“I didn’t make this choice for him,” I defended myself but he only shook his head, leading Anna away. “He’s never going to like me,” I told Monster, who shrugged awkwardly. “You’re not going to follow Gregory, are you?”
“No, I’m going home,” he answered and I turned to leave, trusting he would do what he said. “Caleb,” he called and I paused. “I’m sorry about Dru. I hope it works out.” I nodded, shoving my hands in my pockets as I wandered to the cabin at the end of the row of cabins. It used to belong to Dom and then his sister, Sam, but now it stood empty. I didn’t really want to deal with anyone so I figured I’d crash there for the night.
I walked up the steps, hearing them creak under my weight, and I hesitated at the door, memories flashing through my mind. I’d spent many nights on Dom’s couch, unable to deal with Dad and then later because I couldn’t deal with the silence of his absence.
I twisted the knob, pushing the door open, then stopped, as we stared at each other in surprise. “Mom?”
Chapter Fifteen
Dru
It wasn’t long before Dumb and Dumber showed up, stomping through the woods with less finesse than a herd of elephants. “You think this is a good idea?” I recognized the young, reedy voice and if I could have I would have rolled my eyes.
“Do I think this is a good idea?” The other idiot repeated mockingly. “I don’t know, you think having money is a good idea?”
“These things can kill you,” the other one squeaked and my impression of him went up a notch. “And selling them at the auction is dangerous.”
“It’s paralyzed,” the older man dismissed as if that somehow made me less dangerous and I decided to kill him first. “It’s not the first time I’ve done this, ya know.”
“It still feels wrong,” the kid replied, their voices close but I couldn’t see them since I was lying sideways where Strickland had dropped me. “We should just leave these things alone.”
“It’s easy money and you like money,” the other one cajoled and I got the impression he needed the kid for something. Bait, maybe or a patsy, either way, I had no intention of showing mercy. “Besides, it’s no different than killing a wolf. We’re doing a service.”
“They’re people though. Aren’t’ they?”
“If you can call something that turns into an animal people,” the other one scoffed. “They don’t have brains. It’ll kill you in a second. It’s worse than an animal.”
Rage burned inside of me, eating away at whatever Strickland had injected me with, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I could move.
“Aha, here it is,” the other guy shouted gleefully and I heard him stop next to me. “Pretty little thing.”
“It’s a girl,” the kid announced, gulping as he came around to my head. “I didn’t know we were getting no girl.”
“She’ll get a real good price,” the other man chortled and his hand touched my hair. I couldn’t do anything except glare and the kid stumbled back.
“I don’t think she likes you touching her,” he said, staring at my blue eye in horror.
“She’s paralyzed. What’s she going to do?” He questioned, his hand drifting lower and I suddenly wished I had Paige’s ability to project thoughts and emotions because I would terrify this bastard.
“Are you sure she’s a wolf?” The kid whispered, not taking his eyes off me.
“Yeah, they have girl ones, but they’re rare. She’s worth a fortune.” I heard the greed in his voice as he grabbed one of my arms. “Come on, now. Help me get her to the truck.” The kid came up hesitantly, his hand hovering by my arm. “Grab it,” the other man ordered and he jumped, taking my arm. Together, they dragged me further through the woods until we came to a dirt track and a pickup truck. “Toss her in the back,” the older man grunted. “But don’t bruise it. She’s worth more not bruised.”
“This is a bad idea.” I agreed with the kid as one of my toes curled, and a tingling sensation started to trickle through my extremities. This had become a very bad idea…for them. “We should leave her here.”
“Hell, no, boy, and if I hear another word out of you, I’ll leave you here.” The tailgate slammed shut. “Now get in the damn truck before I leave you out here for her friends to find.”
The boy scurried to the truck door and I heard two doors slam shut as I tried to wiggle more fingers and toes, but nothing else happened and I resigned myself to wait it out. We drove for a long time on the dirt track, my body bouncing all over the truck bed, until we finally turned onto a gravel road which wasn’t much better.