This was going to be an uphill battle. I rubbed my temples and muttered, “I’m being serious.”
“Yeah. And I’m Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Not likely. A vampire would kill you in an instant. You’re weak and slow. But most vampires, like werewolves, wouldn’t attack you unless provoked.”
She started chuckling again, and I sat my drink on the table and glared. What was it about her that got under my skin? Had she been anyone else, I would have let her family explain all of this. But not the LaSalles. I needed to control the messaging about werewolves.
Finally, Savannah settled down, and her expression of mirth turned into bewilderment as she studied my face. She slowly pushed her drink aside and whispered, “Oh, my God. You actually believe what you’re saying.”
At least we were getting somewhere. “Because it’s true. You’re being hunted by werewolves.”
She placed her hands over her face. “Oh, no, you’re not from some government agency. You’re a lunatic who thinks he’s David Duchovny in The X-Files.”
Irritation rippled through me. This was going nowhere. “Savannah, look at me,” I commanded.
She put her hands down, and I let my presence wash over her. “You are going to listen. You are going to have an open mind. You need to forget everything you thought you knew about the world. All your preconceptions.”
She nodded
meekly.
“I want you to describe your assailants. What stood out as strange about them?”
Savannah swallowed, looked down at the table, and mumbled, “They had claws for hands and glowing eyes. They could run faster than a car. I ran one over and killed him, but there was just a wolf left on the road.”
She was exaggerating. Wolves couldn’t run faster than cars.
“Tell me, what were they? What makes sense? What fits the things you saw with your own eyes? Speak the truth, not just the truth you want to believe,” I commanded.
She started shaking her head. “This is crazy. You’re telling me that I was attacked by people who transform into wolves? That werewolves are real and they’re hunting me?”
When she staggered back from the table, I caught her hand and felt the electricity in her body. It was magnetic, and I didn’t want to let go. “Yes. But you don’t need to be afraid.”
“I don’t need to be afraid? How is that a reasonable statement? Either A, werewolves are real and they’re trying to kill me, or B, I’m having casual cocktails with a madman!”
“Everything is going to be fine. Calm down.” I unleashed my full presence and pressed her into submission with my magic, pushing the terror from her mind. She needed to think clearly and not panic.
At least it was easier to control her with my presence after she’d had a few drinks.
She pulled away and wrapped her arms around her chest, looking over the city. “I can’t believe any of this.”
Even forlorn, she was beautiful, and for some reason, her pain made my heart clench. Guilt, probably. She shouldn’t have to hear this from me…but then again, she shouldn’t hear it from her family.
Finally, she stopped shaking. “I think I need another cocktail.”
I motioned to the waiter, who was standing far off to the side.
Savannah started pacing back and forth on the empty terrace and put her hands to her forehead. “Okay, nutcase. For argument’s sake, let’s assume you’re telling the truth and aren’t a deranged lunatic. What are werewolves? Monsters?”
My jaw ticked at her impudence. No one spoke to me like that. “Not everything you don’t understand is a monster. Werewolves are people who can turn into wolves, and vice versa. They are quite common.”
“They’re common?” she squeaked, looking around in wide-eyed panic.
“There are thousands in this city, living normal lives, like you or me.”
Savannah gripped the railing, struggling not to hyperventilate. I touched her back and pushed a little of my power into her, calming her with my presence. She shivered beneath my touch, which sent a current through my fingers and…well, somewhere else.
Her breathing calmed. “I’m not sure that I understand. There are thousands of these monsters just roaming free in the city?”