Page 8 of Flock Around and Find Out

Which reminded me again how little the rules seemed to actually matter. I got nailed every time I even bent one, but others got to break them all they wanted and get away with it due to some loophole no one told me about.

Next time Ruben got on my case about a rule, I was going to try the same tactic to get out of trouble.

Still, the fact no one spoke made the tension thick and uncomfortable. It felt like when my parents had come over to my little one-room studio when I’d first moved out, when they’d hated it but didn’t want to admit such a thing. We’d sat there with this exact silence, full of all the things they wanted to say but didn’t dare.

I knew that silence, especially because I never kept what I shouldn’t say to myself. I always blurted it out carelessly. It went to show that I wasn’t a great example of keeping quiet, of being good, of understanding tact.

However, since that silence had never been one I liked, I broke it first. “I know my coffee is good, but could we get to the point? I want to get to sleep at some point.”

Galen offered me a glare, like I’d broken some unspoken rule I didn’t know about. Maybe he was trying to intimidate Porter with the silence? One look at Porter said it wouldn’t work.

Still, after a moment, he sighed and set his cup down. “You asked for this meeting,” Galen said.

Porter set his down as well, as though that somehow signaled something between the two of them. Maybe this was the language of men?

Fuck knew I didn’t understand it.

“I’ve detected Were energy in a number of animals in the wilds.”

The widening of Galen’s eyes, just for a moment before he hid it, went to show he hadn’t known and that he didn’t like the news. He wiped the look away, again telling me this wouldn’t be an easy conversation.

Both sides had questions and information—information that could help the other side and questions the other side could answer—but neither wanted to come out and say any of it. They didn’t want to give away their advantage, to offer anything to an enemy that might use it against them.

This was why wars broke out, because people valued their stubbornness and presumed strength over the need to work shit out.

“Are you sure?” Galen asked.

“Completely. Do you have any idea how this could have happened?”

“Are Weres trying to make animals into Weres?” I asked, thinking I’d come up with a brilliant idea. Maybe Weres were trying to turn animals to make them into weird little Were pets?

Or so I thought, until the expression ofbothmen said it was one of the dumbest things they’d heard.

Neither addressed me, as though I hadn’t spoken at all, like that protected my ego.

It was a good guess.

“Could this be connected with the increased number of strays?” Porter asked.

Galen shot me a dirty look, as thoughI’dbeen at fault for blabbing. I had, but it was rude to assume. He turned his gaze back to Porter. “I don’t see how it could.”

“Why are there more strays? They’re usually rare, are they not?”

Galen didn’t shift in his seat, probably to avoid giving away his discomfort, but I knew him well enough to read him easily. He hated this conversation. “Strays have always been uncommon. Normally, new Weres are located easily by sense, and they are drawn to other Weres. Strays, however, don’t have that draw. They lack the ability to control their beast, and because of that, they can’t join a pack. Without any of that, they end up dangerous and typically must be put down.”

“So are there more Weres being changed or are more of them changing into strays?” I asked.

Galen tapped his finger against the side of his cup. “Both, I think. In addition to the strays, some of our older Weres seem to be losing themselves and going feral. They’re struggling with control. Because of that, those afflicted have started to change others more often than is typical. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I’ve found no evidence of drugs, of spells, of mind control. Some Weres simply seem to be losing their sense of control.” Galen finished the words with a huff, a sure, rare sign of his frustration with his lack of progress.

Then again, he’d always been a type-A, take control sort of person. He was the kind who wanted to fix shit immediately. He didn’t want to risk not knowing an answer, to let it stagnate.

So I had no doubt he’d already done all he could to figure out what was going on and had hit nothing but walls.

Which wasn’t a good sign. If Galen couldn’t discover the problem with his own wolves, what chance did we all have?

“Is there anything that links the Weres who this happened to? Is it just wolves?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. It’s all types of Weres. I haven’t seen a connection between any of them yet. They’re happening in equal numbers regardless of type, age, or anything else. The only difference is that it is a far higher number of brand new Weres. There have not been any changed Weres in the past three months who have changed normally. Every one of them have become strays.”

---