Page 28 of Way of the Wolf

Oh, he looked human—broad-shouldered and in his late thirties with a Starter jacket, ripped jeans, and slicked-back black hair—but I was close enough now to sense him, the same as Duncan had. And, after a moment, I recognized him, though I hadn’t seen him in decades. Cousin Augustus was one of six sons and daughters my mother’s sister had birthed. Long ago, I’d been his babysitter.

“Who are you?” Augustus asked Duncan, his shoulders bunching under his jacket, his muscles straining against the sleeves.

“I’m here servicing Luna’s needs.” Duncan lifted a hand to the doorframe, flexing his biceps in the process.

“He isn’t servicing anything but the lawn,” I called over his shoulder, then tapped Duncan, wanting him to let me past.

Augustus didn’t bristle any less at the announcement and continued to glare at Duncan. It didn’t help that Duncan didn’t move to make things easy for me. I had to duck to slip out under his arm. Duncan stepped out with me and stood at my side as I faced my cousin.

“You’re here a lot,lawnboy,” Augustus said.

He was more than a decade younger than Duncan, so usingboywas nothing but insulting. Not that Duncan wasn’t goofy and boyish most of the time, but Augustus wouldn’t know about that.

Nothing in Duncan’s cool expression was youthful or naive now. He gazed back without sign of intimidation, though Augustus stood several inches taller than he and had filled out like a refrigerator since last I’d seen him. A very muscled refrigerator.

“It’s a big lawn,” Duncan said.

“What can I do for you, Augie?” I suspected the childhood nickname might make him bristle but wanted to remind him of a time when I’d been in charge of him.

He finally shifted his gaze to me, though he maintained a tense and wary stance, fingers ready to snap into fists, and he kept Duncan in his sights. “You didn’t answer my call.”

“You haven’t called for more than a decade. I assumed you butt-dialed me.”

Augustus mouthed the word, “Butt,” then shook his head. “I left a message asking you to meet me at Echo Lake Park last night. It’s important.”

“Sorry. I’ve been busy and haven’t checked my messages.”

“Busy. With the lawn boy.”

“No,” I said, but Duncan spoke over me.

“We had afabulousdinner together last night. Except for being attacked by a pack of wolves and stray dogs. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Even though it had crossed my mind that Augustus or someone else in the pack might have been connected to the attack,Duncan’s accusation surprised me. After all, he’d justmetmy cousin. He couldn’t know anything about my family’s dynamics. Or so I assumed. His eyes were slits as he regarded Augustus, as if he already knew the answer.

“Luna is my cousin,” Augustus said. “I have no reason to attack her.”

“Or have minions attack her?”

“No.You, on the other paw… Who the hell are you? This is Snohomish Savager territory. You came on our turf without asking permission or bringing an offering. There aren’t many wolves in this area anymore. I would have heard about it if you’d visited our alpha.Ikeep in close communication with the family.” Augustus gave me a scathing look.

“You know why I don’t communicate with them,” I said quietly. “No, whytheydon’t communicate withme.”

When I’d left the pack, I’d been running from my own demons, not spurning the family. Once, I’d gone back long enough to explain it to my mother, but she hadn’t understood. And, going by the years of silence since then, she still didn’t understand. Myfamilyhad cut ties with me, not the other way.

“Because you’ve turnedhuman,” Augustus said as if that were the most egregious crime in the world. “You don’t hunt, you don’t change, you don’t heed the call, and you smell like them. You’reweaklike them. It’sdisgusting.”

Duncan took a step forward, as if he might spring at Augustus to defend me.

I held up a hand, not wanting him to get involved. Even though I didn’t trust him and doubted he had my best interests in mind, I didn’t want him picking a fight with the pack. That was a good way for a lone wolf to get killed. If Duncan hurt Augustus, the entire family would hunt him down. More werewolves than Augustus might be in the area right now. The rest of my cousins and some of my half-brothers could be lurking in the woods.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” I told Augustus, “but I did it for a reason.”

He sneered. “So you could mate with a weakling human and spawn feeble human offspring.”

“I’m so delighted you’ve been keeping tabs on me.” I thought of the cameras.

“Yourmotherkeeps tabs. And your aunt. Only they care, and I don’t know why. Your mother has other offspring, offspringloyalto the pack, and you— you are dead to the rest of us.”

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