Chapter 2

He’s never tried to have a conversation with a werewolf before.

“Let’s go, then.” Elijah dives out of the car before Joshua can give him the go-ahead. He’s always so eager, so much like his mother—the same icy blond hair and bright blue eyes. He’s already tall at eighteen and filling out. He’s a good hunter, coming from a long history of Finnish hunters.

“Dad?” Elijah’s voice sounds a little hesitant as Joshua gets out of the car.

“What is it, son?” Joshua’s hand instantly goes to the colt strapped to his hip.

“Blood, on the ground, still wet.” Elijah holds his hand up above the roof of the car. His middle and index fingers are slick with blood.

“Two options—well, three, really: they’ve been hunting animals, they’ve killed a human, or they’ve been attacked,” Joshua says slowly. No use being anything but calm. He learned that a long time ago.

“We going in?” Elijah asks.

“Nice and easy. Careful. We don’t know what we are walking into here,” Joshua replies.

Elijah nods, and they start towards the cabin, the lights blazing out into the dark seeming off now that Joshua knows about the blood. They draw their weapons as they get close, and when Joshua pushes gently on the front door, it swings open. A quick look confirms that the lock is broken.

So it’s option three: the attack has already come.

Joshua heads in first. Elijah will have his back; he and Adelina trained their son well.

The cabin’s a mess, and the smell of blood is thick in the air, the taint of iron filling the room. There’s blood on the floor, blood on the upturned furniture, and as he moves into the room, Joshua spots a severed leg under a table. These people weren’t just killed—they’ve been butchered.

Joshua is moving deeper into the room when he hears a faint noise coming from another room. He signals to Elijah, and they move as quietly as possible to the next room. At first, Joshua can’t see anything, certainly not anyone capable of the damage he’s seen in the cabin.

“Dad.” Elijah points to a bed in the corner of the room.

Joshua moves closer and crouches down slightly, and there under the bed is a teen, younger than Elijah.

“We’re not here to hurt you. We’re not the people who did this. Can you come out?” Joshua tries to coax the boy out, but he doesn’t move.

From where he’s standing, Joshua can see a flash of bright green eyes and a tangle of messy brown hair. Joshua suspects the boy might be a werewolf, and he has never really dealt with a werewolf child. The werewolves Joshua has encountered were adults—killers who deserved to die, who he killed.

Joshua isn’t sure what’s going on here, but his gut is telling him that right now, this kid, he might have the potential to be a threat one day, but he isn’t yet. Right now, he’s just a frightened kid, and Joshua doesn’t know what to do. But before he can act, Elijah is kneeling down close to the bed.

“He’s just a little lapsi,” Elijah says softly.

Joshua isn’t as good with his wife’s native tongue, but he still recognizes the Finnish for kid.

“Hey, I’m Eli. I’m here with my dad, Joshua. We won’t hurt you. Can you come out? It’s safe.” Elijah’s voice is gentle; he’s probably better with kids than Joshua could ever be. He’s been a good dad, he thinks, but he’s not been around many kids other than his own.

Elijah words seem to do the trick, because the boy starts to edge out from under the bed. As soon as he’s out, he backs away to the bed and pulls his legs up to his chest, but not before Joshua sees the claw marks on his chest. Five long ragged slashes and blood stains in the t-shirt he’s wearing. Joshua looks him over as best he can from this distance, and he can see cuts and bruises.

“Hi, what’s your name?” Elijah asks. He moves closer and reaches out slowly, trying to get the wolf pup to lower his legs.

“Jayden.” It’s practically a whisper, but it’s loud enough to be heard.

“How old are you, Jayden?” Joshua asks, because he still doesn’t know if this tribe has been killing. Jayden looks young enough that he shouldn’t have had his first kill, anyway.

“Fourteen.” Jayden hardly looks at them as he answers, but it’s enough to confirm Joshua’s thoughts about the boy’s age.

“Are you hurt? Can you tell us what happened here?” Elijah asks gently.

“I…they came…other wolves. I was doing my homework. Is everyone dead? I think I passed out.” Jayden’s hand goes up to his forehead, and under the messy tangle of his chestnut hair, Joshua can make out a large bruise and a deep gash.