Hidden Moon (Nightcreature 7)

"You'll need to check them all," Mandenauer continued. "Make sure they're truly cured. "

"You some kind of scientist or something?" Grace asked.

"Virologist," Elise said shortly. "Doctorate in viruses. "

"Must be why you're such a laugh riot. "

Elise's lips twitched, but she managed to control her amusement. "I'll head to the lake, sir. "

She nodded to Malachi and me, then unlocked the cage and left.

We climbed out. I wanted a shower badly. Even though this menagerie wagon had been as clean as the others - suspiciously so now that I considered it; what kind of animals lived in immaculate cages? - I still felt kind of gamy.

"How many wolves do you think the woman made?" Mandenauer asked.

"I don't know. " I glanced at Grace.

"Two that we know of - one's dead; one isn't. "

"Probably more than two," Mal said. "There were nights I heard a whole chorus in the mountains. "

"But won't they be human now, like the Gypsies?"

Mandenauer shook his head. "The curse is broken, but from what you told me, Sabina made others like her by biting them, so whatever magic she produced gave her the lycanthropy virus. They won't be cured so simply. " He chambered a round in his shotgun and walked out the door.

"That's one scary old man," Grace commented.

Since I had to agree, I didn't answer.

"I need to get back to work. " Grace put her hand on my arm. "You all right?"

I nodded and suddenly we were hugging, Grace holding on so tightly I couldn't breathe. "You scared the living hell out of me, Claire. When those idiots at the lake told me what they'd done. . . "

I understood. The Gypsies had been turned back into people, and they'd believed that had happened because Malachi had killed me and broken the curse.

Poor Grace. She'd had to drive all the way here thinking I was not only dead but horrifically so. Yet she'd come, as fast as she could, for me.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she said.

"Now you won't be able to get rid of me. "

Leaning back, she peered into my face. "You're staying?"

"I think we might. "

Her eyebrows lifted and she glanced at Mal, then back at me. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. "

As soon as she disappeared out the door, Mal said, "We?"

My heart stuttered. "I thought that's what this was all about. We. If you don't want to stay, I'll go with you. " Although that wouldn't be easy. I belonged in Lake Bluff, almost as much as I belonged with him. "Your people - "

Mal's hands landed on my shoulders, and he turned me around. "Not only is the curse broken, but so is my loyalty to them. They betrayed me. " His fingers tightened, and he kissed my brow. "I think I've done enough wandering for several lifetimes. "

"Probably because you've been wandering for several lifetimes. "

"I never had a home. " His hands slid down my arms, then rested at my waist. His thumbs stroked my stomach, and the skin danced at his touch. He froze, frowning.

"What?"