Page 94 of Big Bad Bully
In his place lies an enormous white and gray wolf. Billy’s clothes lie in shredded tatters around him.
A strange whimpering sound escapes my throat. What…just–
The wolf’s white fur turns red from blood.
“That’s it, Billy.” Nickel’s hand is on the wolf’s flank. “Let your wolf heal you.”
“The…the wolf is Billy.” My voice sounds far away to my ears.
Billy is a wolf.
I twist to look over my shoulder to gaze at the rest of the group. Every face I scan looks unsurprised. Pale and sober but unsurprised. Even Madi’s.
“Billy is a werewolf?” It’s like one part of my brain–the one indoctrinated with fairytales and fantasy–understands perfectly, but the other says this is impossible.
“A wolf shifter,” Madi says.
That’s when it hits me. “You’re all wolves.”
All except for Madi? Or has she been turned?
“He’s going to be okay,” Madi says, and this time I believe her. Because if men can turn into wolves, I certainly can believe other magic and miracles are possible.
I bob my head, tears still streaming down my face. “Okay,” I sniff. “That’s good.” I realize the other people in the limo are looking at each other.
I’m in on their secret.
I lean my face close to the wolf’s. He’s ginormous–way bigger than a normal wolf. My body has a biological fear response to the huge head and giant teeth, but this is Billy. The guy who just took a bullet for me. “Please be okay,” I murmur.
He licks the tears from my cheek.
“Please.”
“The bleeding already stopped,” Nickel says quietly. “His body will expel the bullet in a day or two. He’ll need to rest up to recover, that’s all.”
Relief pours through me, and I cry harder. “Oh. That’s good.” I stroke his silky ears. “That’s really good.”
“What happened, Aubrey?” Brick asks, without the bark this time.
I wipe the tears with my wrist and turn to look at him, keeping one hand on Billy’s head. “I’m involved in some corporate espionage. To take down Sentience, the A.I. company that stole everyone’s work.”
Brick’s eyebrows pop.
“Did you know this?” he asks Madi, who winces.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know it would come to this,” I say.
“There was a whistleblower of an AI company who ended up dead in a hotel room,” Brick says. “His death was deemed suicide…but his parents protest that claim. These guys don’t mess around.”
I shiver. Jamie was right to be paranoid. “Then I guess they’re trying to get rid of me. Billy’s guy said they ransacked my apartment yesterday and must’ve found me here. It’s just… crazy.” I shake my head, unable to believe things have come to this.
“A heads-up would’ve been nice,” Brick mutters. “From either one of you.” He splits a look between Madi and Billy.
It’s weird to see someone talk to an animal like they understand.
Suddenly, his relationship with his friends makes more sense. They’re wolves. They follow an alpha.
