Page 58 of Raised By Wolves

Agent Dunham leans close. Holo can smell the coffee on his breath and the mint of his toothpaste. “We think you’re leaving out some crucial information,” he says.

“We might even say that you’re lying to us,” Rollins adds.

Holo wipes his hands on his hand-me-down jeans. Keeps his mouth shut. So what if he is? They can’t make him betray his pack.

“Lying to federal agents could result in false statements charges,” Dunham says. “Did you know that? So I want you to think very carefully before you answer this question: Do you know a woman named Wendy?”

Holo gasps. Kai jumps up from her chair and grabs his hand.

“What Ithink,” she says through clenched teeth, “is that we don’t have to answer that question.”

She gives her wild, dark hair a toss and yanks Holo out the door. She kicks it shut behind them, and then they start to run.

By the time the agents burst into the hallway, brother and sister are gone.

CHAPTER 41

WE THINK YOU’RE leaving out some crucial information.

We might even say that you’re lying to us.

I slam my shovel into the dirt. Dunham and Rollins don’t scare me. I just don’t ever want to see them again.

I fling the dirt to the side, grab a green seedling, drop it into the hole, and cover up its roots. Planting tomatoes in Lacey’s garden is chore number one on a long list the chief left for us before he went back to work a second shift. Guess I was wrong about what I told Waylon I’d be doing on a Friday night.

“We have to be ready to run,” I tell my brother.

Holo pinches off a leaf of a chard plant and pops it into his mouth. He chews and makes a face. “This isn’t as good as miner’s lettuce.”

“It’s because you’re supposed to eat it cooked, dummy. And I don’t think you’re taking this threat seriously.”

He gives me a wounded look. “I did a good job today, though, didn’t I? I didn’t give anything away.”

I soften. I never want to hurt my brother. He’s all I’ve got right now. “You did great.”

Lacey leans out the kitchen window. “Do you kids want chocolate or vanilla frosting on your cake?”

“Cake?” Holo yelps, brightening immediately.

“You bet,” Lacey says. “We’restillcelebrating your test scores. You could go to Harvard with scores like that.”

“What’s Harvard?” Holo asks.

“A place only very smart people go. Now, chocolate or vanilla?”

“We’ve never had frosting before,” I tell her.

“Obviously chocolate then,” Lacey says, withdrawing her head.

Holo digs and plants happily for a little while, thinking about cake. But then his face gets serious again. “Do you think those men know anything?”

“I’m not sure. But I don’t trust them.”

But what if they knew who we were?Thenwould I want to see them again?

I look down at my hands. My fingernails are filthy, but my cuts and callouses are pretty much gone by now. I’ve almost got the hands of a regular, normal girl.

“I don’t really want to leave,” Holo says quietly.

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