“Hold on a second,” I said and moved cautiously after him. I don’t know why I was so freaked out—they werekids,for God’s sake. They couldn’t hurt me. Theywouldn’thurt me.
Would they?
“Derek, wait a minute. I need to—”
“It’s just up to the second floor. Come now.” He was already on the narrow stairway going up, leaving me no choice but to follow.
When I turned, the four kids were still there in the foyer, watching me. I didn’t miss the looks full ofpitythey gave me, like they felt sorry for me. For whatever was up there on the second floor.
The fear only deepened with every step I took until I reached a hallway with five doors. Derek had stopped in front of the second to my right, holding a finger in front of his lips to tell me to keep quiet.
I approached him, scared and angry and confused, and I had no idea what the hell to even say to him at this point.
“She’s in there,” Derek whispered, pointing his thumb at the door.
“Agnes?” I whispered, too.
He nodded. “She’s been keeping us all out all day. She’s…um…you know.” And he looked down at the bag of pads in my hand. “But she won’t let me go in there or talk to her. I’m a guy.” He raised his brows, like he expected me to know exactly what that meant.
And I did.
Shaking my head, I sighed. “You could have told me that before you dragged me here and almost killed me.” I could have gotten a cab if I’d known how he drove.
“I did tell you,” Derek said, a bit confused now, like what I was saying didn’t make sense to him. “Just go in there and teach her the stuff she needs to know. And…and calm her down, too.” He nodded and stepped back. “Now, go.”
“Wait a minute, Derek,” I said. “Who is Agnes? How old is she?Whatis she? What are—”All these kids here, I wanted to say, but he didn’t let me.
“Agnes is Agnes. She’s eleven, and she’s a werewolf,” he solemnly said. “If you don’t help her, she’s not going to come out of that room. She hasn’t eaten the whole day. Dominic says it’s important to eat, so…” And he shrugged.
“It’s important to eat.” I nodded, as if I understood completely. My God, what had I gotten myself into?
“Go. And be careful. She has claws,” Derek whispered and pushed me toward the door, trying to encourage me with a fake smile.
Oh, God. Taking in a deep breath, I shook my head and tried to focus. It was okay. I was dealing with a little girl who got her period for the first time. I’d been there myself—and I’d freaked out badly. No matter how absurd this entire situation even was, I could do this. I could help a little girl in need.
And with that thought in mind, I opened the door and stepped inside the room.
The lights were on, and the two lamps by the twin bed, too. It was a girl’s room all right—with posters of One Direction all over the walls. There was one of Justin Bieber, too, and about three dozen colorful headbands sprawled over a plastic makeup table. The carpet was baby blue, and the messy sheets of the bed were almost the same color.
And nobody was in there.
I waited a heartbeat.
“Hello?”
A low growl came from somewhere on the other side of the bed. The sheets moved just a little bit, which told me that Agnes was hiding under it. My heartbeat tripled instantly.
Had she shifted? Werewolves normally shifted during puberty. Some sooner, some later. Derek did say she had claws, though…
She’s a kid,I reminded myself. She was just a kid, probably scared out of her mind. I’d been the same way. God, I’d been so freaked out that time. Clearing my throat, I straightened my shoulders, as if that was going to make a difference.
“Hey, Agnes. I’m Teddy, a friend of Derek’s,” I said, my voice as calm as I could make it. I put the bag and my purse down on the floor slowly.
Another growl, this one louder.
My legs were still shaking, even though I’d already accepted that I’d survived Derek’s drive here. I still needed to sit down so badly, just to gather myself. So, I sat by the door and sighed. It felt so good to let go of my body for a minute.
“I’m a friend of Dominic’s, too. We work together actually,” I said. It wasn’t technically a lie—we did work for the same people, but it still felt wrong to say those words for some reason.