack, she’s welcome to go. The rest of you will stay here until you’ve given me what I want.”
Brooklyn growled low in her throat, her wolf flashing in her eyes. Alarick reached out a hand, setting it on the back of her neck, and she fell silent, but her eyes still held murder.
“Like hell,” Alarick snapped at his father. “There’s one of you, and half a dozen of us. Just try to make us stay.” He glared back at the older man, stepping forward until they were almost toe to toe, with Alarick towering over Mr. Wolf.
“Listen,” I said, holding out a hand to stop Alarick, who was straining toward his father like he wanted to throttle him. “We want the same thing you do. I’m helping you continue your species. But we won’t be your prisoners.”
“That would be one thing if I trusted you,” Mr. Wolf said. “But, you see, my sons hate me. They’ll do anything to destroy me and all I’ve worked for. And you—you’re a vampire. Your kind is responsible for the disappearance of mine. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to believe that’s why you’re leaving?”
“You don’t have to believe me,” I said. “But we’re leaving.”
“Then make sure you say goodbye to your grandmother before you leave,” he said. “Since you won’t be seeing her again.”
Alarick sidestepped me and grabbed his father by the throat. “You’re the one who won’t be seeing her again,” he said. “You won’t be seeing anyone, Mr. Wolf. Including us, or your precious project finding success, or your grandchildren repopulating our species. Because you just signed your own death warrant.”
“Let him go,” Vance said, nudging Lindy behind him and stepping up to Mr. Wolf’s side. “We don’t harm a wolf for a mere human. Your girlfriend’s human grandmother is hardly worth the life of a fertile wolf. She’ll probably only live a few more years, anyway.”
“Timberlyn?” Alarick asked, never looking away from his father, whose face had gone purple. “What do you want me to do with this sack of shit?”
I wanted him to snap Mr. Wolf’s neck, showing him how it felt to be expendable. But I wouldn’t let myself be drawn in, wouldn’t let myself become evil as he was.
Before I could say a word, though, Mr. Wolf began to shake violently, his face elongating and fangs sprouting from his lips as they drew back in a snarl.
“Don’t you dare shift, you dirty coward,” Alarick barked, shaking his father.
But it was too late. With a violent shudder, Mr. Wolf completed the transformation, becoming an enormous wolf in Alarick’s hands. His front paws struck, raking down Alarick’s body. His claws shredded Alarick’s shirt and sank into his flesh, leaving deep, bloody furrows down his chest and abdomen.
