The Better to Bite (Howl #1)(62)

I was sure the doctor would back my dad. When he wanted to be, my dad was extremely persuasive. Maybe it had something to do with his badge. Or his gun.

It didn’t take the nurse long to regain her perk, though, as she checked my vitals. She leaned over me and said, “Now don’t be too worried about that rash on your throat. With that necklace gone, your skin will be turning back to normal in no time at all.”

What? My hand flew up to my throat. The skin felt slightly rough to the touch. “Where’s my necklace?”

She motioned to the small, bedside table. “It’s safe.” The nurse pulled back. “But with your silver allergy, you shouldn’t be wearing it. It could be very dangerous. You’re lucky the doctor on duty noticed the signs of—”

“Silver allergy?” I tried to look around her at my dad. I didn’t have a silver allergy.

But dad wasn’t looking at me. I saw his stiff back. He was at the door. “I’m going to talk to your doctor.” His expressionless voice drifted over to me. “I’ll make sure he keeps you for observation.”

“Dad!” Something was wrong. I was missing something.

Silver allergy? Since when? Goosebumps rose on my flesh. I’d felt a chill a few times before. Now, I was nearing the freezing mark.

His shoulders seemed to stiffen even more as he glanced back at me. “It’s okay, baby. You’re not the only one in your family to have allergies.” His smile was twisted, and that smile never quite made it up to his eyes. “You just take it easy, and rest, okay? This will all be over soon, I promise.”

My dad always kept his promises.

I told myself that, over and over, even as I wondered just what he was hiding from me.

***

Rafe didn’t come to see me. Actually, no one came for hours, not until nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. Then, a light tap sounded at my door.

“Come in!” I called, almost desperate for company at that point.

Valerie poked her head inside. Her eyes were wide and worried. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and motioned for her to enter the room.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, voice quiet but heavy with tension. “I heard at the diner…Cassidy actually shot you?”

Um, no. “That’s not what happened.”

She blinked. “But they said—”

I wasn’t sure who “they” were. “Cassidy didn’t shoot anyone.” I shrugged and felt the pull of the stitches. Those stitches were already driving me crazy. “This was just an accident.”

She licked her lips and inched closer. “When do you get out of here?”

“Tomorrow.” Unless Dad got super protective again. A definite possibility.

Her hands twisted together, and she glanced toward the door.

I saw the fear flicker over her face. “Valerie? What’s wrong?”

She swallowed. “The moon’s going to be full tonight. What if—what if the wolf comes hunting again?”

A very scary possibility that I’d worried about all day. My advice? “Stay inside! Lock your doors and just stay inside.”

Her teeth sank into her lower lip. “My parents are out of town. It was supposed to be a second honeymoon trip for them, and I-I couldn’t tell them not to go because I was scared of a—of a werewolf!” Her hair shifted over her shoulders. “I tried to tell them about this summer, about what happened, but they sent me to a shrink! He told them I was too stressed over school and cheerleading.”

Because no one believed in werewolves.

Wasn’t that why Cass was in the psych ward? I’ll get you out, Cass. Promise. But first I had to be sure Cass wasn’t gonna get trigger happy again.

“Do you have some friends that you can stay with?” I asked Valerie. “Just for the night.”

“Karen’s at a ballet recital this weekend, and Julia’s at her grandmother’s in Charlotte.” Her shoulders straightened, and she swallowed. “This is silly, isn’t it? I mean, I’ll be fine.”

“My dad’s hunting the wolf,” I told her, wanting to make her feel safer. “He’s getting some of the—” What to call them? Shifters? Was that PC? “He’s getting some of the older wolves and they’re going out hunting tonight. It’s the full moon, they’ll be stronger, and they should be able to track the rogue.”

Her brows rose. “Rogue?”

I fiddled with the sheet. “It’s what some folks call a wolf that turns on the pack.” So I’d heard from an animal expert during one boring Saturday afternoon while I watched a nature show.

Silence. Then, “Do you really think they’ll stop the rogue? It seems so strong.”

“My dad’s a good hunter.” Simple. True. “He’s not going to stop until he catches the wolf.”

Valerie swallowed again. She looked like she might be battling tears. Another knock rapped at the door, and she jumped.

A candy-stripper entered this time. A girl named Katie who I was pretty sure went to Haven. She had flowers in her hands. Big, bright, yellow flowers. “From an admirer,” she said with a grin.

When she left, I took the card. Opened it quickly. I expected it to be from Rafe.

It was from Brent. His bold scrawl slid across the crisp white card.