Chapter Twenty-one

The room faded to black, coming back into sharper than sharp focus as Glenna reeled from Sam’s bombshell. “Who told my family that I was dead?” Liquid anger pulsed in her veins, and her skin flushed hot.

Sarah would be devastated. Glenna vividly remembered her sister’s tiny hand clinging to hers as they walked hand-in-hand into that huge cold house, each with only a small duffle of their belongings. Their parents had been dead for days and after being shuttled to and fro by social workers they were sent to live with Grandmother. Sarah didn’t even remember much about their parents, just Grandmother’s harsh rules and discipline. That was the day Glenna had sworn she’d do whatever she had to to keep Sarah safe.

“What kind of monsters are you?” Any connection she’d felt with him was gone, the heat of her anger overcoming even her body’s drive to touch him.

“It wasn’t us.” Sam’s expression was unreadable.

“Who?” she snarled.

“Glenna, it’s not good for you to be so upset. The fever might come back.”

“I need to go.” Adrenaline spiked through her. She needed to get to Sarah. Now. She shoved back from the desk and headed for the door, trying to circle around Sam, solidly standing in her way.

“Easy now.” He spread his hands out, palms down, blocking her path. “I’ve already had to take down one wolf tonight. I don’t want to have to take down another.”

Aggression poured through her veins. She hit his chest with her hands, slapping him again and again on the broad expanse. None of it slaked her anger. “If it wasn’t you, then who the hell did it?” The room, that had been so cold, was too hot. It suddenly smelled of too many years and too many people trapped in the tiny space. She wanted out.

She pushed off Sam and darted to the side.

“It was the feds.” He bobbed side to side, cutting off her escape route. “They didn’t want to admit to losing you, not when everyone at the hospital knew you’d tested positive for the fever. They covered it up. Made it sound like you’d died and they’d cremated your body.”

She wanted to howl her anger and race into the night—run through the mountains until she found her sister and stole her away to safety. Her vision flashed red, then black.

“Glenna!” Sam’s fingers dug into her shoulders.

She scratched at his face, his chest, anything she could reach. She had to fight through him. She had to get out.

He shook her, her head snapping from side to side. “Stop it!”

The room came back into focus. Sam stood in front of her, his eyes filled with pity. All her muscles were tensed.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Suddenly exhausted, she sagged down onto the floor. “I’m tired one moment, horny the next. I want to run and kill someone, tear them to pieces.”

“It’s time to take you back.” He scooped her up and carried her down the hall, heading outside.

She didn’t resist. She had cycled from fear to anger and back and now, she was left numb and vulnerable. She’d always been the strong one, the one who knew what to do. Now, she didn’t even know what questions to ask.

He carefully buckled her into the SUV and they drove out of the school complex.

She didn’t want to talk about her situation any longer. It was too much. She needed a break. But the silence gnawed on her. Around mile five, she finally broke. “You found the boy?”

“Yeah.” Sam kept driving, his face stern in the light from the dash. “He’s fine.”

“Does this happen often?”

His hands clenched white on the wheel. “No. It never happens,” he said, lifting first one tight hand, then the other, loosening their death grip. “The school is full of men trained to handle adolescents. Trained to notice when they’re close to the change. It’s been carefully run for years. They keep them secluded during the first few times to help them cope with the loss of control.”

“Tell me about it, the fever. How can they have it if it’s so controlled? Are they all like me? Were they attacked?”

They turned up a dark road and she swallowed to alleviate the pressure in her ears. She was so lost. All these twisty mountain roads and no streetlights. She was a city girl and this area looked dark, the road rough cutting across the side of a steep drop.

“No, none of them were attacked. The fever is passed through blood and saliva. When pack kids turn 13 they’re exposed to the live virus. Some die. Some, because of their DNA, don’t show effects at all. Those are the dormants. They become our liaisons to the human world. A few become spelltalkers or dreamwalkers. The rest become wolf shifters. Like me.”

A deep shiver ran through her.

“So, a wolf shifter can become a wolf?” He acted as if all of this was real. This might be her diseased mind’s hallucination, but she was coming to realize, real or not, she had to learn the rules of this world. Or she might never see Sarah again.

“Yes. We’re lucky enough to experience the full change.” His body seemed large in the cab of the vehicle reminding her that no matter how nice he seemed, no matter how safe she felt with him, it was an illusion.

“And the others, what happens to them? What’s a dreamwalker?”

“Dreamwalkers have a wolf in the dream state. They join the shamans, our spiritual guides, and heal through dreams. You’ve met one—Serena.” His lips pressed tight together after he spoke the woman’s name and she had a quick flash of, could it be jealousy?

“I haven’t met anyone named Serena.”

“Yes you have. She’s been walking with you in your dreams. Helping you cope with the fever, the attack.” He cut her a quick glance. “She becomes a white wolf on the dreamscape.”

She remembered the wolf. And the lovely woman with the serious eyes who had kept her safe in her dreams. They’d helped her block out...something. She couldn’t quite remember what.

“She’s real?”

“She’s real. She spent two weeks healing you, helping you recover.”

“And the other, you said there was one other thing the kids become.”

“Spelltalkers. There aren’t many of them. Most become shamans too, like the dreamwalkers. A few take outside jobs, help us hide from the authorities. Or work in positions with the public. Like Alastair.”

Glenna remembered her creepy almost-dream and shivered. “Do they walk in people’s dreams too?”

“No, they can’t do that. Only dreamwalkers—and they have to ask permission. Their wolves keep them to the straight and narrow.”

They turned into the driveway and pulled up in front of the house. Dawn streaked the sky. They’d been up all night. No wonder she was so tired. Sam came around and opened her door for her. “Come on. We’ll grab some breakfast and you can ask more questions.” His lips quirked up. “I’m sure you have a few.”

She followed Sam up the stairs to the old screen door. She needed answers if she were to get home, and she had to trust him to give them to her, but every answer he gave left her more confused than before. She stepped into the kitchen behind him and almost stepped right back out. Lana was back and the small room vibrated with her anger.

“Where the hell did you take her?”