“I’m serious, Margo. You’re in so much danger right now. If you don’t tell me what you are, what you know, what youdid, then I can’t help you.”
“I have no idea what the hell you’re on about, Dorian. If you’re not going to make any sense, then leave.”
“Have you taken your pills?” he asked suddenly.
“Not yet, not that it’s any of your business. Listen, my parents are across the hall. All I have to do is shout, and they’ll—”
I was on my back before I could take another breath. Dorian pinned me, his hand across my mouth. But there was no anger in his eyes, nothing but weariness.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said. “But I need you to listen. Will you listen to me?”
I did my best to shake my head and look as furious as possible.
He sighed. “I’m a werewolf,” he said. “That’s my secret. Now what’s yours?” He let go and eased off.
I took the opportunity to slap him across the head. “This isn’t funny, Dorian!”
“I know it’s not,” he said, moving away from me. “Werewolves are going missing and winding up dead, and the pack thinks you have something to do with it. You won’t be safe until we prove you’re innocent, but I need your help with that.”
That was it. Beyond my limit. “You and your stupid town can cut this shit out, pronto. I’m not taking part in your little games with your Halloween pranks and your werewolf jokes. I’m not amused.”
“I’m not joking. I’m a werewolf, just like most of the people I know. And those werewolves think you had something to do with Mara’s death because your scent was near her body, and we both know there’s something different about you, so if you don’t tell me—”
“Wait a minute,” I said, feeling as though I’d been kicked in the chest. “Mara’sdeath? You’re making jokes about her being dead now?” That was too far. I shut down on him completely. “Get out. Just get out of here. I’m not interested in these sick jokes.”
“It’s a shock,” he said. “You need time to think about it. That’s fine. You can have time.” He moved to the window and looked back at me. “But I saw you in the woods once before, your eyes all blue like when Emma had her accident. And all of that weird Halloween stuff happened because you were there. I’m not the only one who isn’t human in this room, so I’ll be back. You had better hope it’s me, not the others.” His expression went cold, scary even. “And if I find out you had anything to do with Mara, that you hid the truth, you’ll have to deal with me first.”
He climbed out. I hurriedly locked the window after him then ran downstairs and checked the doors and windows were locked downstairs, too. The town was full of lunatics; it was official. A thread of fear had wound around me, and I couldn’t let it go. Fake werewolves and deaths were one thing, actual lunatics were quite another.
I touched the mark on my chest, a bruise that had come out of nowhere—something I couldn’t explain. And I suddenly found it hard to breathe.
As my outrage died down, his words started to sink in. He’d seen me in the woods. He’d noticed me sleepwalking. And he didn’t think I was human. DidI? Did I really believe that I had caused the incidents at Halloween, Emma’s accident, and maybe more? I had moved across counties because the people I’d grown up around believed I’d hurt a dog. If I didn’t remember hurting anything, did that make me innocent—or just a fool?
Chapter 24
Dorian
I climbeddown Margo’s drainpipe and walked straight into a steel grip.
I froze, unable to look Dominic in the eyes.
“What are you doing here, Dorian?” he asked sternly. “Did you do something to her?”
“No,” I said sullenly. “I came for answers, but she didn’t give me any.”
Dominic frowned. “You need to get home and stay out of trouble. Come on, I’ll give you a lift.”
“Are you going to—”
“Can’t keep this from the alpha, kid. You made a big mistake coming here. What were you going to do if anyone came for her?” He tutted. “The girl is bad news. Keep away from her.”
He dragged me to his car to drive me home. “You know she could be the murderer,” he said as he drove. “You understand the danger?”
“I don’t think she’s a murderer.”
“Be careful who you say that around. The killer could be one of your little buddies who must be very happy right now that the blame has landed at that girl’s feet.”
I looked at his profile in surprise. He was too relaxed. Maybe if I was dominant, I wouldn’t be as nervous. “What do you mean?”