“C’mon. Let’s get you settled.” I opened the door and waited for her to show me where the bathroom was.
Out of allstrange things that had happened to me in twenty-three years, this definitely topped the list.
Agnes was downstairs in the large kitchen, sitting at the dining table with the other four kids, and they were all drinking tea, analyzing her brand-new claws. It was so surreal, I had yet to believe this was actually happening.
“She seems okay. She hasn’t scratched anyone. That’s a good thing,” Derek said from my side. “Is that a good thing?” He didn’t even wait for me to answer. “Yes, that’s a good thing.”
“She was just scared. Confused. It’s understandable. I think she’ll be just fine,” I told him, and he smiled, like that was exactly what he’d wanted to hear. “Is this… is this your house, Derek?” I whispered, hoping the kids wouldn’t hear. They were barely five feet away, and they were werewolves, but I still hoped.
“Yep. It’s our house. Dom bought it. It’s all ours,” Derek said.
“And who are these kids?” Because I didn’t see their parents here. The house was clean, the dishes done, and it smelled like someone had cooked something not too long ago, too, but they were kids.
“They’re our kids,” Derek said. “They’re ours.”
“How—”
“Our kids. Werewolves. All ours,” he insisted, nodding his head. “They’re safe now. I keep them safe. We’re okay. You can go.”
I blinked, shocked for a moment. But then I remembered that this was Derek.
“Oh. Okay. Glad I could help.”
“I’ll drive you,” he said, but I wasnotgoing to let that happen no matter what.
“Actually, no. I’d rather walk. I need some air.”
“No, no—I’ll drive you. I can drive. The car is outside.” And he showed me the keys in his hand.
“Thank you, Derek. But I really need to go now.”
I went to say goodbye to the kids—the tallest one, Trinity, with the purple hair, still wouldn’t even look at me, but the others saidbye,and Emilie and Agnes actually smiled at me. I promised her again that she was going to be okay, and she immediately blushed, hiding her claws under the table. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything in front of the other kids, but it was too late now.
Derek followed me to the door and outside, always moving, spinning the keys around his fingers.
“You sure, Teddy? I could drive. I like to drive,” he insisted. He was obviously relaxed now, much calmer than he had been when I first saw him.
“I’m sure, Derek. I’ll be fine. Thank you,” I said, and turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him again, a bit too violently. The thing is, I don’t think he even meant it, and when he saw the look on my face, he immediately let go of me and stepped back.
“Just wait a second,” he said. “I need to talk to Dom. Can you tell him to call me? He hasn’t been home. And Emilie wants another coloring book, and I don’t know which one to get for her. If I get it wrong, she’s going to be pissed.” He whispered the last words, as if the thought of that little girl being pissedterrifiedhim.
“Okay, Derek. I’ll tell Dominic to call you.” If he ended up at the office tomorrow, which…ugh.
“Okay. You do that,” he said, nodding. “Right away. Call meright away.”
“You sure you’ll be okay with all those kids in there?”
He smiled. “Of course. They’re my kids. We’re always okay.” And he started to walk back to the house again. “Night night, Teddy.”
“Goodnight, Derek.”
I turned around and started walking while I ordered an Uber. The day had been even longer than I’d thought, and I still had work to do.
ChapterFour
The dead body smelled strange.Definitely rot, but something else was mixed into it. Something sweet, which made it even worse.
It was eight a.m., and I was in the Bronx, behind a row of abandoned-looking buildings, with a playground on the other side made out of broken swings and rusted slides. Police tape was everywhere, and ODP officers kept all the curious humans far away.