"Vivian," a harsh voice whispered. Rafe crawled from his hidden nest. He waved her underwear at her. "I've been waiting for you."
"Gimme those." She snatched them from him.
He crouched, watching her dress. "I miss you," he said.
Vivian shrugged. "You see me."
"Not like before."
"We grew apart. You know." They'd been through all that.
"I don't understand you, Vivian."
"You sound like my mother."
Rafe stuck his face in hers. "You broke up with me because of the girl I killed to get Axel out of jail," he said. "But I bet if you got a sniff of human blood you'd get your muzzle wet."
She jerked away.
When the Goddess, the Lady Moon, gave wolf-kind the gift to change, she warned the first loups-garoux to pity humans for their soft, immutable flesh, for wolf-kind had once been like them. "Use your eyes," the Goddess said. "Look at them and praise my name for changing you; kill them and kill yourselves." But humans were vulnerable and prey-like. They triggered the instinct to hunt.
"We should stay far from humans when we're changed."
"They are ours to hunt," Rafe said. "Axel knew. He couldn't hold back any longer. We were losing our balls in West Virginia, Vivian."
"You can hold tight to your balls and twist," said Vivian, dragging her T-shirt over her head.
How many of the pack yearn to hunt like the Five? Vivian wondered later as she crawled into bed. How long do we have until we are destroyed?
The phone rang while Vivian ate breakfast with Esmé. Rudy answered it. After a short conversation he came into the kitchen. "That was the last agreement. The Ordeal is on."
"It can't be this full moon," Esmé said.
Rudy sat down at the table with them. "I know. Orlando says that by law we have to allow a full month in case others want to come from afar."
"So it's July then," Esmé said. "July thirteenth?"
"Sounds right." Rudy shook his head. "I wish it wasn't so far away, though." He finished his coffee and stood up. "Gotta get to work."
"Yeah, me too." Esmé said. "Wash up for me, babe. Okay?" She left, followed by the sounds of Vivian's protests.
"I'm grounded," Vivian told Aiden at lunch time. The idea that someone could limit her freedom was mortifying, but the excuse was something Aiden could understand.
"Grounded?" He looked at her in amazement. "What did you do to get grounded?"
"Stayed out all night with my cousins smoking dope." She was damned if she'd pretend to be grounded for some tame reason.
He ran his fingers through his hair as he digested what she'd told him. Silently, she dared him to tell her off. Apparently he decided not to comment. "How long?"
"Until I talk my mother out of it, which is usually a week." That was a tiny bit of truth.
Aiden's dark eyes lowered in disappointment. "I guess the party tomorrow night is off, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Never mind," Aiden said, kissing her ear. "When you're sprung, we'll have our own party."
He was gullible, Vivian thought. That irked her slightly. But he had no reason to distrust her; why shouldn't he believe?