Page 99 of A Wolf's Wound
“She does,” Ryder says.
“Thanks,” I tell Brian again, even though hearing him compliment me makes me want to vomit.
“I’d like to take some credit for bringing the two of you together,” Brian says.
“Oh, you get total credit,” I say.“I don’t think we would have met if the councilman hadn’t tried to attack me.”
“I guess I do get all the credit,” Brian says.“Ryder, you can repay me by making me best man.How about that?”
“Sounds good,” Ryder says.From his sickly expression, I’m guessing that he finds Brian’s compliments as nausea-inducing as I do.
“Earlier, you said that the humans were weak,” I say, trying to keep us on track.
“Right, the ones that attacked the animals.They were.”
“Was there anything else that made them weak?”
“Besides the fact that they died?”Brian asks.“Come on, Hannah, I thought you were a scientist.”
“I am,” I say.
“Then you get it,” he says.
“Get what?”I ask, completely confused.
“That only the strong survive,” Brian says.“Isn’t that, like, covered in Bio 101?”
“I must have been absent that day.”
“The weak humans, they had to be weak and die to pave the way,” Brian says.
“So they were collateral damage too,” I say.
“Right.It’s unfortunate.It really is.But that’s how it works in science sometimes.And in life, really.It’s a good life lesson for us all to remember.The weak have to die to pave the way for the strong.”
“What do you mean, the strong?”I ask.
Brian doesn’t answer.I glance at Ryder, who gives a small shrug.
“Brian, I’m curious,” I try again.“Could you tell me what you mean?I’d really like to find out.”
But Brian is staring at me with the strangest expression, like he’s sizing me up, assessing me for some reason.
The longer he stares, the more uneasy I feel.He’s so quiet after talking at such length and with so much enthusiasm.It’s like someone just flipped an “off” switch that connected his brain and his mouth.
But not the one that connects his brain and his eyes.Because he’s definitely assessing me.And then my stomach drops.
The weak dying, making way for the strong… for strong humans to be bitten by shifters and survive…
Is he talking about me?
Chapter 57
Ryder
ThewayBrian’sstaringat Hannah makes me uneasy.A quick glance at her face tells me that she feels the same way.
“Hey, Brian,” I say as casually as possible, hoping to break the intensity.
