Page 3 of Fangs
“Come, Wolf.” Pa gripped his arm with almost bruising strength. “They want us to see her.”
The Ministry was an ugly, grey metal building in the city’s center that clashed with the soft red curves of all the adobe houses. Wolf followed Pa down the hallway until they stopped before a cell. He stared at the dirty straw floor where his little sister sat. Her wide, terrified eyes stared up at them. She was covered in dirt and blood, and it made her look like a wild animal.
“What happened?” Pa repeated his question to her, his voice and face hard.
“Pa, I didn’t kill him,” she whimpered. “I didn’t kill him,” she managed to say once more before she burst into sobs.
Wolf’s own eyes prickled at the sight of her looking so scared, stricken, and small. He wanted to wrap her in his arms; he wanted toshakeher; he wanted to wake up and realize all of this was a terrible nightmare. He clenched his fists hard enough to feel his nails digging into his palms.
“Stop crying and tell me what happened, girl.” Pa’s voice was ice cold, making the hair on the back of Wolf’s neck stand up.
Pa rarely called Em by name. It had always struck Wolf as strange, but Pa was never the same after Mom died.
“He stabbed himself in the gut! I was tryin’ to help him!” Em seemed to try to stop crying, but her words tumbled out between panicked sobs.
Wolf glanced between the two of them, speechless as his mind spun. Pa’s expression didn’t change, but he could have sworn something like disappointment flickered across his features.
“I swear, Pa!” Em sobbed. “I’m not lyin’!"
The rage washed over him like a sudden sandstorm, blinding and sharp. “Why would Dune fucking stabhimselfin the gut?” he demanded. “That doesn’t make any sense. I saw you! He was pushin’ you away and beggin’ you to stop!"
Em jumped when he started yelling, but now she stared at him, those huge green eyes swimming in tears—Mom’s eyes.
“I didn’t,” she gasped. “I didn’t do it, Wolf. I swear! I was tryin’ to help him.”
Remember, a woman’s heart is deceitful above all things and easily swayed by the whispers of the world.
“You’re lying,” Wolf shouted, and she flinched.
He felt a sudden surge of bitter hatred with the red-hot rage. Did Em think they would believe Dune stabbedhimself?How could she do this? Em and Dune had always been best friends, so much so he sometimes felt jealous. He’d been her primary caretaker since Mom died giving birth to her, and they’d fought like cats and dogs as soon as she was old enough to talk. Dune was different, though. Em had always loved Dune the most. It would have made more sense if Em had tried to stabhim.
“Pa, please! Please look at me!” Em wailed.
“Come, Wolf.” Pa’s voice was cold and hard as he gripped Wolf’s arm again, trying to pull him away. “The council will decide what to do with her.”
If your sister persists in her behavior, there will be consequences.
Wolf jerked away, slamming into the bars of the cell so hard Em flinched backward and shrieked. “I don’t understand!” He was drowning in fury and desperation. “Tell me why you did it! Why would you kill him? Helovedyou!"
She didn’t answer, shaking with the force of her sobs. Pa gripped Wolf’s arm again, and he let Pa pull him away as his eyes filled with helpless tears.
Wolf didn’t sleep much that night, laying alone in their bedroom for the first time since before Dune was born fifteen years ago. It was too quiet, and there was too much room. Usually, all three of them were curled up on the pallet—Dune by the wall, Ember in the middle, and Wolf on the edge. He hadn’t realized how comforting it was to hear his younger siblings breathing at night until they were both gone. So, instead of sleeping, he alternated between silent sobs of grief and a furious simmering rage.
Yet as he lay awake in bed, watching the sky lighten with the dawn, he found himself more confused than anything.
Em was smart. Why wouldn’t she have a better cover story if she had killed Dune? Why didn’t she say somebody else attacked Dune? She had to know that would have been more believable. Had she just panicked and said the first thing that came to mind?
He couldn’t get Arbiter Eli’s words out of his head.A woman’s heart is deceitful above all things.
Em had to be lying. Dune would never have stabbed himself in the gut. Their community was no stranger to people dying from self-inflicted wounds, but no one wouldchooseto die from a gut wound like that. As much as he hated hunting, Dune had done it countless times. Wolf had taught him the quickest and most painless ways to kill an animal, and he’d supervised Dune doing it until his brother could do it without hesitation; besides, there was no way his brother wanted to die. Sure, he’d been in a strange mood yesterday; however, Dune couldn’t tell a lie to save his life—not like Em. Dune was so gentle and honest. Wolf was sure he would have noticedsomethingif he had wanted to die.
Was Arbiter Eli right? Had Em’s willful spirit corrupted her soul? Had she lashed out during an argument? Em had always hated that she and Dune didn’t get to do the same things. She wanted to hunt and learn how to fight. Maybe he should have let Pa give her to the Lopez family as a baby. All the Lopez girls were quiet and obedient. He knew Mrs. Lopez would have loved Em as her own, but the idea of losing his baby sister—his last piece of Mom—had sent him into a panic. Pa hadn’t fought him on it. In fact, Pa washed his hands of Em the moment Mom died. It had always been clear Em was Wolf’s responsibility.
He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. His responsibilityandhis failure.
The guilt felt like a physical wound in his chest. If only he had been stricter with Em. If only he had enforced her role in the divine order. Maybe if he’d been a better leader, Dune would still be alive, and Em wouldn’t be lost.
The door to the bedroom crashed open, and Wolf bolted upright to see Pa standing there, breathing hard.
