Page 11 of Claimed By Werewolf
I almost lied.Almost told her I was fine.But the words tangled in my throat.“I’ve been… looking into Tyler again,” I admitted.
The silence on the line stretched so long I thought the call had dropped.
Finally, she sighed.“Demi.”
“I can’t stop, Mom.I know the cops said it was random, but it wasn’t.I can feel it.He didn’t just die; he was killed.And someone out there knows why.”
Her voice cracked.“Baby, I miss him too.Every day.But chasing this… it won’t bring him back.”
Tears burned hot at the back of my eyes.“And doing nothing doesn’t make me feel better.”
Another long pause.“Just… be careful.Please.I already lost one child.I can’t lose you too.”
I hung up before she could hear me cry.
By the time my shift ended, I’d made up my mind.
I wasn’t waiting around for Werewolf to come to me.
I was going to him.
The sun dipped low by the time I reached the garage again.I lingered across the street with my heart pounding as I watched men in cuts come and go.My palms were slick against the strap of my bag, but I forced myself to breathe.
Then I saw him.
Werewolf, bent over a bike as he worked.Grease streaked his skin, and the tattoos on his arms flexed with each turn of the wrench.
I swallowed hard.He was terrifying, dangerous, and everything I should’ve run from.
And I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
I crossed the street before I could second-guess myself.My boots crunched on gravel and drew his attention instantly.His head lifted, and those cold eyes locked on mine.
He wiped his hands on a rag and stood to his full height.The room seemed smaller when he did.
“You don’t quit,” he said, voice low.
“No.”I pulled the printouts from my bag, and held them out.My hands shook, but my voice didn’t.“Tyler was calling this number before he died.It’s tied to someone in your world.I want to know who.”
His gaze flicked to the papers, then back to me.
Something shifted in his face.Barely there, but I saw it.
Recognition.
Guilt.
Anger.
“Where’d you get this?”His voice was sharp enough to cut.
“I dug.And I’ll keep digging.”
We stared at each other, and the air between us charged like a storm about to break.
He stepped closer, so close the papers crinkled between us.His voice dropped, barely more than a growl.“You’re going to get yourself killed, Demi.”
“Then help me.”The words tumbled out before I could stop them.Pleading, desperate, raw.
